Oh the Times, they are a Changin'

Image Source

Hey guys, Drew back here. I hope you all enjoyed my take on which members of the Hall of Fame are overrated on Tuesday. It sparked more debate than any of my prior Ten for Tuesday posts, which is exactly what I had hoped for. The entire purpose of the weekly series is to inspire debate among my readers, and I've had a lot of fun putting the projects together; it certainly gives me something to look forward to.

If you read my blog, I'm going to assume you read Night Owl Cards as well. If you don't, you would be doing yourself a disservice. Greg is twice the writer I'll ever be, and I know I've improved from my days as a teenager in this community. He created his blog in 2008, around the same time I did. We have witnessed countless people phasing in and out of the hobby; more blogs disappearing by the day. But we've both (he especially) been able to maintain our interest in not only the hobby itself but in writing as well throughout the course of almost seven full years.

Last Sunday, Greg wrote about something that has peaked my interest ever since. He said that only two players in the Dodgers' 2008 Topps set have remained with the team up until now; Clayton Kershaw and Andre Ethier. From there, I was influenced into figuring out how many players have stayed with the same team since the birth of this blog. I technically started with Weebly in the summer of 2008, until I carried over my posts to Blogger that winter, but I will refer to the summer as the beginning point of this timeline.

This is what I was able to come up with:

American League

Baltimore Orioles - Adam Jones
Boston Red Sox - David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Clay Buchholz
New York Yankees - Alex Rodriguez, Brett Gardner*
Tampa Bay Rays - Evan Longoria*
Toronto Blue Jays - Jose Bautista

Chicago White Sox - John Danks, Alexei Ramirez*
Cleveland Indians - None
Detroit Tigers - Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander
Kansas City Royals - Alex Gordon, Luke Hochevar
Minnesota Twins - Joe Mauer, Glen Perkins

Houston Astros - None
Los Angeles Angels - Jered Weaver, Erick Aybar
Oakland Athletics - None
Seattle Mariners - Felix Hernandez
Texas Rangers - Matt Harrison*

* = Rookie in 2008

Total: 20 Players

National League

Atlanta Braves - None
Miami Marlins - None
New York Mets - David Wright, Daniel Murphy*, Jon Niese*, Bobby Parnell*
Philadelphia Phillies - Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Carlos Ruiz
Washington Nationals - Ryan Zimmerman

Chicago Cubs - None
Cincinnati Reds - Johnny Cueto*, Jay Bruce*, Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Homer Bailey
Milwaukee Brewers - Ryan Braun
Pittsburgh Pirates - None
St. Louis Cardinals - Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia*

Arizona Diamondbacks - None
Colorado Rockies - Troy Tulowitzki, Jorge de la Rosa
Los Angeles Dodgers - Andre Ethier, Clayton Kershaw*, A.J. Ellis*
San Diego Padres - Will Venable*
San Francisco Giants - Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Sergio Romo

* = Rookie in 2008

Total: 27 Players

47 Players. 13 of which, rookies. We aren't even talking about a decade of time passing by, and only 47 Major League players have stayed on their respective teams. There are 30 teams in the league, with 25 men on each team's Active Roster. That alone makes 750 total players, not to mention all of those who have been called up and sent down within that period. Only 36 of the 47 listed have played their entire professional career with one organization. It was Miguel Cabrera's first year after being traded from the Marlins to the Tigers in 2008. Alex Rodriguez's name wasn't completely obliterated, and he came off of a 2007 MVP Award and enormous contract extension. Tim Lincecum was on his way to his first of two Cy Young Awards. That old, washed up Phillies team we see today won the World Series. Oh, how times have changed.

No wonder why baseball is no longer the powerhouse it once was compared to other sports. Ever since the dawn of free agency in baseball in the 1970's, players have constantly been on the move. One of my best friends has always followed the game, but after missing most of the news from the past offseason, he was so confused from all of the player movement. How are kids supposed to grow up and love a particular team in a day of age where baseball rosters change as frequently as college rosters?

Growing up, I always wanted the newest pinstripe jersey of whoever the Yankees would sign over each winter. Looking back, a majority of those jerseys were of players who made pit stops in New York before traveling elsewhere, which meant I constantly had to get to know a new team and buy new jerseys. I know it's part of what you sign up for being a Yankees fan in particular, especially ever since the late George Steinbrenner took the helm in 1973. But clearly, my Bombers aren't the only team that makes you feel like the new kid at school every Opening Day.

It's difficult to think of a way to go about fixing this dilemma. It appears that the business revolving around the game is in too deep, and that it would take a substantial amount of energy and effort to market players who are always in flux. With the Core Four retired, Alex Rodriguez is now the longest tenured Yankee, and I have to be honest, it can be boring to root for them at times. My favorite players now come from all over the league, because I have since learned not to grow too attached to anyone on my own team in fear of losing them to the next team willing to cough up hundreds of millions of dollars on them. My huge Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher collections now collecting dust can attest to this fear, without question.

It's really sad. I love watching old documentaries and hearing about those "classic" teams; the ones where people could rattle off the entire Dodgers and Yankees rosters, position by position; without worrying about accidentally naming someone who is no longer a part of the organization. But, they make me jealous. Very jealous.

I know it's an old school opinion and approach to a game that is trying so hard to adapt to newer technology and innovations; but I still wish something could be done. At least we've had Yadier Molina and Chase Utley to count on being donned in red.

What do you all think? Has free agency negatively affected your interest in your team?

See Ya!

Mail from Two Big Dodgers Fans!

Hey everyone, Drew back here! I know, it's been a couple days, but I have been so loaded with baseball lately, from camp in Dutchess Stadium, my local ballpark, to my summer baseball league. But anyways, at this point, I'm gonna go broke of Dodgers cards. Why? Because for some reason most of the fans that want to trade with me are fans of the Dodgers, oh, and I have a knack for pulling Dodgers cards. So, recently two of these very Dodgers fans contacted me about a possible trade. The first to contact me was Michael, the author of Nomo's Sushi Platter! I've never made a trade with him before, so it was cool to meet a new blogger wanting to make a swap with me. Here's what I ended up getting from him:

I haven't made a whole lot of trades lately, mainly because I've been really out of it lately with the hobby and have had so many other things going on. While I have pile of Yankees base laying around, I always loved these trades, where I would get cards for all my different collections. Michael certainly knew how to treat me, sending all sorts of cards of Yankees, some even being guys I specifically collect, like Robinson Cano! Plus, it can be nice to finally add an older card of A-Rod that I didn't have like 10 of, with the World Baseball Classic insert.

Next were some more miscellaneous Yankees cards, featuring a few of Nick Swisher, and some 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen. I think this product was very underrated, because, minus the autographed cards they included in so called "gypsies", the design was very nice. Probably would've been better had Topps not screwed up the autograph collation as always. My favorite part of Gypsy Queen was definitely the framed parallels, like the one Michael included of CC Sabathia! These green framed parallels are retail exclusive, and they look really sweet in person. 

One thing new with this trade that's never been done before in my trading lifetime, was that he also included cards from my failed "Secondary Collections" page. I don't think anyone ever referenced to it through trades with me, so I gave up on updating the page. Now, I have more work to do, because Michael threw in quite a few former Renegades such as Shields, Podsednik, and Longoria! Also, he sent me a few Dave Parker cards, which was cool because I haven't added new cards of him in forever!

So overall I was really happy with this trade, thanks so much Michael, I look forward to more trades in the future! Next was a trade from a somewhat frequent guest of my blog, Greg from Night Owl Cards! While he and I have traded several times in the past, it sure has been a while between us. Take a look at how this one went out:

Jeez, I almost forgot, 2011 Allen & Ginter has been out for weeks! I've always been all over that product I thought, but this year, not much will get me to run out to Walmart or Target, especially with the ridiculous price tag on all of the products this year. While Greg didn't send me anything from Allen & Ginter, he caught me up in a few sets I could use some cards for, such as Topps Opening Day, Bowman, Gypsy Queen, and even Heritage! I hadn't even seen any Bowman cards in person until Jeter, Posada, Sabathia, and Granderson landed in the mailbox. They don't look horrible but then again, they're not going to make me wanna buy them. 

Next were the usual random and fun assortment that the Night Owl loves to throw into the packages. Yeah, I have thousands of Yankees cards. But somehow he always seems to get me some I didn't have yet. Like those 2 Don Mattingly cards, that pushed me up over 150 cards of his! 

My favorite cards from this package, however, both were Topps retail exclusive cards from the past couple of years. One being the Babe Ruth card out of the Topps value boxes from this year, and the other being a Mariano Rivera from the "cereal boxes" Topps came out with in 2010. Both cards have a particularly nice shine to them, and I'm a sucker for these cards, as overdone as they are. 

Thanks again Greg for the trade! Hope we can work out more deals in the future! 

See Ya!

Cards from the Blogosphere!

Hey guys, Drew back here. It's getting to that point that occurs once every week or two here at drewscards, and that would be mail day catch up time! I got 3 packages in since the last catchup, and all 3 were very helpful for me and awesome exchanges. First however, we start with the 2009 Blogger of the Year's package to me, Mr. Night Owl Cards.

Night Owl and I traded the basic team/set needs for team/set needs, and we both came out winners. First, he sent me 13 Topps Update cards for my set that slowly is being built, and those were really appreciated.

What a funky pose on that Valverde!

He also threw in a 2010 Bowman Platinum Lance Berkman, and a 2010 Bowman Throwback of A.J. Burnett. I needed them both and they're both very nice cards!

Lastly, 2 AWESOME refractors of Derek Jeter and CC Sabathia from 2010 Topps Chrome. I have a few variations of Jeter's Chrome cards this year, but this may be my favorite yet. Throughout all these years, x-fractors haven't gotten old to me yet. The orange refractor of CC (which scans like it's red) is also sweet. Chrome sets hadn't used a lot of orange yet, so it was nice to see a fresh color change. Both are un-numbered, but are sweet cards to add to the Yankees collection!

Thanks a lot Night Owl! Now onto the next package, this one coming all the way from Felix in Canada! Felix just started to buy boxes and get into the hobby, so he checked my wantlists and asked if I'd be interested in some cards off the list. Of course!

Starting off the bunch were 4 very nice cards of Pettitte, Sabathia, Rivera, and Cano. Looking back on 2010 Allen & Ginter now makes me feel that it was weaker than past versions of the product but still had some really nice cards, especially those two on the bottom row.

Felix sent me some 21 cards I needed for the Topps Update set, another huge help. As you may have noticed with the Wainwright card being in both trades, the set wantlists got a little mixed and I got maybe 2 or 3 doubles from these 2 trades, but that is absolutely no problem with me! I really like the Arencibia rookie card, that kid's gonna be good.

Thanks so much Felix and good luck with your collecting future! And, lastly, what would one of these posts be without a guest appearance by William of foul bunt. The most recent box he sent me included some stuff I need to help him out with and some CD's, but the best things were these 2 items:

First, a commemorative puck from the 2011 NHL All Star Game! William went down to some of the NHL All Star events this year and got me this as a souvenir, which was truly awesome. This isn't just a puck however, it is also signed by one of the All Stars on the team! He's not too sure who the player is that faintly signed the puck, and the signature doesn't help much because the only part I can see is his number inscription. Our assumption is that the autograph is of Edmonton Oilers left wing Taylor Hall, but we're not really sure. I don't know much at all about hockey, but this is my 1st puck, so it's pretty cool!

The final card in this post is this 2006 Upper Deck Rookie Debut autograph of Jets 2 time pro bowl offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson! He picked this card up for me at his former card shop just before it closed down, and boy I'm happy he did. Da Brick has a sweet signature, and is one of the best Jets on the team, so I'm very happy to own this card!

Thanks so much William! You're such a great friend, and I'll just add these to the never ending pile of awesome things you've given me over the years!

Well that'll just about do it for this edition of "Cards from the Blogosphere"! Thank you so much to the 3 of you that made this post possible! I couldn't have done it without you. I'm your host Drew, and I'll See Ya!

Mailday and Cards from Dad's Friend

Hey guys, Drew back here. I know I've been a little off lately, but I've got reasons and I guess I'll start now. One is that I've been talking to friends a lot more lately and stuff, two is that I've been busy playing baseball and doing other things, and 3, I've had near no interest in any of the 2010 products so far. Sure once I start National Chicle I'll be addicted, but right it's kinda boring. I kinda feel lost since I've been so busy, and although I still love getting cards in packages I'm in a little collecting hole. But, I wanna break out of it, so I'm gonna try to get back on track.

So, for starters, got some mail lately but first, here is some stuff that my dad's friend from work gave to me. He already gave me one group earlier, and here is part 2, well, the second stack. Pretty nice stuff, here are the highlights:

Some 90's odd ball ish cards, of some good players, Kruk, Larkin, Cecil, Bagwell, Bonilla, Sierra, and Will Clark. Not a bad bunch right there.

Here's some more 90's stuff including a Ventura, a cool little 4 way with Casey Stengel from 1992 Topps something, a Brad Ausmus RC (who knew he was a Yankee?), a Kenny Lofton rookie, and a really cool shot of Mike Piazza.

But the best card of the bunch had to be this Junior Seau rookie card. It's not a super valuable card or anything but it's certainly an awesome yet creepy mug shot of a future Hall of Famer! Really cool!

Thanks so much again, some nice stuff without a doubt!

The second and last part of this post is from the mailbox, from Night Owl. By this point you probably know that he and I have been trading buddies, I think this was at least the 3rd or 4th time we've traded, and he came through again! Here are the highlights:

We'll start with some Yankees team set needs, which was the main purpose of this trade for me. I got a Roger Maris History of the Game that I needed for the Yankees PC, a Gehrig for the 2010 set (which means I still need another for the Yankees team sets), a Maris for 2010 Topps, a really nice 2010 Heritage Gehrig for the Yankee sets, a Maris for 2010 Topps, a Damon for Yankees, a Sabathia for 2010 Topps and a Pettitte for the Yankees. Ok, now that the blabbering is over with, I really like the look of the Sabathia Turkey Red, my favorite card of him as a Yankee by far.

Ok, I'm not doing what I did on the last pic, so I'll say that the 4 Lineages are for the Yankees PC, and the Tales of the Game. I'll never forget Jeter's flip, that was an amazing play. Also, 3 more Yankee stadium legacies, only need like 7000 more haha. The Jeter Timeline insert is certainly a favorite of mine too, what an awesome card!

Some 90's stuff, including some faves of mine, Wade Boggs (as a Yankee), Doc Gooden, Strawberry, and Donnie Baseball. Yeah, I know you all know I met him but yeah, I'm going to another show soon but the lineup is kinda disappointing. The Sanderson card is interesting too, never saw one of those before.

And lastly, some newer ones, Icons of A-Rod and CC, pretty sure I only need the Tex from that set now, an X of Jeter (yawn), a really cool die cut of Ross Ohlendorf, and some other cool ones. That x-fractor of Melky is sweet, I miss him in pinstripes (stupid Randy Winn). The last card I will talk about is the very nice 71 Topps Ron Klimkowski. Although I have pretty much no clue who he is, it's in good shape and really nice. A cool add to the Yankees collection!

Thanks so much Night Owl, and I'll be back probably Saturday with the next post, got very busy plans tomorrow. See Ya!...............

oh wait one more thing....

I now officially have a sponsor on drewscards! Thanks so much Tristar! Speaking of which, enter that contest now foos!

Trade with the Night Owl!

Hey guys, Drew back here, this time with a little (actually big) mailday courtesy of Night Owl Cards, the 2009 blog of the year! Greg sent me a great package full of cards I didn't have yet, so a big thanks to him. Here are the cards he sent, this will be long, because I haven't gotten to the point where I learn it's better to scan your favorites and post them, NOT all of the cards, hahaha.

This first group has some cards from the Ticket to Stardom set and some 09 Upper Deck. I actually needed the Cano, call me a Cano collector, not having an Upper Deck base card. I like Ticket to Stardom, unlike most of you, it has a cool feel to them, and I needed 3 out of those 4 I think.

This next set has some Tristar stuff, a set I have never bought. I need quite a few of these. Topps Chrome was great in 2009, and I will eventually get around to collecting the set. Some 08 Documentary cards were mixed in as well as two Starquest Chien-Ming Wangs. Please take a moment and click on this picture above. Tell me there is no difference between the 2 cards. Apparently one is the Blue Uncommon and the other is a Silver common. I don't see one difference between them, anybody know anything about these?

More Allen & Ginter, at least I needed them for PC, since I own over 450 2009 Allen & Ginter cards right there. I have a signed card of that Mussina, from a contest at 30-YOC once. I didn't have the Tino too and that is a really nice card.

A bunch of Yankee Stadium Legacies, I have maybe around 75 of these, and I'm actually not that bored in them, if you have any please let me know. The only thing I didn't like was that every picture was used for at least 25 cards, so that is kinda boring. I really like the Ruth though, my favorite of the bunch.

Masterpieces is the greatest set I know, and it shows here. That picture of Joba amps me up, just looking at it! I really enjoyed O-Pee-Chee this year too, it was very simple but it worked. Lastly, Goodwin. I think I need like 2 more cards to finish off the team set and this little group helped that. I needed the Jeter, Damon, and Joba, and the Ford is soon going to be sent off through the mail since I have 2.

Some 80's and 90's mixed stuff here, that guy in the bottom left corner creeps me out. That Bowman set was weird like that, but one of the best current rookie cards out there shows the legend all dressed up. At least give him a hat!

More 80's and 90's, lovin the Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantles. I also like the Bernie card, didn't have it. I don't know where I could find the 3 next to it if I didn't have good ol' Night Owl on my side. The 2 based on the 1968 Topps set with Boggs and Brien Taylor are from a magazine, and the Irabu is from some other thing.

In this next group, we have 2 nice Babe Ruths, a Rickey Henderson, a Jeter I didn't have, and a Reggie Heroes card. Also an A-Rod iTunes download card, which I've never seen. The Babe cards are awesome, I gotta get more of those sometime.

Some Bowman cards, including Dave Winfield, Dave Righetti, and a few others. The other 3 are some sort of advertisements to some Upper Deck giveaway or something. I hate getting cards that are a tad bigger because they look annoying in my box, so I keep a seperate pile for those. I'll have to show you guys my Yankees box, sometime I guess.

A bunch of 1978 Topps, and I don't think I had any of them! I really need to get a headstart on a vintage collection, it's kind of weak from a Yankee perspective. My favorite is of course the Sparky Lyle, he's one of my favorites from the past, and I really like the Catfish Hunter too. Topps refused to put Catfish on the card, it must be easy on eBay to steal a card of Jim Hunter.

I know, I grouped the cards terribly. As you see, a 1974 Topps Gene Michael goes really well with a Ricky Ledee Upper Deck card. Again, more nice vintage, but my favorite here has to be the Paul O'Neill. I love cards that have baseball seams sticking out, like 09 Sweet Spot & 08.

Again, more terrible grouping. A big card, 2 little cards, and a regular card, all from different times. The Balboni is cool, don't have too much of him, and the Tex is nice too. In all honestly Steve Sax is boring, and Bucky Dent is my magnet from Goodwin. I now have at least 3 of his base cards along with the mini, the Gypsy Queen mini variation, and I hope that will be it. 1 home run gets him into this set, 1 HOME RUN!!!! It was a good home run though...

This trade started when Greg opened a rack pack of Topps and Upper Deck from 2010. I saw the Swisher and jumped on it. I also requested the Hughes, the Yankees checklist, and the Granderson, but he threw in a few more. Sweet! I can't get enough of this years Topps set and Upper Deck is pretty nice too. Turkey Red is starting to get old, so I kinda hope they stop after this year, but I'm still gonna try for that set. Mickey Mantle has a cool picture this year too, but I'd really wish they'd stop this tradition as well, and make him a short print. I honestly don't get why they do that already.

Easily my favorite Yankees card this year, a Ballpark shot of Yankee Stadium. I actually like how Upper Deck did this set because they chose pretty good pictures. I can't tell, but is that the old Yankee Stadium behind it? I'm honestly not sure, but I should know. I don't think so but just wanna make sure.

Thanks so much for the package Night Owl, I'll gather some cards for you and have them out eventually! See Ya!

The 2009 Blogger of the Year Award Goes to...

NIGHT OWL CARDS!!!!!

Congratulations Night Owl, you are the 2009 Blogger of the Year, according to the voters and myself! Post after post, even if it's a mailday, you make everything so interesting! This is the site that actually makes Dodgers cards look interesting (along with the other Dodgers fans)! Wow! You win a little trophy courtesy of me and Beardy to put on the sidebar of your blog, and show it off with as much pride as possible! Great blog and keep up the great work!



Well, that is just about it.... oh wait whats this??? Another award?

And your winner for best blog of the decade goes to..............

Wax Heaven



When I woke up in the morning, first I think, open my eyes, then stretch, but then it's either walk the dog or read Wax Heaven, the best of them all. All the constant news updates around the blogosphere and wonderful stories shared made this the most popular sports card blog of the 2000's! And now looking back on this last decade card wise, you think about Mario and his fantastic blog. Unfortunately, Mario has kind of moved on from this whole thing but hopefully he reads this. Congrats Mario for everything, Beardy will soon be designing an award for you. Mario left on a somewhat awkward note due to all of us not realizing what happened, so here's to you Mario and your once awesome blog!

Thank you all for being the best people around, I can always count on you guys! Once again thanks for the award, unfortunately I feel uncomfortable accepting it. More about that in the morning, in 2010! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!

Trades Recap Video

Thanks you guys!

Guys, need to finish the Allen & Ginter set soon, down to 16 total cards needed to complete cards #1-350, National Pride, and Brian Kong Sketches

Base: 128, 175, 193, 211, 283
Short Prints: 304, 328, 342, 343, 347
National Pride: 1, 72, 75
Sketches: 2, 3, 15

Let me know, or offer me a trade. You can see what I have to offer right here. Thanks!

email: yanks1996wsc@gmail.com

If you have any of these cards send an email there

Soulja Boy

Hey guys, I just came back from my friend's sleepover, which was a blast. We played manhunt, and we went in the pool. We had some good cake, played video games, and played baseball. He gave out 2 hobby packs of Topps Series 2 to everyone, and we all opened them. Most of the kids there didn't collect, so when my non-collector friend pulled this card...

I made a trade with him because I knew what to do with it! So, next, I will redeem this if they let me yet. Lucky #7, who will it be???

Now, here is the reason that Soulja Boy, a young new rapper if you don't know him, this guy:

We were talking about music at the party this morning, and we mentioned him. Mike pulls out his cell phone and starts playing the song "Kiss Me Thru The Phone" by Soulja Boy. If you haven't heard it, here it is:



In the beginning of the chorus part of the song, rapper Sammie (who is featured in the song) goes: 6 7 8 triple 9 8 2 1 2. Someone in school told me that is Soulja Boy's cell phone number, so at breakfast, I take Mike's phone and dialed 678-999-8212, and I asked who wanted to call him. My friend Matt volunteered, although none of us except for me believed it was his number. Matt hits send, and without even a ring, someone picks up. Matt says hello, and the person on the other line goes "Yo, whaddup boy?" Matt got really nervous, so he hung up. He talked to Soulja Boy on the phone! That was so funny!


Before I go, thanks to Night Owl for subscribing to the blog. I hope you enjoy the site and feel free to ask questions or comment. If you haven't checked out his blog yet, here it is.


*UPDATE* I redeemed the card and Topps said it should come by, JANUARY 24th 2010!!!! That is ridiculous!