I've Hit a Gold Mine on eBay!

Hey everyone, Drew back here! I can not even begin to explain how busy the past few weeks have been, but it's safe to say I haven't had as much time for blogging as I have in recent months. However, I have been adding some pretty nice stuff to my collection again, as I recently got a job and now I haven't been feeling as uptight with my money. One of my favorite cards I've added recently is something I know several of my readers will be jealous of.

Out of 2013 Topps Five Star, my first autograph of Diamondbacks young superstar Paul Goldschmidt. I had the pleasure of seeing "Goldy" play in person last year when my family went to AT&T Park in San Francisco, and his talent was as advertised. He doubled in his first at bat and was a dangerous bat all day long for the Giants. Goldschmidt was having a great, possible MVP season in 2014 until it was cut short two months early when he broke his hand. However, he is back in business in 2015, and has already shown signs of getting right back to where he was. Playing in Arizona has made him one of the more underrated stars in today's game, and that's really too bad. If he was a Yankee, he would have come home with some nice hardware in his trophy case already, and probably would be much more popular than he has been. Regardless, he will continue to be a five tool talent for a struggling Diamondbacks franchise that hopes to overcome several difficult seasons in 2015 and beyond. 

I picked up this card for about $15 on eBay, which I considered fair since his autograph prices have slightly risen and for the caliber of the card itself. This is my first Five Star autograph in my collection, and simply put, wow. I can see why people love this product. The card is on extremely thick stock, but it almost gives it extra elegance that make it stand out. 

I hope to see a whole lot of Goldschmidt in the highlight reels this year and in the future. At the age of 27, he is entering what is usually a hitter's "prime years", and if he can build off some of his already incredible seasons, that would be quite the accomplishment.

See Ya!

Ten for Tuesday - Best Active MLB Penmanship

Hey guys, Drew back here! This week's edition of my new program, "Ten for Tuesday", features my hand crafted list of who I believe have the 10 nicest signatures in all of Major League Baseball today. The art of the signature has been lost in an era of constant autograph signings and requests, but there are still some players who appear to take pride in how they write their name for fans. We certainly appreciate the extra few seconds players may take to give us a beautiful signature, and with the ten players I am about to reveal, they almost always take that route rather than scribbling something illegible. As you may recall if you have been following this blog for a long time, I ran a "Worst Autograph Bracket" about five years ago, and former pitcher Jason Jennings faced off against running back Vernand Morency in the final round.

So with this list I have excluded every single baseball player who is not currently active, and I veered outside of discussing prospects either because it would only make the list more difficult to compile. I chose players who have had their share of MLB experience, even if they aren't all currently at the top of their game. Elite players did not receive any kind of boost on the list, as this is simply about their penmanship. With all of the qualifications out of the way, let's get started.

10 Best Signatures in MLB Today

Honorable Mentions - David Wright, Shelby Miller, Tom Wilhelmsen, Carlos Beltran, Tucker Barnhart

10 - Miguel Cabrera

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Miggy's autograph is fitting to the way he hits the ball. The constant vertical strokes makes the signature violent, and as we all saw this past weekend; he sure can crush the ball. Cabrera is again one of the most popular players in the game, and he still makes his signature something fun to look at. I love how he writes his C in Cabrera in particular, but the whole thing flows in a somewhat chaotic way.

9 - Torii Hunter

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Torii Hunter is the first of Harmon Killebrew's proteges to make this list. If you've never read about Killebrew's influence on young Twins players to sign their autograph with pride, I highly suggest you do. Hunter has resulted with a fun autograph that fits his personality very well. I really like the pizzazz in the signature, and that you can almost picture a smiley face at the end of Torii (respect to Tug McGraw). Maybe he could pass down the lesson he learned to Twins top prospects Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton.

8 - David Robertson

While researching for this post, I came across a great article written around this time last year from the New York Times in which Robertson credits his grandmother for his signature being his full name in comparison to "DRob". Robby has had an underrated career thus far, and I had the pleasure of meeting him a few years ago while he was arguably the best set up man in baseball. I will take any autograph that features every single letter, and the way he signs his "D" in David is pretty unique to me.

7 - Jackie Bradley Jr.

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Jackie Bradley Jr. gets a lot of credit for the way he signs his cards, however, he gets a bit of a kick in these rankings because he signs most baseballs simply "JBJ". The difference between he and the following 6 players is the difference in signatures when signing different items, and frankly, the baseball signatures would be nowhere close to this list. Justin Upton was another player who signs cards and flats beautifully but has relatively bland signed baseballs, and he was kept completely off this list in result. Bradley is currently in Triple-A for the Red Sox due to their overcrowded outfield, and I hope he gets traded so we can see if he'll ever reach his full potential.

6 - Victor Martinez

It almost feels like people overlook Victor Martinez in autograph discussions, and I'm really not sure why that is. V-Mart sports a fancy, full signature that ranks among the very best in baseball today. He enjoyed a career year in 2014 and looks to repeat this year, although he isn't getting any younger. I traded a Hakeem Nicks autograph to my friend for the card above a few years ago and it turned out to be so worth it.

5 - Jose Bautista

Jose Bautista seems like an awesome guy. One of my biggest blog regrets was starting a one and done blog feature a few years ago called "Juice, Fluke, or Truth", in which I questioned the legitimacy of his 54 home run 2010 campaign. It is now 2015, and "Joey Bats" has not failed a drug test or been proven guilty of any banned substances. While the power in Toronto has been suspicious in recent years, I'm now implementing the innocent until proven guilty mentality with him and several others. He is now one of my favorite all around players in baseball, and he follows both my regular Twitter and blog Twitter, which I find completely awesome! As for his ink, Jose provides fans with every single letter, slanted and angled with a grace that does not line up with the way he hits the ball. He is one of the most dangerous sluggers in baseball, and he has a beautiful autograph. Well done, Jose; well done.

4 - Pat Neshek

This guy may have been the first to come to mind when you all saw the post title, and rightfully so. Pat has been one of the best guys and signers in baseball history, ranking among the likes of Bob Feller and Bobby Doerr as far as TTM'ing is concerned. Neshek's autograph is the most unique in the game today, as he places baseball seams inside the "P" in Pat. Otherwise, the rest of the autograph flows well, and he tops every autograph off with his number 17. If you wish to try out through the mail autograph requests, I highly recommend sending to him with your first request. And before I move forward, I'd like to point out that this guy has become one of the best middle relievers in baseball recently, which is something few actually mention. Way to go Pat; the entire hobby is rooting for your success!

3 - Felix Hernandez

Taking the bronze medal is the King. Felix Hernandez is primed for a huge 2015, although he struggled on Sunday and had to leave the game early with quadriceps tightness. He wears his heart on his sleeve for the Mariners, and the fans are in love with him. And on top of it all, his autograph embodies the royalty in his nickname. The circular outline of his name makes this the most elegant autograph on this list, and the best autograph to get of any superstar player in the game.

2 - Julio Teheran

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Even when I hardly knew any prospects in baseball, I knew who Julio Teheran was. Why, you may ask? Come on, just look at that signature on the Triple Threads card pictured above. I began to always subconsciously think of him as "the prospect with amazing penmanship", and when he came up with the Braves I naturally started rooting for him. Teheran went into 2015 with two tremendous full seasons under his belt, and he's a great candidate to continue that trend in the future. When a player is worth rooting for just because of the way he signs his name, you know he deserves to be ranked highly on this list.

1 - Michael Cuddyer

Until Cuddyer walks away from the game, he's got the top spot on this list just about locked up. He may not be the player that Harmon Killebrew was, but he has carried on a tradition of excellent penmanship from the face behind the MLB logo. Perhaps players like Miguel Cabrera, Felix Hernandez, and Victor Martinez have flair in their signatures that may look more enjoyable to collect, but Cuddyer's is far classier.

There you have it; my top 10 favorite autographs in baseball today. I could think of about 30 total autographs capable of holding a spot on this list, but chose a select 10 that I either am proud to own or desperately wish to one day possess. I actually have autographs of 8 of the 10 players on this list, two of which I haven't gotten to share with you all yet.

The point of this post is to show you all that the "there aren't any good autographs anymore" argument is not true. While the players of yesteryear were more likely to provide their fans with gorgeous signatures, there are still guys today who try to appeal to those of us in the hobby who enjoy collecting ink. There are probably five or six bad autographs in baseball today for every average/better one, but with thousands of professional players out there, there are plenty of guys to collect.

Whose signature(s) in the game today do you enjoy most? Are there any names you think should have been included, and why? 

See Ya!

A Bright Way to Open the 2015 Season!

Hey guys, Drew back here! On Opening Day, I just so happened to get an autograph in my mailbox, courtesy of one of the top position player prospects the Yankees currently have in their farm system!

Eric Jagielo: 1/1 in 273 Days (Received April 6th)

Once again, I got back a request I did not send in Spring Training, leaving me still at a 4 for 28 rate. My autograph batting average of .143 is worse than Adam Dunn's 2011 season, and it's safe to say I had higher expectations than this. But as for the autograph at hand, I was lucky enough to get a TTM I had previously written off back! Yankees top-10 prospect and third baseman Eric Jagielo returned his Bowman rookie card signed nicely in black for me in 273 days! Scott Rolen was brought in to work with Jagielo this Spring, and it is clear that the Yankees hope for a bright future from him. They seemed to have made 3 great picks finishing the first round of the 2013 draft, taking Jagielo, Ian Clarkin, and Aaron Judge. I'm especially looking forward to Judge, and still need to get myself an autograph before he makes it huge!

Thank you so much for the autograph Eric! I hope to see more of your name in the future, and hopefully in Yankee Stadium!

See Ya!

Ten For Tuesday - Favorite Yankee Memories

Hey guys, Drew back here! I know I'm a bit late to the parade, but Happy Opening Day to all of you baseball lovers out there. I spent the day watching games all day long, the way it should be, and other than the Yankees it was an entertaining day! As I've stated previously on this blog, this will be the 11th year I've actively followed the Yankees, and with that I'd like to wrap up my first decade with a celebration of the best moments I've embraced while loving the most hated team in the game. This will run in chronological order, as it is simply too difficult to rank so many memories I'll never forget.

10 Favorite Yankees Memories

1 - My First Game: May 1st, 2005

I was 9 years old when my Dad, Uncle, and Grandma took me to my first baseball game. My Aunt got us beautiful box seats and it was Bat Day; Yankees vs. Blue Jays. Although the Yanks dropped this one, 8-6, I'll always remember thinking infield pop ups were home runs. I learned what power truly did look like when Gary Sheffield went deep, and he became one of my favorite players for his intense batting stance and hard swings.

2 - May 26th, 2007 Yankees vs. Angels

My dad, best friend Mike, and I got to our seats in the old Yankee Stadium, and realized we were sitting in the highest row in the entire ballpark. After a few innings, we were returning to our seats with food when one of the Yankees security employees was nice enough to move us from the top seats in the section all the way to the front row, where nobody ever showed up. Again, the Yankees lost the game, but it was such an amazing gesture and I never forgot how excited I was to see my favorite players even closer up than before. Oh, and we thought it was the coolest thing when Ron Guidry waved to us while paying a visit to Monument Park.

3 - 2008 MLB All Star Game at Yankee Stadium

I didn't get to go to any of these events like I did in 2013 when the Mets hosted the All Star Game in Citi Field, but I'll never forget watching the Home Run Derby and the Game itself. My dad and I watched Josh Hamilton drive ball after ball into the dark Manhattan skyline, and he became one of my favorite players in the game that night. The going away party, including all of the final game ceremonies and Derek Jeter's speech were also special memories that I wouldn't forget either.

4 - July 30th, 2008 Yankees vs. Orioles

I had been excited to go to this game with my Dad for a while, but things got even more interesting when my best friend Mike called me one day, inviting me to the same game! He ended up taking another one of our close friends instead and sitting across the stadium, but we all took the train together and couldn't wait to watch the game. We used our binoculars to wave from where we sat in the left field bleacher section to the right field section, and we saw Joba Chamberlain take the hill for the Bombers. The game was a slugfest for New York, as A-Rod hit a solo shot and Bobby Abreu clubbed two over the fence, and the final score was 13-3. What a way to go out of the old Stadium.

5 - July 19th, 2009 Yankees vs. Tigers

Ah, another memory, another glimpse of Joba Chamberlain's mediocre starting pitching career. However, this game was memorable for just about all of the other reasons, as the Yankees took this game by a final score of 2-1. It was Old Timer's Day, and while I had seen a ceremony in person before in 2006, this one felt more meaningful to me as I actually got to watch them play the game and the weather was much better. After assembling one of the best teams in baseball over the past offseason, signing CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Nick Swisher, and Mark Teixeira; this Yankees team became extremely fun to watch, and success would soon follow.

6 - 2009 World Series Victory over Phillies

The 2009 playoffs were magical for my Yankees, and it was fun to see them sweep the Twins and knock off the Angels en route to the Fall Classic. This matchup was a battle between two of the higher payrolls in the game, and it was a fun one to watch. Cliff Lee pitched a gem in Game 1, but long-time foe Pedro Martinez couldn't get it done in Game 2. The Bombers out-slugged Philadelphia in Games 3 and 4, but Chase Utley put the success to a temporary halt until Game 6, when Hideki Matsui's 6 RBI brought home the championship to the city that never sleeps. I missed out on the dynasty era by a few years, so 2009 was the only year I remember fondly. And what a year it was.

7 - July 18th, 2010 Yankees vs. Rays

Andy Pettitte vs. David Price. Two of my favorite pitchers in baseball went head to head in this one, and it wasn't a pitcher's dual by any sense of the phrase. The Yankees won this one 9-5, and Alex Rodriguez was a key contributor in the game. Pettitte left very early in the game with a groin injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season after starting the season better than he had in a significantly long time. His injury was extremely upsetting, but it did not get in the way of the day. Dad and I went to the team Museum for the first time, and we sat in the front row of the right field bleachers on field level! Nick Swisher was one of my new favorite players to watch, and we practically got to hang out with him, interacting between innings frequently. And to top it off, just a few feet from our seats was the Yankees bullpen, where I watched Pettitte and Mariano Rivera warmup right before my eyes. We have since sat in these seats on two other occasions, but the first time will always mean a lot to me because I was practically in baseball heaven.

8 - Derek Jeter's 3000th Hit (July 9th, 2011)

I watched every pitch of this game on my TV, highly anticipating baseball history. Jeter came into the game two hits shy of 3000 for his legendary career, and facing David Price, he started the game with a single. In his second at bat, he homered in Hollywood fashion for his 3000th hit, and he wasn't even done. He recorded a double and two more singles to follow, including a tiebreaking single in the 8th inning. This was one of the best single player performances I have ever had the pleasure of watching, and easily the most impressive of anyone in a Yankee uniform.

9 - September 21st, 2011 Yankees vs. Rays

Once again, here we were in the right field seats I spoke of previously, which could only mean we were in for a treat. CC Sabathia faced off against Jeremy Hellickson, a pitcher I once watched pitch for the Hudson Valley Renegades without even knowing it. The Yankees already clinched playoff berth earlier that day in Game 1 of their doubleheader, but Jorge Posada wanted to finish the deal and clinch the AL East. Posada wasn't in the lineup, but pinch hit in the 8th inning and delivered a tiebreaking, two run single that went on to win not just the game but the division! Robinson Cano crushed a home run earlier on that landed two rows behind us, and we managed to be on television for a few seconds and hold the baseball for a picture! This was one of the better games I've seen in person, and the Cano home run made it a lock for this list.

10 - Derek Jeter's Final Home Game at Yankee Stadium (September 25th, 2014)

The final moment on this list comes again by way of our former captain, Derek Jeter. Last fall, I went through a lot emotionally being away from home at college for the first time. I had a floor meeting the night I knew Jeter would be playing his final game at the Stadium, and I decided to fake being asleep just to see the game. At first, I didn't miss much, as the Yankees appeared to be ready to win the game 5-2 with reliable righty David Robertson coming out of the bullpen to close things out. Robertson coughed up two home runs, and the Orioles tied up the score, but this was a good thing. I wanted one more Jeter at bat, as he was 1-4 at the time with a relatively lackluster performance. He got that opportunity, and he drove in Antoan Richardson to win the game! Watching my all time favorite player jump for joy as he faded into Yankees lore was perhaps the most surreal moment of my life, and it took away from some of my pain I felt being away from my family.

Some other key moments that just missed the cut:
- My second Yankees game, which was more memorable for an embarrassing accident in the bus bathroom than anything else.
- The Yankees signing of Johnny Damon in 2006
- Receiving TTM successes from Yogi Berra and CC Sabathia
- Meeting Whitey Ford, Goose Gossage, and Don Mattingly, among others, over the years
- The two biggest spending sprees they have made in this timeframe that got me excited; 2009 and 2014.
- Raul Ibanez's epic 2012 playoff highlight reel (so hard to keep this off the list)
- The few times my Grandpa Walt brought me to Yankee Stadium before he passed away last summer.
- Taking my girlfriend Victoria for the first time in 2014

The point of this post isn't to brag about my life and how lucky I am, but instead focus on thanking all of those who have made these 10+ memories happen, particularly my parents. My mom and dad have spent a lot of time and money helping me live a special 18 years, and even though I missed the best years in recent Yankee history, I still have seen plenty of greatness. It has been a mostly enjoyable, yet often painful 10 years, but I wouldn't trade my love for the game for just about anything.

Have any memories you wish to share? Feel free to leave them in the comments below!

See Ya!

Lucky Pull of the Opening Day Ace!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Things are starting to get a little bit busier in my life, which is obviously welcomed. I haven't had a whole lot to do lately with a relatively laid back Spring semester, but I just got a job and am starting to look into summer internship possibilities and even studying abroad in the future. I'm really excited for all of the future opportunities that could be coming my way, and although this may affect my time on this blog I'll do my best to stick around.

Along with the Walking Dead packs I displayed here on Sunday (excellent finale, may I add), I bought one pack of 2015 Topps Heritage to check out the new design. Heritage is still one of my favorite products despite the repetitive gimmicks, and the cards are fantastic for holding autographs. I figured with my pack I could add a card or two to send out through the mail during the season, and although that didn't work out too well in terms of consistent signers, I did much better!

In my only pack, I managed to pull the chrome refractor of our Opening Day ace Masahiro Tanaka! This is numbered to 566, and the shine is fantastic! It is easily my nicest Tanaka card to date and I was astounded that I managed to get perhaps the best non-hit Yankee card from the set!

The rest of the pack was relatively nice, but nothing came close to topping Mr. Tanaka for me. I guess I won't be needing to buy any more of this now, so I can go out on top with one of my favorite all around releases of the year! I know Topps had some problems with the Tribute product that are pretty inexcusable, but outside of that they have been improving just about everything else.

Now if only I could get my replacement cards for my 2011 Tier One set...

See Ya!