Monday, September 30, 2013

McCutchen Mondays: Throw up your rock fist...if you wish you had a card like this

My current favorite player in baseball today is Andrew McCutchen.  Quite honestly, he might be my favorite player I've ever gotten a chance to see play. I currently own almost 300 unique cards of Cutch and hope to get that number closer to 400 by the end of the year.  Amongst my cardboard collection of Cutch are many autographs, over a dozen 1/1s, and almost enough jersey material to put his jersey back together.  Back in 2011, I created Morton Mondays, but with the lack of Charlie Morton cards available, I changed it to McCutchen Mondays so each Monday I will show off one new card from my Cutch collection.

To see all my Andrew McCutchen relics, autos, printing plates, manupatches, etc ... check out this link.

When I think of Metal, I think of riffing guitars
2013 Topps Proven Mettle 89/99
In 2013 Topps produced cards called Proven Mettle.  These cards featured a large metal coin of the player's face, name and team on the front and the team logo on the back.  They were primarily used for current stars of the game along with Hall of Famers.


I'm not a huge fan of gimmicky cards like this, but if I can pick it up for less than the price of a Target blaster, I'll grab it.

Now that the regular sesaon is over, hopefully Cutch can add some metal hardware for his proven worth to the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.  See what I did there?  I made a pun on the cards name.

Looking at the WAR stat for the front runners of the NL MVP, lets see how their teams would finish without them.
Clayton Kershaw 8.5WAR 
The Dodgers finished the regular season with a 92-70 record.  Take away 9 wins (for rounding purposes) and they are 83-79 and still win the division over the Diamondbacks (81-81).  Dodgers still make the postseason.

Andrew McCutchen 8.3WAR
The Pirates finished the regular season with a 94-68 record.  That was good enough to finish with the top Wild Card position.  Take away 8 wins and they are a 86-76 team which would have given them the same record as Washington for the second wild card.  They may not have made the post season.

Paul Goldschmidt 7.1WAR
The Diamondbacks finished the regular season with a 81-81 record.  That wasn't good enough for a post season appearance.  Take away Goldschmidt's 7WAR and they are a below .500 team and still don't make the playoffs.

Matt Carpentar 6.6WAR or Yadier Molina 5.7WAR
The St. Louis Cardinals had an amazing team this year.  They finished with the best record in the NL with a 97-65 record.  If you take away 7 or 6 wins from either player listed above, they don't win the divsion or best record but are still a powerhouse and coast to a Wild Card appearance in postseason.

Bottom line...Cutch did more for his team than any other one individual.  If you take him out of the equation, the team is not as successful and changes the entire post season landscape.  Thus, no player is more deserving of the MVP honors than Cutch this year.  

LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW WITH WHO YOU THINK THE NL MVP SHOULD BE

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Football Sunday: Emmanuel Sanders Gameday AUTO

The Steelers took another tough loss today as they dropped to 0-4 to start the season.

2011 Topps Gameday AUTO Emmanuel Sanders


Good thing baseball is still going on....

Fortunately with the Steelers being as bad as they are, the player autographs have reached rock bottom.  I grabbed this Emmanuel Sanders auto for just under $5 shipped.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

My first Babe AUTO!!!!

2013 Historic Autographs offered a rather unique product to the public.  Each PSA/DNA contained a cut auto of a historic player and either an original tobacco card OR an original artwork of a tobacco card of the player from 1909-1912.  These retailed for $270 a box.  Each box contained 1 autograph.

I saw the sell sheet of the players available and there were some very big names like Ty Cobb, Nap Lajoie, and Walter Johnson.  There was also a cut auto of the Pittsburgh Pirates all-time Wins leader, Babe Adams which I snagged for $125.
2013 Historic Autographs Babe Adams Cut Auto 10/18
Charles Benjamin "Babe" Adams spent 18 years with the Pittsburgh Pirates posting a 194-139 record with a 2.74 ERA and 1.09 WHIP.  He received above 10% voting for the Hall of Fame only once in 1947.  The two time World Series Champ (1909 and 1925) would go on to serve as a reporter for World War II.

The most remarkable thing I read about Babe was that he once pitched all 21 innings of a game against the NY Giants without allowing a walk.  In nearly 3,000 innings pitched, Babe allowed only 430 walks (1.3BB/9).

Friday, September 27, 2013

Speed Demons: My 1st Rickey Henderson Relic featuring Cutch and Crawford

I love to watch athletic ballplayers.  Sure watching guys just crush the ball into the upper decks is fun, but nothing is more exciting than watching a game where it's the 9th inning with 2 outs and one of the fastest players in the game is on base.  Seeing some of the Pirates recent speedsters like Cutch and Marte motoring around the bases is incredible to watch.  However, no one will ever compare to what Rickey Henderson was able to do.  Even at the age of 39, Rickey was still able to swipe 66 bags.  He's the all-time leader in stolen bases with 1,406.  The next closest, Lou Brock, has almost 500 less than him.
2011  Topps Triple Threads Triple Jersey Relic (Henderson, Crawford, McCutchen) Sepia 7/27

When I saw this card hit the market a few years ago, I swore one day I would own it, but never for the $50 price tages I was seeing attached to it at the time of it's release.  For $30, I finally broke down and purchased it, not knowing how soon I would see another.  While I can guarantee I would NEVER buy a jersey relic of Crawford $10, I am ok with Rickey and Cutch for those prices.  The low numbering (7/27) and featuring the "greatest all time" in Rickey makes it worth it though.

The Pirates face off against the Reds in a three game series before having to face them again in the 1 game Wild Card game.  Hopefully the Pirates can keep that speed demon Billy Hamilton off the bases.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

This card is Nails!

Another Pirates fan has been selling off a large part of his Jason Bay collection over the past several months and I've been snatching the cards up left and right.  I've already shown off several of my other cards from the same seller and recently won this triple jersey relic of Jason Bay, Nick Swisher, and Lenny Dykstra for $3.99.  $4 for a triple jersey relic numbered to only 50 copies.  How could I go wrong?

2005 UD Generations of Materials 34/50
Earlier in the year, I managed to complete my Jason Bay partner project idea which I had 38 unique players on a card with Jason on either an auto or relic card.  I've decided to up that project and make a goal of 38 unique players on just a relic card by the end of 2014.  Here's a list of the players I have relic cards with Jason Bay.

Albert Pujols
Alex Rios
Alfonso Soriano
Andruw Jones
Bill Madlock
Bobby Crosby
Carlos Lee
Craig Wilson
David Wright
Edgar Martinez
Erik Bedard
Freddy Sanchez
Gary Carter
Jacoby Ellsbury
JD Drew
Jose Castillo 
Justin Morneau
Ken Griffey Jr.
Kenny Lofton
Lenny Dykstra
Mario Lemieux
Mark Teixeira
Manny Ramirez
Matt Holiday
Nick Markakis
Nick Swisher
Ralph Kiner
Rich Harden
Russell Martin
Shawn Hill
Torii Hunter
Xavier Nady

That currently gives me 32 unique players.  

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

I told ya I was gonna grab one of these

Last month I showed off my loot from the Crackin Wax A&G break and said that since I didn't get a hit in the break, I was refunded $5.  Well I used that $5 to help go towards a Starling Marte auto from A&G.

For $6.99 shipped, I grabbed the above framed auto of a very exciting outfielder.  It marks my 19th certtified auto of the speedy left fielder. Starling Marge swiped 3 bases in today's loss to the Cubs.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Remembering 1992: Barry Bonds Highland Mint Bronze Rookie Card

Yesterday, the Pirates clinched the playoffs for the first time since 1992 (the same year they last had a winning record).  This year's Pirates squad has similar aspects to that same 1992 team.  The Pirates 1992 post season ended with throw from Barry Bonds that went just wide of homeplate, allowing Sid Bream to slide and score the winning run in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS.

Bonds went on to win the MVP that year (his second of his career) before departing from the Steel City to become a member of the San Fransisco Giants.  He finished his age 27 season with 109 runs, 34 homeruns, 39 stolen bases, 103 RBI, and .311 batting average while winning a gold glove and silver slugger.  That equaled a 9.0 WAR for the season.

I came across the above Highland Mint Bronze rookie card of Barry Bonds for $10.  I didn't want to take the card out of the case to scan it so I just used the image the seller had on ebay.  It's a nice looking card and is numbered 477 of 5,000 on the certificate.  The actual card itself is not numbered.  It was produced in 1993 so having only 5,000 available actually is pretty rare for that "junk wax", "everything is a collectible" era.

Monday, September 23, 2013

McCutchen Monday: 1972 Basketball Design

My current favorite player in baseball today is Andrew McCutchen.  Quite honestly, he might be my favorite player I've ever gotten a chance to see play. I currently own almost 300 unique cards of Cutch and hope to get that number closer to 400 by the end of the year.  Amongst my cardboard collection of Cutch are many autographs, over a dozen 1/1s, and almost enough jersey material to put his jersey back together.  Back in 2011, I created Morton Mondays, but with the lack of Charlie Morton cards available, I changed it to McCutchen Mondays so each Monday I will show off one new card from my Cutch collection.

To see all my Andrew McCutchen relics, autos, printing plates, manupatches, etc ... check out this link.

When I saw the sell sheet for the 2013 Topps Archives checklist, I got really excited to see Topps use the 1972 basketball design.  These are just flat out cool looking cards.  It's nice to see Topps use their rich history of card design to produce baseball cards using ideas from the other North American sports.  Hopefully one day they can use something like 1971 Topps Football or 1984 Topps Football designs.
2013 Topps Archives 72 Basketball design


When these cards first hit the secondary market though, they were selling in the $5 range.  I REFUSED to spend that much money, knowing that if I was patient I would be able to find them cheaper.  Well, patience paid off and I added the above card for 85 cents delivered.


Above is the back of the card.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Football Sunday: Mike Wallace Patch


The Steelers are facing the Chicago Bears tonight as part of the Sunday Night Football lineup.  They're going up against a very strong defense and the Steelers offense has really been struggling this year.  Part of it is the lack of a running game, but another part is the plays that Mike Wallace was able to make.  Wallace is a speedster that helped change the offensive mindset when he was on the field.  Wallace was able to open up the field a lot as a target for Big Ben.  The Steelers are currently 0-2 to start the season which they haven't done in over a decade.  Let's hope they can turn things around today.

The above Mike Wallace patch was purchased on ebay over the summer for $6 shipped.  I couldn't pass it up because something about me just loves those throwback uniforms.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Starling Marte Returns!

It's exciting to know that Starling Marte is back.  The Pirates sure have missed him being the table setter for the Pirates offense.
2013 Topps Heritage Red Ink AUTO 34/64
I went way over my price limit on this card, but I just wanted it so bad that I couldn't stop myself from putting in a bid.  For $37 I grabbed the above low numbered red ink auto of Starling Marte.  These autographs were redemptions so it's questionable if 64 will actually make it's way to the public.  Marte is still being used sparingly since returning, but he's stealing bases and making some nice catches in left again.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Did you guys see this catch?

Tony Sanchez, the Pirates 1st round draft and 4th overall pick in the 2009 draft, made a sick catch behind the plate yesterday as the Pirates cruised to a 10-1 victory over the San Diego Padres.


Click here to see the sick catch!  Most amazing about the catch is that he risked a major spinal injury that could had lead to the end of his career for a foul ball even though the Pirates were up 9-1 at the time.  Oh and he went 2-4 at the plate too.








Thursday, September 19, 2013

Talk Like a Pirate Day

Aaaarrrrr Matey!!!!
Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day from Cutch and de Crew!
2013 Panini Father's Day Cracked Ice/25
I searched high and far before I plundered dis here treasure from de Bay of E a few months back for the low exchange of 3 dollars.  Aaaarrrr!!!! What a treasure it is matey!!!! Only 25 exist in the world.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

2007 National Convention Exclusive: Roberto Clemente

I've been trying to add more Roberto Clemente to my collection lately.  He's one of the greatest ball players ever and I really need to up my PC of "The Great One".

I saw this 2007 National Exclusive Topps Heritage card for sale on ebay and won it with a best offer submission of $2.50.
Above is the back of the card.  It's made to look similar to a 1957 Topps card.

HAPPY ROBERTO CLEMENTE DAY EVERYONE

You Can't See Me: Alex Presley 2013 Camo

I recently showed off my 1st Pink Topps card.  Today, I'm going to show off my 1st camo card.  The camo parallels are new to the 2013 Topps set.  They're numbered out of 99 copies and can fetch some big bucks for star players.  Star players don't include Alex Presley though who sold for $3 shipped.


Even though Alex was mainly used as a 4th outfielder/pinch runner during his time in Pittsburgh, he was one of my favorites to root for.  Alex was traded at the end of August along with a PTBNL for Justin Morneau.  After the game that Justin had a couple nights ago which he pretty much single handly won the game for the Bucs, I'm more than ok with that trade.  Since being traded Alex has been batting .302 over 15 games for the Twins.

Monday, September 16, 2013

McCutchen Monday: 2013 Toppy Turkey Red

My current favorite player in baseball today is Andrew McCutchen.  Quite honestly, he might be my favorite player I've ever gotten a chance to see play. I currently own almost 300 unique cards of Cutch and hope to get that number closer to 400 by the end of the year.  Amongst my cardboard collection of Cutch are many autographs, over a dozen 1/1s, and almost enough jersey material to put his jersey back together.  Back in 2011, I created Morton Mondays, but with the lack of Charlie Morton cards available, I changed it to McCutchen Mondays so each Monday I will show off one new card from my Cutch collection.

To see all my Andrew McCutchen relics, autos, printing plates, manupatches, etc ... check out this link.


I've been trying to add more unique cards of Cutch to my collection over the past couple months rather than just going after relics and autos.  2013 Turkey Red came out what feels like forever ago and because of that I was able to grab this elusive card for $1.50 from Sportlots.  It wasn't uncommon when the set first came out for this card to be in the $8 range.  Um...no thanks.  Patience paid off as I was able to add this to my ongoing collection of Cutch cards.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS....DO YOU THINK THAT CUTCH IS THE FRONTRUNNER FOR 2013 NL MVP?  He truly is a 5 tool talent that plays a premium position with gold glove defense on a team that hadn't had a winning record for 20 years.  He's leading all NL position players in WAR, so I think he has a legit shot at it.  Then again, one would have thought Matt Kemp was MVP in 2011.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Football Sunday: He's Back!!!

The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently 0-1 after an embarassing home opener to the season against the Titans last week.  The offense didn't show up and Big Ben got sacked several times during the game.

The Steelers running game was almost absent so they brought back Jonathan Dwyer who was cut on the final day before rosters had to be set.  In an interview, Dwyer said he's glad to be back.  Personally I am too as I think he could be the better of the other options the Steelers currently have.
2010 Rookies and Stars AUTO/JSY 68/100
For $4 I grabbed this sticker auto and jersey relic of the running back numbered to 100.  Hopefully Dwyer can help get this offense going against Cincinatti on nationally televised Monday Night Football.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Got my first Pink!

It's been awhile since I've shown off a Ryan Doumit card.  As a matter of fact, it's been over a year.

Well, I decided to put an end to the lack of Doumit on my blog and add a pink, yes PINK Ryan Doumit 2013 Topps Mini.
2013 Topps Mini Pink Ryan Doumit 3/25
Numbered 3/25 this little (pun intended) beauty ran me just $5 shipped because I combined it with another auction.

2013 Topps Mini Pink Ryan Doumit 3/25
Ryan has put up pretty typical numberes that we've seen over his career.  A little bit of pop and a whole lot of defensive miscues.  He currently has cost the twins 36 runs defensively and last year had the 3rd highest amount of errors for a left fielder despite only playing 16 games there.  All that being said, he has 29 HR and a .261 batting average in just under 2 seasons in the Twin City.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Russell Martin Bat Nameplate 1/1

Calling this card anything less than SICK!!!! would be an unjustice.  I know of at least one blogger that would love to add this card to his collection, but this card ain't going anywhere.  Sorry guys!

2013 Topps Museum Russell Martin Bat Nameplate 1/1
While I paid more for it than I would have liked, I can't help but admire this museum quality (pun intended) piece of cardboard.  This marks my 2nd Pirate bat nameplate.  My first, of Andrew McCutchen, can be seen here.

I thought it would be nice to show off the back too...
Yup...This is staying in my collection for some time.

On another note, the seller included several other Pirates cards in the auction including 2 Gypsy Queen black mini parallels (Neil Walker and AJ Burnett) and even included a new Andrew McCutchen for my collection.
All the cards can be seen below.


The black minis numbered to 199 (Walker and Burnett) and 2013 Panini Father's Day Studio are all new additions to the Treasure Room.  SWEEEEETTT!!!!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

The Best Flea Market Find Ever!!!!!!

Anyone that has ever attended a flea market knows that there's always treasure to be unearthed.  Here at the Treasure Room, I'm always looking for Vintage Topps to complete my Pirates team sets.

As I was walking through the aisles, I came across a table that had a long box labeled "Old Baseball Cards". Most of the cards inside were mid 80s Topps and Donruss.  There was an occasional card from 1975 Topps thrown in for good measure here and there.  As I continued to flip through the cards, none of which were in penny sleeves or toploaders, I discovered several more vintage cards from the 60s including this below gem.


To not tip off the seller, I grabbed a handful of other random cards and stacked this in the middle as his box was labeled 10 cards for $5.

For those of you unaware, that's a 1965 Roberto (or as Topps called him Bob) Clemente.  It's the real deal. Not a reprint. Not an Archive.  A legit Roberto Clemente 1965 Topps for .50!!!!  Getting this card so cheap is the reason why I don't feel bad showing off tomorrow's overpriced card.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Jose Tabata MLB Logoman 2010 Bowman Platinum

It's been over a year since I showed off a Jose Tabata card on my blog.  After signing a very team friendly contract extension, Jose has been average at best.  Looking at the stat WAR (Wins Above Replacement), Jose put up a 0.8 WAR in his debut season (2010) during 102 games.  Since that year, Jose has put up 0.8 WAR over the course of 3 seasons and 286 games.  Once prized as a key player the Pirates hoped build around, Jose is now mostly a pinch runner and platoon partner in right field.

Even though he's just average, I still root for the guy harder than most other Pittsburgh fans.

To paraphrase the most interesting man on earth..."I don't always look for Jose Tabata cards, but when I do...I prefer logoman patches."

2010 Bowman Platinum AUTO MLB PATCH 9/199
I don't have Tabata cards saved as a search on ebay, but after putting up a 3 for 4 performance with 2 RBI earlier in the month, I decided to see what all was available of the former top prospect.  When I discovered this card for $20 shipped, I decided to pull the trigger.  I like cards wtih logo patches or laundry tags.  This fits that nicely.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

My other 2013 Pinnacle cards

Yesterday I showed off my 2013 Andrew McCutchen Pinnacle cards and wanted to show off the rest of the Pirates featured in the set.

The rest of the Pirates team set includes rookie flame thrower Gerrit Cole, speedy Starling Marte, the power hitting 3B Pedro Alvarez, and 2 electric back end of bullpen arms Bryan Morris and Justin Wilson.  I also grabbed the museum collection card of Morris along with a few of the cards I featured in the McCutchen article for only $10.

Monday, September 9, 2013

McCutchen Monday: 2013 Pinnacle Collection

My current favorite player in baseball today is Andrew McCutchen.  Quite honestly, he might be my favorite player I've ever gotten a chance to see play. I currently own almost 300 unique cards of Cutch and hope to get that number closer to 400 by the end of the year.  Amongst my cardboard collection of Cutch are many autographs, over a dozen 1/1s, and almost enough jersey material to put his jersey back together.  Back in 2011, I created Morton Mondays, but with the lack of Charlie Morton cards available, I changed it to McCutchen Mondays so each Monday I will show off one new card from my Cutch collection.

To see all my Andrew McCutchen relics, autos, printing plates, manupatches, etc ... check out this link.

Rather than show off just one card today, I thought it would be fun to show off all the new Andrew McCutchen cards available in 2013 Pinnacle.

I've heard a lot of negative reviews on the 2013 Pinnacle brand mainly due to the unlicensed uniforms.  That may be true for many of the other teams, but because nearly all the photography used for the Pirates was when the Bucs were wearing their alternate black uniforms, I think that the cards actually look great.

Up first are the base card and the Museum Collection parallel.  Much like the museum collection parallels that ran in the Pinnacle brand in the 90s, these feature the same foil design.


NOW FOR THE INSERTS!!!
Pinnacle had some great looking inserts in the 90s and the 2013 version is no different.

First up is the staple Team Pinnacle.  Back when Pinnacle had a license they would produce cards of the best players at each position in each league.  Since their player selection is not as strong, they just went with two really good players on each card.

This Team Pinnacle card features two very talented 5 tool athlete centerfielders: Andrew McCutchen and Matt Kemp.
 Next up is an insert series called Position Powers.  These cards look at milestones achieved by the players at each position.  Nothing earth shattering about these cards to say the least, but its a new unique Cutch card for the collection.

This set of inserts is a lil gimmicky.  Each player for the Clear Vision line has different levels of rarity (single, double, triple, homerun).  I'm currently trying to track down all the other versions, but have the single version for now.


 The final insert series is actually my favorite.  I LOVED acetate clear cards back in the day.  I don't know why, but they just screamed 90s awesome to me.  The card above is Pinnacle Success and features Cutch on a clear card


Sunday, September 8, 2013

Football Sunday: Troy Polamalu Jersey

Football is back so that means it's time to show off some Steelers jerseys and autographs each Sunday.
Troy Polamalu 2010 Certified Fabric of the Game 166/215

First up is a man that really needs no introduction or description of his accolades...Troy Polamalu.

The 2010 Panini Certified Fabric of the Game numbered 166/215 ran me $5 at a card show during the spring.  It's my first Troy jersey card.


Saturday, September 7, 2013

Jason Grilli WBC Jersey Relic

The WBC is done every 4 years and features players from around the world competing on an international stage to bring awareness to the sport.
2006 UD WBC Collection Jersey Relic

In 2006, the current Pirates closer, Jason Grilli was a member of the Detroit Tigers but was also a highly effective arm for Team Italy.  In 4.2 innings, Jason struck out 7 while allowing only 1 hit and 0 walks.

Jason has not shied aware from an apperance in the WBC, having also competed for Team Italy in 2009 where he struggled in his 3.2 innings of work collecting a loss and save.

Recently Jason appeared for Team Italy in 2013 as well, but only pitched 1 inning while allowing a walk and hits batman.

I'm still searching for a 2013 Topps Tribute WBC Auto of Jason so if you have one for trade, please let me know.

Friday, September 6, 2013

$1 BOB: Minor League Edition

$1 doesn't buy you a whole lot, but today it got me these cards shipped


A 2007 TriStar Prospects Plus Potential of Andrew McCutchen.


Above you can see the young centerfielder's accomplishments and some scouting reports.

I also managed to grab a 2011 Just Gems card of Starling Marte.

Above is the back of the card.  Note the legal stuff at the bottom of the card.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Throwback Andy Van Slyke

I miss some of the 90s cards.  The Pirates yesterday were guaranteed their first nonlosing season since the days of Andy Van Slyke.

1993 Score Dream Team



I'm going to make it a mission to update my Andy Van Slyke PC sometime this week.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Zoltan!

For those that don't know the Zoltan! sign, it's from the movie "Dude, Where's My Car?"  One night at the Pirates clubhouse, the team was watching the ridiculous movie and after a Rod Barajas homerun with the Z symbol coming home, it just kinda stuck.  Well, to further implement that the Pirates are the team of destiny this year, the Steelers have just signed a punter named Zoltan Mesko.  Pittsburgh is going to go nuts!!!!!

Since the Zoltan craze started for the Pirates last year Topps has had a few releases showing the Zoltan symbol being used.

The first was Josh Harrison's Topps card from last year.

While it is exciting to remember Josh's walkoff, it's incredibly depressing to remember that he had no idea how to make a Z.  No Mr. Harrison, that is an S. Not a Z.  This is why you had to go back and forth between the minors and majors last year.  Learn the symbol, then you can come back up and play with the big boys.

2013 Topps Museum Collection Momentous Material 8/50

The first card from this year to feature the Z is a Topps Museum Andrew McCutchen jumbo jersey relic.  The same image of Cutch is also shared on a booklet with Starling Marte from the Museum collection.  So far no other releases have shown the "Z"
2013 Topps Pirates Team Issued Travis Snider 

The 3rd card that I became aware of using the Z was the Pirates Team Set version of Travis Snider.

Monday, September 2, 2013

McCutchen Monday: 2007 USA Baseball AUTO

My current favorite player in baseball today is Andrew McCutchen.  Quite honestly, he might be my favorite player I've ever gotten a chance to see play. I currently own almost 300 unique cards of Cutch and hope to get that number closer to 400 by the end of the year.  Amongst my cardboard collection of Cutch are many autographs, over a dozen 1/1s, and almost enough jersey material to put his jersey back together.  Back in 2011, I created Morton Mondays, but with the lack of Charlie Morton cards available, I changed it to McCutchen Mondays so each Monday I will show off one new card from my Cutch collection.

To see all my Andrew McCutchen relics, autos, printing plates, manupatches, etc ... check out this link.

A lot of 1st round talents play for Team USA during their amateur years.  In recent years, the Pirates have had several 1st rounders play for the 18 and under team including Austin Meadows, Reese McGuire, Jameson Taillon and Gerrit Cole.  

I recently did a post of some of those players autogrpahs on Team USA cards.  

When Panini released the 2013 USA card set, several star players were highlighted with autographs in the set.  I tried on 4 different cards to acquire the 2013 TEAM USA auto of Cutch numbered /25 but lost every auction.  However, not to be discouraged I kept my eye (and ebay saved searches) for Cutch USA autographs open.

2007 USA Baseball Alumni Autographs 44/475 AUTO
I've seen this card in the past, but it often sells for much more than I would like to pay for a Cutch auto.  Even though the centering of the auto is way off and the "A" in Andrew is mostly missing, I'm happy I was able to add this for less than $40.  It brings me to 67 certified autos of Cutch.