This card reminds me of...

I'm going to do a new feature on the PTR called "This card reminds me of..."
It will be just a quick post of a card with my caption.

Up first 1994 Topps Al Martin.

This card reminds me of...

THE EVOLUTION OF MAN

McCutchen Monday: 2011 Bowman Printing Plate

My current favorite player in baseball 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.

2011 Bowman Printing Plate Cyan

I recently grabbed my 13th printing plate of Cutch.  I previously had a similiar card from Bowman Chrome.

Football Sunday: Rashard Mendenhall AUTO

I'm very short on time today because I'm going to one of those haunted house things with a bunch of friends.  Should be a good time.

Anyway, the Black and Yellow are going up against the Black and Silver in Oakland.  Here we go Steelers, here we go!

For all you fantasy football owners, it be best to sit former Steeler Rashard Mendenhall today as he's been scratched with his ongoing toe injury.  If you have Mendenhall on your fantasy team, you are likely terrible anyway because he's got nearly as many fumbles (2) as touchdowns for the year (1).  He's also below his career average in yards per rush this season.

2008 SAGE Rashard Mendenhall AUTO 45/200

Maybe that's why the above autograph of the former 1st round Steeler pick only cost me $2 shipped.

Wanna see something badass? JUMBO PATCH!!!!!

I recently made a purchase from the land of badassdom!

What happens in badassdom! Everything is exclamated! EVERYTHING!!!!

Velociraptors ride sharks while holding dynamite and uzis!

Badassdom is fricking awesome!!!

Oh and I get cards like this!

2012 Bowman Futures Game Jumbo Relic numbered 25/25!

eBay 1/1!!!!

CHECK OUT THAT CROWN!!!!!

This is my 2nd Jumbo relic of Jamo from the 2012 Futures Game, the other can be seen HERE!

You wanna see the back!!!

F YEAH!!!!

BADASS!!!!!

My Cutch Collection just got cut

I recently picked up 2 Andrew McCutchen die cut inserts for $5 shipped.  You can see the cards below.

First up is the Dynamic Skill insert from 2013 Topps Chrome.  This card reminds me of something Upper Deck would have put out.  Of all the diecuts that Topps has tried doing over the past few years, I think this may be my favorite.  It's a much different shape than what we're used to seeing in die-cut form.

Next up is the Bowman Platinum Cutting Edge Stars.  This is your standard, I'm going to make a bunch of random cuts in a card for a die-cut effect.  Bowman Platinum is supposed to be a higher end product of Bowman.  Why do they fail year after year at making die-cuts?

Robbie Grossman Auto

Robbie Grossman was traded to the Houston Astros at the 2012 Trade Deadline along with Colton Cain and Rudy Owens for Wandy Rodriguez and cash.  Grossman made his MLB debut in 2013.

In his 257 at bats, Grossman was respectable at the plate with a .268/.332/.370 line as a leadoff man who played the majority of his time in CF and LF.  He committed 1 error in CF in 56 chances with 1 outfield assist.

He was the only prospect the Pirates have parted with in the past 3 seasons that I was genuinely upset about leaving the organization.  Even still, I was happy with the return of Wandy Rodriguez and cash.

It looks like Grossman will have to battle to find a place in the future Houston Astros outfield as many of their top outfield prospects will be coming up soon.

Regardless, I couldn't pass up this $2 auto of the once Pirate Prospect.

I'm somewhere on this baseball card

I recently came across the Russell Martin 2013 Topps Chrome image and said, holy $#@%! I was at that game and sitting just 4 rows behind the tarp.  I've tried zooming in to find myself, but the image gets fuzzier everytime I try.  Somewhere though, I am on this baseball card.

And it's because of that, that I'm going to track down as many of the parallels I can find.

Here's what I have so far.

2013 Topps Chrome Red Refractor 12/25

Red Refractor $9.99 delivered

2013 Topps Chrome Sepia Refractor 45/75

Sepia Refractor $4.66 delivered

I've got a few more coming, but now that many of the lower print runs are going to cost a lot of money.

Screw You Topps! I'm making my own update series

Collecting vintage cards allows you to see all the wear and tear that cards suffered during the past half century.  I recently found a 1968 Topps Donn Clendenon that had really sharp corners and no major surface wear.  However, the card has a lil extra writing on it.  Why?  Well because one of the previous owners wanted to update their Clendenon with a team that Donn never played for.

Over a 12 year career, Donn played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, and St. Louis Cardinals.  He was a member of the Amazin' Mets of 1969.

One team he never played for though was the Phillies.

Evidently the owner of this card, wanted to make a fantasy baseball team with him to be on the Phillies.  Anyway, I grabbed the above card for a quarter at the weekly flea market near me.

McCutchen Monday: Clear Vision Double

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.

Short on time today so I'll just show off my newest Andrew McCutchen card I grabbed for less than $2.  It's from 2013 Pinnacle and is the Double variant of the Clear Vision insert.

Last month I showed off all my Pinnacle cards of Cutch I had.

Does anyone know if the Home Run parallel even exists for Cutch?  I've yet to see one hit the market.

You complete me....Duffy Dyer

The final card to the 1975 Topps Pirates team set is now in my hands.  I grabbed this for only .50 along with a few 1969 cards and a 1964 Clemente at a local mall card show.  I've never been more happy to add Duffy to my collection.  

Dyer may not have the name recognition that other players in the 1975 Topps set or even amongst Pirates players for that matter, but his career was still impressive.  He was a member of the 1969 World Series Mets team, caught John Candelaria's no hitter on August 9th, 1976 and was inducted in the Arizona State University Hall of Fame.  Not a bad career for a backup backstop.  He most recently has been the San Diego Padres catching coordinator.

Duffy Dyer, ladies and gentleman....Duffy Fricking Dyer!!!!!!!

Finally Finally Finally!!!!

I have been after a Gerrit Cole Bowman auto for over a year.  Prices on these things were at times reaching $65 for a base auto.  Considering how many other Gerrit Cole autographs I already had, I wasn't willing to pay that kind of coin.

It's the 2012 Bowman Chrome (base) AUTO of Gerrit Cole.  These generally sell in the $30+ range, but I was fortunate to find one for $20.  It's my 22nd certified auto of the future ace.

The NEW Jason Bay Partner Project collection goal

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Jason Bay.  Adding dual autos of him numbered to 38 copies for $9 makes it harder to resist adding to my collection.

It was a lot of fun trying to get 38 different players to appear on a hit with Jason Bay.  So much fun, that I'm doing it again.  This time though, I want to get 38 unique players autographs with Jason Bay.

2007 Ultimate Numbers Match Dual AUTO 5/38 Bay/Zambrano

The above 2007 Ultimate Collection Numbers Match DUAL AUTO marks my 14th autograph of another player to appear on a piece of cardboard with Jason Bay.  Only 24 more to go...this is going to be fun.  My goal is to complete this project by the end of 2014.

Here is a list of the players that I have autograph cards with Jason Bay

Adam LaRoche
Bill Madlock
Bill Mazeroski
Bobby Crosby
Carlos Zambrano
Casey Kotchman
Dale Murphy
Dave Parker
Dustin Pedroia
Justin Morneau
Matt Holiday
Ralph Kiner
Tom Gorzelanny
Willie Parker

Cobra in my mailbox: 2004 UD Memorable Moments AUTO

Everytime I get a Dave "The Cobra" Parker in my mailbox I tend to call it a Cobra in my Mailbox.

Dave Parker was one of the best talents the game had seen in the late 70s early 80s.  In 1978 he won the MVP and the following year, he helped lead Pittsburgh to the 1979 World Series.

The above card celebrates Parker's memorable moment in 1979 when he helped the Pirates to the 1979 World Series Championship.  The on card autograph ran me $11.21 shipped.

Oh how I miss competion in the card market, especially you Upper Deck.

Charlie Morton is Going Platinum

Charlie Morton is insanely talented.  Not only has he completely reinvented himself as a pitcher over the past few seasons, but he's also a talented musician.  Don't believe me? Check out his music on his myspace page.

Because he's such a talented guitarist and singer, I thought it would be fun to show how Charlie Morton went platinum in 2012.  He might not be tearing up the Billboard 100s, but he was sawing bats in half with his sinker and that is good enough for me to keep adding to my large PC of "Ground Chuck".

2012 Topps Minis Platinum 1/5

2012 Topps Minis Platinum 1/5 (back)

I've only seen one copy of this card sell on ebay in the past and it went for a buy it now of $15.  I was PISSED!!! that I missed the opportunity.  Fast forward 8 months later and I saw one pop up for sale on sportlots.  Thankfully this was only $12 plus shipping.  Without hesitation I signed in and added to my collection.  Charlie Morton's platinum card is now in my possession.

McCutchen Monday: The Nicest Cutch Auto I own

My current favorite player in baseball 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.

Come with me McFly...

We're going all the way back to 2004 when Bowman introduced redemption cards for a set of cards from the AFLAC High School All American game.  Some of the notable players in the series included Cameron Maybin, Andrew McCutchen, Chris Volstad, CJ Henry, and Justin Upton.  Like all things Topps, the sets were delayed and not shipped until 2006.  The Gold Refractors which were originally intended to be a limited run of 50 accidently had over 50 redemption cards slip into packs which caused them to be delayed even more.  Topps asked customers if they wanted a 3 card auto set consisting of CJ Henry, Andrew McCutchen, and Cameron Maybin or the gold refractor set.  Number one overall selection Justin Upton was later added to the set as well.  The gold refractor set was shipped before the auto set and the final print run of the auto set was 125 copies with 90 in current circulation.

I've been after one of these since I can remember.  They typically start ungraded around $400.  If you want a nice grade, well...you can be looking at up to a grand for this card. I was fortunate though that mine ran me just over $400.

I decided I was going to splurge on the MVP candidate and grab this card graded.  It has two very nice subgrades with 10s on Centering and Surface.  The Edges are graded a 9.5 and corners are graded a 9.  The on card auto is graded a 10.

This is my second graded Cutch auto and I got to say, it's by far my favorite Cutch auto I own.  It's got everything I love about baseball cards.
Highly touted prospect - CHECK
On Card AUTO- CHECK
Low Print Number - CHECK
Chrome - CHECK
my favorite player - CHECK
high grade - CHECK

YUP! This is staying with me in the forever pile.

Showing off my Andrew McCutchen minis

I'm getting close to completing my first page of tobacco sized minis of Cutch.

I need 2 more cards to complete the page.

Can anyone help me out?

Really cheap relics for $5 total

2013 Topps Archives Relics Andrew McCutchen

2008 UD USA Baseball Camo Cloth Jordy Mercer

Both the above cards were won for $5 shipped combined.
It's a no brainer that Andrew will be returning to the team as the centerfielder next year and with the solid bat that Jordy Mercer showed in his rookie year, he should be the starting shortstop next year.

17 Reasons why Case Breaks sometimes SUCK

I participated in an ebay case break of 2013 Bowman Chrome and was highly disappointed with what I got.  17 cards, no refractors, no rainbow colors, no autos for $40.

I should have just used that money to buy a team set, a Tyler Glasnow base auto, and maybe a rainbow parallel or few.

I'll show the highlights of what I got first
1xGerrit Cole

2xStarling Marte

1xAndrew McCutchen

1xAJ Burnett

1xJose Bautista Bowman Rookie Reprint

Prospects
4xTyler Glasnow
4xMatt Curry
3xJin De Jhang

YUP!!!! This case break sucked!!!!
Just like losing to the Cardinals last night

A recent COMC purchase

I recently made a small purchase on COMC for my growing Pirates collection focusing mostly on Cutch minis and adding to my Tony Sanchez collection.

Tony Sanchez made a very memorable catch a couple weeks ago and I went a little aggressive with my Tony Sanchez purchases off COMC since all the cards were very cheap.

2009 Tristar Prospects AUTO 71/199

The above autograph of Tony ran me $3.23.  Not a bad price for what could be the Pirates catcher of the future.

 Tony Sanchez Bowman Chrome Throwbacks

 Tony Sanchez 2010 Bowman Chrome Topps 100 Prospects refractor numbered 219/499

 2010 Topps Pro Debut Tools of the Trade and 2009 Donruss Elite Extra Edition School Colors

2011 Topps Heritage Minors base card and SP #232 All-Star
The above 6 cards all ran me a total less than $7.

I couldn't resist adding the above Gerrit Cole Heritage Minors All-Star card for .50.  Cole has been one of the best pitchers in the National League in September.  Each start he gains more confidence and shows off why he was selected #1 overall in 2011.

Looking at all these vintage style cards make me want to show off some actual vintage?  Want to see it....

Next up are 3/4 of the cards I needed to complete my 1970 Pirates team set.

The only card I need now from the 1970 Topps Pirates team set is #551 Dock Ellis.  The Matty Alou All-Star card in the center is really neat looking.  I included the back above to show as well.  All three cards above cost me $2.20

I also grabbed 3 Jameson Taillon cards totalling $2.28.

First up your standard Bowman Platinum.  Nothing fancy here, just your average base card.  The back of the card talks about how Jamo through 5 scoreless in his AA debut.  I attended that game and sat next to a few other Pirates fans.  It was a blast seeing Jamo deal and dominate in his AA debut at age 20.

Next up is a Team USA Panini card of the young right hander who participated in the 18 and under play against Team Cuba.

On the back of the card it talks about how Taillon struck out 16 Cubans in 7.2 innings.

From Team USA to Team Canada, I grabbed another Jameson Taillon card.  Jameson was allowed to be a member of Team Canada because his parents were born there.  This card is from 2013 Topps Tribute WBC.  I have an autograph of Jameson which I showed off earlier in the year.

One of my main reasons for making the purchase was that I wanted to add to my Andrew McCutchen tobacco sized mini collection.  I grabbed 4 minis for $3.08.  The Allen & Ginter is the A&G back.

Speaking of Andrew McCutchen I also grabbed 2 more rookie cards from Upper Deck that have eluded me far too long.

First is the cheaper card, 2009 Signature Stars.  This ran me $2.25

Next up is a great looking 2009 SP Authentic rookie which ran me a whopping $6.65.  I've wanted to grab this card a couple times on ebay over the past 2 years, but all copies of this card normally end up in the $8 range after shipping costs.

Finally is the 2012 Panini Prizm Team USA card which cost me $0.49.