Going for the Gold!!!!

The Pirates are entering the home stretch as they currently have the 3rd best record in the major leagues, yet still trail the St. Louis Cardinals.  Rosters will be expanding soon which is both a good and bad thing for baseball fans.  For fans of teams who have already basically been eliminated from contention, it gives them a false sense of hope for next season to "see what the young kids can do".  For fans of teams in playoff contention it means having to face rosters fully maxed out to prevent you from winning a game. 

One player that I am hopeful the Pirates promote, but seriously doubt they will, is switch hitting speedy middle infielder Alen Hanson.  I have seen Hanson play nearly a dozen times in the minors and his bat speed AND foot speed is unbelievable.  The kid can flat out run and swing the bat.  He would be a perfect pinch hit or pinch run option for the Pirates as they strive for a World Series berth.

I have added several nice Hanson cards to my collection over the past year, but this is by far the nicest of the bunch.  Bowman Inception offers beautiful On Card Autographs of some of the game's upcoming prospects.  The Gold Autos are numbered to only 5 copies and there are a few people out there trying to build the set.  I'm glad I was finally able to add this to the collection.