Morton on the Mound: 1st Edition

I still have about a dozen different parallels of Ground Chuck to show off from his 2015 release. Here is a card I bought this year, but hadn't heard anything about prior to purchasing it. Its a 2014 Topps 1st Edition. The card isn't numbered on the front or back and doesn't have any kind of special coding on the back either.

The only difference is the foil on front. Internet resources claim these to be made into a production run of only 10. If anyone has any more information about this card please let me know. I snagged this card for 99cents and $3 s&h.

McCutchen Monday: Bring back the Z!

I've had this card since a few days after series 1 released back in February.  Why I never posted it is beyond me.  It's the 2014 photo variant for Andrew McCutchen.

The Pirates have started to experiment with different hand signals this year, but I really want to see them bring back the Zoltan.  Bring back the Z!!!!!!

So Many Cards, So Little Time: The Sequel

Yesterday I showed off all the new additions to the blog for my 2013 Topps Update Charlie Morton additions.  Today, I'm going to show off some of the easier to find 2014 Topps parallels I have grabbed over the past few months.

The above 6 cards ran me $12.73 delivered which isn't terrible for 6 serially numbered or retail exclusive cards.

Up first is the Gold Parallel which came in at a hefty price of 6 cents which I smartly combined with a bunch of other cards to make the shipping free.

Of all the recent parallels that Topps has started to put out, I think this ugly shade of green is my least favorite.  Nothing about this card excites me......except that it's another card to chase of my favorite player.  It ran me $1.98 shipped and I am happy I won't have to type in Charlie Morton green into my save searches for the rest of the card season.

This purple variant ran me $1.26.  How did Toys R Us become the purple variant exclusive?  I get WalMart Blue and Target Red because their logos reflect those colors.

Can someone please point out to me what letter in their logo is purple because I sure as hell don't see it?

The Yellow retail exclusive was one of the more expensive cards to track down at $3.25.  Seeing how nice this card looks, makes me want to complete the team set for the yellow parallels.

The Camos were won around the same time and I put feeler bids in on both, thinking that if I lost one I could win the other.  I managed to win both these /99 parallels for a combined price of $5.98 (roughly $3 a card after shipping) 

Seeing Red: A Pair of Red Parallels hits the PTR

After last night's slugfest, the Pirates were seeing blood in the water as the Shark Tank proved to be better than the Brewers relievers. They ran over the Brewers 11-2 in an energetic PNC Park.  Most of the damage came in the 8th inning when they took advantage of Wei Chung Wang (a rule 5 draft pick from the Pirates).

I recently picked a pair of cheap red parallels for my player collections.

Up first is from one of my favorite images of Jason Bay numbered 49/50.

2006 Upper Deck Red 49/50

The above card, which cost me $5 perfectly shows why Jason was my favorite player for a very long time.  The guy hustled more than anyone else on the field, which eventually lead to his injury plagued years with the Mets and a shortened career.  While with the Pirates, it wasn't uncommon for Jason to go running into the left field wall to track a fly ball down.  He played with so much passion and emotion every single night. It's a shame that his career only had him playing for one and half seasons with a good team (Boston Red Sox)

And next is the only player I truly consider myself a super collector of, Charlie Morton.

2014 Topps Target Red Parallel

This marks my 12th different Charlie Morton 2014 Topps card.  Ground Chuck is on the hill tonight as the Pirates hope to gain more ground on the 1st place Brewers after last night's laugher win 11-2.  BTW...If you haven't checked out one of my favorite Charlie Morton cards, please check out yesterday's link.  It's a 2014 Topps Clear /10 and is one of the greatest parallels that Topps has ever done.  Everyone should grab one of their favorite player now!

IT'S SO CLEAR, I HATE TO LOSE!!!

I hate losing!  Which is weird when you consider that a team I've rooted for a long time couldn't seem to win.  I'm extremely competitive when I'm at my job, or with my friends playing softball, but I'm equally competitive when trying to win auctions on ebay.  I hate to lose.  It happens though.  A lot of auctions I put bids on just as a flier.  You know the kind where you say, it would be nice to win this auction for this price, but I don't really need this card.

Such was NOT the case with the card you see below.  I had to win it.  The competitive side came out and I was bound and determined to add it to my collection, no matter the price.

 I had to show off the back of the card first, because it is just so unique looking.  To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that Topps has produced Clear Acetate cards in this style before.  They are absolutely beautifully done and very low numbered.

The above is the front of the card numbered 3/10.  I was so caught up on winning this auction, I remember everything that lead up to me winning it.  I was heading on vacation last month with my girlfriend and we had just gotten to our hotel when I got the alert that the auction was ending soon.  We decided to hang out outside her car before heading into the hotel as I pulled out my phone and watched seconds tick by closer and closer to 0seconds.  I put in my final bid with seconds left and sniped the shit out of it.  Winning the card for (what I belive to be good value) just under $27 shipped.  Not knowing if anymore would be popping up soon, I had to add this to the collection and now that it's in my possession, I am going to search for the other 9.

Charlie Morton is on the hill tomorrow trying to get the Pirates closer to 1st place.

2014 Topps Series 1 Inserts: #BUCN style

I have really been watching my budget more closely in 2014 than in previous years.  I used to feel the need to buy every single auto, relic, black parallel, gold parallel, insert, shortprint, etc from the Topps Flagship launches.  This year, I'm sticking to just the base, the "cheap" inserts, the Charlie Morton parallels, and maybe one relic or auto just to say I have it.

The Pirates have several players appearing in the 2014 Topps Series 1 Inserts.

 Up first is one of the greatest right fielders to ever play the game as pictured in 2 of this years inserts (Upper Class and Before they were Stars).  Roberto Clemente was signed by the Dodgers, then drafted by the Pirates in the old version of the Rule 5 draft.

Gerrit Cole, last year's flame throwing rookie pitcher, was featured on the 50 years of the draft.

Similar to year's past, there are inserts were you enter codes online to win prizes.  The fronts of the cards look exactly like the base cards, but have the Power Players logo.  The backs have online codes. 2013 All-Stars Andrew McCutchen and Jason Grilli represent the Pirates in Series 1.

My favorite inserts from 2014 are the 1989 minis.  I had ripped so many of these 1989 packs back in the day, that this is still sadly one of my favorite designs.  Cutch and Clemente are the Pirates representatives for Series 1.

First Look at 2014 Topps with tradebait

I was in the mood for a $5 JanuarANY footlong at the subway near my house which happens to be inside of a WalMart and while there I decided to browse the card aisle.  I was surprised to see the 2014 Topps had just been packed out.

Here's some of the highlights of the blaster and hanger I bought.  With the exception of the Pirates, everything is for trade

First up is the Commemorative Patch I was guaranteed.  It's of the 2013 AL HomeRun champ, Chris "Crush" Davis.

Some cool inserts were found in the packs.  I purposely set the Big Papi 1989 mini crooked to give it that illusion of all those miscut 1989 Topps from our youth.

Because it's WalMart, there were blue parallels.

to go with the other color parallels

I'm not sure if every player in Series 1 has these parallels, but if they do, I will certainly be tracking down the Pirates team set.  Both of these are of the Pirates rival Reds.

And of course the mega hyped LA phenoms Yasiel Puig and Mike Trout

How did I do with Pirates in my Wal Mart adventure?

Well, I didn't strike out.
of the 4 Pirates I pulled, 2 were blue parallels (Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton)

I was f-ing pumped to see the Mortons!!!!!

Unlike previous years where sunglasses, celebrations, homerun robbing catches, and autograph signings are shortprints, this year they are part of the regular set.