Buc to the Future

The Pirates Outfield of #RunPMC@PNC might be one of the best outfields the team has ever assembled.  The 1965 tandem of two Hall of Famers (Willie Stargell in LF and Roberto Clemente in RF) along with Bill Virdon patrolling Center Field might boast the most historic nameworthy for Pirates fans.  Back in the early 90s though the Pirates possessed one of the best hitting outfields with Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke, and Bobby Bonilla.

Recently someone was liquidating their Pirates collection and offering cards in bulk lots.  I grabbed 11 cards of Bonds and Bonilla for $4.

The most interesting card of the lot was this Barry Bonds.

The Cracker Jack Donruss mini was a close 2nd

Throwback Thursday: Cannonball coming....

If you've ever listened to a Pirates telecast or Roots Sports Pittsburgh highlights, you have probably heard Greg Brown's call of "Cannonball Coming!!!" everytime the Pirates hit a HomeRun.

It's been a long time since card manufacturers highlighted defensive skills in addition to offensive skillsets.  Back in the late 80s and early 90s though, these were commonplace for card companies to insert as part of the base set.  Yes, defensive talents were recognized as base cards.  Everyone that collected the set, got to admire highly defensive players skill level on the diamond.

Above is a collection of those highlighted.

As you all know, Andy Van Slyke is one of the main reasons I became a Pirates fan.  The dude could flat out play defense.  He was efficient with the bat too.  Bobby Bonilla, like Pirates current former 3rd baseman, Pedro Alvarez showed immense power at the plate, but also had a cannon for an arm.  Unfortunately like Bonilla, Alvarez doesn't know where it's going.

Trade Post with Spiegel

Spiegel from Nomo's Sushi Platter sent me a nice lot of Pirates along with a Bobby Bonilla 1989 he got signed TTM. 

I have previously sent a TTM to Mr. Bonilla myself and got it back in less a couple weeks.  I'm very happy to add a second Bobby Bo auto to my collection. 

Here's the other cards that Spiegel sent me.

First up some quasi vintage.  I like the archives cards and am always happy to add Parker, Maz, and Scoop to my collection.  This image also features the Candy Man John Candaleria who played for the Pirates at the begining of his career and finished his career with the Bucs.

These groups of 9 have some of my past favorite Pirates on it. 
I think I now have close to a dozen of that Jason Kendall rookie.  Sweet!!!  A Jack Wilson rookie that had previously eluded me and an unlicensed Bobby Bonilla Post card.  I didn't buy a single pack of Topps Chrome last year because quite frankly I'm tired of it.  I do however enjoy adding the Pirates to my collection when they come over in trades.  Thanks for the Walker and Alvarez. 

The next batch of 9 has a mini of Ryan Doumit from Goudey that I previously didn't have.  Keep sending those Doumits people.  3 Nyjer Morgan rookies also highlight the second group.  I always liked the energy that Nyjer "Tony Plush" Morgan brought to the field everyday.  While his attitude can sometimes be questioned, there's no doubt that when he's having fun he's at his best. 

Whenever I see a card of Chris Duffy, I think of how much impact bad coaching can have on a player.  Duffy was hitting well over .300 throughout his entire minor league career while averaging around 30SB a season.  When he made the show in 2005 he hit an impressive .341 over 39 games while stealing 2 bags and posting a .988 fielding percentage in CF.  In 2006, Duffy was asked to change his swing by then Pirates manager Jim Tracy and it eventually lead to Duffy considering to retire from professional sports.  He nearly had an emotional breakdown and was suspended for the rest of the season without pay.  After several seasons of being called up and sent back down to the minors, he hasn't played since 2009.

Thanks so much for the trade Spiegel.  I hope you enjoy everything I sent out to you today.

TTM SUCCESS & 2011 Draft

I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to post today.  Then it hit me, I've never done a TTM success post.  I don't send out a lot of cards through the mail to get autographed.  They're mostly players of yesteryear that are just happy to hear from their fans.  I've managed to obtain quite a bit of in person autos of current players through events and games.  Here's some of my TTM successes I've had over the years.  Of all the players I think Bobby Bonilla responds the quickest.   

I wasn't even in double digits age wise when these cards came out, but I remember rooting for the Bucs despite being from NJ and the peer pressure of Phillies, Mets, and Yankees.  Bobby Bonilla was one of my favorite players back then.  The "Killer Bs" (Bonds and Bonilla) were putting up All Star MVP numbers and Doug Drabek had just come off from winning the Cy Young.  I would love to get the complete team set autographed one day as I think the Yellow/Black design Fleer used in 1991 works very well with the Pirates.  I know that Van Slyke and Bonds will be basically impossible though since they don't sign through the mail anymore.

So with that being said, if anyone from the 1991 Pirates team is doing a signing anywhere please let me know about it. PLEASE!!!!!!

So far I have Zane Smith, Sid Bream, Rafael Belliard, Bill Landrum, Ted Power, Bobby Bonilla, Doug Drabek.

I still need:
-Barry Bonds
-Andy Van Slyke
-Jay Bell
-John Smiley
-Don Slaught
-Jose Lind
-Neal Heaton
-Mike LaValliere
-Bob Walk
-Carlos Garcia
-Bob Kipper
-Jeff King

*******On another note********

Tomorrow at midnight is the deadline to sign anyone drafted from the 2011 MLB Draft.  The Pirates 1st round pick and #1 overall selection Gerrit Cole still hasn't signed.  That's to be expected as the #1 overall pick never signs before minutes approaching the deadline.  Cole really doesn't have much leverage in the situation as he can't go any higher than #1 next year and there may be hard slotting for next years draft to prevent teams going overslot.  I guarantee Cole will sign with a major league deal, but he's nuts if he's looking for Stephen Strasburg money.  I think Cole will be a filthy pitcher, but he's not a phenom like Strasburg.

The Pirates also have to still try to convince highly touted power hitting switch hitting highschool outfielder Josh Bell that he shouldn't go to college.  I think there's a 75/25 chance that Josh will sign for something well over slot.  It will most likely break any 2nd round draft bonus ever if it does happen.  I will provide an update on Tuesday regarding the 2011 Draft Class.