Pops, Mad Dog, the Cobra, and the R-O-Y

If only it could have been Teke or Omar Moreno that appeared on this card instead of Jason Bay

Don't get me wrong, I love Jason Bay, but adding someone else from the 1979 We Are Family Pirates would have been a lot better.

This eBay 1/1 or as normal people should call it 100/100 was purchased using some eBay bucks a few months ago.

The problem I always have when adding multiplayer cards I collect is who to file them under. Normally it goes into this kind of ranking
1)PC player (Cutch or Morton)
2)Hall of Fame credentials (then by Year of induction)
3)Number of MVPs or Cy Youngs
4)Number of All-Star Games
5)Pick a player, any player

So since this card doesn't feature Cutch, I filed it under Pops because he was inducted into the Hall of Fame and the other 3 players have not (although Dave Parker could arguably be considered since his stats are nearly identical to HoFer Jim Rice).

Listen to this dog, it's mad!!!!

Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock was an incredible ballplayer in the 70s and  80s.  He was a member of the 1979 World Series Champion Pittsburgh Pirates, but also said one of the dumbest things ever.

"Two grand slams in a week - man, that's seven or eight ribbies right there."

Topps produced a line of relic cards in their Bazooka series in 2004 and several Pirates have cards in the set.  I showed off the Willie Stargell 3 years ago which you can see here.  I grabbed the foiled version you see above numbered 19/25 for $12.  It's my 8th unique bat relic of the 4 time Batting Title champion.

The Best Ebay Lot EVER!!! Only 5 cents a card!!!!

While browsing for some good deals on ebay, I stumbled across this ridiculously cheap lot of 670 Pirates cards for $35 with FREE SHIPPING.  When you break that down, it's only a little over 5 cents a card.  Forget about your dimebox heroes, these are nickel heroes.

As part of the lot were 4 autographs from Francisco Cordova, the last Pirate to be involved in throwing a No-Hitter. Mike Kingery, Jon Liever, and Steve Cooke were the other signatures in the lot.

Also were 10 new Andy Van Slyke cards for my collection which I showed off yesterday.

It was overflowing with complete team sets from Topps, Upper Deck, Fleer, Donruss, Gypsy Queen, Pro Debut, etc.

It had over half a dozen minis.

Plenty of duplicate Andrew McCutchens (31 to be exact)

Plenty of new Andrew McCutchens (8)

More Jason Kendall, Brian Giles, Freddy Sanchez, and Jack Wilson cards than I will ever know what to do with

A Garrett Jones 2010 UD Biography card I've been chasing for awhile along with some more favorites that are all new additions to the collection

Several gold, blue, sparkle parallels (but my favorite is the blue Alex Presley shown below)

Oddballs and Diamond Kings

Some Hall of Famers

and a boatload of rookie cards for Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon, Gregory Polanco, Josh Bell, Luis Heredia, Tony Sanchez, Nick Kingham and Austin Meadows including a 2013 Bowman Refractor mini of Jameson Taillon

Of course there was junk in there, but considering that the cards were only 5 cents a piece, I think I got my money worth.  What do you think?

FINALLY!!!! Another Treasure for the Treausre Room

Everyone has those inexpensive cards that they seek.  It could be the last few base cards needed to complete a set or a jersey relic of a AA prospect that will probably never see the majors but you went to school with them.  For me, my treasure hunting quests begin with Bill Madlock sticker autos.

I've been after a Bill Madlock auto where he signed his nickname "Maddog" for a long time.  Madlock is one of those players where I love to collect his cards for the cheap.  I didn't get a chance to see much of his career since I was born in the early 80s but I do have the 79 World Series on DVD and gotta say, the dude could flat out hit.  He wasn't your power hitting hot corner infielder you see today.  He was more in the mold of other 3B from the 70s and 80s.  Guys like Wade Boggs and George Brett.  Yeah, they had some pop, but they were consistently in the discussion for batting titles.  Speaking of which, Mad Dog won 4 of in his 15 year injury shortened career.

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game AUTO

This sticker auto from 2006 Fleer Greats of the Game was aquired for a winning bid of $1.81. Not a bad price to pay if you ask me.

Now to find some more Bill Madlock relics and autos.

The Newest Additions to my Ark

Not too long ago I made a post of Pirates players with animal nicknames that I added to my collection.  I added some more Mad Dog and Cobra cards to my collection and am now proud to announce adding a dingo. That's right a dingo. Rather than eating a baby, this dingo looks like it was attacked by a baby.

"The Dingo", Dino Restelli was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1949. During his rookie season he hit 7 homeruns in his first 10 games. He would finish his career with 13 homeruns in 93 games.  While I am always on the lookout for cards to complete my Topps sets, I still keep an eye out for early Bowman releases of Pirates of Yesteryear.  Picking up this old 1950 Bowman (a year that Restelli didn't even play) for $3 shipped was too good a deal to pass up.  Truth be told I never even heard of the guy and had to look him up on Wiki and Baseball-reference to find out about him.  Once I realized that his nickname was Dingo, I had to do a follow up to my previous animal nicknames post.

Interesting fact: Dino Restelli was the 3rd to last Pittsburgh Pirate to wear the number 21.  Paul Smith wore the number in 1953 before Roberto Clemente began to wear the number regularly in 1955.

2004 Throwback Threads Dynasty Relics 9/25 (3 piece relic)
And since I promised some more Mad Dog and Cobra cards, here's one of my favorites.  It's a three piece relic featuring a black jersey worn by Willie "Pops" Stargell, a yellow jersey of Dave "The Cobra" Parker, and a bat of Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock.  I managed to pick this up awhile ago for around $30.  Seemed like a reasonable price for the 3 key components of the 1979 World Series team.  At only $10 a relic, it wasn't too overpriced considering the low print run of only 25.  I love that the team's colors were all used in the design of this card and that every player's relic is different to give the card more character.

I also picked up a few more cards from the animal kingdom by adding a couple autographs of the Cobra and Mad Dog.  

The above Dave Parker is from 2010-11 In The Game and features a very large swatch of yellow from Dave's time with the Pirates along with an autograph of the Cobra.  The picture features Parker in his Pirates days (minus the logos of course).  I paid a bit more than I usually would like for an unlicensed card of the Cobra, but for $24 for such a HUGE swatch of yellow and his auto nicely inscribed I didn't want to pass it up.

In addition to the sweet ITG Auto and Jumbo Relic I managed to grab this 2011 Panini Limited Greats autograph of Dave Parker for a small chunk of change, $6.50 to be exact.  The card doesn't have a low print run (499) and is a sticker auto, but it's still an auto of the fricking Cobra!!!!  Personally I really like the design of this card.  The black and white photography for the retired players with a simple border going around the card matched with a nice blue sharpie auto make this card classy looking.  If only the auto was on card instead of sticker.

2005 UD Past Time Signatures 

Mad Dog won 2 batting titles and was an All-Star twice while with the Pirates in 7 years.  He finished his 15 year career with 2008 hits and a lifetime .305 average.
Marking my 4th Auto (3 of which are on card) of Bill Madlock is this 2005 UD Past Time Signatures that I picked up for under $6 shipped.  After coming across this card, I decided to see what other players were in the Past Time Signatures set.  There's a lot of interesting players that don't normally have certified autographs available.  Best of all they're all on card.  So if you're looking for Ray Knight, Luis Tiant, Kent Hrebek, Mike Scioscia, and many more players from the 70s and 80s then this is a good auto series to look into.  Most of the players can be had for less than $10 and you'd be surprised at some of the players on the checklist of your favorite teams that you might not have known had certified autos.

LOTS OF NEW CARDS: It's like a Petting Zoo in the PTR

When I laid out these cards to get scanned in, I had to laugh because all the players had animal nicknames during their playing career. Today's post will feature a bull, dog, cobra, goose, slug, kitten, and even a tiger.  While I don't have enough to fill Noah's Ark, I am happy to add these single cards to my collection.

Let's start with the only player still on the active roster.

El Toro

Pedro Alvarez 2012 Triple Play
Pedro "El Toro" Alvarez has had his ups and downs since being drafted #2 overall in the 2008 draft.  He's shown signs of brilliance at the plate and in the field, but other times has looked completely lost.  Last year was hopefully a breakout year for the 25 year old.  He managed to hit 30 HR, drive in 85 runs, and finish with a .244 average.  He also managed to commit 27 errors at the hot corner, most in the league and had 180 strikeouts (2nd most in league).  If the Pirates are going to be a contender for years to come, El Toro must cut down on his strikeouts and not throw the ball away so often.    



Mad Dog and The Cobra
Two of the key players to the 1979 World Series Champions Pittsburgh Pirates were Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock and Dave "The Cobra" Parker.  Both had very successful careers that will probably never be HOF worthy, but collectively these PTR Heroes have 6 Batting Titles, 2 All-Star Game MVPs, 1 NL MVP, 10 All Star Game selections, 3 World Series rings, 3 Gold Gloves, 3 Silver Sluggers, and 1 HR Derby Championship.  Both players were featured in last year's Panini Golden Age Museum inserts.  I was fortunate to snag a jersey relic of each.



Bill Madlock 2012 Panini Museum Age Jersey Relic

I managed to pick this sweet Bill Madlock Museum Jersey Patch card for a measly $8.59. This is only my 2nd patch of Mad Dog and will look nice in a One Touch displayed.  

Dave Parker 2012 Panini Museum Age Jersey Relic
I was shocked to see this card sell for only $3.13 shipped (combined shipping with another item).  Sure it's not a patch like the Mad Dog above, but it is a nice swatch of yellow.  I think that yellow jersey swatches are actually my favorite to collect.  I really wish that Panini could get a license for MLB products. They've been producing some nice stuff over the past couple years. 

Goose

Goose Gossage 1977 Hostess Trading Card 
Rich "Goose" Gossage appeared in a Pirates uniform for only 1 season in 1977. I was trying to find a card of Goose in a Bucs uniform but Topps didn't picture him in their 1977 or 1978 uniform wearing a Bucs uniform.  To the best of my knowledge the only card featuring him in a Pirates uniform is from Hostess Baking Company.  His only season with the Bucs gave him an 11-9 record with 26 saves in 72 games.  He had a 1.62 ERA that season while pitching 133 innings.  The Goose would enter many games in the 6th or 7th inning and finish them out and helped to evolve what the current closer role is today.  I picked up this Hostess card in hopes of getting it signed by the Goose through his website.  Just a matter of waiting now.



Slug

Don Slaught 1991 Fleer TTM

Don "Slug" Slaught was a member of the early 90s NL East division teams that twice almost went to the World Series.  His career lasted 16 years and he finished with a .283 batting average.  He was an offensive minded catcher and below average defender behind the plate.  His caught stealing percentage early in his Pittsburgh was around league average, but by the team his tenure in the Steel City was over he was only throwing out 15% of baserunners attempting to run against him.  

Tiger & The Kitten

Don Hoak and Harvey Haddix 1962 Topps
These guys are obviously before my time, but I was in need to add to my Pirates 1962 team set.  I picked them both up for $4 shipped.


A little research on these guys and I found out that they both share feline nicknames.  Not to mention that both of them are connected in one of the most famous non perfect games of all time.  

Harvey Haddix was pitching a perfect game into the 13th inning on May 26, 1959 against the Milwaukee Braves.  Don Hoak then committed a fielding error in the bottom of the 13th allowing Felix Mantilla to reach safely.  Mantilla would be sacrificed to 2B on a bunt and Hank Aaron would be intentionally walked.  The next batter Joe Adcock hit a ball over the fence to end the game.  But in the confusion of celebration Aaron was passed by Adcock for the second out of the inning.  Later it was ruled that Adcock would receive a double thus making the final score 1-0 Braves.  Haddix took the loss on his one hit near 12 inning perfect game.


Don Hoak was actually the runner up for MVP in 1960 behind his Pirates team mate Dick Groat.  Not exactly a stellar year by today's standards he hit .282 with 16 homeruns, drove in 79 runs, and scored 97 runs while playing his worse year at the hot corner committing 25 errors.  I'm really curious how he was able to get so many votes for his performance that year because his numbers certainly don't back up MVP numbers.

Harvey Haddix was nicknamed "the kitten" because he shared a resemblance to Harry Breechan whose nickname was "the cat".  Haddix was a 3 time All-Star while with the St. Louis Cardinals before coming to the Pirates in 1959.  Haddix was the winning pitcher in game 5 of the 1960 World Series against the Yankees and was the winning pitcher of game 7 when Bill Mazeroski hit his famous walk off homerun to win the series for the Bucs.  Haddix was also a coach of the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates.

Dimwit break and trade bait

I participated in Dimwit's group break and chose the Pirates.  The thought of getting something nice like a Roberto Clemente or Willie Stargell cut signature was just too enticing not to participate.  Unfortunately I got shut out in terms of getting any hits.

 The biggest hit for me was this 2012 cloth sticker of Andrew McCutchen.

I also managed to get 9 other Pirates cards (some of which are new to my collection)
The Bays, Clemente, and Stargell are available for trade.

The Mets cards produced some numbered parallels, a gold Archives Ike Davis, and a mini straight cut Gypsy Queen mini of Ike Davis.

It also gave me 16 Mets cards total for trade.

I made a trade with Crack and I'm sending out an SOS!

I recently made a trade with Collector's Crack in exchange for some extra 2012 Heritage I had.  Mark helped narrow my 2012 Heritage Pirates Team Set needs to a few cards listed below
2012 Heritage Needs
151 Pirates Team Card
259 Neil Walker
477 Derrek Lee
492 Joel Hanrahan
any of the hits (Clemente, McCutchen, Stargell, or any of the real one autographs)

Here's the cards that Mark sent me

 some Heritage needs and a bronze Maholm T206

some minis and a Bowman Chrome Brock Holt along with some vintage stickers

The real highlight of the trade was this little oddball item of Andy Van Slyke.  I love getting oddball cards of Van Slyke, but this is my first noncard oddball of the 5x gold glover.  It's a Sports Viewer keychain from 1991.  I wish I could figure out how to take a better picture of the image through the view finder, but this is the best I can come up with.

Thanks so much for the trade Mark.  I'm looking forward to another future trade and finally having the Pirates kick the Brewers ass this year now that Prince is gone.

COMC Pickups under $2 each!!!!

I recently bought several cards on COMC and they were all under $2 prior to shipping.  You can't beat that with a baseball bat.

What better way to start off showing my COMC of $2 each or less than beginning with some more Jason Bay relics for the collection

 a 2008 Allen & Ginter Jason Bay jersey for $1.10 followed by

 a Jason Bay Sweet Spot Sweet Swatch Memorabilia for $1.49

How many Jason Bay jersey cards will I have by the end of the year?  That could be a fun contest.

a Freddy Sanchez auto for $1.99

For $1.25!!!!!!!!!!!! a dual jersey of Nate McLouth (welcome back to Pittsburgh Nate!!!!!!) and Freddy Sanchez numbered 383/400.

 keeping with the cheap McLouth theme is this red ink AUTO rookie of Nate from 2006 Upper Deck Clear Path to Greatness.  This card was had for $1.79

A Jose Tabata 2006 Bowman Futures Game Jersey card.  What's interesting about this card is that it features Tabata in the Pirates colors for the first time since the All-Star game was played in PNC Park that year while Tabata was a still a member of the Yankees minor league system.  This was had for $1.55.

Willie Stargell and Bill Madlock Fleer Platinum Cornerstones numbered 902/1000 for $1.  It's not a relic or auto, but a very nice looking numbered card. 

In addition, the below two cards of Bobby Bradley posted yesterday were bought for $1.75 and $2 respectively.

I also picked up a bunch of Ryan Doumit and Neil Walker cards that I needed for my PC.

I bought 3 dogs, and they're all mad

 2002 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Jersey Bill Madlock

2002 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Bat Bill Madlock

I recently went on a COMC spending spree and picked up 3 Bill "Mad Dog" Madlocks for REALLY cheap.  The above 2 cards were had for $5.  FIVE FRICKING DOLLARS!!!! For a guy that won 4 batting titles.  Sweet spot on my behalf if I do say so myself.  That was a terrible pun, I'm sorry.  All kidding aside, it can't compare to this card below.

2004 Topps Retired AUTO Bill Madlock

Getting a Bill Madlock autograph for $5 is pretty sweet too especially when it's an on card auto.  If only there was cheaper shipping.