McCutchen Mailday #68: Buyback Auto

Getting Andrew McCutchen 2005 Bowman cards is high on my list this year as I would like to get a page's worth of the Pirates All-Star center fielder's rookie card.

Recently a Buyback from 2006 Originals popped up for Cutch's 2005 Bowman card numbered /561. I quickly did the Buy It Now option and added it to my collection. I feel like I have been saying it forever, but I am almost at 100 unique verified autographs of Cutch.

McCutchen Mailday #203: Back in Time

I'm not a huge fan of buybacks or remarket products, but for some reason I am finding myself trying to grab Cutch's Allen & Ginter minis remarked for the 2015 10th Anniversary. 

This is my second mini I have added this year from the 10th Anniversary Issue foil stamping.  It's from 2013.  If anyone comes across any other framed mini buybacks, please let me know.

McCutchen Mailday #139 & 140: A Pair of Ginter Buybacks

I have recently been purchasing a few Allen & Ginter buybacks of Cutch and have received my first two in.

Both of these are hailing from 2010.
One is the Black Border mini and the other is the This Day in History insert

They're technically not new cards, but buybacks do feature something unique to the PC so I am counting them for my Quest for 100 new Cutch cards.  I've kicked that goals ass this year.



Finally found a copy of this card!!!!

I have been looking for a certified Luis Tiant in a Pirates uniform for nearly 5 years. I knew that he had a few Topps Originals signed from the 1982 Topps release, but never found one up for purchase.

Finally after 5 long years of searching, I came across this 2004 Topps Originals signed by Luis numbered 31/51.  It cost me only $17 delivered and is a welcomed addition to the PC.

To me Tiant is a borderline Hall of Famer.  He had a few dominating years, but only appeared in 3 All-Star Games and never got higher than 4th place in Cy Young voting.  He finished his career with 229 Wins, 3.30 ERA, 2416 strikeouts, and a 1.19 WHIP. 

Tiant may be best remembered for his unusual delivery on the mound which Johnny Cueto has copied a lot. 

Bert & Ernie invade the PTR

I thought about doing a whole Jim Henson update trying to find other characters whose nicknames reminded me of Muppets, Sesame Street, and Fraggle characters, but the truth is I'm just impatient and couldn't wait to show off another HOF certified auto of a former Pirate.

Bert Blyleven 2004 Topps Buyback Certified Auto 1980 Topps 1/12

I have been after a certified auto of Rick al"Bert" Blyleven for several years.  I know that there was a Upper Deck Timeless Teams card put out that featured Bert in a Buccos uni, but I am never fortunate enough to win them when they pop up a couple times a year.  They normally go for close to $50 and are sticker autos.  When I saw this Topps buyback ON CARD AUTO pop up on ebay I thought long and hard about the asking price.  The seller had it listed for $80 or best offer.  I took a gamble and submitted a best offer of $42 thinking that he would most likely reply with a counteroffer that I would have 48 hours to make a decision about.

Fortunately he accepted my best offer.  Once I saw that I won I was relieved.  The fact that it's already encased AND is numbered 1/12 makes it even better.

I can now cross off owning this former Pirate and HOFer off my bucket list of players I want certified autos of.  There's still plenty more that remain, but I'm getting there.

While looking over some other auctions I came across this vintage 1949 Bowman Ernie "Tiny" Bonham.  While my main collection is Topps, I will never turn my head away from vintage Bowman that can be won for $6.

So now that Bert & Ernie are added to the Treasure Room, I have to find some more Henson characters' cards so that this post can be revisited again and again.  It's a shame that Grover Alexander never made it to the Steel City during his playing career.

Jason Bay to return tonight

According to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, Jason Bay is likely to return to the Mets lineup tonight against the Nationals.  Bay has been plagued with injuries since signing with the Mets in 2010.  He's been on the DL with a broken rib. 

It's going to be nice to see Jason start to get regular playing time when he returns.  He'll likely be inserted back into his home in left field and bat somewhere around the middle of the lineup.  The Mets have been playing well without Bay. 

My Jason Bay hits collection currently sits at 90!!!!

Another player that has had to deal with injuries a lot over the past couple seasons is Justin Morneau.  It wasn't too long ago that he was an MVP for the AL.  However in his 2010 and 2011 seasons combined he has only played 150 games.  The Twins despite having a healthy Justin Morneau recently have not been playing well all season since his return from the DL.  I manage to pick up the dual auto 4 jersey swatch 2007 UD Black card above for $20 off the bay.  This brings my Jason Bay dual auto total to 5. 

I finally got myself a Jason Bay booklet.  It's kinda lame and not very thick, but it features a patch of JB.  It's numbered out of 99.  The seller also included the below card for free because he incorrectly showed it in the auction, but didn't mention it was included.

So I got both of these Pirates Dynasty Foundation booklets for $18.
The booklet also features Willie Stargell, Bill Mazeroski, Jack Wilson, and Craig Wilson.  it would be really nice to fin a booklet with all 5 relics on it.  That sounds a bit more expensive though.

I picked up this 2006 Bowman Buyback Original AUTO off COMC a few months back for $15.  I'm not a huge fan of buyback encased cards, but this one is Jason Bay's jersey number (38) when he was with the Bucs.  Besides it was cheaper than buying a blaster.

This was a card I had sitting in my needs to be scanned pile for quite some time.  It's a quad jersey card featuring Andruw Jones, Alfonso Soriano, Jason Bay, and Alex Rios.  Not a single player pictured on this card is still with their same team from 2006.  This was had rather cheaply if I remember.  I think it was around $12 or so.