It's been a few days since my last post and that's because I have been super busy getting caught up on everything going on for the holidays, recovering from a car accident, and just dealing with many hours of work that were needed to get back on track.
It was announced today that Freddy Sanchez has officially retired. He last played in a game back in 2012 so this is clearly just a formality.
I thought it would be proper to highlight a few of my cards of the former NL Batting Champion and 3x AllStar
When I first got back into collecting, I thought the card above with Nate McLouth and Freddy Sanchez was the coolest thing ever. Now I can find cards like that for $1. Oh well....at least the patch of Freddy is cool on the Topps Unique.
In addition to the A&G mini, Paul sent a package with his usual Phungo cards he produced himself. Some of my all time favorites were included.
He also included a bunch of new cards I didn't already have in my Pirates collection including the well worn, but brand new to me 1993 Fleer Atlantic Collector's Edition Andy Van Slyke. All 10 cards pictured above are new to my collection except for the Cutch which I have one signed in person. The 75 mini of Al Oliver and Bowman Heritage Aramis Ramirez are probably my runner up favorites to the playing card of Barry Bonds. I just love those unique oddball items featuring players from the 80s and 90s. I wish they would do stuff like that again.
He also included this unique 2007 Upper Deck NL Central Pennant Chasers insert of Freddy Sanchez. The Bucs actually had a shot at winning the NL Central Pennant in 2007 despite having a losing record.
Paul thank you so much for the awesome cards. Your package should be arriving next week. I went to a card show last weekend and got some extra stuff for you.
If you like the Pirates in the mid 2000s there was three guys you rooted for: Jason Bay, Jack Wilson, and Freddy Sanchez. They helped offset a terrible team that just couldn't make it to .500. There's not many Jack Wilson jersey cards out there, but there's plenty of Jason Bay and Freddy Sanchez for the Pirates faithful to collect. I just recently picked up a pair that I never decided to pull the trigger on for the past 6 years, but I figured for $5 delivered it was worth the price.
Behold the majesty that is 2008 Upper Deck Game Jerseys. Like all things Upper Deck, the designs are great and photography is better than all other card companies. Featuring a great full view of PNC park in the background with an image of the player in action along with a swatch of their jersey, these just can't be compared to the boring repetitive designs that Topps is doing for their flagship relic releases. They aren't numbered, but they don't need to be. They're cheap relics on nice designs. Nuff Said!!!!
As the trade deadline draws near, I figured it would make sense to show off the Pirates worse trades over the past decade.
I'm sure anyone who has the MLB Network has seen the show Prime 9. Well it got me to thinking about who the top players at each position the Pirates have given up on since the new millennium began. I'll take a look at each position and say who I think the top player is. I'll show off some cards I own of that player in a Bucs uniform and move on to the next position.
Why Prime 9? 9 Players 9 Innings
This is my Prime 9 of the Players the Bucs gave up on for nothing.
1) Pitcher Jason Schmidt
When thinking about pitchers that the Pirates had let go for nothing 2 names came to mind and oddly enough they are both connected.
In 2001 the Pirates traded Jason Schmidt to the San Fransisco Giants for Ryan Vogelsong. Schmidt went on to have 3 All-Star appearances and a 78-37 record with the Giants while averaging a strikeout per inning. Damn! Imagine that type of pitcher taking the hill every 5th day with the bats of Kendall, Giles, Ramirez, and later Bay, Sanchez, and Wilson.
Consequently the player the Pirates acquired Ryan Vogelsong went on to have a terrible career with the Bucs. He appeared in 2 games before needing Tommy John surgery. Once returned from the surgery he struggled mighty and was later sold to a Japanese team. His return to the states though in 2010 showed vast improvement in his performance. Since begining anew with the Giants, Ryan went on to become a 2011 All-Star and a key piece in the 2012 Giants World Series Championship run.
The card pictured above is from 2006 Topps Update. There aren't any hits of Schmidt wearing the black and gold that I know of, but for $2.84 shipped I couldn't pass up this card of the former Bucco wearing the black and gold at the 2006 All-Star Game in Pittsburgh representing the National League and the Giants.
2) Catcher Jason Kendall
2001 Upper Deck eVolve AUTO Bat/Jersey
Sure, Jason's career was on the downward path when the Bucs traded him to Oakland after the 2004 season. He was a 30 year old catcher whose main offensive tools (contact and baserunning) were trending in the wrong direction. In 9 seasons with the Bucs, Kendall had an average of .306 with 140 SB and 65 runners caught stealing. Those are numbers you normally don't see come from the catcher's position. However after leaving the Pirates, Kendall went on to hit .271 with 22SB and a .321 slugging percentage in 2 1/2 seasons with Oakland. Good numbers, but nothing great.
A more interesting choice is a player the Pirates decided to non tender a contract that signed a one year deal with the Minnesota Twins last year, then a 2 year extension. Yes I am talking about Ryan Doumit.
Doumit is one of those players that is made for AL baseball. He can't play any position well, but can play corner outfield positions, 1B, and Catcher well enough so he doesn't make too much of an embarassment of himself. Well then I remembered this play and it reminded me that Kendall was the player the Pirates wish they had probably kept.
3) 1st Base
2007 Allen & Ginter Adam Laroche
Adam LaRoche
Ok so Adam LaRoche is generally thought of as a slow starter. His April and May numbers are generally down right awful. However come mid summer, LaRoche is downright scary what he can do with the bat and glove. He never gets recognized, but will put up 25+ homeruns every year and play above average defense at 1B. The Pirates traded away LaRoche to the Boston Red Sox for two minor leaguers. LaRoche lasted only 6 games with Boston before being traded to the Braves for Casey Kotchman. The above 2007 Adam LaRoche was picked up for $1.40 from COMC and I gotta say I didn't overpay one penny for this card.
4) 2nd Base
2008 UD Jersey
Freddy Sanchez
When you ship out a player who won a batting title a few years after winning it, your organization is generally looked upon as dumping salary. When that same player is a fan favorite, your organization is generally looked upon as not caring for the fans. When that same player is traded for a failed prospect who hasn't pitched successfully at AA even at the age of 25, well you can be sure that you have made a pretty bad trade. Such was the case in 2009 when the Pirates sent fan favorite Freddy Sanchez to the San Fransisco Giants for Tim Alderson. The above Freddy Sanchez UD Jersey card was won for $2 with free shipping on ebay. The seller tried to stuff the card into a normal size toploader, then must have realized the card wasn't going to fit properly so he proceed to ship it in a PWE with a piece of cardboard and half the card sticking out of the case. The card above is the results of AN IDIOT. It would have been a nice addition to my collection and I guess still is for the price paid, but c'mon use some common sense.
5) 3rd Base Aramis Ramirez
2002 Stadium Club License to Drive Bat Relic
Aramis Ramirez was still very young and had his prime years ahead of him when the Pirates dumped his salary to the Chicago Cubs in 2003. He was traded with Kenny Lofton and became part of the Chicago Cubs team that would reach the NLCS that year after losing 95 games the year before.
Ramirez committed the most errors at the hot corner among all 3B in 2003, but would go on to hit 239 HRs in 9 seasons with the Cubs before joining the Milwaukee Brewers as a free agent in 2012. He currently has the 9th most career homeruns at the hot corner with 342 round trippers.
The License to Drive card above is one of my favorite ARam in my collection. Something about the simple design made to mimic a Pennsylvania driver's license with the bat relic just makes me love this card. The fact that it was just a couple bucks makes me appreciate it even more.
6) Shortstop
When you think of the Pirates shortstops over the past decade, there is one name that stands out above the rest...Jack Wilson. Jack was a fan favorite and one of the most undervalued players at the position. He deserved to win gold gloves, but was never considered. He was traded to Seattle in 2009 for a bunch of players that didn't work out for the Pirates.
However, the player the Pirates should have held onto, but was never given a fair chance to perform is a guy the Red Sox picked up for nothing. NOTHING!!!! Pedro Ciriaco
1/1 Blank Back 2011 Topps Heritage Pedro Ciriaco
Ciriaco was acquired from the Diamondbacks in 2010 when we traded 3 bad offseason signs for the expensive contract of Chris Snyder. Ciriaco was a throw in and immediately became our top fielding SS prospect in the organization. He played in only a handful of games in 2010, but had clutch hits and stellar defense. In 2011, the same thing happened, BUT was never put in the game. He really racked up frequent travel miles though going from Indy to Pittsburgh.
The Red Sox grabbed Ciriaco and he played in 76 games for the team as they battled through injuries at 2B, SS, 3B, and the outfield. In only 76 games he posted a .293/.315/.390 line which means his OPS was .705. Pedro is a slap hitter that doesn't take many walks, but he does have a habit of turning singles into doubles by swiping 16 bags and being caught only 3 times while with Boston. Pedro has since gone on to be acquired and released with 3 teams this year (Boston, San Diego, Kansas City). If John McDonald can continue to get work, I'm sure the speedy Ciriaco will continue to find a role as a super utility pinch runner, defensive substitution with some team.
I don't have many cards of Ciriaco, but this blank back 1/1 Topps Gimmick card seemed appropriate to highlight. I won it a few years ago for $9.99 when I was trying to put together the entire 2011 Heritage Blank Back Pirates set..
7) Right Field
This is probably the hardest one because there are two players that went on to have successful careers at the corner outfield position after being traded by the Bucs
Brian Giles and Jose Bautista
2011 Topps All-Star Jersey Relic 19/60 (jersey number)
I honestly have to give it to Joey Bats though just because he is still playing and the Pirates got practically nothing for Joey Bats who has gone on to hit 160 HR since leaving the Steel City.
I picked up the above Joey Bats jersey relic for less than $10 a year ago. It's an "ebay 1/1" cause the card is numbered 19/60 which is his jersey number.
8) Center Field
It's hard to imagine the Pirates without a good centerfielder since Cutch arrived. Before Cutch there was Nate McLouth who was also pretty good (All-Star, Gold Glove, 20/20 production). Before McLouth though there was Tike Redman who was not so good. However if you can go way back to 2003 there was the speedy Kenny Lofton patrolling center for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
2003 Donruss Signature Series 125/500
Lofton was already in his age 36 season when he signed with the Pirates during the 2002 off season. Proving that he still had plenty of gas left in his tank he went on to hit .305 with 96 stolen bases through the next 4 years. What I find to be the most impressive though is that Lofton stole bases at a 82% rate from his age 36-40 seasons. That's incredible! Lofton went on to finish his career with the Indians, but was part of the "Salary Dump" to the Cubs in the 2003 season along with 3B Aramis Ramirez.
The above Lofton is from 2003 Donruss Signature Series and is numbered 125/150. I managed to grab this auto of the potential HOFer for a small fee of $14 shipped. I've often seen this card sell in the $40 range so I was pretty excited to grab it for such a great price.
9) Left Field Jason Bay
2005 UD Artifacts AUTO 317/599
The single worse trade the Pirates have done in the past 5 years. Bay should have brought in a good return, but instead he failed to bring in even one top 10 organizational prospect. Only one player remains with the Bucs from that trade (Bryan Morris) and he just got called up last year. Granted Morris has been a quality late inning bullpen arm, but the Bucs needed more for a guy that went on to hit 45 HRs in 200 games for the Red Sox. To make matters worse, you guys all know that Jason Bay is one of my favorite players.
The above 2005 UD Artifacts (on card) AUTO of Jason Bay is the cheapest Bay AUTO I've ever purchased. Numbered 317/599 this gem cost me a measly .99. I love buying AUTOs off the dollar menu.
ADDED BONUS: Relief Pitcher Juan Carlos Oviedo aka Leo Nunez
2003 Just Minors x/25
Ok so "Leo Nunez" may have been an illegal immigrant and the subject of controversy once it was revealed that his name wasn't really Leo Nunez, but the Pirates had the one time shutdown closer signed as a teenager before trading him to the Kansas City Royals for Benito Santiago who played in only 6 games as a Bucco. Talk about giving away something for free basically.
The above 2003Just Minors Leo Nunez was purchased from COMC over a year ago when everything came out about Juan Carlos Oviedo. I decided to use that opportunity to grab an autograph because most likely his stock would never be lower. I was right as I managed to grab the above card for $2.25.
So to recap who took the Pirates Prime 9 players.
Looking at this makes me really happy that the deal with the Red Sox this offseason for All-Star closer Joel Hanrahan and Brock Holt for the best setupman in baseball (Mark Melancon) and prospects is working out well. Our Red Sox trades never work out in the past.
Boston Red Sox:
Pedro Ciriaco, Adam Laroche, Jason Bay
San Fransisco Giants:
Freddy Sanchez, Jason Schmidt
Chicago Cubs:
Aramis Ramirez & Kenny Lofton (same trade!!!)
Earlier in the month I showed off a card featuring Adam Laroche and Tom Gorzelanny that got me closer to my collecting goal of 38 different players to appear on a Jason Bay hit. That card gave me 33 unique players to partner up with Jason on a piece of cardboard.
I made mention of how the seller was basically selling off his entire collection on ebay and I was able to pick up some very nice and low numbered hits of the former Steel City star for low prices.
Today I'm going to show off another of those bargains I found.
2008 UD Premier Trios Patch Version 11/15
For the low price of $9.99 shipped I grabbed this SICK 3 patch card featuring Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, and Freddy Sanchez numbered 11/15. I previously had a bat card with Freddy, but Xavier Nady is new to the Partner Project.
I now sit at 34 different players to have either an autograph or relic with the 2004 Rookie of Year. Only 4 more to go!!!! Here's a list of the others that I have memorabilia cards with Jason Bay *if bold and yellow it means I also have an autograph of them with Bay too
Albert Pujols
Alex Rios
Alfonso Soriano
Andruw Jones Bill Madlock Bobby Crosby
Carlos Lee
Craig Wilson
David Wright
Edgar Martinez
Freddy Sanchez
Gary Carter
Jacoby Ellsbury
JD Drew
Jose Castillo Justin Morneau
Ken Griffey Jr.
Kenny Lofton
Mario Lemieux
Mark Teixeira
Manny Ramirez Matt Holiday
Nick Markakis Ralph Kiner
Torii Hunter
Xavier Nady
And here is a list of the players that I have autograph cards with Jason Bay
Adam LaRoche
Bill Mazeroski
Casey Kotchman
Dale Murphy
Dave Parker
Dustin Pedroia
Tom Gorzelanny
Willie Parker
The Pirates logo worn on their sleeves is badass! Need proof? Look at this guy!
I would like to get a card of some of my favorite Pirates players of the past decade with a patch featuring the Pirates logo.
So who are some of my favorite players of the past decarde that might actually have a card with the logo on it?
Jason Bay
Ryan Doumit
Brian Giles
Jason Kendall
Andrew McCutchen
Freddy Sanchez
Jose Tabata
Neil Walker
Jack Wilson
Oliver Perez (but only for a season and a half, hahahaha!)
Finding Giles, Kendall, and Doumit will most likely be the toughest ones to find.
I recently picked up a Freddy Sanchez to jumpstart my collection which you can see below.
Check out the nice patch of the Pirates logoman's earing. LOVE IT!
The card was picked up for about $20 if I remember correctly. The card is numbered 2/50
I already had 2 cards featuring the logoman of Cutch which I will show below as well.
This one features the bottom part of the Pirates logoman bandana and bat.
In the part of this card that says "1st 2" it features the bats of the left of the logoman.
I'd still love to add another logoman of my favorite player Cutch
Last year I picked up a Marquee Jose Tabata auto/dual jersey card with the beard of the logoman in the first swatch. That's just a nice looking card with the beard and biting lip of the logoman. Having a Tabata signature on it makes it even better.
LET'S GO BUCS!!!! BEAT THE BREWERS AND TAKE THE SERIES!
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.
Johnny aka hiflew at Cards from the Quarry made a trade with me when he saw my blue parallel Drew Pomeranz 2012 Topps card I pulled from a blaster. The deal was gong to be the Pomeranz and a large assortment of Rockies for the 2012 Andrew McCutchen '87 Topps mini and an assortment of Pirates. For some reason, I couldn't find all my pre 2011 Rockies so I decided to give up a pack pulled Todd Helton relic from 2002 (?) that I was hoping he didn't have.
Here's some of the highlights of what I got:
up first is the centerpiece of the trade. As everyone know's Cutch is my favorite player to collect. The dude is a future superstar. I actually needed 2 of these. One for the PC and one for my '87 Topps minis set. I had one and am now happy to put this in the McCutchen binder for safe keeping.
2 Pirates Hall of Famers. The Clementes are the Archive reprints, but I don't own the reprints (or originals for that matter) so I'm happy to get them. The Maz is a card I had never seen before. It's copyrighted CMC 1989 and is number 67 of a Baseball Greats set. Anyone have any information about this set? Were there other Pirates in the set?
Bazooka minis are fun. I have a binder of Jason Bay and Jason Kendall and a plethora of Mike Williams cards. These are all new additions to the collections.
I just love getting new cards I didn't have before and every single one of these is new to my collection. Doumits and McCutchens I don't already have are always the highlight of a trade package for me. I just love adding to my player collections.
Holy crap! I miss SportsFlics cards!!!!!! Nothing says late 80s awesomeness like a SportFlics card. I remember when these things came out, they were awesome. Come to think of it, they still are. John Smiley is my favorite left handed Pirates pitcher of all time so this makes me remember what it was like being 9 years old again. GO BUCS!!!!
Thanks so much for the trade and I look forward to trading with you again.
A couple days ago I received a package from Drews Cards. This is my first time trading with Drew and he knocked this trade out of the park.
The two main cards that I wanted were this Freddy Sanchez 2008 UD Game Jersey and Jason Bay 2007 UD Masterpieces Stroke of Genius AUTO. I'm up to 32 Jason Bay hits now.
Drew didn't stop there though. He threw in a plethora of Pirates for my collection, many of which I didn't already have. Amongst the two team bags he sent the below cards.
To start off is this 1974 Dave Parker rookie card. The Cobra is one of my favorite players of yesteryear that I never got to see play in person. Watching highlight films of him and having the 1979 WS DVD though I can see why he was such an electrifying player in the 70s and 80s. I don't have many cards from the 1974 set and am happy to be able to cross this one off my needs. Thanks for this card Drew. I flipped the heck out when I saw it in the pile.
For comedy reasons I will show the lack of quality control at our favorite sports cards manufacturers. It frustrates me when card companies can't get the product right. Who is Pat Maholm? Why is Ronny Cedeno pictured on Jose Tabata's card? C'mon Topps and Upper Deck. Get your shit together. Fans notice this crap. I've been wanting to add the "Tabata" card to my collection since I saw it on the sell list, but when I saw it on ebay and COMC with that bum Cedeno pictured I refused to ever buy that card for my "Tabata" collection. Thanks to Drew I didn't have to buy it. Now the question is do I organize it with my Tabata collection in a binder or file it with all the other bums that have played in Pittsburgh. Yes Ronny Cedeno, I'm talking about you.
He also included 5 Ryan Doumit cards that I previously didn't have as part of my PC. I love that mini.
I also got a handful of Jason Bay cards that I previously didn't own. I'm hoping Bay has a bounceback year this year. He was always such a great ball player and I would hate to see his career continue to regress in NY like so many other ex greats have had their careers die for the Mets.
And finally here's some of my other favorites. Even though Aki Iwamura was absolutely terrible for the Bucs in 2010, he did have a cool looking T206 card. I've been wanting to add that Paul Maholm Gypsy Queen since GQ came out. I never bought a single pack of Gypsy Queen because I didn't like the overall player selection. The design is sweet though.
He included many more cards, but do you guys really want to see the likes of Shawn Chacon, Tom Gorzelanny, Jack Wilson, and Jeff Karstens? Probably not, but you're going to have to deal with it.
I'm sorry for the busted face grouping of these guys, but it just worked out that way.
Thanks again Drew for the great trade. I'm looking forward to trading with you again. I have a bunch more Jets if you want them including two more jersey cards (Braylon Edwards and Leon Washington). I'll get them scanned for you sometime this week.
