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.
The Pirates are aggressively getting closer to competing for the NL Central Championship.
In 2005, Donruss had a contest which allowed collectors the chance to win a specially marked version of Playoff parallels. With the Pirates finishing 33.5 games out of first there was little chance that the Bucs would compete for a playoff run in 2005. Still there was some hope though.
Jason Bay won the 2004 Rookie of the Year award with a .282 average, .550 slugging, and 26 Home Runs.
Jack Wilson was coming off his best offensive season of his career where he collected 201 base hits with a .301 average and superb gold glove caliber defense.
Kip Wells, well.....like all the pitchers on the Pirates staff (not named 2004 Oliver Perez) didn't do so well (pardon the bad pun).
The Pirates Pitching staff was terrible in 2004 posting a 4.29 ERA and a 1.419WHIP. It got worse in 2005 which is why the Pirates finished with a 67-95 record and made this piece of cardboard useless.
I was able to add the above card to my Jason Bay collection a few months ago for just over a $1 delivered.
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!!!)
HOF Left Fielder Ralph Kiner began his career on April 12, 1946 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He would play only 10 years before his career ended early at the age of 32. He managed to lead the league in HRs 7 years in a row, a feat that no other player in baseball history has done. During his 8 years with the Pirates he hit 301 of his 369 career home runs.
In 1953 he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for 2 years. Pirates then General Manager Branch Rickey stated "we finished in last place with you, we can finish in last place without you".
To celebrate this day in Pirates history when one of the greatest sluggers to wear a Bucs uniform made his MLB debut, I thought it would be fun to show off all my Ralph Kiner AUTOS, RELICS, and MANUPATCHES.
I've currently got 10 Autographs of the HOF slugging Left Fielder. I'd like to have added 5 new Kiner autos by the end of the year. That should be one of the easiest of my 2013 Collecting Goals to accomplish.
2012 Topps Golden Moments AUTO
2010 Topps Tribute AUTO/Bat Relic 20/99
2004 Donruss Absolutely Ink AUTO/BAT relic 53/100
2003 Donruss Signature Series Legends of Summer AUTO
2006 UD Ultimate Ensemble Signatures QUAD AUTO 19/25
2012 Topps Gypsy Queen DUAL AUTO DUAL RELIC 7/15
2010 Topps Sterling DUAL AUTO DUAL RELIC BOOKLET 10/10
2005 Upper Deck Class of Cooperstown AUTO/BAT Relic 1/15
2001 Donruss Classic Significant Signatures ON CARD AUTO
2004 Fleer MLB Draft Edition Past Present Future TRIPLE AUTO 12/33
Earlier in the week I highlighted my first game used baseball on card stock. Today I will show off a Jack Wilson glove that I bought for $4.99 shipped. This 2004 Donruss Leather and Lumber Leather in Leather fielding glove relic is numbered 6/50. This card marks my first glove relic.
How is it that Jack Wilson never got consideration for a gold glove is beyond my understanding.
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.
I recently made a trade with Adam from Thoughts and Sox. Adam had read my blog and offered up a care package of Pirates past and present. Since Adam collects Red Sox he has lots of Jason Bay Red Sox cards and was kind enough to bip me with these, the first thing I saw when I opened the package.
Nothing like 8 Jason Bay 2010 Topps cards to get things going....
I have started to add more Jason Bay base cards to my PC over the past year, but have been avoiding the Red Sox years because that trade still bothers me. Adam was kind enough to knock out a few that I needed
and a few more that I needed along with a Van Slyke for the PC.
This is some more of the highlights. I have often seen that Jack Wilson auto on COMC and ebay, but never pulled the trigger on it. Fortunately now I don't have to. He also included a numbered McCutchen that I needed to add to my Finest rainbow. I tried many times to scan the Wilson bowman heritage chrome, but it doesn't scan well for some reason. Just know that it looks amazing in person.
some vintage players on current cards and a current player on a vintage looking card. Oh and an Al Oliver rookie cup card
3 high numbered 2008 Heritage cards and 6 First edition UD cards, one featuring Jose Bautista
O-Pee-Chee and a Mike Gonzalez first edition UD card.
everything else
Thanks for the trade Adam. I hope we can do it again. I got some more Red Sox cards started in a pile for when we do.
Last night I was at Target and saw these memorabilia packs on the pegs in the card section. I decided to take a gamble and test my luck. I'm glad I did because I got some great trade bait. As I was opening the packs I immediately thought of who might want these cards. If you do in fact want them leave a comment below and let's work out a trade.
The first pack I opened was 2009 spX. Not much unique stuff in here except for the Nate McLouth dicut card for my PC. The Hamilton is a sweet looking card. I don't know why I didn't buy more of these when they came out.
Up next was a pack of 2010 Topps Series 1. I've busted a ton of these before so I wasn't expecting much. I was right....
until I saw these two cards
Ok, I know Greg is going to want the Kershaw gold card so until he says no, this card is going in his pile for our next trade.
My last and final pack was a 2008 UD 1st Edition pack. It looks like I got another card for Greg in this pack in the Russel Martin. All cards below are for trade. I also got another Jose Bautista which I showed above in my post from Thoughts and Sox but didn't feel the need to scan it in again.
My guaranteed memorabilia hit of the pack was this Old Judge Lance Berkman jersey card which I'm sure the Dimwit would want if he doesn't already have it.
