McCutchen Mailday #110: A Trio of All-Stars

Jason Grilli and Pedro Alvarez were once some of my favorite Pirates.
I still like both as professional athletes, but seeing how many games Pedro's defense has nearly cost the team is wearing thin with me as a fan.

I have already completed my quest for 100 new Cutch cards, but I don't intend to stop adding more cards of Cutch as the year winds down.

A Pair of Grillis

My collection can be broken into a few categories
Flagship Topps Pirates 1952-2014
Super Collection: Charlie Morton
Player Collection: Andrew McCutchen, Jason Bay, Andy Van Slyke, Tony Sanchez
Pirates Autographs
Pirates Relics
Pirates smaller player collections
Penguins
Steelers
Pacers

When I am browsing the interwebs in pursuit of some new cardboard to add to the collection, I sometimes come across deals too good for me to resist, but deep down I know that I don't really need to add the card to my collection.  Such was the case for what you are about to see below.

Quite frankly I didn't need any more autographs of the former Pirates All-Star closer, Jason Grilli.  BUUUUUUTTTT this was toooooo good to pass up I said.

I already have a healthy amount of Jason Grilli autographs in my collection including the best on card inscription autograph of Jason Grilli ever along with a sweet sticker auto/jumbo patch numbered /10 for my Triple Threads reverse box.

Well for $7 combined and delivered I managed to add two more John Hancocks of Jason Grilli to my collection.

One is numbered /10 and features Grilli as I will always remember him (smiling and having a good time)

And the other is on card and numbered /40.

What do you guys think?
Was $7 worth it for more cardboard of a guy you don't really collect and already have in your collection?

Grill Cheese is Toast

Over the course of 2014 I added several Chris Henderson sketch cards to my collection.  For those that don't know Chris' work, he has done Allen & Ginter Highlight Sketches, some Rittenhouse sketch cards, among many other sketch cards for various companies.

Chris has an uncanny ability to capture the athlete perfectly in time and recreate it on a tiny trading card.  Need proof of his majestic prowess with art supplies, check out the Travis "I just got suckered punch in the eye" Snider.

I've had this sketch card in my collection for many months, but with the announcement earlier in the offseason of Grilli going to my hated Atlanta Braves, I felt now was a good time to show it off.  It's not like the other sketches I've gotten from Chris because this one is vertical compared to Morton, Marte, McCutchen, Cole, Martin, and Walker.

Even though Grilli was one of my favorite relievers to ever put on a Buccos uniform, I can't cheer for him in a Braves uniform.  I absolutely loathe the Braves.

$15 Lil Man, put those team sets in my hand...

I've been on a roll adding some great ebay deals for $15 lately.  My latest acquisition is a bunch of Pirates 2014 team sets for $15 delivered.  For a winning bid of $11 I received complete or near complete team sets of 2014 Topps, 2014 Donruss, 2014 Topps Opening Day, 2014 Finest, 2014 Topps Heritage, 2014 Gypsy Queen, 2014 Bowman, 2014 Archives, 2014 Bowman Platinum and a few inserts as well.

Included were 3 really nice inserts or parallels of young outfield prospect Gregory Polanco

Also included were 4 different brands of cards using the same image of Pedro Alvarez.

Of course there were some Hall of Famers in there too with Clemente, Stargell, and Kiner all being represented.

Gerrit Cole made several appearances in the 102 card lot.
The white border Gypsy Queen is especially nice

A Nice Tyler Glasnow Purple Bowman Platinum was included

Along with a bunch of the Pirates top prospects (both hitting and pitching)

And of course it wouldn't be a Pirates lot if this guy didn't show up half a dozen times or more

Along with soooooo many others

15 bucks lil man, put that Grilli in my hand....

I had that Jay & Silent Bob quote in my head when I realized how much I paid for this card.
For $15 I received an autograph of the former closer Jason Grilli.  It's funny how saturated Grilli's autograph has become with Topps.  A few years ago before he became an All-Star closer and Sports Illustrated cover material, tracking his autograph down was almost impossible.  Now Topps is putting him on everything.

2014 Topps Triple Threads AUTO/PATCH 3/10

Which is fine because it keeps the prices low and allows me to grab awesome pieces of cardboard like you see above.  Numbered to only 10 copies and having a really nice patch piece along with an autograph of the former first rounder for $15, well....

For $15 I couldn't resist it especially since I'm putting together a reverse box.  You'll see more Triple Threads appearing on the blog over the next few months as I try to reverse a box.  So far though I have been very successful.

Going into the Archive files

2014 Archives was released a few months ago and I normally let the market die down a little before I go buy the singles or team sets.  Because of the different designs used for Archives, I sort the team set in my player collection binder instead.  I find it much easier to find my 2014 Archives of the 1989 design Gerrit Cole sorted with all my other Coles than trying to remember what design was used for what year.  Besides, I only have binders for team sets of Flagship Topps, Allen & Ginter, Topps Heritage, and Flagship Upper Deck.  Everything else gets sorted by player alphabetically.  If the player is a fan favorite or active player it goes in the binder.  If not, it gets organized alphabetically in a long box.

Enough about my crazy organization though.

Here's the players for 2014 Archives.

First up the inserts.  Ok.  I'm going to be very frank about this....I love this year's Pirates insert selections.  First up is a deckle edge of Andy Van Slyke, a guy that I have been building a PC of since 1987.  Having an insert of one of my favorite long retired players is awesome!!!! Next up is a fired up Jason Grilli All-Star card.  As much as Grilli struggled this year, I still love the guy.  And finally is Cutch.  Nuff said!

 Of the designs used in this year's Archives, the 1986 design is my favorite.  Pedro Alvarez is the only nonSP to be featured using the 86 design.

 The 1980 design is another favorite of mine for one reason...it was Rickey Henderson's rookie card.  I had a Henderson rookie card as a kid and lost it on the school bus when I brought it in for show and tell.  At the time it was going for around $100 according to Beckett and Tuff Stuff (remember that magazine?)  Recently I was able to grab a decent copy of one for $10 at my local card show in the mall.  Andyway, Marte and Clemente share the 1980 design which is great because I see Marte as having a similar style of play to Clemente, but with many less career hits.

I can't begin to tell you how many boxes, rack packs, wax packs, etc of 1989 Topps I opened as a kid.  Way too many.  Stargell and Cole represent the design I like the least.

 The 1973 might be one of my least favorite designs from the 70s and the player selection for this design is poor.  Grilli is gone, Lambo was still in the minors until a few days ago, and Kiner has passed away.

It came from Japan!!!!

I've shown off a few of my Sega CardGen cards in the past that are imported Topps cards.  I recently came across a few others.  I'll show off the whole lot in a future post, but figured today would be as good a day as any to highlight some former Buccos from Yesteryear (literally these guys were on the rost last year). 

Jason Grilli has played for 8 major leagues (counting the Pirates) and a handful of minor league organizations during his long career.  His best seasons came while a member of the Pirates though and was rewarded by being elected as a 2013 NL All-Star for his superb pre All-Star break perfect save record.  While with the Pirates, he posted a 3.01 ERA to go with a 3-11 record.  His WHIP was 1.18, but his K/9 was an insane 12.4, having struck out 222 batters in only 161 innings. 

Garret Jones provided a lot of fireworks in a Pirates uniform as he hit exactly 100 longballs over his 5 year career with the Bucs.  His highest mark came in 2012 when he hit 27 round trippers.  His overall line .256/.318/.462 (.780 OPS) wasn't as bad as it appears mainly because he hit only .194 vs LHP but a respectable .270 vs RHP.  His best season was actually his first with the Pirates when he posted a 3.2 WAR in 2009 by smashing 21 HR batting .293 and playing the corner outfield positions and first base.

Both Grilli and Jones were fan favorites while in Pittsburgh, but both have moved on to Miami and Los Angeles respectively.

Card Show Pickups pt1

Last weekend I mentioned that I was heading to the mall for some card show pickups.  I came away with a bunch of vintage which I will show off tomorrow and a handful of cheap under $1 cards to fill in some voids.  Up first are the cheap under $1 cards I grabbed.

 Nothing too fancy above.  Just a couple of inserts and a pair of 2014 Gypsy Queens.  Josh Bell was recently announced as an All-Star in the Florida State League (A+ ball)

These were the two cards I was most excited to see dumped in the quarter bins.  Both are numbered parallels of one of my favorite all-time ballplayers, Jason Bay.  The 2005 Donruss Classics on the right is numbered to only 100 copies.

If you're a fan of vintage cards, you're going to have to check out my lot tomorrow as I was able to grab a lot of cheap vintage including a Clemente for $2.  Whaaaaaaatttttt?????

Topps Tribute Thoughts and a 1/1 Autograph

Remember last year when I built a Topps Tribute reverse box? I'm considering doing it again.

2014 Topps Tribute 65/99

I recently just picked a very affordable Gerrit Cole jersey piece from 2014 Topps Tribute and remembered how much fun it was to build a reverse box last year.  The problem I'm currently facing is the big hits have already hit the open market and are selling for much more than I would have liked to grab them.

Last week I showed off one of the cards that I just had to pull the trigger on when it hit the open market.   It was a 1 of 1 Jason Grilli inscription Onyx auto you see above.

How fricking sweet is that thing?  Since last year's All-Star break Jason Grilli has struggled due to injuries.  He's also had to face Ryan Braun more times during that span and it seems that Braun can hit a HomeRun every time he faces him.

I also grabbed another Cole jersey relic for under $6 delivered.  So far, I've committed $103 for two relics and 1 auto (a 1/1 no less).  Each box retailing for $225+ includes 2 relics, 4 autos, and 12 base cards.  I should be able to complete a reverse box for under $122, but I'm not sure if I really want to.

Grill Cheese 1/1!!!!! and a great story

Jason Grilli has struggled early in the 2014 season.  His strikeout rate is nearing the lowest of his career and his walk rate is nearing the highest of his career.  Combine that with his rising batting average balls in play and you have a recipe for disaster.  None of that really matters to me though because I love watching Jason Grilli take the mound in high pressure situations.

Grilli is currently on the DL for the Pirates and even if he never closes out another game for the Bucs, he will always remain one of my favorite Pirates relievers of all time.

The dude flat out got pumped everytime he stepped foot on the mound.  Need proof?  Check out his recent cards for Topps flagships or last year's Heritage release.

What impresses me most about Jason Grilli though isn't the fist pumping or the Pearl Jam entrances or the funny nickname.  It's how he reacts to his fans.  I remember attending a 2012 spring training game he was signing autographs for fans for close to 30 minutes.  A very young boy (probably no older than 4) had drawn a bunch of Pirates players and write one sentence under each of the pages in his sketchbook.  The very proud father was showing it to Evan Meek, who was drawn wearing a Superman cape with the sentence "Super Meek saved the day".  Jason Grilli came over and asked the young boy if he was in the book and the boy said "No. Who are you?"  Jason said "I'm the Grill Cheese"  The boy started laughing then told Jason how much he liked grill cheeses.  Jason told him he wanted to be drawn in the boys book the next time he saw him.  The boy said "Ok Mr. Grill Cheese"  It was such a cute moment and a joy to watch Jason interact with this young boy.  When I initially joined twitter, my first follower was Jason Grilli.  He has such a way of interacting with his fans that you can't help but root for the guy to be successful.

It's because of this that I needed to add a 1/1 Jason Grilli to my collection.

I didn't want just any 1/1 though.

There was no way a Topps Blank back or printing plate would be displayed proudly when it came to finding a great Grilli card for the collection.

I needed this!

That's how you do an autographed 1/1 of one of your favorite players.  Beautifully designed high end product with an on card autograph and inscribed with his nickname on a black background signed in silver.  This card is fricking beautiful.  It ran me $84 delivered, but is worth every penny to me.

2014 Topps Series 1 Inserts: #BUCN style

I have really been watching my budget more closely in 2014 than in previous years.  I used to feel the need to buy every single auto, relic, black parallel, gold parallel, insert, shortprint, etc from the Topps Flagship launches.  This year, I'm sticking to just the base, the "cheap" inserts, the Charlie Morton parallels, and maybe one relic or auto just to say I have it.

The Pirates have several players appearing in the 2014 Topps Series 1 Inserts.

 Up first is one of the greatest right fielders to ever play the game as pictured in 2 of this years inserts (Upper Class and Before they were Stars).  Roberto Clemente was signed by the Dodgers, then drafted by the Pirates in the old version of the Rule 5 draft.

Gerrit Cole, last year's flame throwing rookie pitcher, was featured on the 50 years of the draft.

Similar to year's past, there are inserts were you enter codes online to win prizes.  The fronts of the cards look exactly like the base cards, but have the Power Players logo.  The backs have online codes. 2013 All-Stars Andrew McCutchen and Jason Grilli represent the Pirates in Series 1.

My favorite inserts from 2014 are the 1989 minis.  I had ripped so many of these 1989 packs back in the day, that this is still sadly one of my favorite designs.  Cutch and Clemente are the Pirates representatives for Series 1.

Grilli from Italy

For $6 shipped, I managed to grab myself the final Pittsburgh Pirate to have an autograph in the 2013 WBC Topps Tribute set.

2013 Topps Tribute WBC Jason Grilli 25/50 AUTO

Here's the Jameson Taillon
Here's the Wandy Rodriguez

Jason Grilli WBC Jersey Relic

The WBC is done every 4 years and features players from around the world competing on an international stage to bring awareness to the sport.

2006 UD WBC Collection Jersey Relic

In 2006, the current Pirates closer, Jason Grilli was a member of the Detroit Tigers but was also a highly effective arm for Team Italy.  In 4.2 innings, Jason struck out 7 while allowing only 1 hit and 0 walks.

Jason has not shied aware from an apperance in the WBC, having also competed for Team Italy in 2009 where he struggled in his 3.2 innings of work collecting a loss and save.

Recently Jason appeared for Team Italy in 2013 as well, but only pitched 1 inning while allowing a walk and hits batman.

I'm still searching for a 2013 Topps Tribute WBC Auto of Jason so if you have one for trade, please let me know.

New Additions to the PTR

Yesterday I showed off some new trade bait including some Japanese import gaming cards featuring MLB's finest.  I also managed to pick up a few of my favorite Pirates from that set including Joel Hanrahan, Garrett Jones, and the PTR's favorite Bucco Andrew McCutchen.

I also found a few of the 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) gaming cards of Pirates too including Hanrahan (Team USA), current Pirates closer Jason Grilli (team Italy), and Pirates swingman Chris Leroux (team Canada). 

My recent Ebay purchases include a Ralph Kiner autograph for $10.  I've been on a Ralph Kiner kick lately and will be adding to this part of my collection a lot more this year.  I really want to focus more on my HOF Pirates collection this year so expect to see more Stargell, Clemente, Maz, Kiner, Honus Wagner, and the Waner brothers added to my collection this year. 

I realized that I had never posted this prior to my "fallout" from the blogging community.  It's a tri jersey featuring Jason Bay, Albert Pujols, and Ken Griffey Jr. that I won for $8.50

2 future HOFers and a Jason Bay.  It's numbered 49/50 so yup, I'll take it.
I have several more cards that I still need to add to this site that were purchased from many months ago.  Most of them are Jason Bay related.  I'll try to do a few massive updates over the next couple weeks.

Pirates autos for less than $5 total

So I decided I needed some more Pirates autos in my collection. For $5 shipped I was able to add these two Pirates autographs.

 Jason Grilli 2012 Golden Moments Autographs
The Grill Cheese is now the closer for the Bucs after they sent Joel "The Hammer" Hanrahan to Boston.  We'll be seeing Grilli pitch in the World Baseball Classic in March for Team Italy.

Matt Hague Topps Chrome Refractor 453/499
Matt Hague made his MLB debut last year and was involved in a very bizarre walkoff when Carlos Marmol of the Cubs hit him with a pitch when bases were loaded in the bottom of the 9th.