I've added a few triple threads Cutch cards to the collection this year, but this is the first that features 3 players who played in the Post Season this year for multiple teams.
Joey Bats hit a mammoth and memorable HomeRun against the Rangers to send Toronto to the Championship Series. As many of you may know, I am a huge Jose Bautista fan, but am starting to sell off my Joey Bats collection including the 1/1 bat knob.
Cutch will continue to be my main focus on my PC.
Cespedes will be a free agent this year and it should be interesting to see where he ends up. Over the past two years he has played on 4 teams. I actually like New York's chances of resigning him.
Here's some more of my recent 2015 Topps Museum cards I have picked up on the secondary market
Check out that sick quad relic of Jose Bautista I snagged for under $20. The Jays are steamrolling through the American League now with their intense power hitting mashing offense.
Here's a jumbo jersey of Neil Walker that I got for under $8
Neil is set to become a free agent after next season. I suspect that "The Pittsburgh Kid's" days are numbered in the Burgh. With cost controlled infielders Josh Harrison, Jung Ho Kang, and Alen Hanson all set to be on the roster at some point next year it's likely that Walker has only about 200 games left to try and win a World Series for the team he grew up rooting for.
Earlier in the year, I showed off my first bat knob to my collection. It was of my favorite current non Pirate, Jose Bautista. Today marks another Treasure Room milestone, as I have added my first button card to my collection by acquiring a 2014 National Treasures button.
I think at this point I have acquired enough 2014 National Treasures cards to make a case, but have only spent about two boxes worth on the product. Reverse boxes are awesome!!!
If there is one thing I love to own, it's a 1/1 of my favorite players. Not just any 1/1s though. I'm talking Superfractors, Bat Nameplates, Letters, sick patches, etc... I've shown off some impressive 1/1s in the past Including 4 last week, but nothing compares to this bad ass card of my favorite current nonPirate, Jose "Joey Bats" Bautista.
This card is an absolute mammoth!!!
It's super super super thick and I don't even know what to say besides this video...
That video pretty much summarizes why Joey Bats is my favorite baseball player that's not currently on the Bucs (I bet that Neal Huntington wishes he could have that trade back)
Oh and in case anyone cares, here's the back of the card.
The Blue Jays are steamrolling now having won 11 straight games.
I've been adding some nice Jose Bautista cards to my collection recently including a 2007 Upper Deck Cyan printing plate.
This 1/1 printing plate ran me $28 and is my first printing plate of the former Bucco from his Pirates days. Hopefully I can add a few more by year's end.
I've been on a big Jose Bautista buying spree lately and some of the cards I have coming in are just absolutely insane!!!!
Joey Bats made some national headlines after continued sqwalls with the Orioles.
Today is a 2014 Topps Power Players autograph numbered 24/25 that I snagged for $25 delivered. It's incredible that one of the most elite power bats in the game today can have his autograph sold for only $25 when the card is numbered to only 25 copies.
I know Bautista was a late bloomer, but since 2010 he has hit more HR in the American League than any other player. He's been an All-Star each of the past 5 seasons and a top 6 MVP finalist in 3 of the past 5 years. He's currently leading the AL in walks and was the second most walked player last year. On top of all that he has a beautiful signature which is actually legible.
Expect to see more Joey Bats from me in the future and like I said, some of it will be WTF!!!! WOW!!!! cards...
I've been picking up some nice Jose Bautista cards lately and my most recent addition is no different.
A Dual On Card Autograph of Matt Kemp and Jose Bautista numbered to 25. The grade is a little low (only 9) but that is mostly due to an 8.5 grade on corners. I'm willing to bet that Greg at Plaschke wouldn't mind having this in his collection.
I'm happy I was able to grab this for only $31 delivered.
I'm heading to Baltimore today for the Orioles home opener against the Jays. It should be a lot of fun.
Jose Bautista is my favorite non current Pirate. When I saw this awesome low numbered booklet (only 10 copies) with Joey Bats spelled out, I knew I had to add it to my collection for $11.
I've been wanting to add more Joey Bats cards to my collection this year and this is my first booklet of the former Pirate and former HR Champ.
I also pulled this card in a Target pack recently
If anyone has any Jose Bautista cards they are looking to unload...please hit me up!
I've been showing off a fair amount of 2014 Topps Triple Threads as I attempt to do a reverse box for nearly half the price of a box. Today's addition ran me $25 delivered bringing my grand total to $77 and needing only 2 base cards and a jumbo relic. These boxes sell for typically $150 so I'm a little over budget as of now if I want to complete 2 boxes for the price of 1
I really like this card a lot with the exception of the Cespedes bat relic. I understand that he's a popular player, but his appearance on this card kind of spoils the card for me. Bautista and McCutchen are two of my favorite players in the game today and Cutch could very well be my favorite player ever by the time his career is over. Cespedes does absolutely nothing for me. I think he's a good ballplayer with a great arm and some serious pop in his bat. I just have no emotional ties to the young Cuban outfielder.
I don't always look for Jose Bautista autographs on ebay, but when one occasionally pops up that is both an on card and from my favorite year of Gypsy Queen, 2011, I feel it's necessary to buy one for just under $8.
Such was the case for the card you see above.
It's obvious that many teams overlooked the potential of Jose Bautista, but I was a huge fan of his and still am to this day. He's the reason I wear #19 for softball.
As the trade deadline nears closer, more and more teams are in search for that player that can help elevate them to the next level and win a World Series Championship. We've already seen the Yankees aggressive on the trade market by acquiring Chase Headley yesterday and previously trading for Brandon McCarthy.
Last year, I highlighted a a group of 9 players that the Pirates have traded away since 2000 that have hurt the Pirates franchise. It was fun and I have to say that the Hanrahan/Holt trade to Boston last year looked very favorable to the Pirates getting the clear win of that trade, but with the way that Holt has played this year, it's not entirely possible that the trade could come back to hurt the Pirates in the future.
2012 Topps Update Blockbuster Relics 4/50
One trade, I hated! absolutely hated!!!! was when the Pirates traded away Jose Bautista for a PTBNL. That player happened to be a minor league catcher Robinzon Diaz. Diaz was terrible!!!!
Joey Bats, well he kinda blossomed into one of the most feared power hitters in the game. Joey Bats is one of my favorite players to root for in the game. Earlier this year when the Phillies were hosting the Blue Jays, I got a chance to be seen on TV when he went to the plate in the 1st inning. I wear #19 for softball because of him. I try (and mostly fail) to emulate his high kick swing at the plate. The dude is just flat out a stud ball player.
I won the above blue jersey swatch numbered to 50 a long time ago for around a 5 spot if I remember correctly.
Collecting and having a hobby should be fun. It shouldn't consume your life or try to make a profit.
I collect baseball cards because they're fun to look at the stats, read the backs, and see nice photography. In recent years though, a lot of that has gone away. Maybe it's because, I'm older, but it doesn't seem fun anymore. It seems like a job.
Then something like this insert set comes along and makes me feel like I'm 8 years old again and I suddenly fall in love all over again.
The backs are just as fun filled as the fronts.
If you're a team collector, player collector, or just like fun unlicensed cards check out the Nicknames inserts from 2013 Hometown Heroes. There's a lot of fan favorites, under the radar names in this set.
I participated in an ebay case break of 2013 Bowman Chrome and was highly disappointed with what I got. 17 cards, no refractors, no rainbow colors, no autos for $40.
I should have just used that money to buy a team set, a Tyler Glasnow base auto, and maybe a rainbow parallel or few.
I'll show the highlights of what I got first
1xGerrit Cole
2xStarling Marte
1xAndrew McCutchen
1xAJ Burnett
1xJose Bautista Bowman Rookie Reprint
Prospects
4xTyler Glasnow
4xMatt Curry
3xJin De Jhang
YUP!!!! This case break sucked!!!!
Just like losing to the Cardinals last night
I decided to steal an idea from Plain Gray Swatch and make a reverse 2013 Topps Tribute box.
Boxes fetch between $250-$275 and I wanted to make it more budget oriented, so I went with the $250 approach.
Here's what I plundered. Take this Topps!!!!
3 Autographs $54.49
2013 Topps Tribute Starling Marte Sepia AUTO 18/35
Andrew McCutchen Tribute to the Stars Jersey Relic
numbered 68/99
Cost $12.99
2013 Tribute to the Stars 31/99
Jose Bautista Tribute to the Stars
numbered 31/99
Cost $5.15
Base Cards
Andrew McCutchen $1.45
Willie Stargell $1.50
Rather than spending money for the actual base cards, I just estimated them at $1.50 a piece.
22x$1.50 = $33
So to recap
3 Autos (1 Sepia) $54.49
4 Relics (one gold) $69.79
$124.28
24 Base Cards $36 (estimate)
$150.28 for 4 hits that I actually wanted and 3 autographs of players I actually like. This equated to $100 less than the price of the actual box. Um....yeah, I think I'll stick to buying singles of high end products.
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!!!)
I recently came across this card while searching for some more Joey Bats cards in a Pirates uniform. No one really saw Jose Bautista becoming what he is today, but many scouts knew the power potential was real. Truth be told, I wouldn't be surprised to see Pedro Alvarez (the Pirates current 3rd baseman) becoming a late bloomer and just start wailing on the ball in a couple years.
2013 Tribute Transitions 66/99 Dual Bat Relic
After purchasing this card I decided to create a reverse box of Topps Tribute. This beauty cost me only $10.64 of the $250 a box would cost.
Ok, so I've had a Joey Bats trifecta for a bit over a month now, but I want more of the 2 time AL HR champ and former Pirate prospect.
I've shown off my auto, jersey, and rookie of the 2011 Most Voted Player for the All-Star game, but I never had a bat relic until now. This card above isn't serially numbered nor can I find any kind of print runs for it, but there are several variations of this bat relic. This batting average engraved bat relic being in the middle tier in terms of pricing. There's a base with no writing on it and a blue variant with the Pirates logo engraved on the bat relic which is harder to find and much pricier. The above card cost me $6.05 which is probably reflective of his struggles early in the 2012 season and injuries. However, for a $40 card I will take it any day.
I think here's a good place to show off my other Jose Bautista relic I had picked up last year. This diamond parallel is from last year's Update Series and shows him in his All-Star jersey. This card is absolutely beautiful. It is serially numbered 19/60 (his jersey number is 19). The swatch of jersey matches the jersey he is wearing on the card. I just love this card for the $10 I paid for it.
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