Buc to the Future

The Pirates Outfield of #RunPMC@PNC might be one of the best outfields the team has ever assembled.  The 1965 tandem of two Hall of Famers (Willie Stargell in LF and Roberto Clemente in RF) along with Bill Virdon patrolling Center Field might boast the most historic nameworthy for Pirates fans.  Back in the early 90s though the Pirates possessed one of the best hitting outfields with Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke, and Bobby Bonilla.

Recently someone was liquidating their Pirates collection and offering cards in bulk lots.  I grabbed 11 cards of Bonds and Bonilla for $4.

The most interesting card of the lot was this Barry Bonds.

The Cracker Jack Donruss mini was a close 2nd

You won't find these in any pack

Someone was unloading their entire Pirates collection on eBay over the past month and I (along with Matt from Bob Walk the Plank) took advantage of adding some new cards that we both didn't know existed.

This was one of the highlights for me of the cards posted.

Neil Walker is such a fan favorite because of his ties to the city and ability to come up with some clutch at bats.

The front of the cards is clearly based on the 2013 Topps "turtle" design

The back have a look reminiscent of vintage baseball cards

Funny oddball of one of my favorites

For 99 cents delivered, I grabbed this unique oddball card from CardToons of Andy Van Tyke for the Parrots.

Look how tiny Andy is compared to the catcher!

Here's some interesting facts about the toddler

Don't Do Drugs!!! You can still throw no hitters

These were a pair of oddball Dock Ellis cards I recently purchased for $4 delivered.

They were made to celebrate Dock's LSD no hitter.

Cole Hamels threw a non drug related No Hitter yesterday.

#freebonds

It was just announced today that the Department of Justice is dropping their case against Barry Bonds. While I will never support cheating, I also will never discount the talent that Bonds had.

It stung a lot when Bonilla left for NY for the 1992 season and both Bonds and Drabek left after the 1992 heart breaking season loss to Atlanta.  That early 90s team was one of my favorite teams to watch. I still search for oddball and regional releases of the players on those teams.

Such was the case when I came across this 1992 Art Images Promotional Card for 99 cents with free shipping.

McCutchen Mailday #68: Oddbal Art Style Magazine Card

My quest for 100 new Andrew McCutchen cards has landed me this oddball that I picked up for free after a $10 coupon off the interwebs. I don't know if the card is even real, but it is fairly thick and very glossy.  It features the Pirates logos, but doesn't state anything about being licensed by MLB.

The front of the card says 6/7 so I am assuming that is the month of the magazine's release date, but then again it could be a short print run card numbered 6/7.  If anyone has any information about this card or the magazine please let me know.

The back is very basic

An oddball featuring Cutch, Alvarez, Marte, and Walker

Back in the 70s, 80s, and 90s many companies used to produce oddball cards of baseball players that you could only find regionally.  As an Andy Van Slyke collector, I've managed to grab a few of these.  However with the exclusive license to produce MLB cards given to Topps, oddballs are becoming more and more scarce of current players.

Almost all minor league teams produce cards of that year's crop of prospects and filler onto cardboard and sell them as team sets around $10 at stadiums.  Occasionally though, they'll do something like what you see above.

That is the back of a set of playing cards given out at Altoona Curve games this year.  It was part of a promotion where you could save up all four of the "Tailgate" themed giveaways to receive a tailgate party pack.

The cards feature 4 of teh Pirates top positional players on the roster as Kings of Curve, Pa.
Clubs: Andrew McCutchen
Heart: Starling Marte
Diamonds: Pedro Alvarez
Spades: Neil Walker

I'm not sure if it was intentional, but the suits of the player actually suit the player pretty well.
Cutch is the face of the franchise (club).
Starling Marte often plays through his injuries and will gladly take one for the team by getting hit by a pitch just to get on base (heart)
Pedro Alvarez was the Pirates 1st big draft signing bonus (diamonds)
and Neil Walker is a player every team has in spades, but can't win without

I'm happy I was able to pick these cards up.  The only problem is I don't know how to organize them.  I have a binder of just Cutch cards and have a binder full of current players that I collect (Marte, Alvarez, and Walker).  I could put the kings of each card in a page of that player, but what do I do with the other 50 cards? (52 cards + 2 jokers - 4 kings)

GIVE ME YOUR SUGGESTIONS HOW YOU WOULD STORE THESE....