Topps Finally Sent Me My Redemption!!!!!

It took a few more months than I would have hoped, but Topps did it, they finally sent me my BASE auto/jersey of Gerrit Cole from 2013 Bowman Platinum.

The card is beautiful and features a nice swatch of blue jersey (likely from the 2012 Futures Game) along with a sticker auto.  I had started to see these pop up on ebay and was wondering if Topps was ever going to send me mine.  Thankfully I received it last week.  I am however still waiting for my Jeff Locke redemption from a few years ago.  Is it really that hard to get one of them redeemed, Topps?

McCutchen Monday: The Nicest Cutch Auto I own

My current favorite player in baseball is Andrew McCutchen.  Quite honestly, he might be my favorite player I've ever gotten a chance to see play. I currently own almost 300 unique cards of Cutch and hope to get that number closer to 400 by the end of the year.  Amongst my cardboard collection of Cutch are many autographs, over a dozen 1/1s, and almost enough jersey material to put his jersey back together.  Back in 2011, I created Morton Mondays, but with the lack of Charlie Morton cards available, I changed it to McCutchen Mondays so each Monday I will show off one new card from my Cutch collection.

To see all my Andrew McCutchen relics, autos, printing plates, manupatches, etc ... check out this link.

Come with me McFly...

We're going all the way back to 2004 when Bowman introduced redemption cards for a set of cards from the AFLAC High School All American game.  Some of the notable players in the series included Cameron Maybin, Andrew McCutchen, Chris Volstad, CJ Henry, and Justin Upton.  Like all things Topps, the sets were delayed and not shipped until 2006.  The Gold Refractors which were originally intended to be a limited run of 50 accidently had over 50 redemption cards slip into packs which caused them to be delayed even more.  Topps asked customers if they wanted a 3 card auto set consisting of CJ Henry, Andrew McCutchen, and Cameron Maybin or the gold refractor set.  Number one overall selection Justin Upton was later added to the set as well.  The gold refractor set was shipped before the auto set and the final print run of the auto set was 125 copies with 90 in current circulation.

I've been after one of these since I can remember.  They typically start ungraded around $400.  If you want a nice grade, well...you can be looking at up to a grand for this card. I was fortunate though that mine ran me just over $400.

I decided I was going to splurge on the MVP candidate and grab this card graded.  It has two very nice subgrades with 10s on Centering and Surface.  The Edges are graded a 9.5 and corners are graded a 9.  The on card auto is graded a 10.

This is my second graded Cutch auto and I got to say, it's by far my favorite Cutch auto I own.  It's got everything I love about baseball cards.
Highly touted prospect - CHECK
On Card AUTO- CHECK
Low Print Number - CHECK
Chrome - CHECK
my favorite player - CHECK
high grade - CHECK

YUP! This is staying with me in the forever pile.

McCutchen Monday: Redemption Time!!!

The Pirates swept the Cubbies yesterday marking the Pirates first sweep of 2012.  If the Pirates can win the series against the Reds starting today, that will put the Bucs at .500 for the season.

The team is currently last in nearly every offensive category through out the major leagues.  Take away Andrew McCutchen and his .342/.402/.544 line and this team looks absolutely embarrassing offensively.  Cutch is putting up numbers that may get his name nominated a few times for MVP this year.  He also has double digits in steals and has been one of the league's best defenders the past couple seasons in center field. He's an electrifyng personality and one of the game's most exciting young players.

Topps Museum issued an autograph redemption in their product this year and I saw one of the redemption cards online for $12 shipped.  A few short weeks later, this beautiful on card blue pen auto arrived at my doorstep.

Numbered out of 299, this card is gorgeous in hand and the signature really pops.  If you have a chance to pick one up cheaply like I did it's a worthwhile investment if Cutch continues to play at the All-Star level he's shown in just under 50 games so far this season.

Let's Go Bucs!  Beat them Reds!  Get back to .500

On another note, the 1st place Orioles recently extended Adam Jones for an additional 6 years with a full no trade clause and part of his annual salary will go to Orioles charities.  It's nice to see the Orioles locking up a stud athlete like Jones for the foreseeable future.

I think it's appropriate to show off this Jones/McCutchen dual auto that I picked up during the offseason.  Nice looking isn't it?

Thank you Panini

About two months ago, I won an auto redemption of Jose Osuna.  It took the seller a little longer to ship than I had initially expected and I didn't enter my redemption immediately.  3 weeks after entering the code at Panini's website I received this Jose Osuna Aspirations di cut signature numbered 10/100. I won the below card for $2.24 shipped.  I'm still trying to figure out how that signature says Jose Osuna, but I'll take it.

Very few people know about Jose Osuna yet, but his name might one day become one of the Pirates top prospects.  Prior to the season starting Osuna didn't even crack the Pirates top 20 prospects.  However, as a 19 year old playing and succeding in A ball so far this year, he may reach the majors by his 22nd birthday and be fully capable of handling his own as an everyday 1st basemen.