Jose Bautista SomethingFecta Completed

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.

Barry Bonds TriFecta Complete

Say all you want about the steroid era of baseball but one thing is for certain, Barry Bonds is one of the greatest baseball players of all time.  I did a post earlier this year about Barry Bonds hall of fame candidacy and I still believe he should be a 1st ballot HOFer.  I'm not going to repeat myself about why I believe this, instead I'll show off my completed Barry Bonds trifecta (all in Pirates uniforms).

Feel free to leave an intelligent comment if you don't think he belongs in the HOF.  

I want a Thrilledge Trifecta

I'm gonna thrill ya tonight, ooh baby
I'm gonna thrill ya tonight, oh darlin'
Thriller night, baby, ooh!



Lastings Milledge is a perfect example of a 1st round talent not living up to their potential.  Milledge or Thrilledge as he was sometimes referred to in Pittsburgh was selected out of high school by the New York Mets in the 1st round (12th overall) in the 2003 draft.  He became the youngest player in the league when he joined the team in 2006 just months after his 21st birthday.  He would hit .241 that season playing both left and right field.  In the years that followed, Milledge began getting a rap as a bad teammate and had troubles off the field.  He appeared on a rap song with one of his friends which gained a lot of controversy due to the song's lyrics.  Mets front office was not pleased by the controversy and traded Lastings to Washington the following year.

Here's some pictures of Milledge's failed music career.

While with Washington, Lastings had a solid season in 2008 as a 23 year old when he batted .268 with 14 HR and 24 SB while knocking in 61 runs.  Injury troubles began to hurt Milledge in 2009 and he was eventually traded with Joel Hanrahan for Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett to the Pirates.  He continued to rehab before joining the Pirates.  During his year and half stint with the Pirates, he was just a place holder for future outfielders like Jose Tabata and Alex Presley.  He hit .282 in 599AB with the Bucs, while posting an offensive WAR of 0.1.  His defensive WAR was actually below replacement level with a -2.1 total over his 171 games.  Strangely enough, it was his bad routes and defense that made me love the guy.  He was a typical Pirate in 2009 and 2010.  Sometimes I think he would purposely wait on a ball before making a move for it.  This lead to many diving plays by Milledge, some of which he caught, some of which got away.  All in all though, it gave him the nickname Thrilledge.

He is currently playing for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in Japan where he will most likely become a cultural icon with his style of thrilling plays.

Besides a few Topps flagship base cards of Milledge in his Pirates uniform and a 2010 Upper Deck, the card below is the only card of Lastings I own.  I bought it at a card show for $1.  I know that he has had a few relic cards over the years and I don't really have a preference what card I end up with, but I would really like to make a trifecta of Thrilledge.  Anybody got some Lastings to trade?  I need a rookie and relic.  Non flagship Topps would also be nice to add to my collection.

FUN FACT: Lastings is not a typical name.  Seriously how many people did you go to school with named Lastings?  The story as told by the Pirates broadcasters is that Lastings was the youngest of several siblings and his mother called him Lastings because it would be the last child she would have.

Jose Bautista Trifecta Completed

I've had a rookie card of the late blooming superstar Jose Bautista for a long time.  After all, Jose was drafted by the Pirates in the 20th round of the 2000 draft.  He played for 4 different teams in 2004 as he was a rule 5 draft pick of the Orioles.  he also enjoyed time with the Royals and Devil Rays before being returned to Pittsburgh.  He was supposed to be the 3rd basemen of the future until Andy Laroche arrived as part of the Jason Bay trade.  In the summer of 2008 he was shipped off to Toronto.  A minor mechanical change to his swing and he was a breakout superstar in 2010.


This autograph finally completes my trifecta of Joey Bats.

To recap the other 2/3 of the trifecta here's some more Bautista

jersey card from 2005 Bowman Draft

rookie card from 2002 Topps Traded #180