Dave Parker is battling Parkinson's Disease

I recently became aware that one of my favorite Pirates players of all time is battling Parkinson's disease.  I think this is a good time to really point out why HOF players should be voted in during their 15 year eligibility.

Dave Parker never received more than 24% votes for his HOF candidacy.

He often played hurt and one time even played with a football helmet to protect his broken jaw.

While Parker was involved in some off field battles that may have ruined his chances, there is no doubt that he was one of the best outfielders in the 70s and 80s.

He finished in the top 10 MVP voting 6 times in his career and won the award in 1978 (95%).  In addition to the MVP honors, he also won 3 gold gloves, 3 silver sluggers, 7xAll-Star, 2x NL Batting Champ, and won the 1979 All-Star game MVP.

He finished his career with more RBI than other HOF players Mickey Mantle, Jim Rice, Billy Williams, Orlando Cepeda, etc
His doubles total are higher than many HOF players also.

His career ended with a .290/.339/.471 line with 339 HR and 526 doubles while collecting 2,712 hits while driving in just shy of 1,500 RBI.

Below you'll see my entire hits collection of the Cobra.
I have 6 autographs, 15 jerseys, and 12 bat relics along with 1 Three Rivers stadium seat relic.

NO PEDS in this post

Pedro Alvarez has made a case for being a household name over the past two seasons.  However, no one is really talking about the current 2013 NL homerun leader outside of Pittsburgh.

2013 Gypsy Queen Patch 4/10

Dejan Kovacevic of Trib Total Media wrote a really interesting article about the pure raw power that El Toro brings to the ballpark every game.  Pedro was initially snuffed from the HR derby despite having the 2nd most HR in the NL at the time of the All-Star game.  He's an incredible talent and has matured immensely since coming up in 2010.  Many people were willing to write him off after the terrible 2011 season he had, but he showed that if you give him regular at bats and let him build on his experience he's a threat to the middle of that Pirates lineup.

Pedro Alvarez is currently 33rd on the Pirates All-Time HR record list with 77 Bucco Blasts.  He'll need just shy of 400 to pass HOFer Willie Stargell for the All-Time total of 475 round trippers.  Current players ahead of El Toro include Garrett Jones (24th overall with 95 HRs) and Andrew McCutchen (22nd overall with 97 HRs).  I've had a remarkable ability of predicting when El Toro would got hot and I think the 2nd week in August, he's just going to go on a terror at the plate.

Above is the 3rd variation of the 2013 Gypsy Queen relics of El Toro I've picked up this year.
You can see the other variants here and here.

McCutchen Monday: 2010 Topps Hat Logo

My current favorite player in baseball today 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.

I am not a fan of manupatches.  I want to be very clear about that.  But when a manupatch features my favorite player, the year after he should have won Rookie of the Year, well.....

2010 Topps Hat Logo 43/99

I'm willing to add a Pirates hat logo manupatch to my collection, especially if it's numbered to only 99 copies

Another LOGOMAN patch???? Hells yeah!!!

Starling Marte was on fire to start the season and while he has cooled down recently, he's still a key piece of the Pirates winning season so far.  It's no secret that I love to add cardboard featuring the Pirates Logoman. I made it a goal this year to add 2 more cards to my collection featuring the Jolly Rodger.

I have already shown off my 2013 Joel Hanrhan Gypsy Queen logoman patch and my 2012 Neil Walker Museum logoman patch.  I also recently showed off as part of my McCutchen Mondays logoman patch a 4 piece jersey with Yoenis Cespedes, Reggie Jackson, Willie Stargell and Cutch.

Well now I can add Starling Marte to the list of players I have team logoman patches of.

2013 Topps Museum Starling Marte 49/50 AUTO JERSEY LOGO PATCH

My newest Jameson Taillon hit

Jameson Taillon has been my favorite Pirates prospect since the day he got drafted by the Bucs back in 2010.  The Pirates farm system is currently one of the best in baseball and Jameson is now the Pirates top ranked prospect again (Gerrit Cole is no longer considered a prospect).

2012 Bowman Chrome Futures Game Patch 9/10 Jameson Taillon

I managed to grab this very low numbered (9/10) for just shy of $10 many months ago.

It will be interesting to see how good the Pirates pitching staff is for years to come as new Bucs arrive starting in 2014 with Taillon and followed by guys like Tyler Glasnow, Nick Kingham, and Luis Heredia.

Jamo just got promoted to AAA so it will almost be a certainty that he is in the majors next year barring an injury.

More Jason Bay Relics????

Q: How many Jason Bay jersey relics do you have now?
A: 67 and counting

2007 UD Artifacts Awesome Artifacts Quad Jersey Relic 46/50

Q: How many Jason Bay bat relics do you have?
A: 9 and counting

2007 Allen & Ginter Bat Relic 

Q: How many Jason Bay relics does one person need?
A: As many as I can get my hands on.

I recently grabbed the above two cards for less than $2 a piece after winning several other items with the same seller to qualify for free shipping.  2 Fricking Dollars!!!!

I would also like to mention that I own 2 cards that feature both a jersey and bat relic on the same card from Jason Bay.

Super Collector question to all...

I know that we all have that one player, who's an average ball player at best that we just love to collect cards from.  Who's yours?  Why do you collect that player?

For me, it's Charlie Morton.  Charlie was born in the same town as me along with journeyman Jack Cust.  I was never a fan of Jack Cust and Charlie moved before grade school, but when I saw the Pirates had traded All-Star and Gold Glover Nate McLouth for a couple of minor league prospects including someone born in Flemington NJ...well let's just say that Charlie became my favorite pitcher instantly.

I got to meet Charlie over Fan Fest and had my picture taken with him on Photo Day in 2010.  In addition to being a good major league pitcher now, he's also a very talented musician which you can listen to here.

Low numbered Charlie Morton cards just might be what I get most excited about in my collecting pursuit.
Yes, a guy with a 4.94 ERA over his career gets me more excited about cardboard than a 20 year old kid hitting bombs in the Homerun derby or a 22 year old Cuban sensation in the City of Angels that wears #66.  For me, my first priority with my collection resides in adding more cards of "Ground Chuck" as he's become known in the Steel City.  His sinkerball has been extremely effective since 2011 and he gets a ton of groundball outs now.

2012 Topps Mini Black Printing Plate

When I came across this 1/1 printing plate, I had to buy it! There wasn't even a second thought that went through my head, actually.

No matter how cheap I can grab a HOFer Bill Mazeroski auto for or picking up a sick logo patch of Jason Bay for less than a discounted blaster, I will always get most happiest when I'm adding a 1/1 Charlie Morton to my collection, even if it did cost me $16.99.

Charlie's on the mound tonight as the Pirates attempt a 5 game sweep of the Cardinals in 4 days.
Let's Go Bucs!