TTM Success: Andre Robertson

Former Yankees shortstop Andre Robertson recently signed two cards for me. He was also kind enough to answer my letter:

Who was the toughest pitcher you faced? Steib

What’s your best memory as a player? The 1981 World Series.

What current player reminds you of yourself? None – they are all stronger and faster :)

I may try to complete the Balboni and McGaffigan card TTM, as I think they both sign (I know Balboni does). Could be pretty cool.

Tino Tuesday #29: 1998 Yankee Stadium 75th Anniversary

As part of a lot of random Tino's I recently picked up, this card was included. I had never seen it before, and can't seem to find too much info about it. It's from 1998 and had a Yankee Stadium 75th Anniversary logo. I'm assuming it may have been part of a giveaway day that season, but it's not branded with any sort of sponsor logo. That makes it less likely as a promotional item. It could have been included in an issue of Yankees Magazine too I suppose.

Either way, I love oddballs like this, especially when he is a Yankee. I like the design. Pretty simple, but it works well. The back is sort of boring. The cardstock reminds me of a minor league team set.

TTM Success: Jim Mason

In just two weeks time, Jim Mason signed my 1974 Topps card. Mason was a very light hitting infielder who played for nine MLB seasons, three with the Yanks. His career WAR is -3.5 according to baseball reference. That's not good.

Interestingly enough, Mason got one AB in the '76 WS for the Yanks...and homered! Pretty cool.

Topps Golden Coins = Snoozefest

I’m disappointed with this year’s Golden Giveaway. I had a lot of fun with the Diamond Giveaway. I wasn’t collecting during the Million Card Giveaway, but I believe it was similar to the Diamond. I didn’t pull anything particularly special last year, although I did unlock a 1955 card which was cool. But even when I unlocked utter crap, it was still fun to try and flip it for something more enjoyable. There was solace in the fact that these were actual cards and could be shipped. They were tangible items.

The gold coins aren’t fun. I unlocked six. Now what? Trade them for other fake coins? The die cuts seem cool, but I didn’t get one. And unless I have more codes, I won’t be getting die cuts. Oh well. I can say that since I entered all of my codes, I have not been back to the site to view trade offers.

Last year, even while I only had commons from the ‘80s in my online portfolio, I still actively checked the site because of the possibility of trade offers. I turned a 1988 common into a card from the ‘70s a bunch of times through a series of trades. It was a challenge. And it was fun.

I know we tend to get upset with Topps staying the same from year to year. This is one year when I wish they actually did.

Contest Winnings from Derek - Part 2

I'm such a bad blogger that I actually won a second contest of Derek's from Tomahawk Chopping. I voted from him in a photo contest, and thus gained entry. He's a talented photographer so I was more than happy to do it.

Anyhow, I was one of five randomly selected winners and was able to choose from a whole mess of cards. There were a lot of really nice autos and relics. Instead of going for some tradebait, I went for a 2011 Bowman Sterling Refractor jersey of Danny Duffy. I'll probably stash the card aside and see how he develops. I think he's a pretty promising prospect from what I've read. He spent a good portion of the year last year in KC's rotation, and projects as a middle of the rotation guy in the future.

Derek, I'm all caught up now. Thanks again!

Contest Winnings from Derek - Part 1

I must apologize to one of my favorite bloggers out there, Derek from Tomahwak Chopping. This post is LONG overdue. He sent me a fantastic package of cards for winning a contest that I didn't even know I won. A few weeks ago, he shot me a note, saying "by the way, you won my contest from a few weeks ago." Hmm, I didn't even recall seeing that post. So I scrolled back on a few of his posts, and lo and behold, I missed the post because I was in the hospital that day waiting for my son to pop out!

Sweet! Derek sent me a 200-ct box FULL of Yankee cards. Honestly, look at this:

The cards were awesome. I don't even know where to start. I loved sorting through this box. In fact, the cards are still in there and when I'm bored I crack it open and look at them again. There was literally a bit of everything. I have scanned some highlights, but honestly, there was much more goodness.

First off, a Posada relic. This was stashed in the middle, so I was very surprised when I saw it. Nice card!

Next up, a few Masterpieces cards. I love these more every time I see them. The artwork is amazing. The card stock is perfect. The design is so simple and elegant. If I was collecting back then, I would probably pursue the set. I still may. At least the Yanks.

A couple X Fractors of some current Yanks.

Tinos!

And to make me feel even worse about posting this, I've since won another contest of Derek's and received that card too. I'll show it off in part 2 tomorrow.

Two spots left in Jaybarkerfan's draft

I've never done a trade bait draft, so if anything it will probably be hilarious watching me make bad decisions on the cards I end up choosing. That should be worth the $10 entry cost alone. Wes has always been one of the most generous bloggers around, and I'm going to guess that will carry over into this draft. It's just the type of dude he is.

Two spots remain. Do yourself a favor and go grab one.

CLICK HERE!!

Non-crap from Arbitrary Crap

When I announced that the Lost Collector Junior had arrived, Martyn from Arbitrary Crap asked for my address and said that he’d send a card. I was blown away. Here is a blogger I had yet to build a trade rapport with yet offering to send a card.

We talked a little, and turned it into a trade, as Martyn had a cool Melky Mesa auto that caught my eye. I haven’t been able to add Mesa’s auto to my collection, so a certified one is the way to go. Mesa is a toolsy outfielder who can’t seem to put it all together yet.

The card that Martyn sent Joey was a Mark Teixeira leather nameplate. Way above and beyond anything he needed to do. Couple this with the Teixeira relic that Robert sent, and Joey all the sudden had a nice little Tex PC going on.

Martyn tossed in three other cards, including an Ivan Nova RC and a shin ARod. Martyn, thanks again!

Tino Tuesday #28: 1999 Upper Deck Encore #159

This Tino came to me last week from the great Fuji of The Chronicles of Fuji. He sent me two Tinos, but this was one I had never seen and obviously didn't have. It's from 1999 Upper Deck Encore. Tino actually has two base cards in the set, so I have to pick up the other one. This one is the Homer Odessy part of the set. Tino was considered one of the games best power hitters for a short time in the late '90s. In '97 he jacked 44, and then went down to 28 in 1998 due to a sore back that hampered him a lot of the year as a result of an Armando Benitez fastball to the back. However, he redeemed himself on the 1999 World Series Game 1 grand slam on strike four. As for the card itself, it's a nice, high quality card with a refractor-like shine. It's right around the year when Upper Deck was putting out about 40 baseball sets per year, so Tinos from around this time were pretty hard to track down.

Fuji also sent me an Ultra RBI Kings Tino which I'll use in a future Tino Tuesday post.

TTM Success: First from spring training!

Well, that was quick. I’ve decided to send out about 25 TTM requests this spring. I used to send out a lot more, but I’m finding that less and less guys are signing. Sending to players at spring training used to be a nice little secret with increased odds for a success. Now, it’s pretty much the same as sending to them during the season. I’m sure the volume of mail going to spring training has really increased, especially with internet forums tracking players’ signing habits.

So now I usually keep my requests to young or lesser known players. Sure, there are still a few big time players I send to. You never know. But for the most part, I keep my requests to role players, prospects, and non-roster invitees.

I sent to Hector Noesi back on Feb 10^th. That’s sooner that I would send to most teams, but the Mariners reported early since they are heading to Japan. I did get a Noesi success once last year when he was called up, but it was on a minor league card and I hoped to a signed Yankees card of him before all his cards moving forward showed him as a Mariner. Well, in just 7 days, Noesi returned this 2011 Topps Update. The signature stuck really nicely.

I wish Mr. Noesi the best with his new team. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he had a great year and was looked at as a strong, middle of the rotation arm for the M’s once the season is over.

Doon't you know it's President's Day?

I’m sure there will be lots of pictures of presidents and presidents on baseball cards today, being President’s Day and all. I am going to feature Napkin Doon instead, because if there were a Napkin Doon Fan Club, I’d probably be President. Or Sargent at Arms or something.

Anyways, Randy over at The Adventures of Napkin Doon sent me an awesome package recently. The headline card was a 2011 Bowman Sterling Any Dalton relic. Love the orange jersey piece! This marks my second Dalton jersey card, which is pretty cool since I don’t actively collect football. But adding a RC relic of rising QB and the signal caller from my favorite team? Yes, please! The future is bright in Cincy.

Nap also sent a few Tinos and assorted Yanks. I love the Banuelos Bowman Chrome RC’s. He’ll be happy to know that I’ve already sent one of them out for an autograph, except Banuelos generally doesn’t seem to sign anymore so I'm not expecting any return. There was also a Michael Pineda Bowman Chrome. He’s going to be a damn fine pitcher, you know.

Last, and certainly not least, a three-pack of Gerber relics…err, burp cloths for young Joey. As Nap knows, you can never have enough burp cloths, and I enjoy using these ones more than our other ones because they have baseballs on them. Makes me feel manlier.

Nap, great stuff as always. Really appreciate the gifts.