Tex marks the spot

A few weeks ago, I made a sale on eBay that netted me around $15. I told myself that with that money, I was going to buy a Mark Teixeira autograph, and I actually stuck to my guns.

It’s hard to believe Teixeira is in the final year of his 8-year contract. For the most part, I’d have to say he’s been a success in NY. The injury bug over the last few seasons has certainly made the deal a little tougher to swallow, and the fact that he won a title his first year but hasn’t since also puts a small shadow over his Yankees tenure. He used to hit for high average, but that evaporated as shifts became more and more prevalent.

Still, he’s hit 193 HRs in 7+ seasons in NY, won 3 Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger, received two All-Star nods, and has led the AL in HRs, RBIs, and runs scored on one occasion. He’s also been a great clubhouse guy, stays out of trouble, and has been a solid representative for the team. So whether or not this is his last year as a Yankee, or he finds his way back next year, he’s been an important member of the team over the last eight years.

For these reasons, I thought I needed his auto. Most were in the $15-$20 range, so I was staying patient. Eventually this one came up with a BIN/OBO of $8.99. I offered $5.99 and was surprised to see it sold. I budgeted $15, but ended up paying far less, including shipping. Good stuff. I think the Topps Strata autos helped knock down the price of other autos.

This is from Topps Supreme, one of those sets I have no idea about. I couldn’t tell you how it’s distributed or where or what a pack looks like or what the contents entail.  I do know that the auto is on-card, which made it more appealing. What I didn’t know is that the white portion of the card is essentially a die-cut placed on top of a blue card. I did not expect this. It’s kind of cool. You can sort of tell from this photo how it’s card placed on another card:

The thing I don’t get: why is the Yankees logo so miniature up at the top of the card? It doesn’t need to be huge, but why is it so mini? That’s an odd design choice.

Regardless, I’m happy to finally have his autograph!