Bloggers with a Habit

Recently, two bloggers I tend to get along very well with sent me some great Yankee cards. Not only do these two gentlemen send awesome cards, but both of their blog names include “Habit.” I’m talking about Robert from $30A Week Habit and Judson from My Cardboard Habit.

I think I’ve gotten to a point with both of these guys where we just kind of send each other cards back and forth and know that it’ll all even out in the end, although I always feel like what I send pales in comparison to what they send.

First up, here are a few goodies from Robert. Him and I have both gone through the difficult process of moving card collections over the last few months. It’s not easy! While mine are moved, they are still very boxed up and unorganized. I don’t love the feeling. Moving also makes you realizes how many damn pieces of cardboard you have. And let me tell ya, cards are heavy!

Robert happened to stumble upon this Michael Pineda 2016 Opening Day Blue Foil and asked if I needed it. Indeed, I did! I did not have this Pineda yet. It is #147 in my Big Mike PC. Pineda had a tough 2016, although he did become the first Yankees right hander to record 200 Ks in a season since Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina both did it in 2001. That was hard to believe.

Man, last year Luis Severino cards were H-O-T. This year, not so much. He had a pretty miserable year amidst some lofty expectations. I still think he’s too young to give up on and move to the ‘pen, although his stuff did play up well there. Hopefully he comes to spring training and wins a starting job. I’d also like to note that these blue-framed 2016 Gypsy Queen parallels were some of the nicest of the year.

I gotta say, I forgot how nice these were. I really came back into collecting in 2011, so these Diamond Anniversary parallels were pretty popular. But after not really thinking of them too much over the last few years, it’s nice to be reminded how striking they are.

The last card Robert sent was a Ty Hensley. I always appreciate you guys keeping an eye out for Hensleys for me!

Moving onto the man with a cardboard habit (don’t we all have one?!), Judson reached out about wanting to send me a few Dillon Tate autos after the Yankees acquired him in the Carlos Beltran trade. I thought that was super nice of him. Take a look at these beauties from Inception!

Other than the serial numbers and some purplish/blue hues, I’m not positive what the difference is. However, I like them and was thrilled to add some Tate autos. Inception cards always look a bit trippy (as was the movie), but I always end up liking them. I love the surface of the card, which is great for autographs. Overall, I think it's just a cool set, and the auto checklist is usually quite strong.

I love the gamble the Yankees took on Tate, the 4^th overall pick in the 2015 Draft. Although the Yankees had him work exclusively out of the bullpen after the trade, he seemed to pitch better than he did prior to the trade. I look forward to seeing if he can bounce back to being a top prospect.

Another Severino! This time a nice Topps Chrome Refractor. I think 2016 Topps Chrome looked a lot better than the flagship (which I liked, for the record), and the Refractor and Refractor parallels looked terrific.

I love this Heritage Chrome Refractor of Masahiro Tanaka. That Topps All-Star Rookie Trophy is pretty rad. Tanaka is the undisputed ace of the Yankees, and still finds himself a bit underrated. He’s probably going to just miss out on the ERA title this year, unless he ends up pitching on Saturday, which I doubt he will. With the Yankees out of it, there’s really no reason to bring him back from injury. He had a Cy Young-caliber year, and although he won’t win, he sure was a rock for the Yankees. Plus, look at this smile!

This is definitely my first 65^th Anniversary buyback. And you know what, I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever even seen this Reggie Jackson 1982 Topps card – buyback or not. I just do not recognize it. It wouldn’t be that surprising, although it’s not like Jackson has a ton of Topps cards from the ‘70s and ‘80s either. Hmmm. Well, I’m happy to have it, foil stamp or not!

Thanks again, guys! I really appreciate you thinking of me, as always.

Finally, a new Hensley!

Man, my Ty Hensley collection is slowing way down. In fairness, he hasn't pitched in two years and has just 42 innings to his credit since being selected in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft, so he's not exactly getting the hot prospect treatment by Topps.

The only cards I seem to need now are the rare parallels and autos. Well, cross another one off the list. Here's my newest!

This officially makes 79 different Hensleys, and 24 of those are certified autograph issues. That doesn't count my TTMs, either.

I would still love to reach 100 Hensleys, although that's getting tougher and tougher as my pace slows down. I'm not going to give up though!

Glad I don't have a Marlins trading partner...

...because if I did, I probably wouldn't have the few Jose Fernandez cards that I do have in my collection. I would have sent them off in a trade package, but now I'll probably hold on to them. I don't know for what, but having a couple of these off the side to remind me of what could have been seems like the right thing to do.

I was just going about my business yesterday, packing our car up for a return trip home after a quick weekend at my parents' house, when I took a looked at my phone and saw the push notification alert about Fernandez. Whoa. It was definitely one of those moments where you just stop in your tracks trying to process it.

I can't say I saw him very much other than through highlights. I know he was a phenomenal talent and had a big personality. And I know that he's gone way, way too soon.

RIP Jose Fernandez.

33

33.

Today I turn 33 years old. Here are a few of my favorite Yankees to wear #33 since I’ve been born.

TTM Success: Ryne Sandberg

Those of you who know me know I usually stick to Yankees with my TTM adventures. However, there are times when I feel the need to step out of that focus, and this was one of them. Hall of Famers tend to do that.

Ryne Sandberg signs TTM for a $5 donation, so I decided to spend $5 on this instead of a Walgreen’s $4.99 repack a few days ago. For me, this is money better spent.

But the autograph is not for me. While it would be nice to have a Ryno autograph in my collection, no doubt, I decided to get this with the intention of putting it in my son’s HOF binder. I think it’ll look nicer in there than in my own TTM binder, among many of the HOFers that you have all sent to me for my son. I’ve sent a few TTM requests out for Joey, from Bobby Shantz to Virgil Trucks to Ty Hensley, but never to a HOFer. I’m happy to change that.

So while I’ll list this as one of my own TTM requests, it’s in fact, for my son. I just did the legwork, and hopefully he enjoys it one day.