My first Tino 1/1 by way of Andrew McCutchen

Frequently we discuss the generosity of other bloggers and collectors. I was recently on the receiving end of another one of these instances.

As a player collector, I know how hard it is to assemble a collection you feel proud of for being truly unique. I’d like to think I have the best Tino Martinez collection out there, but I don’t believe that’s true. I’m missing too many high end cards. Therefore, I frequently find myself “oohing” and “ahhing” over Brian’s collection over at Collecting Cutch. Brian quite possibly has the greatest Andrew McCutchen collection on Earth. That is not an exaggeration. While there may be others who super collect Cutch, I’m not sure anyone can boast over 100 different autos, rookie superfractors, bat knobs, etc. But Brian can. And I admire his dedication. Now I just hope Cutch doesn’t get traded…

For being a loyal reader of the blog Collecting Cutch and giving him a Twitter shoutout, Brian hooked me up big time. He said he was focusing on quality over quantity. Hmmm, I thought. Either way, always appreciate freebies. What I got definitely floored me:

My first 1/1 Tino!!!!!!! Oh man, I’ve been wanting one of these. Since Tino isn’t someone featured on current cards, his printing plates and 1 of 1s are not easy to find. I couldn’t be happier to finally have one from 1996 Pacific! Just the other day I was trying to figure out what my rarest Tino was. Now I know for certain.

As if that wasn’t cool enough, check this out! These are the photo matches of Tino’s 1996 Bowman – front and back – from the Topps Vault! 

I need to frame those, right?!

Man, Brian. I can’t thank you enough. Two very unique, one-of-a-kind items. I really appreciate it!

TTM Success: HOFer Joe Morgan

It’s not often you get a HOF TTM autograph back every day, so it’s special when one comes back.

Joe Morgan – HOF 2B and member of The Big Red Machine – signed my 2016 Topps Bunt in a little over a week. For a long time Morgan only signed index cards, so I’m not sure where the change of heart came from. I sort of wish I sent an older Topps card, although the Bunt card doesn’t look bad and does have a great surface for an auto.

Either way, very happy to add this to my collection!

TTM Success: Tim Lynch

Famed autograph hunter turned pro ball player Tim Lynch signed my two cards in just a few weeks time. I'm sure Tim is getting ready to head to Tampa soon, so I appreciate him squeezing me in.

For those who don't remember, Tim did a Q&A on on blog shortly after he was drafted.

It's nice to have an "official" card signed. I've seen signatures bubbles really badly on 2016 Bowman, but I treated the card with an eraser and the signature came out perfectly.

Interestingly enough, I used that same photo on a Rookies App custom before the Bowman Draft card was released. I made two copies, and offered for Tim to keep one, which he did.

Very cool! Tim liked it as well.

A man who knows his stuff! Tim, thanks for the autographs and good luck this season!

SuperTraders #27: Johnny again!

Ok, Johnny has definitely sent me far more packages than I've sent him. I gotta fix that. I feel bad, as I had this package in my "to be sorted" pile and then realized I didn't recall scanning it or posting it. Sorry, John!

Most of the package included nearly complete team sets of 1993 and 1994 Stadium Club Yankees issues. There's some good TTM fodder in there too!

I also liked these two cards a lot, including a Tino diecut!

I've got a few cards pulled for you, Johnny. Thanks again!

Shiny from Tiny

Uncle Tiny sent me some Bowman blue shiny earlier this week.

First off, a very cool mini Eric Jagielo. Although Jagielo isn't part of the Yankees organization any more, he sort of still is. He was in the initial trade where the Yankees acquired Aroldis Chapman from the Reds. The Yanks obviously then got Gleyber Torres and others from the Cubs for Chapman, and ended up re-signing Chapman. So the Yankees essentially swapped Jagielo for Torres. It's not quite that clean, as a lot of other players were involved.

Now we're talking. Yankees 2016 3rd-rounder Nolan Martinez. I can't help but like that his name is a combo of Nolan Ryan and Pedro Martinez, so it looks like we've got a future HOFer on our hands. Just 18 years old (born in 1998!!!), Nolan is current MLB.com's 30th best prospect.

Thanks for these, Uncle Tiny!

TTM Success: Jay Johnstone

Former major league funny guy Jay Johnstone signed my Yankees card in just 7 days. He also added the great Cubs card, which  really captures his class-clown personality.

I found it interesting that the signature on the Cubs is in blue and a little fatter looking, but I assume he just has a large stack of this card pre-signed and adds them to outgoing envelopes.

Johnstone is known as one of MLB's all-time pranksters, from putting baked goods into teammates gloves to lighting cleats on fire to buying hot dogs mid-game.Oh, the outrage if that kind of stuff happened today!

He had a solid playing career as well, and was a member of the Yankees 1978 World Series winning team. He also played a key role in defeating the Yankees in the '81 Series. I wasn't born yet so I can't be too upset.

Johnson also wrote a note on my note, saying that he'd sign anything for a $15 check to the Wounded Warriors. Very cool.

How do you eat your nachos?

I like my nachos to have some liquid gold in the form of nacho cheese. Lots of it. In fact, last Monday we took the kids to Disney on Ice, and I definitely downed some nachos. I don't like to go crazy with toppings. I just got nachos with one compartment of salsa, and the other compartment of the aforementioned liquid gold.

I also love to put a nacho chip in the hot liquid cheese and let it sit there for a few minutes, then take it out when it's a bit mushy and cheesy. It's the simple pleasures.

I prefer some jalapeños on there as well, but just a few. And in a setting where I have more control of the situation, I like some buffalo chicken or ground beef and chili on there. No sour cream. Ever. No guac. Ever.

So I'm pretty simple when it comes to my nachos.

Speaking of gold and nachos, Chris over at Nachos Grande has been breaking a product near and dear to my heart - 1996 Collector's Choice. I grew up on Collector's Choice, so I've been enjoying each post as he takes us pack-by-pack through his box.

I was surprised when he pulled a usually-one-per-box gold signature of this guy:

Yeah, Tino! Before he was a Yankee, but still, Tino! Popping out in a spring training game! I quickly checked my Tino list and sure enough, this card was not on there. I needed it!

I left a comment, and Chris was kind enough to send the card my way in a PWE packed with a few other Yankees. Not a bad way to get Tino #779!

Thanks, Chris! Enjoy the rest of the box.

SuperTraders #26: Sports Cards From The Dollar Store

I recently received a great package from north of the border, as Doug from Sports Cards from the Dollar Store sent me an awesome #SuperTraders package.

The card that caught my eye most was a terrific looking Masahiro Tanaka. I didn’t recognize the design, but it just so happens it came from 2014 Panini Black Friday. I’m uncertain if they still do it, but I really like how Panini puts out cards around Black Friday and Father’s Day, to name a few. Really cool concept. That fact that it’s an oddball RC helps too!

Ian Clarkin is easy to overlook. With the Yankees having sstrong pitching prospects like James Kaprielian and Justus Sheffield, Clarkin is often a bit forgotten, especially having missed 2015 with an arm injury. However, last year he threw 98 important innings at High A Tampa, and he will certainly look to build on that this year. He’s currently listed as the Yankees #17 prospect according to MLB.com, but I think his talent is better that. He was a first rounder, after all, and now just needs to stay on the mound.

Two absolutely sweet cards of the Yankees corner infield of the early ‘90s. Topps Embossed was fun, albeit pricey. CVS carried them, so I did get a few packs of them. The Boggs Collector’s Choice Gold Sig is a beauty too!

Speaking of gold, while I’m not the biggest fan of Gypsy Queen, their colored bordered parallels always look great. 

 

Prospects! I already had the Gamel/Barbato, but I’ll definitely be using it for spring TTMs to each guy, so I appreciate the dupe.

I like this Babe Ruth set more and more. Hopefully these packs start replacing Triple Play in repacks.

Man, Whitey Ford was good. I don’t look at his stats very often, but they always blow me away when I do.

 

Douglas, thanks for the great batch of cards and sending them all the down to New Jersey!