Finally Bernie

If I ever scale down my collection, which I really hope to do, I want to make sure some of the cards left are guys that mean something to me. If I was left with one or two boxes of cards, I'd rather be left with a few nice autographs and vintage cards.

One guy that meant a lot to me growing up was Bernie Williams. Often overshadowed, he was never a main collecting focus. I liked getting Bernie cards, but I didn't go out of my way to get them.

The first jersey I ever got, in 6th grade, was a mesh Bernie batting practice jersey. The only reason I got it was because the Champs Sports I was in at the mall was out of Jeter and Tino.

However, in time I've really appreciated Bernie's career, and the fact that the Yankees don't win in '96, '98, '99, '00 without him. He was a steady force in the middle of the lineup and in CF.

I do have one alleged autograph of Bernie Williams. It was a TTM from about 2006 or 2007. He signed a lot at the time, although there were many rumors it might have been a ghost signer. So honestly, I'm not sure and have always looked at that autograph with a side eye.

With Bernie autographs popping up more and more with recent Topps releases, I decided to finally get one for about the price of a blaster box:

I like the '99 Topps design and seeing Bernie on a card design from when he played, despite the fact that this was a 2019 release. It felt right. Plus the autograph is on-card, which I like even more.

I hope to make more pickups like this over the next few years, and start to stash away my long-term keepers. This is definitely one of them.