Be careful what you comment on...

... because it might just come true!

A few weeks back, I made an innocent comment on one of Collecting Cutch's post about - shockingly - Andrew McCutchen.

He was showing off a few McCutchen Yankees autographs (yes, there are a few out there). I really enjoyed Cutch's 1.5 months as a Yankee. It was awesome to see him in NY rocking the Pinstripes, although it was hot garbage he couldn't wear 22 because the corpse of Jacoby Ellsbury still had it. Anyhow, I made a simple comment, "I need to pick up a McCutchen Yankees autograph sometime."

That was it. Innocent, right?

And a few days later, a bubble mailer showed up in my mailbox. And this was in it:

Are you kidding me?! It's not like these are a dime a dozen. This was waaaay too generous. To boot, this is the EXACT autograph of McCutchen I would have targeted. Brian assured me this was a dupe for him. But still!

I was ecstatic. 

Of course, with Collecting Cutch, it never just ends there. Look at this! A giclee print of an art card by Edward Vela, signed on the back by the artist! Gorgeous.

I had seen the word "giclee" a few times, but wasn't sure what it meant. 

Hmph, well that makes sense. That is indeed what it is. Also I was pronouncing it "Gick-lee" which is very wrong.

And more and more Cutch cards. I feel like I have a nice mini-collection of him simply from the extras Brian throws into packages.

And look how far into this post I got without even showing a 2020 Topps DJ LeMahieu autograph. Nearly a perfect card. And look, he wore #26 right after Cutch did! I never thought about that.

And this absolutely beauty of a Jesus Montero card. If this were 2012, it would go for a pretty penny. Remember to sell your prospect cards, kids.

This Austin Jackson/Joey Devine card is awesome! Itr's numbered 2/2 (weird!). Austin Jackson has had a really good career. Somehow he's still just 33, although he has played for 7 teams. Still, he's a .273 career hitter, with over 1100 hits. That...is a solid big leaguer. He's made over $31Million as well. Good for him.

And least but not least, a custom from Collecting Cutch himself! I have been assured this is Yoda, not Shrek.

What a very generous gift he sent me.

Now I'm going to go find someone posting about a Trout RC and casually mention it would be nice to have one...

Second Base is the Best Base

It dawned on me recently that I never properly showed off some of my loot from Collecting Cutch's annual Breast Cancer Awareness event.

That was not intentional at all, and I wanted to make things right. Cutch is always super generous with his mailings from the event, and this is no exception.

He sent it in early December as well, so lead off the package with one of his fun painted customs of Andrew McCutchen playing the role of Santa Cutch:

So fun. The GQ card was a great choice to point given the non-glossy card stock.

The whole package was generous but to me the highlight was the Luis Severino Topps Salute Mother's Day autograph. The pink interlocking NY and the MLB logo with pink ribbon is really one of the perfect cards to honor the event that Brian runs each year. Great themed card of a great pitcher. I look forward to seeing Severino on the mound for (hopefully) a full season in 2020. It was a bit of a wasted season for him due to injury, but he showed he was healthy when he did come back, and he's still very young. He'll be just 26 for all of the 2020 campaign.

I had seen this card a few times, but never got one. It's a Fan Favorites card of Bald Vinny. I can't really say I agree with Bald Vinny being a fan favorite. Yankee fans don't really care about Bald Vinny at all. Still, must be cool for him to have a signed card in a set.

I didn't mind these Player's Weekend Manu-relic thingies at all. I really like Player's Weekend and don't mind seeing the Yankees in different uniforms for a few days. I know people (especially Yankee fans) get up in arms over any changes to the uniform (including the lovely Nike swoosh in 2020!), but I'm not one of them at all. I don't want to see a full-time change, but I have no issue with taking part in a weekend like this. Hopefully MLB starts to design some better-looking uniforms for the weekend.

I also think the nickname thing is a little played out after a few years. I'd love to see the theme continue in a different way. Maybe put the name of a charity or honor a family member. Or maybe put the name of a past player that the current player enjoyed growing up. Or auction off the spot to fans with the proceeds going to charity.

Anyhow, I was happy to get these two cards of current superstars. The Gleyber Donruss is a variation (thanks for telling me that, TCDB), and the Judge is from the ultra fun 2019 Topps Holiday set.

Last but not least, I'll bring it back with a pink Refractor of Chance Adams, who has 2,000 cards in 2019. The pink once again is a great reminder of the support Brian shows for his cause. Chance was a 40-man roster casualty earlier this offseason.

Thanks again, Brian! I really appreciate the package, and all you do for Breast Cancer Awareness.

Player collectors looking out for one another

There are a few player collectors on the blogs who are dominant in their respective field. P Town Tom with Vogelmonster. Zippy with Torrens. Junior Junkie with Griffey. Collecting Cutch with McCutchen. There are countless others I'm not mentioning, but we all know the plight to try and track down all cards of one's chosen player.

My favorite player retired 14 years ago, and it's still incredibly hard to track down his cards. However, often it's my fellow player collectors who help me out the most.

Recently, Brian of Collecting Cutch sent me a few cards out of the blue. Included in the package were these:

True, I did have the '89 Redemption, but I did redeem it to receive a second Tino buyback auto (still no update there). But the 2016 Panini Prime Cuts auto, numbered to just 10? One I needed and really appreciate!

Brian is always looking out for me, and he mentioned to me that when he buys a few Cutch cards from a seller, he'll often take a peek at what else the seller has, and usually searched for Tino as one of the guys he looks for.

I found that to be a very touching gesture, and really appreciate that Brian goes out of his way to do that. He's sent me far more Tino cards than I have sent him of Cutch, and I hope one day to pull or stumble across a very rare McCutchen so that I can properly thank him.

Brian also sent me a few Cutch cards (always appreciated), and a cool Giancarlo Stanton custom from the World Baseball Classic. The design looks like it's from the Rookies App.

Last but not least, a sweet RC Red Refractor of Dellin Betances. The card is amazing looking in person, as the scan didn't do it justice.

Player collecting is a bond of sorts, and guys like Brian really help make the battle worth it!

Bowman's Best always comes out of nowhere

Bowman's Best always catches me off guard.

Just when I think card releases for the year are winding down, Bowman's Best cards start popping up on eBay all over the place. I have no idea how it is even distributed. I'm going to guess via hobby shops and online retailers, as I don't recall ever seeing it Target.

Regardless, it can serve as an "update set" in two different ways. First, it includes many new draft picks found in Bowman Draft, and often their autographs go for much less. It's definitely a cheaper alternative in that regard.

Second, it gives the opportunity to find late season acquisitions in their new uniform. While Andrew McCutchen was only a Yankee for a short time, he was awarded a last-minute SP in Update because he was an August 31 acquisition. However, in Bowman's Best, he's part of the Yankees team set.

While I would never compete with Collecting Cutch, and I made sure he had this card before I posted, I really do want to pick up a run of McCutchen Yankees cards. I got the Update SP, and my second one comes in from Bowman's Best, an Atomic Refractor. It looks great!

In a 2018 filled with ugly, uninspiring cards, Refractors and Atomic Refractors still hold up, despite any other design flaws within the set itself. Although I do like Bowman's Best design overall, it just feels similar to years past or Topps Finest They all get me confused these days. This card only set me back about 2/3rds of my whopping $3.21 in eBay bucks, so it was well worth the cost.

It was fun to have Cutch in pinstripes for a short time, and hopefully the early 2019 releases still depict him as a Yankee.

Santa Cutch

Right before I took off on my holiday excursion, I came home to a mailing from Collecting Cutch himself. It was a holidays "just because" package, and was filled with some solid additions to round out 2018.

First, a hand painted and what I can only assume is a 1 of 1 Santa Cutch from Gypsy Queen. These are rare! I got a good chuckle when I saw this.

Now, on to the less rare cards. The biggest ticket item outside of the artwork is this sweet Michael Pineda Triple Threads. I've cooled with my Big Mike collection since he signed with the Twins, but hard not to like a card like this. On-card autograph plus awesome jersey swatch showing two pinstripes is really cool!

My next favorite card was a Bowman Chrome Gleyber Torres. I still get giddy when Gleyber finds a way into inbound packages. His cards still feel a bit rare.

Here are a couple of others I enjoyed.

Thanks to Collecting Cutch for thinking of me and being a good friend of the blog!

Update should be released a little later in the year

In 2018, Topps Update was released on October 22.

I always enjoy update because of the checklist. I'm not talking about half the set being All-Star or HR Derby cards. Those are overdone.

I'm talking about cards of rookies, free agents, and late-season acquisitions.

For the most part, Topps does a really good job of getting players traded at the non-waiver trade deadline into update. I was very happy to see guys like Zack Britton and JA App make their Yankee card debuts.

However, over the last few seasons, we're seeing more and more meaningful acquisitions happening in late August around bigger names. In 2018, Andrew McCutchen, Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, and Curtis Granderson were among the names traded prior to September 1. In 2017, Justin Verlander and Justin Upton were moved during this time.

I know Topps has checklist and production deadlines, but when cards like the one below make an appearance as an SP, it makes me wish they'd push those deadlines back a few weeks to get a full scope of the players who were traded, rather than waiting until 2019 Series One, when a lot of those players are likely on a new team.

If the set came out around Thanksgiving time or so, it'd be much more representative. I know then one could say - why not push it further and get in World Series highlights or post-season awards? All fair. But I think that pushing deadlines through August acquisitions versus pushing through the World Series and postseason awards sounds a bit more manageable, and would make for a few happier collectors, me included.

I get that it's easier than ever now to get these acquisition cards with the emergence of Topps NOW, but I'd still love Update to be an actual regular season update versus an update through July 31 with a possible SP or two snuck in.

Nevermind, that wasn't all of the Topps Nows

In my last post, I mentioned that was it for Topps Now cards that were incoming.

What I didn't account for was one find its way to me in a surprise package, but that's exactly what happened after I made that last post. This came courtesy of Collecting Cutch, who said he snagged an extra one of these and thought I'd like it since Gleyber Torres was on it. He was right!

The front of the card, which I forgot to scan, recognizes an MLB record 81 walk-off HRs in 2018. Given this card was dated August 29th, I'd have to believe the record extended itself well beyond 81. It also served as a bit of foreshadowing, as McCutchen, pictured next to Torres, would be his teammate three days later.

Very cool and a great addition to my Torres collection, which is predominantly Topps Now cards.

However, I can't quite say it was my favorite card of the package, considering this was in there:

Ooooh la la. I've been after this card from 2010 Donruss Elite for a while! Any time I get to add a new Tino autograph feels like a very special moment in my collection, mostly because there just aren't many out there.

There was a second Tino I needed as well, from 1998 Stadium Club One of a Kind, #'d to just 150. I say "just 150" because that's a fairly low-numbered card for Tino. When serially-numbered cards became the range in the late '90s, many were numbered to a few thousand. So in 1998, 150 would have been very rare!

I've always felt like this was such a cool photo to have on a card as well, with Tino diving into 1B mitt-first for the out.

And of course, you can't end a package from Collecting Cutch without a few Andrew McCutchens! I would love for him to be back with the Yankees in 2019, but I don't see how it would happen. McCutchen should, and will, get a multiyear deal somewhere. I just hope it's someplace where he can compete for a championship. He's an all-around great dude and deserves it.

Brian from Collecting Cutch is a great dude as well, and I appreciate the excellent package!

#TooManyHomers

I'm still disappointed the Yankees season is over, although admittedly I don't take it as hard as I used to. I'm not sure if it's my maturation process as a fan, or perhaps the fact that I'm now older than everyone on the team except CC Sabathia and JA Happ. Plus, the company I worked for in my early to mid 20s was littered with Red Sox fans. Now I really don't have anyone to give me a hard time other than maybe a quick comment here or there.

It was an interesting season, to say the least. The emergence of a few rookies. The disappointment of a few regulars. Injuries, trades, call-ups.

The Yankees won 100 games, although it always felt like they were underachieving with the ridiculous 108-win season the Red Sox put together. That wasn't quite fair. I'd take 100 wins every year, as more often than not that's a division title.

One thing the Yankees did was hit homers, hitting a Major League record 267 of 'em. That was pretty cool, even if it ended up meaning nothing in the long run. Homers are fun. They did it despite down seasons from two of the biggest power threats - Gary Sanchez and Greg Bird - and also while losing Aaron Judge to a broken wrist for an extended period of time.

It was fitting that the record was broken on a homer by Gleyber Torres. It's a meaningless stat, but that same record-setting blast also gave the Yankees 20+ homers from each position in the batting order. It was the 20th home run from the 9-hole, something really only an AL team could achieve. Still, pretty cool and it shows the Yankees had a lot of balance up and down the lineup all season.

I picked up the Topps NOW card to commemorate the feat. It was the first one I bought directly from Topps this year, as cards were $7.99 the final weekend of the season. Still more than I normally pay, but I wanted to stay on Topps mailing list to get their Christmas or pre-season cards they tend to send for free. Ulterior motives!

I also liked the card because of the Andrew McCutchen cameo on the back.

A lot has to go right to hit that many homers, but I'd expect the Yankees to make another run at the mark next season as well.

Plunder the Bronx

According to several reports, this man is about to become a Yankee:

I'm very happy with the acquisition if it does happen. I know he isn't the same player he was a few years back, but the Yankees have been running Shane Robinson out there far too much while they wait for Aaron Judge to return from his broken wrist. He'll immediately make the current lineup better, longer, and more capable, while also playing a solid OF. Done.

Aside from the no more Shane Robinson thing, my favorite part? Hoping Cutch finds his way into an annoyingly large amount of 2019 Topps sets despite his 30 game cameo. If we know Topps like I think we do, he's a pretty safe bet to be in at least Series 1, Heritage, and Gypsy Queen.

What's fun about that isn't the cards I'll acquire, but watching my friend, Collecting Cutch, battle Yankee fans for some beautiful and rare Cutch cards of him in Pinstripes. My money (and his!) is on Collecting Cutch coming out victorious.

I don't have many McCutchen cards, but hopefully he has a few Topps Now-able moments in September. I'm also glad I hung on to this t-shirt over the years!

Collecting Cutch is Clutch

I got one of those emails we all love to get:

“Just sent you a package. Should be there on Monday.”

Great! I did nothing to deserve an unprompted cardboard dropping, yet here was Brian of Collecting Cutch telling me something was headed my way. Last time he did that, I ended up with my first (and only) Tino 1/1 card.

I forgot about it, but then got home on Monday to a padded envelope from Brian. Better than the cards on the package was a note written on a toploader. Brian, I hope you don’t mind me sharing, but it meant a lot:

Such a kind gesture. The cards were pretty damn good too. Brian include an oddball Cutch, and while I certainly don’t collect him, this is a cool card. I think I’ll add it to my son’s HOF binder. Maybe it’ll even fit in in about 15 years. Plunder the lox!

The rest was an assortmemt of Yankees, and I’d be lying if I said this card wasn’t a highlight. I’ve wanted this card for a while.

Look at that beauty from Panini Prime Cuts. Tino’s new cards are few and far between, and most of the time, they are autographed. This is officially the newest Tino in my collection – literally.

I didn’t know these existed, but Brian also included a Michael Pineda blue-stamped Rediscover Topps buyback. From what I was told on Twitter, the blue versions are the second most difficult color to find. Since it’s a PC guy, I’m pleased.

Here are a few others, including a very unique Chris Carter – my first of him in a Yankee uniform!

Brian, thanks for the note, and for being a great friend. Keep up your great work as the world’s #1 Andrew McCutchen collector.

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!