Goodbye and good luck to some great TTM signers

As someone who likes following prospects, it was a bit sad to see a few good ones go over the past couple of weeks as a . I’m also a realist and know that 1. You have to give something to get something and 2. These guys don’t always pan out. But still, that doesn’t make it easier.

Many of us had visions of James Kaprielian taking the hill in a big game for the Yankees, or Jorge Mateo swiping a crucial bag in a late inning. However, with the depth the Yankees have built in their farm system, and unexpectedly being in first place on July 31, the Yankees traded from areas of strength to improve the current team. Maybe it’s not fair to ever say it’s a surprise the Yankees are in first, but their “rebuild” is a little ahead of schedule when most figured 2018 and 2019 were when it would come to fruition.

Plus, outside of Todd Frazier, each piece the Yankees have acquired are under control to help those expected runs in 2018 and beyond.

However, there is no guarantee for the next season and beyond, and when your team is in first place on July 31, you do what you can to improve. The Yankees have done that, and only time will tell if it will work out or not.

Of the prospects the Yankees traded over the last week, six of them were past TTM signers for me.

I’ll still cherish these autographs, and certainly wish each player well in his new organization. I especially hope that Kaprielian and Fowler each come back 100% from their injuries. They are A+ dudes, and deserve successful careers.

TTM Tradewinds

As you have likely heard, the Yankees and White Sox engaged in a fairly large trade last night. The Yankees made their bullpen stronger by acquiring former Yankees David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle, as well as 1B/3B Todd Frazier.

In return, the Yankees sent highly rated prospects Blake Rutherford (a personal favorite), Ian Clarkin, Tito Polo, and reliever Tyler Clippard to the White Sox. Good riddance, you massive flyball pitcher, you.

While I'm bummed to lose Rutherford, the Yankees dealt from a position of strength within their organization. I also know that you need to give up something to get something. It irks me to no end when fans think their team's junk can just be shipped off to other teams for usable players. Ellsbury! Headley! Clippard! For Sonny Gray!

And it's not just a Yankees thing. All teams' (misinformed) fans do it.

Anyhow, what I found amusing about this trade was how many TTM tentacles it hit for me.

Clippard was the latest entry into my Topps Yankees Project.

David Robertson was my 2013 entry, although since replaced by Hiroki Kuroda due to the personalization.

Blake Rutherford signed this card for me not once, but twice last year.

Ian Clarkin was a fantastic TTM signer.

Tommy Kahnle was a success I posted about my first year of blogging in 2011.

In the past, Frazier had been a good TTM signer. I haven't seen many successes from him this year, but knowing how random Yankees enter into Series One (see Butler, Billy), I can't help but think this: Todd Frazier, 2018 Topps Yankees Project entry.

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!

TTM Success: Eric Jagielo

So I cheated a little bit. I had already had a TTM success from a few years ago from Eric Jagielo, the former Yankees prospect now with the Reds. He was one of the pieces the Yanks sent to Cincy for Aroldis Chapman.

However, I had reason for sending to him. I had this:

Man that would look fancy with a second signature on it, wouldn't it? Therefore, I present this:

Looks great, eh? It's sad that these guys are no longer in he organization together. The Yankees had three first rounders that year - Ian Clarkin, Aaron Judge, and Jagielo. Judge is certainly the top prospect of the bunch, on the cusp of the Majors. Clarkin is still a top prospect despite missing last season with an injury. Jagielo performed perfectly fine, but has caught the injury bug a bit. Still, I wouldn't be shocked if he ended up being a very solid offensive player for Cincy in the not-too-distant future. I wish him the best!

He also signed two cards for me. I'll probably toss one of these to Cardboard Clubhouse in a SuperTraders package at some point.

TTM Success: Ian Clarkin

Yankees lefty Ian Clarkin signed two cards for me, and tossed in an extra of his own. Sadly, I am not certain when I sent this. You see, I lost all my TTM records from 2011-2015 on my previous work computer. Stupidly I had kept my spreadsheet there instead of a cloud or drive I could access, and when I left the company, I massively dropped the ball and forgot to bring a copy.

I was really bummed when I realized what I did. The spreadsheet had who I sent to, what I sent, where I sent to, the number of cards, success/failure, and any notes. It was a lot of info to lose. Total screw up on my part.

I've got a new spreadsheet going on Google Docs, so I'll always have it. There's nothing I can do about all the lost info, except ensure that I don't do it again moving forward.

Long story short, I'm not sure when I sent this Clarkin. I know that I definitely didn't include the Bowman All-American Classic, so I thank Ian for that. The Bowman Ice looks awesome signed as well!

I know Eric Jagielo was a great signer with the Yankees. He's with the Reds now, so maybe I'll try to complete the duo.

Thanks for the return. Mr. Clarkin! Best of luck this season.

TTM Success: Ian Clarkin on a Chrome

I just got back another TTM request, this time from Yankees prospect Ian Clarkin. As you’ll recall, I got back Aaron Judge just a few days ago. These guys were picked 32^nd and 33^rd overall by the Yanks in 2013, so that’s pretty cool.

I’m not sure if the Yanks sent these guys a bunch of their fan mail recently, or if these guys are trying to finish up fan mail because…THEY ARE GETTING READY FOR SPRING TRAINING! Oh yes, it’s getting closer and closer. And that is a very happy thought.

Thank you to Mr. Ian Clarkin for this great auto, and best of luck in 2015 as your climb the ranks.

More eBay bargain hunting

I've done a few posts like this before, but there are always deals to be had on eBay. Sometimes I'll take a few minutes and search penny auctions (with free shipping) and put in a low maximum bid, and once in awhile, I'll win a card for dirt cheap.

Most of the time I lose, and I expect to. But all of these cost me just a few cents a pop, and no more than a buck including shipping. Pretty fun when it actually works out.

 

Hypothetical question

Sometimes I feel like I should downsize my collection. I don't want to. It wouldn't be by choice. I love having the quantity of great Yankee cards that I do. A lot of it is just due to where I live. In NYC-area housing, space is limited. With two kids, space is even more limited. I'm sure once I do move to a bigger place (in the next year or so), I'll have more room to store my collection and can laugh at the thought of downsizing.

But it gets me thinking sometimes. If my wife said that I can only keep one box of cards, what would I keep? She's very reasonable and patient, so she never would, but what if one day she said, "I'm sick of the daily bubble mailers. You get one box, and only one box." What would I keep?

Now, if I only get one box, I'm going to get everything I can out of it. So I'm going to go with this box:

Now hmmm, what would I keep? Well, i gotta keep my nearly 700 Tinos. And with thick relics and whatnot, that would probably take up at least one whole row.

 

I'd also need to keep my TTM autographs. I've put a lot of time into those, especially my Topps Yankees collection.

I'd keep the majority of my Yankee relics as well. I'm still in the camp where relics feel special, likely because I never pull them from packs. They haven't gotten old for me. I wouldn't be able to keep them all, but I'm thinking 25 or 30.

Jeter. I have a few hundred. Those aren't going anywhere.

My vintage! I couldn't give up my vintage cards. Perhaps 1965 and earlier would stay, plus guys like Mantle, Ford, and Munson later on.

Prospects! I have to keep a few of those around. Maybe even one day one will pan out and I'll be able to cash in. Not why I do it, but still...

Non-baseball. I'd have to keep my 50 or so Michael Jordan cards.

Then, I'd probably keep a large assortment of other Yankees cards, from the 70s-today. Not being a set collector would actually come in handy here, since I wouldn't have to worry about keeping complete sets together.

So now I ask you. If you had to condense to just one box, what would you keep?