I collected baseball cards from the late '80s through 2002. Then I went to college and when I came out, I was lost. There were too many brands, sets, choices, relics, autos, parallels, variations. It was a turn off. However, I slowly made my way back.
So here is my attempt to venture back into the hobby. I'll buy a few packs of cards here and there, comment on some cards I have, send out some TTMs, and follow the progress of my Topps Yankees Project.
As Zippy Zappy pointed out on Twitter, I did just post that Slade Heathcott deserved a call-up. Well, Jacoby Ellsbury hurts his knee, hits the DL, and next thing I know, it's Heathcott getting the call.
I'm very surprised he was the choice over Ramon Flores, but I gotta say, I'm excited. I hope he can come bring some miuch-needed energy to a bit of a slumping team.
Moreso, I'm just happy for Mr. Heathcott. He was a 1st round pick, battled numerous injuries, not to mention many personal and family issues while he was growing up. At one point, he was living in his truck. Now he's a big leaguer, and it's hard not to be happy for him. I know he'll appreciate it.
I picture the 2014 Bip Awards being held at a Chili's, just like The Dundies:
I hope this is the case.
On Sunday night, I was browsing through the blog roll when I noticed that Sooz of A Cardboard Problem has posted the 2014 Bip Award nominees. Cool! So I checked them out...
Somehow this little blog of mine was one of the 10 nominated for Blog of the Year. Wow! Very cool to be in that category with all the amazing blogs out there. And then I thought, well, if I didn't vote for myself, who the heck nominated me? It wasn't my mom, either. She has no idea (nor does anyone in my family or that I've met in real life) that I run this little Lost Collector operation.
Or maybe someone is playing a joke on me? Like when the cool kids nominate a dork for homecoming king?
Regardless, it's incredibly cool to see my name up there. I know I don't put as much thought or effort into my daily(ish) postings like many of the other nominees, but the blog is mine and it means something to me. It's one of the main reasons I still collect. It adds to each and every one of my collecting experiences, no matter how small. Whether it's a single-card eBay win or a big padded envelope of cards from another blogger, it lengthens and personalizes the collecting process for me. Cards that arrive aren't just catalogued and quietly stuffed into a box or binder. They are scanned. They are written (loose term) about. They are shared. They are appreciated. I get to show off cards to other people who actually like cards too. And that is pretty damn awesome in its own right.
I won't do any campaigning. I can't hang with the top of the crop nominated, nor do I feel the need to. Everyone runs his or her blog their own way, and I'm happy with mine. I squeeze out whatever posts I can in between changing poop diapers and threatening my son that if he gets out of bed once more that I'm taking away all his firetrucks.
But maybe I'll grab a few votes, the way that Darin Erstad or Jacque Jones did on their HOF ballots. You know, when a BBWAA writer leaves someone deserving off of his ballot because he knows everyone else will vote for that person, just so he can vote for the little guy that meant something to him.
Good luck to everyone nominated in all categories. There are some very tough calls. I have no idea myself, as asking me to pick between JBF and Zippy Zappy for "most generous" is a horrifying thought. I guess I'm just glad, in this instance, that Mark Hoyle wasn't eligible...
Finally, a shout out and THANK YOU to Sooz for running this. I'm sure it's a huge pain, but I can't think of anyone better to run this. Remember to thank her, and hopefully there is no unnecessary drama that ensues. She's doing this on her own time.
Oh yeah, and here's a baseball card since I didn't have one in this post. It's new to my collection, and it features a guy I'm really pulling for: Slade Heathcott. He has all the talent to be a regular at the MLB level, but just can't stay healthy. He's overcome a lot in his life, including living out of his truck his senior year of high school. He was squeezed off of the 40-man roster this winter, but luckily re-signed with the Yanks and has a chance to re-establish his career in AA or AAA this spring. Go get 'em, Slade.
I can't think of Bowman Inception without thinking of this:
Weird, crazy movie. However, if I keep getting cards like the one below, "Inception" may have a new meaning.
I picked up this gorgeous Gary Sanchez on-card auto from 2014 Bowman Inception, which constantly puts out some fantastic looking cards that end up being fairly affordable. I like the filter Topps uses on the photos (very Instagram-y), and the designs have a cool darkness to them.
While it's a set that doesn't get a lot of love, I've become a big fan of Bowman Inception, and look forward to its release (and subsequent eBay pickups) every year. Here are two I picked up from the 2013 Bowman Inception set. Nice cards. See what I mean?
I'm in the middle of a busy time at work, plus traveling Thurs-Sunday, so I've got some short show and tell posts lined up. Let's be honest, that's what most of my posts are, but these are especially straight to the point.
I recently snagged two autos of Yankees prospects on eBay. The first is this Gabe Encinas auto. He's working his way back from elbow surgery. I hope he makes it to the bigs, because I'm sure the tabloids would have a field day with the name. "Encinas Man" comes to mind.
Also snagged this relic/auto of former first rounder Slade Heathcott. Love the guy's skills, but he just has a very hard time staying on the field. Still, a cool card and I'm hopeful he can eventually make it. He's in AAA and on the 40-man, so it's not unreasonable.
In yesterday's mail, there were three bubble mailers, two Christmas cards, and some other junk mail. I win the day!
I went on a little certified auto shopping spree last week. It's pretty unlike me, I won't lie. Not that I don't love certified autographs, I just don't buy them very much.
The first I snagged was my first Michael Pineda autograph. This is from 2011 Bowman Chrome and is on card.
The next two are from Bowman Inception. I know absolutely nothing about this set, other than I like the dramatic filter they use on the player images. The Tyler Austin is on card, while the Heathcott is a sticker.
I’m a bit behind on showing a few card packages I’ve got in
the past month or so. One of them was from Dustin over at Coot Veal’s. I feel
like Dustin always has some sweet vintage for trade. I came across a 1954
Bowman Ned Garver for his Tigers collection, and he swapped me for a 1956 Topps
Hank Bauer.
He also included some other great cards:
A Tino PANTS relic.
A very cool Slade Heathcott card with Johnny Damon on the
back.
A Dellin Betances RC I didn’t have.
A sparkly Pineda for my PC.
An Archives Rizzuto.
A cool oddball Winfield.
A high def Topps HD Tino. This was a cool set, and for some
reason only Napkin Doon has caught on.
I don’t have much to say here. This is blantently a “look
what I got” post. These cards have trickled in through various
purchases/auction wins. I don’t have much to say other than I like them, and
here they are. Now I can put them away.
Due to a recent order snafu, I had a few bucks worth of credits to SportLots burning a hole in my pocket. I decided to grab a few Tinos and a few Yankee prospect cards.
There was no rhyme or reason choosing these Tinos other than the fact that I didn't have them and wanted my purchase to come from the same seller. I grabbed a 2004 Lost Years card of Tino on the Rays - a 2004 Heritage. I swear I'm missing a stack of Tinos somewhere because I think I have this. However, when I went through what I had, this apparently wasn't there. I also grabbed a 1993 Flair that had eluded me. These were about the nicest cards ever when they came out, not to mention the most expensive. They game in tiny boxes for crying out loud. The 1998 Topps Gallery Impressions card definitely isn't my favorite of the Gallery sets. Too much foil for Gallery. I also grabbed two Fleer cards - a 2001 Premium (I already had the Ruby version) and the '02 Maximum. Fleer put out a lot of sets in the early 2000's...Maximum, Platinum, Focus, Mystique, Tradition, etc. Yikes.
I also grabbed a bunch of prospect cards...Jesus, Slade, and Manny.
I picked up this purple shiny goodness on eBay. I placed a .99 bid (plus .99 shipping) and I was the only bidder, so for $1.98 I'm a happy camper. I already had the Slade Heathcott, but needed the Jesus Montero. The seller was also cool enough to throw in the Bowman Platinum base cards of these two players for free of charge. Sweet lot!
After a week of watching the Yanks score little to no runs (minus a random 15 run outlier), I'm about ready to see Jesus' bat in the big league line up. STAT.
For $2 shipped, I picked up my third Slade Heathcott card, this 2010 Bowman Platinum Purple Refractor. I actually thought this was a serially numbered card when I bought it, but it's not. Oh well, still cool. My Heathcott, Montero and Banuelos collections are slowly growing. I have a TTM request out to Heathcott as well, so hopefully I'll be able to score his auto. He's off to a good start so far in Charleston, and if he keeps it up I'll be watching him patrol the Yankees outfield in 2013 or 2014.
I placed a small order on SportLots to pick up a few shiny Yankees prospects cards. I'm happy to grab my second Gary Sanchez card - a 2010 Donruss Elite Extra Edition. This is a really cool looking card - very shiny and mirror-like. It's still weird for me to see "Panini" on the back instead of the Donruss logo, but I don't mind at all because I feel like Panini is bringing a lot to the table and are a very fan-friendly company.
I also grabbed six other cards - a Slade Heathcott Bowman Platinum (already had it but it was only .18), a Cito Culver Bowman Draft Pick, a 2010 Bowman Chrome Graham Stoneburner (sweet name) Bowman Chrome, a Dellin Betances 2007 Donruss Elite extra Edition (really cool card), and two more 2010 Donruss Elite Extra Editions - Rob Segedin and DeAngelo Mack. Both of those will probably be used for TTM.
In the past few years, the Yankees have seen their farm system greatly improve from the early 2000's. Since 2005, the Yanks have put a great emphasis on the draft and international scouting. It also helps that they are keeping their draft picks (minus this year *cough*Soriano*cough*) and putting a premium on them. They are also gambling later in the draft and taking players who have strong college commitments and using their financial might to lure them to sign. Since they are usually picking at the end of the first round, this is the best way to get potential impact players.
While most eyes will be on Jesus Montero's pending arrival and the Killer B's (Banuelos, Brackman, Betances) development, I'll be closely watching Class A Charleston, as two of my favorite prsopects will be suiting up for them.
First and foremost, Gary Sanchez. The next in line of big-time Yankees catching prospects, he tore it up in his first pro season. If you take a look at the back of his baseball card, he was born in 1992. And he won't be turning 19 until December. He projects to have a similar bat to Montero while being quite a bit better defensively. I don't go out and hoard rookie cards, but I won't lie, I picked up three of his 2010 Bowman Chromes.
Another prospect to watch in Charleston is CF Slade Heathcott. He was the Yankees first round pick in 2009 and is a toolsy outfielder, something that the farm system lacks as a whole. He showed a strong abaility to get on base last year - .359 clip, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him put it all together this year.
Other names to remember: Graham Stoneburner, Hector Noesi, Mason Williams, Melky Mesa
I recently picked up my second Slade Heathcott card, this time a 2010 Bowman Platinum rookie card. Heathcott was the Yankees 2009 1st round draft pick. He is a toolsy outfielder that projects well. As a 19 year old in A ball at Charleston, he hit .258 and swiped 15 bases. However, despite the low average and high strikeouts, he showed a great ability to get on base at a .359 clip. Not bad for a 19 year old in his first full pro season. I'd love to see him take a leap this year - pick up the BA and OPS while striking out less and showing a little more power. I assume he'll head back to Charleston to start the season, but he could definitely find his way to High A Tampa pretty quickly.
I like that word. Smattering. Anyways, a few days ago I made a purchase on SportLots to for about 50 Yankee cards. If you don't know SportLots, it's a great resource for player collectors and set builders. Anyways, a lot of these are older cards that I am going to send out for my Topps Yankees Project. I also picked up a few Tinos for my personal collection, and a few Yankees prospects simply because I didn't have cards of these guys yet. I'm talking about you, Cito Culver, Adam Warren and Slade Heathcott.
Anyways, here are a few of the highlights from my lot. I won't list out every card, that would be boring. But a few cards stand out.
1973 Topps Fritz Peterson. I love this design. I actually think it's my first and only 1973 Topps card. It's a cool action shot of him having just finished delivering a pitch. He is wearing old school stirrups, and you can just tell that the field is so dusty. The grass looks like my old little league field. I like seeing old videos where the infields just aren't as well kept as they are today. The dirt was powdery and flew everywhere.
1981 Topps Bob Watson. Dwight Schrute called. He wants his glasses back.
1961 Topps Joe DeMaestri. Check out that collar under the jersey. Is that denim??
Otherwise, I got a bunch of old Yankees cards - assorted named like Hegan, Reniff, Downing, Womack. Some of the prospects I got include David Phelps, Hector Noesi, JR Murphy, and David Adams.
The Tinos I bought are all ones from his second and final stint with the Yankees: 2005 Topps #655, 2005 Topps Chrome #464, 2006 Topps Heritage #199 (sweet card), and 2006 Fleer #400 (I had never seen this set. Yuck.). I have a bunch of free time this weekend, so I'll do my best to update my Tino collection on this site.
