Tino Tuesday #48: 2001 Upper Deck Home Run Derby Heroes #HD5

With the Home Run Derby being last night, this felt like an appropriate Tino card to show off. It is actually from 2001 Upper Deck Home Run Derby Heroes. I do have several Tino cards from the Home Run Derby in 1997, as it ended up being a fairly popular in several 1998 releases to show him during the contest.

To this day, it's one of my best Tino memories. I was 13 years old at the time, so events like the Home Run Derby and the Slam Dunk Contest were major events each year. The fact that Tino was participating in the 1997 affair had me incredibly excited.

Tino came out on top, beating Larry Walker in the final round (although Walker had more HRs during the entire contest). Tino used his sweet lefty swing to his advantage at Jacobs Field, parking a bunch of balls in the right field stands. Not many picked him to win, and it was thrilling for me to watch my favorite player come away with the trophy. I still have the event on a VHS tape.

Go Cano!

I'll be pulling for Robinson Cano tonight to win back-to-back HR Derbies. Ken Griffey Jr is the only other player to win two in a row. Now, you might think I'm pulling for Cano since he is a Yankee. You couldn't be more wrong. I'm pulling for him because we all need more cards that look like this:

Seriously, vote for Greg

If you have yet to vote for Greg Z, please do so now. I know I'm about the 100th person to post about it, but I can't think of any collector more deserving of winning a Sandy Koufax auto.

CLICK HERE AND VOTE FOR GREG

It'll take one minute of your time. Good luck, Greg.

Trade with arpsmith

Adam aka arpsmith and I made a small trade recently. I saw two 2012 Bowman cards I wanted that he posted about - a purple parallel of Tyler Austin, and an International Dante Bichette Jr. These are two guys I'm currently collecting, and I needed each parallel.

I love the Bichette. The American flag background looks great on this card. I'm not sure if it looks this good for all the countries, but the red and blue really jump out against the white border. As for the Austin, I'm not a huge fan of the purple. However, it's a card I needed, and I am a fan of that.

Adam also through in a nice medley of Yanks for Series 2. I love the Cano A Cut Above.

Thanks, Adam!

Having some luck pulling Archives relics

As someone who pulls no relics, autos, or other high-end cards, I have had surprisingly decent luck pulling 2012 Topps Archives relics. I know they are fairly common based on the odds, but for someone who doesn’t buy a lot of packs, it’s nice to have the chance to pull one. I have bought two blasters, and each contained a relic. I also opened one jumbo pack, and pulled a relic from that too.

The most recent relic pulled from a blaster is this Starlin Castro. I’d love to trade it for a Yankee jersey from this same set. The pinstripe on the card looks great.

The other two I pulled were of Adam Jones and BJ Upton. Both have been traded away.

TTM Success: Bobby Shantz (for my son)

If there were a Mount Rushmore for TTMs, Bobby Shantz would be on there. He is one of the most generous signers in the hobby. His success rate is close to 100%. I already had two successes with him before, including one for my Topps Yankees Project. But when Nick from “Dime Boxes” send me a new Shantz in a trade package, I decided to send it along for an autograph.

However, this one is not for me. I asked Mr. Shantz to personalize it for my six-month-old son. More and more, I am considering scrapping TTM for myself, and sending out requests on behalf of Joey. I’ve gotten three cards personally signed to him so far, and I’m thinking it could eventually be a very cool keepsake for him if I can fill up a small binder of cards signed and personalized to him.

Tino Tuesday #47: 1989 Topps Big #93

With July 4th upon us tomorrow, I figure a patriotic Tino card is in order. There aren't many cards more patriotic than this 1989 Topps Big card.

Tino represented Team USA in the 1988 Olympics, playing a starring role and leading the team to a gold medal. In fact, he hit two HRs in the gold medal game. I've always admired players who reach the height of their sport and are successful for both their team and country, such as an NBA player who has won an NCAA Championship, NBA Championship, and gold medal. Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan come to mind.

While I would never put him in the same breath as those two talent-wise, Tino won a gold medal and four championships with the Yankees. That's an impressive feat.

As for the card itself, I'm not a fan of Topps big. They are a pain in the butt to store any which way. Do I have all the Yankees? Yes. But that doesn't mean I have to like them.