For Pat Neshek

I’m sure I’m late commenting on this, but the Pat Neshek story has me very emotional every time I see him pitch. As a father to a nine month old, I cannot image the situation that he and his wife recently went through.

Below, I’ve included a post that I did last February about a TTM success from Pat Neshek. Based on my math, Pat and his wife probably found out they were having a child right around the time he answered my letter. I actually noted to him in my letter that I had a new son, and asked that one of the cards he signed be personalized to my son, Joey. Pat, being the TTM legend that he is, honored this request.

I know that Pat will be an amazing father one day, but for now my heart aches for him, and hope that baseball is providing him a temporary relief from real life.

Feb 27, 2012:

Pat Neshek is one of the coolest pro athletes out there, not to mention one of the greatest TTM signers currently in the game. He is an avid autograph collector himself, and if you send him ANY signed card, he’ll send you another signed card of himself. Sorry for the crappy scans below.

I thought it would be cool to do two sketch cards of Pat. I did one in the 1986 Topps look, and another in the 1993 Upper Deck design. I included a note and asked him to keep one for himself, and kindly sign one for me. He ended up keeping the ’86 Topps and signing the other for me. It looks awesome! It’s very rewarding to have a pro athlete sign my artwork. 

I also sent him a 2011 Topps and asked him to sign it for my son, Joey. Pat was nice enough to do this and even inscribed it. Very awesome!

Lastly, I included a few random TTM dupes that I had – no one who was a very big name, and Pat graciously sent me two more signed cards. 

Mr. Neshek is a class act, and I thank him very much for this success.

My first Gary Sanchez jersey card

This is my first jersey card of Gary Sanchez, the Yankees next great catching prospect. It’s from 2012 Onyx Platinum Propsects. I have no clue what this brand is. I have no clue how to pronounce the word “Onyx”.

With that being said, this is a decent-looking card. I really wish the jersey swatch was a different color than the background. I have no clue what part of the jersey this is from. The back is decent, including some stats and the obligatory “Congratulations” message, as well as the vague description of there the jersey came from. It’s numbered to 500.

As a 19-year-old splitting time between low A and high A ball, he had a damn fine season.He hit .290 with 18 HRs and 85 RBIs. He did strike out 105 times in 116 games vs. just 32 walks. He did chip in 29 doubles, and a most surprising 15 SBs.

Based on his offensive stats and defensive improvement, Sanchez will be a Top 25ish prospect going into the 2013 season. I hope the Yanks hold onto this one.

TTM Success: Wade Boggs

I have been traveling a lot for work as of late. I always say I am going to sit down in my hotel room and spit out a blog post, but then I just end up putting my feet up and ordering a dirty movie.

I haven't sent out a TTM request in a very long time, yet I've gotten a few responses back recently. They have gone to my old address and had to be forwarded to my new one, so the poor card goes through a bit more than it needs to.

I was really excited to get back a success from Wade Boggs. I saw a lot of people have success from him no-fee or for $5. I sent this card without any money, and was thrilled to see it come back. I've tried him a few other times without success, so adding this legendary player and HOFer to my collection is a special thing. I love that it's on a 1993 Upper Deck as well.

Tino Tuesday #54: 1998 Ultra Big Shots #13

For Christmas in 1997, I got a box of Fleer Ultra baseball cards. At the time, boxes were around $70, so it was pretty high end for 15 years ago. Tino Martinez had just come off of his monster 1997, so I knew he’d be featured in a few insert sets in Ultra.

One of my favorites is this Big Shots insert card. The insert feels very mid ‘90s, from the name to the design. The purple is just ok. I wish it was an actual stadium, and not a random generic cartoony one at the bottom. Plus, I don’t love the image cutting off his legs. However, I do love the “Big Shots” block letters up the side.

Dimwit Group Break hits - from July!

I received my group break loot from the The Daily Dimwit's July group break in...well, July. But I got it right before I moved, so I didn't post anything about it. I moved 31 days ago, and I'm still using my move to blame my lack of blogging. Impressive.

Out of the 15 promised hits, I snagged two of 'em. Not too bad at all! I scored a cool Posada relic, and a Frankie Cervelli on-card auto. I hadn't been able to get him TTM, so this will do.

I also included a 2009 Topps Unique Jeter. I hadn't heard of this set. The cards were pretty cool. I'm not usually a fan of so much black, but these look pretty striking.

Tino Tuesday #53: 1999 Fleer Warning Track #268W

In the late ‘90s, I bought a lot of Fleer. They were middle of the line – somewhere between Score and Upper Deck. I usually ranked them right alongside the Topps flagship in terms or price and quality. The cards were usually designed decently, and there were fun insert sets.

This particular Tino is from 1999 Fleer. It’s the Warning Track parallel, seeded at 1 per retail pack. Interestingly, the back of the card has a “W” next to the number to signify the set. You’d think the red foul and stamp would be obvious enough, but I like the differentiation.

The image itself is decent. Full-sized, border-less shot with Tino just about to make contact. I wish the ball wasn’t covered up by his name. Speaking of which, I like the vertical block letters. The script team name is a little jarring, but overall it works.

All in all, this is a decent little card.