Merry Wes-mas

I got my cards from the JBF Trade-a-thon. I claimed two cards, but of course Wes didn't sent only two cards. When would he ever send only two cards?

I absolutely loved this 1997 Donruss Studio Hard Hats insert set. I have the Bernie Williams and I really want the Jeter one day. For a card with a 5,000 print run, it's impossible to find. I have a saved eBay search, and it NEVER shows up.

So I had to jump at the chance to own another.

The second card I claimed was this shiny gold Andy Pettitte Bowman Prime Prospect. I am not familiar with this card, and had definitely never seen it.

I would have been happy if those were the only two, but Santa Wes had other plans. Like this:

And this:

And a whole bunch of other Yankees I'm happy to have. Lot of serially numbered goodness, and I really like the mini green refractor of Miguel Andujar. He's a very exciting prospect and could be the Yankees 3B one day.

Wes, you are the man. I have a a return pack for you which I'll be sending soon!

The Leiter side of Topps Tek

Play on words!

I love Topps Tek. Even though it was super wacky, especially in the 1990s, the cards themselves have always looked really nice. I've always been a sucker for clear cut cards.

I enjoy the Topps Tek Yankee autograph issues of the past two years. I love the El Duque, but I keep missing out on them in eBay auctions. However, I did snag this Al Leiter auto, and I though it was cool he was included as a Yankee. I assume this is him from his 2005 stint, as opposed to when he was a rookie.

This is the base version, as I know there are a few parallels out there. I like Al's simple signature, although you can tell he had been signing hundreds of cards. It's usually a bit neater. Still, I'm glad to finally add one of these bad boys to my collection.

Random Listia Autos - Part 11

I'm not even close to being done with these, so let's pick up the pace, shall we? As a refresher, I won a couple high-end cards on Listia, and the seller included a ton of autos for no charge. It was super cool of him, and I've been showing these off little by little. Here are five more.

If you missed any of the previous posts, feel free to go back and check them out. There are some great autos in there.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

Part 7 

Part 8
Part 9 
Part 10

This guy is part of the MLB All-Name Team...you know, with guys like Dick Pole, Rusty Kuntz, etc. This guy was one of the most reliable relievers of the 80s and 90s. He pitched in 884 games with five teams, mostly with the Cubs and Indians. He also recorded an appearance in 36 post-season games, mostly with the Indians teams of the mid to late 90s. I remember him best for serving up a HR to Paul O'Neill in Game 1 of the ALDS, as the Yanks went back-to-back-to-back. O'Neill's was the third HR in that sequence. He spent a few games with the Yanks in 1993. I vaguely remember that.

Turk Lown was a closer before closers were closers. He was a reliever that often "finished" a game for his team. He led the AL in saves in 1959 with 15! Times change, eh? He also pitched in the World Series that year with the White Sox. According to Wikipedia, Turk got his name as a boy because he loved eating turkey. He must've been a huge fan of Thanksgiving.

Former Pirates pitcher Cal Hogue makes an appearance next. He had a pretty uninspiring career, pitching from 1952-1954, appearing in 25 games total. He had a career record of 2-10 in 113.2 innings pitched. Still, he was a major leaguer, and because of that, I admire him.

I wish this guy was in a Yankees jersey, but alas, Al Leiter is a solid auto. He was one of best lefty starting pitchers in the game in the late 90s and early 00s, albeit very underrated. Over a seven-year period with the Mets, he went 95-67 with a 3.42 ERA. That's really good. He was a key cog in the bullpen for the World Champion Blue Jays in 1993 and then started two games in the World Series for the 1997 Marlins. He threw a no-hitter in 1996 for Florida as well. In a fun twist of fate, he ended his career with the Yankees, the same team he started with. It was a cool bookend, even though the Yanks never got his best playing years. He now is an announcer for the Yanks, and he does a very good job in my opinion. Side note - I like his signature.

Ray Knight. He's most well-known for scoring the game-winning run in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series aka The Buckner Game! He actually won the MVP of that World Series, which I admit I didn't know. He played for five teams in 13 years, spending 6 of them with the Reds, where he was an All-Star in 1980. He also appeared in the 1982 All-Star Game as an Astro...again, something I did not know. That's a common theme with Ray Knight. I knew little about him outside of Game 6, but he had a very solid career. He currently does broadcasting work for the Nationals.

A Tino I had no idea existed

I really enjoy getting emails from new collectors, usually offering up a card they have I might be interested. I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m always shocked when someone new reaches out. Just goes to show that you never knew who was reading.

Douglas recently reached out and told me that he has a variation of a Tino Martinez card that I didn’t know existed. Back in 1996, I got an Upper Deck Authenticated 4x6 Tino card that celebrates the Yanks’ World Series victory. Douglas actually had the same card, but with a blue foil border. This was news to me!

We worked out a deal, and Douglas sent along the card in this groovy top loader. Mind you, the card is about 4x6.

Here is the version that I already had:

 

Last but not least, Douglas threw in this surprise. It’s a very unique piece of memorabilia celebrating Al Leiter’s ML debut. Additionally, it’s signed by Leiter in ball point pen. I didn’t have a Leiter auto, so I definitely enjoyed receiving this. 

Douglas, thanks for adding this new Tino to my collection. I look forward to pairing this card with it’s gold-bordered brother.