Don't be "Ngervis" when bidding on eBay

A few nights ago, I got a direct message tweet from Marcus over at All The Way To The Backstop. He said that he accidentally bid on (and won) the same card twice, so he was having one shipped to me.

I figured the mystery card had some sort of Padres/Yankees connection. Maybe it was a Chase Headley card? Maybe it had something to do with Ian Kennedy? To my surprise, this showed up:

Very cool! A 2014 Topps Chrome Sepia Refractor of former Yankee and current Padre Yangervis Solarte! It’s the first Solarte card in my collection, and is #’d 27/75. I haven’t seen any of these in person yet, but they are gorgeous cards.

I liked Solarte. He was a nice find for the Yanks as a minor league free agent, and he got off to a scorching start after making the team. It almost hurt him, as he seemed to put too much pressure on himself to sustain his numbers. He slumped and just tried to hit HRs, and eventually lost playing time. He’s a very useful player, as he can play all over the field. And while he’s probably not destined to be a long-term starter, guys like him are super important. He definitely feels like more of a National Leaguer because of his versatility and the late-game moves that occur more frequently in the NL. Plus he's under team control for awhile.

The Yanks dealt Solarte to San Diego for Chase Headley, a player I’ve really grown to like. Headley hasn’t set the world on fire with the Yanks, although he’s had some big hits. His defense at third is phenomenal. I didn’t know he was as good of a defender as he has shown so far. A free agent after this season, I do hope the Yanks bring him back, but not for too ridiculous of a deal. I’d love something in the 2 year/20 mil range or so. Seems fair, but what do I know?

Anyhow, thanks Marcus. This was a great surprise!

Pond-ering some cards from Marcus

The other day I got home from work, and there was a bubble mailer waiting for me from Marcus over at All The Way To The Backstop. We didn't have a deal in the works, so Marcus just decided to drop a few Yanks on me. it actually works out well because I have a growing stack of Padres to send him.

Regardless, there were some sweet cards in there. My favorite is easily this 1993 Upper Deck Derek Jeter rookie, which I did not have. I believe I know have the Topps, Pinnacle, and now this Upper Deck in terms of Jeter rookies. Oh, and my two-year-old has his SP Foil rookie. I'm not jealous or anything. But I only have three Jeter rooks? That's not very impressive of me.

I have an irrational love for Orange Refractors. Must be the Syracuse in me. I didn't have this one either. I keep saying that I must have 500 unique Jeters. I'm going to count one of these days because I have to know.

This might be my favorite Thurman Munson card. I'm pretty positive that whoever he is glaring at peed their pants out of fear. I know I did.

Am I the only one who likes these Pinnacle cards? Maybe, but I don't care.

This is as close as I'll ever get to a 1953 Mantle, so it'll have to do. It's still sweet.

And let's round it out with a bunch of lefties. Two of the winningest Yankees lefty starters of the last few years, and an all-time fan favorite lefty first baseman. The All-Star Fan Fest card is awesome.

Marcus, thank you sir. You'll have a return stack of Pads in the next few days.

Drafting some Padres

Marcus over at Backstop Cards held a cool "Padres Dupes" draft, and I got in on the action. I came away with some cool Padres cards. Not that I need more cards, I don't, but hard to turn some free Tony Gwynns.

Here's a look at the stack. There were a lot of cool oddballs and cards from the '90s. My wheelhouse.

Some of my favorite cards are below. The Medina autograph is cool because it's from a very popular set, and he was a Yankee farmhand included in the big Irabu trade.

Being the generous guy that he is, Marcus also sent me a great stack of Yankees.

I love these old Pro Debut cards and really wish that Topps would do this instead of the current Pro Debut, which is just a minor league set that makes no sense. These cards highlighted players who made their actual MLB debuts that season, and even provide a write-up with how the game went. How popular would this set be nowadays? Think of this year's set...Puig, Arenado, Gyorko, Jose Fernandez, Ryu. Shit, that would be cool.

Trading with All The Way To The Backstop...

A while back, I traded with Padres fan and owner of All TheWay To The Backstop. I sent him a few Pads, and he unleashed a fury of Yanks on me.

There was a little bit of everything in the envelope, including lots of color.

The card that jumped out was this 2000 Pacific Revolution Bernie Williams. Man, it’s a loud card! 

Next, two colorful CC Sabathia cards. I’ve always liked these Orange refractors. 

Finally, an oddball Mattingly from Ames (I forgot all about Ames!) and a mini Pettitte.

Marcus, we’ll be trading again soon, my friend.

Surprise cards from All The Way To The Backstop

A few days ago, I got a surprise envelope from Marcus overat “All the Way to the Backstop.” Marcus sent me a handful of Yanks from 2012 Archives and Bowman.

I really like the Archives Mantle (I know, I know, another Topps Mantle). The white just makes it look so much different than others. I also noticed that the signature on the 1971 Rivera is different than his current autograph. It looks like perhaps it was his original Topps contract signature. His autograph now is a little more mature, yet still perfectly legible. 

The Betances 2012 Bowman will go straight to my Dellin PC.

Marcus, thanks for the Yanks!

First trade with "All The Way To The Backstop"

I recently completed my first trade with Marcus from All The Way To The Backstop. If you haven’t checked out his blog, head over there. He collects Padres, as well as a few specific players.

Our trade was focused around some 2012 Bowmans, including a cool purple Greg Bird. 

 

Marcus also sent a bunch of 2012 Heritage cards too.

Thanks again, Marcus. And don’t forget to check out his blog!