A little Justice for me

In 2000, the Yankees offense was puttering along.

Out of nowhere, Brian Cashman swung a trade for David Justice from the Indians. It wasn't rumored or anything (to my knowledge), Ninja Cash just struck. Back then, it was a lot easier to be surprised by a trade than now when there are 24-7 rumors before nearly all deals happen. I remember being very take aback.

Justice went on to hit .305 with 20 homers for the Yanks, and has a big post-season, including 2 HRs and 8 RBIs during the ALCS versus the Mariners, where he was named MVP.

I grew to like Justice quite a lot that year, and always have enjoyed the handful of Yankee cards I have of him from 2000-2001. I was excited to find out he had a Topps Tier 1 autograph in 2019, and that he was featured as a Yankee. After waiting for prices to come down, I was able to snag there for just a few bucks:

Very cool card, and a great keepsake for me to further remember his time as a Yankee.

Yankees cards coming to life

One of the coolest blogs out there, Baseball Cards Come to Life!, recently sent me a great trade package. Bo runs a very cool blog, complete with some awesome player interviews and #walletcard posts. I wish I had his ability to notice so many cool things in NYC. I probably walk by so many each day that I never take the time to notice. Bo does.

It all started with this card, the 5x7 Zenith Tino. I didn't have this one, so jumped at that chance.
Bo also protected these cards in a fun way:

I'm glad Pat LaFontaine was a Ranger for a short time. I remember watching their team quite a bit when he was there.

To me, the best part about the trade package was how random it was, and I mean that in a good way. It was filled with cards from all years, many from sets I don’t remember or had forgotten about. Here are a few cards that stuck out to me:

Topps 206 was one set I missed as a kid, but I do recall there being several versions of each card, as on display here:

SI Yankees!

Ziploc!

There were a bunch of Classic cards, including the ones featuring the Saved By The Bell design. I thought I was being original by calling it that but it looks like this is well known by Night Owl and every other blogger.

How have I never seen this Prime Time card? It’s great, although that looks like a brutal sun. Good concentration, Deion.

And I can effectively say, this is my first card of Meatloaf. Wonder if he signs TTM?

Bo, such a fun package. Thank you so much!

A piece of Justice

One of the greatest trades in Yankees history occurred on June 29, 2000. Instead of waiting for the trade deadline, Brian Cashman struck early. He sent Ricky Ledee, Zach Day, and Jake Westbrook to the Cleveland Indians for David Justice. I remember hearing about the trade on the Yankees pregame show because no Twitter, and hearing Ken Singleton say, "Wow, I didn't realize he already had 21 HRs on the season."

Justice would go on to hit 20 more HRs for the Yankees, finishing the season with a career-high 41. He was a true force in the lineup, and went on to win ALCS MVP for two massive HRs that he hit in the series, notably the 3-run shot he hit in Game 6 versus Seattle:

It didn't take long for Justice to become a part of Yankees lore, and for that, I've always enjoy picking up new Justice cards. One of the first game-used bat sets, and in my mind, one of the finest, was
2001 Upper Deck SP Game Bat Edition Piece of the Game. It was probably the first game-used Tino bat card I owned, and I'm pretty sure I paid about $25 for it at the time. Oof.

However, I recently discovered Justice was part of that set, so I figured I'd snag it on COMC for a few bucks. I'm glad I did!

The Yankees have a great checklist in this set - Tino, Justice, O'Neill, Bernie, and Canseco. I believe I only need the O'Neill from that group. I'm on it!

Cards from Alex Z

A few weeks back, I got an email from Alex Z asking for my address. He said he had a few cards to send me and Joey. Never one to turn down free cards, I obliged.

Alex sent me a great assortment of Yanks, as well as a bunch of cards for Joey's binder, which I've already put in there. For his trouble, Alex has a few Edgar Martinez cards coming his way. I just have to not be so lazy and send them.

There were a ton of great Yanks, but these two really stuck out as my favorites. That Justice card is too cool, even though it's likely a HR for the opposing team. I am leading myself to believe he caught it, even though I don't remember any sweet HR-robbing catches from Justice from his time with the Yanks.

Here's a bunch of retired stars for Joey, include Glavine and Smoltz rookies. I don't have a Bonds card in Joey's binder, and this Topps HD one is a sweet one. I'm not sure how to tell Joey about Bonds (and other accused PED users...ARod, Clemens, Ortiz, etc) one day. I guess I'll just say he was a very talented player who decided to cheat. There's a lesson in there.

Alex, thanks for the cards!