I collected baseball cards from the late '80s through 2002. Then I went to college and when I came out, I was lost. There were too many brands, sets, choices, relics, autos, parallels, variations. It was a turn off. However, I slowly made my way back.
So here is my attempt to venture back into the hobby. I'll buy a few packs of cards here and there, comment on some cards I have, send out some TTMs, and follow the progress of my Topps Yankees Project.
First off, before getting into the post below, I have seen a few bloggers do this so I'll join the party. I've admittedly been less than stellar over the past year about sending out cards and return packages. My collection is a little unorganized, and instead of diving in, some nights I just ignore it. It feels daunting to go and pull cards for people from the heaping piles of cards I need to find a place for.
So if I owe you cards, or feel you haven't gotten a return package from me, please feel free to shoot me an email or Twitter DM. I try to keep up and make mental notes, but I'm sure I've missed a few. This would never be intentional, so if you're waiting on something or just feel like I should reciprocate a package or two, please drop me a line!
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Someone who I always feel like I owe cards to is Kerry from Cards on Cards. He always sends me a ton of Yankees and Knicks, and I can never keep up. I do have a large stack of Blazers and Cardinals set aside for him, but I have to get my act together and send before the holidays.
A few weeks back, I got an unexpected mailer from Kerry. I didn't buy many new cards over the summer, as the releases were happening faster than I could keep up. Plus, my Target never restocked cards.
So out of nowhere, this package showed up with a ton of Yankees needs from 2018 sets I didn't buy. It saved me a ton of time (and $) not having to hunt down many of these cards and sets. Where to begin?
I'll start with a <fire emoji> set: Topps Fire. These cards are cool, but I've never seen them at Target. Happy to have a few!
Next I'll go with Big League. I'm still torn on this set. Overall, I liked it, but would have rather had year 3 of Bunt. The Severino is a numbered parallel to just 100.
I got some Topps Chrome Update last week, but didn't get any regular ol' Chrome. The Judge pink (or purple?) is so cool. And I can't say enough about how much I love the 1983 Chrome Refractors. Holy crap are these nice. Nicest cards of 2018. Don't @ me.
There was a healthy stack of Heritage as well. The Stanton/Judge card is a 2018 favorite of mine.
I love this card, as I have fond memories of collecting the '93 set. I do wish they made actual gold name versions of these (as far as I know they didn't).
Here are a few more cards that stuck out to me. The Dellin diecut is too cool.
There was plenty more, but as you can see, Kerry really helped me check off a ton of 2018 Yanks I didn't have. Thanks, Kerry!
As many of you have surely seen, Colbey from Cardboard Collections recently held a free group break for a couple of boxes of 2016 Donruss Optic he opened. I claimed the Yanks, hoping for a Greg Bird or Luis Severino autograph.
While that did not quite happen, it was still a success that netted me some very nice Yankees cards. ARod led the way with a few Diamond Kings, include the Refractor (Prizm? Holo?) version.
He was also in the base set.
One thing I learned is that Aroldis Champan's first name is actually Albertin. I did not know that!
It feels like forever ago that Brian McCann was on the Yankees.
I was able to score a few of the Rated Rookies, including Severino and Bird. It also feels like forever ago that Robert Refsnyder was a top Yankees prospect.
My favorite card of the break was the Mariano Rivera Masters of the Game. Just a very nice card!
I also got a few of the purple parallels, including McCann and Bird. The Bird is a particular favorite.
Accidentally, I haven’t posted since Friday. I don’t love a
few-day absence, but I haven’t gotten many new cards lately, am still working
on my re-organization (or rather, just “organization) project, and have been a
bit busy in both my personal and professional life. So the blog took a back
seat.
And while I still haven’t gotten too many new cards, I do
have a few thoughts as Opening Day is just two days away. I’m very excited, and
it’s hard not to be when seeing things like this:
Still, I know everything won’t go perfectly. It never does,
and the Yankees (and every other team) will need to adjust on the fly. Case in
point:
Greg Bird. I really like the guy. I love his personality and
I think he has the sweetest lefty swing in the game right now. Just look at his
homer in the ALDS versus lefty Andrew Miller. It’s a thing of beauty.
Bird has been dubbed the Yankees 1B of the present and
future, yet has missed three straight Opening Days, including this one. He
should be out 6-8 weeks after foot surgery today. Hopefully the comeback is
smooth and he rejoins the lineup in June and takes his place in the middle of the order, but it’s getting
a bit hard to count on him. I really, really like him and want him to be part of this
Yankees core over the next few years. But it also wouldn’t be unreasonable for
the Yankees to start thinking about the post-Greg Bird solution at 1B, whether
it’s drafting one in the first round or trading/signing for one in his prime.
Hey Bryce Harper, any interest in playing 1B?
Starting at 1B on Thursday will probably be Tyler Austin,
especially against lefty J.A. Happ. Austin has always hit in the minors, and should get
an extended look to be a part of the every day lineup. I’ve always liked him a lot,
and would love to see him see some prolonged success in the Majors. Plus, I
have a lot of cards of his!
Jacoby Ellsbury.
I’m not sure what to really say about him. He was signed to
a very large contract and hasn’t lived up to it. As Brian Cashman always says,
he’s the one to blame for the contract, not Ellsbury. He’s right. I would have taken
the money. You would have too. Still, it’s hard to believe he’s got three years left
on his Yankees deal.
What’s harder to believe is that he still keeps finding his
way into current card releases. I know he’s a Yankee and all, but I can’t
imagine he has a big card market. Red Sox fans likely soured on him after the
Yankees deal. And Yankee fans likely wouldn’t want his Red Sox cards, nor his
current cards. Personally, I wouldn’t mind is he was omitted from future
releases in 2018 and beyond, but I don’t see that happening.
One guy I’m happy to see returning for his 10th
year in Pinstripes is CC Sabathia. He has now got 10 years in NY, and then 8 in
Cleveland and part of 1 in Milwaukee. That makes me feel better about his
chances of wearing an NY hat into Cooperstown if that day comes. I think he’ll be a
HOFer – a Cy Young, a World Series, 60+ WAR, 2800+ Ks, 3.70 ERA (mostly in the AL), 7 All-Star
selections, 237 wins, 10 post-season wins. It’ll be close for sure, but the numbers are there. Maybe he'll win 13 this year and get to 250. That sounds a lot better than 237.
And if you haven’t taken a listen, I recommend his R2C2
podcast with Ryan Ruocco. It’s really good. The episode with A-Rod was
terrific.
Lastly, I’m excited for year 2 of Jordan Montgomery. All
winter, the Yankees were thought to be seeking another SP, whether it was Gerrit
Cole or a free agent like Alex Cobb. They stood their ground, and in turn,
Montgomery once again joins the rotation. Maybe he’s not the sexiest name, but
he had a very good rookie year and think he can be a mid-rotation starter for a
long time. And he throws with his left hand!
Johnny of Johnny's Trading Spot might win the fictional award of blogger who sent me the most cards in 2017. It felt like I was regularly coming home to packages and found Johnny's name on the return address. He's always keeping a look out for cool Yankees for me.
John sent me one of his famous mailings a few weeks ago. Included in the most recent package was this cool mini pennant too.
My favorite card was quite easily this Yankees Postseason Celebrations card from 2017 Topps Update. It features the Yankees taking a victory lap after Game 6 of the 2009 World Series. I was at this game, so it holds a special memory for me. I was only a few rows up from left field, and I remember the victory lap well. I may send it off to Brian Cashman for a TTM signature.
I was really happy to see Ronald Torreyes get a Topps card this year. Right now he's probably penciled in as the Yankees starting 2B, but he's more valuable in a utility role. Still, he's a fun player and a guy you like having on your team.
It's funny how the hobby has cooled on these two guys since 2015. After Bird's 11 HRs in 46 games in 2015, his cards were very pricey. Then he missed all of 2016 and most of 2017. Still, his has a bright future and is a tremendous hitter when healthy, as we saw at the end of 2017 and during the Playoffs. I would love to see what we could do in 130-140 games.
Similarly, Luis Severino enjoyed a ton of success in 2015 as a 21-year-old, took a step back in 2016, then only finished 3rd in the Cy Young Voting as a old man 23-year-old. But he definitely does not generate the hobby buzz like he did in 2015. I guess it's because of Judge and Sanchez, but I find it surprising that his cards aren't gobbled up more than they are. It's good for me.
I was thrilled Johnny sent me this Jordan Montgomery RC. I know the Yankees are looking for another SP, but look what this guy did as a rookie: 9-7 record in 29 starts. 155 innings pitched. 3.88 ERA. 144 Ks. 24 years old. Throws with his left arm. I think a lot of teams would sign up for a 24-year-old southpaw with that sort of ability. He's not going to be a front of the rotation guy, but he can be super valuable and reliable in the back of the rotation.
A couple of shiny veterans! I love the beam of light coming from Betances' glove.
I hadn't seen this card but thought it was cool. PROtential. That's funny. Cool to see the old Thunder logo there too.
Johnny, thanks for all of the 2017 care packages, my friend. Happiest of holidays to you and your family!
For the first time in a while, I set aside a few minutes during my all-too-busy weekends to drop by Target and grab some cards. I wanted some Topps Update before the baseball season ended.
Unexpectedly, I had my three-year-old daughter in tow...which made everything a little more difficult. I was happy to have her, as she cornered me as I was leaving and asked if she could go to the store with me. I had to pick up a few grocery items there too, and as many of you know, everything takes approximately 7x longer with a three-year-old along for the ride.
Naturally, in the 10 minute drive to Target, she falls asleep in the car. When I try to wake her up to go into the store, she has no desire whatsoever. Over the course of about 5 minutes, she went from singing a song about pumpkins to sleeping to resisting going into the store. Great.
I finally coax her in, and I decided to pick up the food items first. It took me awhile since I was unfamiliar with grocery section there. Finally, after what seems like hours (really it was probably 15 minutes), I make my way over to the cards. I had my mind made up that if I saw one, I'd get a 72-card hanger box of Update. They had a couple, so I let my daughter choose which one.
On my way home, I realized that I completely forgot to look for Topps Fire. I would have liked to grab some, but I literally didn't even browse. I saw the purple box with Aaron Judge on it, snagged it, and got out of the store.
Overall, not the best nor the worst break. I got a few cards I liked. I will say that although these have about the same number of cards as a blaster, it's less fun opening the big brick versus individual packs.
Here are a few of the highlights:
I got three Yankees cards, and two were of of retired Hall of Famers. I was happy to get the Boggs, as I may send this to him (along with the $5 fee) for a TTM request. Would be a cool card to have signed.
I like the Judge/Bird combo. I assume this shot is from Bird's first homer of the season on April 16th versus St. Louis.
Jaime Garcia is pictured as a Brave. That was two teams ago, as he was traded to the Twins then Yankees. I would have liked a Yankee card of him, as I don't anticipate him coming back to NY.
This is a great card! Glad it was captured.
I did get one of the vintage cardstock parallels of Astros rookie Derek Fisher, not to be confused with the former Knicks coach.
I seem to pull a lot of Rockies parallels, as I did here with this Topps Gold of Antonio Senzatela.
I also pulled a photo variation SP of Tyler Glasnow. I wouldn't have noticed except I did look at each cards back for a different ID number on the bottom. Interestingly, this is actually a Series One card.
I'm still looking for a bunch of the Yankees from this set, so if you've got any extras, please let me know.
