To cut or not to cut?

Blog reader Alex is a big fan of minor league cards, and from time to time reaches out to me via email with some excellent minor league card info. He is super knowledgeable about them and informs me of some cool Tino releases I may have missed.

He recently dropped me a line about an issue of Baseball Card Magazine with an uncut Tino Martinez minor league card in it, and graciously sent it along to me.

It got me thinking, that a guy like Tino would be a hot commodity as a prospect in 2018. He put up huge numbers in his minor league career, and was part of a young core the Mariners were brewing with Griffey, Buhner, Edgar, and Vizquel. I wouldn't have known at the time, but he was ranked by Baseball America as the #40 prospect prior to the 1990 season, and #18 prior to 1991.

Anyhow, I'm now left with a bit of conundrum. Do I cut the Tino, or leave it intact? A few have suggested an exact-o knife and then a paper cutter. Hmmm.

Regardless, it's very cool, and is one reason I preferred Tuff Stuff over Beckett as a kid...because a magazine about cards CAME with cards.

Baseball Card Magazine was a bit before my time. I didn't start reading card magazines until around 1994, so I really don't have much affinity for it simply because it wasn't required monthly reading for me. I'm sure I had an issue of it here and there, as I still have a 1988 with Gary Carter on it. But I don't have any recollection on how I got it.

It was amusing to flip through the pages and look at some of the old card values. In this particular issue, I found it to have far less interesting content and articles than a mid-90s Beckett would have. Right or wrong, it felt like it existed more for the classified ads versus card info. The classifieds were insane, listing cards individually from current releases. 1989 Topps Benito Santiago for $.12! I would have hated to buy cards like this via mail or 1-800 number. I'm sure it worked for many of the businesses, but oy. We're in a much better place now.

As someone who works in marketing, what I enjoyed most about this issue (other than Tino!), were the card company's print ads. Look at these!

I think it's safe to say that in retrospect, Collect-a-Books was not the dawn of a new era of collecting.

Reggie Jackson sitting on a sports car showing some Upper Decks? Weird. But awesome. I love Upper Deck's tagline here - "Nobody does baseball like Upper Deck." Probably pretty accurate after their 1989 release. Get 'em before Reggie does!

Swing and a Pop Up pops up

It's been awhile since I've conversed with Bert from Swing and a Pop Up. I've always known him to be a very generous guy though. Out of the blue a few weeks back, Bert popped up in my inbox, offering me a full set of Yankees 1981 Topps Giant Photo Cards. He informed me that he bought a box expecting all Red Sox, and the Yankees found their way into it. I chuckled at that!

Regardless, Bert sent me all the Yankees from this fun product. Here are a few:

 

I've always like them! I want to figure out a cool way to display them.

Speaking of display, Bert also sent a wrapper from '81 Topps Giant Photos. I thought it was cool, and decided to turn it into some wall art. More to come!

Bert, thanks for your generosity!

Who you callin' a Squirt?

Matt from Doc Holoday is one of the best blogging dudes out there.

First off, his customs are true works of art...even when they have Red Sox players on them.

Some of my best blogging buddies are Red Sox fans, so it just goes to show what a great group of collectors we've got around these parts. Matt is no exception, and this trade package meant a lot because I know he's been dealing with a lot since late summer when Hurricane Harvey affected him and millions others in Texas and the southeastern US.

Matt sent me a message that I had 2 lbs of Yankees headed by way, and right away I was greeted with a card I had always wanted:

Squirt! I love this card. And I love squirt. Full disclosure - on New Year's Eve this past year I was shopping for food to make that night, and wandered down the soda aisle and my eyes immediately went to Squirt. The colors are so catchy! I bought a 2 liter and drank the whole thing that day. It's delicious! And I'm really happy to have this card.

He wasn't joking about the 2 lbs of cards either. Holy moly was their great stuff, including this Dellin Betances holiday relic.

And some really, really shiny Yankees. I don't know much about Topps Finest these days other than knowing the Refractors still look awesome.

Roger Clemens was represented well in this box. I really like the Double Play insert with Greg Maddux on the flip side.

Derek Jeter cards are always welcome in my collection:

At the time, this was probably a stretch. Now, even more so! Ruben Rivera sharing a card with The Big Hurt? Not a great look.

Oddballs besides the Squirt Reggie were found too. Sweet Woolworth card of Mattingly!

I keep saying it, but Severino is criminally under-priced right now.

Some nice cards of Yankees legends from some newer products - Reggie, Gehrig, and The Mick finding his way into Donruss.

I had no idea that Steve Sax's brother, Dave Sax, played in the majors!

Two trippy ARods. The old Fleer Ultra inserts really hold up today. This was a Diamond Mine insert.

Big Mike /499! Good luck in Minnesota, my friend.

Look how young Jorge looks! I collected a ton of Collector's Choice growing up, but I don't think I have this card. The base card designs were always pretty tastefully done.

Trust me, there were many, many more great cards. Matt, I really appreciate you thinking of me. Keep up the amazing work with the customs!

A PWE from the Sunshine State

My buddy Robert of $30 A Week Habit was kind enough to drop me a PWE a couple weeks back. I feel like PWEs really go in waves. Sometimes they come in bunches, other times I go months without getting one. I'm going to try to get back in the PWE spirit once I ship out a few last SuperTraders packages.

The card I enjoyed most was a this Luis Cessa Heritage High Number. There is a non-zero chance I'll be sending this card to Cessa in a TTM attempt next spring. He was pretty good in his debut season for the Yankees after coming over in the Justin Wilson trade. He went back and forth a bit between the rotation and the bullpen, but he's got a good arm and is really still learning to pitch after previously being an infielder.

I love the 1996 Yankees. The 98-00 teams were great, but that first title was so special, and Cone was a huge reason why. Cool set honoring some heroes of the postseason, and I think it's very nice looking to boot.

Speaking of World Series Heroes, Reggie! Reggie!

This orange refractor is really nice. The John Ryan Murphy for Aaron Hicks trade didn't go very well for either team. Maybe one of these guys will swing the balance one way or the other this season.

Robert, thanks for packing quite a punch in one envelope. Most appreciated!

Bloggers with a Habit

Recently, two bloggers I tend to get along very well with sent me some great Yankee cards. Not only do these two gentlemen send awesome cards, but both of their blog names include “Habit.” I’m talking about Robert from $30A Week Habit and Judson from My Cardboard Habit.

I think I’ve gotten to a point with both of these guys where we just kind of send each other cards back and forth and know that it’ll all even out in the end, although I always feel like what I send pales in comparison to what they send.

First up, here are a few goodies from Robert. Him and I have both gone through the difficult process of moving card collections over the last few months. It’s not easy! While mine are moved, they are still very boxed up and unorganized. I don’t love the feeling. Moving also makes you realizes how many damn pieces of cardboard you have. And let me tell ya, cards are heavy!

Robert happened to stumble upon this Michael Pineda 2016 Opening Day Blue Foil and asked if I needed it. Indeed, I did! I did not have this Pineda yet. It is #147 in my Big Mike PC. Pineda had a tough 2016, although he did become the first Yankees right hander to record 200 Ks in a season since Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina both did it in 2001. That was hard to believe.

Man, last year Luis Severino cards were H-O-T. This year, not so much. He had a pretty miserable year amidst some lofty expectations. I still think he’s too young to give up on and move to the ‘pen, although his stuff did play up well there. Hopefully he comes to spring training and wins a starting job. I’d also like to note that these blue-framed 2016 Gypsy Queen parallels were some of the nicest of the year.

I gotta say, I forgot how nice these were. I really came back into collecting in 2011, so these Diamond Anniversary parallels were pretty popular. But after not really thinking of them too much over the last few years, it’s nice to be reminded how striking they are.

The last card Robert sent was a Ty Hensley. I always appreciate you guys keeping an eye out for Hensleys for me!

Moving onto the man with a cardboard habit (don’t we all have one?!), Judson reached out about wanting to send me a few Dillon Tate autos after the Yankees acquired him in the Carlos Beltran trade. I thought that was super nice of him. Take a look at these beauties from Inception!

Other than the serial numbers and some purplish/blue hues, I’m not positive what the difference is. However, I like them and was thrilled to add some Tate autos. Inception cards always look a bit trippy (as was the movie), but I always end up liking them. I love the surface of the card, which is great for autographs. Overall, I think it's just a cool set, and the auto checklist is usually quite strong.

I love the gamble the Yankees took on Tate, the 4^th overall pick in the 2015 Draft. Although the Yankees had him work exclusively out of the bullpen after the trade, he seemed to pitch better than he did prior to the trade. I look forward to seeing if he can bounce back to being a top prospect.

Another Severino! This time a nice Topps Chrome Refractor. I think 2016 Topps Chrome looked a lot better than the flagship (which I liked, for the record), and the Refractor and Refractor parallels looked terrific.

I love this Heritage Chrome Refractor of Masahiro Tanaka. That Topps All-Star Rookie Trophy is pretty rad. Tanaka is the undisputed ace of the Yankees, and still finds himself a bit underrated. He’s probably going to just miss out on the ERA title this year, unless he ends up pitching on Saturday, which I doubt he will. With the Yankees out of it, there’s really no reason to bring him back from injury. He had a Cy Young-caliber year, and although he won’t win, he sure was a rock for the Yankees. Plus, look at this smile!

This is definitely my first 65^th Anniversary buyback. And you know what, I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever even seen this Reggie Jackson 1982 Topps card – buyback or not. I just do not recognize it. It wouldn’t be that surprising, although it’s not like Jackson has a ton of Topps cards from the ‘70s and ‘80s either. Hmmm. Well, I’m happy to have it, foil stamp or not!

Thanks again, guys! I really appreciate you thinking of me, as always.