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!

SuperTraders #21: P-Town Tom of the World Champion Chicago Cubs

I think it’s fitting to show off a few cards from P-Town Tom given that his team finally won the World Series last night. Tom is one of the good guys around here, and I’m very glad he gets to experience such triumph! Tom, enjoy it. Hope you go easy on your students today.

The Yankees played a large role in helping the Cubs (and Indians!) get to seventh game of the World Series. I know Tom had mixed feelings about Aroldis Chapman, and I’m sure he’s thrilled it wasn’t Chapman on the mound as the Cubs recorded the last out. Sort of the best of both worlds, eh Tom?

Among the players the Yankees received for Chapman, #1 on the list is Gleyber Torres. Tom was kind enough to send me this card of Torries from 2016 Pro Debut. I was kind enough to send this card to Gleyber to sign TTM. Gleyber has not been kind enough to return it to me. But if he eventually helps bring me a World Series title, I will forgive him.

Another player the Yankees received is former Oakland A’s first rounder Billy McKinney. Not only did he send that same Pro Debut, but also a cool autograph. I still have some hope McKinney will find his stroke and be a Big Leaguer. 

Funny how Topps and Panini used the same photo.

Speaking of autographs, Tom sent me this signed card of former and then current Yankee Adam Warren, another piece of the Chapman deal. I originally sent this card to Tom after the Starlin Castro-for-Adam Warren deal, and Tom sent it back my way. I’ll send it to Bob Walk the Plank in a few years when the Yankees trade Warren to the Pirates.

Tom also sent me this cool 1997 Donruss Press Proof of Tino, which I didn’t have! Major points when someone sends me a Tino I don’t have.

Last but not least, there were two packs of Sportflics, aka “moving cards”, for my son Joey. He got a kick out of opening them.

Thanks, Tom. And enjoy the sweet taste of victory.

What happened to all the baseball player costumes?

When I was a kid, nearly every single Halloween I Trick-or-Treated as a baseball player. It was easy. I'd grab a jersey and hat, throw on some eye black, and viola - a costume! My mom always liked it too because I could wear sweatpants and layers, as it was usually very cold. It's going to be quite cold here tonight after being in the 70s yesterday. Super.

Joey has chosen to go as a Stormtrooper this year, which is odd because I don't think he's ever seen Star Wars. I know next to nothing about Star Wars, so he clearly has been influenced from the kids at school. Here's a picture of him walking in his school parade this morning:

Lots of superheroes. No baseball players. Ahhhh baseball doesn't have a young fanbase ahhhh! Just kidding, I'm not turning this post into that (but p.s. the games are on too late).

But not one baseball player! In fact, I didn't even seen a football player costume. Superheroes. And the girls were basically all princesses. Maybe once he gets a little older, the sports-themed costumes will make a comeback.

Meanwhile, here's a card of my favorite player in a Devil Rays costume. This is my newest Tino - #762!

Not all Yankee fans are bad

A few weeks back, Judson of My Cardboard Habit asked me on Twitter if I minded sticker autos. Of course not, I said. While I prefer on-card (who doesn't?), there are plenty of places for stickers in my collection.
He agreed.

That was followed up by an email that simply said "It's coming" with a collection of numbers. Those numbers, of course, were a tracking number.

Fast forward a few days, and this card showed up:

Whoa! Now, as you'll see in my most-wanted section on the right hand side of my blog, Brett Gardner is an autograph that I didn't have in my collection, and really wanted. He's been a very good Yankee since 2008, one of the few that has actually had an impact from the horrid drafts of the mid-2000s.

I'm not sure why I didn't have his auto. I guess they aren't that easy to come by, and he doesn't sign TTM. So it just sort of escaped my collection. Until now.

However, that's not all. Equal to the kind gesture of the card was a post-it note. I've only pictured a snippet, but man, how powerful is that? The truth is, I feel the same way. Some of my best trading friends have turned out to be from rival teams. Judson is a Rangers fan, the same Rangers that knocked the Yankees out of the 2010 ALCS. And it's not just the Rangers. A few of my favorite traders are fans of the Boston Red Sox. I've found guys like Matt Perry and Mark Hoyle to be some of the best card-collecting dudes out there.

On the flip side, I know Yankee fans are despised all over the country, but hopefully you've been surprised that some of us are a civil bunch, and that your experiences with me, Zippy, Drew, Tim, etc. have made you realize that not all Yankee fans are bad.

Judson, thanks for not only the awesome Gardner auto, but also for being my friend.

TTM Success: Torey Lovullo

I know, I know. He's on the Red Sox staff. But to steal the Knicks motto - "once a Yankee, always a Yankee!" Torey Lovullo played 22 games for the 1991 Yankees, and found himself on a couple of cards. I sent these to Mr. Lovullo in early mid-September, and they came back signed yesterday.

He's pictured wearing #13 in this card, although he also wore #12 and #43 with the Yankees - all in one season!

Out of sorts

I feel very out of sorts with my blogging right now. Although my posts aren't particularly insightful in general, I'm having a tough time just finding the time to cobble anything together.

It sounds trivial, but it started when my blogroll inexplicably vanished from my blog. I didn't do anything to edit or change the layout. I just woke up one day and *poof* it vanished. I'm not sure how each you consume other blogs, but I'd start by going to my site and going through my blogroll. It's probably inefficient and leads me to miss some posts, but it's been my formula for the last five years.

Blogger help has said they are working on the issue, but we're going on three weeks now. It actually happened to many other people, from the looks of it on the forum. I highly doubt that they are going out of their way to help us though. At the end of the day, we are using a free platform, and although they screwed up, they don't have much incentive to repair what was done.

Luckily, a fellow blogger helped me to view a cashed version of my blog, and he was kind enough to pull the list I had of blogs I had. I'm dreading it, but I think I'll soon start repairing my blog roll manually, one by one. At least I have the list.

Ok, enough whining. Here's are two relic cards, that came together in a lot I bought not too long ago. I needed the Pineda, and the Beltran was a nice bonus. Apparently there are two different relic designs - an A and B versions. I didn't know that when I bought them, but noticed upon arrival.

TTM Success: Goose Gossage

I won't lie, I double-dipped on this one. I did receive a Goose Gossage TTM autograph a long time ago. I'm not exactly sure when. I want to say I got it while I was in high school, but can't remember if that's accurate. That card is now a key piece of my Topps Yankees Project.

I figured enough time had passed where I wouldn't feel guilty for sending him another request. I had seen that he was signing without a fee, so I gave it a shot, and in just 21 days this returned:

Goose is definitely a cranky old man, but damn, can he sign a card. His signature is a pure treasure.

Thanks for the autograph, Mr. Gossage!