When the throw-ins are better than the card purchased

My eBay Bucks were going to expire late last week...all $1.50 of them.

I wanted to spend them on a card without spending extra, so I gave myself a fun challenge. Most of the cards I found were pretty standard base cards, like $.99 with free shipping. But then I saw this for $1 plus $.50 shipping, so I snagged it.

Sonny Gray is in the dog house and won't be returning to NY. Brian Cashman has been very open about wanting to trade him. For whatever reason, Gray never figured it out in NY. I am certain he'll be bounce back wherever he ends up. Anyhow, I thought it would be cool to have a relic of him as a Yankee, given that his tenure will end up being just 1.5 seasons with the team.

The seller also threw in two cards around the Gray gray swatch:

I was actually more excited about these, especially the Montgomery!

In all, I think I did pretty well for my massive amount of eBay Bucks.

Join Secret Santa!

For the past few years, Matt from Bob Walk The Plank executed a nearly flawless Secret Santa amongst bloggers and collectors. This year, Jon of A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts has stepped up to the plate big time and offered to host. Click here to sign up!

The Secret Santa game has always treated me well.

In 2016, my pal Coach Tom of Waiting Til Next Year sent me an awesome box of cards, with this Phil Rizzuto leading the way. Tom even had someone else mail it so the origins left me very stumped.

Then in 2017, another All-World Blogger, San Jose Fuji, sent me a true treasure and a card I had wanted forever.

I also really enjoy shopping for the person I'm assigned, and COMC's Black Friday is a great way to pick up some good cards to send along.

Thanks to Jon for organizing!

Walkin' to the mailbox

Prior to this season, I always knew Neil Walker was a very good TTM signer. So when the Yankees signed him at the end of March, I was excited to possibly add his autograph to my collection.

I sent the request to Yankee stadium in early April, and nothing came back. I waited and waited and waited.

Finally, an envelope showed up from Pittsburgh, and inside were my signed Walker cards.

I just saw that he has a Yankees card in 2018 Update, so hopefully I can get that signed down the road. Maybe he'll be back with the Yankees in 2019, but if not, I enjoyed having him on the team, as he was definitely a good dude for the younger players to look up to.

RIP Willie McCovey

I feel bad.

I actually didn't know Willie McCovey was still alive until I heard that he died. I think there are a handful of stars from the past that I probably couldn't tell you whether or not they are still with us. I guess my lack of interest in organizations outside of the one I root for are one of my biggest shortcomings as a fan.

Still, I did know he was a great player and revered by the fanbases that he played for, notably the Giants and Padres. I had no idea he had a short stint as an Oakland A until I saw a few photos on Twitter.

I also didn't know he was the original Big Mac, although it makes sense now that I think about it.

Regardless, I do have a few vintage McCovey cards that I keep in my son's HOF binder. Side note: I don't think I've updated that page in a few year, but I am constantly adding cards to this binder, many of which were sent by generous bloggers.

So with that, here are three that stick out. RIP, Stretch.

Nevermind, that wasn't all of the Topps Nows

In my last post, I mentioned that was it for Topps Now cards that were incoming.

What I didn't account for was one find its way to me in a surprise package, but that's exactly what happened after I made that last post. This came courtesy of Collecting Cutch, who said he snagged an extra one of these and thought I'd like it since Gleyber Torres was on it. He was right!

The front of the card, which I forgot to scan, recognizes an MLB record 81 walk-off HRs in 2018. Given this card was dated August 29th, I'd have to believe the record extended itself well beyond 81. It also served as a bit of foreshadowing, as McCutchen, pictured next to Torres, would be his teammate three days later.

Very cool and a great addition to my Torres collection, which is predominantly Topps Now cards.

However, I can't quite say it was my favorite card of the package, considering this was in there:

Ooooh la la. I've been after this card from 2010 Donruss Elite for a while! Any time I get to add a new Tino autograph feels like a very special moment in my collection, mostly because there just aren't many out there.

There was a second Tino I needed as well, from 1998 Stadium Club One of a Kind, #'d to just 150. I say "just 150" because that's a fairly low-numbered card for Tino. When serially-numbered cards became the range in the late '90s, many were numbered to a few thousand. So in 1998, 150 would have been very rare!

I've always felt like this was such a cool photo to have on a card as well, with Tino diving into 1B mitt-first for the out.

And of course, you can't end a package from Collecting Cutch without a few Andrew McCutchens! I would love for him to be back with the Yankees in 2019, but I don't see how it would happen. McCutchen should, and will, get a multiyear deal somewhere. I just hope it's someplace where he can compete for a championship. He's an all-around great dude and deserves it.

Brian from Collecting Cutch is a great dude as well, and I appreciate the excellent package!

The Last of the Nows

With the two Topps NOW cards recently arriving, that's likely the last of them for this season. I say "likely" because perhaps there will be one for any interesting post-season awards, like if Miguel Andujar somehow beats out Ohtani for AL ROY.

Regardless, it's two good ones, so let's see what I got.

Luuuuuuke. The first is of Yankees out-of-nowhere sensation Luke Voit. I was glad to see him get a Yankees card, although this one is a team card, so technically not of him. I also thought his Topps NOW would be his RC, but it turns out he had a card in 2017 Update with the Cardinals. Rats!

It's a great shot of him being enthusiastic after one of his many homers this past September.

The back of the card lists out all 12 players who hit 10 or more homers for the Yankees in 2018, a new MLB record.

The next Topps NOW is the first official card of Justus Sheffield as a Big Leaguer, chronicling his ML Debut. I guess it's not technically a RC because he hasn't been featured in a base set yet. What a dumb rule. This is a card of him on an MLB mound in a regular season MLB game. It should be a rookie card, especially if he's not going to make it in any 2018 products.

Regardless, it was another fun year of buying Topps Now cards. I didn't buy as many as I did in 2016 and 2017, but still came away with some good ones.

Perk Me Up, Before You Buy Buy

A few weeks ago, I saw the eBay was running a promotion called PERKMEUP. Basically, it was $5 off a purchase of $5.01 or more. Essentially, it was free money.

I feel like eBay had to have made a mistake and meant to offer it only to a select group, yet it worked for me and for many others. It was a fun night on Twitter when it first hit, as everyone was sharing their pickups. I was glad so many were able to take advantage.

As for me, I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to buy, but settled on this card for $5.01. So literally, this card cost me one penny, and not a cent more:

Pretty cool issue of the Topps Live Set, and I like that Topps went with an old school Mattingly photo from early in his career.

I'm still pretty undecided on the Living Set, but definitely feel like it's worth it to add Yankees when they are included.