Delayed season - helpful or hurtful?

With the season being pushed back until who knows when, the Coronavirus has the chance to help certain Yankees players, while hurting some others.

Helpful

The layoff is going to help some ailing guys the Yankees had. Giancarlo Stanton was going to be questionable for Opening Day with a strained calf, but now he has the opportunity to fully heal before baseball resumes. Of course, he'll probably get hurt again, but if he stays the course he'll be ready for Opening Day...whenever that is. This red foil Stadium Club came courtesy of DyeHardFan on TCDB.

Hurtful

The development of prospects! A lot of young players need reps reps reps. They layoff doesn't help them. The Yankees 2019 First Rounder, Anthony Volpe, was probably ticketed for extended spring training anyways, but in general, the more baseball these super young guys are playing, the better.

This card also came from DyeHardFan on TCDB.

Helpful

Another injured Yankees outfielder! Aaron Judge has been suffering from a fractured rib. He should have extra of time to heal now, as it was recommended he rest and not undergo surgery. He was looking at a June-is return. I actually thought he might get surgery once the season was suspended, but it looks like the option was still rest, rest, rest. This '85 Topps Anniversary card came from SawedOffBaldrick on TCDB.

Hurtful

Clint Frazier was likely going to start in the Yankees outfield on Opening Day. Now with the possibility of Judge and Stanton being ready, Frazier may once again be the odd man out. Obviously a lot can happen between now and then, but this doesn't help a guy like him. This card came from woodmangb on TCDB.

Helpful

I guess this could go either way, but I think Gleyber Torres will benefit from the time off. He was making a bit too many errors in spring training, so perhaps now he can regroup on his defense. After all, he's the primary shortstop right now. This sexy RC came from user SShifflett on TCDB.

So while it sucks to have no baseball, and we'll be faced with a likely condensed scheduled, the Yankees should be closer to full strength when the season does fire up.

Gleyber wil be...32?

I won't lie. I'm sick of the social media joke "Gleyber Torres is 22." Actually, he turned 23 since since last season ended. The joke, like anything on social media, got overdone. Especially when you consider guys like Soto and Acuna have just as bright futures and are younger.

Don't get me wrong, I love Gleyber and hope he's a Yankee for a really long time. A 22-year-old middle infielder who hit 38 homers is pretty awesome, especially when he was projected to maybe hit 20 a year during his prime.

With that, I recently received this 2020 Decade's Next insert from 2020 Topps via a TCDB deal with PhillPhan. I sent him four Phillies cards from 2019/2020 for this one insert card.

I think it's one of the better looking inserts I've seen this year. I still think Topps' inserts are boringly flat, as they refuses to add any interesting textures to the cards. That would = time and money. This would look great with some shine or gold foil or some different texture between the white and black sections of the card. Think mid-90s Ultra.

The back is pretty basic too, but does mention that Gleyber will be 32(!) at the end of the decade. I hope he continues to be productive then, and hope he's still a Yankee at that point. Topps even lists out where he could potentially be at that age stats-wise, such as at 350 homers.

Who knows what could happen between now and then, but overall, one of Topps' better 2020 inserts thus far.

Contest results!

First off, thanks to everyone who joined my contest! I was honestly expecting the usual suspects for baseball books, and saw a ton that I hadn't heard of now hope to read.

Here are the books that were listed:

• The Baby Bombers by Bryan Hoch (The Lost Collector)
• Toronto Blue Jays 1992 World Series Champions (hockey Kazi)
• Rookie by Jerry B. Jenkins (Scribbled Ink)
• The Teammates by David Halberstam (Matt at Diamond Jesters)
• October 1964 by David Halberstam and You Gotta Have Wa (Ryan G)
• Historical Baseball Abstract (Dan)
• Cardboard Gods (San Jose Fuji)
• Big Hair and Plastic Grass by Dan Epstein (A Cracked Bat)
• Ball Four by Jim Bouton (White Devil and Joe)
• The Iowa Baseball Confederacy by WP Kinsella (Kyle McCarty)
• Shoeless Joe (Eric H)
• The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America by Joe Posnanski (@TheCBrockShow)
• Men at Work by George Will (jcouvy)
• The Bad Guys Won by Jeff Pearlman (Stormy)
• The Wax Pack (RickQ)
• The Natural by Bernard Malamud
• Man on Spike (PizzosCards)
• The Glory of their Times by Lawrence Ritter and Baseball Scorekeeping by Andrews Wirkmaa
• A Great and Glorious Game by Bart Giamatti (Trevor)
• Over the Hedge by Jay Johnstone (bnchile)
• Lords of the Really: The Real History of Baseball by John Heylar (Tnfan20)
• Green Cathedrals (Flasah)
• Playing With The Enemy
• Baseball's Best: The MVPs (PKSteinberg)
• Life Begins on Opening Day by Tom Boswell (David)
• The Tour to End All Tours by James Elfers (Jon)
• Pinstripe Empire (Yankeesjetsfan)
• The Hero Two Doors Down by Sharon Robinson (Lesley)
• Satchel: The Life and Times of American Legend (Bcanaday)
• The Catcher Was A Spy (Matthew)
• Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero by David Maraniss (Collecting Cutch and John Sharp)
• The Glory of Their Times (jaradb)
• Ballgame by Josh Lewin
• Whole Different Ballgame by Marvin Miller (Steve at 1975baseballcards)
• Fantasy Baseball by Alan Gratz (Rod)
• The Celebrant by Eric Rolfe Greenberg (mr haverkamp)
• Five O'Clock Comes Early: A Young Man's Battle With Alocholism by Bob Welch (bbcardz)

Now on to the drawing. I had 35 names. I had to omit those who answered as "unknown". I listed all 35 in order in which they were received, then randomized. I'd also flag that if you didn't win and are interested in a bookmark, feel free to reach out and we can work something out. I have sold a couple on Twitter so far and I'm happy to discuss.

With that, congrats to....Julie at A Cracked Bat! Julie, shoot me an email with your address and also let me know which int he photo below you might. Thanks again for everyone who participated.

Thanks again!

Finding another (Red Sox) friend on TCDB

I've come across - and traded with - a bunch of bloggers on TCDB. While my experience on the site has been overwhelmingly positive, it's still nice to know the person on the other end is a trusted friend.

In this deal, I didn't even know it was Matt of Diamond Jesters until I saw his shipping address and recognized the name. Oops! I shipped him off a few Red Sox for a single card:

I don't know why, but I like this Stanton next to the Marlins logo. I'm guessing it was from his return to Miami and his dugout press conference. I like the smile on his face. While Stanton has had a hard time staying on the field, all indications are that he's been very happy to be a Yankee, and has been a great teammate. He's always smiling, and this card captures that well.

Not wanting to send just one card, Matt also included a few HOFers for my son's binder:

That is probably the first Simmons I've set aside. I honestly had no idea who Ted Simmons despite all my years of collecting, but alas, I'll add him to the binder. 

There were a few others for the binder too!

Thanks, Matt! See you around on TCDB.

Last chance to enter my contest!

Good morning!

My contest closes tonight at 11:59pm PT! Make sure you get in at the original post HERE. No entries from this post will be counted.

Good luck!

Strikeout or celebration?

My first Tino Martinez card of 2020 rolled in yesterday. It's an autograph from 2020 Topps Series One, from the Baseball Stars insert set. It's sticker autograph (which means there are more stickers out there), and it's numbered just 15/25.

I'm trying to figure out what's going on in the photo, and have two theories.

1. Tino just struck out, and is walking back the dugout. It looks like a perhaps annoyed smile, or even clenching his jaw in frustration.

2. Or, he's on his way back to the dugout after a teammate brought him in, and he grabbed his bat. I'm pretty sure when zooming in that it is NOT Tino's bat. He rarely used a black bat. I can't quite make out whose bat it is, but when I zoom in, I don't think it is his name.

What do you think? Any other theories?

Filler cards are getting better

I'm not someone who gets annoyed when an eBay seller throws in extra filler cards in the packaging.

I once saw someone Twitter complain (shocking, right?) about getting extra cards. Me? Nope. It's fun. Sometimes a seller will send extra Yankee cards, figuring I'm a fan for buying a Yankees card. Sometimes I'll buy a Tino Cardinals card and get Cardinals cards. No big deal.

Recently, I bought a fun Clarke Schmidt die cut autograph:

Cool card. Not much to say. If baseball ever comes back, I hope he stays on his upward trajectory to NY.

The package was also full of filler cards surrounding the purchased card.

It looks like this seller was cutting back on some 2018 Topps inserts.

Pretty cool! I never saw the Postseason Prominence cards. Fairly run of the mill Topps inserts, but a new Jeter I didn't have.

I thought these were cool and a nice gesture. I'll probably add some to TCDB. Or pass them on through a free card Friday.

Regardless, it's cool when a seller throws in something extra, whether it fits my collection or not.