Triple Threat

Last night I showed off all three of the McCutchen variants numbered to 9.  Tonight is more of the same with Jose Tabata.  

2011 Triple Threads Jose Tabata Jersey /9

2011 Triple Threads Jose Tabata Jersey /9

                                               2011 Triple Threads Jose Tabata Jersey /9

Tonight I took the time to look through some of my Triple Threads cards to see where I stand.  It seems that I'm only one away from 6 different triples.  I've gotten away from checking for these on eBay and COMC over the last year, but a fresh look has me revitalized to find some missing cards. The good thing is that it will be a buyers market for Tabata, Garrett Jones and Pedro Alvarez.  

I'm pumped for the Pirates game tomorrow.  Hope we can put on another good show like last year.  

Thanks for reading and Let's go Bucs!

Stance Swing Run

 2011 Triple Threads Andrew McCutchen "Stance" /9

 2011 Triple Threads Andrew McCutchen "Swing" /9

2011 Triple Threads Andrew McCutchen "Run" /9

2011 Triple Threads is one of my all time favorite sets.  It was one of the first high end releases to feature the likes of Neil Walker, Jose Tabata, Pedro Alvarez and Garrett Jones.  I have around 50 unique hits from this set mostly due to one eBay seller getting rid of his collection a few years back. I was assisted by the fact the seller ended all the auctions early in the morning.

The above McCutchen's feature all three variants in the jersey parallel that was numbered to 9.  I think the only other player in which I completed all three versions is Jose Tabata and that was numbered to 50.  I've been on a dry spell trying to find some final pieces to my collection.  Hopefully the next few months I will see some progress on filling some holes.  The nice thing is that McCutchen is the only expensive person to add.  All the other Pirates can be had for less than $5 a card.  

I'm getting excited about the wildcard game Wednesday.  Don't think I'm going like last year, but I will be watching nervously.  Should be a great game.  

Let's Go Bucs!

2014 Triple Threads

One of the signature cards of Topps Triple Threads is the All Star themed patches.  For those who follow me on a regular basis know that I can't get enough.  I love these cards and make it a little project of mine to try and at least get one a year.  This year I struck early.

2014 Topps Triple Threads Pedro Alvarez All Star patch /9

Pedro Alvarez has had a disastrous year.  He had to be moved off third base after leading the NL in errors.  For some reason he forgot how to throw to first base.  Adding fuel to the fire he hurt his foot and most likely will miss the playoffs.  Pedro's struggles probably helped keep the price of this card reasonable.  I paid just below $50 shipped.  While still very expensive, it is a reasonable price to pay for a high end hit out Triple Threads.  Box prices right now are in the $170 range.  

My focus now will probably be to find the Jeff Locke version of this card.  One went off recently for $60 which is a little high.  Hopefully I will find one in the near future.  

Thanks for reading!

Chavez Ravining Group Break (Pirates and Reds)

A few weeks back Alex from Chavez Ravining put together a group break of Topps Chrome.  This year I have been staying away from breaks as the Pirate hits are few and far between.  Basically it is Polanco and Lambo, or bust.  I decided to participate in Alex's because Topps Chrome is awesome and the price was very affordable.  The extra bonus with the break was that each person was assigned a random team.  Along with the Pirates I received the rival Reds.

A nice mix of refractors of some pretty big names.  These always scan a little funny, but in person they have a really nice shiny look to them.

A nice mix of Pirate base.  The box break did yield a team set so that was cool.  Also have a ton of Red's base.  Anybody want to trade?

As incentive to sign up for the break Alex offered some bonus cards.  I got one of my favorite non Pirates in Troy Tulowitzki.  Poor guy just can stay on the field.  Hall of Fame talent with the durability of my Grandmother.

This is another cool card Alex threw in stack of cards as a bonus.  This is a purple refractor out of Heritage.  These always scan blue.

 Alex pulled me a nice McCutchen insert.  Sharp looking card.

More bonus cards that Alex threw in.  Josh Bell and Tyler Glasnow were the Pirates positional and pitcher of the year winners.  Big time talents.

The first "hit" was a sepia refractor of Johnny Cueto.  This was one of the better parallels pulled from the break so I was happy to get it.  The card is /75.

The Pirate hit was an Andrew Lambo autograph.  Lambo seems to be in every Topps product this year.  Once a big prospect with the Dodgers, his status has fallen quite a bit as a Pirate.  His two positions are right field and first base which are all occupied.  He will probably need to be traded in order to find consistent playing time.  Either way it was cool to pull an auto out of the break.  

Thanks for hosting a great group break Alex.  Hope you do it again soon.  Also, big thanks for all of the extra cards.  They are much appreciated.  

Trade: Jaybarkerfan's Junk

I always get excited when I see an envelope from Wes from the blog Jaybarkerfan's Junk.  I've hooked him up with some Josh Willingham's a while back and he returned the favor with a jumbo assortment of auto/relic Pirate goodness.

I'm a huge Bay fan.  I have more game used/auto cards of Bay than anybody else in my collection. He helped make the Pirates somewhat watchable during some incredibly bad seasons in the mid 2000's.  

This card had a really nice clean look to it.  Jason Kendall was a fan favorite during his time in Pittsburgh. His unique blend of speed and high obp. made him a very valuable player.

Ian Snell showed flashes of brilliance early in his career, but command and immaturity got the best of him.  

Adam LaRoche is a perfect example of having a player at the wrong point of his career.  When the Pirates acquired LaRoche in a trade with the Braves I was pumped up.  Not everyday you get a young first baseman entering his prime.  While his numbers were decent, all his production came late in the second half when the Pirates were out of it.  It wasn't until he joined the Nationals that he found some consistency and put together more balanced seasons.  He is a perfect complimentary player now.  Pirate fans just expected to much.

 Nyjer Morgan is more famous for his time in Milwaukee.  Tony Plush!

Paul Maholm was a workhorse for the Pirates.  I felt bad for him when he suffered a terrible knee injury covering first base while playing for the Dodgers this year.  

 I've always liked the college patch cards from Elite.  I have a few in my collection.

Nice shot of the Pittsburgh skyline.

I'm happy to see Zach Duke revitalize his career as a reliever.  After a few disastrous years with the Pirates I really thought his career might be over.  Thankfully the Brewers saw something in him and sure enough he has turned himself into a pretty good reliever.

A lesser known McCutchen but still a nice framed auto.

Much like Ian Snell above, Jame McDonald showed flashes but never gained enough command.  The gold border Topps cards are a nice match with the Pirate players. 

Thanks again Wes! You always send such great stuff.  My turn to hook you up again!  

Thanks for reading.  

Blockbuster Additions

I mentioned yesterday that I've been having a lot of contact from non bloggers looking to trade and sell.  Yesterday I featured some cards that I blind traded with a reader named Pete.  Today I'm featuring a major purchase from reader Nolan.

Nolan is a Pirates fan like myself, but was narrowing his collection to focus on Neil Walker and vintage needs.  It took us a while to come to a deal as we got held up because I left town for my brothers wedding.  As soon as I got back we hit the ground running and came to terms.  Check out the great cards.  As a side not Nolan's collection is top notch.  He sent some pictures of his vintage collection and it would make you drool.

2002 Topps Tribute Paul Waner Bat Relic

2008 SP Legendary Cuts Willie Stargell Cut Auto /15

2010 Topps Series 2 Steve Pearce Magenta Printing Plate 

2010 Topps Update Andrew McCutchen Manu Bat Barrel /99

2011 Topps Heritage Bill Mazeroski Stadium Memorabilia

2011 Topps Series 2 Willie Stargell Leather Nameplate

2011 Jose Tabata Topps Marquee Auto /570

2011 Topps Tribute Dual Jersey Willie Stargell /99

2010 Topps Chrome Aki Iwamura Yellow Printing Plate

2002 Fleer Willie Stargell Jersey

2012 Topps Heritage Willie Stargell Mint Coin Card

Nolan even threw in some freebies by giving me a handful of Bucco Vintage.  Also not pictured was an Al Oliver Topps Retired Auto. 

Thanks a ton Nolan for giving me the opportunity to add so many great cards.  I look forward to trading with you in the future.  You never know who might be checking out your blog on any given day.  

Thanks for reading!

Buctober Returns!

A much later post than anticipated as I was watching the Pirates secure a playoff spot.  At one point this season the Pirates were 10-18 and it looked like the season was heading south quick.  Thankfully they pulled through and finished strong.  Still a lot to play for as the Pirates can still win the division. If the Cubs can beat the Cardinals tonight the Pirates would only be a 1 1/2 games out. Gotta love meaningful baseball this late in the season.  I went 2/3 of my life without seeing it so I'm trying to savor every moment.

Now to Bob Walk the Plank business.  Lately an exciting new trend has been happening.  The last few weeks I've been getting a lot of emails from people who stumbled upon my blog looking to unload some Pirate cards.

Peter, who is a Yankees and Bills collector came across my blog and told me he had a stack of Pirate commons he was looking to unload.  I told him I could send some Yankees and a deal was struck.  He sent a big stack, but I'm only showcasing a few as many could be subjects of blog posts by themselves.

Peter sent a great group of cards highlighted by a stack of Panini Cooperstown.  The Mazeroski is the gold version /299.  It is much shinier than the scan shows.  Peter was also nice enough to send a long a nice Taillon Bowman's Best.  

Thanks for all the great cards Peter.  Look forward to trading again in the near future.  

Let's Go Bucs!

Trade: Hot Corner Cards

Last month Pat from Hot Corner Cards had a post where he was offering up his team lots.  I jumped on the chance to land some Buccos I didn't have.  All Pat asked in return were Tigers of any sorts. Over the course of the month I sent Pat a couple of envelopes of Tigers and on Saturday I received the lot of Pirates.  The lot was full of Pirate goodness ranging from the mid 80's to present day with just about every set imaginable.  Here is sample I put together by position.

 I like the Tony Pena action shot.

 Seeing Aramis Ramirez just makes me sad.  The worst trade in Pirate history by far.

The Pirates struggled for several years trying to find a replacement for Jack Wilson.  Thankfully it looks like Jordy Mercer is starting to stabilize the position.

Neil Walker just recently broke the Pirates team record for homeruns by a second baseman passing Mazeroski.  Have to wonder how many he would have hit if he hadn't missed so much time.

Adam Laroche continues to put up good numbers for the Nats.  While with the Pirates he wouldn't start hitting until after the All Star break.  By the time the Pirates were always out of the race.

 Any Pirate fan in the late 80's early 90's loved Andy Van Slyke.

 The bullpen guys!  Cool shot of Stan Belinda getting ready for his crazy side arm delivery.

 ROBERT VERNON WALK!!!!

Let's end with the Pirate Parrot celebrating a win just as they did tonight.  The Pirates played a third consecutive 1-0 game for the first time since 1917.  

Thanks again for all the great cards Pat.  You supplied enough to have blog posts for 3 months!  

Thanks for reading.