2006 Sluggers

2006 Triple Threads Jason Bay/Miguel Cabrera/Travis Hafner Triple Auto /9

This was a pretty big get for the Bay collection. Bay has the biggest footprint in my Pirates collection so when I find a card to add it is usually of the high end variety. Bay found himself on several variations of this card, but they are super tough finds because they feature the likes of guys like Albert Pujols.

Obviously the big name on this card is Cabrera, but when he is featured as a Marlin it keeps costs affordable. The card ran me around $42 which seemed reasonable considering the set and scarcity.

Also, I looked back at Hafner's stats. While his peak was short, he really dominated in the mid 2000s. He had 3 consecutive 5 War seasons. At the time this card was made he was quie the force.

One of these days I'll get around to showing off some more Bay's. Pretty much the only ones I've shown are recent purchases. I have 100's back logged! Maybe if trade posts and recent acquisitons dry up they can be my posting security blanket.

By the way this is the first post I've done while in flight!

Walking on Eggshells

I've been taken out of my normal routine this week as my daughter has decided that she doesn't need to sleep anymore. It is quite the production to get her to sleep and once it happens you do everything you can to keep her asleep. This means complete silence of everything within earshot of her bedroom. Thankfully this doesn't effect much of the house, but it does indirectly mess with card blogging. My office is very close to her room, so I try not to use the card scanner while she is sleeping.

Right now I'm sitting on the latest Card Papoy/BWTP card break and a cool trade package from the Lost Collector. Those will be completed during the day hours this weekend unless my daughter reverts to her good sleeping ways.

Until scan day comes I did manage to get one taken care of when I got home from work today.

2006 Topps Triple Threads Triple Auto/Relic Zach Duke/Santana/McCarthy /18

I've been on a mission lately trying to find some rarer releases that I never got around to buying. This card is interesting in a lot of ways because it covers all types of players. Duke wasn't much of a prospect after getting drafted in the 20th round by the Pirates, but he hit the ground running. Dominating every stop in the minors he got the call in 2005 to make his debut. He would go on to have a great rookie campaign and the future was looking bright. Long story short the league caught up with him and he was unable to adjust. After his Pirate tenure was over he balanced around some as a AAAA player for a few organizations until catching on with the Brewers last year. Turns out his stuff plays well out of the bullpen and turned himself into a reliever that can get both righty and lefties out. That good season allowed him to sign a lucrative free agent deal with the White Sox.

I bet the Astros would like a take back with Johan Santana. He was left unprotected and the Twins got him in the Rule 5 draft. Ouch! After a little bit of a rocky start as a reliever the Twins sent him to the minors to develop a changeup. That was a good decision. He would go on to be one of the more dominant pitchers in the mid 2000's winning a couple of Cy Young's. 

McCarthy was a guy who dominated the minor leagues, but could never stay healthy in the major leagues. It took a while for him to get some traction in his career but finally turned himself into a productive major league with the A's. I still have the memory of him getting hit by a line drive playing for Arizona. That was one of the more scary ones I've ever seen. He even suffered a seizure as a result. 

Thanks for reading.