Big Black Bears

When the Pirates moved their short season NYPL affiliate to Morgantown I decided that I would collect all cards that showcase a player in the Black Bears uniform.  This has been a fun process as only three players have received cards in the teams two year existence (Kevin Newman, Kevin Kramer and Will Craig).  All the cards are from Topps Pro Debut.  I've been hoping that Heritage Minors would make a Black Bears card, but nothing yet.

Since only a few players have been represented and Pro Debut is a relatively inexpensive set, I've been able to focus on finding parallels.  Here is a link to a page I started that shows my progress. My most recent purchases are probably the most unique.

I found most of the Will Craig parallels quickly.  Besides the 1/1's I had assumed I was done.  Most of my focus had been trying to find the guys that were in the 2016 Pro Debut set.  Then I discovered these.

 2017 Topps Pro Debut Jumbo Gold Parallel Will Craig /10

 2017 Topps Pro Debut Jumbo Will Craig /49

I knew about the jumbo 5x7 cards, but hadn't realized that Craig got the big card treatment by Topps. Both of these popped up within a few weeks of each other and each time I paid more in shipping than the actual card.  Craig's prospect status really took a hit after a bad year last year so his cards have been bottoming out.  Obviously I want him to do well, but the savings has been nice for my Black Bears project.

Do I like the jumbo cards....not really. They look fine and dandy, but they are not the easiest to protect and store. Fortunately each seller provided nice top loaders to protect the card.  I'll probably slide them in a big binder page with the rest of my Black Bears collection. 

I'm sure cards like these drive player collectors nuts. 

I'm heading to the WVU/Kentucky basketball game tonight.  Should be a fun atmosphere.  College Gameday was here this morning and we have the national broadcast tonight.  

Thanks for reading. 

Free Day....FREE DAY!

Last Thursday my wife and daughter were both extremely tired and were going to call it a day very early. I decided to make the quick ride to watch the Black Bears play host to the Brooklyn Cyclones. This was a little extra exciting than normal as Pirates top prospect Austin Meadows was on a rehab assignment.

 He really didn't do much in the game, but it was nice to get a front and center view. One takeaway I had is that he was much faster than I expected. Hopefully he can shake the injury bug that has been following him this past year. He would have likely made his Pittsburgh debut already had he stayed healthy.  Pirates GM Neil Huntington said that he won't get the call now and will likely be asked to play Arizona Fall League.

 It was kind of a yucky night, but it wasn't gong to disrupt FREE DAY!

 Tickets for these games run in the $8-14 range.  You really can't beat the price being that it is similar to going to a movie. Plenty of free parking available too as the stadium is tucked between several large commercial businesses.

Back to cards tomorrow as I hope to scan the contents from a big mailbox bombing from Julie. 

Thanks for reading! 

In Honor of the Homerun Derby

I'm going to show this card featuring the Black Bears hitting coach.

I should try and get an actual Aaron Judge card

That was a fun performance by the Yankees slugger. I think people must like to bitch because he deserves all the praise in the world. Baseball is fun, Aaron Judge is fun, maybe lighten up and enjoy the ride.  The guy looks like a superhero. Hey Yankees, the Pirates will trade you some relief help for him.  Sound good?

Thanks for reading.

Blog Bear Maintenance

I've added a page to my blog dedicated to my Black Bears project. To date 3 players have been featured in their Black Bears uniforms (Kevin Newman, Kevin Kramer and Will Craig). I've had pretty good luck finding some of the rarer cards for each including 2 printing plates, 3 blank back 1/1's and a true 1/1 for Kevin Kramer.

I probably won't add an actual needs list just because the cards I need are all harder to find parallels. I'll happily take any in trade no matter if I have them or not.  My to date progress can be found here.

http://bobwalktheplank.blogspot.com/p/black-bear-project.html

If you've opened any Pro Debut the last couple years maybe take a second look.  You might have some good trade bait!

Thanks for reading!

Beers Beets Battlestar Galactica

My wife and daughter surprised me with tickets to the home opener of the Black Bears season. The weather didn't cooperate, but after a lengthy rain delay the good guys won the game. Big bonus of the evening was that the starting pitcher was Pirates top pitching prospect Mitch Keller who was on a minor league rehab assignment. He pitched two dominating innings as he was on a strict pitch count.

Here are a few pictures from the game.

Black Bears card time

Will Craig 2017 Topps Pro Debut Red Auto /10

This was the big one I was looking for! Only one other version of this card had been on eBay at the time I purchased this copy and it had a ridiculous BIN.  This seller put on a good price and I immediately pulled the trigger only a few hours after it was listed.

All that remains is the /99 and /25 base parallels and I consider my quest complete.  I've yet to see any of the plates or the true 1/1's hit eBay but those would just be icing on the cake.

Thanks for reading!

One Crazy Week

I had one of my busier weeks in recent memory.  Most of it was fun, but it required a good bit of road time.  The only downfall to the entire week was about $1800 in car maintenance.  Ouch!

Black Bears game!

I've never quite understood minor league rehab assignments for guys already in the minor leagues. Nevertheless this has played in my favor a few times.  Last year for the Black Bears first ever game in Morgantown top prospect Tyler Glasnow got the start.  He was recovering from a minor injury in which he was building up his stamina again.

Last week I got to see Pirates #2 prospect Austin Meadows. Here are a couple pictures of him in the batters box.  The entire time I was at the game he didn't swing at a pitch.  He drew a walk and struck out looking.  You could tell he was pissed at the umpire but kept calm since he was playing in a rookie level game.  To his defense every single pitch looked low.

Every year my work has a retreat.  We usually gather at a state resort within WV.  This year was Canaan Valley Resort which is tucked away in the mountains and known for good skiing. If you want to get in touch with nature this is the place to be as it is in the middle of nowhere. 

A view of the resort tucked away on the hillside. 

 This is the view from my room.

Being the beer evangelist that I am, we held a large beer tasting.


The last part of my week was another trip to DC.  This time I was flying solo to meet up with a lifelong friend for a guys weekend. It did not disappoint.

 Irish whiskey flight! This place was called Jack Rose and supposedly has the largest collection of whiskey in the western hemisphere. You name it they have it. I saw some stuff cost $6 a pour and others $600.  If you watch the show Best Bars in America on Esquire it was featured on the DC episode.

When my buddy mentioned he wanted to try a German beer garden called Dacha I was a little hesitant.  For those who have been to DC in the summer know about the stifling humidity.  Thankfully they have industrial sized fans all around the area.  You can see them at the top left of the picture.

The selection of beer was outstanding! This was a hefeweizen that tasted very refreshing. They had glassware for each type of beer you purchased.  

So there you have it.  I'm actually looking forward to being home the next few weekends. I need to get caught up on some trade packages and do some major sorting of recent purchases.  

Thanks for reading. 

A Game Cures All

I was hoping to get to the Black Bears game yesterday, but some storms in the area kept me home. So today after a long day at work I made the short trip trip to Monongalia County Ballpark to watch the Black Bears play host to the Batavia Muckdogs (Marlins affiliate). 

As far as in game excitement it was lacking. Batavia pitchers had a hard time finding the strike zone and walked a ton of batters. The Black Bears only had 5 hits but scored 7 runs. It has been an interesting start for the Black Bears this year.  The team doesn't have a ton of high end prospects, but they are off to a 5-0 start. It seems they have bought into the organization philosophy of working the count and drawing a ton of walks. 

Check out a few pics.  The first picture was stolen from a friend that arrived early to the game. 

View from my seat. 

and another.

You really can't beat going to a game here. The prices are $10-12 for a ticket. The stadium has a nice craft beer selection and several local restaurants have food stands.

I hope to take work off Thursday to head to Pittsburgh to watch some day baseball against the Giants. It is a good baseball week!

Thanks for reading!

The Bear Project

One of the great aspects about my hometown of Morgantown gaining a minor league team last year is just starting paying dividends the last couple of weeks. Now that the WV Black Bears are entering their second season, cards featuring players in the Black Bear uniforms are starting to hit the market. With the release of Topps Pro Debut both 2015 first round pick Kevin Newman and 2nd round pick Kevin Kramer are featured prominently.

I've decided to accumulate as many cards as I can of the local team.  Since this team is a Pirate affiliate this is really nothing new for me to collect other than I'm going to make a conscience effort to keep track of what I'm accumulating.

Here are a few of the cards I've found so far....

Kevin Newman is very affordable on the secondary market so it has allowed me to chase some higher end cards that I would normally pass on. These two plates popped up not long after the Pro Debut went live.

 This is a blank back 1/1 that I actually was excited to own.

 The orange parallels are /25.

This is a gold parallel of the Distinguished Debuts insert /50.  

The Kramer blank back went live the same time as the Newman.  Kramer items are also very affordable. 

I've also picked up a few lots of the base cards to add to my collection.  I hope at some point to be able to pick up a printing plate of Kramer, but I've yet to see one hit eBay.  

Could you imagine all the Seinfeld references if these two make it to Pittsburgh?  I'm sure that would get old quick. Plus these guys were probably in Kindergarten when Seinfeld went off the air.  

If you happen to pull any Black Bears cards I'll be happy to take them off your hands. 

Thanks for reading! 

Her First Game

My wife and I decided to venture out this evening and let my daughter experience her first baseball game. Considering she is only two, she did very well. She made it 7 innings and clapped to her little hands were red. Predicting the early departure my wife was nice enough to drive separately so I could stay and watch the whole game.

The game had great flow today as the Black Bears won 4 to 3 over the Staten Island Yankees. The game finished the sweep and was the Black Bears 9th straight win. Pirates first round pick Kevin Newman had the big hit that scored what proved to be the winning run.

The game was another sell out as the Black Bears have been a huge draw so far this summer

I'm Back and Black Bears

Las Vegas was a great trip, but I'm happy to be home. I think I was there just the right amount of time. A full week would be too much. That town isn't conducive to a healthy lifestyle. I'll post some pictures tomorrow, but my most Las Vegas moment of the trip was being asked if I thought two escorts for $1400 was a good deal. The guy told me they were in his room, but he might need to send one of them home......Vegas.

Last night I attended the very first Black Bears game. The best surprise was getting to see Tyler Glasnow. He is recovering from an ankle injury and was sent to Morgantown for a rehab assignment. Glasnow is the Pirates top prospect. He only threw about 35 pitches with most being fastballs. He hit 97 on the gun.

As for the game it was a rough night for the Black Bears. They got destroyed by the Mahoning Valley Scrappers (minor league team names are the best).

The weather was very poor for the game as it rained the majority. Thankfully the new stadium is a sports turf so field conditions were actually pretty good.

 Pirates first round pick Kevin Newman!

Overall it was a great experience. I'm looking forward to getting to more games this year. It will be fun to keep track of all the players that come through. 

Thanks for reading!

Grand Opening!

Tonight I will be attending WVU's first baseball game in the brand new Monongalia County Ballpark. I'm hoping a more creative name will come soon, but that might be better than some weird company sponsor. The opening is occurring about a month late as bad weather put the project behind schedule. The original opener had WVU matching up with Waynesburg college to commemorate WVU's first ever baseball game. Now that we are so far in the season that game could not be rescheduled. WVU's opponent tonight is Butler.

What I'm most excited about is the West Virginia Black Bears who will begin play in June and will be sharing the stadium with WVU. The team is affiliated with the Pirates and will be part of the short season New York-Penn League. Nice that they incorporated WVU's blue and gold.

Here are some pics of the stadium taken by the University for a press release today. Hopefully I'll get some good in person pictures tonight.

As you will be able to tell their is still a ton of work to do outside the stadium. The parking lots won't be done until next year as well as the landscaping.

One of the nice aspects of the stadium is that you get a nice view of the countryside as the backdrop.

The stadium is only about 5 minutes away from my house so it should make for something to do when I can't make it up to Pittsburgh for the Pirate games.

Thanks for reading.