Walk, Papoy, HSCA Collaboration #20 and #21

Kevin sent two installments of our box breaks in one envelope as he has been a busy bee getting settled into his new place. This is actually a blessing in disguise as I've been a little slower accumulating trade bait lately.  This portion includes a box of 2011 Ginter and 2016 Diamond Kings. 

Cutch has been showing a little more life the past couple weeks.  I'm sure the Pirates are hoping he can carry this into the summer so they move him to another team.  That makes me sad saying that, but baseball can be a cruel bitch sometimes. 

A West Virginia card! I'm actually closer to Pittsburgh than Parkersburg, but it is nice seeing a card featuring a small WV town.

You truly do get a little bit of everything when you buy Ginter.

Is the cornhole guy wearing eye black?

I've been on the Queen Mary boat as it is docked in Long Beach California. Supposedly it is haunted, but I did not see a ghost. They don't have a money back guarantee.

 Anybody super collecting Rasputin?

Here is a reminder that Manny Ramirez played for the Rays.

Kershaw is one of my favorite non Pirates to watch.

Some random Buccos including a cool Hometown Heroes of Neil Walker. Gibsonia is a suburb of Pittsburgh.

Diamond Kings.....

I'm always fascinated on the fanfare players get when they retire.  You could not escape Ortiz last season if you collect cards.  Topps created about 10,000 different cards featuring the Red Sox slugger. Red Sox sell!  

Diamond Kings is probably our most frequent box break.  It is the perfect mix of high end possibility and price point.  

It was cool that Kevin pulled a rookie autograph.

Peter O'Brien has been struggling to find a home in recent days. He has been balancing around a ton lately.  He is an extreme power hitter but lacks anything resembling plate discipline.

This is numbered to /25!

Socrates Brito is one of the best names ever.

Legend cards!

A nice looking Cutch card.  Love the canvas look.

A 3 time gold medalist soccer player relic!

Thanks for the break Kevin.  This may be the most diverse group of cards I've received in a long time. From Cutch to Mitts to Rasputin......and everything in between.

I'll show all the cool extras Kevin sent sometime this weekend.  

Thanks for reading.

Lottery Cards

I was fooling around on eBay the other day and came across two cards that just blew my mind.  Both of these are actually on auction right now which is rare.  Usually you see these type of cards with BIN's of $99,999,999 or best offer.

I took the pictures off of the current eBay auctions.

I really couldn't even imagine pulling a card like this.  The best card I've seen pulled in person was a Johnny Unitas auto and these two blow that out of the water.  By most accounts I'm a calm person, but I'm sure I would have some crazy reaction.

Most of us have what we consider whale cards but what would you consider these? In my title I call them lottery cards.  I think winning the lottery is about the only way I could attain these. What would your lottery cards be?

Here are a few of mine
- high grade Clemente rookie
- the above two cards
- T206 Honus Wagner

The two autos would actually be really cheap compared to the Clemente and T206.

In case any of you are looking for a birthday gift for me, you now have some ideas....

SuperNova Plate

I've always had a love/hate relationship with printing plates. While they are a unique collectible, the looks of them leave something to be desired.  So in turn I've always collected them, but on  strict budget.  I also try to keep it to short term Buccos or guys that don't get a lot of auto/relic love.

2016 Topps Update Ivan Nova Yellow Printing Plate 

A perfect fit to my self imposed printing plate rules is this recent acquisition of a Ivan Nova plate. Nova came over to the Pirates last year at the trade deadline and has been absolutely fantastic. In the offseason the Pirates gave him a 3 year contract and he picked up right where he left off.  At one point this year he had more complete games than walks! As of right now it is looking like one of the better bargain free agent buys.

Topps Update is always one of my favorite sets each year because its where you will find all the recently traded players featured in their new duds.  Some of my favorite cards in my collection are low numbered parallels of short term Pirates like Derrek Lee and the second go around of Aramis Ramirez.

The above Nova cost me about $10 which is at the top of my budget for these plates, but still worth in my opinion.

Thanks for reading.

Black Bears and Bagpipes

Last week I mentioned how excited I was that 2017 Topps Pro Debut was going to feature the first certified auto of someone in the WV Black Bears uniform.  Well, I had this waiting for me when I got home this evening.

2017 Topps Pro Debut Will Craig Auto

Since the autos are stickers and the fact that Will Craig hasn't done a whole lot to build on his first round draft status, prices are cheap.  I'll probably try to add a few parallels and will happily take any in trade if some of my card buddies pull some.  If for some reason one of the plates fall into my lap I may try and get the rainbow. 

Now on to Bob Walk the Plank Parts Unknown. 

This weekend my wives side of the family had a gathering at resort called Nemacolin Woodlands. It is only about 45 minutes from where I live so it makes for a nice getaway without having to spend to much time in the car.  The resort is probably best known for golf as it use to host a PGA event. I suck at golf, but my mother in law was nice enough to treat me to a round so I hacked away like a madman this morning.  I did manage a par which was a freaking miracle, but it was sandwiched between a bunch of 7's and 8's. Right when you want to quit golf forever you hit a good shot that makes you want to keep playing.  

Here is a few pictures I got. 

 The scoreboard on the 18th hole.

 A lone bagpiper was playing on Sunday night which was really cool.

 Some nice views.

 This was a nice duck dish I had.

This place must have a busy grounds crew.  

Hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day weekend. Big thanks to any of you that have served over the years. 

Thanks for reading. 

The Boring Side of NOW

Here is where I get a little more critical of Topps NOW.  Overall I really like the concept, but sometimes the delivery leaves something to be desired.  To me this concept should really capture the moment. This photo used to commemorate a very efficient "Maddux" complete game by Ivan Nova is just so boring. It might as well be his 2017 flagship base card.

I think I like the flagship card better.  I know Topps is handcuffed by what Getty gives them, but come on.  Maybe a shot of him and the catcher shaking hands.  How about him fist pumping coming off the mound.....Seriously, anything would be better than what they chose.

I guess the joke is on me since I still bought the card.

A Gift

Last month the Pirates made history when they promoted Gift Ngoepe.  Gift became the first African born MLB player.  It was a feel good story that was made even a little more special when he got a hit in his first at bat.  Of course you know what that means.....

As of right now it is hard to see Gift as anymore than AAAA type of player because the bat is weak. The thing that will keep him around in short doses is that he defense is top notch.  If the bat can come around some then he may have a future as a utility infielder but right now I see him more as frequent short term call up.

Rejuvenation

Sometimes you see a new release that grabs your attention for whatever reason.  Such was the case with 2017 Topps Pro Debut.  I always like the minor league sets, but this checklist was even more exciting than usual.

The first ever certified auto featuring a WV Black Bears uniform! Last year was the first mainstream cards with Kevin Newman and Kevin Kramer, but this year we get the Will Craig auto!!!!!  This picture is stolen from eBay, but I've already won the base auto and hope to add some parallels in the coming days. The Black Bears play about 5 minutes away from my house so I've made it a mission to accumulate all the cards released featuring the short season affiliate of the Buccos.

The one negative with this set is that it features a certain former Heisman Trophy winner so the prices for boxes will likely be higher than normal.  So it will be all eBay accumulating for the foreseeable future.

If you come across any Will Craig cards from Pro Debut I'll be happy to take them off your hands.