Trade: $30 a Week Habit

My good buddy Robert of $30 a Week Habit fame is a smart man. He escaped the winters of western PA for the constant sunshine of Florida. I'm sure he was laughing as his old stomping grounds was getting pummelled with snow last month.

This past week Robert surprised me with a bubble mailer.

 Cutch has become a difficult guy to collect ever since he became a bonafide superstar. Receiving his cards via trade makes me a happy camper.

Young Cutch! The other day Cutch was once again quoted that he wants to stay a Pirate for life. I'm just not sure how the Pirates are going to be able to pay him beyond his current deal. Only hope is that the new tv deal frees up some cash. No need to worry just yet as the Pirates have him under control through the 2018 season.

Robert was nice enough to give me my first taste of 2016 Topps. The Pressed into Service is kind of a cool idea.  I think I had stopped watching in the game because of the beatdown the Pirates were receiving.

 Probably the best insert in Series One is the Perspective set. They are kind of a Stadium Club esque set. I was happy to see this card.  Now I just need to find the Kang version.

Don't know why Topps insists on using Maz photos at the end of his career.

Thanks for the great cards Robert. I hadn't picked up any Series 1 other than the Neil Walker silver frame. I'll be on the lookout for some new Thome's for you!

Thanks for reading!

Josh Bob Sends a Bob.....Clemente

The last month I have had a nice influx of new trade partners reaching out. To me nothing is more exciting about blogging than making new trade contacts.

Right around the time I posted my 2 year anniversary contest, a reader named Josh Bob commented and said he had some Buccos for me. A few days later I had a bubble mailer at my door. Blind trades are the best!

Well I guess the trade wasn't completely blind. Josh told me that he had a Gorzo card to send my way. Back in the mid 2000's Gorzelanny, Zach Duke and Paul Maholm were supposed to be the knights in shining armor to help end the Buccos losing ways. While each would have moderate success during their Pirate tenure it wasn't near enough to get propel them to the next level.  I even remember Peter Gammons saying that mid 2000's Pirates core would propel them back to winning....not so much.

In some ways Gorzo did help the Pirates become relevant again when he was traded to the Cubs it netted Josh Harrison.

I was pumped to see this card in the envelope. I recently purchased some of the lower numbered patches and autos from a seller, but don't have any of the regular parallels. This makes a very nice addition to my Gorzo collection.

 Always nice to see a Clemente come in a trade package. Thanks a ton for adding this one in the mix Josh. I really appreciate it!

 Co-Signers was a cool set for Pirate collectors as it featured autos of many of the active Pirates. Guys like Bay, Freddy Sanchez and Adam Laroche had cards in the set.

I enjoy finding cards of guys like Danny Neagle and Kevin Young. They came into the picture shortly after the Pirates early 90's success. Both would have long careers, but played on some really bad Pirate teams.

I remember buying a lot of Score Select as a kid. My local convenience store use to stock it pretty deep.

Thanks so much for reaching out Josh. I've got some cool A's cards to send your way. I'll let you know as soon as I get an envelope out.

Thanks for reading!

I Got Teke'd

It has been a good mail week at BWTP headquarters. I'm officially double digit envelopes behind! It is a cool problem to have.

The most uniquely shaped recent package came courtesy of The Prowling Cat. It was a very small and compact rectangular package. The card contents made me smile. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

TEKE'd!!!!!

I've said it a lot since I've been blogging, but Teke is cardboard gold. It is the perfect mix of those dark glasses, unique delivery and awesome uniforms. He is impossible not to like. I have a feeling if you were a baseball fan in the 70's, Tekulve was probably one of the more imitated players out there. I know my Dad told me he and his friends would throw side arm all the time. Long live Teke! 

 Here is the unique item that Zenus sent my way......

125th season Pirates shot glass! I'll have to try it out soon.....maybe some Jameson!

Thanks so much for the cards and glass Zenus.  What a great surprise. Seeing all those Teke's really put a smile on my face.  I'll hit you back soon.

Thanks for reading!

The Oddball Guy

Before blogging most of the oddballs in my collection were purchased by my parents as birthday and Christmas gifts. Store specific sets from Ames and Kay Bee Toys come to mind. In my mind these were the second coolest gift behind Nintendo games. 

As I got older and started purchasing cards with my own money oddballs became an afterthought. It wasn't that I didn't like them, but what little money I had went to officially licensed "big" card companies. 

Once I took the plunge with the blog I discovered so many more oddballs that I didn't even know existed. It felt like I was finding something new everyday. Soon enough I started receiving these cards in trade. My good pal Tony L of Off Hiatus Baseball fame has been the biggest contributor. 

A recent bubble mailer added to my growing collection.......

On some of these you could substitute Panini for Jimmy Dean. They used the same tricks then as they do now. When I was younger I only remembered cereal companies for food issued oddballs. Thanks to blogging I've discovered so many new ones. Drakes, Jimmy Dean and Tombstone just to name a few.  

I read a lot of prospect publications. Most are in consensus when it comes to the Pirates give or take a spot or two. One of the bigger discrepancies I've seen so far is Kevin Newman. Newman was the Pirates first round pick last year and most publications have him in the 9-12 range within the Pirates top 20. Keith Law is much more bullish and has him 4th. I hope he is right....

I love the Stargell Front Row cards!

Some of the bigger names in the Pirates system here including the likes of Josh Bell and Austin Meadows.

More oddball goodness from Tony. I've received a few TCMA cards recently which is really cool. These were from 1987 and honored the 60 Buccos.

I had to ask Tony about all these reprints.  Apparently they come from a book called Hall of Fame Baseball Cards.  Here is a link.  You learn something everyday.

Some Pacific throwback cards. I dig the Smoky Burgess!

A few more reprints because I don't know how to scan in order.

I remember getting a lot of Classic cards growing up. They were one of the first prospect sets.

Thanks for all the great cards Tony and for helping identify the perforated reprints. Those had me stumped. I think I'm officially out of Brewers trade bait so I've been looking around lately for some cool stuff.  Expect something soon.

Thanks for reading.

At the Buzzer

I'm having one of those weeks where something seems to pop up every evening to ruin my quality cardboard time. I was really hoping to have a good scanning day, but that will have to wait for now. Either way I still have a few minutes to showcase a new arrival.

2015 Leaf Trinity Ke'Bryan Hayes Patch Auto

I've been a frequent purchaser of Trinity cards the last 3 years and have featured them several times on the blog. The set offers a nice alternative to Bowman products and a great way to cherry pick some of the bigger names autos on eBay on the cheap. 

After only one year in the Pirates system, Ke'Bryan is already getting some prospect hype. Most think after this year he will climb into the Pirates top 10 prospect list.  He has a very advanced approach at the plate for being a high school draft pick. Also helps to have a good pedigree as his dad was former major leaguer Charlie Hayes. 

Ke'Bryan had a brief stint with the Black Bears at the end of last season, but it looks like he will be heading to Charleston for this upcoming season. 

The card above cost me around $10. 

Offseason Transactions (How Did Your Team Do?)

I don't really know how much I can add to this, but today Dave Cameron of Fangraphs released his "Best Transactions of the Offseason" article.  While I don't always agree with the lists, I think #1 is about as unanimous in the baseball world as you'll find.  Those crazy Diamondbacks don't seem to value prospects the same as the other 29 teams.

The only one I would have had higher would be the Heyward signing. I understand the value is limited because of the opt outs, but that deal also hurt the Cardinals in the short term. The Cubs are a legitimate World Series threat so the short term benefit is much higher for the Cubs than most teams.

My Buccos rarely make these kind of lists. I looked back at all the lists since 2012 and they failed to make any of them. Generally speaking they are given credit for finding value where others don't see it, but these deals are almost always looked upon favorably after the fact. Last year the signings of Jung Ho Kang and trade for Francisco Cervelli proved to be arguably two of the best deals in all of baseball when you weigh the financial commitment to each player was minimal. Hopefully Jon Niese and John Jaso can be those dark horse guys this year.

Are you happy with your teams offseason?

In the Studio

I was sorting through some cards this morning and discovered a huge pile that I had meant to post, but pushed aside.

Back in the early fall I discovered a Pirate collector looking to get rid of his collection. He was listing most of his auctions with the BIN function. After a little back in forth I was able to get a few hundred cards off of him. Most were parallels and mid 90's variants which made me extremely happy.

The most recent cards I received from him were some the mid 2000's Studio sets.  Here is some of the more notable 2005 versions.

I was happiest to secure the /10 proofs I showed first.  They don't pop up much so to get them from the same seller was a huge bonus. The Private Signings Jose Castillo is numbered to /50 while the bottom silver proofs are to /100. 

It is fun trying to chase obscure guys from the mid 2000's. While the likes of Kip Wells and Jose Castillo remind most Pirate fans how thin the organization was doing this time, I continue to try and fill loose ends from this time period.  Maybe to constant reminder of how bad these guys were help me appreciate how far the Pirate organization has come recently. 

Thanks for reading!