Top 12 Favorite Pickups in 2018

I thought it would be fun to look at my favorite cards I got over the course of the year.

There was so many Cutch cards I grabbed this year.  Over 30 new 1/1s were added to the collection and about 25 new graded cards were added to the collection.

The below signature logoman 1/1 is by far my favorite pickup of the year, but it is only one of 5 logoman cards I got this year.

I also grabbed a few Superfractors, but this die cut was my favorite of the bunch...

........

Until I added this a few weeks ago.

My favorite online exclusive card?  Well it is from a game I attended in person.  The same game that the above Superfractor was pictured.

I got a few commissioned sketch cards, but the one Darrin Pepe created for me with all the bright colors just pops.  It features Cutch with his first walk off homerun moment, the Pirates Jolly Roger logo, and a more recent image of Cutch.

Commissioned artwork is awesome and I have a bunch of Juan Rosales cards to show off in the future, but having the original artwork used to make an all art set is even better.  Back in January I grabbed the original art Daniel Bergren used to create the 1951 Topps Gallery set.

A.J. Burnett was a rockstar in his short time in Pittsburgh and I like many others quickly found him to be an easy guy to root for.  I had been looking for a copy of this Gold numbered to only 10 copies Band of Brothers insert for a few years.  I was stoked to get it after a bargaining war with the seller.

Continuing the theme of logoless tough parallels to chase is the Hot Off The Press from Donruss.  These cards are ridiculously tough to pull and because they are produced in a retail budget friendly set many never see the secondary market.

Stadium Club produces some of the best cards uear after year and their parallels are often overshadowed by the beautiful base set.  Another case hit I was able to grab on the cheap was this Illuminator.

Now granted I added quite a few 1/1s and many many more autographs this year than in my previous years, but a favorite was this 2018 Active Players Edition of Topps Archives Buyback Signatures.  Cutch was a redemption only signer and every card was stamped a 1/1.  The highlight of my redemptions was this Allen & Ginter.

I wasn't sure if I would get excited about adding Cutch cards to the collection that weren't featuring a Pirates uniform.  I still get excited.

Favorite Topps Parallel I picked up?
A 2015 Heritage Blue Back Stat Leaders for the 2014 Batting Title

I could easily have done a top 12 pickups for each year but this variety of cards will show off some of the better and more meaningful cards that I got this year.