Unlike previous years where there was a waiver deadline and non waiver trade deadline, this year there is no such thing. That means there won't be any Justin Verlander joining Astros minutes before September 1st or Andrew McCutchen joining the Yankees a day before September. As of July 31st, the team you have is the team you ride with to the postseason.
Cutch joined the Yankees last year in part because Aaron Judge's injury was more serious than originally perceived in July and because the Giants were slipping down the standings due to a terrible month of August.
That lead to my favorite athlete of all time joining "The Evil Empire" as all NonYankees fans call it.
At work I won a pair of tickets in a regional contest for the Red Sox vs Yankees game this Sunday night. It will be my first time back at Yankee stadium since 2014.
I have only been to Yankees Stadium once. It was in 2014 during a single admission double header against the Pirates. The Pirates and Yankees split the day's events. I even ended up on TV a few times throughout the game as I was sitting directly under the Modell's sign and we had 3 HRs hit in our direction.
I don't hate the Yankees like so many other people do. I think they run a great organization and consistently try to put the best product on the field for their fans each year. They are arguably the most successful sports franchise of the 4 major North American teams for nearly a century. The famous pinstripes enhance their class.
Cutch was a member of the Yankees for a brief time last year and you can tell that he absolutely loved the idea of playing in pinstripes for a little over a month. He was quoted as the experience being "surreal".
The Yankees fans are known as a loud and raucous group especially the
Bleacher Creatures lead by Bald Vinny. Each home game Vinny and his friends will start to chant the names of the players and go around the diamond, continuing to chant their name until he gets a reaction from the player.
A little less than a year ago Cutch got his first role call at Yankees stadium. A gif of it can be seen below.
Had he stayed In New York, I think the city would have embraced McCutchen more than it did and he would have become a fan favorite much in the same way Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez were when they came to the Yankees from other teams and were the steady veteran presence year after year.
Here is a collection of all my Andrew McCutchen Yankees cards. Some of these I have shown off before, but most are being shown for the first time. It is very likely that I will show off more in the future too.
CAMEO CARDS
Topps Now
This cameo card shows Cutch (center) shaking hands with the giant sized Aaron Judge after the team won their 100th game of the season. That moment was voted by Topps fans as the Moment of the Week for week 26 of the MLB season.
As you can see this was the first time in nearly a decade that the team had won 100 games in a season.
Here is another cameo of Cutch. He is pictured just above the card's Yankees logo and it celebrates their 11 inning walk off victory against the Orioles to secure an AL Wild Card game.
Much like the previous year, the Yankees were looking to secure home field advantage for the Wild Card Game and advance deeper into the playoffs than they did in 2017 when they took the Astros to a Championship Series Game 7.
This cameo might be my favorite of the cameos that Cutch appeared in. You can't see his face, but the hair is on point.
Basically repeating the same thing as the previous card, this card focuses on how it was Aaron Hicks double that clinched the Wild Card berth.
SOLO CARDS
2018 Bowman Best
Gold Parallel numbered 34/50
Blue Parallel (jersey) numbered 26/150
Atomic Refractor
Base and Refractor
Superfractor numbered 1/1
Above is the back to the 2018 Bowman Best card. I still need the green/99, orange/25, red/10, and purple/250. The green and orange are an route as I won them this week for 99 cents each.
2018 Topps Update SP photo variant
I really like this image of Cutch in pinstripes. Unfortunately the same image will be airbrushed and used as a Phillies 2019 Gypsy Queen base card (and it looks terrible).
I LOVE that Topps wasn't lazy with the back of this card. They actually typed up a brand new back instead of using the same back as the 2018 Update Giants card. This is a perfect Yankees flagship card of Cutch.
2018 Topps On Demand 3D
This lenticular card has a similar technology to those famous Kelloggs 3D cards from the 70s. It uses the same image as the Update SP.
The set provided collectors with 100 of the game's most collectible players with cards from Series 1,2, and update. The complete sets were believed to be produced with only a 269 card print run.
2018 Topps Now
This card technically is a Phillies card, but it features him in the NY pinstripes
It discusses how the veteran outfielder is joining the Phillies in hopes of a deep playoff run.
This limited print run of Cutch commemorating the Wild Card game is Cutch's only solo Topps Now pictured in a Yankees uniform and noted as a Yankee.
The back just talks about how the Yankees want to go further in the playoffs.
2019 Stars of the Game
The image above is actually a 1/1 buyback that Topps inserted into their 2019 Transcendent Party packs. You can see the 1/1 on top left and the VIP Transcendent marking on top right.
Oddly enough this card is numbered SSB as it was originally supposed to be called Super Stars of Baseball before it was changed to Stars of the Game.
This is the base version. No new stamps. Just an average looking insert that I have already talked about above.
2019 Topps Store 5x7 Gold
This is my only oversized card of Cutch in a Yankees uniform. I don't chase too many of the standard 5x7s, but I do like to acquire some of the gold's because of the sepia tones and the low numbering (only 10 copies produced).
2019 Topps Series 1 Sketch Card Artist Proof
Juan Rosales has drawn about half a dozen artist proof sketch cards for me over the past few years. His ability to capture the athlete perfectly using only greytones is mind blowing to me. I asked if he could include the pin stripes and Yankees logo in background and it was such a nice touch.
This is the original image that Juan used as reference. I think he captured it perfectly.
The artist proof signifies that it wasn't inserted into a pack, but was one of the few blank cards that Juan was given to sell as part of his payment for the project.
2019 Gypsy Queen Autographs
This is a beautiful on card autograph of Cutch. I will discuss more about the image used in a future post as I was able to determine the exact photo match.
The Bazooka backs were numbered to only 25 copies. I wrote about this card when I examined the 1925 Yankees and their rough season
here.
My only on card mini autograph I have of Cutch that isn't inserted into a frame. This is a super sharp looking card.
Only 20 of these mini Fortune Tellers were released.
This was the star of the show for a 6 case player break I got into when Gypsy Queen was released. It is the rainbow foil and only came in the foil packs.
Gavin would probably enjoy the numberimg on this card. I plan on showing it off again in December as part of my 12 Days of Christmas event.
This is the black and white parallel found in this year's Gypsy Queen
It is numbered to 50 copies.
2019 Inception SP Autograph
Cutch appeared as a short print subject in 2019 Topps Inception wearing a NY Yankees uniform. He also appeared as a member of the Pirates for the Legendary Debuts autograph inserts. The image may look like his other Yankees autographs, but rest assured it's not. The cancer ribbon isn't seen on this card like the Gypsy Queen.
In case you couldn't tell by a card being numbered to only 10 copies, that is what we call in the industry a short print.
2019 Topps Tier 1 Prime Performers Autograph
Cutch has a pair of different images available for his Prime Performers autograph. This one features him trotting after one of his 5 homers in September 2018.
It is numbered PPA-AMC to distinguish it from the batting version.
Speaking of the batting version, here it is. Like the running version, it is numbered to only 70 copies. I like that this image features him getting ready to uncork and likely rope a double in the gap in the swing.
The back is numbered PPA-AM as opposed to AMC that the running card is.
There is also a silver ink version of each numbered to 10 copies.
The running copy is 2/10.
I see this as a future Star Wars day card with the 4/5 numbering. The clear acetate and low numbering made this a must win for me.
The print on the back left side reminds me of an old newspaper. I dig it!
Only time will tell if Topps releases more cards of Cutch in a Yankees uniform, but with 10 unique ON CARD AUTOGRAPHS and a trio of 1/1s I think my Cutch Yankees collection is looking pretty good considering he was only in New York for 30 games (25 regular season, 5 postseason).
