Hobby Love?

First I want to invite everyone to follow me on Twitter and Instagram if you arent already.  I used to try and post my pickups here almost on a daily basis, but I am using other social media sites to do the "show & tell" type posts and using my blog for more thought provoking posts.  

I will continue to post here as often as possible, but for the most part have been posting daily on IG and Twitter (@CollectingCutch) fairly regularly for new pickups and the "show and tell" type posts.

Thank you all for the loyalty of this blog over the years.

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I was having a conversation with a friend of mine about baseball good versus hobby good versus role model good.

He grew up a diehard Mets fan because of the 1986 team.  I understand that.  The young brash mentality of that team has been well chronicled and many members of that team went on to have roles in film, cartoons, and tv.  That 1986 team had many different types of characters on it and many fans of that team would tell you that one of Strawberry, Gooden, Carter, Hernandez, Dykstra, McDowell, Franco, Mookie were one of their favorite players ever. 

Doc Gooden while nearly unhittable for his first few years in the league was never under serious consideration for the Hall of Fame.  Yet, as proof by the Project 2020 and Project 70 items, Doc is still loved around the hobby and outsiders of the hobby still enjoy his game and cardboard.  Granted Doc Gooden had his issues with substance problems and he may have ruined his chances at baseball immortality in the Hall of Fame due to the character clause, but there is another Doc who had very similar numbers over his career and was a 1st Ballot HOF member and is revered among players and analysts of the game as one of the best ever.

View the Doc comparisons here.

Gooden won only 9 games less and had an ERA difference of 0.13 over his career. Gooden did have slightly more CG and more SHO and more strikeouts while pitching a similar amount of innings.  Gooden gave up fewer hits, but many more walks.  The comparisons of the two Docs is really really close from the traditional stats perspective.  

Halladay doesn't get much hobby love, but got immortalized in the Hall of Fame while Gooden still gets fans collecting his cards despite being dropped from the ballot after only one year.  

We have recently seen the same thing happen with Tim Lincecum, who fell off the ballot after one year, but is still very heavily collected by Giants fans. 

Another curious case are more guys from the 80s like Dale Murphy, Don Mattingly, Darryl Strawberry, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, and Will Clark. Many of these guys fell off the ballot well before the 10-15 year period they were allowed.

In general the 80s are very under represented in the HOF, yet some of these guys have the most loyal fan base collectors in the hobby.  There are entire Facebook groups dedicated to collecting these players. 

Of course guys like Bonds and Clemens have the accolades to be in the HOF, but the steroid issues kept them out by the writers ballots.

Let's look at Darryl Strawberry.  He was an 8 time All Star, but finished his career with only 1,401 career hits and a .259 batting average. Eric Davis another 80s star had slightly more hits, more SB, higher average, but less HR than Strawberry and gets very little hobby love from what I have seen.  Yet their style of play on the field was similar and they played in the same era.  

Then you can take a player like Steve Finley who blew them both away in terms of traditional stats and he gets no hobby love in modern sets besides maybe 1 brand making him an autograph subject a year.  For a guy with over 300 career HR, over 300 career SB, and over 2,500 career hits his prices are dirt cheap. 

Why is it some players are so well loved in the hobby and others are neglected?  

Is it really because the 1986 Mets were that much loved over the 1990 Reds or 2001 Diamondbacks?

Why do Mark McGwire, Will Clark, and Don Mattingly get all the hobby love from collectors of the 90s, but first basemen like Mark Grace, John Olerud, and Tino Martinez (besides AJ of Lost Collector) of the 90s not get the same love?

As McCutchen is entering the twilight of his career with likely just a few years left before he retires, I am wondering if he will be one of those guys that gets heavily collected still post career or will he be one of those guys that gets no hobby love and few people collect his cards from what once looked like a promising Hall of Fame career.  

Here is a fairly recent pickup for my collection that features a few guys that get above average hobby love (Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, Kris Bryant, Andrew McCutchen).  

How many of them will get immortalized in the Hall of Fame?  Only time will tell...

And here is a card that features a guy that despite winning 2 MVPs before 30, I feel is undervalued in the hobby.

Bryce Harper will likely be a Hall of Famer when he retires despite not being an All Star since 2018.  His rookie card prices compared to prospects is still very undervalued.  Rhys will likely be one of those guys that is a fan favorite, but doesn't get much hobby love.  Alec Bohm may have redeemed himself a little after yesterday's comments.  The book is still very open on him, but he will need to start performing if the Philly Phaithful are to ever demand more his card prices. 

Feel free to leave your comments below and let me know if you follow any supercollectors of guys who likely will not be in the Hall of Fame (any Social Media accounts welcomed as I have started to post on Instagram and Twitter more frequently)

#tbt other designs

Topps has been digging into their old designs on cards for many many decades.  In 1975 collectors got images of cards featuring MVP winners from previous seasons using the cards from their MVP season.  In 1987 Topps used the Turn Back the Clock design to highlight some more older designed cards from their vault of designs.  

With that it shouldn't be a surprise that Topps has used some of their non baseball card designs to highlight baseball players in their online exclusive sets #TBT Throwback Thursday releases.

Unfortunately despite appearing in three of these #TBT sets, Cutch has only gotten the treatment of 1 non baseball card set design.  

I will look at each of these 3 #TBT sets over the course of the next three Thursdays and evaluate what could have been done differently based on the previous set homage and following set homage.

Today we are looking at

2017 #TBT card #112

This set was based on the Player Nickname Weekend event and included The Machine (Albert Pujols), All Rise (Aaron Judge), Cutch, Buster (Posey), Chuck Nasty (Charlie Blackmon), and Mookie (Betts)

The set used the 1984 Topps design which has been produced in several other reprint themed sets over the years.  The players nickname is featured going down the side of the card where the traditional team name would go.  The images used all feature the Player Weekend jerseys shown.

When the online exclusive set was first released I enjoyed it as it gave me a Cutch card using the 1984 design, but now that Topps has used the 1984 set in Archives, #TBT, an insert set, and Project 2020 and Project 70 I am kind of over seeing this set.

The next set began with card number #116 and was based on the 1984 football design

It was meant to look at players who may have excelled on the gridiron had they not chosen baseball as their career choice.  Cutch was originally a high school star wide receiver before injuring his ACL which made him focus on baseball.  He is a Steelers fan and has been seen attending the Steelers games at Heinz Field.  

The set preceding the Player Nicknames #TBT based on the 1984 design was the 1991 Beverly Hills 90210 set

The set featured the hottest hitters of the summer

This would have been a fun set for player's weekend.  Similar to what was done with the Arenado card above Topps could have used the player's nickname instead of their first name on the cards.  

Are there any Topps designs you want to see get used?

I'm holding out hope that Topps produces a #TBT set based on the Dick Tracy stickers at the trade deadline based on the criminals of the film.  

Keep the WANTED poster idea

Replace the villain with a player like Trevor Story (or any other trade candidate)

Replace the crime with what they could provide to the new team (Home Runs, Stolen Bases, Strikeouts, Leadership, etc etc etc)

And last you can replace the sticker number with either the player's number or position abbreviation

Role Call! My Cutch Yankees PC Showoff

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).