Sorry Fuji, you don't win

A few days ago I posted a challenge to try and come up with a subject to stump me from connecting a random subject to something in my Andrew McCutchen collection.  I have had fun with these kinds of posts in the past. 

In the past I have reached out to try and connect a random thought to an Andrew McCutchen card I own.  I've done this with everything from chimichangas, butterscotch pudding and quotes from Elf, with my favorite of that group being "Six Inch Ribbon Curls" and of course my yearly month long October SAVESECONDBASE event where I connect only pink shaded cards to pretty ladies. 

Mark aka Fuji is currently dealing with parent/teacher conferences and suggested that subject to stump me from associating it with an Andrew McCutchen collectible in my collection. 

Mission failed!

This is the 2020 Topps of the Class set card for Andrew McCutchen.  These cards were offered as hobby shop exclusives for children bringing in their report card.  A child could receive 1 free pack per report card and the set consisted of 100 cards.  There was also a foil set limited to 299 copies that featured 25 players.

The back of the cards resemble a notebook along with a few recent years and career statline of the player along with a bit of accomplishments the player has had in their career. 

Because I knew I could knock out a post like this I eliminated it from the suggestions. 

I took the other suggestions and randomed them off.

Looks like I will be keeping the school theme and try to show off something relating to calculus in the future.  This should be easy as there are many card back stats continuously changing. Stay tuned for this weekend to see that post.  

3D or DDD: Another Save Second Base Awareness contest Preview

Congrats to AJ of the Lost Collector for winning the first Save Second Base preview contest for the year.  

With October being next week, I wanted to continue to spread the awareness early so I am doing a Blog Bat A Round style contest as I continue to give out some really cool prizes for interacting with me over the course of the next 5 weeks as I hope to help SAVESECONDBASE.

This blog bataround contest will close at 12:01AM October 1st so you have about a week to get your posts ready.  

What do you have to do for the contest?

It's fairly simple, show off some 3D cards (because who doesn't love DDD when we're trying to SaveSecondBase).  Leave a comment below with a link to your blog post.

On October 2nd I will randomize the valid entrants into random.org and randomize it 3 times.  

The winner will be the name on top after the 3rd random and will win this On Card Autograph of Kelly Brook.  

It is from Inkworks Smallville card series and pictures Kelly portraying Victoria Hardwick, Lex Luthor's girlfriend in Season One.

Why am I asking for 3D cards to win this Kelly Brook autograph as another SaveSecondBase prequel contest?

She played a character called Danni Arslow in the 2010 creature feature Piranha3D.

Plus, not to be rude, but those have to be at least DDD...

Anyway, here are a pair (Oh the puns are coming out today) of Opening Day Stars 3D cards of Cutch.

I tried to capture the 3D look, but the scanner and my phone just can't showcase it the way I want.

Share your 3D cards!

I want to see everything from Sportsflics to Kelloggs 3D to Dennys Holograms to recent Topps online exclusive 3D cards like they did in 2018 and 2019 and everything in between. 

It doesn't have to be baseball either, share your nonsports cards, your basketball/football/hockey/racing/wrestling/tennis/etc cards.

Show the power of the Triple D, I mean 3D!

Remember to visit breastcancer.org and help donate. 

The First Save Second Base Prize Revealed

We are nearing October so that means we will be doing the yearly Save Second Base event I do each year.  Much of the concept for the past few years will remain the same, pink (and it's shades) baseball cards will be shown all month long while I highlight a celebrity that can somehow relate to that card.

This year I am going to kickstart things with a beautiful celebrity (and amazing human) that loss her life to breast cancer this year.

Kelly Preston died back in July due to complications resulting from the breast cancer she was diagnosed with only two years prior.

She began her acting career in 1980 on an episode of Hawaii Five-O

She would later star in the 1985 film Mischief

She married John Travolta

Her last Instagram post was a tribute to her husband saying that she and their children love him.  

What a remarkable woman, taken way too soon.

To win the card at the end of this post pimp this contest and say what John Travolta movie is your favorite (there are plenty to choose from).  

I thought about what mine would be (Punisher, Pulp Fiction, Face/Off), but it ultimately came down to Grease.  Grease is such a fun movie with plenty of adult humor, catchy sing alongs, great quotes, and and a memorable cast.  

I guess it helps that my high school girlfriend reminds me a lot of Olivia Newton-John.  Newton-John, famous for her singing and acting, has also battled breast cancer and has had three major battles with it.  

Because Grease is my favorite, I am going to offer up a card that is based on the year that Grease took place to kick off the Save Second Base event.

This Topps Project 2020 drawn by Ermsy is based on Bob Gibson's 1959 rookie card.  Ermsy was an artist that I considered buying all the project 2020 cards for, but the Trout continues to be one of the most expensive cards the set has produced so I cancelled that plan.  

If you want a chance to win this card, leave a comment below with a link to your blog post talking about a John Travolta movie you liked and mention that John's beautiful wife lost her battle with breast cancer and that we all must work to raise awareness for a cure.  I will randomize the entrants on September 21st so you only have 1 week to get those posts ready!

Big Pimpin'

BASEBALL IS BACK!!!!

Nathan at Bucs Stop Here is running a contest to predict the division winners. 

So like Jay-Z said when I was in high school, I'm gonna get "Big Pimpin"

Head over to Nate's blog and submit your picks and you could win a blaster of Series 2 Baseball which may have a chance to win the most swaggy card ever made by Topps.

I'm still in need of the SP from 2020 Topps Series 2, but did receive this 11x14 Topps online exclusive yesterday.

3rd Annual Save Second Base Contest

This time next week I will be active in my 4th Annual Save Second Base Event (3rd on this blog).

For the 3rd time on Collecting Cutch I am running a contest to help bring awareness to a terrible disease that continues to plague our great world.

1 in 8 women will be detected with breast cancer in their lifetime.  This is heartbreaking to think that we haven't found a cure or what causes this terrible disease.

To help bring awareness, I will show off pink (and shades of pink including peach, rose, and magenta) cards throughout the month of October.  October has long been associated with breast cancer awareness and every day throughout the month I will be showing off some lovely ladies to accompany the pink (and shades of pink) cards I have.

Each year I have upped the game for sharing pink cards.
Year one was only Cutch cards.
Year two I introduced cameo appearances where Cutch was represented on either the front or back of a pink card.
Year three I am introducing the Falco Files pink cards.  This will depict pink cards of players who have replaced McCutchen on a roster.

I have decided to show SOME nonCutch cards in my collection that can relate to this cause and a few of the ladies I have chosen to spotlight to relate to the cards selected.

This year I will be providing multiple contests leading up to the event.

I have already ran a few of them and another is scheduled to end on Sunday when we know who the NL Leader is in doubles.

Each year I run a contest with "Pick Who Hits The First Double in the 2019 World Series" prize.

Tris Speaker is the all-time leader for doubles so getting a bat relic from the All-Time double leader and Hall of Famer seems appropriate for a prize.  This 2016 Pantheon dual relic of Tris Speaker and Sam Crawford is numbered 8/15.

The rules for this prize:
1)First person to correctly guess who will hit the first double in the 2019 World Series gets the card
2)All entries must be time stamped the day before game 1 of the 2019 World Series starts
3)Must be a USA resident
4)If the person who hits the first double is not guessed then the card will be randomed off to anyone who shared this contest on their blog (you must leave a link to the shared post in comments below).


Gavin has won the past two main prizes.
2017 event - Pete Rose: Save 2nd Base Inscription Autograph (here)
2018 event - Aaron Judge/Giancarlo Stanton Mother's Day Pink Awards/50 (here)

Can anyone stop Gavin from a 3-peat?

Contest: Where Will Cutch Go?

Want an autograph of someone in the Hall of Fame?

Well, here's an easy contest.

Leave a comment below what team you think Cutch will sign with for his new contract.

If you guess correctly PRIOR to the day of announcement of his new contract, you will receive the Harold Baines card I showed yesterday.  This dual patch on card autograph is numbered 14/15 from 2017 Flawless.

If multiple people respond with same team I will randomize an equal number of times to the guaranteed number of years on his new contract.  (Example: 3 people guess Phillies and he is given a 4 year contract.  Those 3 people will be entered into the randomizer and the name on top after 4 random will be our winner).

So...lets get to the speculation.  What city will Cutch be playing for in 2019?

Save The Boobies Contest 2.0

It's almost my favorite month of the year.
October!!!!

The leaves will be changing.
Postseason baseball will be in full effect.
The NFL is a month into their season.
The NHL season has started.
And my blog will be covered in nothing but pink cards and beautiful women.

Last year I ran a fun contest for my month long pink baseball cards Save The Boobies contest.  This year it will be very similar.

The rules are simple.
It's 2 rules as we are trying to bring awareness to 2nd Base.

1)Must Be A Follower (or regular commenter) of the Blog

2)Must Leave a Comment On This Post Who Will Hit the FIRST Double in the 2018 World Series (entry must be made prior to October 5th)
2a (Only the first person to guess correctly gets the featured prize)
2b (Only 1 entry per blogger)
2c (Any edits to comments are immediately disqualified)

Simple, right?
Yeah I thought so too.

So in order to save Second Base let's offer up a card commemorating a card featuring a great pair (and it's pink!!!).

Now if you feel that you want to take a chance and win a different prize, I am offering up this Carl Yastrzemski Heritage Clubhouse Collection card.  The card references second base so it continues the theme.

Again Two Simple Rules For This Entry Too....cause you know we are trying to save 2nd Base

1)Enter in the Main Contest using rules above

2)Leave a comment here showing a link that you pimped this Contest On Your Blog Prior to October 5th and show off some of your favorite ladies


Now for the not so fine print
If the first double in the 2018 World Series is hit by a player not commented on, I will keep the Judge/Stanton card.

If no one shares this contest on their blog or doesn't leave a comment here that they pimped it, I will keep the Yaz card.

I realize we won't know who is going to be in the World Series by October 5th, but that is where the fun comes from in hearing people's predictions.

Christmas Contest

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Visit the official site here.

Breast Cancer will be detected in one of eight women in the US each year.
It is the second leading cause of cancer death among women each year.
On average every 2 minutes a woman will be diagnosed with breast cancer and every 13 minutes one person will die from breast cancer.
There are currently 33 million breast cancer survivors in the USA.

It's important to support the research for cancer.  Breast Cancer is often associated with the color pink so I will be showing off some pink Cutch cards.

In addition, you can expect to see some boobs with each post.  Who doesn't love boobs?

So let's start with what we're hoping to save!

"I thought Christmas comes just one time a year."

Denise Richards might be the most overly sexualized Bond girl ever.  I haven't met any nuclear experts before, but if they looked like Denise Richards circa 1999, I want to meet them just to say "How you doin?".

Why do I bring up Christmas Jones?

Because on Collecting Cutch, Christmas comes more than once.  As evidenced by the card above, it's a Christmas card (12/25)  In the Spirit of Christmas and giving, I am offering up a contest.  Simple and easy.

The Prize which ties in with Breast Cancer Awareness...

The Hit King!
Now, how do you win it?
Leave a comment which player will hit the first double in the 2017 World Series.  Only 1 entry by blogger.  You must be a follower of this blog already.  Comment early if you think you know who could hit the first double.  The first person to correctly identify the individual to hit the first double in the 2017 World Series gets this card.

Additional rules:
Contest closes at noon Eastern Time the day of Game 1 of the World Series.
If the first double is hit by a player not commented on I will randomize the card off to anyone who pimped this contest on their blog.

Comment early and pimp it!

Cutch hits #200!!!! Gotta See This Post

Andrew McCutchen hit his 200th career Home Run yesterday.

Congrats to Greg at PlaschkeThySweaterIsArgyle.  You will be receiving the Bob Gibson auto sometime next week.  Drawing for the Raines for the 3 pimps will be at end of post.

Once Andrew reached 190 I knew he would be able to hit the 200 mark before the season was up.  Cutch often has hot and cold streaks over the course of a season.  He only connected for 1 HR in August, but has hit two in the past three games.  I drafted this post on August 8th and hadn't updated it until today.

Only 3 Pirates have more homeruns than Cutch in a Pirates uniform and they are ALL in the Hall of Fame and ALL have their number retired.
The 3 players are
Willie Stargell (475 Hr in 7927 AB)
Ralph Kiner (301 Hr in 3913 AB)
Roberto Clemente (240 HR in 9454 AB)

It is possible that if Cutch stays another full season with the Bucs he could pass Clemente on the list, but that's unlikely with his contract up after next year.

How can I celebrate #200 for Cutch though?

How about if I show off 200 of my favorite Cutch cards?  Well...they might not be my favorite Cutch cards.  They are some of my rarer ones though with my favorites mixed in.

I ran a contest for my top 10 which can be seen here.  (A few of you never emailed your addresses so I still have prize packages for you.  Email me bstryker81 AT Gmail DOT com to claim your prizes)

Here are 200 cool Cutch cards that I own.  I hope you enjoy.

First up all 156 1/1s in the collection.
(Update: since the original draft I have added 9 more 1/1s)
Even if it's a gimmicky blank back or printing plate, a 1/1 will always be highly sought after for me.  I have learned to control what I pay for some and that is why so many plates are available on the secondary market.  $40 is my max for a regular size plate.

When composing the 200 list, I decided to utilize all of my 1/1s.  That means only 44 non 1/1s would be included.  If you've seen my collection grow over the years that doesn't leave a lot of room.

So shall we begin?  Let's begin with
The Letters
Up first, the boxtopper and my #1 favorite card.

Next the nameplate using letters from various jerseys in a custom case.

Some extra letters...

Next the buttons.

The Logoman & Majestic Logos and some All-Star booklets

The Bat Knob

The Bat Barrel

The Printing Plates (more are coming too...)

The Red Borders/Ice/Glossy/Parallel Colors/etc.

The HBP Milestone Homeruns 1/1s

The Vault Blank Backs

The pack inserted and Artist Proof Sketch Cards

The Superfractors

Wow!!!! That's impressive to look at above.

Next up...

Some nasty looking patches (some with autographs), booklets, and very low numbered pre Cutch rookies and some low numbered Cutch rookies.

 

Only one of these goes towards the 200

My favorite on card Cutch autograph in my collection

Some All-Star Patches

 And to finish out, a very nice looking Pirates booklet that I wish had the Jolly Roger sleeve patch behind Cutch also.

With the exception of the All-Star laundry tags, none of my other 6 tags got scanned.  Some cards on here are appearing for the first time on the blog.  I will have posts about some of them in the future to spotlight them a little more.


As you guys probably have figured out my collection grows on a weekly basis.  I didn't have time to truly update this post as more and more cards came in.  I originally wrote this post on August 8th and between life and the number of cards that have arrived in the past month, I just haven't had time.

Now for the Rock Raines card being randomed off for the 3 pimps that shared my contest.

Sport Cards Collectors, you are the winner.  Send me an email to verify your address is still what I have on file.


A few people still have not emailed me their addresses from the last contest.  If you entered the top 10 and have not received a runner up package please email bstryker81 AT Gmail DOT com

I realize this wasn't a true top 200 and that it was rushed and not finished.  I'm sorry for that if you want a true ranking.

Do you guys like these massive card posts?
Should I make a separate tab at the top of the blog for Autographs, Printing Plates, Patches, booklets, etc?  I got a lot of people that commented how they liked the 125 Autographs I showed off.

As always thanks for reading the blog and God Bless!

UPDATE: Cutch will be receiving a Topps Now card commemorating this exclusive group of Pirates Sluggers.

I took these images from TwinsJake's eBay listing which I just won with a best offer of $5.50

I will spotlight the card when it arrives.