No Better View Than PNC Park

When I looked at the four weeks I have for vacation this year, I knew I wanted to spend a few days going to Pittsburgh to see the Pirates play when Cutch returns to the city where he spent 9 seasons to launch his career.

One of the best views in baseball, PNC Park has a beautiful backdrop for baseball.

I am officially on the six hour drive to the Steel City.

I realized I never got around to showing off all my sketch cards I own so I thought I should showcase this Brad Utterstrom 2016 Topps Museum Artist Proof 1 of 1 to show off the gorgeous city skyline.

When I was in discussion with Brad regarding this sketch he really wanted to do this image of Cutch instead of others I was showing him as reference.  I got to say, even without his face being shown or having a bat in his hand, this is a truly amazing piece of art.  It captures the feelings of a player on deck and looking at the city like "this is my town".

Thanks to Brad for the super awesome sketch.

If you would like to commission a piece of original artwork by Brad visit his website here.  If you set up a commission with him let him know that you saw the Cutch cityscape artist proof he did for me.

Thanks and Let's Go Bucs!!!

Welcome Home Cutch!

This is it...
Andrew McCutchen is coming home. 
The longtime face of the Pirates franchise will be coming home to Pittsburgh this weekend after being traded to the Giants in the offseason.

The back of this Triple Threads unity relic card talks about Cutch and his dominance in PNC Park

I will be attending the game between the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates tomorrow.  I have also entered a code for the Home Run Challenge in for the next three days in hopes that Cutch goes yard one of those days. 

More Giants Cards Arrive

Just a few days after posting about not receiving my Topps Now cards from eBay seller TwinsJake, I received all three of my Andrew McCutchen Topps Now cards I had preordered.

So let's look at each card and break down the look of these Topps Now cards.

The first 2018 Topps Now card released was technically the 2017 Offseason card of Cutch being traded on January 15th.  I discussed that card the day after he was traded.

The Road to Opening Day has been a staple for the past two years for ToppsNow.  It highlights fifteen players who will make the big league roster as Opening Day starters.  When Cutch was traded to the Giants, it was clear he would be their everyday right fielder and batting near the top of the lineup.

This is everything fans should hope to see from a Spring Training set.  It has the spring sun, players wearing unique Spring Training uniforms, and a certain level of joy on the player's faces.

The back discusses the even number magic the Giants have been known for and the acquisitions of Longo and Cutch hopefully leading the team to a playoff push in September.

The print run for the Giants set was 231 copies.





Once the season began, I kept my eyes on Cutch and the Giants daily to see if there might be some Now moments.
It didn't take long for Cutch to make a magical moment in the Bay.

This is the biggest moment that Cutch has had in a Giants uniform thus far.  Cutch had a massive day at the plate collecting 6 hits, the final one being a 3 run walkoff homer in the 14th inning to help defeat the long standing rival Dodgers.

The image shows Cutch connecting for the game winner, but the image below would have been a better image as he shows the emotion of the hit far better.  That swing used for the card could have been a foul ball and no one would be the wiser.  The image below shows the raw fiery emotion that Cutch must have felt when he finally arrived to help the Giants defeat their longest rival.

Hopefully Topps can use this image in a future release and not just on their Bunt App.  I would LOVE to own this card.

The print run of this card was 445

The April 10th walk off single looks nearly identical to the walkoff HR (another reason I dislike the image chosen for the 6 hits/14th inning HR walkoff shot).

I actually like the look of this one as it captures the moment and writes it up perfectly on the back.  I wonder if Night Owl seeks out these Topps Now cards as there is A LOT of night cards produced.

The Print Run on these was only 195 copies so it is very possible that this card becomes one of those tough to find cards in the future.




One of my friends is a season ticket holder for the Philadelphia Phillies and has great seats in center right field. 

I went with him to watch the game and see the Giants lose to the Phillies for the second night in a row.  Cutch went 1 for 3 with a walk.  Cutch is starting to heat up as he is now hitting .409/.533/.455 over his last seven games. 

The Phillie Phanatic cracks me up.

Heritage High Number Preview

Even though Andrew McCutchen hasn't been a top 5 MVP vote getter for the past two seasons, the former face of the Pirates franchise is still getting plenty of cards highlighted as part of the previewing of new sets.

It should be no surprise that Cutch will be appearing in 2018 Heritage High Numbers as he was pictured as a Pirate in the initial release a few weeks after being traded to the Giants.

Click here to see all the images of what will be appearing in the August release.

This is what Cutch's card will likely look like.

Obviously like so many other releases the draw of the set is the autograph rookies.  While not confirmed I suspect we could see Acuna, Albers, Hoskins, and maybe even Otani again in the release.  The Amazing part of this release will be autograph cards of the 1969 Amazin Mets.  With the big market of NY and the love for that team I suspect those will be a huge hit on the secondary market. 

This Day in Cutchstory: game used materials

Topps often reminds us on the back of their cards that the materials used are not from any specific season, game, or event.  While football fans often blast Panini the same way baseball fans blast Topps, my only complaint is the lack of logos.

My favorite release year in and year out is National Treasures.  The effort Panini puts into the product is what a high end release should be.

My favorite new addition was the Dated Materials subset produced where they actually tell you what game the jersey was used and how the player did.  You might have missed my writeup about it last year, but can click here to see the card in question.

Obviously I own a lot of Andrew McCutchen relics as I currently have over 2,200 unique cards of the 2013 NL MVP.

It is safe to assume that my latest pickup (which was free thanks to eBay bucks savings) has a giant swatch from that same jersey worn on May 7th, 2015.
Oh and it's a few days late for Star Wars day as it is another 4/5 card.

On May 7, 2015 Cutch lead the Pirates to a 7-2 victory over the Reds thanks to a 3 for 4 performance and a strong pitching performance by AJ Burnett.

Even with the victory the Pirates were only 13-15 on the young season, 2 games under .500.  They would go on to win 97 that season.

Cutch known for being a slow starter was able to raise his batting average above the Mendoza line creating a slash line of .210/.302/.320 which extends to a .622 OPS.  He would finish the season 5th in NL MVP voting, earn his 5th All-Star appearance, 4th Silver Slugger and a slash line of .295/.401/.488 good for an OPS .889. He had the 4th highest offensive WAR that year in the senior circuit.

The back of the card talks about Cutch's performance on May 17th which I will discuss in a future post.

My 1st Official Giants Licensed Card

I am still waiting for my Topps Now walkoff cards to arrive from Twinsjake that I purchased as a presale.  Those cards are selling for extreme prices now so hopefully I will still receive them. 

A few days ago I received my first official Giants card of Cutch. 

What makes it better is that it is an orange parallel which matches Cutch's new team really well.

In the past Bowman put the numbering on the back.  This year they are on the front.

I will still be seeking out more of these parallels, but this definitely made a new reason to want more orange parallels in my collection this year.

On Tuesday I am heading to the Phillies game in hopes of trying to get some cardboard signed by either Cutch, Buster, Longo, or Bochy.  Should be a fun game regardless as the Giants have been playing good ball lately.

Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!!!

I will celebrate with some Dos Equis and a Venezulen back 2011 Lineage card.

The standard English back reads as this.

The front of the 3 parallels are as follows
Venezuela back, Rainbow Foil, Diamond Sparkle