Experiment 626

I've been posting a bunch of my Allen & Ginter cards on Instagram lately and decided that since many people on IG are celebrating 626 day, I would show off a family of Allen & Ginter cards. 

626 day is named after Experiment 626 aka Stitch from Disney's Lilo & Stitch.  

For those that have seen it, there's a phrase Ohana means Family.

Here's my family of 2015 Allen & Ginter cards. 

Multiple different sizes and some very rare cards can be pictured here.

Above you see the mini mini (/2), the mini, the base, and the box topper.

Here are some close ups of the more rare cards

This is a mini rip card /15.  These are EXTREMELY RARE to find still in tact.

Inside could be a rare mini mini card /2 or a redemption for a Mini relic complete set.

Speaking of mini minis

Yeah, these are pretty rare AND TINY!!!

Look how small it is in my hand

I showed off the wood 1/1 mini yesterday, but here it is again.

This is the extended short print

Have you ever watched Lilo & Stitch? 

Do you have any rare Allen & Ginter cards in your collection? 

My favorite 20 in 2020

They say hindsight is 20/20 and all I can say is I am so glad 2020 is in the rearview.

I thought it would be fun to look back at my favorite 20 cards released of Cutch in 2020.  

Now let me first state that it's a little disappointing that Cutch wasn't included in sets like Topps Chrome (and the Ben Baller variant), Allen & Ginter (Allen & Ginter X and Allen & Ginter Chrome were exclusions also), Gypsy Queen, and Topps Archives, along with every Bowman product.

These were all upsetting exclusions for different reasons.  

Topps Chrome is king of licensed Chrome parallels.

Allen & Ginter is my favorite release each year and I really wanted to see a Chrome version.

Gypsy Queen has been stale the past few years, but including Nick Williams over Cutch as part of the Phillies team set is a headscratcher for sure.

Topps Archives is a fun retro designed inspire set and all the designs this year would have allowed me to add a bew Cutch on a vintage design....if only he was included.

So here are my favorite cards released in packs that I personally own in my collection from the year 2020.  

It should be noted that a lot of these cards have not appeared on the blog yet so you are seeing them for the first time today.

Call it biased, but Andrew McCutchen still looks best in a Pirates hat.  From the moment he made his MLB debut in 2009 he became my favorite athlete.  With the COVID shortened season, Topps had to modify their Update release since there weren't many Rookies to release in the set and there was obviously no All Star Game.  Topps promoted the Update Series by featuring recent fan favorites in their All Star Game uniforms of years past.  There was also an autograph/patch release similar to the All-Star Stitches we have seen in the past.  I have the /25 version, but that card just features a basic jersey swatch.  This /10 version has a nice chunky patch.

Did I mention I like Andrew McCutchen cards in a Pittsburgh uniform?  Well I do.  I also like autographs. And 1 of 1s.  And laundry tags.  This card covers a lot of my favorite things from a Cutch card.  Only thing missing is dreadlocks and an on card signature.

Chunky patches and autographs are pretty awesome.  They're less awesome in a Phillies jersey, but I can't complain about adding another Andrew McCutchen autograph to the PC.  

This card is cool.  The laundry tag patch says so.  The patch is colossal and it features yet another autograph.  Serially numbered to only 3 copies is fantastic!

I have a weird fascination for Topps Gold Label.  I lovethe different classes with the different images used for each class.  Often times in traditional cards of Cutch he is in a posed batting stance, not even an action shot.  I really like fielding cards of Cutch.  Gold Label Gold parallels are all numbered 1/1.  I try to get at least one of these each year. The Bret "The Hitman" Hart glasses he's wearing are a nice added touch of his on field swag.

Speaking of swag?  This card made a lot of top 10 lists for best sports card in 2020.  Do I need to talk about this anymore?

Cutch received another SSP in Series 2 featuring him tipping his cap to his wife after a Home Run, but the 2020 Update SP features him at his Phillies press conference.  There was a clear version available numbered to only 10 copies.  I took a picture instead of a scan so you can hopefully see the legs of the bobblehead behind it.  

The Topps UK release was produced with plans to only distribute it in the United Kingdom, but many of them were sold to US buyers.  The set in general is kind of boring as it just features the Union Jack under the Topps logo.  Of course there were parallels to chase, because well...it's 2020 and it's Topps. My favorite parallel is the Big Ben parallel because it brings the concept of the UK together.

2020 Stadium Club had a really nice design this year.  The base card had an image of Cutch running home, but the 2020 Stadium Club Chrome release had an action shot of Cutch diving to catch a fly ball.  Cutch has been criticized for his defense in recent years, but if you watch the games you can tell he still goes maximum effort on all plays.  There were many parallels for this set as well as my favorite is the wave refractor.  

Giant patch ✔

Limited print run ✔

Topps Museum ✔

There's a lot to like about this card

Red and Phillies go so well together so getting a 1/1 from Topps Triple Threads has been on the want list since he signed with the Phillies.  

Bryce Harper is either the most overrated or underrated player in the game depending who you ask.  Personally I think he gets a bad rap because he openly speaks his mind and in his first decade of playing in the majors hasn't broken every offensive and defensive record in the history books.  The amount of hype he got as a 16 year old is something the aport had never seen.  He may not be Mike Trout, but he is still one heck of a ballplayer and likely a future Hall of Famer.  The Cutch patch on this /9 Gold Triple Threads card is a nice touch.

Seeing Cutch back in a Pirates uniform in a 2020 release made me so happy.  I've picked up a few of the parallels and AJ sent me the base, but I'm going with the vintage logo/card stock parallel as my choice because Cutch in 2013 All-Star Game was vintage Cutch.  He won the MVP award and helped the Pirates to their first post season in 20 years.  

Red border parallels on cards with Phillies make for excellent pieces of cardboard, but that is not the reason I chose this card.  The United States was going through some rough racial times during the summer and tensions were at peak levels.  Baseball came through to properly honor the Negro Leagues and support Black Lives Matter.  Andrew McCutchen was at the forefront of it on Opening Day and on the day the MLB honored Negro Leagues by wearing patches or vintage uniforms, Cutch hit a homer.  This Topps Now card recognizes it.

1971 Topps is a gorgeous set with very tough grades.  Getting a modern player on such a classic design is something Topps Heritage has been doing for nearly two decades.  Cutch was a SP in the set.

I wasn't around in the hobby when Sweet Spot was all the rage, but Panini captured the essence of the idea with Absolute Baseball. This Cutch ink looks like it will fade in the future, but for now I am going to enjoy it as it is just one of six copies.

How nice is that patch?  1985 Topps is an awesome design.  Adding a massive patch to the card makes it pop!

This scan is terrible and I promise I will get a better scan for October when I show it off again.  It's a pink hyper plaid parallel from 2020 1986 design autograph.  Best of all it's number 2/2.

Year in and out, Cutch always gets a matching uniform swatch to the photo used on his Topps Definitive card releases.  I doubt it's intentional as many other players don't get the same treatment, but a double red pinstripe jumbo jersey relic makes my list of favorite 20 Cutch cards added to the PC in 2020.

If Topps used spell check or proof readers, they would be a really good company that produces nice cards.  The design of this 2020 Triple Threads Sapphire /3 is perfect.  The triple bats for three of the Pirates All time greatest hitters is a nice touch.  It's only blemish?  Andrew's name has a "d" in it.

So in no particular order, those are my 20 favorite 2020 Cutch cards I picked up in 2020.  

What are some of your favorite pickups of the past year?

Who likes buttons? BUTTON SHOW OFF POST

Who likes buttons?

I do.

I currently have 10 button cards of Cutch and scanned them in two lots.

5 are designed vertically

And 5 are designed horizontally

Sorry for the upside down scan of Marte dual button.  I didn't notice it until I had already begun this post.

The button cards range in rarity to /6 to 1/1s.

Here they are all individually.

This Day in Cutchstory: Where we're going we don't need roads

So yesterday was May 17th and I completely forgot to highlight one of those most important events in Cutchstory that can be found on cardboard.

Come with me BACK TO this post where I said in THE FUTURE, I would highlight this card.

Above is a 2018 Donruss 1984 Retro Game Day Stat Line card.  The game day stat lines are incredibly rare as they feature an extremely limited number produced based on a stat line for that game.  In this case, only 2 were produced to highlight Andrew McCutchen's 2 Stolen Bases that day.

I wrote about this great game by Cutch exactly a year ago which you can see here.

The significance of the 1984 design? Back to The Future was being filmed that year for a 1985 release date.

So now that we have traveled to the past and the future, hows the Delorean Doc?

From the back of the card I posted on May 7th 2018 referencing the events of May 17th 2017.

I Have No Words

I have been trying to think of the words to write to sum up the emotions felt about two of my favorite players being traded over the weekend.  This follows up a shitty week in general as my car was totaled the day of the ice storm.

Andrew McCutchen made me love baseball again.
He signed baseball cards, balls, hats, and even a Pirates Country sign for me in person.
He was always humble and a true talent to watch play.

I have so many fun memories of Cutch from his Altoona Curve days to that magical 2013 season when the Bucs returned to the postseason and beyond.

My brother's favorite player, Evan Longoria, was traded to the Giants this year too so the good news is that him and I may take a bro trip out west to visit AT&T Park.

What can I possibly say about Cutch being traded?
The face of the franchise was traded for a middle reliever and outfield prospect.

There's no words.

There. Are. No. Words.

Thank you for always being classy.
Thank you for bringing the franchise back hope.

Thank You Cutch!
The card pictured is a "Giant" sized 5x7 Rookie Reprint Blue Parallel /2.

It summarizes my feelings perfectly.

Derek Jeter!

Being a New Jersey native, I have had the pleasure of seeing future Hall of Famer play a few times.  I recently saw that Bald Vinny, key contributor to the Bleacher Creatures in New York is getting an autograph card when Archives hits.  I don't like that at all.  I bring this up because everytime I hear Derek Jeter's name I think of those chants at Yankee stadium.

Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter

The Pirates have a home series against the New York Yankees this weekend that I hope they can win.

I don't have any dual autos or relics of Cutch with current Yankees players (besides a Jacoby Ellsbury in a Red Sox uni quad relic with Cutch, Jones, and Trout) so I am forced to show off a card I recently snagged off eBay.

It's the Derek Jeter 2015 Prizm parallel.  These are insanely hard to come across.  As a matter of fact, only the Jordan Zimmerman, Cole Hammels, and Dee Gordon ones are for sale on eBay and COMC as I type this.

Mine is numbered 1/2 and I know who has 2/2.  I won't ever be able to get that away from him though as he also has the Black Infinite 1/1 to complete the rainbow.

Wooooooaaahhhh we're halfway there

The week is half over.
The month is officially half over.

Who wants to sing Bon Jovi at karoake with me?
We're halfway there!!

I don't do karoake.  Sorry.

Anyway, today's random Bon Jovi lyric popped in my head because of this

A damn fine looking 2016 National Treasures booklet with a retro jersey patch of Cutch's number (22).

Best of all, it's numbered 1/2.

Yup, I'm halfway there.
If anyone sees the other booklet pop up
LET ME KNOW!!!