The Artist Who Never Gets Credited

I got a chance to learn a few things from photographer Dustin Bradford last week and I'm not sure how much he wants me to reveal, but it was fascinating to learn a bit about the Topps photography process.

Dustin is a photographer who works out of Colorado and has photographed a bunch of cards that occur at Coors Field every year.  His Instagram is loaded with many cards that he has photograohed along with some of his personal collection.  You can view his Instagram by clicking here.

He saw a card of Cutch I had posted from the July 4 2018 game where Cutch was a member of the Giants and they played the Rockies and noted that the photo used was one that he had shot.  I asked him if there were other cards of Cutch that have been produced that he may have shot.  

Well, as it turns out two cards in 2021 were shot by Dustin.

The 1992 Topps design found in 2021 Topps Update as an insert card features an image of Cutch at Coors Field.  You can view the original image at Getty Images here. Cutch went 0 for 4 at the plate in a 12-2 Phillies loss. 

The 2021 Holiday Relic also features an image of Cutch at Coors Field.  The snowman didn't make it into the lineup that day so that got generated in later. 

I asked Dustin if he could sign the pair of cards he photographed and he kindly obliged.  These are only the 2nd and 3rd autographs he has signed, the first being a Ronald Acuna Jr HR card. 

Thanks for honoring my wacky request Dustin.  For those that want to see his photography please visit his Instagram and check out all the awesome images that his eye and skill has transformed into a baseball card.

Have you ever thought about the original images used for baseball cards?  

What are some of your favorite images captured on baseball cards? 

Mine is the Kevin Mitchell 1987 Topps

Winner, winner

I recently received a severely rare card that qualifies for one of my top 10 Cutch PC cards I wanted to add to my collection.  I can't wait to show if off in the future.

I couldn't believe that I was a winner!!!!!!

Above is the 2017 Topps Archives Gold Winner Parallel from the 1992 design.  While not as rare or exclusive as the card I recently picked up, this card is still a pretty difficult pull.  These 1992 Winner parallels were available 1:110 hobby packs or 1:137 retail packs.  The 1992 design contained 100 player subjects for the 2017 Archives set.

The original Topps Winner cards in 1992 were available by collecting "100 Runs" as part of Topps Match the Stats game inserts.  Once mailed into Topps, the recipient would receive a pack of 10 cards with the gold foil winner stamp. 

Coincidentally the 1992 set was the last time Topps released their cards as a single series set.  It also marked the first time that Topps printed on white cardstock. 

The backs of the Winner cards look identical to the traditional look of a 1992 Topps card.

Were you collecting Topps cards in 1992?  Do you remember the 1992 Gold Winner parallels?

National Road Trip Day (this is a fun ride and read)

You may not be aware, but today is National Road Trip Day.

I thought it would be fun to see if I can find cards of Cutch in various stadiums.

We begin with the best ballpark in Baseball, PNC Park in Pittsburgh

PNC Park is my personal zen zone.  Everytime I go there and take in the sights, sounds, and memories, I immediately feel like all my worries and real life drama is gone (even with the way the Pirates are currently playing).

On our way east we make a brief stop in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.  It's not a long stay, just brief enough for a cameo.

Heading into Philadelphia we have Cutch making a catch in front of the NovaCare sign in left field of Citizen's Bank Park

But then he slid into centerfield for a few games in 2019 (before his season ending injury) to make this catch in front of the W.B. Mason sign

And of course no visit to Philadelphia would be complete without showing off Cutch in the dugout getting his swag on.

Heading up to the Big Apple

The large Verizon logo in the background and road memorial day uniforms makes me know that this image was taken at Citi Field in 2014.

Cutch was presented with the Roberto Clemente Award just before Game 3 of the 2015 World Series held in New York.

And of course he participated in the 2013 MLB All Star Game at Citifield.

Switching to the Bronx we see Cutch just briefly appear in a New York Yankees uniform.

And now we are shipping up to Boston where we see Cutch celebrate with teammates at Fenway Park for their 100 Win season in 2018

From there we are heading west...

And go to Cincinnati

where Cutch homered in the 2015 All Star Game.

Now we are going to another division rival by heading to St. Louis

I hate seeing all that red worn by the fans, even if it is July 4th 2016.

Next stop, Kansas City

Cutch participated in the 2012 Home Run Derby and also coming in as a pinch runner for Carlos Beltran.  He stole second base then got out in his only plate appearance of the night. 

Sticking with an AL Central theme, we are heading north we go to Minnesota

Cutch started in centerfield for the National League at the 2014 All Star Game.  He singled, then stole second base to lead off the game.

Next up on our random road trip we head to Milwaukee where Cutch hit his 200th career homerun

It's a shame we can't see Front Row Amy in this pic.

Getting Back on track with the NL Central, we go to the Windy City, Chicago

As a long time rival of the Cubs, Cutch likes to do his best Sammy Sosa impersonation while trolling the Chicago faithful

When I think of Wrigley Field, the first thing I think about is the ivy in the outfield.  The second is the brick background behind home plate.  It's timeless!!!

Moving from the Windy City to Motor City we have Cutch relaxing in Detroit as evidenced by the road pants and Tigers base.

We head southwest to Arizona where we can see Kirk Gibson making a cameo in the dugout

Next up is Colorado where Cutch goes on to hit 3HR at Coors Field in a game and get the Topps Now treatment

He would repeat the feat a year later in San Diego

Of course Cutch became a MLB commercial when he gave out some batting gloves to Pirates fans in San Diego 

Always Classy, Always Cutch!

Heading to Los Angeles we have a base from the 2017 World Baseball Classic Champions Team USA featuring Christian Yelich and Andrew McCutchen celebrating their victory over Team Japan.  Cutch drove in the first run of the 2-1 victory.  

Dodgers stadium is a nice location with the yellow seats 

Next stop San Francisco where Cutch delivers an epic 3 run 14th inning walk off homer to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers

We finish the road trip west in Oakland

This is a fairly obvious one as it shows the Athletics logo as part of the dugout.  This is the 2017 Topps SP photo variant.

Time to go back East!!!

We had to hop a plane to Miami

Then headed north to Atlanta where we celebrate the Pirates clinching the 2014 playoffs with this bottle of Fre champagne, signed by Cutch

On our way back north we stop at the Nation's capital.  I can only assume this is at Washington DC based on the limited teams the Phillies faced in 2020.  Only the Nats have red helmets (besides the Phillies) of the NL and AL East opponents they faced.

We wrap things up by returning to Pittsburgh

I love Pittsburgh

Have you ever looked at a player's cards to determine what city they were playing in on the card?  

If you want to confirm your guesses of the road towns, I suggest using Gettyimages.

Sheff's Menu: Entree #4: The Elite Series

Today I am going to show off my favorite hitter as a kid and my favorite hitter as an adult through another segment of 

What's on the Sheff's Menu?

We will be looking at a hobby game changer insert set called The Elite Series

The Elite Series was a "limited" insert set that debuted back in 1991.  Gary Sheffield appeared in the 1992 set and Andrew McCutchen appeared in the 2014 release. 

You can see them side by side above.

Before relic cards and before autograph cards were so readily available, there existed a "limited print run" of only 10,000 cards of an insert set called The Elite Series.  

Back in 1992, these cards were not just a big deal.  They were a HUGE deal.  The technology used for this insert set helped pave the way for current designs like atomic, cracked ice, and other similar designed cards.  

The fronts of the cards still hold up to modern cards twenty years later.  The backs appeared plain and simplistic just talking about the card's athlete subject and the "creator" of the card, the legendary Dick Perez. 

Cutch appeared in the 2014 Donruss set when it was relaunched.  With a print run at less than a tenth of the original run, these are still rare pulls, but nothing compared to the cardboard ecstasy of the original 90s versions.

Here they are side by side. 

Did you have any of these Elite Series cards upon release?  Which player (s)?

What do you think of the cardboard technology used back then compared to today's cards?

Digging through the Archives, how I wish they were made differently

In 2011 Topps issued a release called Lineage.  It featured active and retired players on a new design.

The set also showed the lineage of Topps by revisiting some of the more popular designs and creating insert sets around them.  The fans loved the idea and Topps never produced Lineage again.

Well not under the title of Lineage that is.

Beginning in 2012 Topps would go into their archives and create a set called Archives.  Each year Topps would utilize 3-4 different designs from their cardboard making history and feature players on a design (mostly from their non playing days).

I have at minimum every base card of Andrew McCutchen from the Archives release and today I am going to post a series of designs I wish that McCutchen was used for over the first 8 years of existance of the brand.

2012 Topps Archives
Designs used by Topps: 1954, 1971, 1980, 1984
Design chosen by Topps for McCutchen

1971

While I like the design of 1971 and it is nice to have Cutch wearing the black and gold in a design from the year the Buccos won a World Series, I knew Cutch would eventually get the 1971 cardboard treatment in 2020 Topps Heritage.

I would have much rather gotten the 1954 design of Cutch.  No Pirates were represented using the 1954 design so it would have been an extra bonus to get Cutch in a 1954 design just for that reason.

Here is his Team USA teammate Adam Jones on the 1954 design.


2013 Archives
Designs used by Topps: 1972, 1982, 1985, 1990
Design chosen for McCutchen

1985

I am ok with this selection, but if I was given a choice of another design, I would lean towards 1990.  I don't see 1990 Topps as being a popular set by fans and can't imagine Topps using the design again until 2039 Topps Heritage. 

2014 Archives
Designs used by Topps: 1973, 1980, 1986, 1989 (the last year they use 4 designs)
Design chosen for McCutchen

1986

This is my favorite of all the Archives cards produced.  A strange thing about this card is that I think it may be an unannounced short print.  Try finding one on eBay or COMC right now.  You're likely to find less than a handful between all the after market places.  Try looking for any parallels including those sold on eBay, COMC, or WORTHPOINT and I promise you won't find any.  

Despite the perceived short print of this card, I approve this selection.



2015 Archives
Designs used by Topps: 1957, 1976, 1983
Design chosen for McCutchen

1983

I am so sick and tired of seeing modern players on 1983 designs.  Any of the other years would have been fine with me.  The 1983 design was also used for Josh Harrison and Bill Mazeroski.  The 1976 design was used for Gerrit Cole, Starling Marte, and Roberto Clemente.  

Given the choice I guess I would want Cutch in that 1957 design since Willie Stargell was the only Pirates player to get the 57 treatment.

2016 Archives
Designs used by Topps 1953, 1979, 1991
Design chosen for McCutchen

1991

Were it not for the Desert Shield foil variants I would have been begging for a 1953 Topps design.  It seems likely that Topps will continue to avoid putting Cutch in a Topps Living Set card even though JP Crawford and Bryce Harper already both have two entrants in the set.  I like the 91 set.  I have many fond memories opening these packs and trying to build the set with my dad.

No need for a change especially since I have this 1953 style card from 2019 Topps Transcendent.

2017 Archives
Designs used by Topps: 1960, 1982, 1992
Design chosen for McCutchen

1992

For many of the same reasons (foil parallel reminiscent of the ones available during initial release) I liked the 2016 Topps Archives selection of 1991 Topps, I am supporting the 2017 selection of 1992 Topps as the design for Cutch.  The design was also used for Roberto Clemente, Gregory Polanco, Starling Marte, and Gerrit Cole.

Cutch got a rookie card in 2009 Heritage High Number similar to the 1960 Topps rookie style made famous by the Yaz rookie.  Both Tyler Glasnow (rookie) and Honus Wagner represented the Pirates with the 1960 design.  I guess 1982 could have been a possibility since the double hockey stick style border was only used for Willie Stargell.

It seems Pops kept getting the short stick (no pun intended for this design) when being placed as a representative for the Pirates in Topps Archives.

2018 Archives
Designs used by Topps: 1959, 1977, 1981
Design chosen for McCutchen

1959

This is a selection that I approve, but given the choice of switching it up I would prefer 1981 Topps.  1959 is a great design and this is the only time Cutch got a solo card in the 1959 design.  However, he also got the 1959 treatment in the card "Bashers of the Bay" with Buster Posey. (Both pictured above)

So if that card was still produced, I would have liked to see a 1981 design for Cutch especially if it was given a pink border like what his team mate Buster Posey got.

2019 Archives
Designs used by Topps 1958, 1975, 1993
Design chosen for McCutchen

1958

This is actually a perfect selection among the designs offered.  As I have stated above McCutchen debuted in 2009 so his first Topps throwback design was 1960 Topps which appeared in 2009 Topps Heritage High Numbers.  He missed out on all the 1950s set via the traditional Heritage route.  The yellow background and red name letters make this card pop much in the same way Rip Repulski did in 1958.

The only other option for me would be 1993, but again that is only because I would want that gold foil found on Topps Gold style cards for that era.  The 1993 design isn't my favorite of the early 90s Topps designs.  Cutch did receive the 1975 design in 2011 Lineage.

2020 Archives

Designs used by Topps 1955, 1974, 2002

Design chosen for McCutchen

Nothing.

Cutch didn't receive a card in 2020 Topps.

This is an absolute shame that the streak of appearing in every Archives release comes to an end.  

Given the choices of 1955, 1974, and 2002 I would probably opt for 1955 Topps because it is an iconic set for Pirates fans (Roberto Clemente rookie!!!).

Getting a Cutch on a 1955 Topps design in his prime in a similar pose to the Clemente card would have been a perfect card.

Unfortunately Cutch is now with the Phillies and his 1955 style card may have resembled what this Steve Carlton looked like in Topps Archives.

My second choice would be 2002 Topps.  I wasn't collecting in 2002 and the set is so ugly I want a Cutch card to be represented in my collection with that ugly design.  

Former Pirates outfielder, Starling Marte, made it look kind of cool.

Have you ever looked at Topps Archives design samples and wished that a player got a different year treatment?