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.

Trade Deadline Day: MVPs ON THE MOVE?

This afternoon marks the end of the nonwaiver trade deadline and we could see some big names get traded today.

Last night news broke that the Nationals are indeed willing to trade Bryce Harper.  Could one of the faces of the game be traded in the coming hours?

Harper is a 5 tool talent that is a true game changer when on the field.

We have seen some of the best 5 Tool talents in the game get traded before so it shouldn't come as a surprise if one of them gets moved.

The green swatch from the Harper in the above 2 Hits Memorabilia cards is actually from a St. Patrick's Day Spring Training game cap.

I have a few Harper relics ranging from single jersey swatches to hat swatches to patches.  One of my favorites though is this extremely tough to find triple jersey featuring All-Stars Andrew McCutchen, Joc Pederson, and of course Bryce.

I also like when I know when I can pinpoint where a jersey relic is from.  The red and black swatches were from the workout jerseys.


One name we likely won't see get traded is Adam Jones who already has used his 10-5 rights to veto a trade to Philadelphia.  I respect Adam's decision to want to stay in Baltimore because of his family and the amount of charity work he does in the city.  That shows that he is a greater person than ballplayer.

Adam Jones is a very consistent player that usually puts up an average in the .270 to .280 range with 25 HR and 80-90runs/RBI.

This octopatch booklet is just ridiculous.  It had 8 of the top outfielders at the time of the card's production (minus Mike Trout).

Injuries derailed Tulo from a HOF career.

This dual button is still one of my top 10 cards in my collection.

There he is!!!! Mike Trout!!!!  He likely won't be traded.

What former All-Stars will be traded today?

Former All-Star Zach Duke was traded yesterday to the Mariners as they hope to solidify the diversity in their bullpen.

Oh you didn't know that Zach Duke who has been a lefty reliever was at one time an All-Star? Well he was in 2009 when Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel added him as a late addition to the roster.  He was also a 2xRookie of the Month in 2005 (July and August).

There are reports that the Indians and Phillies are very interested in Cutch, while it also seems possible that the Yankees would look to acquire the former NL MVP

I can see Cutch going to the Indians as that would be a great fit and he will be available to play daily.

Philly and NY look to be a platoon position if they were to acquire him as their outfields are already pretty crowded.

Missing 7 of 9: A Contest Response

Daniel is holding a contest for his 9th year blogging.  If you aren't already reading It's Like Having My own Card Shop you surely are missing out.  It is a fantastic read and he has so many different kinds of collections.

Originally I thought I could use my Triple Threads cards to show off cards numbered to 9 and highlight my favorite card from each  specific numbering.

The problem?

Well....you will see later.

1/9

Let's get this thing started, shall we?  Here we have a standard jumbo patch numbered 1/9.  No big deal, right?  The patch is from the 22 on the front of Cutch's jersey.

2/9

I had a few options for number two, but ultimately decided on this 2017 WBC Team USA triple relic.  I loved the WBC tournament so much and think I might try to see a game in person in 2021.

3/9

If there is one thing you should notice from all these cards I am going to be posting is that Cutch is a jovial fella and enjoys playing the game of baseball.  2015 Triple Threads was the last year Topps ran the patches in a straight horizontal line.  That means that the 2015 ASG would be represented on 2016 Triple Threads different as you can see above.  While the design isn't terrible I much rather see the patches line up.

4/9

The patches on this ASG workout jersey aren't the greatest as there is only one super unique patch (the star) in window 3.  I love the photo though as it is directly from Cutch's Home Run Derby appearance.  Cutch lost to eventual champion Prince Fielder in the first round.

5/9

This card is both awesome and bittersweet at the same time.  Following the 2013 season it looked like the Pirates were going to be set for success for a long time.  They had a perenial MVP in Andrew McCutchen, a budding star and constant Gold Glove caliber player in Starling Marte, and a top 10 prospect in Gregory Polanco.  #RunPMC never developed into the outfield the way Pirates fans had hoped and the Marlins, Red Sox, and Yankees outfields overcame them as the best outfields in baseball the past few seasons.  With Austin Meadows breaking out at the MLB level it looks like we will never see Cutch come back to the Steel City as a permanent fixture patrolling the outfield.

Another good 5/9 I have is a triple relic of Joey Bats, Cespedes, and Cutch.  The relics are meh and the saying is PURE GLOVE?  Huh?

6/9

I went all in on acquiring Cutch Triple Threads cards in 2015 for his 2014 ASG appearance.  The design for this year is my least favorite as it doesn't reflect much of the city the game was played in very well.

7/9
I don't have a 7 of 9

So I will just show this Unity relics from PNC Park that Matt from BobWalkThePlank traded me as our most epic trade we completed last year.  All three cards are numbered to 9.  It was part of 5 cards Matt sent me in exchange for these cards I sent him which you can see here, here, here, here, along with about half a dozen of "super rare" buyback Bob Walks I sent him to set the stage for the trade.

8/9

Boring jersey swatch, but at least it matches the subject's jersey color.  Oh and did you notice Cutch is wearing a Jackie Robinson jersey for the card? Can't go wrong with that.  The card also represents Cutch being selected to Topps All-Rookie team for the 2009 season.

9/9

The design for the 2014 Triple Threads celebrating the 2013 ASG is the best of all the ASG patch cards Cutch has appeared on.  The NY skyline in the background complete with a backwards capped dreaded Cutch and 3 unique patch windows make this card have more flav and swag than all the others.

So while i am missing a 7 of 9, how about if I show off another card numbered to 9 just to close thimgs out.

The above 2014 Triple Threads is numbered 8/9 and features patches of Cutch, Pedro Alvarez, and Gerrit Cole.  I miss these guys all being on the same team. 

So I tried to show off 9 cards numbered to 9, but failed.
Guess it is back to the drawing board tomorrow.

Custom 1/1 Team USA

I have no artistic bones in my body. 
This leads me to sometimes overpay for things I consider are innovative and artistic.

Such was this case with this triple custom card featuring autographs of Adam Jomes, Christian Yelich, and Andrew McCutchen. 

I have a few Adam Jones autographs as he is a great role model and a very consistent ball player.  I have almost 150 certified autographs of Cutch, but didn't have an autograph of Christian Yelich.

One of my dream cards would be to have a booklet containing all the autographs of the 2017 WBC Championship Team USA.  Autographs of Cutch, Buster Posey, Nolan Arenado, Christian Yelich, Giancarlo Stanton, Adam Jones, Eric Hosmer, Paul Goldschmidt, Alex Bregman, Ian Kinsler, Chris Archer, Andrew Miller, Brandon Crawford, Marcus Stroman, and the list goes on and on would be incredible for the collection.

The concept for this card was greater than the execution and had it not been so cheap after eBay bucks I wouldn't have even thought about it. 

From a distance it looks cool.  Up close....not so much.

TEAM USA RELICS!

It's Memorial Day weekend and to celebrate I will be showing off some cards that represent the holiday in my eyes.

Up first is a blue parallel from 2017 Triple Threads numbered 3/3 (eBay 1/1)

I have previously shown off some of the other parallels on this blog, but the blue (sapphire) parallel really brings home the Americana feel to the cardboard.

Gold numbered 2/9

Emerald numbered 4/18


I still need the ruby 1/1 along with the /27 and /36 parallels for this particular rainbow.

Did something happen yesterday?

Yesterday news broke that the Yankees had acquired Giancarlo Stanton from Derek Jeter's Miami Marlins.

I completely understand what Jeter and company are trying to do by shedding the massive contract.  I think that Marlins fans that are upset by the deal should recognize that the organization can't be sustainable over the course of time unless they build a winning foundation beginning in the minors and it transcends to the major league level.

As great as Stanton can be perceived as being here's some fun facts about the quarter billion dollars the Marlins got rid of from their payroll over the next 10 years.
He has only appeared in 150 games TWICE in his career. (2011 and 2017)
His strikeout to walk rate is 2.34:1 over his 8 year career.
He has never played for a winning team since his 2010 debut.

Having 267 career homeruns by age 27 season and then joining the Yankees for 10 years should put him on the Hall of Fame path.

Stanton is a great player, but he's not great for a new ownership in Miami.  He needed to be traded for the Marlins ownership to move forward with their plan and vision.

What are your thoughts on the Stanton to Yankees move?

Happy for the player to finally join a winning culture?
Mad at the Marlins front office for trading the face of the franchise?

I will leave you with all my Cutch and Giancarlo pairings (many of which I showed off during the 2017 WBC).

First though I will show off the two cards that haven't been featured on here yet.

I made a post about Probstein last week and how some of their auctions get shilled and go for more than what they should because they are a consigner.

This card was won for what I consider a fair price.  It's a triple relic of three members of the World Baseball Classic 2017 Team USA gold medalist (Adam Jones, Andrew McCutchen, and Giancarlo Stanton).  I have added quite a number of green Triple Threads cards this year so I am looking forward to showing them off next Saint Patrick's Day.

I don't know how many of you watched that tournament, but I had a blast rooting for Team USA.  Of course it helped that my favorite player was playing right field during the tournament.

Here's the rarer and "patchier" Gold version numbered to 9.

And here are the cards I have previously shown
This National Treasures quad booklet is awesome!  It features 3 of my favorite current big leaguers (Arenado, Rizzo, and Cutch)

 There's a few different parallels to chase for Immaculate.  I just have the standard bat relic for Stanton.  There is a patch version of both players available too which I believe is numbered to 10.

 The game's best pitcher (Kershaw) and the game's best hitter (Trout) are featured with the Stanton Cutch partnership.

 That bum who always sticks his tongue out, Yasiel Puig, joins Cutch and Bigfoot

 This card is just ridiculous.  It has 9 of the best players at each position from 2014 on it.  All patches or bat relics.  I only showed the back below, but the front also has Clayton Kershaw, Buster Posey, Jose Abreu, Robinson Cano, and Miguel Cabrera (he was playing 3B because of the Prince Fielder signing).