I'll be back

Happy 75th Birthday to Arnold Schwarzenegger!

The most famous line from Arnold's career has to be "I'll be back" from the Terminator franchise. 

Terminator is one of those rare movies where the sequel may actually be better than the original, however the more recent sequels will never live up to the original Terminator or it's sequel T2:Judgement Day.

Topps has featured Cutch in his Pirates gear a lot in recent years despite being a current Phillie or Brewer.  This is odd for me because unlike other stars of the game that have been traded from their original teams (Goldschmidt, Arenado, Baez, Bryant, Lindor, Stanton, Yelich, Miguel Cabrera, Bryce Harper) those active players aren't getting featured in insert sets as Diamondbacks, Rockies, Cubs, Indians, and Marlins unless the insert set is discussing their debuts.  

The most recent example was including Cutch in the 2022 Series 2 1987 All Star set as a member of the Pirates. While he will likely always be remembered as a member of the Pirates (unless he hits a playoff series ending HR with the Brewers this year) he hasn't played for the Pirates since 2017.  Yes he made all 5 All Star Games as a Pirate, but then why is Javier Baez featured as an All Star with the Mets (his "current team" when the cards were produced?  Javy wasn't a member of the Mets when he made an All Star game.  

Paul Goldschmidt is featured as a Cardinal in the 2022 1987 All Star Game set because that is his current team, but he never made an All Star game as a member of the Cardinals (until this year which wasn't known at the time of production and distribution).  The same can be said for last year's NL MVP, Bryce Harper, who never made an All Star appearance since joining the Phillies until this season, which again wasn't known at time of production. 

It's just a very strange situation. 

But for whatever the reason is, I'm happy to see cards of Cutch in a Pirates uniform that I didn't have.

Good to see him back. Lol

Cutch has always gotten a warm welcome in Pittsburgh whenever he "has come back home"

Congrats to Bryce Harper

Bryce Harper won the NL MVP for the second time in his career.

I like Bryce Harper.

A lot!

I love the way he plays the game

Above are all my Cutch cards that also feature Bryce Harper.  

Over Rated or Under Appreciated?

Bryce Harper has always had huge expectations placed on him since he was drafted number 1 overall in 2010.  He made his MLB Debut in 2012 after only one full season of minor league baseball and became a reserve on the National League All Star Team at the young age of 19.  

Because of the young age he came up people have always placed a sense of envy or jealousy towards Bryce.  Oddly enough his first MLB hit (a double against the Dodgers) had fans "mooning" him just before his hustle double.  The MLB video archive of the game has had the fans cropped out of the frame which you can see on YouTube if you prefer your baseball viewing without drunk men showing their asses at a teenager.  The cropped out video is available here.

In his 7 year career with the Nationals, Bryce made 6 All Star Games.  He also won the Home Run Derby in 2018.  He was the youngest player to unanimously win an MVP when he won it in 2015.  That 2015 season was the only year he finished in the top 10 for MVP votes. 

At the still young age of 28 and as of July 28th 2021, Harper is only 2 home runs away from 250 career homers.  He also has already collected over 1,200 hits and scored 800 runs and drove in over 700 RBI over his career. 

Through his age 28 season according to baseball-reference Bryce Harper has similarity scores comparable to names like Barry Bonds, Darryl Strawberry, Andruw Jones, Reggie Jackson, Jose Canseco, and Justin Upton. 

Since joining the Phillies, Harper hasn't received any MVP votes or been elected to an All Star game.  His former team won the World Series the year he left for Philadelphia and the Phillies despite having one of the largest payrolls in baseball hasn't had a winning season since 2011. 

Many fans are hating on Bryce Harper for his $300+ million contract he signed with the Phillies and say that he is overrated.  Oddly enough Harper has hit more HR per game played in his Philly years (1:4.59 vs 1:5.04) compared to his Washington years. His Runs scored and RBI are nearly identical to those counting stats of Philly vs Washington per game played.  

His slash lines are nearly identical too when comparing his Washington days versus Philly years

Washington .279/.388/.512

Philly .271/.389/.522

So why is there all the hate for Bryce Harper since joining Philadelphia?  Is it because he already has 10 years in the league and many people are more enamored with the "younger guys" like Acuna, Soto, Tatis, Alonso? 

He is definitely the face of the Phillies franchise now and leads the team in On Base Percentage, Slugging Percentage, On Base Plus Slugging, and Stolen Bases.  

I think most fans would wish to see him get more RBI as he is currently 5th on the team in RBI this year behind Hoskins, McCutchen, Realmuto, and Bohm.  I think fans also want to see more home runs from the former MVP as he trails both Hoskins and McCutchen in that category as well. 

I haven't been buying much in the way of new McCutchen cards this year, but I do like that Cutch has been appearing on some cards with Bryce Harper this year.

I want to add those Stadium Club Superstar Duos cards to the collection at some point, but there was one card that really stood out that I had to add to the collection.  

It just so happens to feature the guy who is the face of the Phillies franchise for the next 10 years too.

Below is a dual autograph, dual patch booklet card of two former MVP Winners playing the corner outfield spots for the City of Brotherly Love.  It is limited to only 10 copies and will become one of the cornerstones in my Cutch Phillies collection.

They just so happened to hit back to back homeruns on Tuesday too.

Sweet!

What are your thoughts on Bryce Harper?

Is he over rated? Under appreciated? Over hyped when younger and just above average now?  Is he still on a Cooperstown path?

Monsters of Baseball?

I was going through some old articles I had bookmarked just in case there were ever a need to show off some cards relating to it and stumbled across a little gem about the Philadelphia Phillies.

Wow, have things changed a lot in 5 years.

Look at this article from 2016.

It discusses how the Phillies will again become a juggernaut in Major League Baseball with a monster payroll supporting home grown stars like Mikael Franco, Odubel Herrera, Jerad Eickoff, Vince Velasquez, and Aaron Nola.  

Well they were right about Nola.

It also mentioned the Phillies flexibility to add talent to the "historic free agent class" of 2018 when guys like Matt Harvey and Jose Fernandez will be available along with Bryce Harper and Manny Machado.

The article goes on to talk about their farm system and the expectation of JP Crawford "becoming a star" and Cornelius Randolph being the best prep bat in the previous year's draft.  

It wasn't too long ago that I did a post about the Pirates fall from success and how only 1 player remains with the team that won 98 games in 2015 (Gregory Polanco) and many of their top prospects coming out of that season have all been traded and are no longer a part of the organization (Josh Bell, Jameson Taillon, Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows, Harold Ramirez, Reese McGuire, Nick Kingham).

Monsters of baseball?

I think not.

Good start to the 2021 season for the Phillies by sweeping by the Braves?  

Yes I think so.

I really like the Bryce Harper card above from 2020 Topps.  I may seek out some of it's parallels to chase.  

To wrap things up I will show 3 cards of Cutch in a Phillies uniform.

2019 Topps Fire Dual Auto with Rhys Hoskins limited to 20 copies

2019 Allen & Ginter Double Rip with Rhys Hoskins limited to 25 copies

2019 Topps Museum bat barrel nameplate 1/1

Each Phillies sweep this year will be followed up with a post featuring Cutch in Phillies gear.  Among the cards posted will be at least 1/1 during each sweep. 

Give Me Ideas

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"

Give me some ideas to write about.

If not, I'll be forced to show cards like this

I am sure not everyone wants to read about a triple patch card of three Philadelphia Phillies.  I mean it does have the 2013 and 2015 NL MVPs on it and it is numbered to only 9 copies.  The foil pops brightly and the patch on the Cutch portion has nice color breaks, but who wants to read about the Phillies? Anyone? 

If you don't want to read about upper middle tier cards like the above 2020 Triple Threads card, leave a comment below something you want me to relate to something in my collection.  

I will choose a comment at random and if you can stump me, you will win a random prize.

Let's keep it PG13 by the way. 

(Belated) Congrats LA Dodgers Fans

I know it's a week late, but every November 2nd post is filled with these as I always continue my Save Second Base uninterrupted then do a recap.

In case you didn't know already the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays to win the 2020 World Series.  

Today I will show cards of Andrew McCutchen with players of the Dodgers. 

Let's begin with the legendary pitcher and longest tenured Dodger, Clayton Kershaw.

In 39 at bats, Cutch owns a .282/.317/.436 slash line against the 3 time Cy Young winner.  He does have 1HR against Kershaw.

These Face 2 Face inserts are pretty neat even for an unlicensed product. 

Above is a Boxtopper from 2015 Topps Heritage.  It is based on the 1966 Topps design.

This is a nice quad relic card of some former MVP winners all on one card.  

Above is an even nicer relic featuring 9 of the best players at each position for the past decade.  It features Kershaw, Posey, Abreu, Cano, Cabrera, Tulowitzki, Stanton, McCutchen, and Trout.  I think it's a little silly that they put Cabrera at 3B because around the year this card was made that's where he was playing for a season due to Prince Fielder playing 1B for the Tigers.

Now I will show off some former Dodgers and how they impacted the current World Series Champs.

Safe to say the Mookie Betts trade to Los Angeles finally helped push LA into winning the World Series?  Well the former AL MVP Betts, came to the Dodgers from Boston along with David Price in a trade that sent Alex Vertigo and Jeter Downs to Boston. 

Price didn't play the 2020 season, but I think it was his large salary that helped make the trade of Betts possible as it allowed the Red Sox to reset the luxury tax cap hit.  Price is still technically a part of the 2020 World Series Champions.

But how did Jeter Downs, a former Cincinnati Reds prospect end up in the Dodgers organization to begin with?  Well, the Dodgers got Downs, Josiah Gray, and Homer Bailey from the Reds in exchange for long time tenured Dodgers mainstays Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp.  I have a lot of Kemp and Puig cards paired up with Cutch.

Let's first look at Kemp.

I always liked Matt Kemp and his early 2010s skill set.

He possessed a fun energy with a rare power speed combo in the early 2010s. 

This made him a Perennial All-Star.

I also have the 1/1 booklet.

Greg of the blog  Night Owl wrote of these Team Pinnacle cards when I gifted them to him as part of his Secret Santa gift a few years back.

Hey Shane Victorino was a Dodger at one point too.

And now, the Wild Horse, Yasiel Puig.

The only type of cards I have of Puig with Cutch are the 2014 Topps Update All Star Stitches triple jersey cards all numbered to 25 copies.

In addition to Cutch and Puig appearing on all three of these cards there are appearances of Carlos Gomez, Josh Harrison, and Giancarlo Stanton as well.

Were it not for the trade of Puig and Kemp to the Reds, the Dodgers wouldn't have had Jeter Downs in their system.  The Dodgers may have been able to still work out a deal to acquire Mookie Betts and David Price from Boston.  History was written with the Dodgers getting Betts and history tells us the trade of Puig and Kemp to the Reds helped make it happen. 

Another long tenured Dodgers player that finally got a ring is Joc Pederson.  You may recall the Dodgers tried to ship him off in the off-season, but the deal that saw him become a member of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim was ultimately reversed.  Joc stayed with the Dodgers and hit a memorable homer in Game 5 of the World Series (his fifth career World Series Homerun).  In limited play in the World Series, Joc went 4 for 10 at the plate.  His team mates all commented on how he elevates his game when on the biggest stage.

In 2015, he was on a pretty big stage too as he had made it to the Home Run Derby Finals as a rookie.  He also made his first All-Star Game that year.  Topps, as you can see above, captured the outfield of Bryce Harper, Joc Pederson, and Andrew McCutchen on an All-Star Stitches Tandem card.

To finish up, let's look at the man who started the Dodgers rally in Game 6 of the World Series.  Tampa Bay Rays starter Blake Snell was cruising with a 1 hit shutout until he gave up a single to Dodgers catcher, Austin Barnes.  We know what happened next as the Rays couldn't Cash in to preserve their 1-0 lead.

You may recall seeing these pink cards from my Save Second Base events of 2019 and 2020 as I have shown off both the flagship (/50) and mini (/25) in the past two years.

I don't think I have shown all of these off though.  

2019 Topps Sapphire Orange (/25), Purple (/10), Red (/5)

2019 Topps Flagship Meijer Purple, Father's Day Blue (/50), and 2019 Topps Mini blue (/10)

I think that covers all my pairings I have of Cutch with players who (somehow) impacted the 2020 World Series Roster.

The Bryce Was Wrong, but Now It's Soto Good!

In case you haven't already heard, the Washington Nationals beat the Houston Astros by winning 4 games in Houston.  The team showed an unbelievable amount of resistance and a strong clubhouse.

The Baby Shark team won their first World Series title AFTER their former face of franchise left the team.

I was rooting for the Astros to win, but know of a lot of people rooting for the Nationals because Bryce Harper has become such a strange baseball villain that fans wanted the team to win just to have a chuckle at seeing the team celebrate while Bryce's $300+ million dollar contract butt not even make the playoffs.

It's not Bryce's fault the Phillies didn't make the playoffs this year, but Bryce's 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2017 Postseason numbers weren't that impressive.  In total he batted .211 with a 31%K rate in 76 at bats during those NLDS games.

As is customary on my blog immediately following my Save Second Base Event and Recap, I write a post about the World Series Champions and post any cards featuring that year's team with Cutch.  You can visit my previous posts here.


I don't have many cards of current Nationals with Cutch.  In fact I only have one.  Its a sexta autograph booklet with signatures of Cutch, Josh Bell, Javy Baez, Starlin Castro and the Nationals teammates: Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman.

The booklet is numbered to only 10 copies.

I do have a lot of Cutch pairings with the former Nationals Superstar, Bryce Harper.

 Numbered to 5

Numbered to 5

 Numbered to 36

 Numbered to 3

Numbered to 25

Nice Rack!

Not many sealed rack packs or similar items appear in today's market place.  I miss the days of those 1989 Topps with star players on the front.


Topps National Baseball Card Day and Target Exclusive Gypsy Queen packs are the closest thing I can get now.

I grabbed these 3 sealed packs of Phillies mainly because Cutch was on the cover for one of them.

I opened the Cesar and Jake packs and got a Cutch loose in the pack with Cesar.

I kept the Harper and Cutch for my PC and sent the others to Brad when I met up with him at the Philly Show.  He did a recap of what I gave him here.

Steel McCutchen impresses a Hall of Famer

Andrew McCutchen posted a video on his Instagram a few days ago of his son, Steel, hitting off a tee.

It was enough to impress, McCutchen's childhood idol, Ken Griffey Jr, to reply.

There has been many articles written about how Cutch grew up watching Griffey play and how Griffey thinks that McCutchen is the best player in the game today that resembles how he played the game.

I thought it would be appropriate to show off the few relic cards I have of both Griffey and Cutch.

Up first is this triple jersey of Griffey, Cutch, and Willie Mays.

This is the only Willie Mays relic I own and unfortunately it is the pants from a 1978 Mets uniform.

Like all of Hits Memorabilia cards, there is an online database that you can cross reference the material used for all their cards. 

This was the jersey used for the production of the card above and the following card below.

This is a super awesome card featuring 4 former MVP winners.  Lots of cool laundry tags and different looking swatches on this including the inner lining of a Harper hat and a Trout batting glove.

I know a lot of people love Bo Jackson and he was an outstanding athlete, but honestly I don't view him as that good of a baseball player.  Call it blasphemous, but through his age 27 season with the Kansas City Royals he posted only a career .787 OPS to that point.  Furthermore he struck out at a whopping 34.7% of his at bats. These were all BEFORE his football injury.  Stanton and Judge both have lower totals in their careers and they are the poster children for striking out in the current game. 

As for the 2 Hall of Famers on the card: Reggie Jackson and Griffey; yeah, that's pretty cool.