Not hitting their weight, name cameos

I am a Pirates fan and Andrew McCutchen is the best player I have ever seen play for the Pirates in my time of getting back into this hobby in 2009.  

Besides Cutch there have been a few other position players that Pirates fans have gotten excited about that were believed to be building blocks for the next Pirates contender after Cutch left.

Of the top 3 names to be listed as top prospects (Josh Bell, Gregory Polanco, and Bryan Reynolds) none are hitting their weight this season.

That's a phrase used when a player is slumping, but this year the season stats don't lie.

I thought I would show off some cards with an Andrew McCutchen name cameo on the back and discuss their current batting averages/weight.

(*Batting averages are for 2020 season as of end of games on September 6, 2020)

Gregory Polanco

Card: 2018 Topps

Cameo Trivia: Polanco had three 4 for 4 performances in a season joining only Jeff King and Andrew McCutchen to do so simce 1988.

Listed weight on card: 230

Listed weight on MLB.com: 235

Current Batting Average* .150

Gregory joined the Pirates in 2014 and hit the ground running becoming the franchise's record setter for most consecutive games to collect a hit in their Pirates debut. Polanco's presence and the Bucs becoming a resurgent team for the playoffs made him a trendy player to collect in the hobby.  He even appeared as the cover athlete for 2014 Bowman.  Polanco joined Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte in the outfield and many top writers would list the Pirates and Marlins (Stanton, Yelich, Ozuna) as having the best outfields in baseball.  Polanco never met the huge expectations placed on him as being a top 10 prospect in baseball for 2 years prior to his debut and has yet to even become an All-Star for a single season.  He is currently signed with the Pirates through the 2023 season if his two option years are picked up on the team friendly $35 million extension he signed in 2016.  He likely won't see the full extension through with the Pirates as his injury history and current struggles will leave the current front office (who have no emotional ties to Polanco) to keep him around. 

Josh Bell

Card: 2020 Donruss yellow parallel

Card Trivia: Bell joined Andrew McCutchen as the only Pirates to have three homers in a game at PNC Park, seperated by almost a decade between the feats.

Listed weight on card: 235

Listed weight on MLB.com: 250

Current Batting Average* .197

Josh Bell was the most prized high school draft pick in the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft, but his letter of intention and signing bonus demands scared many teams away.  The Pirates who had drafted Gerrit Cole with the 1st Overall Pick, used their 2nd Round pick and took a risk to draft Bell (that same year they drafted Tyler Glasnow and Trea Turner, talk about a great draft).  After having some injuries in the minors and switching positions from outfield to first base (due to the previously mentioned outfield group of Polanco, Marte, Cutch), Josh Bell made his debut in 2016 and hit a pinch hit Grand Slam in his second at bat.  This resulted in one of the best Cutch Cameo cards of all time.  (Look at his unphased face to the right of Josh).

Josh spent most of the 2016 in the minors and had his rookie status in tact heading into 2017.  He became the regular First Baseman in 2017 and set a NL record for HRs by a switch hitting rookie (beating Chipper Jones record).  He took a step back in 2018, but absolutely mashed his way into the national audiences in the first half of 2019.  He was a contestant for the 2019 HR Derby and a first time All-Star last year.  He is under team control, pending an extension, through 2022.

Bryan Reynolds

Card: 2020 Finest The Man insert

Card Trivia: Reynolds was acquired in the Andrew McCutchen 2018 trade that sent Cutch to San Francisco

Listed weight on card: 205

Listed weight on MLB.com: 205

Current Batting Average* .192

Bryan Reynolds is the most recent position player that fans became excited for.  After trading away the face of the franchise, Andrew McCutchen, fans were hoping to see Reynolds became the next great Pirates outfielder.  He had a very impressive rookie campaign, finishing in the top 10 for batting average and 2nd among NL rookies in hits in 2019.  He possesses a ceiling of a 5 tool skill set, but will not be a major stolen base threat.  His arm strength in the outfield is probably better than Cutch in his prime, but his range is lower. He likely won't hit 30HR in a season, but looks to be a candidate for many 20+ HR in a season. With 5 more years of control, I think he will be the longest tenured player of the three discussed today.

Legends of the Burgh

I have shown this card off on Chasing 3,000 but since that blog gets only a quarter of the views that this one does I thought it was time to show it off here too.

This card is awesome.  It features two Hall of Famers and Pirates for life in Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell.

It also features the pair of outfielders who,were most responsible for bringing a brief winning culture back to the Steel City in Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen.

The card is numbered to only 10 copies and pairs up nicely with these other 2015 Topps Heritage Clubhouse Collection cards in my collection.

Clemente, Cutch, Stargell /25

Stargell, Cutch, Marte, Polanco /10

 Clemente, Cutch /66

Stargell, Cutch /66

A Cameo Like No Other

It should be no surprise that I like to collect Pittsburgh Pirates cards especially those that have a cameo of Andrew McCutchen.

While going through some cards to send Nate for our recent trade I discovered I had this 2014 Stadium Club card of Gregory Polanco.  There is an Andrew McCutchen siting in the dugout of this rookie card of "El Coffe"

This is the base version, but I am looking for the rainbow foil (/25), electric foil, gold foil, and members only parallels.  If you come across any, keep me in mind.



And in case you don't follow me on Twitter I got a Cameo message from Andrew McCutchen sent to my team that have been working 50-60 hours a week trying to restock our shelves during this global pandemic.

Now I'm secretly hoping someone books a cameo appearance of Cutch for me.  My name is Brian and my birthday is in September.  Please and thank you 😂

Make like a tree and get out of here

I have been watching some of my favorite movies and TV shows now that I am home more.

Back to the Future is one of my favorite movies.

It took old Biff a long time to realize the saying was "Make like a tree...and leave"

This then got me thinking about the old Leaf cards from 1990 and how I wish I didn't invest into them so much as they are practically worthless now.

This 1990 Leaf Barry Bonds has an interesting fact on the back.

Barry Bonds was only the second Pirate to post 20/20 seasons.

There are a few active Pirates players that could potentially be 20/20 guys with Kevin Newman being the most obvious choice.

The most recent 20/20 guys are no longer on the Pirates thanks to trades that shipped them off to NL West teams in 2018 (McCutchen to Giants) and 2020 (Marte to Diamondbacks).

With news that NECA toys is producing a line of figures for the 35th Anniversary of the film and (wait for it....)

A LINE OF TOYS FOR THE ANIMATED SERIES THAT LASTED 26 EPISODES

I am going to show off 26 of my McCutchen cards with Starling Marte.

2014 Gypsy Queen Dual Button

2015 Museum High Number

2013 Museum

2016 Museum

2017

2016 Museum

 2015 Triple Threads

 2015 Triple Threads

2014 Panini Classics Triple Jersey

2017 Stadium Club Photo Variant featuring Cutch and Polanco celebrating after a win.

2016 Heritage Box Loader

2016 Heritage

 2014 Museum

 2015 Museum

 2013 Museum

2015 Topps Heritage

Here is the card with in person autographs inserted into a 2018 Archives Top Loader.


And here are some base cards of Starling Marte that mention Andrew McCutchen on the back (cardboard cameos)

2020 Topps Series 1

2013 Topps Series 1

2017 Topps Chrome

And Then There Was 1...

This week has been full of sh*tty news.

Yesterday the Pirates traded Starling Marte to the Arizona Diamondbacks.  That means that there is only one player left from the 2015 Pittsburgh Pirates who had the 2nd best record in the majors and finished with a 98-64 record.

That lone player is Gregory Polanco.  I wouldn't be too shocked if hegets traded midseason as well as the Pirates appear to be in full rebuild mode now under their new management team.

I am going to show my favorite 6 cards of #6, Starling Marte.

Up first is my only Logoman of Marte.  It is the Logoman to his 2011 Futures Game jersey.

Next up, one of my favorite Cutch pairings.  This Gypsy Queen captures the gold glove caliber outfield pairings of Marte and Cutch in their primes.

It's Heritage Red Ink.  Do you really need more explanation?

The only knock on this card is the sticker autograph.  An on card auto would have been much nicer.

Speaking of on card auographs, I sought out every silver ink Pirates auto I could get my hands on from 2011 to 2015.  This pre debut prospect of Marte is a great looking design.

This card I have shown off a lot in the past month.  It's very low numbered and features some of my favorite Pirates outfielders of All-Time.