The Set That Keeps Giving...

2011 Topps Update is widely recognized as the greatest modern baseball card set.  The product contains rookie cards of Mike Trout, Paul Goldschmidt, Jose Altuve, DJ LeMahieu, Anthony Rizzo, Eric Hosmer , Mike Moustakas, and Charlie Blackmon.  

At the time of it's release you could get 24 packs for about $50 retail.  Today a sealed box will cost tens of thousands of dollars. 

Hidden among the star studded rookie class are a few appearances by Andrew McCutchen that I like to chase after (that will be a pun for a future post).  Last year I discovered that Cutch had a Cameo on the Jay Bruce All Star Game card so I set out to try and find parallels of that card to add to the collection. 

The Blue Hope Diamond is the rarest of the non 1/1 parallels to track down and I had gotten one via a COMC order I placed last year.

It is numbered to only 60 copies on the back.

Jay Bruce recently announced his retirement. 

Because of how close Cutch and Jay Bruce were drafted along with being long time division rivals (and eventual teammates)  I have written a few articles about Jay Bruce in the past.  You can revisit them by clicking on one of the following posts:

Thanks For Being a Loser, Greg Maddux

Remembering the 2005 Draft

On The Move? Jay Bruce

Cutch and his Amazing Phriends

The Hunt(er) for Reds This October

Some other Jay Bruce related articles I suggest reading...

Tom Verducci recently wrote an article for Sports Illustrated discussing Bruce's retirement and the impact the shift is having on players. 

Fangraphs also did an article on Jay Bruce and the incredible hot start he had to his career.  Of course prospecting was a thing when he was beginning his career, but it is nothing like what it is today.  

Could you imagine what his 1st Bowman Auto would fetch on eBay in this market if in his 1st week as a rookie?  His first three games in the majors he went 3 for 3 with 2 walks, had a 4 hit game and scored the winning run, then hit a walkoff homer in his 3rd career game and somehow had a batting average of .577!!!!  

So yes Jay Bruce didn't live up to the Larry Walker comparisons from his prospect days, but he still made 3 All Star Games, 2 Silver Sluggers, and collected 319 homers over his 14 seasons.

What are some memories you have of Jay Bruce?

If he was beginning his career, rather than ending it what player in today's game would you compare Jay Bruce to? 

The Hunt(er) For Reds This December

Quick!

What is the most famous baseball set of the past 10 years?

If you said, 2011 Topps Update you likely have been paying attention to the set that has some very expensive rookie cards like Mike Trout, Paul Goldschmidt, Jose Altuve, DJ LeMahieu, and many more.

I'm not interested in those though.  I am interested in one card in particular.

A Jay Bruce All-Star card?

As a Pirates fan, don't I hate the Reds?

Yup!!!

But this card not only has Hunter Pence, one of my favorite baseball personalities of the past decade, it also has an Andrew McCutchen cameo on the right.  

So if you thought that you're boxes of 2011 Topps Update couldn't yield anymore goodness, please take them out and look at them.  If you have any parallels of this card I am very interested.

I am looking for all parallels of this card.  Cognac, Silver Anniversary, Black, WalMart Blues, printing plates, Hope Diamonds, and most importantly Target Reds.  

Did you ever discover a card nearly a decade after it's printing that had a cameo on it of a favorite player of yours? 

23 All-Star Appearances on 1 Card

I have been counting down predominately using serial numbers or card numbers.

Today would be the 17th day before Opening Day.  I am certainly excited for that.

I am more excited to announce that in 23 days I am heading west for the Pirates home opener vs the Reds.

Here is a 1/1 card from 2010 Triple Threads highlighting 6 players that Topps thought would be Perennial All-Stars in the National League.

The players depicted on the card is a who's who of upcoming outfielders patrolling the National League at the time.

Justin Upton has been a 4x All-Star (2009, 2011, 2015, and 2017).

Ryan Braun leads the group with 6 All-Star appearances, but some of those numbers may be tainted as we later learned.  From 2008-2012 he was an All-Star.  He also represented the Brewers in 2015.

Hunter Pence had a comeback season last year and made his 4th All-Star appearance joining his resume for the 2009, 2011, and 2014 seasons.

Matt Kemp (who,was robbed of the 2011 MVP) was an All-Star in 2011 and 2012 and had a resurgent year in 2018 giving him 3 total All-Star Games.

Cutch represented the Pirates in 2011-2015 making 5 All-Star games and finishing in the top 5 for MVP in 2012 through 2015.  He won a player of month award in June 2017 and had better numbers than Josh Harrison at the time of the All-Star Game, but Cubs manager who was representing the National League liked Josh Harrison's versatility for the exhibition game more.

Jason Heyward had an incredible rookie season in 2010.  He hasn't made an All-Star game since.

 This 1/1 is the Platinum version.  I also have one of these booklets in the Emerald format (/18).  There are also Sepia, Sapphire, and Gold parallels of this book to chase.

All My Cutch Cards Featuring the Astros

I didn't have a chance to show these off during October because of the Save The Boobies event I was running (all pink cards while showing off some nice looking chests).w

Because the Astros are no longer a division rival and have been inclining while the Pirates have been declining there haven't been many cards of Cutch with members of the Astros.

That's not to say there aren't any though.

Here are a few of the ones I have.

Up first is my oldest card of Cutch with a member of the current Astros team and the cover athlete to Sports Illustrated bold prediction, George Springer.

Next up is the unsigned insert card.

Now for the (expected) AL MVP, Jose Altuve.
I have two different parallels to this quad relic.

Topps Heritage has been producing ad panels as box toppers in recent years.  The 2016 Pitt Power card is paired with Astros bullpen arm Collin McHugh.

Come with me on the way back machine as I take a look at my Cutch cards with Hunter Pence.  Pence was a long time member of the Astros before being traded to the Phillies in 2011.  The trade package included Jon Singleton, Jarred Cosart, Domingo Santana, and Josh Zeid.  While none of those players contributed to the 2017 Astros in a positive way, Cosart being traded to Miami for Jake Marisnick, Colin Moran, and Francis Martes who all played for the Astros in 2017.

Also pictured on this printing plate is former Astros Colby Rasmus.  Rasmus set a MLB record by recording an extra base hit in his first 6 career postseason games.  He was on the verge of a breakout campaign and likely could have been an All-Star for the Rays in 2017 before deciding he needed to take a step away from major league baseball.

Congratulations to the Houston Astros!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day (Lots of Green Cards)

Today is March 17th and many of us will be celebrating Saint Patrick's Day today.  Since it falls on a Friday, it also gives everyone a reason to go out drinking with friends.

I don't know how close I am to having 317 McCutchen green cards to celebrate 3/17, but I might set that as a goal for next year (that would be an insane goal).  In the meantime though here's my latest Green Cutch pickup.

A 2016 Donruss Optic /5 that cost a hefty penny to acquire.  Those things are ridiculously hard to find.

I will also show off 3 pages worth of green parallels.

And 17 "Hits" that are green parallels or green in color.

 This is my only Green booklet.

Next up are 3 sticker autos

Now for the relics
Up first are Green Foil Jersey Kings and Bat Kings.  After 3 attempts to rescan it, I gave up.  Trust me though that the foil is green.

Now for the rest of the relics

I couldn't decide what copies of the 2015 Strata /75 Green parallels I wanted to show so technically there's more than 17 shown above.  I just didn't want any of them to feel left out.

I hope everyone has fun tonight, but most importantly be safe.