Upton Here, Upton Here

Each year during the month of October, I show off only pink (and shades of pink like magenta, peach, etc) to help raise awareness of Breast Cancer, a leading cause of death for females in the United States.  

Due to my own financial situation this year I will not be able to make a donation for each (meaningful, non spam) comment left by those that follow the blog.  Once things settle down on the home front though I will be looking to make a donation in 2022 based on the comments left during this year's event.  Hopefully together we can help at least one woman get a much needed mammogram.  Early detection is key!!!

If you want to make your own private donation please visit the National Breast Cancer Foundation.  There is a donate button on the main page and it only takes a minute of your time.  Every little bit helps.

I have focused primarily on cards that only feature Andrew McCutchen on the card, but in recent years have also featured cards with a cameo appearance (either being seen on the card or as a name cameo on the back of the card).  In 2019, I created Falco Files which discussed players that replaced (Shane Falco Replacements movie reference) on an active roster, number worn, or trade.  I will also be showing some Cutch's Crew cards that show pink cards of players that have played with Cutch on multiple teams. I will continue to utilize these styles of posts as we celebrate the 5th Collecting Cutch Save Second Base event (I am no longer counting my first run on the Pirates Treasure Room I did back in 2014).

I am always looking for new ways to incorporate new celebrities into the event, but today I am presenting a favorite of mine

Kate Upton

We all know who she is

She helped to promote MLB 2K12, which featured her now husband on the cover.

She has appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated

More than once...

She clearly is no stranger to baseball

One of the best memes for baseball was using rapper DMX's song lyrics Y'all Gonna Make Me Lose My Mind, Up in here, Up in here and converting it to a meme about the Upton brothers playing together in Atlanta (and again in San Diego)

Justin Upton has appeared on numerous cards with Andrew McCutchen over the years, mostly as relic cards.  I was able to secure a nice pair (no pun intended for this month's theme) of Cutch and Upton printing plates two years ago.

This is the magenta plate.

It is an uncirculated card from Just Minors.

You can view the cyan plate I showed off back in April 2019.  This post has been in draft mode for over two years waiting for the right time to show it off.  With the limited technology I have and my cards being all over NJ, I have had to resort to my scanned files of cards that I never showed off, but have scanned on a flash drive.

Have you ever drafted a post and waited over 2 years to show it off?  

Pirates of the Past

I thought it might be fun to look at cards that feature Andrew McCutchen with former teammates and do a "Where are they now?" type thing.

I got the idea from one of those ads that takes a look at a movie cast to see where they are now.  It was followed by watching the Friends Reunion show with Ms. CollectingCutch as we saw the faces of Matthew Perry, Courtney Cox, etc in their current appearance.

So the first person I am going to look at is Gerrit Cole. 

Gerrit Cole was drafted by the Yankees in the first round of the 2009 amateur draft, but chose not to sign and instead attended UCLA where he was drafted 1st overall by the Pirates in 2011.

Cole made his debut in 2013 and helped to push the Pirates towards their first playoff run in over two decades.  

He joined a young Pirates team loaded with talent that included the 2013 NL MVP (Andrew McCutchen) and the 2013 NL Home Run Champion (Pedro Alvarez)

Cole finished his rookie season going 10-7 with a 3.22 ERA over 19 games started.  He also went 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 0.64WHIP over 11 innings in the 2013 Postseason.

The following season saw the Pirates make another playoff push and finish with the top Wild Card position. Cole went 11-5 with a 9K/9 and 3.23FIP in his sophomore season.  The Pirates lost the Wild Card Game and Cole didn't get a chance to pitch in the postseason.  Meanwhile McCutchen continued to be a perennial MVP candidate (finishing 3rd in MVP voting) and helped anchor one of the best outfields in baseball.

The Pirates began 2015 the same way they finished 2014, as one of the youngest and best teams in baseball.  The young team constantly flirted with the best record in baseball behind their division rivals, St. Louis Cardinals.

Gerrit Cole emerged as a true ace of the Pirates pitching staff (that also included AJ Burnett, Charlie Morton, Francisco Liriano and saw top prospects Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow continue to rise in the minors).

Gerrit Cole received Cy Young votes (finishing fourth) and MVP votes while making his first All-Star team.

Cole was joined on the roster by MVP caliber Centerfielder, Andrew McCutchen along with rotation mate, AJ Burnett, and team closer Mark Melancon.

The 2015 Pirates finished with the second best record in baseball, but would again lose the Wild Card game. Cole started the game and was the losing pitcher.

The 2016 Pirates saw some significant changes occur.  Previous year rookie of year nominee (finished third) Jung Ho Kang struggled with injuries.  Andrew McCutchen had the worse season of his career after four straight top 5 MVP seasons.  Cole regressed significantly after a breakout 2015 campaign and suffered a 7-10 record, largely based on his 1.44WHIP.

The Pirates also made some significant moves by releasing Pedro Alvarez and trading away local fan favorite, Neil Walker.

The Pirates struggles continued into 2017 and the team that seemed destined to become a constant postseason threat by having a top 5 MLB team (at least according to record) along with a top 5 farm system was making changes.

Just before New Year's 2018, the two faces of the franchise were traded away within days of each other.

Gerrit Cole was traded to Houston for a package that included Joe Musgrove, Colin Moran, and Jason Martin.

Cutch was shipped off to the San Francisco Giants for Bryan Reynolds and Kyle Crick.

Cole became a different pitcher in Houston and improved his spin rate becoming one of the best pitchers in the game.  

He made the All Star team both seasons in Houston and would lead the American League in K/9 both years.  In his 65 starts with Houston he went 35-10 with a 2.68ERA and 602 strikeouts over 412 innings.  His K/9 jumped from 8.4 with Pittsburgh to 13.1 with Houston.

Following the 2019 World Series, Cole became a Free Agent and signed with the team that originally drafted him.

In 148 innings with the Yankees, Cole alread has struck out nearly 200 batters and has a miniscule 2.54 ERA to go with a 13-6 record. 

In 18 postseason innings with the Yankees last year, Cole struck out 30 batters and won both games he was involved in a decision.

Should I look at other former teammates of Cutch and show off some of my cards with that player?

Hoppy Easter

 Hoppy Easter!!!

I mean Happy Easter

K Cancer Contest

The Playoffs teams have all been revealed and a number of teams look to be built for a deep October run.

Kate Upton, Jennifer Lopez, and Emily Ratajkowski will all be appearing in October for my 4th Annual Save Second Base Event.

The question is...
Which of the team caps pictured will have pitchers throw more strikeouts?

Will the 3 headed monster lead by Kate Upton's husband, Justin Verlander, paired up with Gerrit Cole and Zack Greinke take down the opposition?

Will the great Yankees bullpen shut down batters as the Bronx Bombers slug their way to a 28th Championship?

Will it be
The Los Angeles Dodgers lead by future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw deliver a Hollywood picture and the Dodgers capture their first World Series Title since 1988?

OR
Could it be another team?
It will all play out in October and here is the prize.


2018 Clearly Authentic Jose Berrios (ON CARD AUTO)

Now for the rules:
1)Must be a follower on twitter or frequent reader/commenter here.
2)USA residents only
3)Select which team will have the most striekouts by a team pitching staff
3a)Tie Breaker: pick a pitcher on that team's playoff roster starting staff and predict how many strikeouts he will have by end of Post Season.  Closest without going over wins.
4)Contest closes Tuesday morning October 1st at 7am Eastern Time/4am Pacific Time


Please share this contest and comment if you shared it.
I will randomly select one person who pimped the contest and they will receive an assortment of pink baseball cards.

All contest winners will be revealed in a recap post November 1st.

How sweep it is...

I love MLB authentication on cards.

This Definitive card features a uniform worn by Cutch July 2nd to July 4th against the Colorado Rockies.

The Giants were swept by the Rockies.

Anyone else love to celebrate the 4th of July early with these pops?

America!

The (Evil) Empire Strikes Back

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Visit the official site here.

Breast Cancer will be detected in one of eight women in the US each year.

It is the second leading cause of cancer death among women each year.

On average every 2 minutes a woman will be diagnosed with breast cancer and every 13 minutes one person will die from breast cancer.
There are currently 33 million breast cancer survivors in the USA.

It's important to support the research for cancer.  Breast Cancer is often associated with the color pink so I will be showing off some pink Cutch cards.

In addition, you can expect to see some boobs with each post.  Who doesn't love boobs?

So let's start with what we're hoping to save!

I have no idea who this is, but it certainly is an attention grabber....and it features a nice look at this month's prominent color.

The Yankees are on the brisk of elimination at their rival, the Boston Red Sox. While I don't like the "Evil Empire" I do enjoy the thought of two of my favorite Pirates in recent years (Neil Walker and Andrew McCutchen) having the chance to play deeper into the postseason.

Here are my top 5 women wearing Yankees hats to try and hope they can pull out a victory so that Cutch may chase his World Series ring.

1. Kate Upton

2. Jennifer Lopez

3. Minka Kelly

4. Christina Aguilera (how dare you betray the Burgh)

5. Selena Gomez


To the surprise of many fans, this isn't the first time that Cutch has worn pinstripes. During his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cutch would wear an alternate pinstripe uniform.

It can be seen on this 2009 Topps Update 1/1 Magenta Printing Plate. It's his rookie card.

I remember getting this plate from Sportlots for only $15 in 2010.  That was a massive coup for me.

Who's On Your Mt. Rushmore?

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Visit the official site here.

Breast Cancer will be detected in one of eight women in the US each year.

It is the second leading cause of cancer death among women each year.

On average every 2 minutes a woman will be diagnosed with breast cancer and every 13 minutes one person will die from breast cancer.
There are currently 33 million breast cancer survivors in the USA.

It's important to support the research for cancer.  Breast Cancer is often associated with the color pink so I will be showing off some pink Cutch cards.

In addition, you can expect to see some boobs with each post.  Who doesn't love boobs?

So let's start with what we're hoping to save!

I am still looking for more names so keep those suggestions coming.

If I had to pick my 4 favorite ladies to admire it would be some combination of

Kate Upton

Alexandra Daddario

(Alexandra will appear later this month so stay tuned...)

Christina Hendricks would make the list obviously

And to round it out, I would go with Scarlett Johansson.

The Verlander brothers are both very lucky that they get the combination of Kate Upton and Alexandra Daddario for holiday get togethers.

The reason I ask about your Rushmore is because of this 2018 Topps Chrome Pink Refractor.

According to the back of this 2018 Topps Chrome Pink Refractor, Cutch was on the verge of putting himself on the Pirates Mount Rushmore of All Time Greats.  I would have to agree that he falls on the list, but realistically the top 4 should always be Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Bill Mazeroski, and Honus Wagner.  Cutch might one day get his number retired, but until he brings a championship to the Steel City and gets a statue he won't be part of the Mt. Rushmore talks despite all his offensive leading stats at PNC Park.

With his trade this year and hitting free agency I don't forsee Cutch coming back to the Pirates unless it's during his final year and in a similar pinch hit, backup role similar to what Aramis Ramirez was during the 2015 season stretch.

It has been a fun postseason so far.  I'm pulling for the Astros to repeat so Charlie Morton can get another ring and Gerrit Cole can get his first.

If that doesn't happen let's go Yankees.
Get Cutch a Ring!!!!

Congrats to Justin Verlander. Not only did you play hero last postseason...you got the girl.
#thestuffdreamsaremadeof
#2018MLBPostSeason
#NeedMoreKate