Preview (AND CONTEST) of Save 2nd Base Event

With the current heat wave hitting New Jersey again, I can't wait for cooler weather.  I don't do well in 90+ degree heat and am hating this 92 degree weather everyday again.

Come soon October!!!!

The cooler weather isn't the only reason I want colder weather though.  (2019 Steelers Football is better than 2019 Pirates Baseball too)  It's also because I am looking forward to this year's Save Second Base Event.  This will be my fourth year (3 years on collectingcutch and 1 year on PiratesTreasureRoom) where I celebrate nothing but pink/magenta/peach cards for an entire month.

It is a fun month long event that I use to help bring awareness to breast cancer and hope that it grabs enough attention...

that some people go and donate to The Susan G. Women foundation.

I have plenty of cards to give out for this year's event and plenty of different contests to enter.  All contests will focus on the K or Second Base as we look to K Cancer and Save Second Base.

The first card I am going to offer up is this Troy Tulowitzki autograph.  Tulo announced his retirement from baseball about a month ago.  He finished his career with 225 HRs, .290 average, 5 All-Star games, 2 Silver Sluggers, and 2 Gold Gloves.  When people look back at the decade of 2008 to 2018, one of the first shortstops that will come to mind should be Troy Tulowitzki. He was elite on both sides of the field.

To win this card, simply say in a comment below who you think will be leading National League in doubles by end of the 2019 regular season.

Only National League teams qualify so any doubles hit by a player for part of a season with an American League team does not qualify.  (Sorry Nick Castelanos but all those doubles you hit in Detroit mean nothing now. )

Here are the current leaders

Contest entry closes September 1st.

Winner will be determined after the final regular season game is played. 

Must be a follower or frequent commenter of this blog/Twitter.

If multiple people select the same player, I will random off using random.org and hit the randomizer to an equal amount of people who selected the same player. (Example 6 people say Javy Baez and he leads in Doubles, I will random off 6 times).

If multiple players have the same Doubles total by end of season, the player with the fewest strikeouts on year gets the victory.

Let's K Cancer and Save Second Base!

As an added incentive anyone that pimps this contest ON THEIR BLOG linking to this entry will be randomed off to win an assortment of pink cards from this year's 2019 Topps Chrome.  Over 20 cards to win!

Thanks for Being a Loser, Greg Maddux...

Did the title of this post, get your attention?

I sure hope so, because had it not been for Greg Maddux losing a meaningless game to the Cincinnati Reds on September 28th, 2004 the Reds could have had a better draft position than the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2005 draft.  That Reds victory over the Cubs ensured that no matter what, the Pirates would be drafting ahead of the Reds even with a three game set to close out the 2004 season looming.

Of course it is well documented that the 2005 draft class was a great draft class with names like Justin Upton, Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Zimmerman, Andrew McCutchen, Jay Bruce, Ryan Braun, Alex Gordon, and the list goes on and on.

The Pirates had the 11th overall pick which they used on Andrew McCutchen and that pick transformed the entire organization.

The Reds used the following pick, 12th overall, on Jay Bruce.  Bruce was a highly touted prospect of his own and even cracked the top 5 overall prior to his call up.  An article was written on Blog Red Machine about Nick Senzel and the Reds prospect system since Jay Bruce made his debut.

Here are my cards of Cutch with Jay Bruce

 This dual on card autograph of Cutch and Bruce was released in 2012 Museum and is numbered to only 15 copies.

I also have a triple sticker autograph of Cutch, Bruce, and Troy Tulowitzki.

It is numbered 3 of 3 and was uncirculated.

Remembering The 2005 Draft

With the MLB Draft happening today I thought I would look back at the year my favorite player, Andrew McCutchen, was drafted by the Bucs.  The 2005 MLB draft is considered by many to be one of the greatest drafts in recent memory.  Of the first 50 overall picks, 10 of them went on to become an All-Star.  Only two of those ten were selected to only one All-Star Game (Ricky Romero and Jacoby Ellsbury).  Ryan Braun leads the class with 6 All-Star appearances while Andrew McCutchen and Troy Tulowitzki have 5 Midsummer Classic appearances.  Justin Upton has four and Jay Bruce and Alex Gordon have three selections.  The Nationals first ever draft selection, Ryan Zimmerman, has made two All-Star selections.

The First Round Selections have two MVP winners (Ryan Braun 2011 and Andrew McCutchen 2013), an ALCS MVP winner (Matt Garza 2008), and a handful of World Series Champions.

Matt Garza is the only player from this class to throw a No Hitter, having thrown the Tampa Bay Rays first ever NoNo.

The 2005 Class Was Stacked!!!!
I have been wanting to get as many 2005 draftee cards with Cutch as possible.

I have been eyeing up this card for a long time.  This particular card has three of the most notable draftees.  Andrew McCutchen and Jay Bruce had a dual signed Topps card, but this is my first auto with Troy Tulowitzki.

Tulo is a 5 time All-Star, 2 time Gold Glover (turned an unassisted triple play), 2 time Silver Slugger, and currently holds the MLB record for a career .985 fielding percentage at Shortstop.  Had it not been for injuries, Tulo was on a clear path to the Hall of Fame.  He finished in the top 10 MVP voting 3 times in his career and has the second most WAR of the draft class just a tick behind Ryan Braun and just a tick ahead of Cutch.

Jay Bruce was selected with the pick right after Cutch and has appeared in 3 All-Star Games and won 2 Silver Slugger awards.  He finished in the top 10 MVP voting twice.

Cutch and the Dodgers

There have been some reports surfacing that the Pirates and Dodgers might make a trade involving Josh Harrison and Cutch to the Dodgers. I highly doubt something like this would happen as the Pirates appear to want to remain competitive after the Ivan Nova signing and still appearing in on the Jose Quintana trade talks.

Thanks to this report and Greg's blog post about the package I sent him a few months back I decided to scan all the Cutch combo cards I have with Dodgers alumni Kershaw, Kemp, Gonzalez, Robinson, and Puig.

Here's the results

 That card above is just an absolute monster. It features some of the best players at each position. The Abreu and Stanton patches highlight my favorites of the card.

I wish there would be more inserts like this that highlight pitcher vs. hitter and how they match up verse each other.

Just another relic combo of some of the game's best players.

2 different versions of Team Pinnacle featuring Cutch and the Bison.

"Superstar" Centerfielders Cutch, Kemp, and Shane Victorino (?)
Really Victorino?

Triple Threads was really kind to Cutch and Kemp pairings in 2010 and 2011.

A pair of All star relics with Puig

My only A Gone relic in my collection.

And to finish it off, I have one of the greatest Dodgers of all time and the man who paved the way for non white athletes in  the US.