The Last Catcher to Win MVP is Retiring

It's being rumored that Buster Posey will be retiring today.  I have some really amazing cards featuring Cutch with Buster Posey. 

This 2015 Immaculate Collection card features 9 (YES 9!!!!) patches of some the game's best (at that time) players at each position.

Pitcher- Clayton Kershaw

Catcher - Buster Posey

1B - Jose Abreu

2B - Robinson Cano

3B - Miguel Cabrera (he moved to 3rd so Prince Fielder could play 1st for the Tigers)

SS - Troy Tulowitzki

Outfielders - Giancarlo Stanton, Andrew McCutchen, Mike Trout

The card is limited to only 10 copies and is serially numbered on the back.

Troy Tulowitzki is the only player on this side to not win an MVP award.  The last shortstop to win MVP was Jimmy Rollins in 2007.  

Ribinson Cano is the only player on this side to not win an MVP.  The last Second Baseman to win the MVP was Jose Altuve in 2017.

Buster Posey had a tremendous 12 year career and looked to completely reignite his career after taking 2020 off for COVID concerns.  He finished his career with many accomplishments.

The biggest knocks on Posey will be only 1,500 career hits and only 729 RBI.  

Joe Mauer retired after the 2018 season and Yadier Molina is retiring after next season.  All three could be candidates for the Hall of Fame as they were perennial All Stars year after year.  The Hall of Fame ballot could get loaded with deserving guys in the next few years especially if the steroid guys stay on the ballot (Rodriguez, Ortiz, Manny)

Cutch and Posey were teammates in 2018 so I do have some relic cards featuring both Cutch and Posey.  

Among them are a few low numbered cards including the above 1/1 from Topps Tribute featuring a Majestic logo for Cutch and part of the Giants lettering for Buster.

By far though, this is my favorite Buster Posey card.  It's a triple patch relic of Brandon Crawford (featuring a bold Giants logo sleeve patch)

Buster Posey (featuring the R in San Francisco from a road grey jersey)

Andrew McCutchen (featuring a G from a white Giants home jersey)

Do you have any favorite Buster Posey cards in your collection?

Do you think he makes the Hall of Fame? 

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?

With the 1st Overall Pick...

The MLB Draft was last night and the Pirates went in a direction I probably wouldn't have gone if I was the General Manager, but I am not the GM so I guess it's not right for me to question someone else trying to make their mark on something I have no control over.

The Pirates drafted college backstop Henry Davis who has been compared to other #1 overall catchers drafted in Joe Mauer and Adley Ruschmann.  

If Henry Davis can turn into a Russel Martin or Yadier Molina leader type behind the plate with above average offense, I will be very happy with this pick.  I think Jack Leiter will become a future Cy Young winner one day, but that's just my prediction. 

The Pirates have had the number one overall pick 4 previous times having drafted 3rd Baseman Jeff King and college pitchers Kris Benson, Bryan Bullington, and Gerrit Cole.  

Cole is the only one of that group to become an All Star in Pittsburgh when he was selected to the 2015 All Star Game along with Andrew McCutchen, Mark Melancon, and AJ Burnett.

I have shown off some of my Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen pairings in the past, many as recent as last month.

With the draft it is important to plant a seed for a future and recognize what is currently in the system and what will be coming in the future.

The franchise has a major lack of depth at the catcher position in the minors.  The Pirates have only one catcher in their top 30 prospects, Endy Rodriguez, and he profiles to not be able to stick at the position long term.  Rodriguez came to the Pirates as part of the 3 team trade that saw Joe Musgrove go to San Diego and Joey Lucchesi go to the Mets.

The Pirates talent pipeline is loaded with middle infield prospects (4 of top 15 prospects) and that isn't even taking into account their current MLB roster which features All Star Adam Frazier and former first round draft picks Cole Tucker and Kevin Newman.  The team is also very rich in the right handed pitcher department in the minors with seven of their top 12 prospects being right handed starters.

The Pirates saw success in the majors from 2013 to 2015 when the core of their team featured multiple 1st Round draft picks (Neil Walker-2B, Pedro Alvarez-3B, Andrew McCutchen-CF, Gerrit Cole-SP) and homegrown Latin America signings (Starling Marte-LF and Gregory Polanco-RF) all around the diamond.  

By drafting catcher Henry Davis to go with middle infield and starting pitcher franchise strengths, the Pirates are building towards the future with a high contact rate and pitching in mind.  

The Pirates are clearly in a rebuild right now.  They have a few pieces in place for the future already with Ke'Bryan Hayes, Kevin Newman, and Brian Reynolds still under team control through roughly 2026 the next great Pirates teams could feature yesterday's first overall pick, Henry Davis, being the signal caller.

Did you watch any of the MLB Draft?

Are you happy with your team's selection?

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

Nate Delivers an eBay 1/1

You may remember that last year Nate from Bucs Stop Here sent me a card that was a top 5 want list item.  I reciprocated with an epic mail day (his words, not mine).

Well...we are back at it again.
Nate sent me this Blue parallel dual jersey relic I needed for my collection.

It's an "eBay 1/1" (numbered 50/50)

Nate also included one of those Chipz that Topps produced.

Thank you Nate for the trade.  I sent yours out today so you should be getting it in the next few days.

The Firsts of Firsts

There was a lot of requests made for some famous black history that was made in relativity to them being the firsts to do it.  I am going to do a combination post on some of them and relate it to this card you see below.

The above 2019 Topps Tribute black parallel is a dual patch relic card of Buster Posey and Andrew McCutchen.  The pair were teammates for the 2018 season.

This black parallel is numbered 1/1.

🏒Willie O'Ree 🏒

Willie O'Ree was the first black player in the NHL.  The 5ft9inch winger broke the hockey color barrier in 1957.  He stated that Jackie Robinson was an inspiration to him and that he met Jackie when he was younger.  In November 2018, O'Ree was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

He played only a few seasons with the Boston Bruins, but like Robinson helped pioneer black athletes in hockey.

Similar to the Roberto Clemente award in baseball, in 2018 the Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award was created to spotlight an individual who has made the culture and community better through their outreach and hockey.
Darcy Haugan and Rico Phillips have won the 2018 and 2019 awards respectively.



🎾Althea Gibson 🎾

Althea Gibson was born in South Carolina in 1927 and faced much adversity in her path to become one of the first black athletes to cross the color barrier of international tennis. She grew up on a cotton farm and during the aftermath of the Great Depression.

In 1956 she became the first African American to win a Grand Slam (French Championships).  The next year she won Wilbeldon and (what eventually became known as) the US Open.  She won them both again the following year.  In 1957 and 1958 she was voted Female Athlete of The Year by the Associated Press.

In her career she won 11 Grand Slam tournaments and would eventually be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and International Women's Sports Hall of Fame.

Venus and Serena Williams have stated In numerous interviews over the years that they are honored to follow in Gibson's footsteps.

In the early 1960s she also became the first black player to compete in Women's Professional Golf Tour.  More information about Althea's golf career can be found here.



 🏃🏈 🎾I will spotlight other black athletes who helped break the color barriers as the month goes on. 👣 🏃🏈

Sign Stealing!?

The Astros sign stealing scandal going through baseball is going to leave a bad mark on the sport for many many years to come.  With early rumors of video surveillance to garbage can hitting to buzzers on players shoulders, there are now more questions than ever about how far teams will go to try and win.

With that being said, the 2017 World Series Champions Houston Astros won on the road where they didn't have an advantage.

The 2019 Champions, Washington Nationals, won 4 games on the road where the Astros supposedly had a homefield advantage. 

I believe that cheaters should be punished and I believe that the appropriate disciplines have been set in motion.  3 managers lost their jobs.  1 GM lost their job.  4 future draft picks were removed from potentially joining the corrupt organization. 

George Springer is still a Sports Illustrated Hero.

The city of Houston, which had suffered so much during the summer of 2017 due to a hurricane that is still impacting people's lives in and around the city, used the surging Astros to rally their entire city around.

There is no need for asterisks.  There is no need to remove an MVP from Jose Altuve. 

The only need that should be implemented is changing the way the game is viewed going forward and having MLB more involved in what goes on in the clubhouse. 

Make every game of a 162 season feel like an NFL game.  Make the games viewership feel interactive.

Baseball has the strongest amount of history and tradition of any of the 4 major sports.  And that is what is hurting the sport.

You want to make the game more enjoyable and accessible to the viewer?  Put a camera BEHIND the catcher.  Let viewers see what the look of a Clayton Kershaw curveball looks like compared to his fastball.  Try hotting a Michael Kopech fastball.  Or a Gerrit Cole slider. 

All the best video games relating to baseball have a view where "you're in the box".  Let the fans see that famous Willie Stargell quote truly makes "hitting a round ball with a round bat square on" is one of the most difficult things in sports.

Then let's see how many signs are stolen. 

I miss the Pirates Zoltan symbol of celebration when they did something good in a game.  It was unique to the city and helped the fan base interact with the players.  It's the same thing the Nationals did this year with the Baby Shark celebration or the Cubs and the magic hands celebration. 

Steal those signs baseball.

Don't steal the signs of the catcher!

Pops Hat Patch and Rookie Card

It's my dad's birthday today.  I have always called him dad, but my brother (because of his strange Speed Racer fandom) always called him Pops.  I joke with my dad that my younger brother has aged him more than I ever did.

Happy 60th Dad!

Here are my Pops and Cutch cards in my collection.

This is a 2019 hat patch of Willie Stargell aling with some arm sleeve piping from a Spring Training jersey.  The card is Star Wars Day numbering (4 of 5).

Topps Heritage has used the combo of Cutch with Pops A LOT

Topps Museum has also paired these Steel City legends up often.

And to wrap things up are a few more Steel City MVPs with other Fan Favorite Pirates of yesteryear on Triple Threads

I also finally added a long standing want by picking up a Willie Stargell rookie card for $40.

The card is in decent shape for vintage and the front displays very well

The back is a little rough.

The Debut of Patches Malone

The 2015 Diamond King set reminds me of the posters for Dark Knight Rises.

For proof see below...

Here is the poster not super cropped

Batman created an alter ego called Matches Malone when he was investigating the criminal underground.

Maybe unlicensed cardboard of Cutch will be looked at by Patches Malone.