Counting Stats?

I hate to say this, but my favorite athlete of all time is getting close to that retirement age.  Far too often we see players retire in their mid 30s.  Very few play until they're in their late 30s or early 40s.  Those that do are often legends and no doubt Hall of Famers.

Again I hate to say this, but I'm not sure there is enough on Cutch's resume to declare a no doubt Hall of Fame nod.

For every Lloyd Waner or Ralph Kiner in the Hall of Fame there are guys like Luis Gonzalez, Steve Garvey, Dale Murphy, Kenny Lofton, and Bernie Williams that never really came close to the Hall of Fame, but had really good career counting stats.

While Cutch certainly has had key moments in his career he never had that one career defining moment, that clutch postseason at bat or that spotlight on him.  Sure he's had the spotlight on him in his early part of his Pittsburgh career, but taking a franchise with 2 decades of losing records into the postseason three years in a row was basically just noticed by the fans of Pittsburgh.  I'm not sure the rest of the nation got a chance to see how special Andrew was to the franchise.  

He was one of the best hitters of the past decade, but largely goes undervalued and under appreciated by the casual fans.

Not to me though (obviously).  

Cutch was and is my favorite athlete ever.  I got back into baseball in 2005 when I attended a Pirates baseball game in Philadelphia.  It was the first time since the 1994 strike shortened season that I attended a baseball game.  

I fell back in love with the game and decided that I would start up a baseball card collection again and researched the Pirates future.  They had just drafted a teenager named Andrew McCutchen and I knew if he ever made it to the majors I would start collecting all of his cards.  I had no idea how difficult that task would become in the parallel era of collecting we are currently experiencing in the hobby.  I also had no idea how much the hobby had changed since 1994 when I gave up on collecting baseball cards.  There were so many rare low numbered cards that I never knew existed.  

I've been told that my player collection has helped inspire others to collect more heavily their favorite players and I'm honored that I have been able to do that.

Someone that inspires others can sometimes be called a luminary.

Andrew McCutchen helps inspire me.

Look closer at this 2021 Topps Luminaries autograph and you'll see why I am being inspired on a daily basis from my favorite baseball player.  

When it comes to my collection I have tried to keep pace with Cutch by having an equal amount of 1/1s to the number of Home Runs hit by Cutch.  They can be printing plates, Superfractors, color parallels (red for Big League Baseball, gold for Topps Now, etc), Logoman patches, sketch cards, etc etc etc...

This Luminaries card has a bold 243 on the front signifying that Cutch has hit 243 homeruns entering the 2021 season.

While this card isn't a 1/1 it does remind me of all the work I need to do to keep pace with Cutch.

Cutch had hit another 27 round trippers over the course of the 2021 season bringing his 270.  

Looks like I've got some serious work to do during the off season as I will need to add 18 more 1/1 cards to the PC prior to Cutch's 2022 debut as I am at 252 one of ones in the collection.

I'll show off one of my more recent 1/1 pickups tomorrow.

Do you keep track of your player collections compared to any of that player's numbers?  

Some examples could be 

Having an Ozzie Smith autograph collection equal to his Jersey number (1)

Having 355 Greg Maddux base cards equal to his career Win Total

Having 73 Barry Bonds insert cards (equal to the historic 2001 season

Having 1,271 Tino Martinez cards equal to his career RBI total 

One More Day

The Road to Opening Day stands at only one more night's sleep.

Who's ready for some baseball?

This is the 2019 Topps Now Road to Opening Day autograph edition.  I have 3 of the parallels red/10, purple/25, base/99.

There are 3 parallels that I still need.
Blue/49
Orange /5
Gold /1

A Legendary Debut

Orange parallels make for interesting looking cards.

 The black parallel numbered 1/1 would be my top choice, but I liked this 2019 Inception orange parallel numbered to 10 copies enough to pick it up last year.

This is 1 of about 40+ autographs of Cutch that I haven't catalogued or shown off yet.  Yup, you read that correctly.

 I am considering making a YouTube collection channel to show off because I think it would be easier to say words and show cards under a light instead of scanning and typing.  Would you follow me on YouTube to view my collection?

Cutch SP Challenge Day 3: Immaculate Savings

Day 3 of the 2020 SP Cutch Frenzy Challenge delivered an awesome card for the Cutch collection that I didn't already have.  It was an immaculate haul and helped offset some of the prices I overpaid for the two 2020 parallels (vintage and fathers day blue) due to the relatively new release.

If you aren't familar with my 2020 SP Frenzy Challenge I took the funds available that could have been spent on buying the 2020 SP Cutch "swag" photo variant and instead used it to buy items I needed for my Cutch collection.  The real challenge was I could only buy cards at the height of the SP Frenzy when they were going for $200-$300 regularly.  This all occurred between the evening of June 27th to the morning of June 30th.  Roughly 48 hours was the stretch of this card going for on average $250.

I was able to knock out 1 card on my top 10 list during that time and also was able to add an on card autograph too.  These are both pretty sweet adds to the collection if you asked me.

I had the 1/1 version of the autograph you're going to see below, but being able to add another on card autograph with a print run of ONLY 5 COPIES to the collection seemed like a good move.

People can hate on Panini for not having logos, but when they choose images like this, it's not as noticeable as other images they choose to use. The piping is still noticable on the pants for the team colors and the helmet is turned at a way that you can't tell the "P" is missing.

The card was purchased through an eBay auction via Seven Out Cards & Collectibles

It came shipped incredibly well and I highly recommend them for any future auctions they have.

The card ran me $38.25 delivered.
This brings the totals for the SP Frenzy Challenge to $83.14

That may sound like a lot of money (and it is), but that is still only ONE THIRD the price the 2020 SP Cutch card was getting at the height of the frenzy.  I still had over $160 to play with for getting cards I need during the SP Frenzy Challenge.  I'm still waiting on my COMC order (obviously) and about a dozen other eBay purchases to roll in.

1 more 1 of 1

Many athletes these days have unrecognizable signatures.  Often they will just do initials and even they can be questioned if those initials look like the player's actual initials. 

Cutch has a sweet looking autograph.
The A in Andrew is very obvious and rather than signing McCutchen he just signs Cutch, a portion of his name he has been known for since his debut.

Here's a 1 of 1 from 2017 Immaculate I have had for a few years, but never showed off.

It checks off two of my favorite parts of the Cutch collection

On Card Autograph ✔
1 of 1 ✔

This Immaculate Signature is number 15 in the set.

It's only 15 days until Opening Day.

Ho hum...Five Star Friday

It's Five Star Friday

Ho hum...

Just another Five Star Silver Ink Autograph from 2019

Ho hum...

It's only numbered to 30 copies

Ho hum...

It goes nicely with this one I showed off back in November

Ho hum...

Serial History: 1925 Yankees

Today I will be looking at the year 1925 again as part of my Serial History.

Serial History is a segment I have done only a few times before.  You can see my others by clicking here.

I have already shown off a card of Cutch wearing a Pirates uniform and serial numbered 19/25.  That made me look at the World Series Champions of that year lead by guys like Pie Traynor.

Cutch
19/25 Bazooka back from 2019 Gypsy Queen featuring Cutch in a Yankees uniform

The 1925 Yankees

I have been seeking out autographs of those who wore a Pirates uniform and are inducted in the Hall of Fame.  Hoyt did play a few seasons with the Pirates between 1933 to 1937.  His best years were with the Yankees when he was selected to three All-Star games and lead the American League in Wins in 1923.

What is odd about this card is that it specifically says Yankees on the back.  Panini had already lost it's MLB license by 2011 so technically it couldn't shouldn't have used the team name without facing legal problems.  I am not sure if anything legally came from Panini's unauthorized use of the team name, but I find this cut auto to be kind of neat because of that.

The 1925 Yankees were not a good baseball team, which is surprising because just a few years later you see a lineup referred to as Murderer's Row and is often cited as one of the best lineups in baseball history.

The 1925 Yankees finished 30 games behind the Washington Senators.  The team finished in 7th place and well below .500 with a record of 69-85.  This season would be the last time the Yankees would finish below .500 for the next 40 years and it was only the second time in their 23 year history that they finished below .500.

The main reason for their failures to win games rested on Babe Ruth missing most of the season with an unknown illness that limited him to only 359 plate appearances.

Sam Jones was the team's featured starter, opening 43 games, but to a 4.63 ERA and a. 15-21 record while recording less than 100 strikeouts.

Lou Gehrig, in his first full season (126 games) began his long "Iron Horse" streak on June 1st 1925 and would go on to play in every regulation game until May 2nd 1939.  In 1925 as a 22 year old he swatted 20 homers, third only to Ruth and Bob Meusel, while batting a .295/.365/.561 line.

Bob Meusel lead the Team in homeruns (33) and RBI (134).  He also had a practically even strikeout (55) to walk (54) rate at the plate.  On the basepaths he finished second on the team with 13 stolen bases.  He finished second in WAR on the time (above Ruth and Gehrig).  The only player who collected a higher WAR was...

Another Hall of Famer Earle Combs.  Combs, like Gehrig, was playing in his first full season at the age of 26 years old.  He went on to score nearly 1,200 runs in his 12 year career, all with the Yankees.  His career total numbers don't appear great with less than 1,900 hits, only 58 homers, and less than 100 stolen bases in comparison to other centerfielder in the HOF.  Despite not having a single defining moment or duration, his peak and being atop those famous Yankees lineups no doubt got him voted in.  It should be,noted that he walked 670 times in his career, but only struck only 278 times.  That lead to his nearly .400 OBP career mark.

Memorial Day

Millions and millions of Americans will celebrate Memorial Day today.

Sadly, the true meaning of the National holiday has been forgotten and it has unofficially become the start of the summer.  For me it means relaxing by a pool or the shore and/or watching a baseball game while drinking beers and grilling some hotdogs and burgers.

Here are a pair of 2018 Flawless National Team USA cards I have.  Cutch didn't receive the Ruby parallel.  He is only listed for the Gold and Blue as seen in the picture above along with a black (never seen it available)

The back discusses how Cutch lead Team USA 18 under squad with the most walks and scored the second most runs for the team.  These traits remain active as he leads all National League players in walks, hits, and runs scored since his 2009 MLB debut.

What are some of your Memorial Day traditions?

Serial History: Legendary Yankees?

I have a ridiculous amount of Andrew McCutchen baseball cards.  Sometimes I get writer's block and can't think of things to write about regarding a one time perennial MVP candidate who is having declining years ahead of him.

However....

I discovered something while looking at this incredible on card autograph of Cutch from 2019 Inception.

Not only is it just one of a handful of Cutch autographs featured in a short lived Yankees uniform, but it is very low numbered.

The serial number on this card is 6/10.

Anyone who knows anything about Yankees baseball knows the Yankees have retired numbers 1-10 from being worn in the future. 

Number 6 was worn by Hall of Fame manager, Joe Torre

Torre famously managed the Yankees for a decade and won the World Series four times in that period.  He collected 2,342 hits as a player for the Braves, Cardinals, and Mets.

Torre is a baseball lifer having worked in many aspects of the business.  As a player he is often forgotten for having a great career.  A 9 time All-Star, Torre won the National League MVP, batting title, and RBI crown in 1971.  In addition to those accomplishments he won a gold glove in 1965.

Number 10 was worn by Hall of Famer, Phil Rizzuto. 

Prior to the outcry of Harold Baines being the worse player inducted into the Hall of Fame, many felt Phil Rizzuto was the worse.

His career WAR was just over 40 wins above replacement which is 4 wins less than Troy Tulowitzki.  He missed three of his prime years due to service in the Navy, but finished with only a .706 career OPS.
SEVEN ZERO SIX!!!

Still with an MVP, 6 All-Star appearances, and 7 World Championships he is a legendary Yankee.  Prior to Derek Jeter, he was often considered the greatest Yankees shortstop of all-time despite amassing less than 1,600 career hits.

My only memory of Phil Rizzuto comes from the movie Billy Madison when Adam Sandler's titular character can't write Rizzuto in cursive.

This idea of looking at serial numbers for inspiration is something I will be doing at least once a month going forward.  It will be a segment I call Serial History where I look at the serial numbers and discuss them.  

A 2015 card of Cutch in a Pirates uniform may be numbered 19/25 so I may look at the Pirates team from the year 1925 or I may look at how many winning seasons the Pirates had since 1925 or maybe the Pirates players who wore 19 and 25 or maybe what pop culture things were happening in 1925 and how relevant was that to 2015.  

The possibilities with over 1,500 serially numbered cards of Cutch are almost endless regarding what I can come up with.

Spin Master

It's Friday night.  Let's hit the club with Spin Master Cutch.

Cutch has always been a jovial player. Staying loose in the clubhouse is important to him.

Even when he is on the basepaths he is having fun

Celebrating after winning the MVP, Yeah lets do a lil jig

And of course let's show the world how fun the USA is

In today's modern analytics, Cutch is a master of the spin.  He has crushed curve balls over the past few seasons, leading all major leaguers against the curve.

In 2017 he had a 1.207 OPS

They've Arrived!!!

Three more 1/1 on card autographs from 2018 Archives Signature Current Player Edition arrived.

While I am slightly disappointed that between 7 redemptions I received ZERO Heritage cards, I am grateful I got a few parallels with the latest batch.

Here Is the latest offerings that Topps sent my way.

2016 Bowman's Best
2017 Topps Chrome Prism Refractor
2011 Bowman Gold parallel

I doubt I will go after anymore redemptions, but if I see any Heritage or Flagship already redeemed I will likely try to acquire them.

He's Still Very Good

So many hobbyists look at the "decline" of Andrew McCutchen and have basically written his career as being over.

With my recent extended stay on vacation I was browsing some sold items on eBay that I missed out on and am shocked at how cheap some of these cards had sold for.

One Prime Example is a pair of Chrome cards that sold for less than $10 combined
2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Gold/50
2018 Topps Chrome Red /5
2017 Honus Bonus HomeRun Date 1/1

Back in 2013 these cards would have pulled in roughly $30 to $50 each.  Now they can be had for under $5.  While I missed out on all of these auctions I did enjoy my time in Florida and have not been as obsessive about trying to acquire every McCutchen card on the planet especially since he no longer plays for my favorite team.

That being said, when I see that black and gold (yellow) appear on cardboard I really want to add it to the collection.

Such was the case with this Immaculate Patch On Card Auto numbered to 5 that I purchased before my vacation.

On Card Autographs of Cutch are tough to find as many of his early autos with Topps were sticker autographs.  I think that is why I have been so excited about the 2018 Archives Buyback Autographs as they are all 1/1s and are all On Card and are all Pirates uniforms.

My question to those in the hobby is why is collecting Cutch getting so much cheaper?  I understand he isn't a top 5 MVP candidate anymore and doesn't have his signature dreadlocks, but he is still a star in the game.

He is still having a better batting average than Rhys Hoskins, Bryce Harper, and Kyle Schwarber for the year.  Given the choice of having to put them in a corner outfield spot, I have more confidence in Cutch making the play than the other 3 although Harper is right there with Cutch in my opinion.

With so many players hitting homeruns these days, did you know that Cutch will soon be in pretty exclusive territory of having 8 straight seasons of 20+ HR?  The only other player to hit 20+ HR in the most recent 8 seasons are Giancarlo Stanton (9 straight seasons) and Jose Bautista (with 8 more HR he will have most recent 9 seasons so it is very unlikely he gets to 9).  Other stars either don't have the length yet or have had injury plagued seasons (Pujols).  Cutch only needs to hit 1 HR in next 14 games to achieve that feat.  Seven of those games are held in New York with the remaining seven split between Tampa and Boston.

So as the market for Cutch continues to shift to cards being cheaper, it's good to know that he is still one of the game's best despite being on "the decline".

This Day in Cutchstory: game used materials

Topps often reminds us on the back of their cards that the materials used are not from any specific season, game, or event.  While football fans often blast Panini the same way baseball fans blast Topps, my only complaint is the lack of logos.

My favorite release year in and year out is National Treasures.  The effort Panini puts into the product is what a high end release should be.

My favorite new addition was the Dated Materials subset produced where they actually tell you what game the jersey was used and how the player did.  You might have missed my writeup about it last year, but can click here to see the card in question.

Obviously I own a lot of Andrew McCutchen relics as I currently have over 2,200 unique cards of the 2013 NL MVP.

It is safe to assume that my latest pickup (which was free thanks to eBay bucks savings) has a giant swatch from that same jersey worn on May 7th, 2015.
Oh and it's a few days late for Star Wars day as it is another 4/5 card.

On May 7, 2015 Cutch lead the Pirates to a 7-2 victory over the Reds thanks to a 3 for 4 performance and a strong pitching performance by AJ Burnett.

Even with the victory the Pirates were only 13-15 on the young season, 2 games under .500.  They would go on to win 97 that season.

Cutch known for being a slow starter was able to raise his batting average above the Mendoza line creating a slash line of .210/.302/.320 which extends to a .622 OPS.  He would finish the season 5th in NL MVP voting, earn his 5th All-Star appearance, 4th Silver Slugger and a slash line of .295/.401/.488 good for an OPS .889. He had the 4th highest offensive WAR that year in the senior circuit.

The back of the card talks about Cutch's performance on May 17th which I will discuss in a future post.

My favorite card of 2017

Tom is doing his Favorite card of the year on his Blog again.  I encourage everyone to check out the cards posted.  There's some great ones out there.

I'm going to talk a little bit about mine now.

Panini has been the only manufacturer producing autograph cards of Cutch for the past two years.  Topps has stuck to giving us just patches and swatches of the former MVP.

Last year's National Treasures release had a few booklets with sticker autographs.

This year NT provided more sticker autographs, but there was one card that really stood out to me.

The same day I saw this and was already negotiating arrangements to get it into my possession a few of you reached out to make me aware of it's existence.

This card is a monster addition to the PC.

Jolly Roger sleeve patch -CHECK
Laundry Tag patch -CHECK
QR code - CHECK
1/1 -CHECK
On Card Autograph -CHECK

The only thing missing from the card is a Pirates "P" team logo helmet.

The First On Card Autograph since 2012

It has been years since fans were given ON CARD autographs by Cutch.  5 years in fact.

If you remember I recently showed all my certified autographs (125 at the time).  This is the 4th autograph I have added since that post.

2017 Immaculate delivered a handful of on card autographs with jersey patches.  Literally a handful.

Numbered to only 5 copies these on card, logo patch cards feature a throwback uniform wearing McCutchen.

The back of the card highlights how clutch Cutch is late in games.

There are several other Cutch autos in 2017 Immaculate and I will be looking to add them.