A Royal Hit: Home Run Worn Jersey Patch

Being a Supercollector causes me to search for any cardboard related to Cutch. Sometimes I come across some horrific looking sketch cards and often times I come across cards I already have.

Occassionally though, I come across some nice custom unlicensed cards of the Pirates Franchise Face.

Well sorta....

Because Hits Memorabilia doesnt have any licensing rights, they try to show images that are easiest to "airbrush" the logos out.

(Totally off topic question...will the cards still be referenced as having been airbrushed 30 years from now or will it just be called digitally removed?)

This card is sharp looking though.

It has a simple design and a beautiful looking patch with the Spring Training  markings.

It was acquired for roughly Cutch's jersey number.

Let's reference what the material looks like as a whole

Not a bad looking jersey at all. Hopefully I can secure a nice card one day using that awesome Florida Grapefruit League patch.

The jersey used by Cutch in the production of this card is from a game worn on March 11, 2016.

How did Cutch do that day?

Well, he went 1 for 2 with his first Spring Training Home Run of the 2016 season. I would say that's a nice card to have a jersey swatch from.

What Could Have Been? A Failed 1/1

There's moments in life where we are at a fork in the road and we make a decision where we went right instead of going left.  Sometimes we look back and wonder "What could have been?"

Because I imagine none of you are friends with Doc Brown, we are all stuck living with the choices we have made.

Prior to the holiday season, I placed a very unique 1/1 card inside my scanner and then put it on my desk. The card was a redemption of sorts as you'll see later in the post. I wasn't sure if I was going to attempt to redeem it because quite honestly I didn't know if I would be a winner.

It's a rip card POTENTIAL redemption

Here's the card

Inside is a 1/1 mini guaranteed. It could have also lead to a much bigger prize.

What did Cutch do between June 24-27?
He played all four games of the Pirates homestand hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers.

His batting line was 5/15 (including a double and 3 run Home Run). He collected 4 RBI, scored 3 runs, and walked once. He struck out 4 times, was caught stealing, and left 6 men on base.

It's too late to redeem the card if it was a winner, but I am stuck wondering What if?

Would you rip the card knowing you can't redeem it to answer the question or keep it unripped?

Broken home

My parents are divorced. They have been that way for over a decade. I was fortunate enough to live through my teen years in a true family setting. My youngest brother was not as fortunate. After suffering a major leg injury playing basketball on the varsity team (as a Freshman mind you) my family began to seperate. It makes the holidays very hard now.

I began this new blog to share more about myself and what makes my super collecting habits tick.

Right around the holiday season, I started to make arrangements with someone looking to sell off their Cutch PC. One particular card I was interested in was a 2005 Bowman Sterling (his draft year) Black Refractor Autograph Jersey card.  The card is already slabbed as a 9.5 with nice Sub Grades and a 10 autograph.

Only 25 of these exist.

The ones that have been slabbed 9.5/10s typically sell for $600.

I was able to get this for a small fraction of the price.

The reason?

It has a broken home.

The slab has been absolutely crushed
I am not sure if I resubmit the card it will receive the same grades.

I hope you all have a blessed day.

Birth of Retro Greatness

Many of us have fond vivid memories of our childhood. For me when I think of my childhood, it's canvas photo albums filled with pages full of 1987 Topps, Fleer, and Donruss baseball cards watching Thundercats and running around with a towel wrapped around my neck saying "I'm Batman."  Sometimes these events happened seperately, but as I remember it, they all happened simultaneously often on a daily basis.

Now, nearly 30 years later I still think I am Batman and love to collect those retro designed baseball cards. 

The cardboard from the 80s and early 90s, like many of us, is what got me into collecting baseball cards.

Here are all the Andrew McCutchen cards I own based on original card designs from my birth year

1981 Donruss (2015 Donruss)

1982 Donruss (2016 Donruss)

1983 Topps (2015 Archives)

1983 Topps All-Star (2013 Archives)

1985 Topps (2013 Archives)

1986 Topps (2014 Archives)

1987 Topps (2011 mini and two versions of 5x7s from 2015 Topps)

1989 Bowman (2014 Bowman is Back diamond refractor)

1989 Topps (2014 Chrome Refractor)

1989 Topps (2014 Topps Diecuts)

1991 Donruss Studio (2013 Black Friday Studio '13)

1991 Topps (2016 Archives)

1992 Bowman (2010 Bowman Throwbacks)

1993 Topps Finest All Stars (2013 Finest)

1994 Topps Finest (2014 Finest)

I didn't include cards produced from 1997-2009 because I wasn't collecting during that time. So even though there have been retro style cards of Gold Class and Topps Tek featuring Cutch I won't be highlighting them in this post.

How many cards do you own of your favorite player representing styles of cardboard originally produced after your birthyear?

A Legendary Search

I have been seeking out some very high end Cutch cards since aquiring my first Cutch Superfractor last year.  That Gallery of Greats would unleash a beast that could not be tamed.

Not to compare myself to Josh Gates and his search for griffins, chimeras, yetis, etc in his Destination Truth searches, but I feel that my solo effort to seek out these 1/1 legendary cards is a similar journey.

Last year I was fortunate to add the 2009 Bowman Chrome Superfractor. I considered it a huge coup for the collection. When rumors of it's sibling began to surface, I sought out the rookie card logo flagship brother, Topps Chrome.  In today's world of prospecting potential future MLBers, Bowman Chrome reigns supreme. People spend thousands of dollars for the Superfractors of a top MLB prospect who may not have made it pass AA yet.  Wait a few years and you can probably grab the Superfractor for far less money, unless of course that players name is Bryant, Harper, Trout, etc.

Wanting to reunite the elusive rookie card sibling superfractors, I reached out to the owner of the Topps Chrome Super.  After several negotiations, I was able to secure this beauty.

2009 Topps Chrome #213 Superfractor

Once I caged it in the one touch magnetic, I noticed something that for 7 years I had never noticed on my other 2009 Topps Chrome parallels.

Can you see it?

Look closer...

Notice the position?

Cutch never pitched an inning in the minors or majors and yet his Rookie Card Superfractor features his position as Pitcher.

Wondering what the back might say about the upcoming star, I flipped it over.

Ok, so nothing about pitching...

Were my other Topps Chromes like that?

Yup, gold is
How about the others?

Refractor, Blue, XFractor All Say Yes

Cutch's fielding error was realized when they released the Chrome Rookie Refractors (#CHR35)

Contest Entry: My Favorite 2016 Card

2016 saw me change my collecting strategy as I went from collecting all things Pittsburgh sports to focusing more on my favorite player, Andrew McCutchen.

It also saw me blog far less than I had in the past 5 years as I took several months away from the blogging world.

I hope to start 2017 out strongly and post on average 5 times a week going forward. Some posts will simply be "Check Out What I bought" while others will provide a lot more depth and thought into the writing process. Most importantly though, I really want this blog to showcase some really awesome Andrew McCutchen cards and rebuild the online friendships I have made over the years.

Sitting at nearly 1,400 unique cards of Cutch gives me many options to cite a favorite card in my collection. I can probably make a top 10 and maybe even a top 5, but truthfully I don't know if I can pinpoint one card in my Cutch collection that is my favorite.

The year 2016 saw me add 246 unique cards to my collection that were released in 2016.  That's a lot of cardboard. There was many that were even 1/1s. Again, that's a lot of cardboard.

But of all the cardboard produced in 2016 of the 5 x All-Star, which is my favorite that I own?

The Blog Eamus Catuli is running a contest for your favorite card produced in 2016.

Well, after debating a wide variety of cards including 3 Superfractors, Roberto Clemente Award photo variants, and countless numbers of parallels and patches I had no other option that was more demanding of

My FAVORITE CARD OF 2016

This triple booklet Jumbo Patch from 2016 Topps Triple Threads is the clear cut winner. When I saw it, I knew it had to be mine. I made arrangements with the seller on a deal we both thought to be very fair and within a week it was home.

It features two Jolly Roger sleeve patches of Jung Ho Kang and Gerrit Cole respectively. It also features the P from Pirates throwback home jersey of my main PC, Andrew McCutchen.

I am awaiting a custom booklet case to be delivered to proudly display this behemoth.

I hope everyone had a very Happy and Safe New Year!
Be sure to leave comments below.