Joe Maddon, the Mad Scientist Pt3

Joe Maddon is often regarded for his unorthodox ways of managing.

According to 2018 Topps Heritage High Number, Maddon employed one of the craziest shifts ever when he recruited Andrew McCutchen to play three different infield positions for the Cubs in 2018.

This is what the error version looks like up close.  The front is identical to his traditional base card.

Unlike in the past where you had to look super close for the code in the bottom right hand corner of the card to identify if it is an error, Topps is making it "slightly" easier by placing the word error in the top left corner by the numbering.

Can you see it better?

Thanks for sparing our eyes Topps.


Now if anyone is wondering what the back cartoon was supposed to say, it should have looked like this...

Derby Day

The best event for All-Star games has to be either the slam dunk competition for basketball or the homerun derby for baseball.  The electricity caused by Bryce Harper's come from behind Derby victory last year at his home ballpark was just an absolute joy to watch. 

Hopefully some of that excitement happens tonight.  To bring more excitement and fan buzz to the event, MLB is offering a $250K prize to a fan that can correctly fill out the bracket. 

I set mine up yesterday and chose Joc Pederson to win it all beating Pirates slugger Josh Bell in the finals.

Cutch was a participant in the 2012 Home Run Derby. He hit four homers and lost in the first round to eventual champion, Prince Fielder.

I have shown off a few cards of Cutch from the Derby before, but for those that may forget here is my favorite image and card of the Derby.

I also have a program souvenir from the 2012 All-Star Game with Cutch on the cover.

The back cover can be seen below.

Here is a scan of the rosters from the AL and NL squads.  You may notice a short second baseman representing the Astros in the National League.  It feels like forever since the Astros were part of the NL. 

The Future is Now!

The 2019 All-Star Futures Game is happening today.  The future of the MLB will be showcased for the fans of today to see who is coming up through the minors.

Andrew McCutchen appeared in the 2008 All-Star Game at Yankees Stadium.

A year later he would be called up to the majors and in a few seasons he would become the face of the franchise, be an MVP, gold glove winner, Roberto Clemente award winner, 4 silver sluggers, and make 5 All-Star appearances.

These are all the Futures Game related cards of Cutch I have.

The 1/1 Futures Game Logoman autograph has catapulted into one of my top 10 favorite cards.  Topps Sterling was a beautiful product when it was first released despite the sticker autographs.

2008 Bowman Draft featured a bunch of different parallels to chase.

In terms of paper, I have the base, gold, and blue parallels. The red 1/1 has eluded me.

The Chrome parallels are the nicer of the bunch. Above are the X-Tractor, Blue, Base, and Refractor.

The Red is a stunning parallel which is numbered to 5 copies.

The Gold Parallel is equally stunning and is numbered to 50 copies.

Above you can see the "scouting report" of a young McCutchen.

I also have a 1/1 magenta printing plate from the paper release.

This commemorative "pin" manurelic was inserted in packs of 2016 Topps.

Is anyone going to watch the game?

Here are Cutch's 2 plate appearances at the Futures Game in Yankee Stadium including a just missed homerun shot.

The Master of Illusions Appears

"Things aren't always as they appear"

I saw Spider-Man: Far From Home on opening night and was blown away at how awesome Jake Gyllenhaal made the character, Mysterio.

For those not into comics, might know him as the guy with the fish bowl head.  But in actuality, Quentin Beck is a mastermind.

I won't go into any of the details of the film, but if you see you must stay for the end credits scenes.  It is a mind blown reaction.

I mentioned that I have been getting back into my nonsports card collection recently with an emphasis on the characters I loved reading as a kid: Wolverine, Gambit, Daredevil, Iron Fist, Iron Man, Hawkman, and the Flash.

I showed off a Jambalaya Marvel Retro Daredevil a few weeks ago and one of my favorite Daredevil storyarcs is Guardian Devil.  It is written by Hollywood Direcor Kevin Smith (also acts as Silent Bob from Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma fame) with stunning art by Joe Quesada, former Marvel Editor in Chief.  The story features a stunning reveal of Mysterio just completely f***ing with Daredevil in a way that Kingpin, Bullseye, and so many other villains had failed in the past.  That arc made Mysterio cool to me.

And Far From Home makes Mysterio cool for many future generations following the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Mysterio is known for his illusions and I have shown a few of these off before when discussing Doctor Strange.

My latest parallel is the green one number 1/5.

Here are my other parallels including the gold

Along with the red, base, and blue.

Only the Gold Vinyl Superfractor 1/1 remains out there for me.

Happy 4th of July with a "1/1"

I haven't been posting nearly as much as I used to over the past few weeks. For the first two years of this blog I averaged a post every day, but lately I have been posting only once every two days.  The reason for this is a few things. First, I just haven't found much inspiration in baseball lately.  Outside of Josh Bell, Bryan Reynolds, and Kevin Newman there hasn't been much to root for from the Pirates.  Second, the McCutchen injury has hurt my lack of interest in the Phillies. Third, I have been getting back into comic books.

I had a whole plan to celebrate America's Independence this week with a bunch of America themed posts....
But, quite honestly with as hot as it, I didn't feel like going through my cardboard and scanning.

Tonight I will be at OceanFest in New Jersey watching fireworks and partaking in some adult beverage selections.  It is one way to celebrate America.

Another way is the Indepence Day parallels that Topps has provided us with over the past few years.  This year the stars and stripes are even more relevant and pop more than last year's muted design.

The back of this card in particular is pretty awesome as it is numbered 17/76.  That's the year America truly became independent and united.

God Bless America!
Land that I love

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!

Happy Bonilla Day

I interrupt the daily program of celebrating America to formally celebrate one of the greatest American dreams of all time. 

Every July 1st until 2035 Mets fans will be forced to celebrate Bobby Bonilla Day.

I have a few cards of Cutch that mention former Pirate All-Star Bobby Bonilla on the back.

The front of the card is my favorite though.

I have shown it off about a dozen times in the past few years.