Santa's Bangin' Batch of Baseball Bits

This is my second year participating in Secret Santa organized by Matt over at Bob Walk the Plank.  Last year was a lot of fun and this year turned out to be no exception.

Who was my secret Santa this year? Let's find out!

Ah ha! It's Matt from Bubba's Bangin' Batch of Baseball Bits.  Admittedly I'm not too familiar with Matt's blog as it somehow escaped my radar.  I've rectified that error however as he is now part of my blog reading roll.  After looking around his blog for a bit I realized I did remember reading one of his posts where he bought a case of 2016 Allen and Ginter X for cheap as the seller had pulled all the autos.  Hidden among the packs though was a redemption for a Kenta Maeda autograph. How cool!  I look forward to reading more of his blog.

What did Matt send me?  As he noted, I don't really have a solid want list posted on the blog.  That's something I hope to add in 2018.  I started with a Top 5 list on the right sidebar.

Matt threw a bunch of Mariners cards my way, which is greatly appreciated! I haven't cataloged any of the cards yet but I can say with 99.9% confidence that these are all cards I do not have. Nicely done Matt!

A smorgasbord of cards from the 80s and 90s.  A lot of notable names like Harold Reynolds, Alex Rodriguez, Edgar Martinez, and Jay Buhner.

Two silver buybacks.  I forget the "rarity" tier but I think silver was somewhere around mid-tier. 

Team sets from the last three issues of Allen and Ginter X.  Very cool! I didn't have any Ginter X cards before this.

More modern cards including two rad die-cut cards.

Another first.  My first Topps Gold Label card.  Mitch Haniger too, who is my favorite Mariner newcomer.

A jersey card of none other than The King.  Solid!

It wasn't all baseball.  Matt suck in this die-cut of Rich Sherman.  I'm not really collecting football like I used to but this card will fit happily into my collection.

Thanks for all the wonderful cards Matt!

My Favorite Card of 2017

Here is my entry for P-town Tom's contest asking us to show off our favorite card of 2017.

2017 Topps Heritage High Number - Clubhouse Collection Autographed Relics

I posted about this card not too long ago when documenting a hanger box break of Heritage High Number.  My Fred Meyer is straight fire.  I think I've bought more cards at Target but Fred Meyer has been way better to me.  But whatever, buying retail is a crapshoot anyway.

Not only is this card #MyToppsMomentOfTheYear but it is also my favorite card of the year.  Coming from a retail hanger box this card has it all: a clean, on-card autograph; game-used jersey stripe; low serial number (with it being my first 1/X serial numbered card); and a pleasing design.  Plus, Kluber is a respectable pitcher who won the 2017 Cy Young Award after I pulled this card.

I didn't have any rooting interest Kluber before this card. I typically don't follow players outside my teams.  The excellence of this card though has made me a fan.

I plan to make a follow up post with other cards from 2017 that couldn't knock Kluber off his throne. Hopefully it will feature some cards I have yet to show off on the blog.

Sweet Lou

Lou Piniella is and will be for the foreseeable future (the Mariners aren't winning a World Series anytime soon under Scott Servais) the best Seattle Mariners manager of all time. He led the Mariners to several playoff victories, achieved a 116 win season, and provided plenty of amusement with his on-the-field fits.

I was browsing eBay for inexpensive 2017 Topps Archives Signature Series cards when I saw this beautiful Piniella auto on a 2009 Topps Archives card. Although it is not him in a Mariners uniform, the card was too nice looking to pass over.  Unfortunately there were no cheap cards of him with the Mariners.

Aesthetically I like how the colors are bright and the blue signature matches the design well. His penmanship is pleasing as well. As a bonus the card itself is in good condition. Not that I will be taking it out of its case.

The card set me back $13 which is pretty good considering it came out of a $40 box. This marks my first Lou Piniella autograph.

Finding Gold in a Burlap Sack

On the hunt for a Bellinger rookie, I purchased a hanger box of 2017 Topps Heritage High Number.  I have his Topps Chrome rookie, which won't cut it.  I much prefer the design of Heritage of regular Topps. 

No Bellinger cards were found.  Instead, I found a few other nice rookie cards and one amazing non-rookie.

Asuaje, along with Manny Margot and others, was acquired from the Red Sox in the 2015 offseason in exchange for Craig Kimbrel.  He was promoted from AAA at the end of June this season and became a fixture at 2nd base.  He didn't much for power with only 4 home runs and 14 doubles in 89 games.  However, he had a respectable .270 batting average and .334 on-base percentage.  Asuaje also played well defensively this year.

Starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery pitched his way onto the Yankees' ALDS roster after going 9-7 with a 3.88 ERA this season.  He was a back-end starter this year and I doubt he will make a start in this first round.  Tanaka pitches Game 3 and I'd be shocked if Severino does not start Game 4.  Corey Kluber is scheduled to start Game 5 for the Indians so the Yankees might send Gray back out on the mound.

One of these cards is not like the other.  Actually, I'm not so sure.  Vogelbach is obviously Photoshopped into Safeco Field.  At first glance I thought Haniger's background was legit but now I'm not so certain.  Even if it is, the background looks much more realistic than Vogelbach's.

Haniger started off the year red hot, slashing .342/.447/1.054 through 21 games.  That was until he suffered an abdominal injury.  Upon his return, showed little signs of life, slashing .203/.303/.618 through 37 games.

Haniger suffered another injury, this time taking a Jacob DeGrom pitch to the face.  After coming back from that injury, he posted a slash line of .318/.344/.923 for 38 games.  A weird turn of events if you ask me.

Vogelbach on the other hand, he doesn't have a good excuse for his limited performance in the big leagues.  Granted he has a grand total of 44 plate appearances in the majors.  Sample size beware.  Still, it's clear the Mariners do not consider him a long-term solution at 1st base.  

I really like the look of these playing card inserts.  Trey Mancini is rightfully overlooked due to the likes of Judge and Bellinger but he was still a solid contributor for the Orioles. 

Finally, we have a non-rookie card that is something beyond what I would ever expect to pull from a retail box...

An on-card patch autograph of the likely 2017 AL Cy Young award winner, Corey Kluber.  The card is serial numbered 1 out of 25, which is even better.  There is something nice looking about having serial number 1.  The jersey stripe is also well appreciated.  Looking at the checklist for this insert set, I could have only done better by pulling a Derek Jeter. 

I'd normally be disappointed about not getting a Bellinger rookie but I think the Kluber autograph is a nice consolation prize.

Crackin' That Chrome

I've bought into a total of four group breaks.  Group breaks are antithetical to my idea of collecting.  I like collecting my team cards but I also like to complete sets.  I could easily use that money towards blasters, singles, or even buying a complete set outright.  The allure of landing a big PC hit is temping so I can understand the draw.

Two of my group breaks have come at the hands of Crackin' Wax. The husband and wife team are entertaining on the stream, have a passion for the product, and treat the cards well.  For whatever reason I decided to buy into their 2017 Topps Chrome, half-case break.

I strongly dislike this year's Topps design but Chrome cards typically look nice, even if the base design isn't savoy.

I have't yet to hit a nice card in my group breaks so did I have any luck this time?

As expected, I hit all of the base cards with some extras to boot.

The lone insert of the bunch.  I don't recall if this exact card was in Topps Flagship.  I know this insert set was included previously.  I will admit these are a fun look at at a player's Bowman cards.

Unfortunately, no Chrome color this time around.  The colored parallels are really what make Chrome exciting and pop.  While disappointed, getting a total of 4 base parallels felt like a surprise.

Enough teasing with the boring cards, you came to see some hits!  It turns out the very first hit of the break was for ME! I could not wait to see that beauty in person.  And wouldn't you know, I had another hit on the way!

When my spoils arrived at my house I checked and double checked but did not see the two autograph cards! After e-mailing Crackin' Wax, they quickly said they would track down what happened.  A day later, the mix-up was solved and the cards would be on their way to me shortly.  100% professional service and in no way nefarious.

My two cards literally came to me from the Tampa Bay Rays.  After trading us back Erasimo Ramirez (who admittedly has performed adequately since coming over to the Mariners), I couldn't believe that I had been fleeced by the Rays, again.  All was well, though!

There we go.  A purple parallel of Dan Vogelbach! I would have much rather preferred Mitch Haniger, as Vogelbach is going to languish down in AAA for who knows how long.  An auto numbered to 250 is still a solid hit.  The base auto was a nice little bonus.

I'm not one to buy into group breaks regularly but I can confidently say that Crackin' Wax has done well by me.

Bo Knows Baseball, Bo Knows Trades

Bo over at Baseball Cards Come to Life! recently acquired a huge lot of cards and graciously listed the sets, offering to comb through the cards for people.  Not only that but he offered up a little game afterwards for a chance at even more cards.

Before I jump into the package, I want to give a shout out for Blue Tape and Pull Tab Awareness Week.  You can head over to Gavin's blog to read all about it.  Bo's trade came nicely packaged in a hard plastic container, so no complaints from me!

With the procedural matters out of the way, let's see what Bo found for my set want lists!

Here we have a selection of 2016 Bowman base. I know people typically pay no attention to the base set in Bowman but when I first got back into the hobby last year I didn't realize prospects were the main focus.  I like the designs of the cards so I'm working towards this modest 150 card set.  

I've slowly been working on series two of 2015 Topps and I am still about 100 cards away.  I'm in no rush to finish this set as these cards will likely be in high supply for some time.

2013 Panini USA Baseball Champions.  Last year I opened a cheap box of this set chasing Kris Bryant autos.  I came away with no major hits, unfortunately.  I did come close to a complete base set, minus the short prints at the end of the checklist, so I'd like to finish it mainly for that reason.

Back again we come to 2008 Topps, this time the Chrome set.  Not much to say about these!

A gold foil parallel from 2008 Topps.  The gold foil parallel isn't the most exciting.  Neither is Rick Van den hurk.

The last card in the trade was Edgaaaar Martinez from 2016 Stadium Club.  Loved by all of Seattle, here we see him in action as the Mariners' hitting coach.  Hopefully soon we will see him in the Hall of Fame.

This set of 1990 Topps Traded was not part of my wish list but as part of Bo's game.  As a set collector I can really appreciate getting any complete set, even if it was not a set I was after.  Notable rookies in this set include Wazzu star John Olerud, overhyped Kevin Maas, David Justice, Todd Hundley, and current Mariners TV color commentator Mike Blowers.

Thanks for the excellent trade, Bo!  I'm working on a return pack and hope to get that out to you soon!

Stupid Sexy Kershaw

I didn't have allergies of any kind (food, medicine, etc) until last spring when iI started to wake up congested with a runny nose. I honestly thought I just had a cold because what else could it be?  After this pattern of waking up congested continued for several weeks, it dawned on me; I developed allergies.  I did not know that was possible to happen as an adult.

I have not had myself tested for allergies but I'm 99% sure it's the pollen that makes me allergic.  I take over-the-counter allergy medicine, which does the trick, leading me to believe my suspicious are correct.

Other than "this sort of thing just happens," the only other culprit I can think of is that two years prior, I started spending a lot of time working in my yard.  Maybe all the weeding triggered something in my immune system? I'm not bothered while working out in the yard, even now, so it's hard to say.

This allergy season I had been trying to go at it alone but after sneezing throughout the day I decided I finally needed to start taking allergy medication.  While at the store Thursday evening I found one thing I am certainly not allergic too: opening up baseball card packs.

I was surprised to see these packs in the store because Series 2 was only released on Wednesday.  It's usually at least a week before new products show up in my grocery store.

I still do not care much for the 2017 design but Kershaw was calling out to me.  Stupid sexy Kershaw.

At $2 a pack, I bought two packs hoping for a nice rookie or insert.

Former Mariner Jabari Blash is currently trying to find his bat in AAA.  

Severino is pitching really well for the Yankees so far.  5-2 with a 2.75 ERA.  His strikeouts are up and his walks are down.

The two rookies of the pack.  I'm now happy when I see Padres cards.  Renfroe looks to be a mainstay in the Padres lineup for the future. 

The rainbow foil parallels are a slightly tougher pull than the gold parallels at 1:10 odds versus 1:7 odds. Nice and shiny in person.

The one insert of the pack is from Topps Salute.  This insert has no coherent theme with rookies, veterans, and legends all mixed together.  The only thing I like about the insert set is the photos of players in special game jerseys.  I think this is a Mets alternate uniform so if it is, this photo gets a pass from me.

That's it for pack 1.  Onto pack 2!

None of these names are jumping out at me.  I must not be paying enough attention to baseball this year. I can't blame it on these guys being from the NL either because there are only two NL cards.

I love the First Pitch inserts.  However, Ty Pennington is known for being a dick and Guaranteed Rate Field is a terrible name.  This card gets a huge thumbs down from me.

Speaking of terrible names, I'm worried that the Mariners will get a new, horrible name.  "Safeco Field" will cease to exist following the 2018 Season as Safeco has decided to let the naming rights expire.  We will get Amazon Prime Field? Starbucks Grounds? Costco Field with $1.50 hot dogs and soda? Windows 95 Stadium? Only time will tell.

I just pulled his base rookie so why not his 1987 insert rookie!

B-B-B-Bonus C-C-C-Card! It's a bronze stamped 1990 Topps Buyback.  A first round draft pick, Morris had a mediocre seven-year career in the Majors. I'm sure much as been said about this design already so I'm not going to rehash it.  I don't even know if I like or hate the design.

Nothing marvelous in these two packs but they scratched the itch for some new product.

Any and all of these cards are up for grabs! Just let me know.