Andrew McCutchen card #19 2010 Bowman Platinum #39

• Bowman Platinum, necessary evil or overkill?  Is this a set that really met/meets a need for collectors.  For me it's overkill.  Bowman and Bowman Chrome is enough for me.
• Looks like a check swing in the photo, the facial expression and muscle flex on the left forearm makes this a great photo for me.
• A pair of Giant RC's pave the way in this 100 card set.  Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner both list for $8 each, while Stephen Strasburg lists for $6.

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #92 1994-95 Parkhurst You Crash the Game red parallel #C19

• Helluva an idea back in the 90's, tie a "contest" for free cards to how a player fares on certain dates.  Sadly, the two games that Joe was scheduled to play in on the card were wiped out by the NHL lockout.
• Think you could solve this question?   9+7+3  That's the "skill testing" question on the back of the card.  Don't laugh too hard...
• I have the gold version of this card (next post), but still have to find the green and the blue.  Will have to start hunting for those sometime soon.

- Robert

Jim Thome card #91 1997 Bomwan's Best #22

• Bio on the back:  Set franchise record with 123 walks.  He broke that record in 1999 with 127 walks.  That record still stands.
• Talk about a loaded lineup.  In '97, the Indians had as regular players Jim Thome, Sandy Alomar Jr (C), Tony Fernandez (2b), Omar Vizquel (SS), Matt Williams (3b), Manny Ramirez, Marquis Grissom and Brian Giles (of) and David Justice (DH).  They lost the World Series that year in 7 games to the Marlins.
• '97 Bowman's Best was a 200 card set that lists currently for $40.  The Halladay and Beltre RC's still lead the way ($10 and $5 respectively) while a lot of the big name star cards list for anywhere from 1-3 bucks.

- Robert

Brett Lawrie card #32 2013 Bowman blue parallel #205

• I still have 3 parallels to pick up for this card (if I so desire).  Orange, silver ice and the state/hometown versions.  No hurry though...
• Card is serial #'d 249/500.  I've bought enough Bowman over the past couple of years to know that the blues are #'d out of 500 without having to check.  
• The ridiculousness of the amount of parallels that Bowman spits out for each player is making me wonder how far I really want to go with some of my player PC's.  That is a post for another time...

 - Robert

Brett Lawrie card #31 2013 Bowman Gold parallel #205

• Bio on the back:  Ranked 3rd on the Jays in runs in 2012 with 73.
• The blue "comb" on the left and right sides of the card is an interesting design.  I thought that the color might be different on the other parallels, but sadly it's not.
• There's a lot of these listed on COMC right now, 32 to be exact.  Almost giving them away too at 38 cents for the cheapest one.
• I wonder why Bowman got away from the thicker gold parallels that some of their earlier products had.  

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #91 1994-95 Stadium Club Members Only 50 #39

• Hockey fans out there may remember the horrible teal and purple all-star uniforms from a time when there was a fascination with garish colors.  These are best forgotten...
• Who would have thought over 20 years later that Sakic and Roy would be on the same management team in Colorado.  
• Found 3 of these on ebay (none on COMC that I saw), all listed between $1 and $1.50.  Limited parallel, sounds about right.  I picked this up a long time ago so I've forgotten what I paid for it.

- Robert

Jim Thome card #90 1997 Bowman #246

• Bio on the back:  Bowman did the team by team back again this year, and the Tigers were Jim's whipping boys in '96.  Jim hit .447 with 7 HR and 13 RBI with a 1.053 slugging percentage.  
• In contrast to the Sakic card last night, this card I give an A.  Great black border with a red interior border for the photo.  No part of Jim was cut out of the photo.
• '97 Bowman is a very inexpensive set, listed at 441 cards for just $25.  The Roy Halladay RC lists for almost half of that, $12.

 - Robert

Joe Sakic card #90 1994-95 Fleer #183

• Someone forgot to tell the card designer for 94-95 Fleer that the bio stats go on the back of the card.  
• To be honest, I really don't know what to think about this card.  The design is bland, there's 3 photos on the front of the card, and "Sakic" appears twice.  If I had to give it a grade, I would say "D" would suffice.
• Career goal #90 would come 1/31/91 against the Buffalo Sabres in a 4-1 win at the old Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.  The goalie that gave up the goal was Darcy Wakaluk.

- Robert

Andrew McCutchen card #18 2012 Topps Chrome #38

• Scratch and dent.  If a can were like this at the grocery store, they might be inclined to sell it to you at a discount.  The scan on this Cutch card kind of reminded me of that old policy.
• Seeing Andrew running on this card reminds me that he should be running more in my opinion.  Stealing bases was a big part of his game earlier in his career, so far in 2016 he has 2.  
• This card lists for $1.50 in Beckett magazine.  I'm pretty sure that I didn't pay anywhere near that.  I'm guessing that I picked this up off of Sportlots for about 25 cents.

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #89 1994-95 Fleer Ultra #180

• The scan was OK, the foil on the bottom is actually gold, but kind of looks like a dirty silver color.
• Looks as if someone is getting ready to come off the bench on a line change in the background, but Joe doesn't look as if he's going off...
• Another set not listed in the monthly Beckett magazine.  There are 9 copies of this card currently on COMC, listed anywhere from 69 cents to $2.  I imagine they'll sit there a while at that price.

- Robert

Jim Thome card #89 1997 Donruss Studio #118

• Bio on the back:  Jim once scored 36 points in a high school conference championship basketball game for Limestone High in Illinois.
• Studio wasn't a set that I appreciated at first, but as time passed I grew to appreciate the set more.  It was definitely something different at the time, and the photos are usually top quality.
• Career Home Run #89 for Jim came on 9/12/96 versus Shawn Boskie of the Angels.  It was the first of 2 taters for Jim that day in a 11-2 romp.  

- Robert

Andrew McCutchen card #17 2013 Topps '72 Mini #TM-34

• If I ever do purchase a McCutchen Pirates jersey for myself, it will be the black alternate version.  It's been my favorite for a long time.
• It's almost a shame to call this card a mini.  My cropped image is at 2.18" x 3.02", which isn't that far off of a standard card measurement.  
• I was surprised to see that this card lists for $2 in Beckett.  These seemed so plentiful when I was buying 2013 Topps that I thought it may be 50 cents at best.   What do I know?

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #88 1994-95 Leaf Limited #106

• Bio on the back:  His junior coach described him as a bumbling Clark Kent sort of guy.  I get the metaphor, but Joe never wore glasses....
• Scan=disappointing.  The foil scanned really dark, and you can't see the red triangles that actually aid the card design.  This is one of my favorite early cards of Joe.
• This is another card that has been dropped from the price guide by the writers from Beckett magazine.  It's as if the Donruss/Leaf line from the mid 90's never existed.

- Robert

Jim Thome card #88 1996 Leaf Limited #55

• Quite the coincidence:  I managed to find a Leaf Limited card in my binders for both Sakic and Thome today.  Thus, I decided to do a double dip and create a post for each player on the same day, something I don't do often.
• Bio on the back:  Had a 3 homer game in '94.  Why yes he did!  The anniversary of that game is coming up in 2 days.  The White Sox were the victims, namely Jason Bere and Scott Sanderson (twice).  The Indians hung on to win the game 9-8, with Jack Morris as the winning pitcher.  
• 1996 Leaf Limited was a 90 card set, listing currently for $30.  I still need the gold parallel of this card, which books for about $6 according to Beckett.

- Robert

Andrew McCutchen card #16 2012 Topps Heritage Stick On #16

• Revenge of the floating head!  Mini!  Everything that I normally wouldn't care for in a card is featured here.  It works in this case for some reason.   Maybe because it's a sticker?
• One of the bigger Topps Heritage insert sets over the years, the McCutchen is one of 46 stickers.  I took a look at some of the photos, and there are some pretty scary looking dudes in the set.
• Cutch lists at $3.  I pulled this card out of a 20/$1 box.  I'll take it...

- Robert

Jim Thome card #87 1995 Studio #193

• Love the credit card design for these Studio cards.  This is another product that I wish I bought more of back in the day.  The raised lettering and signature on the back are spot on for me.
• Like the hologram as well, makes the card look even more authentic.  If I had to be picky about Jim's picture, it would be that he's in a warmup jacket, and not in his Indians jersey. 
• According to Beckett, this is another set that doesn't exist.  Both the annual and the monthly guides that I own do no list the '95 Studio set.   Not good.

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #87 1994-95 Donruss #141

• Bio on the back:  ---Wait a minute, there's no bio there!  One of the few cards from the early 90's that I can remember where there isn't some kind of write up about Joe, even if it is only 1-2 lines.
• Hat tip to Billy Kingsley of the Cardboard History blog for the tips about scanning cards with some foil on them.   I tried it today, and this may be the best scan so far.  I'm sure I'm not doing the scan the way it should truly be done, but this looks a lot better than what I've done in the past.
• 94-95 Donruss hockey isn't listed as well in Beckett.   I'm beginning to wonder if COMC might be a better barometer for card prices.  Speaking of this, there one 94-95 card listed on COMC right now, and it's at 99 cents.

- Robert

Jim Thome card #86 1996 Sportflix #90

• Not the greatest card for sure.  As you can see, while "resting" the card shows Jim's slugging percentage for 1995, instead of his last name which you have to tilt the card to see.
• Bio on the back:  Jim hit over .300 for the first time in 1995.
• Makes you wonder if these cards even exist because Beckett does not list them in the monthly or annual guides.  Wonder why that is.

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #86 1994-95 Finest #69

• Bio on the back:  Joe was CHL player of the year in 87-88 with 160 points and 78 goals.  That still couldn't merit a 1st overall pick for Joe as he wound up being picked 15th overall.
• Great looking card, scan came out a lot darker than the actual card is.  Honestly I wish I had bought more of these cards back in the day.
• The Finest hockey set was just 165 cards, and still lists for $50.  Sakic himself is at $2.50, and the key RC in the set is Mikka Kiprusoff which books at $15.  

 - Robert

Brett Lawrie card #30 2013 Bowman Chrome #153

• This is the base bowman chrome card, not a refractor.  Here's the overkill with Bowman, I need nine more refractor versions of this card.  Holy shit.
• Bio on the back:  Threat to run.  Career high in steals is 13, and has 7 so far in 2016.
• Career home run #30 came against Jordan Lyles and the Houston Astros.  By then, it was already garbage time as the Jays were behind by 10 runs, finally losing 12-4 on 8/23/2013.

- Robert

Brett Lawrie card #29 2013 Bowman Chrome blue refractor #153

• Numbering on the back:  Card is serial #'d 240/250
• I figured instead of making it a 5 card marathon all with the same pics today, I am going to do the Bowman Chrome this week, and the regular Bowman cards next Thursday.  
• All the spots on the left hand side of the card I thought were scanner related.  Nope, that's Brett kicking up some dirt.  

- Robert

Jim Thome card #85 1996 Stadium Club # 191

• I had to look to see if this was some kind of parallel card, because you don't' see blue lettering on a normal base card.  Sure enough, it isn't a parallel.  
• Bio on the back:  This is interesting, Topps created a stat called the TSC rating.  Essentially, it is how many at bats a player needs to create a run.  The formula is AB/(RBI+Runs-HR).  Jim's TSC rating for 1995 was 3.23.
• Career home run #85 was hit 8/27/96, Jim's 26th birthday.  It was hit off of Detroit's Justin Thompson, and would break a 2-2 tie on the way to a 12-2 rout.  Jim would hit a HR in each game of the series, which the Indians swept.

- Robert

Andrew McCutchen card #15 2012 Topps #497

• Bio on the back:  Topps included Andrew's minor league stats on this card, and there is no indication of the 20+ HR power that he now boasts in the minors.  His only full season at AAA Indianapolis he hit just 9 HR and drove in 50.  
• One of my favorite parts of PNC Park is the scoreboard on the face of the Clemente wall.  I am one of those people that enjoys having the scores from around baseball available when I go to games, so seeing this in the background of Andrew's card reminds me of how much I love PNC Park.
• This is card #497A actually.  There is a variation that shows Andrew in a hitting stance in his Homestead Grays uniform with the Pirate mascot on one knee.  The 3rd card with #497 on it pictures Roberto Clemente.  You can't tell the players (or the cards) without a program anymore...

- Robert

Jim Thome card #84 1996 Topps #253

• Bio on the back:  Thome's 97 walks in 1995 was the most by an Indian since his manager at the time, Mike Hargrove, took 101 walks in 1982.  I'm sure a lot of Hargrove's walks were because his ABs took so long that pitchers forgot where the strike zone was.
• Don't know if I care for the 2nd image of Thome's face on the lower left.  It looks kind of squashed and doesn't enhance the card's appeal in my opinion.
• 1996 was a very small set as far as Topps is concerned.  Only 440 cards, but Beckett also lists a hobby set (449) and a cereal set (444) to go along with the regular base set.  The key RC in that set?  MLB Network's Sean Casey ($4).

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #85 1993-94 Pinnacle Canadian #290

• Flip it over:  similar to other "Canadian" versions of cards back in the early 90's, the only difference is the French bio on the back.  Everything else is the same. 
• I must be missing it:  Looked in the Beckett magazine to see what this set lists for, and it's not there.  I must be blind.
• Unless I find/buy something in the very near future, this is the end of the 93-94 cards I have for Joe.  The 94-95 cards I have on hand will take me well past the 100 card point of the Sakic collection, and there are some very nice cards in there in my humble opinion.  Hope you're enjoying these!

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #84 1993-94 Pinnacle #290

• Bio on the back: "Joe earned a place among the NHL's elite by recording three 100-point seasons prior to his 24th birthday".  Unfortunately the card doesn't go into detail as to who the other players who did this were...
• Is that a bit of a black eye under Joe's left eye?  Because of this I decided to look up how many fights Joe had during his career.  Thanks to hockeyfights.com, I found out that Joe had just 2.  The opponents?  Doug Gilmour and Gary Leeman.
• In the background, there appears to be 4 empty seats in the front row.  In hockey mad Quebec?  Can't be.  If it were Toronto, I would have said that this photo was taken at the beginning of a period, because the people in those seats at the ACC would still be at the lounge drinking a beer.

- Robert

Andrew McCutchen card #14 2011 Bowman gold parallel #59

• Bio on the back:  Andrew's 33 steals ranked 5th in the NL in 2010.  It looks as if that 33 steal season is going to be a career high for Andrew.
• Like the matching wrist and dread bands.  I never noticed them before until I started writing this post.   Also like the old style pinstripes, which the Pirates have stopped wearing over the past few years.
• Career HR #14 for Andrew was his 2nd of the 2010 season.  It also was the 2nd of 6 straight road homers that started the 2010 season for Andrew.  It was hit off of Chris Narveson of the Milwaukee Brewers.  In the 10th inning of that same game, Cutch hit a 2nd HR to put the Pirates ahead 5-4.  4 innings later the Buccos would score another run and win 6-5 in 14.

- Robert

Jim Thome card #83 1996 Score Select #52

• Bio on the back:  "Jim's 25 HR in 1995 averaged 407 feet, 2nd best in the AL".  Would love to know who was first.
• Maybe the best photo of any baseball card I've showed so far.   It's the first I can recall that shows Thome batting with both the catcher and umpire in the shot.   Love it.
• I thought that Select was a larger set; it's only 200 cards total and lists for a whopping $15. Wasn't this a higher end product back in the day?

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #83 2015-16 Artifacts #147 Jersey/Patch

• Today is Joe's 47th birthday, so I decided to show off what probably is my favorite card of his.  Happy Birthday Joe!!
• I still can't believe that I won this card on ebay for under $8 shipped.  Probably one of my best all time purchases on the bay.  
• Even though it is a jersey/patch card, can anyone really tell the difference between one swatch and the other?  It's no wonder people are skeptical about these types of cards...

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #82 1993-94 Upper Deck Next In Line #NL3

• Great looking card, the scan didn't do it justice.   A pair of 19's, both captains, two of the top players of their generation.
• The write up on the back stated that both Yzerman and Sakic were the cornerstones of their franchises.  Understatement for sure.  Both players still rank in the top 10 all time in scoring, and will stay there for a very long time.
• This card currently lists for $6, the same as the Gretzky/Nylander card.  I will have to find the Roy/Potvin card from this set for my Potvin PC; it lists for half of the Sakic card..

- Robert

Jim Thome card #82 1996 Finest #47

• I remember trying to protect the coating off of a Finest card one day.  Wound up actually tearing the card in two.  Haven't tried it since.
• Career home run #82 for Jim was his first career grand slam, hit off of Detroit's Gregg Olson.  It was Jim's 2nd homer of the game and his 5 RBI's led Cleveland to a 11-3 win on 8/18/96.
• It is remarkable that the Gold Finest cards have held their value over 20 years.  Ripken ($40), McGwire and Bonds ($30) and Griffey ($25) all have remained solid over time.  I don't remember what I paid for the Thome, but it lists for $1.25.

- Robert

Brett Lawrie card #28 2012 Bowman Chrome #30

• Happy 4th of July to everyone out there that stops by!!
• Picked this card up recently as part of the spring cleaning sale at COMC.  It doesn't get much cheaper than the 37 cents I paid for this one.
• The 1st round class of 2008 (that Brett was a part of at #16) has become a pretty good crop of major leaguers.   Nothing earth shattering, but a lot of good players.  Buster Posey is easily the best of the group so far, with Eric Hosmer a close second.   Gerrit Cole was also drafted in the 1st rd of the '08 draft by the Yankees at #28, but chose to go to college, and 4 years later the Pirates took him #1 overall.

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #81 1993-94 Score Canadian #135

• So I finally figured out that maybe showing off the backs of Canadian versions might be beneficial (or maybe not, who knows...).  The French version loosely translates to what is written in English.
• Dig that mullet.  Thought that they left in the 80's though.  Joe was always all business anyhow on the ice.
• Joe's 81st career goal came in the 4th game of a 5 game goal scoring streak.  It was against the Canucks on 12/10/90 in a 3-2 road win.  The victim was Kirk McLean.

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #80 1993-94 Score #135

• The light bulb actually came on in my head today.  I'm posting both variations of the '93-94 Score card for Sakic today, but I'm actually going to show what the variation is.   Thought people might actually want to see the difference instead of taking my word for it...
• Very minimal design on this card.   It's not bad, but it just doesn't pop out at you either.  Also I don't know if I can remember a card with a person in the background with only half a face.  Kind of creepy.
• The American version of the 93-94 Score set isn't even listed in the Beckett magazine.  The Canadian version is, although the magazine only spells out the complete set price, along with multipliers for the gold parallel, which I don't think exists.   If anyone out there reading this knows of a gold parallel for this set, please let me know.  

- Robert

Jim Thome card #81 1993 Topps Gold #603

• Another recent addition to the collection, I picked this up as part of the COMC spring cleaning promotion.  60 cents was the price, roughly half of what it lists for.  Not bad.
• Love the eye black but no eyes picture.  If you look closely, that may be the ball coming into the frame on the left hand side, just about level with his left hand.
• It's also too blurry to see who that is sitting in the dugout behind Thome.  Pretty sure that is an Indians player/coach though.

 - Robert

Jim Thome card #80 1996 Fleer Ultra #54

• With the silver foil all over the front, I wasn't sure how well the lettering would scan.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Even the registered trademark symbol came out perfectly.
• I'm guessing that's someone's foot on 3rd base just to the right of Thome?  Maybe a force out at 3rd and a throw to first to complete the DP?
• A complete 600 card set of '96 Ultra lists for $50, and the Thome is at 75 cents (assuming he's an unlisted star).  600 cards was kind of big for Ultra back in the 90's, right?

- Robert

Felix Potvin card #5 1992-93 Fleer Ultra #213

• Love the old style Leaf sweater that Felix is sporting in this photo.  I don't remember seeing this particular style of sweater on too many Leaf cards back then.
• Felix's rookie season was actually 92-93 when this card came out.  He finished third in Calder Trophy voting behind Joe Juneau and Teemu Selanne's 76 goal rookie record (which will never be broken).
• 92-93 Ultra in my opinion is the best design of any of the Ultra releases.  It just appeals to me more than any of the other designs over the years.  

- Robert

Month in review for June---bot, bot, bot

6 months in, and I'm still at it.  I enjoy writing 3 lines at a time about a particular card.   It's been easy (for the most part), and I've learned a few things along the way. 

How fast has the month of June gone for me?  Well, normally I'm writing this post a day or two before the end of the month and amending a couple of details before it gets posted. 

I'm writing this post at 10:45 on the 30th of June, 75 minutes before it goes live on the blog.  To be honest, I forgot it was the 30th...

The blog also gained it's 7th follower (Billy Kingsley of Cardboard History, thank you!!)  539 page hits is also a record for the blog, unfortunately that number is somewhat tainted because a mobot.site link hit the blog quite a few times. 

I also wrote 38 posts, although 3 lines at a time wouldn't be considered writing by most.  I passed the 200 post mark as well, but there is a long way to go since I currently have over 1000 cards total for my 5 PCs. 

Some more mini marathons through the next few weeks and months will only help to create the checklists that this blog was originally created to do. 

One card at a time...

Robert