Andrew McCutchen card #37 2013 Topps Update '71 mini #TM-12

• Had to do a bit of hunting to find out what set this card came from.  I thought it was part of the base set, only to find that the '71 minis were from the Update set.
• Career home run #37 came 10 days after the previous one.  It was hit in Wrigley Field off of Scott Maine, a 2 run shot that was part of a 10-0 whitewashing of the Cubs.   Paul Maholm threw the 3 hit shutout that day.
• To sum up 2016, I did a lot more on this blog than I ever thought I would.  

By the numbers:

1. 12 followers (thank you)
2. 5962 page views (as of 1PM today)
3. 397 posts--didn't hit 400 like I wanted to, doing it this weekend would have been rushed and probably crappy...
4. 5 player PC's rolling now and I may add a 6th.

Thanks for a great 2016, and pass the word along, there's room for more followers here.

- Robert

Andrew McCutchen card #36 2013 Topps Mini #122

• I'll end 2016 with a pair of minis featuring Andrew McCutchen.  Not going to make 400 posts in 2016, but for me this was a successful year for this blog.
• I'm sure that I've mentioned this before, but when I do finally buy myself a McCutchen jersey, it will be the black alternate.  Love the gold lettering on the black background.
• Career homer #36 for Cutch was hit 5/18/2011 @ the Cincinnati Reds.  Bronson Arroyo gave up the 2 run shot, as the Pirates and Charlie Morton shut out the Reds 5-0.  

- Robert

Brett Lawrie card #44 2013 Bowman Hometown #205

• Love this card.  I'm partial though because of the Canadian flag in the background.  
• I like this Bowman design, it's minimal (for lack of a better word).  The one thing that kind of detracts is the placement of the team logo.  On a lot of cards, the logo ends up in an awkward spot on the anatomy.  Almost like it's censoring something...
• Surprising that this card hasn't been scanned into the Trading Card Database.  Well it has now.  I'll keep on checking to see if each PC card is there when I post it on the blog; hopefully I can help put a dent into the project over time.  I also have to say that the TCDB has helped me out quite a bit with posts as well...

- Robert

Jim Thome card #150 1998 Pacific Paramount #41

• Success!!  Made it to 150 posts for my 2 key player PC's, Sakic and Thome.  Hitting 400 posts for the year is going to be a scramble, with just 2 days left and 6 posts to go after this one hits the airwaves.
• Love the front of the card, the two bats/ball with the cursive writing over the top of them is a winner for me.  Classic swing follow through from Jim just adds to the greatness.
• Career milestone home run #150 came the day after #149, again against the Pirates off of lefty John Lieber.  The 2 run shot tied the game at 3 in the 4th, but the Buccos would score 2 in the 7th and 9th innings to win 7-4.

- Robert

Jim Thome card #149 1998 Pinnacle Plus #89

• Bio on the back:  "Jim is the first Indian to draw 100+ walks in consecutive campaigns".  I know I've mentioned that a few times already, must be hard to find new material!
• I don't know why it surprises me, but there have been a lot of cards that feature foil on the front lately.  I think I prefer a standard foil free front, call me old-fashioned if you must.
• Career Homer #149 came against the Pirates Chris Peters, 6/8/98.  The 3 run shot broke a scoreless tie and propelled the Indians to an 8-0 whitewash of the North Siders.  Bartolo Colon (!) threw 96 pitches and gave up just 4 hits for the shutout.

 - Robert

Brett Lawrie card #43 2013 Panini Prizm #98

• Has to be a licensing issue.  Numbers on the back of Brett's jersey were never this style in Toronto.  
• I've always been a big fan of the Prizm set ,largely because of the hockey releases which are licensed by both the NHL and NHLPA.  Gaining an MLB license would go a long way to helping this set on the baseball side.  
• There's currently 10 copies of this card on COMC.  The price range is very reasonable, anywhere from 55 cents to a buck.  
• Career homer #45 was hit as a member of the Oakland A's, against Jered Weaver of the Angels.  It was hit 4/28/15, a 3 run shot that propelled the A's to a 6-2 win.  

- Robert

Jim Thome card #148 1998 Stadium Club #21

• Bio on the back: "HR'd once every 12.4 AB's, 2nd only to Griffey".  Not bad company.
• Hard to see, but the card has the soft ridges on both sides, just like the seams of a baseball.  Nice touch.
• I'm not even going to try and play card detective to figure out who that is sliding into first.  I'm sure that there's someone out there that can figure it out...
• 2 copies of this card are currently for sale on COMC.  Both from the same seller, both priced at $1.79.   A tad expensive if you ask me, but when you currently corner the market on the site, the sky's the limit, right?

- Robert

Jim Thome card #147 1998 SP Authentic Sheer Dominance #SD37

Serial #1210/2000

• It wasn't until I scanned the card that I really noticed the "GOLD" multiple times down the front of the card. 
• Now that I think about it, I really haven't shown many serial numbered cards for Thome so far (if any).   This is #'d 1210/2000.
• After almost a year, I may have figured out how to keep posting without making a lot of work for myself each evening.  I scanned a bunch of cards on Friday evening of each of my PC's, and have about 9 or 10 cards in the draft folder.  Now all I have to do is take a few minutes for each card and figure out the standard 3 bullet points.  Then it will be just a matter of keeping the draft folder full.  Easier said than done...

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #150 1995-96 Upper Deck Electric Ice #54

• Very glad to hit the 150 card mark of posts for Sakic before the end of the year.  I will also hit this same mark for Jim Thome by the end of next week as well.
• The price multiplier for the Electric Ice parallel is 4x to 10x.  So that could mean that this card would be as cheap as a dollar (4x 25 cents low) to 6.00 (10x 60 cents high).  At least that's how I read it.  COMC range is not bad, 8 copies with the cheapest being $1.84 and $5.35 as the most expensive.  
• I'm still trying to put together the 94-95 Electric Ice parallel set by the way.  That dream is a long way off, as I still need more than 1/2 the set.  The cards aren't cheap either...

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #149 1995-96 Upper Deck #54

• Going out on a limb here playing card detective.  My guess for the player that's on the ice is Kirk Muller of the Montreal Canadiens.  Kirk played for the Habs in 94-95 (which is when I believe the photo to be taken) and wore the #11.  If anyone believes different, let me know!
• I'm also going to guess that the ad in behind them is for Molson, since the game was in Montreal.
• This card is still priced relatively cheap (IMO) in Beckett, listed with a range of 25 to 60 cents.  The range of prices on COMC is much more, shall we say, out of hand?  Low of 99 cents (not bad) to a high of $6.50 (are you kidding me?).  Hope that last seller enjoys paying his storage fees...

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #148 1995-96 Score Select #45

• It made me laugh right away, the bright white lettering stating "removable protective film".  I think I'll leave it right where it is after 20 years.
• Love the puck on its side, just in front of Joe's left skate.  Makes the photo even look more 3-D for me.
• Career goal #148 was the first of 2 on the night against the Hartford Whalers (bring back the Whale!), 11/3/1992.  The Nordiques would end up in a 3-3 tie vs. the Whalers, with the victim being Sean Burke.

- Robert

Jim Thome card #146, 1998 Donruss Studio #96

• I've said it before and I'll say it again, as the years have passed, the Donruss Studio sets have grown on me.  I really like how it evolved with the studio shot in front and the action shot in the background.   Well done.
• Bio on the back:  "To celebrate Jim's birthday on Aug. 27, 1997, Jim's teammates copied his throwback high-sock look for a game at Anaheim Stadium.  They beat the Angels 10-4, and wore their socks high for the rest of the season and the playoffs."   Love anecdotes like this on cards!!!
• Studio, another set that Beckett forgot about.  Looked in the most recent issue I own (Oct. '16) and it's not there.  So I went to my backup "price guide", COMC, and found that there weren't any copies of this card for sale.  There were the press proof version and the gold version, but none of the base.  

- Robert

Jim Thome card #145 1998 Bowman International #56

• A bit hard to see due to the scan, but that is mid-America in behind Thome in map form.  The concept of the Bowman International parallels has kind of grown on me over time.
• Jim finished 2nd in OPS during the 1998 season, with a .997 mark.  Only Albert Belle at 1.055 was better that season.
• Jim was drafted 333rd overall in 1990.  There are only two other names that I recognize that were drafted in that same spot.  Mat Latos was drafted 333rd in 2006, two years before that Michael Saunders (who played with the Jays last year) was taken by the Mariners in spot 333.

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #147 1995-96 Pinnacle McDonald's NNO Checklist

• McDonald's gave their annual Canadian card release the UC3 treatment for the 95-96 season.  Personally, I would have left well enough alone and just used the regular card stock.
• Nice size checklist, 40 cards divided up into 24 stars, 6 goalies and 10 future stars.  
• Quite a few of these cards currently on COMC, 17 to be exact.  Price ranges from a low of 37 cents(cheap for a Sakic card) to a high of $1.75.   I think that around $1 would be the right price for this card if you saw it at a show.

- Robert

Jim Thome card #144 1998 Bowman's Best #66

• Really like how the gold in the background scanned for this card.  Unlike most of the other foil cards that I've scanned this past year, this is probably the best of the bunch.
• The back of the card is "coated" as well, very shiny as well.  I'm used to backs of cards being cardboard like and dull, so this was a nice change.
• There are currently 3 of these for sale on COMC.com.  1 is listed for 99 cents, the other 2 are listed for $1.  Talk about consistency!

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #146 1995-96 Score Summit #61

• This was a bit of a departure from the normal card sets that Score/Pinnacle were releasing.  This had a much glossier finish to them, and the Avs logo and stick were foil.  The white border was also a nice touch as well.
• Career goal #146 was scored 10/22/92 at the Minnesota North Stars.  The victim that night was also the winning goaltender, Jon Casey, as the Stars won 5-2. 
• Don't have many more cards from this set to chase for Joe, just two parallels, the Artist's Proof and Ice versions. 

- Robert

Felix Potvin card #10 1993-94 Topps Gold #30

• I was very excited to say the least to see the NHL debut of Antoine Bibeau of the Maple Leafs this week.  Why you ask?  His mask pays homage to Felix the Cat.  To me, it was incredible, I loved seeing it.
• Detective work.  The arm of the Leafs player in front of Felix in the shot here is #23, Todd Gill.  Doesn't really get easier than that for me.
• Potvin was a 2nd round pick of the Leafs in the 1990 draft.  There were two goalies drafted ahead of him.  Trevor Kidd and Martin Brodeur.  There's also one player from the 1990 draft still playing in the NHL.   Jaromir Jagr.

- Robert

Andrew McCutchen card #35 2013 Bowman Gold #100

• 2nd straight McCutchen card that I was able to add to the Trading Card Database.  I was very surprised that this hadn't already been added by someone else.
• Was kind of floored when I saw the number of cards that there is of McCutchen for 2013.  It's 500 in case you're curious...
• Career home run #35 was hit off of the Dodgers Lance Cormier, 5/10/2011.  It was Cutch's 2nd homer of the game, but it was nowhere near enough as the Dodgers handed the Bucs a 10-3 beating.

- Robert

Brett Lawrie card #42 2013 Pinnacle #131

• Is is just me, or does that swing look painful?  I'm also wondering if the lack of MLB license also means that Panini couldn't use the same style of numbering that the Jays use.  I can't say I've ever seen the Jays uniform #'s look like that.
• At least Panini kept the standard black border that Pinnacle is known for.  I think the logo and the surrounding black area take up too much space on the card however.
• Bio on the back:  " ...was the highest Canadian position player ever drafted and eventually became the 16th native to actually suit up for Toronto."  I can remember a few names off the top of my head (Dave McKay, Denis Boucher, Paul Quantrill, Russell Martin), but I'll have to do a bit of research to come up with a lot of the others.  

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #145 1995-96 Bowman Foil #42

• Of all the foil cards I've scanned on this blog, this might be the best scan of them all.  As usual, it's darker than the normal foil on the card, but the snowy effect looks like it fits here...
• Stats on the back:  Joe had some success in the 94-95 season against the Whalers (7pts in 4 games) and the Penguins (6pts in 4 games).
• Career goal #145 was the 6th of the 92-93 season for Joe, scored on 10/21/92 vs. the St. Louis Blues.  Joe had a goal and 2 assists that evening, in a 5-5 tie at the old St. Louis Arena.  Curtis Joseph was the victim that evening.  

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #144 1995-96 Bowman #42

• Sakic will probably be the reason I hit 400 posts by the new year.  He has so many parallels of base cards coming up, and with my habit of posting both base and parallel the same day now the 2-a-days will make things easier.
• Going off the comment I made the other day about women in the crowd on hockey cards, sure enough there's another one just behind Joe's right arm.  That will probably be a theme going forward for Sakic posts...
• I really like this design for Bowman.  Nothing too overpowering, the name and team logo are both a decent size, but don't take over the card.  The "3-sided border" is different, but works for this design IMO.

- Robert

Jim Thome card #143 1998 Donruss Elite #137

• The Christmas Crush is on.  Less than 2 weeks to go, and I'm going away for a couple of days during the holiday.  I'm going to have to find a way to put 25 posts together to get to the 400 plateau by years end.   I know, 3 lines per card, it shouldn't be hard, right?
• This card's scan appears as if it's snowing.  Well, it is probably snowing in Cleveland right now.
• Ugh.  Career home run #143 was the first of 4 straight home runs off my beloved Blue Jays.  This one was hit May 23rd, 1998 off of Roger Clemens, a shot down the left field line in Jacobs Field.  It tied the game at 1-1 in the 2nd inning, but Toronto would take over, scoring 2 runs in each of innings 4, 5 and 6 to win 7-2.

- Robert

Andrew McCutchen card #34 2013 Bowman Chrome green refractor #136

• It's been very disheartening to hear all the trade rumors swirling with Andrew's name.  It's a shame that a star like Andrew should be just another chip off the old trade block.
• Love the scan, kind of a greenish yellow tint to it.  I looked at other cards from this set and they seem to scan the same.  Speaking of scans, this one was not added to the Trading Card Database, so I made the effort of adding it in.
• Needs 196 hits to reach 1500 for his career.  If he stays healthy, I think 2500 career hits is quite likely, but 3000 would be long shot.  He'd have to play into his early 40's in my opinion to hit that golden number...

- Robert

Brett Lawrie card #41 2012 Topps mini #13

• The cavalcade of parallels and variations of Brett's 2012 Topps card ends here, with the mini version, which can easily be made to look as large as any of the other cards shown to date.
• It's amazing to see the range of prices on cards sometimes on COMC.  This card is a good example.  13 copies up for sale currently, low end is 40 cents, mid range 75 cents.  Perfectly acceptable.  High end....$2.75?  Really?  Guess people don't mind having their cards sit forever.
• I see that Brett is signed with the White Sox for 2017, $3.5 million.  The way things are shaping up on the south side, he may need a program to tell him who his teammates are when spring training rolls around.

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #143 1995-96 Upper Deck Special Edition Gold #111

• If you think that my frugal nature when it comes to cards was born when I started the "$30 a week habit" blog, think again.  I waited 15 years to buy this card.  Why?  Every copy I came across the price was too high.  It has an 8x multiplier on it, and I refused to pay double digits for the Gold version.  I finally found it for $8 a few years ago...
• None the less, I love the card.  Finally landing this was one of the highlights of my Sakic collecting "career".  
• I noticed that directly behind Joe you'll see two women sitting in the 2nd row behind the glass.  I can't say that I've ever seen women shown on a hockey card in the crowd.  Baseball  I know I've seen, but not hockey.   The things you notice sometimes.

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #142 1995-96 Upper Deck Special Edition #111

• 1995-96 was a killer year for hockey cards for me.  Not only did my love for parallels start the year before with the Electric Ice parallels, the Special Edition cards and the Players Choice Parallel set from Collector's Choice really turned me into a junkie.
• The Special Edition set wasn't a direct parallel per se, it was a 180 card release that came one card per hobby pack.  I never did finish it, but I still have a brick of these somewhere.  Some day....some day...
• If you ever get a chance, do a search for the Paul Coffey version of this card.  The image of him with an octopus on the end of his stick is an image you'll not soon forget.

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #141 1995-96 Skybox Impact #41

• I would say I was playing detective by identifying that the Blues player is Shayne Corson, but really I'd be more of a junior grade beat cop.  Anybody who follows hockey regularly could put that together....
• Bio on the back:  John Davidson provides the commentary here "An explosive player, Sakic does everything at a high level of speed."  Very true.  Joe had the skill to process situations very quickly and make good decisions more often than not.
• Only one copy of this card is currently for sale on COMC.  60 cents.  Fair if you ask me.

- Robert

Jim Thome card #142 1998 Pacific Aurora #33

• I need to pay better attention.  It wasn't until only recently that I noticed that these cards aren't licensed by MLB.  Only the MLBPA.  I guess I never really clued in because Pacific included the team logo on the cards.
• Bio on the back:  Pacific mentions that Jim was also a basketball star in high school, and he played both b-ball's at Illinois Central College.
• The Indians 1st round pick the year Jim was selected (1989) was Calvin Murray, an outfielder from the U. of Texas.  Murray didn't play a game in the majors until 10 years later with Giants, and only played a total of 288 games over 5 seasons in the bigs.

- Robert

Jim Thome card #141 1998 Pinnacle Performers #35

• Pulled this out of the binder this morning, and I think to myself "Pinnacle Performers"??  After doing a little research, I find out that this was the second to last set that Pinnacle released before they went bankrupt.  It was all veterans, no rookie cards at all, and was priced at $1.99 for an eight card pack.
• Rarity:  Umpire in the background of the card.  Don't have too many cards that feature an umpire anymore.  I could probably count the ones I have on one hand.
• The back of the card breaks down the '97 season for Jim by month.  He hit the most homers in June (12), which was also the month that he played in the fewest games (22).  

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #140 1995-96 Leaf Limited #64

• Wow, the scan turned out way better than I thought it would.  At certain angles in hand, the writing on the card may as well be invisible.  
• It would have been nice if this card had a bio on the back instead of the 2nd and 3rd photo.  I get that you're trying to keep up with UD, but 3 photos is a bit much for my taste.
• Career goal #140 for Joe was his 20th of the 1991-92 season, and it came as part of a 3 point night against the Red Wings.  The game ended in a 4-4 tie, and Detroit's goalie that night was Tim Cheveldae.

- Robert

Joe Sakic card #139 1995-96 Fleer Metal #36

• Similar to the scans of the other two Metal cards from earlier this week, the Fleer Metal logo in the upper right corner is unreadable.   The background to me looks like a blurry finger print.
• All the back of the card features is 4 bars with previous season and career totals for games played, goals, assists and points.  Meh.
• Checked the price range for this card on COMC, it's very tight.  96 cents for the low, 99 cents for the high.  The user ID for the 99 cent card?  "Morecowbell"  SNL fans will get the reference there.  If not, have fun on YouTube here.

- Robert