- This card finishes off another month of posts. This is the 35th card for August. I'm trying to keep to an average of 1+ card per day during a calendar month, this is the 2nd month in a row that I've done so.
- Added this card to the Trading Card Database, which makes this the 26th Cutch card that I've posted on the site. The site is on a roll, just under 8,000 scans away from hitting 2,000,000.
- The only copy of this card currently on COMC is priced at $2.74. Odd, since this card isn't serial #'d, but 2 of its serial #'d cousins are actually cheaper on the site.
- Robert
- High socks. Love them. Also love the '82 design that Donruss brings back here. Despite what a few people are saying, I don't think Panini's doing a bad job for not having a MLB license.
- I had originally thought that the '82 parallels were for the entire set. Found out later that there's only 50 of them, which I guess is good for player collectors such as I. I imagine that these are a little cheaper because it's a bit easier to pull them.
- Career homer #78 came off of the Cubs Manny Corpas, 9/14/2012. It brought the Pirates to within 3 runs at 7-4, but it would remain at that score for the rest of the game.
- Robert
- Easily identifiable, the player behind Sakic wearing #42 for the Sabres is defensman Richard Smehlik.
- Bio on the back: "Joe finished 2nd among NHL postseason scorers with 25 points in 17 games." Eric Lindros led with 26.
- What would you call the front of card, semi-bordered? All in all not a bad design for me, it doesn't take over the front, and the photo of Joe is a good one.
- Robert
- Bio on the back: After seasons of 25 and 38 HRs was recognized as an all start for first time in 1997 contest." Thome pinch hit for DH Edgar Martinez in that game and went 0 for 1.
- The gold box around Jim's name and position kind of looks like it's glowing. The box also scanned more gold in color than it actually is on the card.
- No team name on the front. Just Chief Wahoo. Yes, I do miss the chief...
- Just 2 copies of this card on COMC right now, 95 and 99 cents. I have no idea how expensive the packs were back then, but this seems pricey to me.
- All 3 cards today were added to the Trading Card Database. The site is just over 12,000 images away from hitting 2 million as of this writing.
- Had these 3 cards today lined up to post for about 2 weeks, but they just kept getting pushed to the side as I'd received quite a few cards for other PCs from trade partners. Definitely not complaining!!
- Goal #234 came against the Hartford Whalers in the last game of the 94-95 season. It was scored on Sean Burke, and helped the Nords to a 4-1 win, their 30th of the season in just 48 games.
- Robert
- Picture (IE lettering) scanned very dark, which made me think that this might be the Dark Gray version. Tilting the card showed that the silver is the call.
- Also need the base card for this set. Don't know why I have so many cards in my PC's such as parallels/refractors etc. without having the base. Weird.
- Career goal #233 was the 2nd straight goal that Joe scored in a losing cause. It snapped a 6 game goalless streak, but it wasn't enough as the Nords lost 4-2 to the Devils. Hockey fans can pretty much guess who was in net for the Devils that night.
- Robert
- Been a long time since I've seen the "coolest game on earth" ads that the NHL used to use.
- I have 3 of the 6 parallels; the base card is gold, and I'm missing the Emerald, Red and Dark Gray versions. I haven't looked in a while for them so they may be out there and I just haven't checked.
- Goal #232 was one of the last 3 he scored during the strike shortened 94-95 season. It was scored during a 5-2 loss against the New York Islanders. Tommy Salo was the victim that night.
- Robert
- Unfortunately the future part only lasted 4 more seasons in a Leaf uniform. I would have loved to have seen Felix put together a long career in the blue and white.
- This is the first post in over a month of a Potvin card. Now that I have all the Lawrie cards posted, I have to get some more cards of "the cat" on the blog.
- With no logo on the front, I turned quickly to the back of the card to see if it was Topps or OPC. The French writing was a dead giveaway.
- Robert
- Who needs the bio on the back when you can have it all on the front? Man, that's a busy looking card.
- The stats on the back are interesting, as they detail every step in Jim's career from 1990 in Burlington through 1994. Chief Wahoo makes an appearance twice on the back of the card as well.
- Sixty eight copies of this card on Sportlots, all at 18 cents apiece. 3 copies on COMC, cheapest is 65 cents. Crazy...
- Robert
- Two parallels for this card, limited #'d to 100, and limited gold which is a 1/1. The limited, maybe one day. The gold probably will never happen.
- Appears to be a spring training photo, as that jersey is something I don't ever remember seeing during a regular season game.
- 4 copies currently on COMC, priced from 99 cents to $1.25. It's tough to stomach a buck a card for base cards of my PCs. Maybe for parallels that price would fly, although I've bought many a card for even cheaper than a buck.
- Robert
- Not a bad looking shot of Andrew in the '91 design. Love how Topps changed the 40 years of baseball to 65 years of baseball in the logo.
- Bio on the back: "since his MLB debut, Andrew leads NL players in hits, runs scored, doubles and extra base hits." Nice...
- Get the catchers glove sticking out on the right hand side of the card. If you couldn't tell by Andrew's eyes that he hit the ball, the empty catchers mitt is a dead giveaway.
- Robert
- How disorganized am I? I found this on Sunday, while sorting through a box of Blue Jays cards. Hadn't marked it off my Sakic list as well. Yikes.
- Pretty cool collectible disc, measures 2.75" by 2.75". Skrudland no doubt was the checking center from Florida assigned to cover Joe during the Stanley Cup Final the year prior. Unfortunately it didn't go so well for the Panthers as the Avs won in 4 straight.
- On the back is another shot of Joe, holding the Stanley Cup above his head.
- Found only one copy of this for sale. It was on eBay with a price of $4. I'm glad someone found this and sent it my way...
- Robert
- Love these Topps Laser cards, have not seen a whole lot of them over the years, but they are always welcomed when I do get them in the house.
- Added this card, surprisingly, to the Trading Card Database. The site is now less than 25,000 cards away from the 2,000,000 mark.
- Stats on the back: Jim reached first base in 89% of the games that he started in 1995. Also, 41% of his career hits (at the time) had gone for extra bases. That'll help the OPS...
- Robert
- Glad that Topps used a different photo on the left hand side of the card. At least if you can't see the Class 2 in the background, you can at least tell the difference by the photos.
- Added this card to the Trading Card Database as well. This will bring me up to 23 cards added, a tie for 8th on the McCutchen list. Have a long way to go to catch another blogger you may know. Cynical Buddha who runs Collectors Crack is at 61 cards added for Cutch.
- Got this for fairly cheap on COMC, just 47 cents. I remember back in the day when Class 2 cards carried a decent premium over Class 1's. I guess that's no more....
- Robert
- I remember the older versions of Gold Label, where you had to look at the back of the card to see what Class the card was. Now it's on the front, and if you're like me and tend not to look too close at cards the first time around, it can be hard to spot.
- Glad that Topps didn't airbrush the cross off of Andrew's armband.
- Added this card to the Trading Card Database, and was surprised when I looked it up that it wasn't already there.
- Bought this for cheap on COMC, just 43 cents.
- Robert
- Card depicts Joe and his Conn Smythe trophy as MVP of the 95-96 playoffs. Joe had 34 points, including 18 goals to lead the league in scoring.
- This card is part of a 20 card award winner set released by Upper Deck, and included all award winners, including coaches Scotty Bowman and Marc Crawford.
- There is currently just one copy of this card currently on COMC, and it's priced at $2.75. I don't know how limited these were, but if the print runs were similar to previous Kraft releases, that price might not be too bad.
- Robert
- One of the more underrated sets from 2016, Topps did a really nice job with Bunt. Would love to get the Program insert of Andrew's someday.
- There are 3 very tough parallels for this card, crimson (only 1), topaz (50 of these) and platinum (99 of these). Chances are I'll never grab any of these.
- Bio on the back: "His 716 hits from 2012-15 paced the League". 179 hits per year for 4 years is solid production no matter who you are. He also averaged 82.5 walks per year for those 4 seasons as well.
- Robert
- Fantastic shot of Jim at bat against the Chicago White Sox. The catcher is Mark Johnson, Chicago's 1st pick in the 1994 draft.
- Seeing cards like this make me wonder why Stadium Club isn't a little more reasonably priced. If it were, I think it would be the top set in terms of collectors. I know if it had more cards in a pack, I'd be inclined to chase the set.
- Just one copy of this card currently on COMC at the moment, priced at 61 cents. I don't remember where I picked up my copy, but I don't remember paying over 50 cents for it.
- Robert
- Love the purple parallel, the purple doesn't overtake the photo, but yet it's deep enough to let you know it's purple, not lavender or any lighter shade.
- Added this card to the Trading Card Database. It's serial #'d 19/250
- Bought this for 89 cents on COMC. Cheapest copy currently on the site is 89 cents.
- This is the final Brett Lawrie card that I currently own. Of course I will probably add more over time, and accept more in trades as well. But I'm probably going to concentrate on my other PCs a bit more in the near future.
- Robert
- Serial #'d 151/499, this is one of the few cards I have of Lawrie that features him hitting, instead of throwing the baseball.
- Cheap. I bought this on COMC at the beginning of 2016 for just 68 cents. The 4 copies currently on the site range from 85 cents to $1.70.
- The other 3 color parallels that I need are all reasonably priced right now, it might behoove me to go after one or more for my next order.
- Robert
- Said it many times before, I was never a big fan of the Studio cards when they first came out, but they grew on me over the years.
- I can only imagine how relaxing it was for the players to pose like this, no equipment under their jersey, giving them a different look than in their full uniform.
- There are also 8x10 versions of these, none of which I have. I wouldn't mind getting a hold of one and trying to get an IP autograph on it.
- Robert
- Closing in on the end. Just two more cards in my current PC to show off for Laurie, both Bowman cards. I'll finish him up on Wednesday.
- Something you don't see very often on Lawrie cards; him in a perfectly clean, white uniform.
- I'm still amazed at some of the prices you see on base cards on COMC. The cheapest price for this card on the site is 50 cents (still pricey if you ask me), but the most expensive copies of this card are $2.25! That's just unbelievable.
- Robert
- One copy of this card on COMC. Priced at $2.99, a bit much in my opinion.
- This is the normal version, there is a 2nd version featuring Andrew in the home whites. I don't have that card as of yet.
- It also appears that the knee "injury" he suffered on Friday was minor; I've read he could have played Saturday if needed. Keeping him off of that turf in Toronto is probably a good idea.
- Robert
- Bio on the back: "The only other player than McCutchen to hit at least 150 HR and steal 150 or more bases in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform was Barry Bonds." Good company.
- If I had a complaint about the card, it would be the bottom border is a bit too big, specifically the "Gypsy Queen" lettering. Other than that, I think the card is great, a solid photo of Andrew's follow through.
- 13 copies of the card currently on COMC, ranging from 43 cents (not bad) to $1.25 which is a tad high (OK, a lot high).
- Robert
- I needed this card. I said so on twitter to a gentleman who posted it. 10 days later, I had the card in hand. Card traders are the best!
- Stats on the back: Junior stats only! Was very surprised to see this, as Joe had already been in the NHL for a couple of years when this card was released. Fully licensed card, so I'm not sure why the lack of pro stats.
- Still need the "brother" to this card, #50 from the same set of Kraft cards. That card features Joe in his Nordiques road uniform, and has the pro stats on it.
- Robert
- Right side of the background? Reminds me of striped curtains. Don't ask me why, it just does.
- Left side kind of scanned dull, looks much better in hand as it's silver foil. Kind of different that it has the beginning of the "Indians" on the home jersey, but doesn't finish the word. Wonder why Fleer made the card that way.
- Career home run #220 was the first of two homers Jim hit off of Wade Miller, 7/17/2000. Both were solo shots, but helped as the Indians beat the Astros 8-6.
- Robert
- Another part of the recent Sportlots purchase. Just 50 cents. Have seen a few of these online for a few bucks.
- Just need the Blue parallel in order to complete the rainbow of this particular card. I have never used the Beckett Marketplace to buy a card before, is it easy or a pain in the ass?
- For years I've never been big into inserts, but I think it would be great if a card company brought back something like these cards, based on player performance. This is one of the better ideas of the past quarter century, IMO.
- Robert
- I need to look at cards a little closer. Never noticed the eX logos in the silver "wave" portion of the card until I scanned and displayed on my monitor.
- I'm going to miss Chief Wahoo on the Indians Topps cards going forward. Believe me, I get it, doesn't mean I won't miss the logo though...
- Two parallels for this card, Essential Credentials Now #'d to 37 and Essential Credentials Future #'d to 24; one copy the Future card is listed on eBay currently with a BIN of $79.99. I don't expect to see either of those in my collection any time soon.
- Robert
- This appears to be the last year that I'll be able to readily tell the gold parallels from the base set. I've opened many packs from 2016 & 2017 Topps and have overlooked the newer gold parallels every time.
- Serial #'d 888/2015. I looked on TCDB to see if this had been submitted, and it had, with the parallel being #'d 666/2015. Interesting...
- The TCDB also showed eBay listings for this card, most of which were right around the $1 range. The 4 copies of this card on COMC are listed between 95 cents and $1.15, so it seems that all is right in the world when it comes to this particular card.
- Robert
- I remember in the past that Topps had the update series numbered with a "UH" (updates and highlights) prefix. Wonder what made them change to US.
- First card of Brett featuring him in an Oakland uniform. This will go quick, as I only have 5 of such cards.
- I tried hard this morning to read what the writing was on the tattoo on Brett's forearm, but couldn't make it out. Does anyone out there know what it says? Maybe a bible verse, but I'm not sure...
- Robert
- Thank you to Kin at the I feel like a collector again blog for this card, which he sent as part of a very generous trade package.
- Bio on the back: How's this for a comparison? Wagner joins the Pirates in 1900, the franchise hadn't finished higher than 6th in 11 of the previous 13 seasons. The Pirates won three straight NL titles from 1901-03. McCutchen joined the Pirates in 2009, and not too long thereafter they started making the postseason. Not quite as successful as Honus, but a good comparison indeed.
- It's also interesting to see how the colors have changed over the years for the Bucs, with the early unis having the red lettering and the blue caps. Today we all know Pittsburgh as the black and gold steel town.
- Robert
- I've had the Fleer Extra card from this set for a very long time, but when buying cards off of Sportlots recently, I couldn't believe that I didn't have this base card. 18 cents later, this was in the cart.
- I still have a few more Sakic cards that feature him in the Nordiques jersey to acquire. A lot of what's remaining are refractors, parallels or oddballs.
- The back of the card has 3 times as many photos as the front. Not sure why Fleer thought it necessary to use that many photos on the back. If you total up the photos, 2 feature Joe in his road uniform, and 2 have him in the home whites.
- Robert
- I wonder if people requested Topps to start numbering the Opening Day cards differently because they were confusing these with the regular base set. I don't remember seeing older sets with the "OD" before the card number.
- Cutch is still 3 homers away from 200 for his career. 9 more this year will tie his career high of 31 set back in 2012.
- I looked over a lot of career numbers for Andrew this evening, and the one that caught my eye was number of games started in CF. He moved into 50th place all time tonight with his 1266th career game in center. He would have to play every day for nearly 10 years to catch the all time leader, Willie Mays, who has 2829.
- Robert
- Another portion of the recent order from Sportlots. Very cheap for a Sakic card, just 18 cents. It's usually tough to find a Sakic card priced below a quarter.
- I had forgotten about this set; Sakic has multiple cards in it. This is the 2nd of the 3 that I own. The third is a short print that I have not yet found.
- Graphite shaft? I thought that graphite was more of a 21st century creation. Had no idea that graphite sticks went that far back. Guess I should really pay more attention to the game I love...
- Robert
- The card scanned wonderfully, looks better with the gold in the scan than the bronze in hand. Interesting with the 3 panel background, with only the dual photo of Jim in the 3rd panel.
- Back of the card is very interesting for stat geeks, as it breaks down Jim's statistics vs. pitchers who have certain ERA's. For example, for pitchers that had ERA's of below 3.00, Jim's batting average against them was .161 with 2 HR and 5 RBI in 31 ABs.
- Wondering when they weigh these guys: Most of the Topps and Upper Deck cards list Thome at 220 or 225 lbs. This Bowman's Best card lists him at 240. That's a big difference for cards from the same season...
- With 41 posts in July, I broke my own record for posts in a month. I need to average 37 posts a month for the remainder of the year to match last year's total.
- Robert
