Digging a Little Deeper

Let's face it: this hobby tend to be about the latest and greatest.  Even for me, most of my posts end up being about incoming cards that have been added to my collection.  With the steady stream that is constantly piled up on and around my desk, it's hard not to go straight for the stacks when thinking of something to post.

But before this blog ever had its first keystroke, I had tens of thousands of cards.  Many of them Pirate cards near and dear to my heart.  It's not that I don't enjoy the cards, or still like them just as much as when I bought them.  But when it comes to scanning something sitting right next to you or thinking to dig a card from one of many boxes or binders, it's not a very close contest as to which usually wins out.

So one of my New Year's blog resolutions, aside from actually posting regularly next year, is to give a little more love to the deep, dark, and dusty parts of my collection that are more than deserving of some graphic goodness on here.

Tis the Season

One thing every baseball fan is accustomed to is the revolving human carousel of winter in baseball.  And while my feelings are mixed on the players leaving Pittsburgh this winter, it's always an interesting moment of reflection.


I can't exactly I'm overcome with emotion over Pedro Alvarez being non-tendered.  He was always a flawed player who could hit light tower shots when he actually made contact.  But he certainly had his fair share of big hits against the rival Cardinals.  If you could capture his 2013 season and clone it, there's no doubt he would still be a Pirate.  But the whole playing defense thing...is a thing.  And for reasons that still sadden me, baseballs hit into rivers still count just the same as every other one that goes over a wall.

Maybe that's one rule they can look into amending...

Another One Off the List

It's been slow goings for my Jack Wilson collection.  The number of cards I'm still chasing just keeps shrinking (not that I'm complaining).  And those that are still left on the want list are either mind-blowingly hard to find supposedly common cards or flat out rare releases.
But I was lucky enough to snag yet another of my needs from Jack's last release in 2012 Topps Update.  And while the Topps Silk cards aren't my favorite, I'm more than happy to add yet another limited release to the collection.

Graphing Glory

My collecting has admittedly slowed a lot this year.  But it has also changed quite a bit.  I had been getting frustrated with the limited cards that Topps had been putting out for this decade.  But 2015 also gave me a chance to kick my custom making into high gear.

I guess it's not technically collecting, since I just create whatever I want.  But either way, it sure is nice.

One of my collecting friends lives in Arizona right across the street from the facility that the Dodgers and White Sox share during the spring, and is used for the Arizona Fall League later in the year.

This year she asked me to put together some customs to be signed, particularly for players that may not have any mainstream cards.

It was tall task, but I was up to the challenge.  After all, what good is having all these different custom card designs if I can't use them?

I got an initial package early this summer with some cards she got signed during ST.  But I got another package in the mail this week with some autos from the AFL and a few that had been overlooked from the spring.

 And boy was I excited.  There are a couple of my personal favorites in this bunch, namely the Javy Guerra at the top of the post in the Brookly throwback uniform.

Making the customs is a lot of fun.  Seeing them come back signed?  That's just icing on the cake.  As my collection has grown and grown and grown, it becomes easy to lose track of what cards truly matter.  At nearly 16,000 Pirate cards, it's tough to pick out a top 100, let alone a top 10.  But these customs are unquestionably some of my favorite autographed cards in my collection.  There's just something really awesome about seeing something you make from scratch return with a bright, bold signature.

The Poop On the Deck

One lesson I've been trying to take to heart in my sports watching is to enjoy players while you can.  Whether by trade, free agency, or retirement, all of our favorites are bound to more on to other things, often sooner than later.

At best, my emotions for the Pirates organization as a whole has been rocky in recent years due almost entirely to things that have nothing to do with the guys on the field.  But for the better part of the past decade, Neil Walker has been a player whose career I followed and actively rooted for.

He grew up not 15 minutes from Kate, and has been a fixture at Pirate events almost since he was drafted, even if the Bucs actively tried to keep him away at times.  And while the game has changed in so many ways, it reminded me of the early 20th century baseball - a local kid playing for the local team.

I'd by lying if I didn't say I had hoped to have at least one more season to watch Neil Walker in Pittsburgh.  And while I can honestly say I hate this trade from a baseball perspective, trading for a middling starter in one of the most loaded pitching free agent classes in recent history...the reality is that I guy I genuinely enjoyed watching, cheering for, and meeting on numerous occasions plays for a different team.  And as rational and adult as I can claim to be, that just flat out stinks.

The journey from first round pick to struggling minor leaguer to emergency callup learning a new position on the fly to a top 10 player at that position in the major leagues isn't your run of the mill career arc.  I hope there's a lot ahead for Neil wherever his career may take him, and plenty of appearances in Pittsburgh after his career ends.

So Long, Farewell

A long, long time ago, basketball was my game.  I mean if there was one sport above all others where I knew every player, knew the result of every game, it was the NBA.  And the mid 90's were a pretty good time to be a young basketball fan.  MJ had returned to the sport where he belonged, and there were plenty of exciting players to at least make a challenge to his greatness.
But the first year I really remember going crazy over a group of rookies was the 1996-97 season.  AI and my personal favorite Marcus Camby fronted the rookie class, but 8 year old me had high expectations for Kerry Kittles and Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

And there was that kid with the Lakers.

I distinctly remember being at the neighborhood garage sale that summer, and wanting a Kobe Bryant card.  Out of a full 9 pocket page of options, I went with a nice looking insert from Stadium Club - which may be the lowest valued of his rookie year cards.  But it's still one of my favorite basketball cards.

By the late 90's, my relationship with Kobe was more hate than love.  So much about the Laker teams just rubbed me the wrong way.  And my interest in the game dropped off a cliff when Jordan retired.

But it's been a pretty jarring realization that the last few of the guys I watched as a kid and teen are leaving the game.  It's a reminder of my own age, as is the newfound heartburn when I grab a slice of pizza at midnight.  And it's a reminder to appreciate those memories, even if it does make 27 feel more like 57.

Sign 'Em Sunday

Slow goings around these parts.  Cards have been on the back burner for me since getting my new job.  We're tightening up the budget in hopes of buying a house in the spring, and I've been doing my best to limit purchases, even if my card purchases were never more than a few dollars here and there.
But I did muster up the motivation to fire out a few TTM's a while back, and added the Dave Giusti signature to complete this 1971 World Series card recently.  And Grant Jackson has an added Bucco connection, since he was on the 1979 World Series team.  Both guys live in the Pittsburgh area and are great signers to boot.

Hope all is well in the blogosphere!