Tino > Bagwell

Take a look at this card from 1998 Pinnacle Plus:

That's Tino Martinez on the front. 

That's Jeff Bagwell on the back. 

According to Pinnacle, Tino was better than Jeff Bagwell in 1997. Why else would Tino be on the front, while Bagwell is stuff on the back with the legal language? Pinnacle wouldn't lie to you.

Let's see how they stacked up in 1997. Coincidentally, it was both of their age 29 seasons.

Tino had the edge in BA (.296 to .286), Hits (176 to 162), HRs (44 to 43), RBI (141 to 135), Less Ks (75 to 122),  TB (342 to 336)

Bagwell was better in Runs (109 to 96), Doubles (40 to 31), SB (31 to 3), BB (127 to 75), OBP (.425 to .371),  SLG (.592 to .577), OPS+ (168 to 143), WAR (7.7 to 5.1)

So I guess Bagwell was a bit better in 1997. But Tino pulls ahead with his 1997 HR Derby win, as well as a post-season homer. Sorry, Jeff.

Oh, and Tino won 4 World Series. Bagwell did not. Sure, Bags is in the HOF...but Tino's rings are shinier.

Anyways, they both had a a great 1997. For Tino, it was a career year. For Bagwell, it was a fairly standard year. Cool to see them on the same card.

But Tino will always be on the front. Just sayin...

Not a time for haggling over pennies

I use the "Make An Offer" feature on eBay frequently. I try not to low ball, as most of the cards I'm making offer are only a few bucks anyways. But if someone has a card for $4.99, why not see if I can get it for $3? At worst, I can usually get it for a few cents cheaper after seller counteroffer.

However, there are times when cards pop up that are rarely seen, and out of fear of missing out on the card, I immediately choose "Buy It Now" instead of hoping I can get it for $.75 less. The opportunity cost of missing out is too great.

That recently happened with two Tino Martinez cards that I rarely see pop up, so naturally they would within a week of each other. These are not high end. But they are cards I have been keenly aware of, yet rarely see.

The first is from a brand that keeps aging like a fine wine. Pacific! For years, Pacific had a "Latinos of the Major League" insert set. I was always a little confused by this set, as I felt it was unfair to peg these particular players because of their heritage. However, Pacific was geared toward a Spanish-speaking population for years, so perhaps it wasn't odd at all. I'd be curious as to what others think.

The other "Latinos of the Majors" cards from other years pop up a lot, but not this one from 1999 Pacific Crown. When I saw it for $2.99 or best offer, there was no time to haggle. I chucked it in my cart and checked out as fast as I could, although I still had time to got through Acorns to make sure I got my $.03 invested!

It's a beautiful card. A nice, textured foil with colors that really pop. Once again, Pacific designed a card that gets better in time.

The next is a rare card only in the sense that I never see it. I have plenty of the non-shiny base versions, but the Museum Collection never finds its way into my eBay feed. I finally snagged it for just over a buck, and again, no time to haggle over pennies.

This card has always been special to me, both from the HR Derby he won to the fact that it was the first card Tino ever signed TTM for me.

Sometimes you gotta jump at the chance and not hold out for a sale or a better price. It's not worth the agony over missing rare cards to get a slightly better price.

Easter basket cards

I distinctly remember getting cards in my easter basket four different times.

In fact, each were essentially a blaster box before they were called "blaster boxes." They were the Target boxes that costs $10 or $20, but I sort of looked down on them because they weren't "hobby boxes." I dunno, I was middle-school aged and it felt like getting a cheaper thing than the real thing. Well, dummy, because it was.

It was also a time when the boxes were basically the same size as a hobby box, but had a ton of foam padding inside.

The first year I can remember, I actually got basketball cards. It would have been a blaster of 1996-97 Upper Deck Collector's Choice basketball series 2. Not only was Collector's Choice my favorite baseball brand, but I loved their basketball cards too. Maybe even more. Looking back, this was a solid choice because it had rookies of Kobe, Nash, Ray Allen, and Allen Iverson. I still have most of those. It looked something like this:

Pretty solid rookie class, and I'm glad I never got rid of them. Especially happy to still have the Kobe!

I believe it was 1998 that would have brought baseball card under my Easter basket. Yes, not in, but under. I distinctly remember my basked being placed on top of a 4-pack of Pinnacle Inside cans. They looked a little something like this:

Maybe no better card product represents the quirky 90s than these.

Moving on to 1999, I'm pretty sure I got a box of 1998 cards in the form of Pacific Online. These were odd cards that had a massive url at the top. You know, because players now had web pages on the world wide internet. Only instead of something like a vanity URL, you were expected to type in this a long web address to look up stats on your favorite player!

The last box I got, which I still have, was again getting cards from the year before, this time in the year 2000 getting cards from '99. In this instance, it was a blaster box of 1999 Score Rookie Traded with Chipper on the front.

It's funny how I can barely remember yesterday, but cards in Easter baskets 20+ years ago? No problem.

Happy Easter!

An Epix pickup

I've always been a big fan of 1998 Pinnacle Epix.

It was a really cool set. Several Pinnacle products featured cards from the set. For example, you could find these cards in Pinnacle, Score, Zenith, etc. Although the cards looked the same, they could only be fund in that particular set. Collectors would lose their shit right now if Topps tried something like this. Topps also isn't organized to do something like this. Or they'd ruin it and make SP and SSPs only available in certain products. Don't try it, Topps.

I first came across this set because I pulled a Mark McGwire from Score int he summer of 1998.

I remember exactly where I was. My mom dropped me at CVS to look at cards while she ran another errand, and then was going to pick me up on the way home. Imagine that? Dropping her kid at CVS to look at cards for a few minutes.

Anyways, I opened a few packs while waiting for her outside, the McGwire was in a pack of $.99 Score. Nothing fancy ever came from Score, so I was shocked. These fell at 1:61, and mind you it was in the middle of the 1998 HR chase, so this card was booking in the $60 range by the almighty source of card values, Beckett.

That's the only one I ever saw, and still keep it in my collection.

Last week, while feeling nostalgic, I started looking at a few of these, and thought I should own a Yankee. So I bought this for a few bucks, as Jeter is the only Yankee in the set. This particular one would have come from Zenith, I believe.

It's a great looking set, and the memory the comes with it makes it even more special.

An actual Snapshot

I recently completed a TCDB trade with a user named NYMHall. I received two Tino cards, as well as an Aaron Judge, in exchange for five different Mets card. Rather, a few were cards of current Mets but shown on different teams, such as Marcus Stroman with the Jays.

The highlight for me was a 1998 Pinnacle Snapshot. I was surprised that when I actually opened the package, it wasn't really a card at all. It was a slightly larger...errr...photo, as the set name would suggest.

Now, I am certainly counting this as a Tino card, as it was an issued card set. Or something. I think I just expected it was a full bleed card of the snapshot. Sort of like Archives Snapshots have become. I didn't anticipate this being a photo on photo paper.

The other Tino was something I had no idea existed. I guess some of the 1998 Collector's Choice cards have different-shaped holograms on the back? What? I have no idea. I probably have about 25 copies of this card, so maybe I should go check the back of all of my Collector's Choice cards for hologram variations? What a pain!

Lastly, the third card in this deal was of 2017 AL MVP, Aaron Judge. Bowman Platinum isn't something I've ever opened or seen in the wild, so always nice to pick up cards from these sets.

Cool trade, even if it made me feel like a bit of a failure for not knowing these Tinos existed.

Cards on Cards coming in faster than outgoing cards

Just around Christmas, another awesome package from Kerry at Cards on Cards came in.

While I was happy to receive the unexpected package, I cursed to myself a little bit because I've been meaning to send Kerry a package, and he beat me to it again! Kerry, I do have a package with some Cardinals and some Blazers cards you probably have, I just need to hit the post office and send your way.

Packages from him are always fun because I get to see some new basketball products. I'm happy to see that NBA Hoops is growing strong. Back in the mid-90s I collected basketball far more heavily than baseball, and Hoops was a staple, especially for a kid on a budget, as it was usually the most affordable pack. I remember them being $.89 at CVS.

 

The Donruss and Donruss Optic cards look nice too. I wish Donruss baseball had the team-colored backgrounds like other sports. It would have made them so much better. I'm glad to get a RC of Frank Ntilikina.

I always appreciate the Malachi Richardson cards too. I have to send him a TTM request one day.

Baseball! There was some baseball too, of course, headlined for me by this excellent-looking Tino Martinez diecut.

Pinnacle Xpress came out when Pinnacle was putting out 25 different sets a year, but I think this is one of the better looking ones they put out. Pretty unique looking, if you ask me.

I do like Donruss Optic, and think the Diamond Kings look good, although I always chuckle at this card since it looks like ARod is hitting his face.

This is definitely one of the best cards of 2017!

Lastly, Kerry sent a bunch of packs from the Leaf Babe Ruth set. My son likes Babe Ruth because of the movie Everyone's Hero, so I like being able to give him card of the Babe when he asks for one.

Kerry, a package is coming your way soon. Thanks for always taking care of me!

It comes so Naturally

I think many of us collectors share similar traits. We can't remember what we had for breakfast or forget one of the three items we went to the grocery store for, yet we can recall exactly where we were when we got a particular baseball card.

Recently, I came across this set that I own: 1994 Pinnacle Naturals. This was a 25-card set that came in a box, as well as with a serial number showing me what a rare set I had.

I remember when I got this set. It was the summer of 1996, when I was between 6th and 7th grade.

I had traveled with a friend and his family to Rochester, NY for a few days to stay with some of his family members. I remember playing wiffle ball in their yard, and going for ice cream with my friend's dad when my buddy went to bed for the night after a teenage fight with his parents.

As we loaded up the car to leave for Rochester, his dad handed us an unopened box of 1996 Bazooka baseball cards. We split the packs in half, and I set my watch alarm to go off every 10 minutes. When it did, we opened a pack.

On our way home from Rochester, we stopped at some sort of outlet shops, and my friend and I went into some random toy store within the outlets. There, we found a few card-related items. We split a box of 1993 Upper Deck to open for the rest of the ride home, and I bought this:

A 1994 Pinnacle Naturals boxed set.

I doubt it ran me more than $5-7, but I definitely wanted it after seeing it in Beckett a few times. I remember being torn about whether or not to open it, but ultimately, I caved and opened it up.

I remember the cards feeling very cold to the touch. They still do. And while the checklist is decent, I can't help but notice no Yankee. No Mattingly or Williams or Boggs or O'Neill. I thought that was a curious choice. Undoubtedly, I would like the set even more if the Yanks were represented.

I'm glad to stay I still have the set intact, and in the box. And I still have the memories that go along with it.

Now if I could only remember to take out the recycling tonight...

Playing some Jenga in the Burbs

I'm sure the horrid post title as been used. If not, no one use it ever again.

Jenga is a great game. I haven’t played in a long time, but I always enjoyed it. I’ve been to a couple bars in NYC that have board games, and it’s always fun to hear a Jenga tower falling over every five minutes.

Tony Burbs of Wrigley Roster Jenga sent me some great Yanks last week. It was our first deal, and I’m glad to have had the honor of being the first Yankees collector he has traded with. He mentioned that in the note, and also said he hopes I find these cards to be productive. He also used some sweet orange tape on his mailers.

The very first card behind his note was a James Kaprielian, so yeah, off to a great start, Tony Burbs. 

Now before I get too far and show some other cards, I needed to get to this card while I hopefully (maybe?) have your attention. Feast your eyes on this:

Holy smokes. This Pinnacle Clear Vision of Ichiro is truly awesome and one of the coolest cards I've gotten in a long time. From its refractory shine to the clearcut portion of the card, this is so pretty it makes me forget there are no team logos on there. It’s just a very special feeling card. At first, I scanned it against a dark background, but then decided to put some white against it, and the results were even more stunning, with a hidden sky type of effect. Ichiro is awesome (and a ninja), so I gotta say this is my favorite card of the package. I know that Tony agreed as well.

There was some other prospects too - past and present, which is always appreciated since I shelp these off for TTMs and often forget to replace them.

By the way, Nick Johnson was a beast in the minors. I can't even imagine the type of hype he would create now. In A+ ball he hit .317/.456/.538 and followed it up in AA with a line of .345/.525/.548 and 123 walks! 

This is my first look at 2016 Pro Debut, which is always a favorite set of mine. I like Degano, although I’m surprised he hasn’t pitched yet this season. I also like the light blue color.

So this card is exceptionally cool and I had ZERO clue it existed. I’m a little mad at myself because I actually made a Billy Crystal custom to send to him TTM (request is pending), but I would have much rather sent this card. Maybe I still will. I love this Tristar set. The cards look beautiful signed.

A new Yankees Jose Canseco! I didn’t have this one. I am definitely starting a mini Canseco Yankees PC.

Holograms need to come back. Where the hell did they go? Denny’s needs to have cards again too.

These are originals. Tony, you shouldn’t have!

There was plenty of shiny to go around as well.

I like this Jorge Posada card commemorating the first HR at new Yankee Stadium. I was at the game and remember the homer. They lost 10-2, so kind of a damper, but still cool to know I was there.

I’ll end this with a card of the Mick. I wasn’t collecting back in the late 2000s when Topps was putting out those massive Mantle sets, so I frequently receive them in trade packages. However, I haven’t seen this one. It’s a refreshing image of his. I don’t recognize it, so nice change-up there.

Tony Burbs, thanks my friend!

Best Binder Page: Tino Martinez

The Junior Junkie had a cool idea, picking his nine best/favorite Ken Griffey Jr cards and putting them together in one binder page. I'm sure he wouldn't normally store these ones in a binder...in fact, he already said he keeps them in a Swiss bank overseas. However, for the sake of this exercise, he created a binder page.

I did the same last night with my Tino Martinez cards. I thought about including other players or TTMs, but decided to just keep it strictly to Tino cards. Maybe I'll do a TTM one later because this was fun.

Not all of these are my rarest or "most valuable", but there's a combination. Some are rare, some are not. Some just have a significant meaning to me or were really hard to find. Some, I just really like.

So in no particular order other than how I put them into a binder page, here we go:

This particular Tino is a common card, but I like it for a few different reasons. For starters, when I was a kid, it meant the world to me that Tino won the HR Derby in 1997. He had a career year, and by winning the Derby, to me that put him on the same level of a slugger as Bonds, McGwire, and Griffey. Obviously he wasn't, but I wanted him to have that same respect.

You'll notice the card is signed as well. Tino is a very tough TTM signer, but in September of 1999, on my birthday no less, this card arrived signed. Tino was on the DL at the time, so I figured maybe I'd send him a request, and somehow I got it back. I was a pretty smart kid, eh? Since then I have gotten Tino once more TTM, but this one is super special to me.

I wanted this card since I first saw it in 1998. That year, I spent all of my 8th grade graduation money on a box of Stadium Club, just knowing I'd pull this card. I didn't pull any Co-signers at all.

It would pop up on eBay every now and then, but I could never shell out the cash. Then, about a year ago, it showed up on Listia. I had a decent amount of credits, but I quickly put a bunch of cards up on 3-day auctions to accumulate as many credits as I could. I think I racked up close to 100,000 credits, then won it for 57,552. Nowadays, I don't think you could get it for under 100K as Listia credits keep inflating and inflating. Either way, I was so pumped to win it!

It's also from that same awesome seller who sends me tons of autographed cards. Man, I lucked out with that one.

There are still versions of this card with Sandy Alomar Jr and Andy Pettitte (which I've never seen for sale). This Roberto/Tino combo is from Group C, which is the most common. However, I think I prefer this one since it has a HOFer on it. The Pettitte would be awesome though.

Pacific has been known to do some wacky things, and this "In The Cage" diecut certainly falls in line with that. I think it may be my favorite non-auto/relic card of Tino. It's just so cool. The cage is also laser-cut, so it's a pretty delicate card. Again, Tino being included in this set was a huge sign of respect after his 1997 career year.

Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems in all sports go for mega bucks these days. Just check it out an eBay listing. Common guys go for easily $20, while stars fetch hundreds. I know it's the same across sports too. I was fortunate to get this from the AOL forums back in the '90s (where I did a lot of my initial online buying), and I definitely paid less than what I would now. It's another one of those cards that just doesn't pop up much, as it's limited to 50.

The card itself is really nice, with a refractor-type shine. This design was much less outlandish than some previous Metal designs. These cards chip really easily, and the edges of mine definitely are not pristine.

A freaking Donruss Crusade, in the words of Junior Junkie. This is another one of those late '90s insert sets that is really popular, and the cards are very scarce. They come in green (#'d to 250), purple (/100), and red (/25). They are very, very rare despite the print runs. There is a Tino graded red 10 on ebay right now for $875. Not happening. The most common of greens will run you at least $8. If you see one in a bargain bin at a card show, grab one.

Many of the cards I've seen also have some obnoxious print lines on them. I'm not sure what happened in production. You can see the line in mine right through Tino's name. I know that serious collectors strive for versions without the line.

In person, the cards are spectacular. I knew they were special in 1998, but I feel like their legend has grown a bit. Panini has knocked them off in some recent products, but there is no replicating the original set. It's that perfect. Even the Crusades that followed were nowhere near what 1998 was.

Again, I bought a box of Donruss in 1998 figuring I'd at least pull one Crusade. I didn't. Sadly, I don't remember how I got this card. I'd assume it was the AOL forums, once again. It ranks up there as one one of my favorite all-time cards.

I loved this 1999 UD HoloGRFX A Piece of the Series insert set so much that I completed the set (including Jeter). However, this was the first card in the series that I got.

Each card features a piece of game-used base from the 1999 World Series. As a gentle reminder, the Yanks sweeped the Braves to win the Series that year. The checklist is great (Maddux, Rivera, Jeter, etc) and the cards really are attractive. The base has a nice, rubbery feel to it.

There are also autographed versions of each card, but they are very hard to find. I do not own the Tino, but am always on the lookout even though it exceeds my collecting budget.

This 1997 Leaf Leagues of the Nation insert set was very sexy at the time. The set celebrated the first year of interleague play. On the back of the card, Scott Rolen represents the NL East. Keep in mind that Rolen was in the middle of his NL Rookie of the Year season, so it made this card a bit tougher to acquire. I know it was running $12-$15 when it came out. Now it can be had for a buck or two.

The banner portion of the card is a felt-like material. It's diecut, and you can see that the bottom of the ribbon has two points, so it's easy for these cards to be damaged.

Its also #'d to 2500, as 1997 was really a year when serially numbered cards started to blow up. 2500 was still considered pretty rare at the time, although now that print number doesn't make you blink twice.

There were a lot of great cards in this Yankees Dynasty set, but something about Tino and Paul O'Neill sharing a card just seems right. To be picky, I wish O'Neill had a nice fat pinstripe. You can sort of see one there if you looks toward the left edge of the logo.

Overall, the card is simple but tastefully done. I like the interlocking NY shape for the jersey placement.

Last but not least, this card is from 1997 Topps Stars '97 All-Stars Insert set. It's not rare or a low print run, but man this thing was tough to find. I think I searched for it for several years before I finally got one. 1997 Topps Stars was a really pretty set. I bought one pack in my entire life at a card show, and remember that I pulled a Vernon Wells RC.

While the base cards have a matte-like finish, the All-Stars insert is more of a foil refractor type. It almost acts as a hologram, but it's not. I chose this card because it reminds me how much fun it is to finally get a card you've searched long and hard for

This was no easy task. I went back and forth on a few different cards, and if you ask me for my top nine tomorrow, my choices might be different. One thing it did do was force me to really look through my Tino collection, and I haven't spent much time admiring it over the past few years. I also realized how much time and effort I've invested into the collection, and I have to assume it's one of the top few in the world. I'm sure there is a person or two out there with a better, bigger collection of his, but there can't be many. No way.

That makes me feel special.