106.

Blake Snell number 106 is just a red herring to make two other announcements.   

 

Announcement #1- I have not written very often in this space during the past year. I am not ready to retire this space, but I am going to take a long break from writing on The Snorting Bull. Probably a year or more. I want to work on some other life and writing projects. If you like the cards that I post on this blog space, I will still be active on Instagram. I also hope to become more active on TCDB, as I am working to better organize my card collection.  

Announcement #2- I have always wanted to do a set blog, so I started one this week on the 1999 Skybox Molten Metal Xplosion set.  It will be active and I will be posting there. You can find the blog here.  

Goal Number 1, Part 1

Way back at the end of 2023, I made a few goals for my 2024 card collecting year. My first goal was to find more Blake Snell insert and parallel cards. It's now the middle of September and I have not posted a single one of these cards. I actually worked on the goal during my blogging break this summer, but never got around to posting any of the cards until today.  

I decided to put heavy emphasis on parallels to start. I made them brand specific, which you will see as you continue reading this post and future posts about this card goal. Plus, there are tons of parallels these days and they are easy to find. I am a long-time Snell collector, but I am a little late to the party when it comes to non-autographed cards.  

For today, I am going to post several parallels I have picked up from Gold Label sets.  Always liked the looks of these cards....

First up is a 2019 Gold Label card. It's a Class 1 card, so it has higher serial numbers. I believe each class of the three classes of cards has a few different parallels, which all have different serial numbers. This card is out of /150 and cost me less a few dollars on COMC. The pictures on the card also change by class. Thinking facial hair versus no facial hair here? That's not actually a thing.  

The next three are all from the 2016 Gold Label set, which make them all rookie cards.  

All red parallels.  

The middle card is photoshopped from a Durham Bulls game.  The tall, dark blue wall is from the left field corner and the sign to the right his head is from a local orthopedic office. The bottom card is the obvious prize of the post with a serial numbered print run of just 25 copies. 

Overall, a nice start to my my first goal of the year, even if came a little bit late.  

Two Terrific Tajs

The Taj Bradley collection has crossed into double digits, but the blogger posts are still not numbered. At least, not for the moment. At what point should I start numbering them? I think I am getting close. Anyway, I picked up two more terrific Taj Bradley autographs for the collection during the past week.  

First up, an autograph out of the $425 per box Topps Museum Collection. Cost of this card was north of $10 making it one of the more expensive Taj Bradley cards in my collection. I appreciate all the people who open up boxes, so very much.  

I couldn't do it without you.  

I was somewhat hopeful that the orange patches were connected to the Durham Bulls when I first bid on this card, but after doing a little research, it appears this is likely from Bradly's appearance at the Futures Game a few year's back at Dodger Stadium. The orange seems slightly muted compared to photographs from the game, but there are patch cards that match this jersey.  

 

What I would do to get a Durham Bulls patch card......

One day. 

Last card for a quick post.......

Bradley signed for the 2024 Topps product, but was a short-printed autograph with just /199 serial numbered copies.  Seems like a player who would not be on the short-print list, but here we are.  The serial number is on the back of the card and this is a quick post, so you can imagine it's there.  It says "087/199". 

This is one of the first autographed cards I have purchased out of 2024 Topps, and while I have not been rah-rah about the product this year, this is a really well-blended sticker autograph. You can barely tell on the scan.  

Not $400.

I am old enough to remember when boxes of Topps Finest Baseball cards were not $400.

Looks like I am also now old enough to remember when they were $400.

Greedflation at its finest.  

Luckily, for us collectors on a budget, there are people who buy $400 boxes and sell the single cards on Ebay. Finest comes with two autographs per $400 box, so I started out trying to find a nice pair of autographs for less than $400.  I ended up find 3 autographs rather than two. The total cost of the three cards was less than $20 after shipping. All three cards fit perfectly into my little collection of baseball cards.  

First, an autograph of Giants catcher Patrick Bailey. 

I have several other cards of Bailey in my collection from his time playing at NC State and USA Baseball, but this is my first autograph of him since he turned pro a few years back. Patrick has shortened his signature down considerable over the years.......

but I still love this Finest autograph. Beyond attending NC State, Patrick Bailey also was the Giants catcher for Blake Snell's no-hitter. I really need to post some more Patrick Bailey autographs. Maybe next Monday......

The Bailey autograph was the majority of the not-quite-$20 I spent on these three cards.  

Next up is a pair of Durham Bulls players, one current and one former.  

Curtis Mead is a consensus Top 100 prospect with Baseball Prospectus ranking him highest at 42. Mead actually spent several weeks up with the Rays, but struggled with his bat before being demoted back to Durham. I am a big fan of the Australian third baseman and think he has a bright future somewhere. 

Last card. 

Tristan Gray was on the Durham Bulls the past three seasons. He hit a ton of home runs for them, but never got much of a chance with the Rays. Gray is an older prospect at this point, late twenties, and was traded to the Marlins in the off-season.  I am kind of surprised that he is not on the Marlins on all of his 2024 cards, although I think it's a bit of a surprise that Topps included him in any of their products. 

Anywho, his cards are very inexpensive and I enjoyed watching him play for the Bulls. 

Monday Morning Autograph - Johnny Field

 

Today's Autograph: 2014 Bowman Chrome Johnny Field 

Why Do I Own The Card: I first saw Johnny Field play at USA Baseball while he was a college baseball player at the University of Arizona. I ran into him again a few years later after he was drafted by the Rays and ended up playing with the Durham Bulls. In fact, beyond owning a bunch of Johnny Field baseball cards, I also own a game-used Johnny Field baseball bat.  

It's autographed.  

Back of the Card: 

Johnny Field's Career In A Haiku:

U of A Baseball 

Team USA, Tampa Bay Rays

Real Estate Agent (seriously) 

This Is Not A Taj Bradley Blog

For the second time this week, I am posting more cards of Taj Bradley. I won't start giving each new Taj Bradley autograph it's own post at this point, like I do Blake Snell, but it's under consideration for the future. Since this blog post is also part of an afternoon long procrastination from lesson planning for class next week, it's going to be somewhat short.  

Ten minutes on the timer.  

Two new Taj Bradley autographs, first up......

This is from the 2023 Donruss Optic set, which I think is the Panini equivalent to Topps Chrome.

The card is essentially the same as his 2023 Donruss card, outside of the Chrome finishes on the card. Perhaps Chrome is not the right word. Glossy? Let's use that word instead.  The Optics card has a high gloss finish and a slightly different photograph with tighter cropping.

Both cards are photographs from Bradley's time with the Durham Bulls. 

The scratches and dust bunny looking things on the Optics card are on the sleeve or on my ancient printer scanner, not on the card. 

Next.  

This is Taj Bradley's Signature Series card from 2024 Donruss. I did not even realize that there was a 2024 Donruss set until I found this card. I thought Panini had completely vanished from baseball after last year.  

Maybe not. 

That only took seven minutes.  

Still Bullish

My Taj Bradley collection started two years back after the impressive right-handed pitching prospect appeared on the Durham Bulls roster. I have quietly posted a few of his cards on here during that time, two to be exact, but stayed relatively under the radar with my Taj fandom.  However, with his performance with the Rays this season, I am going to be a little more aggressive with collecting his cards.  

In case you have been sleeping on the Rays mediocre season, I will admit they're not very exciting, Taj is posting more than a strikeout an inning and had a first-half ERA under 3. He's run into a bit of a rough patch after the All-Star Break, but at just 23 years old, I think the future is really bright for this pitcher.  

I have added 4 new Taj Bradley autographed cards in the past month and not spent more than $10 on any single signature. Quite the bargain for an All-Star caliber pitcher.  

Here are the four cards: 

This is a 2023 Donruss card. Yes, it's unlicensed and seems rather self-explanatory why nobody would spend much money on this card. However, if you look closely, this is actually a picture of Bradley in a Durham Bulls uniform.  Note the orange sleeve trim and the Rawlings patch on the sleeve. While the Major League Uniforms are made by Nike, the Minor Leagues jersey tops are made by an assortment of different manufacturers. The Bulls jersey tops are Rawlings.  

Love this card and was happy to see Bradley on what is essentially a Durham Bulls card.

Next.   

Another "2023" card, even though these were released in 2024.

This is from the Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary set.  It's another rehash, but it's got on-card autographs, so I am going to spare you the snarky comments about Topps reusing their previous card designs excessively.  I will just tell you that I like the card and was happy to add it to the collection of Taj Bradley cards.  

Next.  

Tier One is a $300 box of cards.  Imagine opening a box and getting a Taj Bradley autograph.  You know I am always here to soften collector's financial missteps by purchasing their $10 autographed cards. Now, someone is only out $290 and I have a high-end card with a Taj Bradley autograph.  

Print run of 99, that's a lot of buyers regret.  

Last one.  

This is from last year's Topps update set. I had to get the rookie autographed card before working on his cards in this year's set, but that's next.  

More Taj cards coming soon.  

104

This is the 104th Blake Snell autograph in my collection. I crossed 100 while I was gone, maybe there will be a recap post coming at some point in the future. You could also check out my Instagram account where Blake Snell autographs 99-103 are all posted.  

My latest Snell follows my more recent pattern of buying older Snell cards with low serial numbers that I missed the first time around. Many are available on Ebay at much lower prices these days. 

Today, a Snell rookie autographed card from Prime Cuts that is serial numbered out to 25 copies.  

Here is the front of the card.....

That's a really young Blake Snell in the photograph, which is way too small for the front of the card. I know this is an unlicensed card and that Panini could not show Snell in a Rays uniform. Still, the word "PROSPECT" should not be the overwhelming design feature over a photograph of the player.  

In positive news, the card is older and features Snell's full signature. He only signed every letter of his name for a short period of time at the beginning of his career. The signature more than makes up for the fact that this a sticker autograph. 

Back of the card......

The back of the card is better. I like the write up about his decision to play professional baseball over college. There are plenty of high school kids that get drafted into professional baseball who are also committed to play college baseball somewhere. Kind of nice knowing the back story.

 More Snell autographs to come....

Is That You, Junior?

My favorite player on the Durham Bulls this year is third baseman Junior Caminero. He's one of the best hitting prospects in all of Minor League baseball and a name that everyone is going to know sooner than later. Junior hits the ball hard.  

Junior Caminero (@RaysBaseball) smokes his 12th Triple-A homer at 112.4 mph 🔥

MLB's No. 2 prospect has five extra-base knocks through nine games this month for the @DurhamBulls. pic.twitter.com/WXBqoKmzq8

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 11, 2024

I have been slowly working more Junir Caminero cards into the collection, but it has taken some time due to their high cost. This is one of those rare moments when my collection aligns with an expensive prospect, which kind of stinks. Most of his autographs are $100 and up, so I have been chasing some of his nice looking inserts instead of his autographs. The inserts are much more reasonably priced for a guy who has played only a handful of games in the Majors.  

My latest is an All-Etch Rookie card out of this year's Topps Chrome set.  

Topps originally made the All-Etch cards back in the late 1990s, but they've brought them back for this year's Chrome set. Really nice looking cards. I love that they've kept the 1990s vibe with the background design of the card.  This card has some long odds, but still cost less than a Chrome box at Wally World or Target.  

Here is the back of the card.  

Nice write up on the back of the card with an interesting factoid about Caminero and blog favorite B.J. Upton. While Junior made his Major League debut last season, he has spent all of this year with my Durham Bulls up to being called up last week following the trade deadline.  

I have a few more cards of Junior in the works, hoping he becomes a player I regular blog about.  

Here One Minute......

I have been following Taylor Motter's career since he first appeared with the Durham Bulls nearly a decade ago. This was my first card of Motter on the Durham Bulls.......

Last year, Motter played for my Cardinals and even though the quantity of Cardinals cards was limited, I still collected them.  In this case, limited means one Topps Heritage card with one parallel.  

I still keep my eye out for new Motter cards. I recently found a printing plate from his 2016 Topps Update card, which is his rookie card. The plate was only a few dollars on Ebay.....

and the back of the card.......

Seems like a great addition to the Taylor Motter collection, if only the printing plate had been here for longer than a minute....... 

An update post coming soon.......

2024 Blake Snell Autograph Count: 5

This is the 95th Blake Snell autograph in my collection and comes from the 2019 Topps On-Demand product "Momentum Rising", which featured cards of younger star players. The checklist included Fernando Tatis Jr., Vlad Guerrero Jr., Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and many others including Blake Snell. Each set of 20 cards, which were painted by water color artist Richard Sullivan, came with one autograph. 

Naturally, the two-time Cy Young Award winning pitcher is likely the worst autographed card in the set. That's fine for me, because this card was dirt cheap.  

Here is the front of the card.   

I like the white card stock and border design.  

Is that a sticker autograph?  

Why, yes it is a sticker autograph signed by Blake Snell.  

How do I feel about the art work?  

I am not a huge fan of adults using water colors. 

How do I feel about water colors in general?  

My daughter really likes combining crayons and water colors. I think it's a good look. She's also in first grade, so it seems like an appropriate art medium.  

Are you being an art snob? 

Probably, but buy some oil based pants and put on a smock.  

Back of the card.  

Not much about Snell, but I did check to see if Richard Sullivan appeared on a team I watched while he was in the Minors. He never made it above Double A, so I am going to guess that I never saw him. Wish there was something more about Blake Snell here.  

I Needed Some Boxes, Maybe A Few Cards Too

I have been doing a lot of sorting the past few weeks, which probably deserves a post, but not today. Instead, I wanted to post a few cards I picked up while I was purchasing a few boxes from my local card shop this past weekend. It's a newer card shop that I wrote up a few weeks back, but I am impressed every time I stop there. Lately, it's been for boxes. 

Figured I needed to check out some cards. 

Here is a quick rundown.  

First up, is an Adley Rutshman rookie card from Bowman Chrome. I am not an Orioles fan, but I do like a lot of their young players. I saw Adley a few year back in Durham, figured I would add a few of his cards when I get a chance. This was a good starting point......

Also fairly inexpensive.  

Next, an unexpected Cardinals find. This is a 2001 Bowman Chrome Stan Musial rookie reprint. Not sure the scan does this card justice, but I really like the sepia background with the greyscale photo, all with the trappings of a Chrome card. Nice to see a good blend of some vintage and modern design elements on the same card.  

Here is the back, which includes the serial number out of 299. Not the rarest Musial card by any means, but I was not expecting to find a serial numbered of The Man when I walked in the door of the card shop.  

I also found a few Snell commons.......

My effort to collect some non-autographed Blake Snell cards also should probably be there own post, but I will wait until I have time to write about some more exciting cards. There are in the fifty-cent bin at the shop.

Next up......

A few vintage cards. The Curt Flood is probably my favorite card out of the group.  All the players have a connection to the Cardinals or Durham Bulls with the exception of Norm Cash who once tried to take an at-bat against Nolan Ryan with a table leg.  

I demad a game-used table leg card, but nobody has come through for me.  

2024 Blake Snell Autograph Count: 4

This is the 94th Blake Snell autograph in my collection and my first from a Topps Dynasty Collection product. If you are not familiar with Dynasty, it is basically a one pack per box autograph product that costs upwards of $200 dollars. The cards are generally an on-card autograph with a large patch piece. Blake Snell has signed for the product several times over the years, but I have never forked over the money to purchase one of these cards.  

Even the really good Blake Snell autographs with cool patch pieces and really low serial numbers sell for way less than $200. More common patch pieces are typically under $50. When I set out to find a Dynasty autograph, that was the top end of my budget for this card and I did not even spend it all. I have no idea why someone would buy a pack/box of Dynasty, but their loss is my win.  

Here is the front of the 2019 Topps Dynasty Blake Snell autograph card, which is encased by Topps.  

The blue is patch material and the white is jersey material, making this a Rays home jersey. Too generic of a jersey piece to figure out where on the Rays logo this was cut. The serial number is also on the front with this card having a print run of just 10 copies. The autograph is Snell's standard form and effort.  

This is the most high-end Snell autograph in my collection by product, but I am not sure it would even rank in my Top 20 in terms of style, design, and collecting appeal. It's just a card with a high SRP, that's it.

Honestly, a little disappointing now that it is in my hand. I guess it's cool to own one Topps Dynasty card, but I think this is likely my last. Although, I imagine the person who pulled this $40 card out of a $200 box of cards was even more disappointed than I might be feeling.  

I am surprised that the back does not have a huge "CONGRATULATIONS" stamped across the top. I actually like that they mention his first Cy Young, as well as Snell leading the American League in a bunch of different statistical categories. I would say the back is better than expected.  

It's Been A Minute, Evan Longoria

I think my audience has turned over during the past decade of writing in this space, but when I originally started writing I had a really healthy collection of Evan Longoria cards. He was the most noteworthy Durham Bulls alumni in the Majors. My Longoria collection was not quite to the level of my current Blake Snell collection, but it was close.  

There are autographs......

Autographed patches. 

Manufactured patches. 

and whole letters off the back of his jersey. 

After getting traded off the Rays, my Evan Longoria collection came to a halt. I have not really touched his cards over the past six or seven years, but decided to go back and fill in a few holes. Nothing I am willing to put in my collecting goals for the year, but here we are with an important early card I missed adding to my collection years ago.  

This is his 2006 Bowman Sterling autograph.......

This used to be a fairly expensive card. There were nicer options at the time that were on-card autographs, so I skipped over this one. Several of the "missing" Longoria cards from my collection are early sticker autographs I did not choose to buy specifically because they were sticker autographs.  I actually like the design of this card and the sticker is farily well-blended for having a white background.  

More Longoria card later.