2023 Blake Snell Autograph Count: 9

This 2019 Topps Now Game-Used Base and Autograph card is the 84th Blake Snell autograph in my collection. I have had my eye on this card for awhile and I am glad I finally added it to my stable of Blake Snell autographs.   

Here is the front of the card.  

I don't love scanned encased cards, they rarely turn out very well.  

I took a picture.  

That's better.  

So much to love about this card. Nice action shot of Blake Snell pitching in the 2019 playoffs against the Astros, along with a swatch from a base, and Snell's signature to top it all off.  The card is celebrating Snell's save in Game 4 of the ALDS, which appears to be the only one of his professional career. In fact, this is one of only two relief appearances Snell has made since reaching the Majors. Both were in the Postseason.  

I don't do much with memorabilia cards, but love that the game-used item on the card actually appears to be used. It's at least really dirty.  

 I ran the sticker serial number through the MLB Authentication website. Here is what I found: 

The base was used for Game 3 and Game 4 of the ALDS against the Astros. Both games won by the Rays, who would lose the series in seven games. I am more curious about the fact that Kevin Cash used Blake Snell late in a game to extend a playoff series. 

If only Kevin Cash used this same strategy in the 2020 World Series......

Back of the card.  

Nice action shot of Snell and Zunino shaking hands after the game along with a disclaimer about the game-used base being from Tropicana Field.  

Overall, this is a great card. Glad someone bought it from Topps and resold it to me on Ebay.  

Sunday Simbas

Yesterday, I posted a gaggle of former Durham Bulls players who signed for the Topps Heritage set this year. However, I did not forget about the Cardinals. They also have several players who signed for Heritage, but after looking at the checklist, there was an easy to choice to be made here. 

I bought a Ted Simmons.  

Of all the Cardinals in the Hall of Fame, he is easily the player who is grossly under represented on baseball cards. Up until last year, I think there were more Dennis Eckersley autographs as a Cardinal than Ted Simmons. 

That's not good.

I am not sure if the lack of interest was from Simmons not wanting to sign or card companies not asking him to sign.  If he did not want to sign, I completely understand.  That's his choice.  If card companies did not ask, I would be a little disappointed.  

I like this card a little more than the one that Topps released in the 2018 Archives set pictured below.  

Both are great cards, so really I am splitting hairs by telling you that I like one card over another.  

While I am here talking about Ted Simmons, I also wanted to take a moment and share a pair of cards I found/received in the last month, but did not post. I do not do much with the Topps Now cards, but this was a card I got because of combined shipping. 

I did not realize that Topps gave players a card when they were elected to the Hall of Fame. Sweet that old Ted Simmons still has the long hair.  

Last one.  

I think that this was a stadium giveaway from the Pirates of some sort, but Ted Simmons worked for the team in several different capacities during the early 1990s after retiring from baseball. For a time, he was the general manager, but resigned due to stress related health problems.

The centering is not great both side-to-side and top-to-bottom, but I got this card in a random box of cards that a parent sent into school.  Hard to argue with free. 

Now, More Arenado Cards

Yesterday, I posted my first Nolan Arenado card in a Cardinals uniform.  

What should I do for a follow-up post?  

How about my second Nolan Arenado card in a Cardinals uniform.  

I dabble in the Topps Now cards, but I am not out to buy them all or even all the Cardinals cards.  Every once in a while I see one that I really like, or that marks an occasion that is worth remembering.  Topps put out a card last month for Nolan Arenado's home run in the Cardinals Home Opening Day win.  

It was a cool moment, so I bought the card.  

The Cardinals started the season on the road and Arenado hit a home run during that trip, so this was not his first dinger with the team, but just a nice feel-good moment.  It was worthy of a Topps Now card and I thought it was one that would look nice in my collection.  

Front of the card.  

The back of the card......

A nice little write-up by Topps on the back of the card.  Rather than mentioning that the win gave the team a four-game winning streak, it would have been cool to see Topps connect the dinger to other memorable Cardinals opening day home runs.  There have been some good ones within the last 20-25 years, with the two best being Albert Pujols hitting one on his first Opening Day as a rookie and Mark McGwire's grand slam in 1998.  

Now, Baseball Cards

 I am still catching up on the new cards that I have added to my collection over the past two weeks.  I am also juggling catching up on my out going mail, nap time for my daughter, and finishing up a project for work that I have stared at for far too long.  Just two cards for this post, keeping it short.  They are great cards though.  

I figured the baseball season was going to be short.  I am honestly surprised that we have made it this far into the season.  Although, my Cardinals should probably be disqualified after the past week and a half.  Not many highlights for me so far this year with no Minor League season, and now no Cardinals.  

I did manage to find two Topps Now cards that featured two pretty memorable highlights from the season.  So, with no Durham Bulls and no Cardinals, I am looking elsewhere.    

First, is the card of Dr. Fauci from his first pitch in the season opener between the Nationals and Yankees.  

I believe this had the largest print run of any Topps Now card ever.  Something like 50,000 copies were made.  Similar to the Project 2020 cards, these have been selling for pretty unreasonable sums of money on Ebay.  I like the picture in the card.  While it was not the best first pitch, it was still pretty memorable considering the circumstances.  

The next card is actually from the Giants exhibition games against the A's.  

This is commemorating Alyssa Nakken becoming the first women to coach in an MLB game.  She has actually been working for the Giants for several years, but had never taken the field in uniform in previous years.  Apparently, teams can hire as many coaches as they choose, but can only have seven in the dugout for the game.  I learned that a few weeks back after this game.  Considering other sports have female assistant coaches and referees, it's probably time for Major League to catch up with the times. 

Random Cards A Century Apart

I have been on vacation for the past week, and have enjoyed sitting around sorting out some cards and watching baseball.  I have sorted out a few thousand cards, but that's for a later post. 

I have also enjoyed checking out the baseball playoffs.  One of the best perks of my job is the fact that I get the first two to three weeks of October off.  Always nice. 

On to cards. 

While I have been sorting out all these cards, I have run across more than a few cards that I wish I had taken the time to post when I bought/traded for them.  In looking at the stack I pulled out on Tuesday, I decided that there were two cards that were clearly better than the rest of the stack, or so they seem that way for the moment. 

First card. 

I posted my first card of George "Possum" Whitted way back in August.  The Durham native primarily played for the Phillies, Pirates, and Cardinals from 1912 until 1922, so his cards are quite old and often quite expensive.  Possum also managed and played for the Durham Bulls for six years during the late 1920s and early 1930s.  

This card is from the long running Exhibits cards, which are more or less postcards with baseball players.  There are still a lot of people who like collecting them.  Personally, I have never done much with them, but I am not really in line to drop a few hundred dollars on a Cracker Jacks or Famous & Barr card of him.  Let's try one out.  

The card years on the Exhibits tend to be over multiple years.  This card is listed as a 1921 in many places, but other sites have it as a 1921-1924.  Either way, it's almost a century old, and still in relatively good condition.  The corners are soft and the dings and scratches are on the card, not on the top loader.  

I like the simplicity and the fact that this card has an actual photo of Possum.  My first card was a drawing.  

Next.  

I still do not buy directly from Topps, but I spent one day of my summer looking for different cards they have sold on their website that I have missed out on.  More of those for a later date, but know that I am not going to let the whole Aledmys thing go yet. 

Since I did not buy it from Topps, some guy on Ebay got my money instead.  Although he paid Topps for the card, so really Topps still made a bunch of money off of this card even though I bought it from someone else. 

Some other reasons why this card is here:

Who wouldn't want an Expos card? 

Have I ever told you about how St. Louis people obsess over what high school they went to?  Max Scherzer and I went to different high schools, but in the same school district.  Also a decade apart from each other.   

Max Scherzer went to Mizzou.  I did not, but I still like their sports teams. 

Max Scherzer is good. 

Max Scherzer is wearing an Expos uniform. 

After getting the Possum Whitted card, I specifically thought about how great these two random cards would look in a post together. 

My work here is done.  Off to watch baseball for the rest of the day. 

2019 Blake Snell Autograph Count: 3

Blake Snell autographs that are not from 2019?  I like those too.  My newest Blake Snell card is from the 2018 Topps Now set.  I have posted a few Topps Now cards on here from time to time, but I never directly purchase any of Topps direct consumer sales cards anymore. 

Long ago, I bought an Aledmys Diaz rookie card from them.  It was in less than ideal shape when it arrived at my house....

The response from Topps Customer Service was incredible.  

So, all the Topps Now cards that appear in this space are purchased, or traded for second hand.  

A look at the new Snell card.  All of the Topps Now autograph are encased, which is terrible for scanning, but helpful for keeping these cards in good shape.  Still not buying these directly from Topps.  

The autograph is typical of Snell's signature and it's on card.  No stickers here.  The bottom of the card has a caption about Snell winning his 21st game of the season.  The picture comes from the game, which took place against the Blue Jays in September of 2018.  

  

I thought the video of the game would also be nice since the back of the card is exactly two sentences with nothing else to help out the card.  No picture, or stats.  Nothing.  

Luckily, cards really are not judged on their backs.  This is my first Topps Now autograph, very impressed.  

A Christmas Card Now

I did a few of the Topps Now cards this year, not as into the whole thing as some other collectors, but I found some nice cards that fit my collection.  I have a of the cards still on my radar at this point, mainly some of the former Durham Bulls that have ended up spread throughout the league.  Not in any rush to get them, but if they pop up and are the right price I would be happy to pick them up.

In the meantime, I picked up an unexpected Topps Now card a few days back in the mail.  I like classy gestures, and it was nice to see Topps send out a bonus card to all of the collectors who bought a Topps Now card at some point this past summer.  Or at least that's what I think they did based on a few different discussions around Twitter and Facebook.

Here is the card which is two sided....

The front has Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant and Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez.  The Topps Now cards usually have a specific event attached to them, but nothing is mentioned on here as to why they are being celebrated.  The Bryant side looks like the final play from the World Series, the Sanchez?  I must admit though that I did not follow along with the Yankees too closely this year.  He hit a bushel of home runs....

The back has Ichiro, 3000th hit, and David Ortiz, who was retiring.  I must say that this was a really cool free card to pick up from Topps and a nice way to thank collectors.  It even has a cool snowflake print around the edges to give it that holiday feel.

The card was enclosed in a holiday card from Topps.  The front of the card.....

and the inside of the card.....

Again, very appreciative of the cool holiday card.  Great way to reward collectors at the end of the year.  

Yes, I Am Excited Too Stephen

I bought a few ToppsNow cards during the 2016 season, but I generally avoided the cards.  Topps released a few hundred cards throughout the summer and fall and I am pretty sure that I own less than 5 of them.  It's not that I am totally against the idea of having an on-going set featuring cool events from throughout the season, it's just more about spending $10 every time something cool happened with a player, or team, that I collected.

Not going there.

While some of the cards are low print runs, and carry a premium on sites like Ebay, I have started to find a few cool cards that are a little bit under cost from their original $9.99 cost.  So, like anything I collect I have started to piece together some of the Cardinals cards and a few former Durham Bulls players.

Today, I am going to share a pair of new Cardinals Topps Now cards.  First up is outfielder Stephen Piscotty with a go ahead home run against the Cubs.....

There is so much to love about this card.  I am a fan of seeing players show a little bit of emotion, I am sure that Bob Gibson or Pedro Martinez would have drilled Piscotty on his next at bat for pulling something like this, but I think it's good for drawing younger fans to the game.  You hit a home run 40 feet over the left-center field wall your allowed to be excited.  Especially when it is against a rival team.....

The video cuts away from Piscotty's leap, but you get the idea.  He was pretty jacked up about the home run.  A no doubter too.  Next....

This is actually my second copy of this card, but I got a deal on it from the same collector who flipped me the Piscotty card.  I have said it several times over the last few months, I am excited about the future of Alex Reyes.  Here's a little taste of the 101 MPH heat advertised on the front of the card.

Topps Now, But Never Again

Topps is now making cards that feature in season highlights the day after they happen.  Jake Arrieta throws a no-hitter, Topps Now card.  Melvin Upton has a walk off hit, Topps Now.  Supposedly Topps got the idea for the Topps Now cards from this scene from SpaceBalls.

Since its inception Topps Now has drawn a lot of talk around social media.  Some good, some not good.  Recently I took the Topps Now plunge.  At $9.99 a card I was expecting something really cool.  I received my envelope a week, or two, ago and all I can say is "sigh".  Let me review a few reasons for my sigh of disappointment.  

1. Shoddy Packaging - Seriously, a $10 card with no penny sleeve in the cheapest, flimsiest Ultra Pro that money can possibly buy.  If someone had sent a card like this off of Ebay the would at least get a stern message about their packaging.  Luckily in this case nothing happened to my card, but if you have not bought from Topps Now, just beware that this is how your card is shipped.

2. Remind Me What's So Special? - I took Bryce out of his flimsy Ultra Pro to scan him, he's felling better in a penny sleeve and a sturdier top loader.  I had to check out the front and back of the card, but outside of the date on the front of the card I cannot really find anything that sets the card apart to make it special.  Is there a serial number?  No.  Is there some sort of cool certification statement on the back?  No.  So, it's printed on some sort of cool card stock, something?  No.  Anything?  No.

3. So This Will Be Great For Team Collectors? - Some of this is a little bit tricky.  If you are going to make roughly two cards a day, there are going to be days where there are some really tough choices.  As a Cardinals fan, I was happy to see Jaime Garcia get a card for his near no-hitter, but I have also been disappointed that Topps has missed getting a card of Aledmys Diaz out.  You know, the rookie shortstop is has been hitting .400 during April and leading the world in OPS, OPS+, and WAR.  So, maybe I am biased.  I asked around.

I decided that I would check out a Cubs collector or two who had said something about Topps Now cards.  After all, nobody is having a better season than the Cubs....Both liked the Arrieta no-hit card that Topps put out the day after, but that was sort of a no-brainer.  Both mentioned a few different plays and games that could have been a Topps Now card, but both wondered why Dexter Fowler had gone unnoticed for the first month of the season?  Fowler has had a spectacular start to the season, several huge games, yet nothing.

Dropping down further in the standings, there are several other collectors who have teams that currently reside near the bottom of their divisions.  For example, as a Durham Bulls fan and collector, I have the chance to interact with a lot of Rays collectors.  Many have expressed doubts about the Rays getting a Topps Now card anytime soon short of a no-hitter.  After all, Drew Smyly accomplished almost the same thing that Jaime Garcia got a Topps Now card for, but where is his card?

I bought two Topps Now cards, but never again.