Revisiting An Old Favorite

Long ago, when I first started writing in this space, I am pretty sure that Triple Threads was my favorite product to collect.  I sort of held back all summer on new card releases, and then went crazy buying Triple Threads single cards.  Whatever was leftover was my budget for all the other cards that I was going to collect for the year. 

I flipped through some of my old boxes and checked out some of the old scans the other night while trying to wind down after work.  Fun to do. 

Here are a few things I found......

I don't even remember owning this Howie Kendrick autograph. 

Love how the signature is vertical on the card rather than horizontal.  Seemed like a nice find given his performance in the Postseason this year. 

I don't really collect relic cards anymore, but I have a bunch of Triple Threads that are just patches and jersey pieces.  This Miggy patch card with just a print run of 3 is probably my best one.  The smudges are on the case, not on the card. 

My favorite Triple Threads cards by far were the Triple Threads cards with the player nicknames.  Here are three good ones....

It did not matter whether it was autographed or not.  I am not a huge Ryan Braun fan, as a player, but the Hebrew Hammer card might be my favorite nickname card that is in my collection on a Triple Threads card. 

The more recent Triple Threads sets have always just been about names for me.  I am not really sure that Topps does a lot with the nicknames anymore, so I just go for the player.  So, really I end up with a few Cardinals and whatever former Durham Bulls players I can find. 

Probably my favorite Triple Threads card in recent years us this Jim Edmonds. 

Would love a "Jimmy Ballgame" card, but the 2004 NLCS is cool too.  

So, this year I have already added a Blake Snell autograph from Triple Threads, but there were a few more cards from the set that I decided to pick up in addition.  As much as I used to love this set, and enjoy the quick revisit for a week, these feel a little disappointing.  

First up is a Cardinals card.  

It used to be that the cards above at the top of the post were sort of the standard design for Triple Threads, but it feels like those types of cards are now secondary.  This Hicks card feels like the majority of cards that I run across in this set.  It's the usual generic autograph and relic piece that could be found in half a dozen other Topps products. 

Not the best autograph either from Hicks.  Yes, it's just this card.  Yes, it sold for cheap. 

Next up is a former Durham Bull. 

Again, same style as the Hicks card.  Adames had a good year for the Rays, if you do not know anything about him, or own any of his cards I would highly recommend you check him out.

Last card, another Durham Bull.  

I am not exactly sure how to describe this card.  It's not quite the cards at the top of the post, and it's not the same as the Hicks and Adames.  Sort of it's own thing.  I'd like to think of this as almost a generic version of the standard Triple Threads autograph/relic that Topps uses on players it has no clue about. 

Ryan Yarbrough? 

He's won a bunch of games.  What else does Topps know about him?  I'd guess nothing. 

I am excited about finding an autograph of the Rays starting pitcher.  He was in Durham a few years back, and seems like a decent starting pitcher.  He had another autographed card or two early in the year, but nothing I was overly excited about. 

Maybe another Triple Threads card or two next week, maybe not. 

I Forgot

Willy Adames spent two years playing for the Durham Bulls.  I collected quite a few of his cards during that time, and continued to track down a few once he got called up to the Rays last season.  I think my favorite was his Topps Living Set card. 

I have a few Minor League cards of him too, also a few autographs. 

The beginning of the year was not kind to Willy, and with plenty of other former Durham Bulls players on the Rays I set my sights elsewhere.  Well, I mainly collected Blake Snell cards, but there were a few other Rays players who made an appearance in this space during this baseball season too. 

Willy did not. 

Then the second half of the season happened.  Willy improved his OPS by more than 100 points, played Gold Glove caliber defense, and helped the Rays get into the playoffs.  He even hit a pair of home runs in the ALDS against the Astros. 

So, maybe it is time to find a few new cards of this former Durham Bull.  His cards have gotten a lot less expensive, so I was actually able to pick up two of his cards rather than the one that I had originally set out to find.  

First up.  

This is from Topps Heritage High Numbers.  The autograph looks a little smudged, but there are other copies of this card with a similar appearance.  Perhaps this was not Willy's best effort on signing cards.  The card cost a few dollars, so I am not overly worried about the the slight smudge.  Just happy to own an Adames autograph from this set.  Always one of the best every year.  

Next.  

This is from this year's Archives set, the autograph is on card, and the design in borrowed from the 1994 Topps set.  When I saw this card, I was reminded that the original 1994 set had different shortstop prospect that was on my rooting interest.......

No autographs from Tripp "Homer" Cromer, but I hope that Willy Adames turns out a little bit better in the long run.  

Just Stick To The Plan

Way back in January I wrote a bunch of goals about what I wanted to do with my collection this year.    It was so long ago, and it is so easy to lose track of those sorts of goals.  I am not sure how many different baseball card products have been released this year, I am thinking five to six, but I have only put together two different sets so far.  I have a Heritage set, and a base set of Topps. 

I have picked up a few packs of Donruss, not cool, but otherwise I have stuck to the plan.  

During this past week, Topps released their Gypsy Queen product.  I have been a fan in the past, and kind of dig the look of the base cards this year along with a few of the inserts.  I can tell you that I have been in Target and Wal-Mart during the past week.  I bought no Gypsy Queen cards.  None.  

However, I did pick up a pair of Gypsy Queen cards.  Sticking to the plan, only Cardinals and former Durham Bulls.  I am kind of excited about the Cardinals card. 

There are other Jose Martinez cards that have come out of the last year or two, but the guy has had zero certified autographs.  I have seen a few locally in person autographs, since he spent five years in the Carolina League, but nothing that I really wanted to add to my collection. 

I was hoping the day would come when Jose would sign something for some card company.  Here we are. 

Next, the Durham Bulls portion of the post. 

Adames has been in Durham the last few years, but seems to finally have found a spot on the Rays roster.  His autographs seemed to have cooled off a bit over the last two years, which has helped me add a few more of his cards to the collection.  I like that he's an actual Ray on these cards now, not just a random photo from Spring Training.  

Living Set Cards That Are Still Alive

Topps sells cards on their website.  They have a store with packs and boxes.  There are Topps Now cards, Throwback Thursdays, The Living Set, and probably a few others that I am missing on my list.  I see collectors get these different types of direct to consumer cards, post them, and many of them look like really nice cards.  I did that once.  It's been two years since I have touched the Topps website.  

Not going back.  

The last card I bought off of the Topps website was an Aledmys Diaz rookie card.  It did not arrive in mint condition.  The customer service people at Topps kind of shrugged their shoulders.  I did end up with another copy of the card, but I got it from another collector.  No more cards directly from Topps.  

I have been checking out some of the cards out of the Living Set, also known as the set that is supposedly never going to end.  Until enough people get bored.  Seems like a nice product with some nice looking cards.  I was curious.  I bought a few of the cards.  

Not from Topps.  

There are a few different Cardinals players that have appeared in the set, along with a few different Durham Bulls players.  I decided to start off with one of each, checking things out. 

My Durham Bulls player is Willy Adames.....

The art work on the front of the card is nice.  Adames has been a pretty prime prospect for a few years now and has a ton of cards.  Not sure he has an "art" style card.  Kind of something different after years of Minor League and Bowman products.  

Back of the card.  Would have been cool if Topps had put his Triple A stats in the past year column on the stat box on the bottom of the card.  

My Cardinals card is Jack Flaherty.  

This picture feels a little bit more like a sketch book drawing than a baseball card.   A few of the students in my class this year are really into art and do a lot with sketchbooks.  This feels like something in a sketch book.  I should get one of them to make a Jack Flaherty picture and see how close it is to this card......

Back of the card.  It would not shock me that 100% of the Dugout Quiz cartoons on the Living Set cards are about only four or five players.  

One more for today.  Besides the two cards from the Living Set, I also ended up with a Topps Now card from 2016.  I actually have a few cards from this set, which I bought before the whole Aledmys Diaz debacle.  Mainly, just a mix of Cardinals and Durham Bulls players.  I think I might have a Bryce Harper card too.  

My new Topps Now card is a former Durham Bull.  

I have a few other Upton cards out of the Topps Now set.  I was surprised that one of them is actually a pretty tough find, definitely on the expensive side for a B.J. Upton, I mean Melvin, card.  This one seems to be fairly ordinary.  

The back of the card has a quick description of the event that got the player the Topps Now card.  

Overall, some nice cards that I am happy to add to the collection and they arrived safely at my house without any bends, folds, or the need to call Topps customer service.  

2018 Durham Bulls Team Set Part 1

There are thirty cards in this year's Durham Bulls team set, I am doing fifteen cards in today's post, another fifteen at some point over the weekend.  I scanned the cards in pairs, minus the fifteenth, which I will use to give a little better look at the design.....

Pretty solid design.  I like the use of team color's in the banner and name bar, but I also like that the borders of the card are white.  Feels like it has been awhile since the Bulls have had a set with a white border, I am sure I am forgetting something that happened recently.  

A little busy for my tastes, but at least it is a black and white design.  Color would be complete overload here.  You've got player name and position in the banner, biography box, vitals with the card number squeezed in on the side, three years of stats, and all the Bulls/MiLB legal/copyright stuff.  Let's a lot of stuff in a small space.

Oh, Adam Moore is a catcher.  Seems like a decent Triple A organizational depth kind of player.

Meet half of the team.

My favorite combination of players in this set.  Banda has been a favorite this year since coming over from the Diamondbacks in the Steven Souza trade and Adames has been in Durham for awhile now.  

I am guessing Adames is up for good and will likely never return to Durham outside of an injury rehab.  Banda had Tommy John, so he will definitely be back through town at some point next year.  Hard to believe the Rays are going to let a talented hard throwing left handed starter linger in Triple A too long though.  

Both of these guys were in the Majors for long runs this year.  Castillo is a nasty relief pitcher.  Just unfair.  Bauers was not as good as I thought he was going to be in the Majors, but he is still just 22.  He had some great moments at the dish this year.  

I would say both Bauers and Castillo are up for good in Tampa, but maybe Bauers gets sent back down with a slow start next year.  Could also see him getting moved to the outfield, there are other first baseman on the way.  

Coats and Field are both veteran players.  Field ended the year in the Twins system.  Coats played the whole year in Durham, but I had seen him a few times prior.....

with the White Sox Triple A team in Charlotte.  Coats has some decent upside for a guy in his late 20s.  I actually have a bunch of Field cards in old posts from when he was in college.  He was one of the first USA Baseball people I collected.  

Hazelbaker has been everywhere.  Once a Cardinal, played well with them.  Gibaut is a little under the radar.  He is a big guy who throws hard, made the Triple A All-Star game this year.  

He's a college guy, so he's already 25, but just a really good player.  I think he is up with the Rays next year and is a useful reliever for a long time.  

I had seen Micah Johnson a bunch of times with Charlotte.  Learned a lot about him this year, interesting guy off the field.  Really into art and has had his own shows.  Nice stuff if you follow him on social media.  Hu was on the Bulls last year.  

Mainly a control pitcher.  He has had some good moments with the Rays.  Kind of reminds me a lot of Matt Andriese for whatever reason.  

Two relief pitchers who have been up and down between Tampa and Durham.  

I like Kolarek better.  Lefty reliever with a funky motion.  All need pitchers like that.  

We are at the end.  My second favorite pairing.  McCarthy is a UVA grad.  I saw him a few years back at the ACC Baseball Tournament.  Nice player, not sure how he is going to fair in the Majors, but he played a great few games in the International League Championship.   All of the games were on the road in Scranton because of Hurricane Florence.  McCarthy is from Scranton.  

He is getting a Dundie for best player in a Triple A playoff series.  

Best Dundies ever.  

Lowe caught fire last year between A Ball and Double A and just kept hitting this year.  His line in Durham was pretty unreal and he ended up getting promoted up to Tampa.  He played in roughly 40-50 games with the Rays, played well, should keep an eye on him next year.  Extra base machine.  

2018 International League All-Star Set Part 1

A few new Minor League cards I picked up while attending a Durham Bulls playoff game yesterday against the Toledo Mud Hens.  The Bulls ended up winning the game 3-2 and advanced to the International League Championship where they will play Scranton, which is the Yankees Triple A team.

Before the game I visited the team store and found the set, which I am going to share with you on this post, another later in the week with the second half of the set.  Also a copy of the 2018 Durham Bulls set.  I will post that at some point too.

The International League All-Star set is 28 cards, so this post will feature the first 14 cards.  There are two Bulls in this part of the set and another in the second half, but not wearing a Bulls uniform.  I have scanned the cards in pairs and have a little blurb about each scan.

First two cards in the set belong to Willy Adames and Anthony Alford.  Adames has been on the Bulls for awhile now, and the Rays have actually given him a lot of playing time in the Majors this year.  He has done fairly well.  You have heard a decent amount from this blog over the years about Adames, so let me give Alford a little love....

Alford has been a Top 100 prospect for the last few years.  He got some pop, he's got some speed, and he has done a good job of getting on-base.  Well, until this year, which was easily his worst since the Jays drafted him out of Ole Miss in 2012.  Almost one of those guys who got onto an All-Star team because he played well in other seasons.  A slash line of .240/.312/.344 hardly screams All-Star, but he is just 23 and the Jays have already had him up to the Majors twice.  

Bauers is the second Bulls player in this half of the set, plenty of other opportunities to write about him in other posts.  

Allard is a former first round draft pick who has moved through the Braves system fast.  He's just 20 and he's basically spent the entire season in Triple A.  He's pitched well too.  I think he sometimes does not get the recognition he deserves.  Allard is not big and is much more on the finesse side.  Still, a 20 year old with a sub 3 ERA at Triple A is pretty special.  

The Braves called him up and he pitched a few games in Atlanta.  They were rough, but I still like his chances at being a good player in the long run.  

Both of these players have spent a fair amount of time in the Majors this summer.  Bieber has started 16 games and has 9 wins.  Some of his stats are not that good, which is why wins are not always a great stat, but he probably has some sort of long term future as a Major League player.  

Beeks was traded to the Rays from the Red Sox for Nathan Evoldi.  He has not appeared with the Bulls, but has managed 4 wins in just 8 games.  His numbers are also a little shaky.  See previous comment about wins.  

Cozens is a big guy who swings for the fences.  He has played 15 games for the Phillies this year and has an .095 batting average with 15 strikeouts in just 21 at bats.  Going to have to refine that swing a bit.

Borucki has thirteen starts for the Blue Jays.  He was really good in some of his previous stops in the Minors, but has had a hard time missing bats in the upper Minors and in the Majors.

 Fedde has risen through the Minors quickly.  He seems like he's a high floor, low ceiling guy who was a pretty good college pitcher at UNLV.  He has played parts of two seasons with the Nationals and has a career ERA over 7.  In the Minors, he has been good, nothing dominate.

I do not know much about Enyel De Los Santos.  He was in the Padres system and came over to the Phillies this past offseason for Freddy Galvis.  De Los Santos has had a good year for Lehigh Valley, but that's about all I know here.

 Gonsalves has done very well for the Twins Minor League teams the past few years, but has not faired well in his brief time in the Majors.  He has been a Top 100 prospect the past two seasons, so there is probably some hope he will be a good player.  He's probably at least a mid rotation guy.

Kingham has been around for awhile now and is north of 25.  He has been up with the Pirates for most of this year and has not had the best numbers.  Not sure what becomes of him, likely bullpen or a 4A guy.

 Last pair for the first half of the set.

Let me give you one number for Kopech:  He struck out 170 batters this year in 126 innings.  The arm and stuff is incredible.  He needs to keep developing obvious, plus he is out next year with Tommy John.  I would be more worried if it was a shoulder injury.  

Lugo came over in the J.D. Martinez trade, spent most of this season in Triple A.  He walked 9 times in over 500 at bats.  Not sure what his future in the Majors is with that little patience at the plate.

Although he was batting as I was typing this post and drew a walk.  Go figure.

More International League All-Stars later in the week.....