Retirement hopefully brings more Mariano Rivera autograph cards to the market

Seeing one of your favorite players retire is not a fun thing to go through, especially when the player was one of the best at their position.

Mariano Rivera retired last season, now making me cringe anytime Joe Girardi makes a call to the bullpen. However, I did notice one advantage to Rivera hanging up his spikes – more autographs on the market.

Right now, Rivera is listed as having 297 autograph cards, according to the Beckett database. His first autograph cards appeared in 1996 Leaf Signature. He had a number of signed cards in the mid-2000s in sets like Triple Threads and Co-Signers. But there were just a handful of cards in 2011, and none from Topps in 2012 (but his signed cards did show up in Panini and Upper Deck).

Last year, he also had just a handful of signed cards hit the market – and only in high-end sets.

This year, Rivera has had cards appear in Donruss, ITG Past Present Future, Panini Prizm, Topps Gypsy Queen and Topps Tribute. They will also be in Topps Tier One, which comes out tomorrow. Yet, all these autographs have been limited, which makes it seem as though he is getting the Albert Pujols treatment – his autographs are limited and mostly appear in high-end.

Besides being Mariano Rivera and a New York Yankee, the other appeal of his autograph is his beautiful signature. He is probably in the top five when it comes to signatures in any sport. 

The real culprit in bringing more Rivera signature cards to the market seems to be Panini. It has included Rivera autographs in nearly all of its baseball releases. Even though some of the cards have been limited, something is still better than something. 

The Core Four once again

I am not going to be sentimental all season as Derek Jeter's last everything is shoved down baseball's throat. But it was New York's home opener, so today I will accept it.

It's cool seeing The Core Four (why do we hate Bernie Williams so much?) at the stadium again. I'll enjoy this for now, but tomorrow it's back to baseball.

The Core Four honored before Derek Jeter’s final home opener pic.twitter.com/ZV2Puzf2vw

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 7, 2014

Photo: The Core Four for the first pitch: New York Yankees former pitchers Mariano Rivera (left)... http://t.co/kWQZwaLf6N #Yankees #NYY

— Steven Gorges (@GorgesSteven) April 7, 2014

The one card I wanted from 2014 Topps Baseball

I have separation issues. I don’t like to deal with someone or something leaving until the last possible moment. I have countless examples of this throughout my life, but the most recent goes back to last baseball season.

Mariano Rivera was retiring. The game’s best closer and one my favorite player’s career was coming to an end. He could have continued without embarrassment. Rivera still had plenty left. However, he decided 2013 would be his last go-around as an MLB player.

I pretended it wasn’t happening.

There’s a good chance I have seen about 100 of Rivera’s 652 saves live. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, I attended about 40 games a season – including road trips – with my high mark being around 60 in 2003. Add in playoff games I saw him compete in and the smattering of games over the last five years that I attended and the number of saves I have seen is probably around triple digits.

Every time I hear Enter Sandman, there is a leap in my heart I can’t accurately describe. But I immediately want to jump to my feet and yell at the top of my lungs – what I did every time Rivera jogged from the bullpen to the mound. That song creates a Pavlovian reaction no matter where I am: in a bar, in the car, at the gym, and always at a baseball game.

But last year I didn’t want to deal with the fact that Rivera’s baseball career was ending. I saw pictures of items he received throughout his retirement tour. It was great that he spoke to workers and fans at different ballparks. The All-Star Game was a great moment for him and his fans – there might have been a tear – and then there was the last home game at Yankee Stadium.

I didn’t go. I didn’t watch it on TV. I acted like I didn’t care. I told myself I had seen enough of Rivera throughout my life, and one game wouldn’t change the way I feel about him.

It wouldn’t.

It hasn’t.

However, that night when I was alone, I put on SportsCenter and watched the highlights. Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte met Rivera on the mound to take him out of the game. They hugged. They cried.

I cried.

Rivera’s career was over in that moment. He shared it with some of his longtime teammates and with a roaring crowd at Yankee Stadium – screaming and chanting his name, saying thanks in the way they had during his 19-year career.

This card reminds me that we shouldn’t be sad because it’s over, but happy that it happened (Dr. Seuss or someone said that). Jeter and Rivera are smiling and I’m sure Pettitte has the same grin on his face if we saw the moment from another angle.

Rivera was one of the best I got to see play baseball and not even for how he made a baseball dance with his cutter, but in the way that he seemed to treat the game and carry himself. If I only had to own one card from 2014 Topps, this would most certainly be it.

I’m glad I was able to get one today.

Even non-Yankee fans can appreciate Mariano Rivera

On May 17, 1996, Mariano Rivera recorded his first career save.

There was no way to know he would become the greatest closer in the history of baseball. At the time, he was still the backup to John Wetteland.

But on Monday afternoon, Rivera stood on the mound at Yankee Stadium and recorded a Major League record 602 saves.

While it’s a statistic made up from a cranky sportswriter once upon a time, Rivera’s accomplishment is a remarkable feat.

As a New York Yankees fan, there is no better song to hear at Yankee Stadium than 'Enter Sandman'. The song brings confidence, joy and an overwhelming feeling that your team is about to win another game.

[Related: You can already buy Mariano 602 items from MLB.com]

Great news for Rivera and Pettitte collectors

According to Upper Deck's news release, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte will be signing for the 2010 baseball cards. This is huge for Upper Deck and Mariano/Andy fans because to my knowledge there are not many autographed cards of these guys floating around. By not many, I mean by comparison to most Yankees (Jeter, A-Rod, Teixeira, Cano, etc.)

To read the full new release click here.

Card collection pays off with Mo

BC Sports is a card/memorabilia chain store that is located through the East Coast, primarily in the Northeast. Sadly, like many card shop, the cards are overpriced, often times grossly overpriced.

That hasn't stopped me from shopping there. Sometimes -- sometimes -- you can catch some deals. Perhaps a couple of older boxes get marked down. But it always has the newest items from Topps Series 1 to Upper Deck Premier.

BC Sports offers a club and not just for kids. With your BC Sports card, you get 10 percent off boxes and they track the amount of money you spend because at the end of the year you can use points to purchase memorabilia. For every 250 you spend on cards in the store (this includes loose packs), you get $25 off at the end of the year.

I've actually never used my points at the end of year, which is dumb. If I am spending the money, I might as well reap the small benefit I get of spending money in this store.

This year I had $100 to use (yeah, that's $1,000 I spent in the store in 2008). This year, BC had a huge sale on its memorabilia right around the time you are supposed to use the girt certificates.

As I looked through the store, this one based in the Philadelphia region, there was mostly Phillies products such as a Cole Hamels auto'ed World Series baseball or a Chase Utley auto'ed All-Star game baseball.

I considered both, but I had my eye on something else.

The guy behind the counter (who knows my name, my job, my boyfriend and his collections -- clearly I spent too much time in this place) said, "You can get that kind of stuff anywhere."

He was right and I caved. I said, "Get it."

With the discount and my gift certificate, I spent about $150 on this item and I'm thrilled.

Mariano Rivera, a nine-time all star, is one of my favorite Yankees. There have been so many great moments in recent Yankee history that he has been apart, it's difficult not to like this man.

He always has a smile on his face. He's a giving and generous person. He's a heck of a competitor.

Rivera is 40 and still at the top of his game. While watching him, you can't help but wonder how a man who weights 140 pounds soaking wet can rear back and throw the way he does. Even in his worst moments -- 1997 against Cleveland (I hate you Sandy Alomar) and 2004 ALCS against the Red Sox (I blame Tom Gordon more) -- he is still great and the embodiment of class.

I haven't figured out where this is going to go yet, but I'm sure it will go in the crazy room (That's what we call the office, which houses all of my baseball cards).