That's the way the (C)rookie crumbles.

Yesterday I posted a hobby box break of 2011 Topps Pro Debut baseball cards and it got me thinking (read:made me want to go on a rant) more about the whole rookie card logo. This is the second product release containing minor league players, and it looks like it would be the second release of 4 or 5 total products with such players.

Later in the year we are scheduled to see a likely Pro Debut Series 2, as well as Topps Heritage Minor League and Bowman Platinum which are all slated to contain minor league autographs of top prospects. While I think it is great to include top prospects in products, I don't think it's great to have them sign 500 "First Year" cards, Pro Debut cards, Bowman Chrome, Topps Chrome, Bowman Drafts Picks & Prospects, Topps Heritage, Platinum, etc.

Doesn't that seem like a bit much? Now compound that with the fact that we will have 3 Bowman sets that look IDENTICAL, and Topps Series 1, 2, and Update look IDENTICAL to Pro Debut. They must really think we are suckers. I don't care to have 40 different color base prospect
Gary Sanchez cards. Don't forget about the printing plates for each of those 40 different cards that look the same from every set. Oh and the autograph versions.


With all those autographs you then have those same cards as base cards, then parallel versions of each of those cards, 4 printing plates of each, and on and on. But as if that wasn't enough of an issue, now what happens when you have 50 cards from all these sets of a player in a given year such as 2011 and he then gets called up to the majors. Well, back in the day you would be holding his rookie cards. Now, you are holding what will inevitably be his least desirable cards simply because they are not the "RC" logo cards. There is one exception- Bowman Chrome.

The only card collectors seem to chase regardless of what year are the Bowman Chrome autographs. They have become the be all end all rookie/prospect cards. If you ask me, Topps should see this as an opportunity to right the ship now and eliminate some of these other minor league releases and make these prospects and prospect autos from Bowman and Bowman Chrome worth the price of the product.

Collectors know that most of these minor league guys don't make it so why push products of "could be's" when you can integrate new ideas into fresh sets of the veterans and include a subset of Top Prospects in each one?

There was a reason that Fleer, Donruss, Score, and Upper Deck lost the rights to producing major league baseball cards. It was because the market was flooded and the cards were worth nothing. Example being look at the Sammy Sosa and Ken Griffey Jr RC's, there are a bazillion of those floating around, and while no one wants a Sosa one now, Griffey Jr is still a desirable rookie card.

So now, we as collectors are left with a bazillion minor league sets or cards that pretty much look like everything else, they might be prospects or they might be rookies. But the bottom line is it's not a rookie without that logo, so pick what you buy wisely.

Topps needs to slow down these minor league cards because I have a feeling I am not the only one that is not interested and would rather see another major league set put out.

Guest blog post: Chasing the Texas Rangers -- from Pennsylvania

All those years of subscribing to Beckett – studying the price guide, reading the articles, feeling pangs of jealousy over people’s awesome pulls – and I’d never read the table of contents.

Now, it’s the first place I turn. My girlfriend Sooz’s name is listed there.

As a two-decade collector of baseball cards, I always hoped to date a woman who wasn’t repulsed by my collection. Someone who could stomach the terms refractor, rookie card and top loader.

And somehow, I got really, really lucky.

My collection started in earnest in 1993. I was 9 years old then, the product of Phillies-Reds parents.

I hated the Phillies, even though I grew up in Lancaster County, Pa.

And the Reds didn’t have much beyond Barry Larkin and Chris Sabo – although Sabo’s Rec-Specs were magical.

No, I needed to find my own team. A team that was uniquely mine.

I stumbled onto a newspaper article about Nolan Ryan, the ageless hurler for the Texas Rangers. Dude was 47 years old and still playing! Fifty-six hundred career strikeouts entering his final season.

About that time, a family friend gave me and my brother packs of Upper Deck. We peeled them open. There was a shiny card in my pack.

Hmm …

Pulse increasing …

It was a “Then and Now” hologram card of Nolan Ryan. The card showed two pictures of Nolan – one as a rookie for the 1966 Mets, the other a forty-something for Texas.

I stared at the card for hours, mesmerized.

This Nolan Ryan guy was pretty cool, I thought. So I started watching Rangers games, during those rare occasions when ESPN showcased the team.

The All-Star game was held in Baltimore that year, and my brother and I stayed up late to watch the home run derby.

Everyone remembers Ken Griffey Jr. hitting the warehouse during the contest, but he didn’t win – Juan Gonzalez of the Texas Rangers did.

I became a Texas Rangers fan that night, unwittingly setting the stage for 17 seasons of frustration.

My collection grew along with my support of the team. The Rangers reached the playoffs for the first time in 1996, then again in 1998 and 1999 … each time against the Yankees. The Rangers won one game – the first one. Gonzalez hit two home runs.

Then, nine consecutive losses.

No matter, my team was stacked with stars such as Gonzalez and catcher Ivan Rodriguez, giving me lots of collecting opportunities. After Nolan Ryan retired, “Igor” Gonzalez was my guy, and I collected every card of his I could, from 1990 rookie cards to 1997 Upper Deck short prints to a 1998 Donruss tin numbered to 200.

We had a hobby shop near our house, and our mom would take me and my brother each week or so.
Or to K-Mart to check the card aisle.

One time our mom bought us boxes of 1999 Stadium Club. I studied the inserts beforehand, and noticing there was a Juan Gonzalez autograph (odds – 1:877 retail), told my brother that one of us was going to pull it.

I was right.

He pulled the Juan Gonzalez autograph.

My favorite player. Signed. The. Card. You could have opened 10,000 packs, and not pulled that card again.

And my brother got it, not me.

After some hours of griping and bitterness, he gave me the card, and it remains my favorite card in my collection.

My player collection, 250 cards strong by the late 1990s, was rocked when Gonzalez was traded to the Tigers after the 1999 season. I cried that day. I despised the man who replaced him, an up-and-coming prospect named Gabe Kapler.

I softened to Kapler after pulling his autograph from a pack of 1999 Upper Deck Challengers for 70. Then Kapler had a 30-game hitting streak.

Eventually I met Gabe Kapler before a Rangers-Orioles game, with the muscle-bound outfielder signing my baseball.

Who knew that a decade later, I would be showing off a Gabe Kapler autograph on a first date?

(Note: Sooz likes Gabe Kapler for different reasons than I do).

My collection slowed after I went to college in 2002, but I’d always find myself busting packs here and there – every apartment I’ve ever had has contained a baseball card drawer, those drawers full of various Rangers, from Alex Rodriguez and Hank Blalock to Michael Young and Mark Teixeira.

I had special reasons to fill my baseball card drawer last season, as my Rangers reached the playoffs for the first time in 11 years.

I savored each game of the playoffs. Given my team’s 1-10 all-time playoff record, with zero series victories, I didn’t know if the opportunity would pass again.

So I hoped. I wished. I tore through packs of 2010 Topps Update, searching for cards of midseason acquisition Cliff Lee in a Rangers uniform.

Another Ranger caught my eye from that set – a rookie first baseman named Mitch Moreland, a Mississippi native who could also play outfield and pitch, if necessary.

Moreland had been overshadowed in the system by fellow first base prospects Justin Smoak (traded for Lee) and Chris Davis.

But here were my Rangers in the playoffs, trotting out this Moreland guy. And he could hit better than anyone else the team had at first, so I believed in Moreland.

I believed in my team. On the strength of Cliff Lee’s arm, Texas defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in the first round to move to the ALCS against … the Yankees.

The freakin’ Yankees.

The Yankees, who’d won 27 total World Series rings to my Rangers zero.

Despite a game one collapse, the Rangers took three of the next four. Three to two lead, headed back to Texas.

Oct. 22, 2010. Ninth inning. 6-1 lead for Texas. Two outs. Rookie reliever Neftali Feliz dealing to Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez, the guy who used to suit up for Texas.

The guy who left town because he wanted to win.

Strike three. Looking.

Confetti. Celebration at the mound. Ginger Ale showers.

The Rangers lost to the Giants in the World Series, with one of their few bright spots a three-run homerun by Mitch Moreland in game three, the Rangers’ only victory. Eventually that homerun made a card of 2011 Topps Heritage, titled “Rangers Retaliate.”

Like the Nolan Ryan “Then and Now” from two decades prior, I was mesmerized. Here was my guy’s biggest moment captured on cardboard.

I became a Mitch Moreland player collector soon after, with the help of my girlfriend, the only woman I’ve ever met who knows more about baseball cards than I do.

She’s done this player collection thing before – ahem, Derek Jeter and Kevin Kouzmanoff. I bought a binder and sleeves. She wrote Moreland’s different releases on slips of paper, slid the slips into the missing spots in my binder, and the search was on.

As I began my search, I expected to find a couple dozen minor league cards, some autographs, some bat cards …

Mitch Moreland might have the most unorthodox card career for any current Major League Baseball player.

1. Only seven minor league cards, almost all team issues and no TRISTAR (his minor league teammates appeared on TRISTAR, but not Mitch).
2. No Major League cards prior to his 2010 rookie year.
3. Even after a World Series home run and flirting with the league lead in batting average, he still has no game-used or autograph issues.

Due to the lack of assortment, Moreland’s short-print cards are at greater demand – his collectors are forced to fight over the same cards, specifically various 2010 Bowman issues numbered to 50 or less.

I currently have 40 different Mitch Moreland cards, from his 2007 Spokane Indians card to 2011 Topps team issue. I should be receiving the rest of the 2011 Topps series two parallels in the mail this week.

And as I slide new cards into my binder pages, I have someone to show my collection to, someone who understands the difference between black parallels and Wal-Mart parallels, who encourages me to pursue Moreland’s Gypsy Queen stamp card and Bowman International with the same enthusiasm – because that’s what player collectors and supportive girlfriends do.

Only six more hits ...

Derek Jeter singled in the top of the 1st inning tonight against the Cleveland Indians. He has 2,994 hits for his career. Jeter is looking to become the 28th player in baseball to get 3,000 hits for his career.

But Derek Jeter wasn't the only player I enjoyed watching throughout the years.

This next post is dedicated to the few cards I have with Jeter and my second favorite player - Andy Pettitte.

Come on, look at these two guys. This card is 1997 Ultra Double Trouble insert set.

How can you not be scared of those menacing looks? Pettitte's scrunchy brow. Jeter's billowing stare.

They look all about 12 in this picture, but I love it.

Here they are a little bit older. This is from 2001 Upper Deck Victory.

Pettitte is retired - obviously - and Jeter is on his way to 3,000 hits. It reminds that we're getting old, but it's great to see these two guys on a card together.

Hobby Box Break and Review: 2011 Topps Pro Debut

After opening two cases of 2011 Topps Series 2 you would think opening something new would be a welcomed idea. Believe me, the idea was very welcoming, however, upon opening the first pack it felt like a continuation. You may ask yourself what do I mean, so allow me to take you on a tour of 2011 Topps Pro Debut.

Each hobby box contains 24 packs of eight cards and guaranteed two game-used memorabilia cards and two autographs per box. The set consists of 330 base cards, and various insert sets: 45 Single-A All-Stars, 45 Double-A All-Stars, 10 Triple-A All-Stars.

First stop will be the base cards, which one box yielded 163/330 with no duplicates. The base cards are identical to the base set of Topps cards for the majors, so if you like seeing the exact same design on everything you buy it's awesome. If you prefer to be able to tell one set from another, and like to have some distinguishing factors between being a Single-A player on a baseball card and being Derek Jeter on a baseball card, well this set is going to annoy you. Do I like it? Not really.

Why? Well, I get that there was the intention to keep the set in line with the brand, but how many times can they recycle the design? Between this and Bowman/Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects it's giving us FOUR sets of the SAME EXACT CARDS. Many of you voiced that you can't tell the difference between Bowman base and Bowman DPP, well same thing here.

I scanned some of the guys that I recognized easily and that are more popular. Especially a guy such as Mike Trout who many say the only player he is second to in hitting in the system is Bryce Harper.



While I think Gary Sanchez should have been with the players above rather than these guys, I figured I would keep him with the rest of the Yankees. Sanchez is better known for his power than his defense, but who brings up a kid to DH for a career?


Here are the blue parallels which are serial numbered to /309. The first batch are the ones that look awful. How do they expect us to be able to read a blue foil name on the same blue colored banner behind it? I think another team color for either the foil or the banner behind would have been a smart move.



Ohhh wait, some of the blue parallels escaped and look nice. This is how they all should look if you ask me.



There are also gold parallels which are numbered to /50, and I pulled one from the hobby box.



Next up are the inserts- the Single-A, Double-A, and Triple-A All-Star cards. They are all the same except for different background colors. I don't particularly care that they aren't three different designs as they are basically all getting the same point across and could be looked at more as one set than three.




Now for the mojo. While I found this product to be pretty disappointing, the hits seemed to redeem it for me. Would I feel slightly better if I pulled four guys I had never heard of? No, but that wasn't entirely the case here.

Chris Archer game used jersey card

Mike Moustakas game-used jersey card

Garrett Gould auto

Slade Heathcott auto!!! Wow. This makes me really happy because I have wanted to pick up one of his Bowman Chrome auto's for quite some time but couldn't pull the trigger since I already collect too many players as it is. This really made my day.
Now we will get down to business and fill out the report card for this product.

Design: A? C?

I am honestly not sure what I can give this set because if I gave the Topps Series 1 design an A, how can I really sit here and justify giving this a C? I don't think I can score them that differently, but if no one would think it hypocritical I would tell you this is just a minor league version of Series 1 and from what I understand that is the goal of the product- so yay, A.

However on the flip side of the argument, here is another product with the same design as TWO other previous releases and with some of the same players featured on cards. It's almost like they are trying to flood the market and confuse everyone. So now we have First Year cards out, Rookie Cards, minor league cards that can also be rookie cards but since they aren't marked it isn't a rookie card. Moustakas gets called up and I have 2 of his cards here, in a minor league set. He is now technically a rookie, however since the little logo isn't there... too bad, Marie. Hence the grade- C.

Take from my rant what you will. I think I just gave myself a whole other blog post to write at a later date.

Value: B+

Current prices on the net for this product range anywhere from $50-$65. You get 4 hits in each box, plus some parallels and inserts as well as no duplicates. I think the value is there for the set collector and the hit chaser. You are not overwhelmed with a ton of insert sets, and can probably complete a set with 2-3 boxes or 2 boxes and some trading/singles on eBay. This is a lot cheaper of a gamble on minor league auto's than buying Bowman Jumbos (not that I would know anything about that.... *cries*).

Quality: B/B-

Again, hard to rip a product up when I so highly praised the base set. However, I have a MAJOR problem with the attention to detail, well rather the lack of attention to detail on the blue parallels. As collectors we enjoy being able to read the cards and the team names, and the blue parallels are just impossible to read without contrasting colors.

I do like the fact that the inserts are limited in this set so that there aren't 50 cards of Romine before he ever sets foot in the big leagues.

Overall: (if you just asked me for an overall grade, my personal opinion) C

I honestly found this set to just be plain boring. It's not because I don't like minor league cards or players, because I LOVE Bowman every year despite me saying I won't buy that much of it I always go bananas.

I like chasing the prospect auto's and seeing who I can pull. This set features that same chance, for less money but you are getting an auto that is extremely less desirable in every aspect of collecting. Part of that is due in part by Bowman Chrome auto's have become the be all end all RC for every player. Most people don't really care about RC's anymore unless its the signed Bowman Chrome card.

While at the end of the day you got 4 hits in the box for about $30 less than Bowman, you are walking away with almost novelty auto's. Not that there is anything wrong with that because I am perfectly happy with my Heathcott auto but remember why I am happy about it- because I won't spend the money to have his Bowman auto.

Bottom line, if you chase hits and auto's and can afford the Bowman-buy that. You can pick up what you need from this set on the secondary market.

Seventh Heaven: Jeter's moments

Since Derek Jeter has come into baseball full time in 1996, there have been great moments that have involved the New York Yankees shortstop.

As we countdown to 3,000 hits and look my favorite Jeter cards, it's time to look at the reasons Jeter has become an icon. He hit his 2,993 his in yesterday's 9-1 win over the Cleveland Indians.

The Flip.

Jeter diving into the stands.

2000 World Series MVP and All-Star Game MVP. 1996 Rookie of the Year.

Some of these moments only Yankees fan are going to remember, but the bigger situations happened on national stages and are recalled by baseball fans.

Many of these moments were captured on card. So, now we get to look at them all the time. :-)

Getting more than any New York Yankee was a big-time moment. Yankee fans embraced this moment. It's amazing that I've been watching him play for such a long time and have seen 15 to 20 percent of hits in person.

His latest moment was breaking the New York Yankees franchise record for hits.

Being a Yankee, the card companies knew putting this moment on a card would be a success. So, we needed more than one card.

Another card we needed several of was the final game at the original Yankee Stadium. This was not a Jeter moment, but he led the charge of the Yankees around the field and gave a speech when the game was over. I was at this game with Marie and it was one of the most emotional experiences I have ever been a part of.

I am lucky to have been there. I am lucky to have seen the games I witnessed and all the great plays (including Jeter diving into the stands) that happened in Yankee Stadium.

The best part is, there are still some moments left in the old man.

Eight more: Portrait and candid cards

One of my favorite things about Derek Jeter is the ability to make baseball look fun.

I hear you now: "It should be fun. It's a game!!"

But there are many players who take the fun out of baseball (ahem - Barry Bonds). They take the sport way too seriously and remind us what they do is hard work. Jeter's 2,992 career hit was an RBI single in the fifth inning of New York's 9-1 win over Cleveland on Sunday.

Jeter seems to always be smiling and having a good time - at times even to his detriment. I remember him being ridiculed early in his career when there was a fight between the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners. Jeter was vilified for hanging out with Alex Rodriguez during the scrum while the two didn't want to hurt their pretty faces.

Just got to love the hair

But every baseball player should be having fun. They are making millions of dollars while getting to run around the bases. As grown men, they are doing what every young child dreams about.

I love my cards that show Jeter enjoying life, reminding me why we collect and watch baseball for the enjoyment.

The cards that show Jeter differently than swinging a bat or chasing down a ball are some of my favorites. I enjoy portrait shots and cards that are unorthodox because it part of what makes collecting fun.

Although in these next two cards, Jeter is not smiling, I like them because they are different.

Interestingly, these are both earlier cards of his. The first is an Upper Deck 1996 V.J. Volero showcase. The second is a 1997 Metal Universe Platinum Portrait.

Jeter got two hits on Sunday against the Cleveland Indians. The next blog post commemorating his 2,993 hit will come on Monday morning.