Mailday: More Cole

Last week blessed me with two awesome mailers from fellow bloggers. First off was a nice fat bubble mailer from Kerry at Cards on Cards. Despite the fact the Kerry is a supporter of one of the Bucs biggest rivals... I love reading his blog. I also have a knack for pulling Cardinals so I'm really happy to send them to a good home. I sent Kerry a nice stack of "Cards" on his wantlist and he sent me an excellent assortment in return. Some highlights:

(L) 2020 Topps Series 1 Gerrit Cole Variation SP

(R) 2019 Topps Update Gerrit Cole 1984 Insert

This year's release of Topps Flagship brought us the first (photoshopped) look at Gerrit Cole in a Yankees uniform. I hate it... like, a lot, but I'll always support the guy. 

2013 Topps Update Gerrit Cole RC

Ah, thats better. He looked so much better in black and gold. This card is Gerrit's first pro rookie card. He made his debut in June of that year so his first rookie appeared in Topps Update. I was at his debut. It was a beautiful summer night. Cole went six and two thirds and out-dueled Tim Lincecum. He helped his own cause by knocking a two-run single to deep center field in his first career at-bat. As an AL guy now, I bet he doesn't miss being in the batters box.

2015-16 NBA Hoops Great SIGnificance Jerami Grant Auto 

Switching gears to basketball - here's one of the few Syracuse alum that is having success at the NBA level. Grant played two successful years at 'Cuse and then jumped to the big leagues. He was drafted in the first round based strictly on potential, and he's panned out quite nicely. 

This is my first Jerami Grant auto so I'm super pumped to add to this to my Syracuse Alum collection. Thanks for the trade Kerry.

I also received a PWE from John at Johnny's Trading Spot. Yes - he managed to fit all of this safely and cleanly in a PWE! The top row has three of the 3D mini-cards that Kellogg's included in their products back in the 1970's and 80's. Two of them are the Candy Man - John Candelaria - and sandwiched in the middle and out of view is Manny Sanguillen. 

John also threw in three vintage steelers cards. Two greats. I don't actively collect old-school stuff so I'm always excited to have these cards show up in the mailbox. The Terry Bradshaw is my favorite, from 1978 Topps. This card was produced right in the middle of a pair of Steeler Super Bowls. A truly iconic decade for the team. 

Top it off with a nice little stack of Pirates from 2007 Topps, this was a sweet PWE. Thanks, John!

Pirates PC Adds, and Two New Trades

Yep, the World Series is going on and I'm just over here talking about Pittsburgh Pirates cards. No Juan Soto cards to show off here, sorry. Just lots of mediocre Pirates.

Lots of new stuff to debut, lets get to it!

Jose Osuna is a guy who's been buried pretty deep in the Pirates system for quite some time. Not for a lack of talent or skill, but more so because of outfield depth in AAA. Osuna for three years, Osuna has been one of the last guys cut from the big league roster in Spring Training, and one of the first guys called up once injuries strike. He has some real pop in his bat, and considering that he's "average athleticism" for a major leaguer, he's pretty versatile defensively - able to plug in at 1B, 3B, and both outfield spots.

In 2019, Osuna enjoyed a new career high in ABs with 261. Seeing him play more often inspired me to check out some of his Rookie cards. He may never be an everyday player, but I love this dude.

Oh! And I got a new scanner, so enjoy some awesome pictures that really pop.

2017 Topps Update Gold Parallel #/2017

2012 Bowman Chrome Prospects Refractor #/500

2017 Topps Heritage High Number Chrome Variations Refractor #/568

Next up, I grabbed a pair of 2014 Bowman Chrome Bubble Refractors #/99:

Our old buddies Cutch and Cole. I'll admit it, I have a strange fondness for these cards. They're super unique looking, and look really great in the scans when they get some light bouncing off them. These additions will join Fransisco Liriano as I build a Pirates team set.

Next up, two awesome cards that I received in a PWE swap with Matt at Sport Card Collectors. I was able to knock some 90's football cards off of his wantlist, and he was generous enough to send back a card that I've had my eye on.

Matt threw in a few other cards, this being one of them: Chris Archer 2019 Topps Heritage Chrome Refractor.

But here's the real prize:

2019 Bowman Sterling Travis Swaggerty Sparkle Parallel #/99.

What a beauty! Swaggerty was the Pirates first round pick in this year's draft. This is not only my first auto of his, but my first Swaggerty card. I couldn't be more pumped. This card is so sweet. One last plug for my new scanner... it certainly made this refractor jump out. Thanks for the trade, Matt!

I also completed my first trade with Trevor of Bump and Run Football Card Blog. Trevor took part in an Optic group break and ended up with the Pirates, so he had a nice stack to send my way:

 

Aside from the Optic stuff, I also hand-picked two cards off of his trade list:

2017 Topps Update Jose Osuna

2018 Topps Heritage Austin Meadows RC

You probably know this guy by now. Sadly, I didn’t really collect much of Meadows when he was in the Pirates system. He was a little too blue of a blue chip prospect and the price tags on his cards were too high. I can’t imagine they’re about to go down any time soon, so it’s great to pick this up through trade. Thanks for the cards, Trevor!

Lastly I’ll showcase a random eBay pickup from last week:

2019 Donruss "The Rookies" Benny Snell Auto #/299

How sweet is this refractor? 

I haven’t blogged about this yet – it’s a conversation for another day – but over the past three years I’ve become a big University of Kentucky football fan. My fandom hasn’t spilled into collecting yet bu maybe this will open the floodgates. When the Steelers drafted Benny Snell in the fourth round this year I was ecstatic. I had enjoyed watching this guy will Kentucky to several wins over the past two years, so it was a dream-come-true to have him join my NFL team.

Thanks for reading!

So It's Time to Dig Into the Gerrit Cole Collection

The things Pirates GM Neal Huntington would do for a time machine. Especially when it comes to Gerrit Cole. I guess that's true of any MLB GM. For the record, I'm a big fan of NH, and I really liked the Cole trade at the time. 

Let's rewind to January 13, 2018. The Pirates are coming off a disappointing season where they won just 75 games. They still have a competitive roster with a good amount of young talent. Andrew McCutchen has been in a steady decline and has been openly shopped in the trade market all off season. The infield positions were looking average, but with outfield of Corey Dickerson/Starling Marte/Gregory Polanco, and a rotation of Cole plus Jameson Taillon, Ivan Nova, Trevor Williams, and Chad Kuhl - things didn't look all too bad.

This put the Pirates in a tough in-between. Enter Gerrit Cole, the Pirates first-round, first overall pick in the 2011 MLB draft. He's coming off what is likely his worst season in the bigs with a 12-12 record and a 4.26 ERA. He's two years removed from his 19-8, 2.60 ERA season where he made his first all-star team. 

Cole is 26 years old and has two years left on his rookie deal. It's a foregone conclusion that when the deal runs out in two years, the Boras-represented Cole will be commanding a hefty price tag. GM Neal Huntington has a tough choice. Does he ride Cole out? Or does he trade a prized starting pitching gem while the price is high? 

Neal selected the latter. The return haul was three major-league ready players and one prospect. 3B Colin Moran, RP Michael Feliz, SP/RP Joe Musgrove, and OF prospect Jason Martin. It's still too early to fully access the trade. Moran has evolved into a serviceable 3B, Musgrove has been inconsistent but is fantastic when he's on. Feliz is looking like a lost cause. Martin is still progressing in AAA. 

So, here we are in 2019. If wasn't for the brilliance of his teammate, Gerrit Cole would probably going to the Cy Young award, which he deserves entirely. He's blossomed into exactly what he was projected to be as a high schooler and a draft prospect. I'll go on record and say that I truly don't believe Cole would have ever been THIS type of pitcher in Pittsburgh. He needed a fresh start and some change.

When Cole WAS a Pirate, I collected him pretty heavily. I still pick up Cole cards when possible, but I imagine the price tags are sky-rocketing or about to. 

Check out some of Cole collection below.

2013 Bowman Chrome Base RC

2013 Topps Chrome Base RC, Refractor and Base

2015 Topps Opening Day Blue Foil

2013 Topps Update Emerald Parallel RC

2013 Topps Chrome Blue Parallel #/199

This card is part of the complete set of 2013 Topps Chrome Blue Parallels #/199 that I finished recently.

 2015 Topps Gypsy Queen 3-Color Jersey Patch #/5 

I acquired this baby through my Epic Trade with Brian from Collecting Cutch

2013 Topps Chrome Blue Autograph #/199.

Best for last. I actually picked this up back in early July for about a third of what it's going for now. Thankful for that likely timing, 'cause this card is a beauty.