King Felix Captures the AL Cy Young Award

Two thousand and ten was an absolutely terrible year to be a Mariners fan (which was compounded by the loss of Dave Niehaus). Thankfully, we got to witness brilliance every fifth day when Felix Hernandez took the mound. Despite winning only 13 games (he was supported by one horrendous offense) he led the league in nearly every other statistical category and sabermetricians (different from the people who study Wolverine) everywhere can celebrate the voters getting it right. Congrats Felix! The King finally gets his crown.

One Pack Break: 2010 Topps 206

Vernon Wells
Orlando Hudson Copper
Andy Pettite
Roy Halladay SP
Derek Jeter
Felix Hernandez Polar Bear Back (the one good thing in the pack)

Thoughts: I wasn't a fan of Topps 206 before today and this pack did little to change my mind about it. Why Topps feels the need to release an Allen & Ginter Jr. is beyond me--Heritage and A & G are enough vintage for one year. The hats off cards are beyond stupid and make a bad looking product even worse. The autograph checklist is terrible for the most part (for some reason, there is a card of Ryan Garko auto card in a Mariners uniform, even though he never played a game for them, and who wants a Garko autograph anyway) and the stickers look even more tacky and out of place than usual. Needless to say, I won't be buying anymore packs. Bring back Upper Deck!

eBay Grab Bag: Mariners and More

2007 Bowman Draft Michael Saunders Future Game Jersey: When Ken Griffey Jr. retired, Michael Saunders became my favorite Mariner. He's shown signs of improvement at the plate this season and I hope that he can grab the left field role full-time next season. It's always nice to see a home-grown guy succeed.

2009 SP Authentic Michael Saunders Silver RC #33/59: See above.

2008 UD Heroes Felix Hernandez Jersey #56/125: A jersey card of King Felix for $3 with shipping? Sign me up! He's got a shot at the Cy Young this year, but baseball voters are idiots so they'll probably choose A.J. Burnett.

2009 Bowman Draft Luca Panerati Red Refractor #2/5: Though I normally can't stand WBC cards, I got this red refractor for only 5 bucks, so I figured why the heck not? Panerati is a native of Italy currently in the Cincinnati Reds system. He's only 20-years-old so you just never know what might happen. For five bucks, I was willing to gamble.

2007 Just Stars Michael Saunders Auto #/100: It's Sunday and I'm trying to watch football. I've got nothing interesting to add. Sorry.

2009 UD Signature Stars Michael Saunders RC Auto: Though it's a sticker auto, you can barely tell as it fits nicely into the design of the card. I haven't seen too many of these on eBay, and with Upper Deck's demise in baseball, it's crazy too assume that this card is relatively short printed. Now if Saunders would only start hitting...

Box Break: 2009 Bowman Chrome (Shiny!)

My brother and I both ordered a box of 2009 Bowman Chrome to bust as a last hurrah before he took off for college. For around $50, you got a boatload of shiny cards and an on-card autographed prospect. The checklist is decent (the big names include Freddie Freeman, Tommy Hanson and Carlos Santana) and with so many parallels there's rarely a dull pack in the box. My brother was lucky enough to pull a Santana auto, here's what I got:

Carlos Pena/Felix Hernandez/Bryan Shaw RC (#/500)/Jorge Cantu, Daniel Murphy and Joey Votto Refractors: I like the design of both the veteran and prospect cards and they really pop with the refractor finish. I was happy to pull the Felix as I already had his blue refractor and x-fractor from the set.

John Lackey/Garret Atkins X-Fractors #/250: Cool cards, lame players. Anybody want them?

Andy Parrino Blue Refractor RC #/150: The blue refractors in this set are simply beautiful, which is good, because Parrino is currently hitting .249 in Double-A. But seriously, if I didn't have a girlfriend, I would consider dating one of these blue refractors.

Brad Emaus Rookie Refractor Auto #200/500: While Brad Emaus isn't one of the big name prospects in the set, he's putting up some solid numbers in the minor leagues, and it's always nice to pull a refractor auto. Emaus is a second/third baseman in the Toronto system with a season line of .290-15 HR's-75 RBI's-.397 OBP between Double and Triple A. Next year's Brennan Boesch perhaps?

Overall Thoughts: Despite the fact that I didn't pull one of the top autos, I was still very happy with this box and would probably consider getting another. With 10 refractors in my box, including a prospect auto, I've got plenty of trade bait moving forward and the high quality base cards seem like inserts themselves. If you can find a box of 2009 Bowman Chrome for between $50-60, I would give it my seal of approval. Thanks for looking!

A Great First Trade With Thoughts and Sox

I was lucky enough to pull an Adrian Beltre SP Black Border mini (1:130 packs) from my box of Allen and Ginter, which opened up a whole new can of worms when I finally found someone to send all my Red Sox to (and there's a lot of 'em_. Adam from Thoughts and Sox got ahold of me and we worked out a Sox for M's trade. Here they be:

1934 Goudey Jimmy Foxx Reprint: Though this card looks legit (in what would have been the most lopsided trade since the Indians sent Bartolo Colon to the Expos for Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips and Grady Sizemore) it turns out Adam isn't actually a billionare, and it's just a really good looking reprint. Still, it's a cool card and it fills a page in my player collection binder which is always a good thing.

2007 SPX Felix Hernandez: Though this is a just a base card, it looks like a case hit with the die-cut borders and world class shine. I miss Upper Deck and so can you.

1995 Skybox Premium Steve McNair Pay Dirt: Growing up Steve McNair was my favorite player and the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans were my favorite team. Don't ask me why, I've never been to Tennessee and have no personal connection to the state. Adam was kind enough to send along about 30-35 nice McNairs which basically quadrupled my collection.

1995 Pinnacle Team Pinnacle Steve McNair/Kerry Collins: Maybe it was McNair's toughness that drew me to follow his career--dude played football with a broken sternum. This card is a bit ironic because both quarterbacks on this card would eventually play for the Titans, even though neither did at the time this card was made (yes I know the Oilers became the Titans, but still). Classics 90's, this card has dufex on one side and shine on the other. Boss.

Thanks for the great cards Adam!

A Much Needed Trade with Reader Dan

I hadn't made a trade in a long time...a really long time (part of that has to do with the fact that I lost every one's addresses when my computer crashed...shoot me an email with your mailing address when you get the time). So it was nice to come home the other day and find that familiar manila envelope of goodness. Dan (of an unknown blog?) contacted me about some of my needs for 2008 UD Masterpieces and sent them my way along with some Griffey and Mariners goodies. Here's the stuff:

2008 UD Masterpieces Cal Ripken Jr. SP: These are gorgeous cards and I am excited to be nearing completion on the set. I still need the following cards ( ) so contact me if you have them and I would love to work out a deal.

2007 Sweetspot Felix Hernandez #570/850: I'm always happy to add a card of one of the best young pitchers in baseball, even if Felix has been a bit inconsistent in the early going of 2010. Thankfully the rest of the team has been picking up the slack with their stellar play.

2008 UD Masterpieces Kenji Johjima Jersey: How bad are the Mariners' catchers this year? Bad enough that I wish we had Kenji Johjima back. On a positive note, I love the design of these cards. Can someone please bring Masterpieces back?

Thanks again for the cards Dan! I'll make sure to send some your way as soon as the Mariners can reel off a two-game winning streak.

My First Check Out My Cards Purchase

Alright, judging by the response to my last post nobody here cares about football cards, so I'll go back to something that everyone loves: purchases from Check out My Cards! I was really impressed with the selection of the site as well as the prices, and was happy to nab some Griffeys, Felixs and other Mariners for a song. The shipping charges seem to be a little high, but in most cases it is still a better deal than buying this cards separately on eBay. Here's the goods:

2007 Finest Ken Griffey Jr. Refractor: I think I've run out of adjectives to describe how much I love refractors, especially of Junior, so I'll let you insert your own for this beauty.

2001 Topps Stars Stan Musial: Stan the Man is one of my favorite "old-time" players and 2001 Topps Stars is a guilty pleasure set of mine so this card was a match made in heaven. Not surprisingly, the back of the card gave Musial five stars for hitting ability.

2009 Bowman Draft Picks Michael Saunders Blue #/399: Although "the Condor" is currently toiling away in Triple-A I think he is still a big part of the Mariners future, and will probably get a call-up sooner rather than later with the way the M's offense is performing. The Bowman blue parallels look nice when paired with the Seattle unis.

2008 Bowman Chrome Felix Hernandez Refractor: A refractor for 50 cents? Only a crazy person could say no, and I am no crazy person (debateable). I couldn't be more excited to have this guy around for five more years.

2009 Topps Allen & Ginter Doc Holliday SP: This might be the most plain but important card from the whole purchase. With this Doc Holliday short print I have finally completed the 2009 Allen & Ginter set that I started so long ago. It's a good feeling.

Overdue Trades From Around the Blogosphere

Here's a bunch of cards in a row!

This first card is not actually from a trade, but rather a group break sponsored by Thorzul. I picked up the Reds and Dodgers and was happy to walk away with this gem:

2008 UD Heroes Aaron Harang Auto Jersey #1/50: I've always appreciated the Harangatang toiling away in obscurity for the Reds, and he has been an important part of a couple of fantasy teams. A very nice card and a true eBay one-of-one!

The next card comes from Ed at Roll out the Barrel. It was my first trade with him, but certainly not the last:

2008 UD Heroes Ken Griffey Jr. Purple Parallel #12/25: Ooooooh pretty. I love all the different parallels in UD Heroes and I am setting out to complete a Griffey rainbow. This was one of the hardest cards to get from the set with only 25 copies, so I really appreciate that Ed was willing to part with this gorgeous Griffeey.

Next, we have some cards from Mr. Scott. We worked out a trade a while back and the cards he originally had planned to send me got lost in the mail. Being the generous fellow he is, Mr. Scott found some new (and improved!) cards as part of our swap:

2007 Fleer Ultra Ken Griffey Jr. Jersey: I'm always happy to add a Junior relic to my collection, no matter whether it's with the Mariners or Reds. It's a simple card, but nice, and the pinstripe always adds a little something extra.

2010 Topps Peak Performers Josh Johnson Auto: Believe it or not, I own more autographs now of Josh Johnson than any other player. That's fine though, as I am high on the Marlins young ace even after his slow start to the 2010 season.

And last but not least are some cards from one of the baseball blogosphere's elder statesmen and wordsmith extraordinaire, Night Owl. We've worked out quite a few trades and he always send some great cards my way. Here's the latest batch:

2009 O-Pee-Chee Midsummer Memories Ken Griffey Jr: This card probably takes the cake for worst photograph of Junior ever. Not only is he partially obscured by the HR Derby Trophy (yeah, he's the man) but there's also that guy dressed like a late-90's square creeping in the background. This one probably won't back the front page of my Griffey binder, but still a new addition and a welcome one at that.

2010 Topps Opening Day Attax Felix Hernandez: These cards aren't half bad looking as the foil reflects quite nicely in person. That being said, I have little desire to ever buy a pack of Topps Attax.

1991 Ken Griffey Jr. Playing Card: I believe it was GSNHOF that sent me a Griffey playing card that featured the Kid as a "4". I was outraged that Junior was assigned a number that was clearly not indicative of his talent level. I can sleep easier now that Griffey has regained his rightful place as an "ace" of the ballpark.

Thanks to everyone who sent me cards! I hope it will never take so long to post them again. Have a great week and I'll smell ya later.

The King and I (Directed by Ryan's Memorabilia)

I recently acquired the crown jewel of my King Felix collection, this beautiful 2008 UD Heroes Jersey Autograph #21/25, in a trade with Ryan's Memorabilia Blog.

He busted a great box of Heroes that also contained a Tim Lincecum patch and Roger Clemens YSL, and was generous enough to part with the Hernandez for about 30 Ripkens to add to his amazing Ripken library.

This is my second Felix autograph (he's got an amazing signature doesn't he?) and fifth jersey card, but the first card I have of the Mariners' young ace with both. I have extremely high hopes for Hernandez in 2010 (a Cy Young isn't out of the question).

He's got a ton of great cards to trade, so if you've got some Ripkens that he doesn't have on his Zistle page, let him know.
You could walk away with a gem like this!

A Stellar Swap with Sign Here and Here

Chris, from the fun and unique Sign Here and Here blog, recently sent me a giant batch of Mariners and Griffeys in return for some on-card autos and Brewers. The variety of cards was amazing with plenty of refractors, x-fractors, numbered parallels, etc. Here's a handful of my favorites:

2005 Upper Deck Reflections Wladimir Balentien RC #95/99: A cool looking card even if Balentien never quite panned out with the Mariners (although I don't think they gave him a long enough look--they made the same mistake with Shin-Soo Choo) this comes from a set I've never seen in person before--it's pretty snazzy. I hope Balentien gets a shot with the Reds this season.

2006 Topps Finest Felix Hernandez Blue X-Fractor #140/150: Me gusta mucho! This card comes from one of my favorite sets of Finest and features the 2010 AL Cy Young Award Winner. The blue really works well with the Mariners' uniform.

1996 SPX Ken Griffey Jr: Back in the day Upper Deck was really the frontrunner in bringing cutting edge technology to baseball cards. Case in point, 1996 SPX, which had only one card per pack but darn it all it was one cool card. It looks better in person, but it is a little unnerving as Junior's head moves from side to side (though thankfully not all the way around). I'll miss you Upper Deck...I'll miss you.

2006 Flair Showcase Freddy Garcia Showcase Stitches: I was always a fan of the "Chief" during his tenure with the Mariners, including the 2000 season in which he led the AL in ERA. This card features a swatch of his Team Venezuala jersey, which I think is pretty rad. Garcia is slated to be the #5 starter for the White Sox this year, but I'm not sure he's got much left in the tank.

2010 Topps Throwback Parallel Mariners Team Card: In a word: "awesome". I wasn't a huge fan of this year's Topps base set, but I loved the team celebration cards and this is the one I had to have. Can't wait for Opening Day!

Thanks for the great cards Chris and good luck to the Blue Devils!

Collective Troll Delivers Some Kids (A Plethora of New Ken Griffey Jr's That Is!)

With all the Ken Griffey Jr. cards currently in my collection (450+) it's not always easy for me to find Juniors that I don't already have doubles or triples of (or in the case of his 1990 Topps card...42nds of). Thankfully, the world's most prolific pack buster (I'm fairly confident he has some blisters from all the 1990's wax he has been opening), the Collective Troll, came to my rescue, sending 37 new Ken Griffey Jr. cards my way in a recent trade package. And as if the Griffeys weren't enough (they were), Troll also threw in some sweet M's including Russell Branyan and Felix Hernandez. Here's a gander at some of my favorites:

1993 Upper Deck SP Ken Griffey Jr.: One of the top five Griffey base cards of all-time (I'll release the full list sometime soon), this sweet card from Upper Deck's inagural set of SP shows off the Kid's mad hops. I'm not sure if anyone kept track of how many homeruns he robbed in his career, but I think it's somewhere in the 1,000's.

2000 Fleer Tradition Ken Griffey Jr: At first glance I thought I already had this card, but it turns out I had the "Twizzlers" edition and this was from the regular Fleer Set. This is a really good looking card.

1999 Upper Deck HoloGrFX SAMPLE: I don't even want to know what Troll had to do for Upper Deck to get this rare sample card, but I'm glad he did it.

2009 Topps Heritage Russell Branyan Chrome Refractor #448/560: Though Russell "the Muscle" Branyan is likely out of Seattle, he made the most of his time there with bunches of moonshot homeruns that might still be in the air. Topps Heritage Chrome and Chrome Refractors are one of my favorite inserts of the decade.

2009 Bowman Chrome Felix Hernandez X-Fractor #45/250: The shine off King Felix's crown is so bright I can hardly look at this card. Oh wait, that's Topps' patent pending refractor technolog...my bad!

2008 Sweet Spot Felix Hernandez Sweet Spot Jersey: Pieces of King Felix's jersey have become much more scarce since he slimmed down and much more valuable since he finally became the dominant pitcher we all expected. I'm so happy he's staying in Seattle.

Thanks for the amazing cards Troll!

Felix Inks Five-Year Deal to Stay a Seattle Mariner

Yes, I realize that Felix's deal was finalized over a week ago, but I had to wait (it only took about 14 days) until I received this card to use the word "inks" in the title for this post (I was legally obligated by the MLBPA). I never used the phrase "breaking news" did I?

As a Mariners fan, this is probably the best offseason since we signed Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre (slaps forehead). Another season of Griffey Jr. and Felix staying with the team through 2014--yeah, it's a good time to be an M's fan. Throw in Cliff Lee and Chone Figgins, and heck, Seattle might even be a playoff contender this season.

The card itself is my first King Felix auto and one of my new favorites of the most talented 23-year-old in the game. The card comes from an insert set out of 2005 Topps Gallery titled "Penmanship". Hernandez has one of the best autos in baseball and the blue ink really pops off the card because of the muted colors in the background. The fact that the autograph is on-card just seals the deal for this sweet card. This one's staying with me for a long time (or until he's traded to the Yankees).

The Long and Winding Road: A Trade with Beardy

After weeks of wheeling and dealing (mainly due to the fact that I never return emails, sorry) I finally managed to pull off a trade with one of the blogosphere's most respected members, Beardy of Beardy's Baseball Blog. He showed some interest in Cal Ripken and Willy McCovey jerseys that I had posted as tradebait and after I put him through a Scott Boras-esque negotiation we were able to strike a deal. He sent me the following Mariners plus a card to be named later (likely an Ichiro T206 jersey):

2009 Topps Chrome Felix Hernandez Blue Refractor #47/199: I love the color-bordered refractors from this year's Topps Chrome set, and the blue variation looks phenomenal when paired with a Mariner. My Felix collection has grown by leaps and bounds since I started this blog; now I just hope he doesn't leave Seattle in the next year or two.

2003 Finest Travis Blackley RC Auto: The left-handed Blackley used to be the number three pitcher in the Mariners organization behind Felix and Clint Nageotte (who?) before shoulder issues led to his release from the team. I remember him struggling in a brief cup of coffee with Seattle, but always assumed that he would be a fixture in the organization because he had such strong numbers in the minors. Apparently he was with the Diamondbacks Triple-A club last season but is a free agent as of now. I'm always intrigued by talented prospects like Blackley who just disappear into thin air.

2009 Finest Ken Griffey Jr. Blue Refractor #338/399: If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times; there is no better way to my heart than a shiny Griffey. Love the design and refractor sheen on this card despite the fact that it lists Junior with the White Sox even though he is clearly pictured in Mariners' uni. Puzzlin' the things Topps does, but it won't ruin this great card for me.

Thanks for the cards Beardy. Hopefully the package I sent you made it safely to Maryland. I'm sure we will swap again. Good luck Ravens!

Christmas Comes Early: Upper Deck's Unexpected Generosity (Jerseys! Jerseys! Jerseys!)

As some of you may recall, Upper Deck and the Beckett Blog recently put on a contest to find the face of 2010 SPX Baseball. I entered the promotion and didn't give it a second thought before later discovering that I was one of five finalists for the prize. Unfortunately, I didn't end up winning (a face only a mother could love probably did me in) but Upper Deck was kind enough to send me some cards as consolation prizes (they also sent a retail box of Icons which I will break later). I was really impressed by there generosity and would like to thank Chris Carlin in particular for his excellent communication throughout the process. Without further ado, here's what UD send my way:

2008 Upper Deck Kenji Johjima Game Jersey: I love these throwback jersey cards, this particular one featuring the 2000 Upper Deck design. While Kenji is long gone, he won't soon be forgotten (oh wait, he already has).

2008 Sweetspot Felix Hernandez/Justin Verlander Jerseys: A dual jersey of two of the best young right-handers in baseball, this card has a simple, elegant design that I find quite appealing.

2008 Upper Deck Felix Hernandez Game Jersey: Another cool throwback, this one modeled off the 1998 Upper Deck design. My Felix jersey cupboard was nearly bare before UD sent all these my way; he's probably my second favorite Mariner behind Junior.

2007 Ultimate Collection Felix Hernandez Jersey #75/75: The gem of all the Felix jerseys that UD sent, this beauty has an excellent design, and even though it doesn't mean anything to most collectors, the fact that it is the last serially numbered copy is cool in my book.

2008 Sweet Spot Bobby Richardson Auto #158/250: Admittedly this card seems out of place amidst all the Mariners but I mentioned to Chris how much I like Sweet Spot autos and he was thoughtful enough to include this card in the package. I'm not a Yankees fan, but Richardson was from a different era of the Bronx Bombers, and despite being a poor hitter had a successful career that included 5 Gold Gloves, a World Series MVP award and a place in history as the man who snagged Willy McCovey's screaming line drive to end the 1962 Fall Classic against the Giants.

2005 Ultimate Collection Ken Griffey Jr/Miguel Cabrera Dual Jersey #14/15: SHAMWOW! I was utterly flabbergasted when I saw this card, a dual jersey featuring my favorite player, a skinny Cabrera, and numbered to only 15! This is easily one of the best Griffeys in my collection and a wonderful surprise.

Thanks again Upper Deck. These cards certainly helped ease the sting of a bitter defeat. I will highlight what I pulled from the Icons box in the next few days. Merry Christmas!