My Haul From The Westchester County Sports Card Show

To tell you the truth, I wasn't really planning on going. My emotions were in the toilet in the days leading up to the show and I was prepared to just stay in my jammies, watch my Yankeeography DVD's and eat copious amounts of junk food while washing it down with some frosty Blue Moon. Then Saturday arrived and something in me grabbed my collar, slapped me a couple times and changed my mood rather quick.

Once I got there, I went into "card pickup" mode. My game plan for the day was to grab some vintage Yankee cards for a cheap price, so I knew grabbing the stars would be out of the question and get the free autograph, which was Gaylord Perry, on a 8x10 of him in a Yankee uniform.

I think I did pretty well.

Quite the haul, eh? I actually didn't spend too much for all of this either. I'm rather proud of myself to be honest.

As you can see, I got a pretty nice photo of Gaylord Perry in a Yankees uni for the PC. He wasn't adding HOF to his signature, that would be extra. I didn't mind as he didn't make the HOF based on his time in the Bronx. Let's see what else I got.

At one table I was able to score this 1961 Topps Bill Stafford card for a buck. The card is actually in pretty good condition. I needed him for the 1961 team set, so I grabbed it.

Another addition to the 1961 Topps team set was this Ryne Duren card. I paid buck for it also. I probably should tell you that unless I tell you how much I paid for a particular card, I paid a buck for it.

For the 1960 Topps team set, I added these cards of "Bullet" Bob Turley and Johnny Blanchard. I absolutely love the 1960 set, with the small picture on the left and the larger on next to it. The team logo and dual color lettering. I snatched the Blanchard because I love Yankee Stadium backing him up in the main picture.

From the 1959 Topps set, I grabbed this Sporting News Johnny Blanchard Rookie Stars Of 1959 card. It was the best from a pile of vintage I was looking through. I'll have to pick up an upgrade on it at a later date.

Yes, there's that Blanchard again. This time, I grabbed his 1965 Topps card. Really, it was between this one or the Tony Kubek card from the same set. I was going with the Kubek until I noticed a huge chunk of card missing from the left side. Blanchard came home with me by default.

I knew I was not getting a Mickey Mantle vintage Topps card unless it was a reprint. So, I took home two oddball cards to add to my growing Mickey Mantle PC. I added the 1975 SSPC and the not so vintage 1982 Authentic Sports Autographs cards to my collection, happily. I will add some vintage Mantle Topps to my collections someday, even if the card is torn and hanging on for dear life.

I also snatched this 1961 Fleer Allie Reynolds to my Yankee collection. This is the first card I have from this set. I did see other '61 Fleers, but the condition wasn't the best, so I left them behind. I know, the cards are only a dollar each, I should expect some issues, and I do. But that doesn't mean I am still not going to look for cards that is as close to mint as possible.

This card was the vintage pick up of the day for me. A 1964 Topps Giant Whitey Ford. I have been wanting to pick up the Yankees in this set for sometime now and I'm glad I was able to knock out one of the big guns for next to nothing. The sticker price was $6.00, which I was happy to pay. It was half off what I usually see this go for on eBay. But when I went to pay, the dealer told me it was $3.00. I tried not to cry as I gave the man the three crisp bills. He did have a Mantle, but was asking $60.00 for it. I passed.

I also finally picked up a signed Tino Martinez OMLB for my Yankees signed ball PC. I have been after a Tino signed ball for a while now. I had missed opportunities to meet him in the past and I was, unfortunately, going to miss his appearance at the show the next day. While I cruised the floor, I came across a dealer that had a signed Tino ball, with JSA Authentication. He was asking $80.00 for it. I said thanks, but no thanks and continued on my way. Later, I came back when the show was about to close for the day. The dealer asked me what I was willing to pay for the ball. Without thinking, I said $40.00, never thinking he would accept a price that was half off what he was asking for. Surprisingly, he agreed and I finally had Tino's autographs in my ball collection. The ball is #47 in the Yankee collection.

Putting it into perspective, If I was able to meet Tino, his signature was starting at $99.00. Then I would have to buy a ball for anywhere from $18.00- $20.00, so I saved a nice chunk of change on the signature. I will get to meet Tino one day. I just won't get him to sign a ball.

And that was my day. Yes, I probably spent some cash that I shouldn't have. But it was money well spent. Not for the cards and autographs, but happiness and confidence. Being out on the card show floor made me forget my problems for a few hours. I got to talk to a bunch of fellow collectors, spotted a few fellow bloggers on the floor (and yet, I won't go up to them to introduce myself and say hi. I'm bashful.) and added some very cool Yankees cards and autographs to my collection. I guess it's true what the ladies say. Shopping is therapeutic.

Tino Martinez Day

Today, The Yankees honored a player who was instrumental in winning 4 world championships in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000 with a plaque out in the famed Monument Park. That player is Tino Martinez, who also just happens to be my favorite Yankee.

My earliest memories of Tino Martinez was watching him kill the Yankees as a member of the Mariners during the 1995 American League Division Series, batting .409 with a homer and 5 RBI's. When I heard Don Mattingly was taking a year off to decide his future, I wondered if the Yankees could get their hands on the guy from Seattle. Sure enough, the Yankees traded Sterling Hitchcock and Russ Davis for Jim Mecir, Jeff Nelson and Contantino Martinez. Highway robbery if it ever was. Jeff Nelson was a huge part of the championship teams as well as Tino was.

Over the years, I got to watch Tino launch home runs over the right field wall at the old Yankee Stadium and make some beautiful plays over at first base. I always felt Tino was robbed of a Gold Glove or two, but because the AL also had JT Snow, Rafael Palmero and John Olerud, Tino never won a Gold Glove and I think that's a shame. He was a tremendous fielding first baseman.

Tino's best season was in 1997, when he hit 44 home runs and had 141 RBI's. He finished second in the voting for Most Valuable Player, losing out to Ken Griffey Jr. He also participated and won the Home Run Derby during that season's All Star Game festivities, which was a joy for me.

My two most memorable Tino moments were in 1996 and 1998 respectively. First, during the early part of the 1996 season, Tino had started off slow and was being booed by Yankee fans. The Yankees were in Baltimore and one of the games wen late into extra innings. Tino belted a game winning home run and was cheered loudly when the team came back to NY. The second, was obviously during Game 1 of the 1998 World Series when he hit a grand slam into the upper deck off Mark Langston giving the Yankees a 4 run lead. I will always remember seeing a shower of beer pop up in the air after the ball landed into the upper deck.

Like I mentioned previously, I started collecting Tino Martinez cards back in 2002. Because I have other player collections, my Tino collection may not be as large as others, but I am proud of it. Here are my favorite Tino cards, starting with the base and inserts:

Here are my favorite Game Used cards. Mind you, these were taken before I got a scanner and I never got around to scanning them. The scanner is now broken.

I also have this printing plate

And probably my favorite Tino piece

This was a gift from a friend who used to sell cards. He accidentally sent an order late for a secret santa I was participating in. Knowing that Tino is my favorite, he sent this to me as a gift to make up for the lateness of the order. I never met Tino and I hope to at some point.

There are other cards I need to pick up. I also have eyes on some other Tino items like bobbleheads, his Starting Lineup figures, a Danbury Mint statue and some programs with him on the cover. My ultimate would be a Tino game used bat and jersey. Maybe when I win lotto.

Congratulations, Tino.  You had a great career and you were a wonderful Yankee. I think the plaque in Monument Park is rightfully deserved. You sit with the greats now.

I Finally Started.

Through out my collecting career (if you want to call it that), my cards have been in a state of chaos. Sure I have a lot of binders, but to be honest, I didn't know exactly what I had. I would go to card shows and pick up cards that I thought I need, but found that I already had once I got home.

Trades? Same thing. I would see a card that I'm offered, drool over my keyboard, pull the trigger, receive the card and find I already had it when I opened the binder.

Even my fellow collectors would ask me if I had a list and when I told them I didn't, I felt like the collector would be giving me a funny look behind the email. OK, maybe I'm hallucinating on this one, but that's how I felt, sniff sniff.

So, after a long discussion with the collector side of my brain, I decided I would start creating lists of my cards. Finally, I would be able to know what cards I have. I would be able to know what I really needed for my various collections. No more buying cards I already had. I finally would be in control!

Now, I originally was going to make my lists as Word Documents, but my buddy Kerry advised me to use Google Drive. I was familiar with Drive since I was making lists of my Spider-Man comic book collection. Kerry told me I could create a spreadsheet on Drive and I was sold.

So, I decided to start with my player collections. I could have knocked off the smallest collection of cards I have in a player collection which would be my Wayne Cherebet collection. But, NOOOOOOOOO! (That was me channeling my inner John Belushi) I had to start with one of my largest. That would be my Tino Martinez collection.

Constantino Martinez. That's Tino Martinez, to us common folk. He has been a favorite Yankee since he hit a late inning home run to win a game in Baltimore. As his career with the Yankees progressed, he became my very favorite. When I got back into collecting cards in 2002, I decided I would try to collect as many Tino cards as I could.

I'm actually glad I started with Tino. As I was looking up cards on eBay, comc.com and Becketts, I found I needed a heck of a lot of cards to even come close to having a good collection. It's not that I'm not proud of what I already own. I just always wanted to be THE Tino Martinez collector and I am not even close to being that. But the fun of the chase is still there for me and I am looking forward to it.

The drawback to this list is, I found quite a few doubles in my binder and the number of total cards, which I thought I had after doing a rough count, has dwindled considerably. So far, I am at 312 different Tino Martinez cards. I still have a few pages left in my binder to go through and I have my box of game used and autographed cards to list. If I am close to 450 cards, I will be a happy geek.

I'm really glad that I am doing this. I'm not even done with the Martinez list and I already feel a sense of accomplishment. Once I am done, I will make lists for my Mark Teixeira, Patrick Ewing, Mike Bossy, Wayne Chrebet, Chad Pennington, Martin Brodeur, David Lee and Derek Jeter collections. If that's not enough to keep me awake at night, there will be the time when I will want to make up lists for my Yankees, Jets, Knicks and Islander PC's. Just thinking about that is giving me grey hairs.Once I am done with each list, I will figure out a way to have them on the blog, just in case you guys are interested in seeing them

I know this is a project that may take months, even a year to finish. Maybe if I had been more organized from the very beginning, I wouldn't have to do this now. No use in crying over spilled cardboard. I just have to roll up my sleeves and get the job done. At least it's keeping me out of the pool halls and away from Miley Cyrus records.

Yankee Autograph Goals. Always Changing For Me

I had taken a bit of a hiatus from chasing autographs for my Yankees collection. I was OK with getting the players I need on certified cards, and actually, I still am. But after the thrill of getting Hideki Matsui on Saturday and looking at my Yankees autographed baseball collection, I decided to list a few players I really want on baseballs.

My Yankees autograph collection currently stands at 42. My ultimate goal is to have 100 signed Yankees baseballs by the end of the year. I'm close to 50, so that is my immediate goal. Get to 50. I try not to get just any player on baseballs either. Baseballs are pretty expensive, so I try to get the better players on balls, although I do have a few players that may not qualify as such.

To get to my goals, I've compiled a list of Yankees (both former and current) that I would like to pick up signed baseballs of, either in person, through the mail or even trade or purchase. Some of the players on my list might be close to impossible, but that is not going to stop me from at least trying.

Derek Jeter

Of course, I am going to start the list off with the most difficult and expensive autograph to obtain. Jeter has been very tough for me because I have never, ever seen him sign anywhere. By that, I mean when I'm around. I never seen him sign at Yankee Stadium or any time I've seen the Yankees play in Seattle when I go there to watch the Yankees. I've heard stories about how he has turned people down in public and how he will have people line up when he leaves George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa and sign maybe ten autographs.

Depending on the item, Steiner Sports has Jeter signed baseballs, starting at a ridiculous $645.99. eBay has Jeter signed balls for around the $300.00 and up mark, but you're taking a risk there as you don't know who is selling legitimate autographs.

Getting a Jeter is going to be almost Mission: Impossible. Que the music.

Paul O'Neill

I've always been a huge fan of the "Warrior". He's in my top 3 of all time favorite Yankees. I'm considering starting a player collection of him. He's great as a broadcaster for the Yankees on the YES Network. I want to add a signed O'Neill baseball to my collection.

I know O'Neill is a willing signer. Just trying to find him is the hard part. The New Yankee Stadium is difficult to get autographs as the players don't have to leave the Stadium to get to the parking lot and drive away. I'm not sure if it's that way for broadcasters, but with someone with Paul O'Neill's stature, I'm sure he has a spot there.

I've seen through the mail successes for O'Neill, but I struck out when he never returned my baseball. I'll try again, sending a photo and a baseball card instead. I'm hoping he makes a free appearance somewhere.

Mariano Rivera

Another all time great Yankee who I need in my collection. Rivera is a willing signer, just at the right places. If you watched Being Mariano, you will know what I mean.

Rivera is another player who was signing through the mail, yet he never returned not one baseball, but 2 baseballs I've sent in the last 5 years in care of Yankee Stadium. Just because of the type of person he is, I am still kind of holding out hope that I will eventually get them back. Maybe they got mixed up in all the mail he got and is still going through them, sending back the requests, I tell myself. I also tell myself that the Easter Bunny has a gold chocolate bunny for me.

I do think I will eventually get to add Mo to the collection. He has been doing signings recently. He did a free signing during the winter that I didn't go to because I would have had to stand out in 15 degree weather, but I am now regretting I didn't go, even though almost 1,000 people showed up for it. He also did a signing at the last card show I went to. Steiner Sports was sponsoring it, hence the $299.00 price tag for his autograph. He's making appearances. My time will come.

Andy Pettitte

Getting an Andy Pettitte autograph in my Yankees signed ball collection is a must. Pettitte is another who is going to be difficult as he rarely makes appearances and really doesn't sign at the Stadium when he does show up. At least, not that I have seen.

Pettitte is another who was signing off and on through the mail in care of Yankee Stadium and is another Yankee I sent baseballs to at different times and struck out on. I really have to stop sending baseballs to players in care of Yankee Stadium. I almost always lose them.

Pettitte may be one I have to either trade for or purchase as I don't see him making appearances and if he does, he may be pricey. I'm always looking for the best prices on stuff, so I more than likely wouldn't go that route. I do hope I can add Pettitte eventually.

Jorge Posada

May even be more difficult to get to sign than Derek Jeter. I've heard horror stories about asking Posada to sign, even hearing him turning down children. I try not to listen to stories like that. Unless I see it for myself, then you take these stories with a grain of salt.

Posada has been showing up at Yankee Stadium events lately, so I'm holding out hope that he may eventually do a signing somewhere. I'm sure he will also be an expensive autograph, but as the catcher for multiple World Series winning teams and he may even be a borderline Hall Of Fame Candidate, I may actually go against my beliefs and pluck down the cash for him.

Rich Gossage

Goose has always been a friend to the autograph community. I have sent cards and an ice cream mini helmet to him in the past and he always returned the items with his signature on them. For some reason, I have never sent a baseball. I can't explain why I haven't, but I need to rectify that. He is also a great signer in person as I have gotten him on an 8x10 at a free signing and was very friendly.

I had heard a rumor that the through the mail signings were going to come to an end, but the last time I checked sportscollector.net, he was still signing as long as you sent a donation to BAT. If Goose signs a ball for me at 20.00, I will gladly send the donation to him. It's a great cause and I will get the autograph that I need for my collection.

Phil Niekro

Although Niekro's time with the Yankees was short, he's a Hall Of Famer who won his 300th game as a Yankee so I want him in the collection.

He is another willing signer through the mail. He charges 20.00 to sign a baseball, so I will be sending one and the donation out to him soon. I want to get him before he stops signing.

Dave Winfield

Winfield was one of my favorite Yankees growing up. The guy was an RBI Machine and one of the very best outfielders I have ever seen play. He could rob home runs from you or throw you out from the warning track at home plate. I have to add Winfield to my Yankees signed baseball collection.

Winfield doesn't do autograph signings, at least none that I have seen here in the NY area. I had seen him sign through the mail in care of the Baseball Hall Of Fame, but I don't think I have seen a success in a while. He was another that required a donation to sign. At a very affordable $10.00, he is certainly worth it. If he is still singing, I will get a ball out to him soon.

Joe Torre

Getting the autograph of the manager of the Yankees most recent dynasty is very important to me. Torre might be another difficult signature to get, but he works for MLB and is around a lot, so I feel confident that I can add his autograph at some point.

Torre was signing his mail only once during his time with the Yankees. Unfortunately for me, I missed the window and when I was getting a ball out to him, I found out he wasn't signing so I never got the baseball out to him.

I haven't seen him do any appearances and I don't think he's going to anytime soon. I think my best bet is to get him at Yankee Stadium, only problem is that would have to be a chance meeting as I never know when he is there.

Tino Martinez

My favorite Yankee of all time has eluded me constantly. When he makes appearances, I usually can't go. The one time I had a shot at him was when I was in Los Angeles last season and he was the Marlins hitting coach. I waited outside Dodger Stadium for 45 minutes, but left because I didn't want my girlfriend waiting much longer. She was a great sport about it and I didn't want to press my luck. Turns out I should have waited because she wanted to see me get the autograph and he came out and signed 10 minutes after I left. Grrrr!

I know eventually I will get his autograph on a baseball. He does appearances here and I will be all over the next one. I don't care what I have to do. I will get this monkey off my back and add Tino's autograph to my Yankees collection.

There are other players I'd love to add. Rickey Henderson, Dave Righetti, Robinson Cano are just a few of the players I would love to get signed baseballs of. The players I mentioned above are just the ones I really want. I do know that like many things in life, if you are patient, then it will happen. I have my goal, now it's up to me to successfully complete it.

Go Yankees!

Westchester Sports Card Show-3/22/2014

I attended the Westchester Sports Card Show at the Westchester County Center today. I originally wasn't planning on attending, but my buddy, Victor, wanted to get Mariano Rivera, who was appearing at the show, to sign a piece for him, so I agreed to attend. Rivera was a 300.00 autograph so there was no way I was getting to meet him today. I am confident that I will meet Rivera someday soon. But for today, I made due with meeting former Texas Ranger and New York Yankee, Ruben Sierra.

Sierra was signing autographs from 1-3 pm, but I got caught up at looking at the dealer tables that I was late getting in the line. By the time I had got on,  the signing had started. As of late, the line for the free signings have been incredibly long and today was no different. When I got to the back of the line, it had snaked down to where it was close to where Sierra was signing! I could have turned around and handed my stuff to Sierra to sign.

So for the next hour and a half, I passed the time by talking to my sweetie and playing Solitaire on my phone. My buddy went up to meet Rivera while I was waiting. By the time he was done, I was still waiting. Ridiculous. Next time, I will be in line before the signing even starts.  Slowly, but surely the line started moving and I finally made it to the front of the line to meet Ruben.

As I passed off my items I said hello to Mr. Sierra. Sierra didn't even acknowledge me, instead he chose to continue his conversation in Spanish with his buddy. I tried again to engage him in friendly banter as he signed my items to no avail. He didn't even look at me as he slid my stuff across the table to me. I didn't even say thank you, choosing to just grab my stuff and leave. Look, I know I'm not anything special, but have some manners and at least say hi when someone comes up to you at a signing that you were paid to be at. It wasn't just me he ignored either. I saw other fans and a child or two get he cold treatment from him as he signed without acknowledgement to the fans.

At least I got 2 nice autographs for my Yankees PC

I wasn't going to let that jerk ruin my day at the show, so I circled the floor a couple times, looking at dealer tables.

For various reasons, I didn't bring a whole lot of money with me to the show, so I had to be very picky about what I picked up today. I decided to keep it cheap and stick with looking at cards that were under a dollar. I wanted to look for cards to add to my Tino Martinez and Mark Teixeira collections. After looking through a couple of boxes, all I found was 2 cards.

Not exactly what I had in mind when I decided to stick with these two players. Disappointing to say the least. Guess I will just stick with COMC to add to my player PC's. But all was not lost. I was able to add 2 pieces to my Jets collection.

Picked up a 16 x 20 Calvin Pace signed SI cover, blown up. The dealer had a ton of Jets stuff and would have thrown in the Calvin Pace for free if I had bought a Darelle Revis signed mini helmet for 50.00. Unfortunately, I didn't have that much, so I just took the Pace auto for 10.00.

The Matt Simms card cost me 3.00 at a table where a dealer was trying to get my friend to pay up to 400.00 for a Panini Matt Harvey autograph/Patch card. My buddy is not a card collector, but even he knew that guy was overpricing his cards. The patches were pretty sweet, but I think if he really wanted them he could get them cheaper on eBay. The dealer wanted 5.00 for the Simms, but I talked him down to 3.00. He also had some Stephen Hill Patch/Autograph cards, but wanted 40.00 for them. He said he still believes in Hill. Well, at least someone still does.

I also got a free Mariano Rivera card at the door with paid admission.

The drawing on the card was done by Brian Kong. I have long been a fan of his work on various Topps cards as well as some Marvel comics. He had a table set up, but wasn't there when I went to his table. I looked at some sketch art he was selling. If I had the cash, I would have picked up a piece. I'm a huge fan of original sketch art and saw a sweet Don Mattingly he was selling. Had I known he was going to be there, I might have bought along an artist card and asked him to sketch something and sign it. I'll keep an eye out for his next appearance. The Rivera card is a pretty cool and unique addition to my Yankees PC.

All and all, despite my funds being on the low side, I managed to have a bit of fun and add a few pieces to my various collections. It just goes to show you that if you plan out your day properly, then anyone can have a good time, regardless of what you have in your pocket.