Welcome Back To My Yankees Collection, Bernie Williams

Aside from Bobbleheads, I love collecting figurines. I used to pick up every McFarlane Sports Pick Yankees figure that came out. The quality of the figures isn't as good as when they first came out and have a tendency to lean. I have a Jorge Posada that is literately using his bat to stay up. I only buy the ones I really want now.

I do love the Yankees figurines that are given out every year. ever since 2006, when the Yankees gave away a figurine of Derek Jeter in his "Jump Throw" pose, the Yankees have partnered with Sports Authority to give away these beautiful pieces, usually to the first 18,000 fans. I was at the first give away and loved the Jeter I got, which I still have. Unfortunately, the only other one I was able to go to was the Yankee Stadium give away in 2008 when I got to add a statue of the second Yankee Stadium to my collection.

A few years ago, I was able to pick up the second figurine that was given out in 2007, Bernie Williams. I actually had gotten a great deal for it and it was proudly displayed on my shelf, right next to the Jeter. Unfortunately, clumsy is my second middle name (Right after hungry) and while dusting the shelf, I accidentally knocked over Bernie and his leg went crunch.  I knew at that point it would be a while before I could pick up another Bernie statue.

Well, today I was able to re-add Bernie back to the Yankee collection. Say hello to my little friend!

This is not a large figurine by any stretch, but it doesn't have to be. This thing is freaken killer! Love that it's in the classic Yankees home uni and Bernie is batting from the left hand side (He was a switch hitter, for the unknowing) and looks like he's about to mash a home run into the right field upper deck.

This figure was made by Alexander Global and if we know anything about Bobble Dobbles, then we know that they are close enough in the looks department. That is to say they are not 100% accurate, but close enough. This figurine is that exactly.

Base has the standard name of player, uniform number, sponsor and facsimile autograph. If I was into having my figurines autographed, I would definitely try to get Bernie to sign in the middle of the base in Gold Sharpie or Decco.

These are numbered out of 20,000. So I guess they gave away 20,000 of these. Mine is numbered 3005, but you can see that can't you?

The back has that familiar number 51 that will be retired by the Yankees later this season. At first, I wasn't sure if I was ok with 51 being retired, but the more I think about it, the more I am OK with it because, my opinion only, he is the third best Yankee center fielder in their history behind Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. I'm sure that remark will spark some debates.

Here's a comparison with the Don Larsen statue I got at the 2013 All Star FanFest.

And here's the figure comparison with the Jeter figurine I got at the first give away in 2006. Remember what I said about likenesses being close enough with these? That goes double for this Jeter. Also, do not do what I did. Save the boxes, I was stupid and threw out both boxes because I needed room. I now know you should hang on to them.

Now that I have the Bernie back in my collection, I think I will be going for the others in the series. Here's the checklist:

2006-Derek Jeter Jump Throw (check)
2007-Bernie Williams (check)
2008-Yankee Stadium (2nd) (check)
2009-Yankee Stadium (3rd)
2010-Mariano Rivera
2011-Jorge Posada
2012-Mark Teixeira
2013-Andy Pettitte
2014-Derek Jeter Batting
2015-Dellin Betances

Right now, the Teixeira and Pettitte are the more reasonably priced figurines, but with Pettitte's number also being retired this season, as well as Posada's, I can see these figurines going up in price.

I love it when I have a project to try and complete and I know there are other figurines that I will be going after. The Yankees also gave away some statues that resemble the Don Larsen I have. They were of the of players who were enshrined in Monument Park. Then, I want to grab the Heartland, Salvino and Sports Impressions (Not expensive) and Danbury Mint (expensive). Hopefully, I can grab as many of these pieces as I can and not have the dealers back the pieces away when they see me coming.

Ever Meet You're Favorite Player And He Turns Out To Be A Jerk?

When your a kid,if you're lucky enough you start enjoying a sport and quickly latch on to a team that you will love the rest of my life. I was. I fell in love with the New York Yankees at the age of 5 and have had a love affair with the Bronx Bombers for almost 39 years. That makes me loyal and old!

When your a kid, if you're lucky enough to find a player who captures your imagination in a way no other player can and he becomes your idol. The guy whom you shower all your admiration for. Buy his jersey. Pick up his bobblehead, Have posters of him on your wall. Trade cards with others to have a collection of cards of your favorite player. And if your really lucky, you will get to meet him and it will be a memorable experience, one that will positively be with you the rest of your life.

I got to meet my favorite player. There's a reason why I don't really have a PC of his.

When I first started watching the Yankees, I didn't have a favorite player right away. My mom, was a massive Reggie Jackson fan, so like a good little mama's boy, I started following him. But there was something about him that didn't appeal to me. Maybe it was I noticed his fielding wasn't that great or that he struck out a lot, but I wasn't down with Reggie as much as my mom was. Don't get me wrong. I didn't dislike Reggie, I was thrilled he was a Yankees, but he wasn't my guy.

During that 1977 season, I started to notice one particular player who was hitting home runs and driving in runs at a more rapid pace than Reggie was. Then, one afternoon, I can't remember who the Yankees were playing or when during that year it took place, but a screaming line drive was rocketed down the third base line, sure to be extra bases. Then, out of nowhere, a diving Yankee snared that ball, got up and threw the ball to Chris Chambliss at first base, nailing the runner by a couple of steps. I remember staring at the replay, mouth wide open, wondering what in the Brooks Robinson just happened. It was the greatest play my widdle eyes had seen at that point and I knew I had found my favorite Yankee. His name, as if you haven't guess by now, was Graig Nettles.

From that point on, I was a Nettles fanatic. I watched the Yankees and hoped to see a fantastic play by the man they called "Puff". I prayed I'd see Nettles hit one out of the park. I had a couple of t-shirts made up as I grew up with the Yankees interlocking NY on the front and Nettles name and number 9 on the back. When I played ball, I was always at 3rd, wore number 9 and was diving for every ball, even if it was a routine grounder. Pretty soon, all the kids called me Nettles and it made me proud. When I started collecting baseball cards in 1979, I always made sure I had his card in my collection and traded with other kids to get his other cards I didn't have. Heck, I was player collecting before it became the thing to do.

I started going to Yankee games with my buddies who lived across the street from me around 1982. We used to go to all the giveaway games, which is why I had a ton of Yankee goodies (God, I wish I still had all that stuff). We made sure to get to the Stadium early to watch batting practice in the bleachers (I was a Bleacher Creature before....ah, who cares.) and we would go and try to get autographs when the players would leave Yankee Stadium. I remember getting some good players to sign my program or baseball cards. Players like Lou Pinella, Bobby Murcer, even a young Don Mattingly. But never Graig Nettles.

Then one day, for some reason I was walking between the buses that would take the Yankee players and staff to the airport to catch their flights when out of the corner of my eye I saw him, Graig Nettles was coming at me. It was just me and my favorite player, mano y mano. I was sure he would want to hear how I idolized him and would be glad to sign my baseball card. Boy, how wrong I was. He brushed me off without even looking at me and avoided the crowd and got in the bus. My heart was broken, yet I rationalized that he had to get on the bus and make his flight, so all was forgiven. I would get him again.

The next chance I got was at a card show, 25 years later. I attended the Long Island card show, which is held at Hofstra University. There a few other players I wanted to meet, but to me, the main event was a meeting with Graig Nettles. Now, mind you, I was just getting restarted collecting autographs and didn't even think of having him sign a photograph or baseball. I plucked down my $30.00 to have him sign my baseball card.

When I finally got up to his table, I was more nervous then when I met Gene Simmons. I started telling him how I idolized him growing up. How I used to play third base and wore number 9 and dove for baseballs and how it was an honor to finally meet him. Nettles looked up at me and said, in the most obnoxious way, "Gee, that's great kid. You must have been really popular". I wasn't sure if he was being a jerk, so I didn't say anything but thanked him for making a die hard fan's day and left the table.

After walking around and looking at a few tables, I looked at my buddy and asked him if Nettles sounded sarcastic to him. My friend confirmed this and told me the look on my face reminded him of a child who was told the last showing of Star Wars was sold out. With my fears being confirmed I decided I wouldn't actively collect Graig Nettles like I was planning. In fact, I was planning on picking up his 1969 Topps rookie card that day.

I met Nettles a couple times after to get a ball signed or an 8x10 signed for a friend and each time I barely said anything to him and he never acknowledged my presence. He would just sign the item without a word to me. If I was lucky, I might get a hello from him after I exchanged the pleasantry to him. The "meeting" would take about 2 minutes, tops. Each time, I would get less disappointed and more angry because I would always look for something that would redeem himself to me. A nice remark or a warm smile that would get me to like him again so I can start that PC of his.

It's not like I don't already have a small PC of him already:

Here's the signed card from that first meeting. I wanted to rip up the card soon after, but remembered I paid $30.00 to have him sign it.

Some Nettles Game Used Cards

Some Nettles autographs

Obviously, my personal feelings about Nettles hasn't stopped me from getting stuff signed by him or adding his Yankee cards to my Yankees collection. I just never started a separate binder for him like I have for Tino Martinez, Mark Teixeira, Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter or wanted to for Paul O'Neil. I have toyed with the idea of just letting bygones be bygones and starting a PC for Nettles, but I could never bring myself to do it. As I get older, the anger in me has subsided and I can see myself starting one in time. I just don't think that time is soon. I already have too many player PC's going and to start another may put my collection in even more chaos than it already is in. Maybe after I get my cards in order and I have some Nettles doubles, I will open up a binder for him.

I would really like to remember him for the plays at third base than my encounters with him. I would prefer to remember how he litterly stole Game 3 of the 1978 World Series from the Dodgers with the plays he made at the hot corner or how I used to argue that Nettles was just as good as Brooks Robinson and he should be in the Hall Of Fame (Naive of me. That .248 life time average will keep him out of the Hall Of Fame). Maybe one day I can fully forgive and forget my meeting with him and instead remember how he capture my imagination and helped a young boy fall in love with a game that after 39 years, the love still burns stronger than ever.

Mark Teixeira Bobblehead

Back on Thursday, June 19th, the Yankees held their first bobblehead give away of the season. Now, as a bobblehead lovin' mofo, I was going to be there. Throw in the fact that it was Mark Teixeira Bobblehead night and I was practically scaling the wall to get my hands on one of these to add to my bobblehead collection. Thankfully, I was one of the first 18,000 fans to get to the Stadium early and Mr. Teixeira was added to my collection. I was then able to "enjoy" the game, watching the Yankees beat the Blue Jays in an important AL East battle 6-4. I say "enjoy" because the dude who was sitting next to me was invading my personal space by leaning on my arm, putting his back on me to take a picture of his group and opening his rather large book to read. I should have known he wasn't a baseball fan when he asked who Derek Jeter was.

But I didn't care. I had my bobblehead and I couldn't wait to get home, open it and put him on my shelf. When I opened the box, I was in for a bit of a surprise.

First off, let's take a look at the box. As you can see, I was given a box that was less than perfect. If I ever did want to resell this, the box would hurt the resale value on it. Most bobblehead collectors want the original box and for it to be in as pristine condition as it can be. This one falls short of the mark.

The front of the box has a picture that shows what the bobblehead inside will look like once you open it up. It also tell's you who it is and what number in this season's series it is. In this case, it's the first of 4 player bobbleheads to be given out this season. This doesn't count the Hello Kitty and Lucy bobbleheads that will be given out later in the season.

The box does have the listing of the rest of the player bobbleheads and the dates they will be given out. Right off the bat, I can see I will be missing the Lou Gehrig give away. Thank heaven for eBay.

The other two sides of the box has Tex prominently featured, just in case you forget which bobblehead you are getting and when you see the bobblehead, you just might.

I'm not really liking this bobblehead. First off, I'm not crazy about the size. It's a few inches smaller than a regular size bobble. I don't understand why we have to get smaller bobbleheads. Is it a way to save a few dollars?

That's being said. I could get past the size if this bobblehead looked anything like Mark Teixeira to begin with. I'm shocked that Alexander Global would allow this off the assembly line. They are usually pretty good with the likenesses of players. This one falls way off the mark. No pun intended on that one folks.

 On one side of the bobblehead, you get the name of the player and the sponsor on the base it's self, which is AT&T on this particular bobblehead. The lettering looks kind of sloppy as well, The last part of the last name is so crooked that the A is almost off the base completely. Plus, the paint on the letters as well as on the figure its self is very sloppy. There is a sploch of paint right on the ear, the hair is missing pain in spots and the lettering looks like a five year old painted them.

The back of the bobblehead is probably the best angle on this bobblehead. Numbers look fine and the pinstripes afre not crooked nor are they missing paint. The helmet is also nicely painted. The bat is screwed in, but it's not tight in it's hand, so if your are looking to pick up this bobblehead, your going to have to be careful with the bat.

Maybe this is the best side. You can't see the face.

I don't know what happened with this bobblehead. Maybe it's just mine, but that one side, the main side, is terribly painted. I don't know what happened at AGP. They are usually a very reliable company when making these bobbleheads. Someone really dropped the ball on this one. The reaction I got when I opened the box is usually saved for Forever bobbleheads. Hopefully, someone got an earful regarding this one.

Regardless of how this one came out, I am looking forward to the other three bobbleheads, especially the Lou Gehrig which is commemorating the 75th anniversary of his famous speech. If you haven't seen the bobblehead, here's a picture of what fans will be given this Wednesday at 1:05 PM:

Man, I am going to hate missing this game.

Last year, AGP did a good job on the Jeter, Matsui, Rivera and Berra bobbleheads. Plus, I have loved their earlier bobbleheads that were given out at Yankee Stadium in 2002 and 2003. That's pretty much why I am giving them a pass on the Teixeira. Although I am pretty disappointed with how this one came out, I believe the next bobbleheads will be better and ones that will be worthy of being displayed in any bobblehead collection.

Yankee Stadium Tour

It's cold outside. It's snowing. So, what do I do? Do I curl up in front of the T.V. and watch some Yankeeography? Do I go and build a snowman? How about none of the above. When it's colder than cold and the snow is blowing in my face, I want to be reminded how soon it will be warmer than Hades so I go to my summer home. I take a trip to Yankee Stadium.

My girlfriend, Gina, was in town for Valentine's Day Weekend and one of the places we both wanted to visit was the home of our favorite team. So, we went on Saturday afternoon to see if there was any tickets available for any of the remaining tours that day. Luck was on our side and we were able to score tickets for the 3:20 tour.

Before the tour started, we walked around and took some pictures outside the ballpark.

Once we were let inside, we were treated to a fantastic view of the Great Hall.

And The Hard Rock Cafe

And The Yankees Clubhouse Store right next to the Hard Rock

Once the tour started, Carlos, our tour guide, led us up to the Yankee Museum. We stopped by the Mickey Mantle Exhibit first. Mantle is one of my favorite Yankees, so this was a real treat for me.

There are a lot of those pieces on display I would just love to add to my Yankees collection, especially those vintage magazines, the movie poster and pin collection. I just wish I got a better picture of the pin collection.

After the Mantle display, we got a look at all the Yankees World Series rings. The Yankees got pocket watches instead of rings. The first year the Yankees got a ring was 1927 when they swept Pittsburgh. Due to the crowd, I was unable to take pictures of all the rings. I just got a few quick shots of the more current rings.

After the rings, we were bought to the Babe Ruth exhibit.

Lou Gehrig Exhibit

After the Museum, We were then taken to the Press Box. The view of the field from there is real nice. Makes me wish I finished my journalism degree so I could have worked from there as newspaper reporter.

Then we went down to one of the suites. This particular suite goes for 385.00, which includes an all you can eat buffet. A great view and food makes me consider this deal.

Yes, they serve Blue Moon here. Deal maker.

Gina and I even got to take a picture on the Suite deck.

After this they took us to a more expensive suite, which was pretty unimpressive. Just a couple of tables and pictures. I didn't really take any pictures in this suite. I was too busy talking to Carlos, our tour guide. We found out he is a 19 year old who is a student at St. John's University, taking Sports Management as his major. He's working his way through college by being a tour guide at the Stadium. Carlos seemed to be pretty smart person. I hope he goes pretty far in life.

OK, I lied. I did get to take a picture with the huge Tino Martinez picture in the suite.

After, we were led back downstairs and given wrist bands and that was the end of the tour. A bit disappointing because we couldn't go into the players locker room, dugout and on to the field. Carlos told us that because they were still dismantling the hockey rink we couldn't go down there. Great. First my Islanders lose to the Rangers, now we were denied access to the field. I was told to come back for a later tour during the season and we could go to the locker rooms and field, so I'm thinking that's what Gina and I will do.

Afterward, Gina and I picked up a few items at the Clubhouse Store and left the Stadium.

Outside the Stadium, I noticed a life sized bobblehead. I have this same bobblehead on my shelf, which is an all star bobblehead. I don't remember which All Star game it was from though.

Then Gina and I decided to hit the Yankee Tavern. Rumor has it that Babe Ruth actually used to get drunk here so I thought it would be a great place for Gina to visit.

It's a nice little place. In between drinks and some Motown on the jukebox, we got to take a quick picture.

Dispite the snow and the fact we weren't able to visit the locker room or field, this turned out to be a great day at the Stadium. I now we will take the tour again and now Gina can say she had a drink in the same bar that Babe Ruth did. Isn't that what dreams are made of?