Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

I’ve been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to attend the Indy 500 in person for work several years ago. I went in 2008, when Scott Dixon won. It was an extremely cool experience. I’ve always been a big racing fan, and seeing these cars at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is something I’ll never forget. TV does not do the speed at which the cars travel justice.

I’ll be sure to catch some of the race today, especially the finish. Personally, I’d like to see another Andretti in victory lane, although good guy Tony Kanaan is due. Mostly, let’s just hope for a safe race for all.

Here is a small piece of the track that I own.

Robinson Cano signed baseball!

My co-worker did some work with Robinson Cano recently, and was nice enough to get a signed ball for me. It now resides on my desk here at work. This is now my third signed baseball...I have a Rollie Fingers, a Don Larsen, and now this Cano.

It's on an official MLB ball which is sweet. I wish the signature was in ballpoint pen as opposed to Sharpie, but it's perfectly on the sweet spot of the ball which makes up for it. It's a cool keepsake and I'm pretty excited to have it.

A little more Tyler Austin love

A little more Tyler Austin love. With his inclusion in 2012 Bowman, I’ve been trying to grab a few of his card. Here is the regular Bowman, the Chrome, and a blue-bordered parallel numbered to 500. He’s getting a lot of prospect love lately, so I’m glad I’ve picked up a few before he starts gaining more traction (and prices go up).

I‘m still really excited that I own a 1/1 of him. It was basically a throw in from a Gary Sanchez 1/1 I bought.

Gary Sanchez - SAL Top Prospect card

$.77 delivered brought me this Minor League card of Gary Sanchez. Gary, just 19, is hitting over .300 for Low A Charleston. It’s his second season there, and I anticipate a promotion to Tampa in the near future. Last year, he hit 17 HRs for them. While he has only two so far this year, he does have 14 doubles, two shy of last year. Something tells me the HRs are going to come.

This card marks my 14^th different Gary Sanchez card.

Taking a chance on an odd Rizzuto auto

On eBay I came across this odd Phil Rizzuto signed card. The card appears to be a business card for Mac's Cards in Vernon, CT. Upon calling the number listed a doing a quick Google search, it appears that the store is no longer open. The item was also shipped from Ventura, CA.

I won this card for $2.25 plus $1.95 shipping. The item description said "all autographs are guaranteed to be original and authentic." Pretty standard stuff. There was no other COA or anything. However, the signature looks extremely real based on pretty much any Rizzuto auto out there, including one that I own. It's definitely in ink and not a pre-print.

Anyhow, I'm going to assume it's real. Being in CT, perhaps they had a card show where he signed or something. I'll never know for sure, but it's definitely a unique collectible.

Tino Tuesday #41: 1996 Upper Deck Authenticated World Series Champions

I remember how excited I was during Christmas in 1996 when I pulled this card from an envelope in my stocking. I believe my mom saw an advertisement for it and purchased it. Being13 years old at the time, I had just started collecting Tino after his first year with the Yankees. This was easily the coolest card I owed at the time.

It's larger than a normal card. I believe it's 4x6. It's die cut, and bordered in an attractive gold foil. The Yankees logo is a little too large and just sort of stuck on there. I'd have made it a lot smaller and put it in the lower left corner. I'll always have a sweet spot for the the 1996 World Series logo, so I'm glad that is featured prominently. I'd have to say, I'm surprised Tino was featured on this card as opposed to Jeter, Boggs, O'Neill, Bernie, or even Wetteland. To my knowledge, no other versions of this card exist.

The back is individually numbered to 5000.

Autograph of Ernie Banks

I’ve always been a fan of Ernie Banks. Not sure why. I’m not a Cubs fan, although I don’t necessarily dislike them anyways. Growing up, I had a friend who had two signed baseballs that his grandmother bought him on QVC – one was Willie Mays, one was Banks. I was always envious of those baseballs, and I think why I subconsciously have always wanted an auto of each.

I’ve tried Banks a few times TTM, but with no success. I’ve bid on a few certified autos too, but I’m not ready to pay a hefty fee for something I can live without. I recently put in a bid on eBay for a 1999 Hillshire Farms card signed by Banks. My bid was $5.99. I lost. But then something happened. I received a second chance email…and I could buy the card for my highest bid - $5.99 – plus $2 shipping. $7.99?! I pulled the trigger and got this:

It also came with a certificate of authenticity. Pretty good deal if you ask me.