2009 Postseason memories...

I can't exactly say I was a true Yankees fan back in 2009. At the time I was only 8 years old, and although I kept up with the Yankees, trying to watch every single game wasn't one of my top priorities.

I was actually on a cruise with my family in 2009 when the World Series was going on, so I never got to watch any of the games. I DID see some live action at some bars on the cruise ship, but that was as close as I got to experiencing World Series baseball. Yankees, World Series baseball that is. 

They actually did sell some Yankees merch on the ship after the Yankees won the World Series, and ironically enough, we had a layover in Philadelphia coming home. So of course my dad and I had to wear our Yankees shirts in the Philly airport. 

Alex Rodriguez's performance in the 2009 postseason was unforgettable. Some could make the argument that the Yankees wouldn't have won the World Series if it wasn't for A-Rod's heroics, and that still remains true in my eyes. Was it worth all the extra baggage that he came with? Some really horrible seasons?

When A-Rod re-emerged in 2015, he still remained one of my favorite players to watch. A couple years later I got the opportunity to meet him at the National Sports Collectors Convention, and although it wasn't exactly an ideal interaction with A-Rod (And J-Lo), I still admire A-Rod for how he virtually turned his entire career around.

2016 was a rather forgettable season, but being at A-Rod's last game on that stormy Bronx night remains engraved in my mind. 

Package From Angels In Order...!

When I first started blogging again, Tom over at Angels In Order reached out and decided to send a little package over my way. Being that it's been about half a decade since I've made a trade with anyone on here, it was a warm welcome and I sure appreciate the cards he sent over!

I'll start off with my favorite of the bunch. I have yet to even see a card with Ottavino in Pinstripes, so it's definitely cool to finally own one. Ottavino was lights out this year for the Yankees and if all goes well, we'll get to see another year of his filthy slider in the Bronx.

 

No longer a huge fan of Eovaldi after he shut down the Yankees... But Stadium Club has some cool photography!

I'm not too familiar with the products that the next couple cards are from, but they're both cards that I've never seen before. Can never have enough Tanaka!

Despite Severino being shut down for an undisclosed amount of time, my collection of him is still fairly large.

Big thanks to Tom for sending over the cards! Your package should be arriving shortly!

Did You Have ANY Doubt?

The picture on this card says it all.

I remember how badly I wanted to go to that game on September 25th of 2014. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what stopped me from going to that game, but I ended up setting the night aside and watching the game in the living room with both my parents. In a year where the Yankees had virtually no shot at the postseason, the biggest, most important game of the year ended up being the one in which Derek Jeter would play his final game in pinstripes in the Bronx.

Everything had been set up so perfectly for Jeter to have been in that position in the bottom of the ninth. Derek Jeter had stretched his playing career as far as it could possibly go, getting a final shot at sending every single Yankees fan into a frenzy one last time.

I vividly remember sitting with my parents in the living room, our eyes fixated on the TV. I couldn't possibly imagine a scenario in which Jeter didn't finish his career in the Bronx with a walk off hit. 

And of course, Jeter finished his career with a walk off single; with me jumping up and down in my living room to the sound of Michael Kays voice. A moment in time that will forever be locked in my mind.

Cinco de Mayo!

So school in New Jersey has officially been cancelled for the rest of the year.

Obviously the only solution to doing online classes is to give a 90 to everyone who scores above a 65!

Yep, that's actually the grading policy for the rest of the year. Not that it matters a whole lot to me, being that I'll be graduating in just a couple months anyways. I just thought it was a little bizarre and rather odd.

Anyways, I was revisiting some of my Yankees collection that I have stored in a box and sorted out the "larger" relics that I own. I'm a sucker for jumbo relics and think they're way cooler than the flimsy standard relics that come in most products. 

Am I the only one who absolutely loves 2013 Five Star? The quality and "stock" of the cards is unbeatable, with the jumbo relics being relatively cheap.

Ah, JR Murphy. I enjoyed his short tenure with the Yankees and I'll never forget his 3 run home run against the Twins all the way back in 2015 when the Yankees had their magical little run.

I loved quite a few different products from 2013, possibly because that was the year I started collecting. Nonetheless, these cards are enjoyable to look at.

A product that's not so enjoyable to look at? National Treasures, obviously! The concept of the cards is pretty cool, but the colorless, logo-less, dull design of the cards definitely make them less desirable. 

The Next Dynasty...

Back in 2017 after the Yankees had made their unexpected run to the ALCS, virtually the entire Yankees fan base had their hopes and dreams set on another dynasty. Led by Aaron Judge, everyone believed that the Yankees had all the pieces put together to compete for a long, long time. Not to mention, their 2017 run was pretty fun and was probably one of my favorite seasons to watch as a Yankees fan. 

Judge winning the home run derby...

The BIG HUGE acquisition of Sonny Gray at the deadline...

The return of Tommy Kahnle & David Robertson...

Gary's big year...

Winning the wild card game...

Completing the reverse sweep against the Indians...

...

Well, what the hell happened?

2017: Yankees get skimped out of a shot at the World Series.

2018: Yankees get eliminated by the Boston Red Sox

2019: Yankees lose to the Houston Astros, once again.

2020: Global Pandemic

2020 2: Yankees chance at a World Series...?

Who knows! It's still fun to think back on that 2017 run and hope for something similar in 2020.

On a side note, it's quite a shame that Matt Vasgersian can't announce the entire postseason.

Nolan Arenado 7 Years Later

I started collecting Nolan Arenado back in 2013 when the Rockies first brought him up and he was nothing more than an elite defender. By no means was he a bad hitter, but his glove was certainly the better of the two. It wasn't until a couple years later that I seriously started collecting Arenado, when he solidified himself as a true power hitter.

Fast forward a few years, Nolan was still hitting 40+ bombs a year while playing elite defense, so his prices had both the fortune and misfortune of skyrocketing. As his prices climbed higher and higher, I slowly started to sell off some cards of his that I had. I kept a good portion, but I enjoyed making a small profit off the ones that I did sell.

Hopefully in a couple months all of us will be able to enjoy watching Arenado perform some magic tricks at the hot corner.

This is a card that did end up staying in my collection, as I simply could not muster up the courage to let go of it. The "RADO" logo on the right side of the card more than makes up for the uninteresting sticker auto.

Jeff Passan Says...

That there WILL be baseball this year, and that it's just a matter of when, where, and how. Obviously those are still three big unanswered questions, but simply just hearing that there would be baseball at some point this year is enough to put a smile on any baseball fan's face. Actually going to a game might not be plausible for some time, but eventually... It will be. Which is all that counts

I did some collecting in my short hiatus, but I never went out of my way to look for a specific card. It was just a matter of me buying a couple packs every now and then for my entertainment. Even though I've been out of the loop for quite some time, Topps Tribute has been a staple for Topps for the better part of the past 2 decades.

On another note, did you ever wish Topps would release a product with a checklist full of some really easy-to-forget-about players? Imagine seeing Travis Hafner in a product like Tribute...

Anyways, here are my tribute acquisitions from this years product. As always, the design is oh-so-appealing to the eye, with a number of super stars on the checklist.