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Tim TroutFiled under: Beckett Blog, MLB | Tags: #1 draft pick, Alberto Gonzalez, Andy LaRoche, Boston Red Sox, Jason Bay, Jhonny Nunez, Los Angeles Dodgers, Manny Ramirez, new york yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, shocker, trade deadline, Washington Nationals
Manny heads to LA?
I need to find new sources of MLB rumors. In all the places I read today, with 1,000-scenarios-a-minute trade deadline coverage, the Dodgers weren’t even mentioned as a landing spot for Manny Ramirez.
Manny to LA, Bay to Boston, and Andy LaRoche and pitcher Bryan Morris to the Pirates, reportedly along with a few minor leaguers.
Who knew?
I am pretty confused by LA…what do they do now that they have a ton of outfielders on the squad?
Boston fans can be content in the fact that Jason Bay has never had a David Ortiz hitting behind him. Plus, he is FAR from done in the big leagues.
Pittsburgh fans…well…aren’t the Steelers predicted to be pretty good this season?
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In other news–
Chicago…are you ready for this?
Wow, it will take some getting used to for sure!
————
I am not ready for this…
It’s not your fault, Pudge!
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Also, the Washington Nationals traded minor league pitcher Jhonny Nunez to the Yankees for SS Alberto Gonzalez.
In 2005, Baseball America listed Gonzalez as the #1 defensive IF in Arizona’s minor-league system, he was a part of the Randy Johnson deal in early 2007.
Nunez used to be in the Dodgers farm system. In 2006, playing with the Gulf Coast League Dodgers (rookie ball) he struck out 56 batters in 57 innings.
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Those are nice K numbers, but look at the stats of the Dodgers #1 pick, Ethan Martin. I know these are high-school stats, but I don’t care if they are from Pony League, they are darn impressive!
As a high school senior, Martin, the 2008 Georgia State High School Player of the Year, went 11-1 with a 0.99 ERA and 141 strikeouts…in 79 innings!
Nothing to do with the trading deadline, but it’s worth noting since he signed a deal for $1.7 million last month, and now is out for the rest of the year with a knee injury. Good luck in recovery, Ethan!
Filed under: Beckett Blog, MLB | Tags: approval, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cincinatti Reds, Commish, Florida Marlins, Jason Bay, Jr., Ken Griffey, Manny Ramirez, Tampa Bay Rays, trade deadline
Is Griffey going to the White Sox, or not?
We are still waiting on the old “Commissioner approval,” to know for sure. It’s bugging me, so I can’t imagine how White Sox fans are doing right now. By the way, I forgive you all for 2005, never had any hate there.
What about Manny to the Marlins? As much as the media makes him into a jerk (and he may well be), I can’t see the Red Sox fans being overjoyed at the thought of a Manny-less lineup tomorrow.
Uploads are down, so repeat images used-We are so very sorry!
Now we hear talk of Jason Bay becoming either a Blue Jay, or a [Devil] Ray, sorry it rhymed so well
30 minutes left!
This is proving to be a long day of waiting and wondering. Especially since WordPress is messed up and photos are not uploading right now…grrrr….
Filed under: Beckett Blog, Beckett HQ | Tags: Beckett, new baby, potential superstar, prospect, scouts, White Sox
Meet Andrew Nicholas Sutherland, son of our esteemed colleague and Director of SDP, Mr. Bill Sutherland, and his wife Karen.
He’s obviously a good, young prospect to keep your eyes on!
On deck
Just in case the Major Leagues don’t come calling, there is already a backup plan in place.
Obviously his favorite magazine
Congrats, to Bill and Karen, he is adorable!
Filed under: Beckett Blog, Bowling | Tags: 1971, Bowling, Butch Gearhart, Lou Scalia, PBA, Pro Bowler, super-fly, weird cards
Front
Back
I am not sure what to say about the pink outfit that Butch Gearhart (top right-no, the other right–and may he rest in peace) is wearing, except I want it.
Filed under: Autographs, Non-sport, Topps | Tags: Buy It Now, cut signature, eBay, George Lucas, Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Memorabilia, movie, Steven Spielberg, Topps
- $13,999.99 + $200 shipping!
This is an incredibly cool card, a once-in-a-lifetime kind of pull! A 1/1 triple cut-sig with three of Hollywood’s biggest big-shots. But DANG, this was on ebay with a “Buy It Now” price of $13,999.99! I say it WAS on ebay, because someone bought it on July 24th.
See for yourself–CLICK HERE
This is one of those cards I will probably never lay eyes on, unless, of course, it comes to Beckett Grading Services. Kind of like the T206 Wagner, I never thought I would ever get to see one raw and up close, so maybe I will see this one someday. I hope if it comes to us the folks in the grading department let me come look at it. Did I ever mention that I love those guys?
PS-Sorry this got missed until now, but there is just SO much stuff out there to talk about these days….
- A proud, rich owner and a happy, rich(er) ex-owner
Filed under: MLB | Tags: 3000 hits, Ichiro, Josh Hamilton, no steroids, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Ty Cobb, young
Besides my MR. Josh Hamilton autographs I got, one of the nice things about the game I attended Monday night was seeing Ichiro play. I thought I would get to see a little bit of baseball history that night, but Ichiro decided I had enough to babble about already and waited until last night to make history.
3,000 hits*!
This is a stat that I don’t mind putting the * next to, since it’s nothing to do with needles or some sort of clean, clear, magical ointment.
Last night, Ichiro hit his 1,722 hit in Major League Baseball, and combined* with his 1,278 hits in Japan, he hit that magical 3,000 mark (pun intended) younger than anyone else in history, barely beating out Ty Cobb by roughly 100 days. (Ichiro did it at age 34, 130 days–Cobb was 34, 231 days.)
He did have another hit later in the Mariners loss, so he stands at 3,001 hits.
Critics that argue that his Japanese hits should not count for anything can take a hike. He played fewer games every season in Japan, and his 1.41 hits-per-game average in the U.S. is actually higher than the 1.34 hits-per-game that he had in Japan. He’s also never had LESS than 206 hits in a season in MLB.
Congrats to Ichiro, that is an impressive feat.
Filed under: NBA, Topps | Tags: Houston Rockets, Ron Artest, Steve Nash, Lamar Odom, Tony Parker, Bobby Jackson, draft picks
An NBA trade just cost ebay some seller’s fees.
Wow, to think I was literally moments away from listing these two cards to sell…
Now I can keep them, which makes me very happy!
Go Rockets!
Filed under: Memorabilia, Topps | Tags: Allen & Ginter, eBay, hair, printing error, relic, Topps, Woolly Mammoth
This one is just plain nuts, but I would rather have it than the unidentified part of the body human hairs the other cards are containing. Check the ebay auction here.
Filed under: Beckett Blog, Box break, Memorabilia, NFL, Tennis | Tags: Arthur Ashe, Dan Marino, Joe Montana, John Elway, shoebox, Sportkings, Vintage
This is a sneak-peak-before-the-official-sneak-peak of the new Sportkings. We had a box break this morning, but my little camera is quicker than video, so this will be the first look at them.
This is my first time to ever see an opened box of these. I love the presentation, the shoebox is good stuff, which fits well with the overall vintage feel of the set. Thankfully, they don’t just put the cards in a shoebox like people did back in those rubber band days! The three smaller boxes/packs, with three cards in each, sit snugly inside the shoebox, and look cool to boot.
I can’t post all of the cards that were pulled and ruin the box break (well, I guess I could, but probably shouldn’t), but I will post a couple of them.
Tennis legend Arthur Ashe, complete with the sweet glasses. I think this is a real good looking card.
A triple-memorabilia card featuring some guys named Elway, Marino, and Montana. The three-color Elway swatch is outstanding, I am sure Tracy Hackler really dug this card.
These were two great cards, but I saved the best ones so you can all see them on the video box break when it’s uploaded. One of them I am plotting to put in my backpack when nobody is looking.
Filed under: BGS, Beckett Blog, Beckett.com, Memorabilia | Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Andy Broome, Autographs, Christie's, institution, Josh Hamilton, printing plate, Profiles in History, Shakespeare, Steve Bartman, the National
Infamous Cubs fan Steve Bartman was offered $25,000 to appear at this weeks National Sports Collectors Convention and sign one autograph.
Just one signature. Thats all. Pick up pen, sign, put down pen, pick up check.
Not a bad days work in my opinion.
Word comes this week that he will not be accepting the offer and will not show up at the National.
This offer raises an interesting question, what is the most expensive autograph in the world?
No Eric, its not your Josh Hamilton signed printing plate.
According to the profilesinhistory.com webpage:
Profiles in History’s listing in the Guinness Book of Records: AUTOGRAPHS AND SIGNATURES
Most expensive The highest price ever paid on the open market for a single signed autograph letter was $748,000 on Dec. 5, 1991 at Christie’s, New York for a letter written by Abraham Lincoln on 8 Jan 1863 defending the Emancipation Proclamation. It was sold to Profiles in History of Beverly Hills, CA.”
While that certainly is a chunk of change for an autograph, the high price undoubtly has to do with the content of the letter and not the signature itself.
Apparently, some think the highest price paid for a single signature would be the scribblings of William Shakespeare.
There are 6 known copies of his signature, all locked away in institutions. The six are:
One on a deposition in a legal case
One on his mortgage papers
Three in his will
One on a conveyance for a house in London
Several websites state that if an authentic copy of his ‘graph did surface on the market, expect to pay upwards of $5 million.
Didn’t the guy make his name by writing? There are only 6 examples of his sig? Geez, its probably time to start doing some hunting in England. Anyone pull up the floor boards in his house?
Filed under: Beckett Blog, MLB | Tags: admirable athlete, Astros are just awful, BGS, great person, Hollywood can't touch reality, Josh Hamilton, no fear of faith, Nolan Ryan, not worthy, Phone cameras stink, printing plate, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, the MAN, Yankee Stadium
Yes, the Texas Rangers lost tonight…to an inferior team.
Well, I just don’t care right now. I will be hated on and most likely cussed repeatedly for that statement.
Let me let you in on a little secret…
I DON’T CARE!
*cue the gasps of horror, the foul words, and the possible physical violence directed at little ol’ me…*
Check this out–
Ugh. Just ugly, isn’t it?
This little peice of metal is going on my wall…ASAP…once I get done “score boarding” it around the office (well, mostly the high-security grading room) in the morning (if I even decide to show up there at that Beckett place).
What this thing is, and why it means so much to me, is a LONG, potentially boring story, that nobody could possibly care to hear, save for my wife, mother, and grandmother. In a nutshell, it’s the black-ink printing plate from the August issue of Beckett Baseball, and I love it dearly.
MR. Josh Hamilton (yes, MR. is all caps) signed that autograph for me on the printing plate this wonderful evening.
WAIT! Let’s be honest…That is only half the story…maybe only 33% of the story.
MR. Josh Hamilton (yes, caps again) signed two (2) autographs for me this wonderful evening. He signed this Goudey card for me (hate that it’s the Reds, but who am I to complain?), and would have signed one more had I not had this overwhelming bit of madness overtake me.
I had this– 
–in my hand, and he was ready to sign it…but I couldn’t let him do it…I had to know something first.
I asked MR. Josh Hamilton if he had the August Beckett issue…
He did not.
No shock to me, ballplayers have to deal with 6,090 sources of media every day. He will be on a few hundred magazine covers in the next couple of years. For goodness sake, they cheered him and chanted his name in Yankee Stadium! (For the record, most likely the last game of any consequence to ever happen there!) He’s beyond just a great ballplayer at this point…he’s an icon!
So…I gave Josh my copy of the magazine. He took it, and shook my hand while I babbled some garbage to him about how much it meant to me to just shake his hand and have him sign my stuff.
Thing is, he actually reacted like it meant something to him, too. He did not have to do that. He did not need to “cater” to me like that. He could have smiled, nodded, and moved on to the next people and I still would have been thrilled to death. He did not need to listen to me, he did not need to talk to me, he could have said anything to just blow me off and get rid of me quickly. I would have been happy enough that he signed a couple things (even one) for me and moved on. He also did not need to give the grading department ammo to belittle me and tear me apart like they will surely do in the morning. (Vile curses to you all!)
What he did was human. He shook my hand, looked me in the eye and he responded to what I said with much more than a, “Uh, huh, sure, that’s great,” kind of thing.
That meant a ton to me. More than he could ever know.
He signed quite a few autographs for folks after me, until he had to go to his prayer service (seriously…who else DOES things like that these days?!?). And then, to top off what was already a great day for me…MR. Josh Hamilton walked into the Rangers dugout with a Beckett Baseball magazine in his hand.
Yes, you grading department doubters, I have witnesses…one of them is one of you!
Oh, does it get better for me?
Yes! Unreal, but….yes it does! I got to sit about 33′ from MR. (yes…more caps, but well deserved) Lynn Nolan Ryan, while we both ate nachos.
That is for another post though. The post where I figure out how to DL my phone pictures since my [CENSORED] camera was out of batteries today.
Can’t win them all, I guess…but at this point…I couldn’t be happier! Go Josh…uhhh…and go Astros (?).
Filed under: Beckett Blog, NFL | Tags: Andre Johnson, Collectibles, Dallas Cowboys, DeMeco Ryans, Donald Driver, Drew Brees, Fathead, memorablilia, NASCAR, Tom Brady, Tony Romo, trade
Fatheads are pretty cool, the life-sized wall graphics that you can hang up just about anywhere you have the space…
I have a Kevin Durant on my wall at home, which I didn’t manage to take a picture of, but most people are probably familiar with them, if not check out their website.
It really is pretty easy to move...I moved this in under 5 minutes.
It can be hard to find space to hang a Fathead in your house if you are person like myself, who has so much memorabilia on his study walls already that nobody is sure what color they are painted. I would put up another one, but I agonize over what I would take down to do it.
This is a cool idea for a Fathead. I saw this on their site…not sure how long it took to do that, but that can solve the “not enough wall space” problem, if you have those blinds. Sadly, I only have one measly window.
Now Fathead has come out with a pretty neat solution to my dilemma…little Fatheads. The Fathead Tradeables are 5″X7″ and come in packs, just like cards. I got a chance to check out a pack that Brad Hastedt brought to work the other day, and I liked most of what I found in it.
They are a new breed of collectibles, like trading cards, you don’t know what you are going to get, hence the “tradeable” part. This is the worst possible team helmet one can pull from a pack (that’s why I liked “most of what I found”). The horror! You get one team helmet per pack, and thankfully this one could be traded for something acceptable.
There are two versions of players, Authentic, and Game Time. The Tom Brady you see above is an Authentic, and the thumbnails at the bottom of this post are the Game Time versions of Drew Brees and Donald Driver.
The tradeables work just like the big Fathead, you can hang them up and easily move them around, without causing damage to whatever surface they were on– they are not stickers. Once you buy a pack, you can get into the website, where you can trade any you don’t want.
Currently they are offering free samples, you only pay the shipping. I ordered 3 of the samples, and am hoping like crazy I get Andre Johnson, or DeMeco Ryans…if not, I am sure there is someone out there who will trade me for them.
Right now they are only producing NFL tradeables, but who knows what the future holds for these if they go over well with the masses.
*cough* I want Nolan Ryan! *cough*
Here are more examples from Brad’s tradeables pack–there was also a Tomlinson, but I snagged it and it’s currently hanging on my wall here at Beckett. As soon as I get my battery charged on my camera (duh) I will post it.
Ok, I posted the Tomlinson– (click the thumbnails to see a bigger image).
When the ones I ordered come in, I will be offering to trade any undesirables…like that Romo guy. *shudder*
Keep your eyes peeled, especially if someone has some Texans to trade for…
