A Surprise Package From Matt

I came home today to an unexpected bubble mailer in my mailbox from Matt.  I was blown away when I opened it up and saw these two autographed cards inside.  The above dual auto came out of 2007 Upper Deck Exquisite and looks so sharp.  I thought UD Exquisite and Ultimate were great high end products.  I don't have too many Markakis autos, so this goes nicely into the PC.  The Jon Knott auto actually looks really sweet, although Knott didn't last very long as an Oriole.

Knott played 7 games for the O's in 2007 where he had 3 hits, one home run and 4 RBIs.  He wasn't seen in the majors after that.  I remember when the O's picked him up.  I remember hoping that he would pan out as a solid player, but it just wasn't meant to be.

Matt also sent me this 2014 Panini Prizm Rick Dempsey auto.  I didn't have a single Dempsey auto, so this was a welcome addition to my Orioles PC.

Thanks so much for the cards, Matt!  Please go check out his blog, Bob Walk The Plank.

Awesome Package From Wes

 

I got an email recently from a guy named Wes who reads my blog.  The email was quick and to the point, asking me for my address because he had some Orioles cards for my collection.  As you can see from the photo above, what he sent me was far more than I could have imagined.  It got better, too, when I flipped through the cards and saw a ton of Orioles that I needed and came upon some awesome relics and autographs.  I was amazed at the things I found in the pile.  Here are some of the highlights:

This Brian Matusz Razor Lettermen auto was so cool.  I had another of his, a Z, I believe, but this one was a different color and looks really awesome!

I don't believe former Oriole reliever Rocky Cherry has made it onto the blog before, but this Upper Deck Exquisite auto looks so cool.  It is also numbered 1/10.  Cherry didn't last long for the O's but this card is still really cool and I'm glad Wes included it.

Finally, I was really happy to get this Mike Wright Bowman Platinum auto, red parallel, which is numbered to 25.  I already had the base and now I have the red.  I like Wright because he went to nearby ECU and was really cool when Chris and I met him a few years ago.  I hope he makes it to the bigs and pitches as well as he is capable.

It is going to take me some time to go through all of these cards that Wes hooked me up with.  If you're reading this, Wes, thanks so much!  I really appreciate the package!

Quick Card Shop Pickup

I'm fairly certain I picked up this Nick Markakis 2007 UD Exquisite Rookie Signatures card for $30 from my LCS.  Fairly certain.  To be honest, with as busy as I have been lately, I could have gotten this from anyone.  I think the proprietor of my LCS had it waiting on me when I went back in there after my vacation.  The card is numbered 10/20 and has a sticker auto.

That being said, though, it is a really awesome card.  Nick the Stick is having a really good year for the O's after coming off of the disabled list and being thrust into the leadoff spot since there really weren't too many options after Nolan Reimold and Brian Roberts went down with injuries.

Markakis is a steady hitter, he won't wow you with home run numbers, even though many people predicted he would be a 25-30 homer threat.  He's good for 15-18 homers, 175-185 hits and a .280-.290 batting average.  Most times, when healthy, he can also be counted on for 40+ doubles.  Not to mention his cannon for an arm.  He is one of the better right fielders in the game and finally won a long overdue Gold Glove for his efforts.

Let's hope Nick can continue to show his stuff long into October.  Yes, Orioles fans are beginning to talk and think about October baseball.