Kevin Gausman Cards From The National

Kevin Gausman delivered in what might have been the biggest game of his career yesterday.  He held the Yankees to two runs in 7.1 innings pitched and his battery mate, Matt Wieters supplied the lumber in the Orioles 5-2 win.  The Orioles win assured them of a spot in the 2016 Post Season; before the Tigers lost to the Braves.

Gausman has seemingly turned the corner in his progression as a former top prospect into a top of the rotation starter for the Orioles.  His won-loss record isn't spectacular by any means, but he suffered from a lack of run support throughout the season.  He still managed a 9-12 record with a 3.61 ERA and 174 strike outs this season.  Not too bad, really.

I only picked up two Gausman cards from the National (I don't count the Museum Collection card since it went into th Davis PC).  The card at the top of the page is a 2013 Finest orange refractor numbered 88/99.  The above card is a mini refractor from 2013 Bowman Chrome.

I hope that the Orioles can continue their season beyond tomorrow night, but they have to go through Toronto first.  Let's go O's!

Instagram Trade With Jackson

I completed a trade on Instagram, finally, with one of the people I have talked to the most from there, a guy named Jackson.  I traded with his brother, Carson, quite a few times, and even once with their dad, Tim.  Turns out, Carson is on the same baseball team as my friend Matthew's brother, Jason.  Small world.  Anyway, I had a bunch of trade bait listed on my instagram page, and Jackson had been asking to do a trade for a while, so we finally had a match when he offered me this awesome Dylan Bundy auto from 2013 Topps Finest.  This green parallel is numbered 74/125 and the auto is on card.  Really sharp card.

Not only did I land the Bundy, but Jackson also included this 2007 UD SPX Cal Ripken relic numbered 69/199.  I already had a couple of these SPX relic cards, even a 3-piece one, but I was glad he included this.

Finally, I got this 2008 SP Legendary Cuts Cal Ripken relic.  This was one of the rare Ripken cards that I didn't have in my collection.  This one is numbered 15/99, so the cards Jackson sent me were all low numbered and well worth the trade.  He won the deal, but it didn't matter to me.  I'm just glad he is happy with what he got.

Some of the kids on Instagram need to take lessons from Jackson and his brother, Carson. They are both awesome people and I am so happy to be trading with them.  Jackson sent my son, Chris, some really nice stuff, and that gesture isn't lost on me.  Thanks so much for the trade, Jackson!

Some Pickups From My Brother John

I finally remembered to take one of my huge boxes of trade bait to my parents' house this past weekend and made the trek across the street to trade with my older brother, John.  I gave John a Ted Williams manufactured awards relic and he hooked me up with this cool Brooks Robinson All Star Game manufactured patch from 2013 Topps.

John gave me this awesome Virgil Trucks card, the only flaw being the spot near his eye.  It's ok, because I am a fan of any Virgil Trucks card.  His 97th birthday was on the 26th.  I took a moment on that day to pause and reflect on how awesome the man was and how I miss him, even though I never met him.

John traded this 2014 Topps Red Hot foil Chris Davis to me for a Ted Williams WWII card that I had.  I don't remember what year those were from, 2010, maybe?  I thought I had one of these Davis's coming in a trade, but I don't know what happened there.  Oh well, I have it now.

For a Jim Rice Silver Slugger Award manufactured card, John hooked me up with these two Manny Machado RCs.  The above card is a Topps Finest refractor and the below card is the Bowman Platinum red parallel.  Neither is numbered, but they are both really nice.

So, thanks for the cards, John.  I need to build back up some Red Sox inventory, but with all of the friends I have that collect Red Sox, it's tough.

Last Post From The December Card Show

Thankfully, I have reached the end of my posts from the December card show that I went to with my good friend, Scott.  These last few cards are some inserts I got for various PCs.  The above card is the 2013 Bowman Platinum purple chrome parallel of Jonathan Schoop (pronounced - scope).  He is the Orioles' top position player prospect.  Hailing from Curacao, he impressed during the Arizona Fall League.  Schoop likely will begin the season at AAA Norfolk, but could win the Opening Day second base job if he outplays Ryan Flaherty.  No longer are the Orioles waiting on Brian Roberts to return from injury, he cut ties with them this winter and signed with the arch-enemy Yankees.  With Roberts gone, Schoop now has a much clearer path to the majors.

Another player who could start at AAA Norfolk, but could win a job out of Spring Training, Kevin Gausman is the Orioles' #1 pitching prospect in some circles.  If you have Dylan Bundy ahead of him, that's ok, they are 1 and 1A, pretty much.  Gausman has the potential to be very good, he just has to put it together.  I got upset at times last year, mainly because I'm afraid that he is going to end up like other much hyped pitching prospects, like Hayden Penn, Adam Loewen, Daniel Cabrera, Zach Britton, etc.  Let's hope Gausman puts it together and has a strong year.  I know the Orioles need him to, since they haven't signed any other starting pitchers.

Finally, here is an X-fractor from 2013 Finest of 2013 NL MVP, Andrew McCutchen.  I've had a McCutchen PC going for about two years now.  He is the only current non-Oriole that I have a PC of, but I probably will have a few more this year.  I definitely will continue to get Nate McLouth cards, but he was an Oriole, so I don't know if that counts.  Really, though, there aren't too many other non-Oriole players who interest me like 'Cutch does.  He's such a good player on a team that you can root for.  I hope he keeps up his production and puts together a Hall of Fame career.  At this point, he is definitely on pace.