The Single Season HR Leader....

In Japan, is from the Netherlands. His name is Wladimir Balentien. Balentien played in the majors, for both the Seattle Mariners and the Cincinnati Reds. He has played for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, of the Nippon Professional Baseball league, the last four years.

He broke the single-season home-run record, in 2013, passing the then leader, Sadaharu Oh. Balentien's line in the majors, 170G/511AB/.221AVG/15HR/52RBI. Here are his NPB stats.

I thought the story was interesting, so I made him a part of my collection.

2009 Upper Deck Signature Stars Wladimir Balentien AU-#122

Have a good Sunday, and Go Yankees!!!!

Catch 4

The Yankees have their catcher/declining veteran of the future, in Brian McCann. I hope his first season is just a blip, on the radar. They do however, have a small stable of catching prospects. John Ryan Murphy, Austin Romine, and Gary Sanchez. Of the three, I prefer John Ryan Murphy. He has shown the most promise, including, at the major-league level. Austin Romine has lost his prospect-luster and could be tradebait. I think Gary Sanchez is the reincarnation of Jesus Montero, and we know how that turned out. I say, use the "top prospect", to acquire a bat, in the offseason. We need one. I am starting to miss, Brennan Boesch. They gave up on him, way too early.

I forgot to mention, Francisco Cervelli. I like him, but he has to stay healthy. I prefer, trading him and installing John Ryan Murphy, as the backup catcher. I know, I'm not the GM, but I am a fan of this catcher.

2014 Panini Prizm Rookie Autographs Prizms J.R. Murphy-#JR

Do you think more stock is put in a prospect's name or his stats?

 

Have a good Thursday, and Go Yankees!!!!

 

Crazy4Chrome

Trade Pages....In Progress!!!!

Good news!!!! I have started filling up my trade pages, located at the top of my blog. I will constantly be updating them, as I break product or acquire tradebait, but there is at least, cards to peruse. Here is a sample of what is already up for grabs. I pulled this beauty out of a 2014 Topps Archives Blaster Box.

2014 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs Gold Dusty Baker-#FFA-DBA (#ed/50)

Surprise....It's A Blog Post!!!!

Sorry for the delay. I have been preparing for an upcoming card show and I have been swamped with cardboard. I have also rounded into an organized phase, of my cardboard collecting. I have never been the most organized person, when it comes to my collection, but I had an epiphany, while reading a back issue of Beckett Baseball. It was an article entitled "Coming to Grips with your Collection", by Mike Payne. That article and my preparation for this upcoming show, has helped me in a lot of ways.

Here is the start of my collection, as it finally starts to take shape. My collecting interests are very sporadic, but most of them revolve around past, current, and random-fan predicted future New York Yankees (You will learn about these players in future posts). No pun intended. I am the random fan, by the way.

I will start with my favorite card, in my collection. He is no longer relevant, but he did post back-to-back 19-win seasons, in 2006 and 2007. He is now with the Charlotte Knights. He was good.

2006 Upper Deck Ovation Spotlight Signatures Chien-Ming Wang-#SS-CW

Here is my first and only Dellin Betances autograph. He has been lights out, since transitioning into the bullpen. He is already, one of the most dominant relievers, in the game. W5-L0/1.48ERA/73IP/109/20K/BB. He is good.

2012 Finest Rookie Autographs Orange Refractors Dellin Betances-#AR-DB (#ed/99)

Another first, is my Eric Jagielo autograph. He is supposed to be Alex Rodriguez's replacement, at third base, but he is a couple years off. I really hope Chase Headley is A-Rod's replacement, so they can get him out of there ASAP. He is supposed to be good.

2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Draft Pick Autographs Eric Jagielo-#BCA-EJ