One of My Favorite Cards - 2013 Bowman Wil Myers Rookie Card

I'm impressed by Wil Myers, so I felt compelled to snag this Bowman rookie card of his when I had a chance.   

I can remember first hearing about Wil when the Rays dealt James Shields and Wade Davis to KC in return for Myers, Jake Odorizzi (another great young player, a pitcher) and two other players.   I know a lot of Royals fans were crushed - and I can now see why.

Myers came up last year in June and I was unlucky enough to watch him blast his first home run.   Actually, it wasn't just a home run, it was a grand slam.   And I say "unlucky" because young Wil stroked his first 4-bagger off of CC Sabathia and my Yankees, in Yankee Stadium no less!   Well done, kid.

Yanks won the game, though :)

But anyways, this young fellow would go on to earn the AL Rookie of the Year award and seems destined for many more bombs and contributions to his club's efforts in the years ahead.   The Rays will surely be a nemesis of the Yankees in the AL east this season.

Bowman is not known for its amazing design but I really enjoy this card.   The action shot of Myers' glove closing around a fly-ball is a nice treat.   It's well-centered on the card, the colors work and a fielding picture for Myers was a nice surprise!

I didn't show the back because the picture I took was out of focus and made my head hurt......or maybe that's just the memory of his slam on June 22, 2013?

Good luck, Wil.

Thanks for reading!

One of My Favorite Cards - 2013 Bowman Byron Buxton

I collect Yankees and Braves, both teams of which I am a fan....but I also love baseball in general and have become intimately familiar with the vast sea of talent in the sport's minor league system.   This has occurred for many reasons:

- I read other blogs

- I read hobby articles

- I see the insanely priced baseball cards of players who have never played in the majors and assume that somebody thinks they're REALLY good

- I also participate in a dynasty fantasy baseball league that deals with prospects and minor leaguers

Yes, prospects have become QUITE the beast to deal with in today's fast-moving and highly speculative collecting world.   I don't dabble all that much in it but, here and there, I will pick up some cards or memorabilia for a young talent I take an interest in.

One such talent is the electrical young OF outfielder in the Twins organization, Byron Buxton.   I believe he was recently the cover boy for Beckett?   Anyways, I managed to draft Buxton onto my dynasty team last season.   Did I know a lot about him?   Nope.   His name is cool.   It sounds like a baseball name.   He posts funny stuff on Twitter (@ryanspitch !) and he was a consensus "you have to draft this guy if you can" kind of guy for baseball prospect experts.

I'll go with that.   So, here's my first Byron Buxton card:

Sparkly.   What is this variation called?   No, it isn't his most coveted card and it isn't graded and it isn't even a RC (I think?) and it isn't autographed or have a piece of his uniform...it's just a baseball card.   I think it's pretty sharp looking, though and the fact that he's caught in a "duck face" pose makes me chuckle.

Here's the back:

There you go!   "#1......no weakness......blazing speed......"

Again, this particular card isn't special to many folks, but I really like it and for a couple of "bucks", I am glad to have a card of "Buck" in my collection.   As a fantasy manager - GO BUCK, GO!

Thanks for reading,

Ryan

2013 Bowman #65 Chris Davis Gold Parallel

No better time to show some appreciation for home run machine Chris Davis than today - Chris fired off his league leading 25th and 26th long balls yesterday in a beat down of the Detroit Tigers.

Absolutely amazing and, truth be told, I'm rooting for him.   No, not just because I have Davis is mashing for one of my fantasy teams!   Competition is great for the game and I enjoy the banter back and forth regarding MVP possibilities for Mr. Davis and Mr. Cabrera.

Miggy not Melky, you guys.

My Bowman adventures this year were motivated by pursuit of some exciting prospect cards.   I was able to snag a few of those but I've also enjoyed some of the veterans' cards in the set that don't receive much love......

Here's one of those cards, Chris Davis' gold parallel base card:

It's pretty sharp.   I don't know if it's bound for permanent archiving in the Ryan's Pitch collection, but I'm certainly appreciating it for now!   The color scheme works well and the picture is nicely framed by Bowman's simple, elegant design.   Perhaps Chris is rounding the bases after one of his blasts?   Not sure.

Here's the back:

Rather astutely, the last bullet point highlights the fact that Davis' hot start to last season carried him through a fairly severe mid-season slump.   He then finished with a bang to wrap up an overall impressive stat line.  

Will Chris Davis continue to roll through the entire season this year?

I hope so - and it will be fun to watch and find out.   Congrats to you Orioles fans, too.   I'm sure you're savoring every homer :)

Thanks for reading!

2013 Prospect Parade Continues - Zack Wheeler

The combination of my fantasy baseball research and improved dedication to simply following the game we love has allowed me to follow the wealth of prospect debuts this season.

The Year of Shelby Miller, The Rise of Oso Blanco for the Braves, The Wonder of Wacha, The Legend of Puig, The Colossal of Cole and the......Zest o' Zunino?

:)

They've been a lot of fun to follow and, no matter what uniform they wear, it's easy to cheer for a player as they realize a dream they've worked so hard for, for so long.

The prospect parade continues today with the major league debut of the much anticipated, potential ace for the New York Mets, Zack Wheeler.   I have been very closely following Zack's progression since I have him on the staff of my dynasty fantasy baseball team.   He'll take the bump in game 2 of the doubleheader today at Turner Field in Atlanta.

And there's a problem right there - he's playing the Braves!   Oh, the agony......how about 8 innings of no-hit ball with ANOTHER (did you see Freddie last night?!) Freeman walk-off in the 9th inning for the no-decision?   Is that too much to ask?

In all honesty - good luck, kid.   And congratulations.

I've been lucky enough to pull a couple of Wheeler's cards over the past couple of years.   Here's the first one I pulled - his 2012 Bowman Platinum Prospect card:

Shiny. Is this a ___fractor?

Pretty standard, shiny card.   I didn't think much of it when I pulled it from Platinum last year.   I was undoubtedly hoping for autographs and such.....but now, this card has some cool meaning.   Cardboard appreciation!   I'm not sure if I'll hang on to it permanently.   Here's the back:

The "Platinum Report" makes me chuckle.   Sounds like a Gentleman's Club newsletter!   Good news, Mr. Wheeler.....you compare to Phil Hughes.   WHAT?   I didn't know he came to New York from the Giants?  Was it the Beltran deal?   Quick google check.....yep.   The Beltran deal.   Winner TBD.

Here's the other card of Wheeler that I've pulled from a pack - his 2013 Bowman Cream of the Crop Mini (subset of Yasiel Puig fame).   It's a sharp looking little card but, again, pretty standard:

And here's the back....let's see if it mentions Phil Hughes:

Awful lighting.....but I can vouch that there is no mention of Mr. Hughes.   Perhaps the stars are aligning for Mr. Wheeler after all?!

First pitch in about 6 hours.   Good luck, Zack!   Just not today.   You'll have plenty of time for your first career win next week.

Thanks for reading!