My Rizzo Collection - 2010 Bowman Draft Prospect Autographs

I love cheering for Anthony Rizzo.   

After learning that his ancestors hail from the same slice of Sicily that mine do, I will always feel a reasonable connection with the lefty slugger.   The revelation came out of nowhere, discovered by yours truly (no sleuth) during a previous World Baseball Championship.   Rizzo's presence on Team Italia got my wheels turning.....and the rest was history.

The great thing about cheering for Rizzo is that it has its good days and bad days.   He was a star prospect and held the hopes and dreams of the Padres in his hands before he was sent to the Cubbies in the Andrew Cashner deal.   Cashner is pretty good, serving nicely as the Friars' staff ace int heir cavernous ballpark.   Rizzo, on the other hand, is still a young player for Chicago about which the Cubs would VERY much like to build their organization.    Starlin Castro just hasn't quite panned out and the likes of Baez, Almora, Bryant and others are still just a teeny, tiny bit into the future.....

It's Rizzo's time to grab the reigns, if he so chooses - and I sure am hoping/cheering that he does!   SO far, he has had a quietly successful 2014 campaign, in my opinion anyways.   I know that Cubs fans yearn for more from the well-paid lad, but Anthony is batting .283 with a K:BB ratio of 1.   I believe this shows some pretty decent discipline.....he is also on pace for 24 HRs, 75+ RBI and nearly 100 runs.   Keep it up, Anthony! 

Either way, I will be a fan forever and always.

In the meantime, I've managed to add a few nice cards of Rizzo to my PC.   Here is one that I really love!   I know that it does not technically qualify as a 'rookie card' (bowman draft prospect cards are considered inserts), but I am calling this my gem mint Rizzo rookie.   Take a look:

Sticker auto, but I'm over it.   The card is flawless - with the exception of that awful uniform....but let's focus on the good :)   This card garnered a total 9.5 grade from BGS with all 9.5's in centering, edges and surface.   The one "9" subgrade was awarded to the card's corners....and I suppose you can detect a 'touched' look on the lower two.   No worries!   I love the card and the autograph is really bold, too (validated by the 10 auto grade, I suppose).

Absolutely thrilled to add this Rizzo to my collection, and for the price of a blaster, I think I got a pretty good deal.   I believe it is $10+ for a BGS submission by itself?

This also marks the second graded or "slabbed" card that I've featured here on the blog as a new addition to my collection.   There are several more that I've added that I can't wait to share with you.   If you remember, I last showed my 2001 Pujols rookie card, which was graded by PSA.   Do I have any consistency with my graded card acquisitions?   Is there a plan?

For the most part, yes.   I read a lot about card grading, tracked graded card pricing online and discussed the topic ad nauseam with many of you fellow collectors.   I've decided to, whenever possible, pursue PSA-grading for cards in my collection prior to 2000 and then BGS-grading for cards thereafter.   I am still working out the finer details of what my preference is for any pre-war cards (Goudey, T206, etc.) that I might be FORTUNATE enough to hold in my hands.....PSA and SGC will be the two options for me.

Because I'm a nerd:

 PSA/SGC <-----> WW2  <----->  PSA  <----->  2000  <----->  BGS

Now, if you've been keeping track, you'll notice that I already violated this strategy with the 2001 Bowman Gold Pujols.   The price was right and I decided to act - and those kinds of occurrences are A-OK for me.

I do appreciate the craftsmanship of the BGS 'slab', though.   The gold label with subgrades make for a very attractive and professional presentation.   The slab itself is much thicker and heavier than PSA, too.   But I'm okay with either one.   What do you guys prefer?   A great discussion and hobby debate, for sure.

Thanks for reading and keep collecting!

Ryan

The Lost Collector - PWE SpecOp Extraordinaire

AJ over at The Lost Collector has a penchant for dropping sweet little PWE's in the mail when you think he's getting ready to welcome a new Little Lost Collector into the world.

Sure enough, my good friend managed a few weeks ago to pass along two Anthony Rizzo's that I needed for my Paisan Collection.   The blue Wally-World parallel is a really sharp looking card with an attractive color scheme and the ever-tantalizing rookie cup.   Ahhhhhhhhh......

The Prizm card is a tough-looking metallic Panini special with a raised image of Anthony that's pretty darn cool, too.

Two great cards from a great fellow collector - THANKS, AJ!   And more importantly, congratulations on the new addition to your clan.   So very glad to hear that all are well.

Cigars all around, fellow collectors - thanks for reading!

My Rizzo Collection - First Ink, Part One

Yeah, totally a shout-out to those fantastic Rambo movies of my youth with that title.

Happy Friday!   On to baseball cards.....

My last post announced my latest Player Collection (PC), Anthony Rizzo.   A bold move for me as Anthony doesn't play for the Yankees or Braves, my two favorite teams.   Have I betrayed myself?   Some may think so, but that's the great part about our hobby - collect what you like.

And I think Rizzo is pretty damn cool.   So, off I go.....

The collection started with one.

And, then a mini made two.

The next obvious move?   How about some ink on that third card?

YES!

Home Run

From 2013 Gypsy Queen, here's a sharp on-card autograph from the Cubbies' first baseman.   I am not the biggest fan of GQ this year though the 2011 inaugural version is a big part of how my tentative return to the hobby shifted into fifth gear.   Therefore, I still feel some set loyalty.

Rizzo's signature isn't winning any awards from me (I can see Killebrew shaking his head) but it is what it is.   What I DO love about this card is the way the blue ink works with the blue in the Cubs uniform.   It contrasts nicely with the sadly forlorn gray of the '13 GQ border.   AND, IT'S A RIZZO AUTOGRAPH!   For about half the price of a blaster, I was more than happy to scoop it up (30YOC nod).   Here's the back, just for kicks:

Thanks, Topps.

Love it!

Welcome to the collection.

Interesting Note:   Out of all of my official PC's (Mattingly, Freeman, Kimbrel, David Robertson, Rizzo), I lack autographs for the two I've had the longest - Freeman and Mattingly.   For Donnie Baseball, we're talking about 28, 29 years or so.   And while I have autographed cards for both Robertson and Rizzo, this Rizzo is the only CERTIFIED signature.

Funny how that happens.   Hopefully I'll be fortunate enough to remedy the voids soon enough.

But for now, I'm really excited to have a cornerstone for the Rizzo PC.

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!