Recapping Derek Jeter Night

Yesterday was a great day to be a Yankee fan. Despite the score from the second half of the doubleheader against Houston, there was a great deal of celebration. It was Derek Jeter night. The Captain's number '2' jersey number was retired in a great pre-game ceremony.

His family, former teammates, scouts, and coaches from all points in his career were all in attendance for the festivities. Additionally, Jeets' plaque for Monument Park was unveiled.

Ahhh, the Core Four(plus Bernie Williams)! It doesn't get much better than that for Yankee fans of my generation. Now that these honors are in his rear view mirror, the next stop is Cooperstown!

Of course, this is a card blog so I do have a cardboard tie-in to this theme. During a recent trip to the local Target card aisle, I was surprised to find this team set staring back at me from one of the pegs.

Here's a quick look at the checklist.

I was pleasantly surprised to see this, not only because the Target's around me didn't carry any team sets last year, but more importantly because there was a Jeter in 2017 flagship design staring back at me! Here are a few faves from the set.

Across the top, despite his outing in the second half of yesterday's double dip, Tanaka is the clear ace of the rotation. Castro and Gregorius have quickly become a force to be reckoned with in the middle of the diamond(and in the batter's box). Along the bottom, Judge is the hottest rookie since Gary Sanchez in the second half of last season. I really like this pic better than the one that appears on his flagship RC(this one is shared by his Opening Day issue). Speaking of Gary Sanchez...and then we've got Greg Bird. He's been hurt quite a bit, but his showing in late 2015 and throughout this spring sure has me hoping he can bounce back, stay healthy, and be a highly productive player for a long time. These were great, but the star attraction of the team set, for me, was the new Derek Jeter on the front of the set.

It's not the most exciting picture to grace cardboard, and honestly pales in comparison to his most recent flagship offering, but I'll overlook all of that simply because I'm excited to own a new Jeter. If anyone is in need of this team set, send me a message. I can definitely arrange to send one (or more) your way. Thanks for reading.

It's (Half)Core Four Weekend in the Bronx!

These are two of the greatest Yankees of my generation. You can hate all you want because they're Yankees or because of the PED link that one of them has, but this weekend is all about celebration as far as I'm concerned! 

Saturday was Jorge Posada Day, so we'll start there.

I can say right now that I'm going to love seeing this picture over and over(with the players in different spots) as each of these guys gets their day(or has gotten their day, like Bernie)!

Jorge was the greatest, homegrown catcher since Thurman Munson and he was nearly as good.

This is my favorite Posada rookie year card. It may be hard to tell, but it is the refractor parallel of his Bowman's Best RC. As a hobby related side note, it's pretty crazy to me that three out of the Core Four have only 2 or fewer official RC's to chase. It just goes to show that at the time they were rookies, the card companies didn't think enough of them to try to include them in every product.

Today, was Andy Pettitte Day! When all was said and done, he was one of the most dominant lefties to ever throw the ball, especially in the post-season.

I haven't seen the version of this one that includes Bernie, Mo, and DJ yet. I'm sure it exists somewhere. I thought it apropos that his was the pic I found since I'm celebrating these two in this post.

He had the best pick-off move in the game and he was the go-to guy if you needed a win. I'm fortunate that the only time that I've been able to watch a game at the new Yankee Stadium, Andy was on the mound! I'm thrilled he wore pinstripes for most of his career!

I know it's not an RC, but his is one of my favorites. Pettitte's lone RC hails from 1993 Bowman. It's not a pretty set and is fairly easy to come by. However, one of the sets to have in '93 was the first go 'round of Topps Finest(the other being the first go 'round of SP). If this was a real 1993 issue, this would be one heck of an RC! Beyond that, the search for one of the refractor versions would be super tough since the stated print run for the refractors in '93 was only 241 copies. While it's true that in today's hobby it's common to find RC parallels numbered significantly lower than that, check out the prices on 1993 Finest refractors on eBay. Those prices are still going strong, even on commons. Fortunately, I was able to pick this up only twenty years after the fact. It serves as a wonderful 'what if' reminder in my collection.

That was a lot of celebrating to do in a weekend! Two more plaques in Monument Park, two more numbers retired, and countless memories rehashed! Congrats to Jorge and Andy, two of the Core Four, I'm truly fortunate to have been able to watch them play the game.

Sunday was Bernie Day in the Bronx

This post was supposed to have gone live yesterday, but due to a glitch in the iPad Blogger app, it did not. Here it is with some minor modifications.

In the short history of this blog, my appreciation for Bernie Williams has been well documented. Yesterday was a big day for one of my favorite Yankees. Bernie's jersey number was retired and he was honored with a plaque in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park.

It's times like this that make me wish I still lived in NY. I would have loved to have been present for the pre-game ceremony.

Many of his former teammates were able to show up for the festivities. It was nice to see the foundation upon which the Yankees championship teams of the late nineties/early 2000's back together again. Congrats on a wonderful career and for receiving these well deserved honors Bernie!

Since no post is complete without at least one card,, here is a recent addition to my Bernie collection.

This is the International Atomic Refractor from 1997 Bowman's Best. Though the scan doesn't do it justice, it is a brilliant, shining star of a card...just like the player it depicts.

I hope you all had a great Memorial Day and that you took a moment to remember all of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom!  Thanks for reading.