Bucket List 3000 hits: Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

My next autograph is a player that is a bit more familiar to me. He spent a few years as a Yankee and helped them win their first World Series title since 1978. I have to say that Boggs may be one of the most interesting 3000 hitters. Boggs got his 3000th hit as a Devil Ray and at the time, he was the only hitter to get to 3000 hits with a home run. That is until this year when Derek Jeter changed that. But the spot where the HR ball hit is marked with a yellow seat in Tropicana Field.

So one of the most interesting stories with Boggs is his superstitious regiment. He would always eat chicken before a game. That's something I already knew but I later found out he took exactly 150 ground balls in practice, took batting pratice at 5:17 and ran sprints at 7:17. Before each at bat he would write the Hebrew word "Chai," which means life, in the dirt in the batter box. He is #1 on the list of most superstitious athelets on CBS Sport's web site.

There's also that 60-70 beer story that Jeff Nelson told about Boggs. I found a transcript of an interview Jeff Nelson did with ESPN radio here: 710 ESPN Steve Mason's Blog. Not only do they talk to Jeff Nelson about it but they call Paul Sorrento and he confirms the story. Essentially, on a cross country trip like New York to LA or Seattle to Boston, Boggs begins drinking beer at the start of the day and drinks all way til the end of the day. This is a man that has a .328 career batting average, multiple gold gloves and silver slugger awards and is a Hall of Fame member.

I was able to get a Wade Boggs auto for just under $20 which is a steal. His autos can go as high as $35 so he has a fairly affordable autograph. I'd say he's a must have for any personal collection. He is certainly one of the more interesting 3000 hit club members.

Bucket List 3000..er..4000 hit version (I'm Sorry)

The all time hit leader with 4,256 hits, Mr. Pete Rose. One of the most infamous figures in baseball history. He's both famous and infamous for his deeds as a player and manager. Even now Pete Rose can stir up emotions in fans of the game. Does he belong in the Hall of Fame or is his ban from baseball justified?




Personally I think it'll take his passing and many many years before he gets elected. His 4000+ hits are an amazing feat and I'm not sure if it will ever be broken. Yes, I understand Jeter is supposed to break his record but I'm not sure if Jete has that many years left in him to pull off another 1100 hits. That's almost a good 6 years of 200 hits. So this is an amazing record in and of itself which gets next to no respect because of the man who holds it. Kinda like the Home Run record. I would definitely put Rose in the Hall before I ever consider Barry Bonds.

When Donruss dropped in 2008 this card would've easily commanded $400-500. But now that Donruss has essentially flooded the market with Rose autos and relics this card might get around $100. Pete Rose autos can be had for anywhere between $40 and $100 depending on the Donruss flavor and numbering.

I pulled this 5/10 prime relic auto from a box of 2008 Donruss the first year I got back into the hobby. It was an amazing pull and I think I might have a video of it posted on this blog. So it cost like $80 or whatever a box cost back then. That was a very lucky pull for me. Not sure if I've pulled anything as good as that since.

"I'm sorry I bet on baseball", it still makes me chuckle.

Bucket List the 3000 hit version

With Derek Jeter's 3000th hit well behind us I've been a bit enamored with players in the 3000 hit club. So I decided to take a look at who was on the list: Wikipedia 3000 hit club

So I figured it would be cool to own a few autographs from that list. I do have to say that most will be unobtainable like Cap Anson, Tris Speaker, Ty Cobb and Roberto Clemente. I'd have to find certified cut autos but they would be in the thousands. And I already have autos of some of the members so I've already started and didn't even notice.

So my first subject is a player I grew up watching. He was a long time Brewers player and I'm sure others remember him as one but I remember him from his days in Toronto and Minnesota. I remember him being one of the unsung post season heroes for Toronto. He won the 1993 World Series MVP batting .500




But his time in Minnesota was really special. 1996 was a great year for baseball, in my opinion anyway. That year Molitor hit his 3000th hit at Kauffman stadium in September. I remember him doing it because the highlight was shown on ESPN's Sportscenter and this was the first year we ever had cable. So I was able to watch a replay of his historic triple.

What makes Molitor stand out is that in fact he is the ONLY person to triple for his 3000th hit.

I'm a big fan of the 2005 Upper Deck Heroes cards. That's one of the few sets where you can get on card autos of some really amazing players. There was an eBay seller with a few Paul Molitor cards from that set and I opted for this one because it highlights his 3000th hit. I actually payed a little bit more than a #/20 blue version of one of the other heroes cards but I really wanted this one.

I paid $13.50 including shipping for this card which I think is a steal for such an iconic Hall of Famer. His autos tend to be closer to the $20 range so I got a really good deal on this card. I would definitely encourage collectors to seek out a Paul Molitor auto to add to their personal collection.

Bucket List Derek Jeter Rookie

DEREK JETER HITS his 3000th hit!!

He's called many names: Captain Clutch, Captain Intangible, Jete, Mr. November, and now he's Mr. 3000.

Derek Jeter had an amazing day, July 9th 2011, going five for five. His second at bat yielding his 3000th hit, a Home Run to left field off David Price. He also drove in the winning run to help the Yankees win, the only thing he ever wants to do in this game.

This is probably his most sought after rookie card. The condition of the 1993 SP cards is very condition sensitive. Many of the cards have chipping or other issues that cards with this much foil have. That's why I opted to get a graded version. I figured this would be the best way to get the card in relatively good shape without trusting an auctioner's digital camera skills. This card cost me about $100 almost 3 months ago and I'm sure the price has gone up for graded versions. If you do have your heart set on one $100 is a deal for something in the 8 range.

Congratulations to Derek Jeter who has given me so much to look forward to in my life as a Yankee fan. I graciously thank you for all you've given us Yankee fans.

Bucket List #6: A Legend Among Legends

I always liked Harmon Killebrew since I was a kid. Had really no idea who he was other than a player for the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins that hit very well. Killebrew to me played the game the way it should be played and excelled through sheer talent and hard work.


He scuffled his first few years in the big leagues. Until '59 when he got a chance to play 3rd base regularly. He started smacking home runs all over the place and became an overnight sensation. Yep, overnight after just 4 years with the Senators. His power was legendary but it was his humble and polite persona that outshone all that. "Killer" became one of those ironic nicknames like calling a large man "Tiny." It never fit his personality but it fit his swing. Harmon hit some towering home runs, one of which was estimated to travel 520 feet unobstructed and there's a red seat commemorating that blast in the Mall of America. Also a statue of a gold glove resides outside Target field exactly 520 feet from home plate. Just awesome.

I could go on and on about Harmon. To say he has my utmost respect is putting it mildly. As a Yankee fan I'm constantly reminded how blown up every Yankee is and how if "so and so" played for the Yankees he'd be big too. To me Harmon didn't need any of that. His epic home runs and humbled personality fit perfectly for those Washington Senator/Minnesota Twins teams. I'm sure it brings great pride to have a legend like Killebrew be synonymous with the Twins organization.

He has probably one of the best autographs out there. It's clean, easy to read and distinctive. I ran across a comment about Killebrew's autograph on an article. The commenter had heard a story that Killebrew took his autograph very seriously. He said "When he saw young players scribbling illegible autographs, he would pull them aside and explain how important they were for the fans asking for them and encourage them to do them well. When mass-signing baseballs for charity auctions, he'd self-edit and throw out balls he didn't think were good enough. "

If you don't have a Killebrew auto I'd strongly urge picking one up. I was able to get the one above for less than $30 and I recently picked this 1999 Epic Signatures one after his passing for a little over $30.


Killebrew is a true legend. I find it a little funny that for years it was thought that the MLB logo was based on Killebrew. I even believed it. But really is it hard to believe that the model for MLB the ICON for MLB should be anyone other than Harmon Killebrew?

2011 Topps Heritage Live at Target

Went to a local Target and found a bounty of Topps Heritage.

There was a gravity feed box, a retail box, blasters and rack packs.

All in all, I'd say I was actually disappointed. Where Topps 2011 wasn't that bad in retail, Heritage just can't hold a candle to what Hobby offers. I know people say "never buy retail" but there's an instant gratification itch retail

1 Blaster results: 3 short prints, 2 inserts

2 Rack packs: 2 inserts
3 Retail box packs: 2 inserts (nice hair)

3 Gravity Box packs: 1 relic, 1 chrome, 1 insert and creepy floating heads


No Hughes and no Mattingly, son of a. I'm kinda disappointed but then again, it's retail and you can't hit the jackpot every time. So this time, the house won big time. So go out find some and post your results. Odds are they will be WAY better than mine.

If you pull Hughes or Mattingly and their chrome inserts let me know. I'm interested :)

Collecting Bucket List #5 We're off to see the Wizard...

The wonder wizard of Ozzie. I'm not going to talk about his career. I saw him play when I was a kid growing up and he was like that fun uncle playing baseball. All the kids love him and he was just really cool to watch and be around.


His autos don't cost that much surprisingly. I assumed there would be a bevy of Ozzie collectors out there driving up the prices but there aren't. I got this auto for just around $20. And others are available for around the same price.


But there is something I would like to discuss about this card and it's causing a dilemma with my bucket list. Do this, open that image up in a new browser and look at it full sized. Now follow from the dot that belongs to the "I" in Smith and go to the right til you see a slight blue line that looks like a piece of string. That's the end of the sticker. Yep this is a clear sticker auto. I had no idea the 2004 Fleer Ex autos were stickers and I bought this card because it had both a relic, auto and was a great price. I do have to say it's a very well done sticker auto. It's hard to see it through scans but in person it is noticeable.

The problem is that I try very hard not to get sticker autos as my bucket list autos. The concept of my bucket list is for me to get cards that fit certain criteria. Now while sticker auto isn't a firm "NO" in my rules, I do have to say it is more *satisfying* as a collector to get an on card auto. As of right now I will keep this card because it fills a niche of an "Ozzie Smith" auto. It also goes above that by being an auto, relic, numbered card. But I still think an on card auto of Ozzie Smith will fit better with my collection. The jury is still out.

What do you think? When looking for autos of your favorite players do you try to get the cheapest you can find regardless of sticker or not. Or do you tend to gravitate toward on card?