PITCHERS: Official Thread of the Hobby’s Outcast Position

[Doublexthebeast]

I love the thread! I have tons of tons of pitcher fire. I’ll add some tomorrow.

[LVDan]

Originally Posted by Doublexthebeast

I love the thread! I have tons of tons of pitcher fire. I’ll add some tomorrow.

This is kinda what it comes down to, right?
You get nicer cards of players of greater impact for less money.


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[JWBlue]

Had quite a run...

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by eye4talent

He’s still dirt cheap. I just picked up a BCA base for $15 shipped.


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Glad to hear!

[eye4talent]

Originally Posted by JWBlue

Had quite a run...

So that’s where that card is! I used to be a big fan of the MadBum Elite auto and had the pipe dream of finding the 1/1 someday. And here it is—about 8 to 10 years too late.

It probably won’t happen in Arizona, but maybe he’ll recapture the magic at some point.


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[JWBlue]

Originally Posted by eye4talent

So that’s where that card is! I used to be a big fan of the MadBum Elite auto and had the pipe dream of finding the 1/1 someday. And here it is—about 8 to 10 years too late.

It probably won’t happen in Arizona, but maybe he’ll recapture the magic at some point.


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I really thought he would be one pitcher that would have be durable and pitch well throughout his 30s. Then the motorcycle accident happened. We will never know.

[Archangel1775]

Originally Posted by JWBlue

I really thought he would be one pitcher that would have be durable and pitch well throughout his 30s. Then the motorcycle accident happened. We will never know.

He is a Jackarse

[Archangel1775]

Of all the prospecting I do, the pitchers I selected have done really well. Michael Wacha, Tyler Glasnow, Sandy Alcantara and Shane McClanahan were my top choices.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Any room for the legends?



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[Hollywood42]

Great thread!

The Twins are my PC, and one of my many sub-focuses within that is simply acquiring fun, cool cards to document the team over time. And all the better if it's of good players that I enjoy/ed watching. The Twins historically haven't turned out very many great pitchers, but there's a pair of guys in particular that are my favorite Twins pitchers and are two of the better pitchers in franchise history. And they don't get a ton of attention, so it's typically possible to get some really nice cards of them for very reasonable prices:

First - Joe Nathan. Best closer in Twins history, and I will still die on the hill that he should have gotten much more consideration for the HOF than he did. As public perception of relievers changes over time and we start giving credit to relievers that excelled at their job rather than making it near impossible for any of them to make the HOF, I hope there's still a route to the Hall through a committee one day. But either way, Nathan was perennially one of the best relievers in all of baseball through the 2000s. The existence of Mariano Rivera probably limited the attention he got, but Nathan was one of baseball's greats in that era

He currently ranks 10th all time in saves, and with the sudden rapid decline of Aroldis Chapman, should have a safe hold on 10th for a number of years. Likely the next major challenger is Edwin Diaz, who is currently 172 saves behind Nathan. At 30 saves/year, it'll take Diaz least 5 and a half seasons to catch up to Nathan. At this point it seems likely Diaz will catch him sometime, but with how suddenly relievers can fall off, it's not a given. After Diaz, the only other player who's even worth mentioning as a potential challenger at this point is Josh Hader, who at the same age as Diaz needs over 8 more seasons of 30 saves to catch up

Anyways, I have fond memories of Nathan entering the game in the 9th to close out games for the great Twins teams in the 2000s. Those teams had a couple of MVPs and Cy Youngs to their name, but Nathan was an integral piece and ranks highly as one of my favorite Twins pitchers of all time

2011 had a great shot and design and has a couple of great cards. My 2 favorites from that year - flagship Hope Diamond /60, TC Red Refractor /25




2009 Goodwin Champions is one of my favorite all-time sets and I've been working on the mini rainbow for a number of guys - foil mini PR 88, magician back /8, and I have the black and magenta plates




And then this guy is the best Twins pitcher I've seen in my lifetime - Johan Santana. Man, was this guy flat out dominant. There was a 3-year stretch where he was most certainly the best pitcher on the planet, and you make an argument for the same over a 5-year stretch, too. One of the better short peaks in baseball history. Unfortunately his peak didn't last quite long enough to warrant serious HOF consideration, but man he was on another level during that span

In his Twins career he won 2 Cy Youngs, a Gold Glove, and joined the elite group of pitchers that have a triple crown to their name. A fun fact about Johan is in his first Cy year in 2004, he wasn't named to the All-Star Game! Which when you look at it is fair, honestly - in the first half that year he had a 7-6 record, 3.78 ERA with 136 strikeouts. But in the second half he went completely and absolutely bonkers: Posted a 13-0 record in 15 starts with a 1.21 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 104 innings, earning him a unanimous Cy Young award. He finished just 1 win short of another pitching triple crown season, but would get the crown 2 years later in 2006

I don't have as many rainbow runs of Johan as I do Nathan, but do have some pretty nice cards here and there. Here's just a couple of my favorites-

[eye4talent]

Originally Posted by Hollywood42

Great thread!

The Twins are my PC, and one of my many sub-focuses within that is simply acquiring fun, cool cards to document the team over time. And all the better if it's of good players that I enjoy/ed watching. The Twins historically haven't turned out very many great pitchers, but there's a pair of guys in particular that are my favorite Twins pitchers and are two of the better pitchers in franchise history. And they don't get a ton of attention, so it's typically possible to get some really nice cards of them for very reasonable prices:

First - Joe Nathan. Best closer in Twins history, and I will still die on the hill that he should have gotten much more consideration for the HOF than he did. As public perception of relievers changes over time and we start giving credit to relievers that excelled at their job rather than making it near impossible for any of them to make the HOF, I hope there's still a route to the Hall through a committee one day. But either way, Nathan was perennially one of the best relievers in all of baseball through the 2000s. The existence of Mariano Rivera probably limited the attention he got, but Nathan was one of baseball's greats in that era

He currently ranks 10th all time in saves, and with the sudden rapid decline of Aroldis Chapman, should have a safe hold on 10th for a number of years. Likely the next major challenger is Edwin Diaz, who is currently 172 saves behind Nathan. At 30 saves/year, it'll take Diaz least 5 and a half seasons to catch up to Nathan. At this point it seems likely Diaz will catch him sometime, but with how suddenly relievers can fall off, it's not a given. After Diaz, the only other player who's even worth mentioning as a potential challenger at this point is Josh Hader, who at the same age as Diaz needs over 8 more seasons of 30 saves to catch up

Anyways, I have fond memories of Nathan entering the game in the 9th to close out games for the great Twins teams in the 2000s. Those teams had a couple of MVPs and Cy Youngs to their name, but Nathan was an integral piece and ranks highly as one of my favorite Twins pitchers of all time

2011 had a great shot and design and has a couple of great cards. My 2 favorites from that year - flagship Hope Diamond /60, TC Red Refractor /25




2009 Goodwin Champions is one of my favorite all-time sets and I've been working on the mini rainbow for a number of guys - foil mini PR 88, magician back /8, and I have the black and magenta plates




And then this guy is the best Twins pitcher I've seen in my lifetime - Johan Santana. Man, was this guy flat out dominant. There was a 3-year stretch where he was most certainly the best pitcher on the planet, and you make an argument for the same over a 5-year stretch, too. One of the better short peaks in baseball history. Unfortunately his peak didn't last quite long enough to warrant serious HOF consideration, but man he was on another level during that span

In his Twins career he won 2 Cy Youngs, a Gold Glove, and joined the elite group of pitchers that have a triple crown to their name. A fun fact about Johan is in his first Cy year in 2004, he wasn't named to the All-Star Game! Which when you look at it is fair, honestly - in the first half that year he had a 7-6 record, 3.78 ERA with 136 strikeouts. But in the second half he went completely and absolutely bonkers: Posted a 13-0 record in 15 starts with a 1.21 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 104 innings, earning him a unanimous Cy Young award. He finished just 1 win short of another pitching triple crown season, but would get the crown 2 years later in 2006

I don't have as many rainbow runs of Johan as I do Nathan, but do have some pretty nice cards here and there. Here's just a couple of my favorites-

As a Giants fan who had to endure A.J. Pierzynski, I’m hurt that you didn’t mention Fransciso Liriano and Boof Bonser.

It eventually worked out for the Giants (like, seven years later, after the stank of that trade had faded), but it didn’t take long to realize how badly the Giants lost that trade. Nathan immediately became an elite closer, and then Liriano looked like Johan Jr. for a time. (I don’t quite remember what happened to Boof.)

But I digress… If only Johan’s shoulder could’ve held up, he’d be probably be entering the Hall right about now.


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[base set]

Originally Posted by eye4talent

Ok, well, I guess you just wanted to send us all home in shame.


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There is no shame on the 2014 Topps Update Jacob DeGrom RC Zen Mountain. What you think of as a mountain is only the way station to peaks you can only imagine, and not actually see. Gold PSA 10s are but the foothills in a range of lofty peaks shrouded in clouds, and hidden in bank vaults in Manhattan. Ahh, you preface each question to the Rookie Card Master, surely you refer to such hidden delights as the “Clear” or the unimaginable Shangri-La that reveals the (whispers) “Platinum?”

No, sighs the RC Master. Those concepts of the Parallel Range are but the beginnings of the true path, amidst the “Variations.” That first requires conquering one’s fear of missing one of Topps’ most insidious scarcities ever artificially created: the “Sparkle.” Only after hours of squinting at the fronts of every 2014 Topps Update baseball card one can obtain, matched with nervously pawing through stacks of them, flipped over, in case of a somnambulist “Advanced Stats” card sneaking into your collection, can one learn these are but false detours on the quest for the Jacob DeGrom Holy Grail - as for #US50, such deviousness does not exist.

But, Master, we know there is a standard issue Photo Variation, a bit camouflaged by not having a “Camo” parallel but rather showing not-all-that- young Jacob wearing a “Camo” hat. Ahh, sighs the Master, you are becoming overly excited now, you must exhale and begin each question with: Ahh, to proceed beyond the 2014 Topps Update Jacob DeGrom RC Zen Mountain, as you are seeking not a mountain top, at all. The One True Quest is indeed the now de rigueur RC Photo Variation which Topps issues for any RC worth ripping lots, and lots, and lots of packs to find. Back in 2014, they began experimenting with RC Photo Variation - Autographs.

Gasp! You forget to sigh and Ahhh, again. The Master explains: for Jacob DeGrom, the card is a “slash five” - only 5 of them exist, it is “thought” - as no one has seen the actual “/“ stamped on the elusive card. They have almost never been even photographed. What you seek, says the Master, is hidden not atop a mountain nor all in a Vault™️, but in a most plain and routine place yet still basically unsearchable: under Little Johnny’s bed. Because it is not known which SKUs received these (only 1?) otherwise unannounced RC autos in 2014. And now Little Johnny has gone off to College; soon his Mother will be remodeling his old room, with a vague thought of selling the contents on, gasp, FaceBook Marketplace, where but an intrepid few put up with the scammers and weirdly priced weird stuff like a box of simple, white bordered baseball cards….

[peanuts]

My people!

Love pitchers. The intensity, the distinctiveness, the sheer importance of their role – such icons. Excited to see everything that comes up in this thread!

[Hollywood42]

Originally Posted by eye4talent

As a Giants fan who had to endure A.J. Pierzynski, I’m hurt that you didn’t mention Fransciso Liriano and Boof Bonser.

It eventually worked out for the Giants (like, seven years later, after the stank of that trade had faded), but it didn’t take long to realize how badly the Giants lost that trade. Nathan immediately became an elite closer, and then Liriano looked like Johan Jr. for a time. (I don’t quite remember what happened to Boof.)

But I digress… If only Johan’s shoulder could’ve held up, he’d be probably be entering the Hall right about now.

That is without a doubt the most successful trade in Twins franchise history. For what ended up being 1 year of AJ, we got one of the better closers in history, 7 years of Liriano, and Boof who didn't end up being anything other than one of the best names ever. And if you continue the trade tree on the Twins side, it ended up leading to us getting Eduardo Escobar, and later, Jhoan Duran

Liriano was absolutely electric pre-TJ. He had a few good years and a few meh years for us after the surgery, but was never the same. Man, what could have been with him. My best run of cards of him are 3 of the 4 printing plates from 2009 A&G. Hope to track down the 4th someday! Only have 13 Boof cards in my Twins PC, but that does include an auto






And just for good measure since I mentioned him, I'll share a Duran 1st BCA as well. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite current Twins pitchers. His stuff is just nasty. Should be multiple AS appearances for him in his future

[discodanman45]

I bought the following 4 cards off of COMC raw for $6.05 combined. $43.20 in grading fees and have four great HOF RC's for my PC. Still, lots of great 80's cards in great condition raw out there. The 1982 Fleer has an error card with a reverse logo. Decided a reliever needed a little bit of love on here!

[IndySportsCards]

Just had Carlos sign this for me yesterday.

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

It’s crazy to think about how dominant Santana was, for such a long stretch, and yet he still ended up with no hobby love. Part of the issue is the state sports card were in when he was a rookie (see Pedro), but part of is just how fickle the market is for pitchers.

[awz50]

Originally Posted by IndySportsCards

Just had Carlos sign this for me yesterday.

That was quick

[BGeezy]

A few more Javiers...

[BGeezy]

To mix it up, here's some sadness in collecting pitchers:


(I just can't quit Touki)

[Flamethrower]

Dammit... *opens the bay and looks for 82 Lee Smith error*
Didn't realize I needed that.....

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by BGeezy

To mix it up, here's some sadness in collecting pitchers:

Oh, Sixto…

*sigh*

I have a whole stack of Sixto sadness.

[tmoore_25]

I wasn't going to post anything because I thought it would take too much effort to go and find them all. But now after seeing what everyone else is posting I had to do it.


Nolan Ryan Base, O-Pee-Chee, and Tiffany. All in PSA 10.

[Gordon Bombay]

[LVDan]

Some slightly older stuff I don’t see every day. Hoping to see Big Maple make his way back. The Giolito is pretty rare, only I’ve ever seen.


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