Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Sports Card Trifecta #26: Ivan Rodriguez

2017 is the Year of the Sports Card Trifecta.  Well... at least for me.  A few weeks ago, I was sifting through saved scans and found quite a few autographs I've acquired of the past few years.  Some of them I've already shared, while others have been buried in a folder.  Then while searching for a 1991 Stadium Club Jeff Bagwell rookie card, I stumbled across a bunch of cheap 80's and 90's rookie cards that I've neglected for years.

That's when it hit me.  It's time to do something with them.  Individually, they're cool.  However when you combine them together along with a memorabilia card, they become something cooler.  They become a Sports Card Trifecta.


Today's trifecta is of newly elected 1st ballot hall of famer... Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez:


Autograph:  1998 Donruss Signature Millennium Marks #NNO



I love me some 90's Leaf and Donruss Signatures autographs.  They're on-card and since they produced a ton of this stuff... they're pretty affordable.  I picked this card up for $11.34 off of COMC two years ago, which seems like a steal considering he's one of the greatest catchers I've had the privilege of watching play.



Rookie Card:  1991 Topps Traded #101T



Being such an avid collector during the 90's, I was pretty disappointed and surprised to see that I only own two different Pudge rookie cards.  This one.. and his 1991 Donruss The Rookies card.  Neither are anything special (in my humble opinion).  However... I plan to upgrade this trifecta in the near future by acquiring his 1991 Score Rookie and Traded rookie card.  Stay tuned.


Memorabilia Card:  2001 UD MVP Souvenir Gloves



Rounding out the trifecta is a card from one of my favorite memorabilia sets.  If you're tired of the same old white swatch of jersey, then I totally recommend one of these game-used batting glove cards.  Back in the day, these were pretty tough pulls, but the good news is they're very affordable nowadays.


Well there you have it.  Let's wrap things up with three questions...



Who's the greatest defensive catcher you've had the pleasure of watching play?

Who's your favorite catcher of all-time?

If you were the general manager of a MLB team and could have any current catcher on your roster, who would you choose?

I look forward to reading your responses.  Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

8 comments:

Laurens said...

1. Pudge
2. Piazza
3. Posey

Zippy Zappy said...

Torrens, Torrens and, um, Torrens. :).

night owl said...

My favorite catcher of all-time is Mike Scioscia. He stood up to a runner barreling into him like nobody else. We'll never see someone like that again.

BobWalkthePlank said...

The greatest defensive catcher in my lifetime and maybe all time is Pudge.

My favorite catchers of all time.
Jason Kendall
Buster Posey
Piazza

If I'm choosing a current catcher I think I'm taking Posey.

GCA said...

Ya can't go wrong with either Pudge. I always liked Tony Pena back in the day just for his unique squat. And it's fun these days just to say "EEEEYYYYAAAAAADDDEEEYYERRRRRR Molina"

sg488 said...

Bench,Bench,and Molina.

Chris said...

I never got to see Johnny Bench play (he retired when I was 3) so I'd say the best all-around catcher of my lifetime is Pudge (that Millennium Marks auto is very cool, btw.) There might be one or two better defensive catchers like a Molina brother, but he's probably the best.

My favorite catcher of all-time is probably Jason Varitek. Current catchers I like are Posey and Salvador Perez.

Fuji said...

laurens - you and i think alike

zippy - not surprised with your picks. i'll be pulling for him to make the padres roster. maybe i'll become the second torrens blogging super collector

night owl - hell yeah. totally forgot about scioscia and his ability to block the plate. very nice call.

matthew scott - i love watching highlights of pudge and that arm. truly insane. benito was another guy who had a rifle.

gca - i've written about my support for pena before. that squat was definitely cool.

sg488 - i was around for bench, but honestly mostly remember him for his days with the baseball bunch.

chris - thanks. love those donruss autographs from the 90's. one of these days i'll eventually pick up an auto of perez too.