by Jacoby Nolnaho

Topps Chrome Sellout

The biggest storylines of 2017 have included rookie sensations Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger. They are both known for their insane home runs and great personalities. Kids love them, Majestic makes special shirts for them, they get comparisons to greats, and everyone wants a piece of them. The Topps Trading Card Company answered these demands when they released Topps Chrome 2017, the first 2017 baseball product to feature both Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge autographs in an all around wide release product. Bowman Platinum also had Judge and Bellinger autos but the product was a Walmart exclusive. The highly acclaimed product was released on August 2 at 12:01, and sold out on the Topps website within 6 hours. The product price has risen from $81 to $130. Another contributing factor to the product’s success is the cover boy, Aaron Judge.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

News Around the League

Since the All-Star break, many things have happened. Rangers’ third baseman Adrian Beltre collected his 3,000th hit, Yankees OF Brett Gardner hit a walk off home run and a walk off single in three games, Rays’ Evan Longoria hit for the cycle becoming the second player in franchise history to complete this feat, and Edinson Volquez went down for the year with Tommy John surgery. Also, the Yankees made a lot of moves in their race to the postseason. They acquired pitcher Sonny Gray from the Athletics, Todd Frazier, Tommy Kahnle, and David Robertson from the White Sox. Yu Darvish went from the Rangers to the Dodgers, and the Rockies got Jonathon Lucroy.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

New Publishing Schedule

To keep up the idea of consistency, I will be starting a new schedule that will tell when and what type of content will be posted. Here is the list:

Tuesday: Week in MLB Recap

Friday: TBC Original

Saturday: Article or Story

Schedule starts immediately. P.S. Don’t be suprised for other content outside of the schedule every now and then!

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Did You Know?: New York Sports Teams

  • The New York Yankees had a mascot called Dandy from 1979 to 1981. It was shaped like a bowling pin and had a Thurman Munson mustache. George Steinbrenner did not like the look so Dandy was archived and never seen again.
  • The New York Mets is actually a shortened version of the full team’s name. Mets is short for Metropolitans, a tribute to New York. So, technically, the Mets full name is the New York Metropolitans.
  • The Yankees were originally called the Highlanders.
  • It was rumored that there was a jail cell beneath the original Yankee Stadium. There is no proving evidence, letting us to believe this rumor is false.
  • The Mets have a large apple underneath the batters eye that shoots through the tunnel into sight whenever a Met goes deep.
  • The Yankees removed the retired numbers circle on the concourse near the Monument Park Store before the 2017 season.
  • The Manchester City Football Club plays some games at Yankee Stadium.
  • The Mets’ current stadium is Citi Field, but the original Mets’ stomping grounds was Shea Stadium.
by Jacoby Nolnaho

Autographs In My Possession

Over the years, I have been able to put together quite an autograph collection. I have an Edwin Rios autograph from Bowman Baseball 2017, a Johnny Bench from 1999 Donruss Significant Signatures, and a John Franco from 2015 Topps Archives. I also in-person autographs. I have Dellin Betances, Jim Leyritz, Jacob deGrom, Luis Sojo, Jeff Nelson, John Wetteland, Ken Singeleton, Joe Panik, Frank Thomas, Gaylord Perry, Bert Campaneris, Howard Johnson, and Al Bumbry. (Zack Hample also signed a baseball for me at Yankee Stadium and Brandon Steiner signed a Steiner Sports ad) My favorite auto in my collection is Dellin Betances because I spent so much time with him.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Top Ten Baseball Hats

All players are required to wear headgear that clearly exhibits which team you are on, whether it is a batting helmet or regular baseball cap. The headgear must remain the same for each player on one team except for slight variations like sweat marks or folding the brim. These teams demonstrate the best hats in my opinion: (Based on style. In other words, would people wear this as a fashion accessory?)

10. Cleveland Indians “C” hat

9. Miami Marlins home black “M” hat

8. Boston Red Sox home “B” hat

7. MLB Umpire Hat

6. Pirates home “P” hat

5. Diamondbacks blue alternate hat

4. Washington Nationals red home hat

3. New York Mets classic home hat

2. New York Yankees traditional hat

1. Los Angeles Dodgers’ traditional hat

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Top Ten Starting Pitchers (UPDATED)

“It’s a simple game. You hit the ball, you throw the ball, you catch the ball.” -from Bull Durham

Some pitchers are better at throwing the balls than others. Here is an updated top ten list for starting pitchers (Based on stats from 2016 to 2017):

10. Jose Quintana

9. Jon Lester

8. Jacob deGrom

7. Justin Verlander

6. Michael Fulmer

5. Zack Greinke

4. Madison Bumgarner

3. Chris Sale

2. Max Scherzer

1. Clayton Kershaw

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Steal Facts: Thurman Munson

Thurman Munson

  • Thurman Munson was born on June 7 of 1947.
  • Thurman weighed in at 190 pounds and stood at 5 feet 11 inches.
  • He played his full 11 year career with the New York Yankees.
  • After a short stint with the Yankees in 1969, Munson won the American League Rookie of the Year in 1970 after posting a .302 batting average with 6 home runs and 25 doubles.
  • Thurman won the MVP award in 1976 after batting .302 with 17 home runs and 105 RBIs.
  • From 1975 to 1977, Munson had 100 or more RBI in each season.
  • He was named team captain by the Yankees in 1976.
  • He won the Gold Glove for American League catchers in 1973, 1974, and 1975.
  • Thurman Munson died at the age of 32 in a plane crash on August 2, 1979.
  • The Yankees retired Munson’s number 15 on September 20 of 1980 at Yankee Stadium.
  • The Yankees left Munson’s locker untouched until they moved it to the new Yankee Stadium in 2009.