I've always wanted a Jose Bautista autograph, especially an early one. And while I have a disposition against empty space on a baseball card - especially about 1/3 of the total surface - this is a good one. It also came quite cheaply. I don't remember the exact cost, but if was something like $4 - likely attributed to the seller having zero feedback.
I didn't give the seller that +1. It took them a while to ship. Cards from North Dakota rarely take over a week from trader Matt P., and this took nearly two weeks. Laziness was striek one. Strike two? The top loader was an antique. Yellowed. Scratched. Joey Bats was being disrespected. Even worse, he has to touch that nasty top loader in the nude - no penny sleeve. I just couldn't give the seller a positive, and once I liberated the card from its refrigerator box, I noticed the corner was dinged, too.
They're not all bad, though. Like this one:
Okay. Now time to get patchy. Night Owl, feel free to hit the close button...
...now. While 2013 Pro Debut totally mailed in the manupatches in 2013, Heritage crushed them. The checklist is deep, the patches are new and awesome. The Joe Berry you see above is from the Cedar Rapids Kernals, because who doesn't love a corn husk growing a baseball bat with a cap on it?
Or a wave overtaking a baseball? MiLB logos are something I love. Maybe it was the mystery of all the small city teams rolling through Syracuse in my childhood.
"Hey Ma, where's Charlotte?"
For that matter, where are the West Michigan WhiteCaps based? Answer: Comstock Park! Which is north of Grand Rapids, Michigan. And their mascot is what looks like...a badger? Now you know.
From badgers to...Legends. I guess. Or a green Kentucky completing an "L" for Lexington. Adalberto, err, Raul Mondesi, Jr. is an extremely fast-rising prospect in the Royals org. Son of Raul "obnoxious bat speed" Mondesi, Adalberto was signed out of a Dominican camp, although he was born in America (MLB fast track!). He's only 17 years odl now, and he's already made it through a complete season of A Ball with Lexington. I've heard his glove could play in The Bigs right now.
Hak-Ju Lee still needs some marinating, though, as the Rays SS/2B prospect can't seem to play a full season without breaking or tearing something. Hopefully the return in the Matt Garza trade will finally work out in 2014.
But seriously, IT'S A BISCIOUT SNEAKING AROUND AN 'M."
What's not to love?
Hee hee. The Biscuits.
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