Continuing my pursuit of players that I want just represented at least once in my autograph collection, unlike certain Dodgers where I want all I can get, I dipped into a brand that I am not that fond of anymore.
Mariano at this moment will go down as the greatest reliever of all-time with all his accomplishments during the regular season and more importantly the post season. He also is the last player that was and will every wear the number 42 as he was grandfathered in when MLB retired the number. I don't collect the Yankees in general but Mariano is one player I for sure wanted in my collection. Now the question was which card to acquire.
The 1993 Finest issue is still one of my favorite of all-time but recent years have left my desire for it wanting. The 2014 issue had Mariano represented with an on card autograph which was a necessity when trying to lock up his card. Well most of the cards are still not that all attractive to me but the black parallels are an exception and that became my focus for my Mariano autograph.
I could have gone the ungraded route but having the option of having it already in gem mint grade in a nice case was too good to pass. The seller had this card on a BIN auction with no best offer option and it sat on my watch list for weeks with no one buying even though there were 11 watchers. Auction ended but the seller relisted it a hour later for $25 less than the previous auction. I finally pulled the trigger and bought my first and only Mariano autograph. Great looking card of the Yankee great and glad that I scored such a deal on it.
Gem mint goodness
Perfect and legible autograph
thats a sweet card!
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DeleteI missed him at Dodger stadium during his retirement year. Had to work and I saw that he signed for a good 20-30 minutes. Ugh
The Finest base set was one of my favorites. I like the wild 90's designs. The only guy I picked up auto wise was Polanco.
ReplyDeleteI wanted a Rivera auto for my collection too, but just haven't pulled the trigger. Too many Pirates ahead in line. Great card! I'm jealous.
I loved the 93 issue and collected the retro insert from the 2013 release but I only like the autograph greats from the past few years. I just dont like the "wild" designs.
DeleteIts all about timing as you know. Only reason I picked this up now was he lowered price and I had extra funds to use. I know the feeling about team collecting as Kershaw autographs and Dodgers in general hinder my pursuit of getting gems like these too often. Thank you
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ReplyDeleteWow, awesome card, grats !!
ReplyDeleteTy good sir
DeleteFantastic card. Love the Black parallel of Mo the most for the look. Definitely agree with getting it already slabbed when you get up into that price range. Wonderful pick up. Congrats.
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