Pirate Booty

A few months ago, Brian from Collecting Cutch held a contest challenging his fellow bloggers to post their Top 10 cards from a favorite player. As a new blogger, any potential new post is worthwhile, so I presented my 10 favorite cards of former Red Sox All-Star Ellis Burks. According to Blogger's stats, it is to date my most viewed blog post. It was a fun project and I'm glad it was well received.

I completely forgot there was a prize element involved...

Last week, I got an email stating my prize was on it's way. I was excited and wondered what random card I might get. I got a package. I was not expecting that!

He started off with a welcome note written on a plastic sleeve:

Collecting Cutch is a good blog - you should read it!

The card underneath all that wording is a Pittsburgh Police Department issued card featuring Mr. McCutchen himself. I must say the card itself is pretty sharp! Simple, with a nice action shot.

Before I share what other spoils I received, let me state that without a doubt, the best part of the package was Brian's sense of humor. A few of these cards were also packaged in sleeves he had written on, and the stuff he wrote put a big smile on my face.

If only Captain Kirk could play 3rd base...

I feel bad for Sandoval. (Not too bad mind you, he's still getting paid!) He was a good signing at the time. The Red Sox didn't need a superstar at 3rd base, just someone to hold down the position and contribute. He couldn't do that, and now you're looking at his last base set card in a Red Sox  uniform. Although I maintain I am not a Star Trek fan, this makes the second time in my blog's short life that I have included Mr. Shatner. I may need to throw some Star Wars references on here just to balance things out.

Collecting Cutch also included a lot of Red Sox goodies...

The Melancon card has kanji on back, making this my first card from over the ocean!

... including a trio of Hall of Famers,

Jacoby surrounded by greatness!

...my first Bunt cards,

Me like!

...and this relic card of 3x All-Star Dan Uggla

This guy won me a number of fantasy leagues back in the day!

The centerpiece prize, however, was this relic card of none other than Ellis himself.

Well played, CC! Well played, indeed!

So yeah, my collection got significantly more awesome thanks to the generosity of my fellow blogger. If you haven't checked out his blog, I highly recommend it! Thanks again Brian!