With the beginning of a new year its time to take a look back at #mybestnine on my @bravestarrcards Instagram account. For my yearly disclaimer I need to make it clear that this isn’t “MY” best nine, or my favorites, or my highest rates. But it is what you all double-tapped the most in 2022.
In my experience of looking at this for a few years the things that tend to make the list are 1) current players, 2) Hall of Famers, and 3) something that might be timed perfectly with something else that’s going on. I think this year the first reason is clearly the reason for how this list is populated.
And now my friends, I present you with #mybestnine from Instagram…
Larry Walker
9/13/2022 – Walk this way! The first of a #twofortuesday for #rockymountainhigh week.
This was a double hashtag post with it being part of a #twofortuesday and part of a themed week for #rockymountainhigh week where I was posting Denver/Colorado themed cards. I think my favorite part of when Larry signs is that he’s not afraid to put that inscription on there… might as well be proud of it. Some guys will hold back on that stuff. But I think even better, I like that he writes “Swing Hard!”
Aaron Judge
3/20/2022 – All rise.
I got this back in January 2022 and posted it in March 2022. It was probably the “best” return I got last year. And that was probably before he accomplished his Yankee feat in September. It came out great and of course has the “All Rise” on the cover too.
Mitch Garver
3/14/2022 – First up for today… Mitch Garver who just this weekend became a Texas Ranger. So… Garver, Texas Rangers is now appropriate.
Mitch appeared during a time when I was focusing on posting current players. It was also right when he was traded to Texas within all the moves around IKF last year (to the Twins and then the Yankees). This is not my first return from him, but I definitely need to find some different cards if I am going to try for him again.
Troy Tulowitzki
3/18/2022 – Tulo
While this is Tulo as a Blue Jay, which I don’t think anyone really thinks of him as… And it’s Tulo toward the end of his career, which wasn’t as good as his Colorado days… I really love this one. This one just seems awesome from an art perspective. All the blue and the red accents with the team colors. It just looks damn pretty and I think that’s how this one made the list.
Bill Mazeroski
4/18/2022 – Maz Magic
I’m so glad that Bill signed this card. I obviously love an autograph from a Hall of Famer – who doesn’t. But Bill is definitely a guy I tie to a specific moment. I think if you saw guys play from that era you have a little different perspective. But not being of that age to see him play, when I do see something about him, it’s about that moment in time he had. So a signature based on that moment seems perfect to me.
Larry Nance Jr.
4/10/2022 – Hello friends… sorry wrong Nance.
Larry Jr. is a pretty good signer from what I have seen. This is my first back from him but I tried him because I’d seen others with success. He’s a lot like his Dad in that way because Larry Sr. is good for signing two cards. I was kind of surprised to see this one make the list. I think the “current player effect” was going on here.
Brad Boxberger
3/15/2022 – What do you want on your Boxberger?
Brad is a great signer so I know I have a few posts for him over the years, but I also think that this is a card I’ve had him sign before. That’s something I’m trying to get away from this year as much as I can. Because a lot of these are current players, I’m noticing that a lot of these posts were in a range where I was posting current players specifically. The majority of these posts were in March/April.
JaCoby Jones
3/15/2022 – Mr. Jones and me… we’re gonna be big star.
Not my first from JaCoby since he seems to be a pretty good signer. I might be running out of different cards for him to sign though because he doesn’t seem to be sticking in the major leagues, and didn’t play at that level last year. Still he makes the list.
James McCann
3/19/2022 – McCann you dig it?
I don’t know if this one should be described as bittersweet, but I can’t think of anything better. With McCann moving on to the Rangers via trade within the last couple weeks it seems that way. Yes, he didn’t really live up to the contract and underperformed. But… he seems like a really good person with a really good family. I also felt bad for him because seemed to be injured a lot. The only thing that frustrated me about him… I don’t think I’ve ever seen a catcher get more interference calls against him when just trying to catch a pitch.
Thanks for the Likes!
Thanks for the likes everybody. You put up with my Dad jokes and terrible captions but you’re willing to throw a couple taps down on these posts for me. For all of you other TTM collectors out there, keep posting things up and I’ll throw some likes your way as well. I hope my posts and the blog help you on your collecting path. I know yours help me on mine.
If you liked what you saw here and you don’t follow me, give me a follow @bravestarrcards on Instagram and Twitter.
Have a great ’23 everyone!