Featured autograph - Ryan Zimmerman

I remember being high on Zimmerman as a potential franchise star and when he was a rookie all the way back in 2006 - I made a trade for this ball in exchange for a Ron Cey baseball I got signed during one of the preview days at the National 14 years ago.

It is hard to believe that all these years, the original National was still with the team and was part of a World Series Championship team - I suppose a number of people didn't like his appearance at the White House along with Kurt Suzuki in particular, but it is what it is.

Random thoughts - Ryan Zimmerman

Ideally I wanted to collect his cards 'on the side,' expecting him to be a rising star at one point - though he isn't even 30 yet, it seems like he's been playing for 10 years and there isn't as much hype associated with his career.

On the surface, he seemed to be a good guy to collect even though he plays for an East Coast team I wouldn't see much - he's always put up decent numbers and had the ability to come through in clutch situations for the Nationals in his career.

I guess Zimmerman is still a viable major leaguer - living the life, playing for a potential World Series contender while being paid nearly like a franchise player he once was thought to be.

It seems peculiar that I don't seem to hear much about him through the national media - he seems like just another good player who maybe trending downwards at he enters his 30's.

Has had the yips throwing the ball and maybe more of a passable first baseman in the near future - rather than a star third baseman for the rest of his MLB career.

A comparable player to Zimmerman maybe David Wright, but while Wright has sort of gone through his up and downs - I think he sorts of still has the allure of a star.

Am I'm wrong about Zimmerman being merely 'meh' over the last several years - does it matter that perhaps he isn't the first guy fans talks about when mentioning the Washington Nationals?

Ranking the 30 MLB teams on my watch - Washington Nationals #12 of 30

I've always liked how Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman has carried himself as a professional baseball player - even though he has been overshadowed by the likes of Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg in recent years.

Zimmerman has been with the Nationals ever since their first season in Washington back in 2005 - hopefully he can get his throwing problems straightened out as the Nationals look to bounce back from a season where they were expected to reach the World Series.

2011 Bowman Platinum Value Pack recap #2

Value pack two

Pack one
#59 Justin Morneau
#73 Ryan Zimmerman
#BPP 17 Kolbin Vitek - x-fractor
Filler card
#49 Joe Mauer
Retail checklist 2 of 2

Pack two
#86 Chipper Jones
#27 Jake McGee
#BPP 18 Zack Cox
Filler card
#53 David Ortiz

Pack three
#42 Ubaldo Jimenez
#72 Tim Lincecum
#BPP 95 Matt Lipka - x-fractor
Filler card
#33 Madison Bumgarner
Retail checklist 2 of 2

Purple refractor pack - more dusty white substance on the cards.
#BPP 81 Cesar Puello
#BPP 11 Kyle Seager
#BPP 75 Sean Coyle

Featured pick up: 2008 Topps Triple Threads Ryan Zimmerman triple relic

I was looking through stacks of cards at a twice a week card show and saw a 2008 topps Triple Threads autograph/patch/bat [serial #'d 18/50] of Ryan Zimmerman - it was $15 and I wasn't going to pick up, though I thought the patch pieces popped out.

One of things I want is build up a 'scavenger's personal collection' of cards - which is to say I'm looking for singles [autographed, game-used, rookies] in the $10-$40 range I can probably put away in my collection for the next 10 years.

I'm not a Washington Nationals fan by any means and I would have left the card alone - if it featured someone like Dmitri Young, Cristian Guzman Austin Kearns, Paul LoDuca or some other mediocre player the Nationals have put out on the field in recent seasons.

Zimmerman was a hot rookie back in 2006, but after an OK sophomore campaign in 2007 - he was banged up and played in only 106 games in 2008.

With what I typically pick-up [scrap commons, maybe a random pack or two or something else] at a show I wouldn't be able to pick up something nicer than the Zimmerman - though the card does seem a little gaudy. The green just doesn't do anything for me, aesthetically.

The autograph featured on a card was on a sticker - and the autograph seems typical of what the style of autograph he has signed for trading card companies in the past year.

PS: I probably get about 10 page views per two days compared to hundreds for probably some bloggers, each day - but my Internet connection is screwy at best and I have not updated the blog as much as I probably can.

At the very least, I probably haven't been able to visit my favorite card blogs with regularity - to see what other collectors have to blog about lately.