Poll: Will Derek Jeter Have A Resurgence In 2011?

Sweet, sweet acetate!

Derek Jeter is coming off of his worst statistical season in his 16 season MLB career. With pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training in under a month (28 days), I'm starting to get excited about the upcoming MLB season. One of the biggest questions for my favorite team is whether Derek Jeter can bounce back from a season in which he batted .270, hit 10 hrs and stole 18 bases. Also, despite winning a Gold Glove, 2010 saw a diminish in Jeter's range at the shortstop position.

So the question is, what type of season is Jeter going to put together this year? The poll options consist of some of Jeter's best and worst season averages. What do you think?

- Make sure to checkout the card contests/giveaways I'm holding to try your luck at winning some free Panini cards (click here).

Poll: Is The Reported Offer By The Yankees To Derek Jeter Insulting, Spot On Or Simply Way Too Much?

1997 Flair Derek Jeter Hot Gloves

As a New York Yankees fan myself, I would like to see Jeter back in pinstripes next season. I would like to say… at the right price, but money doesn't really matter when you print as much of it as the Yankees seem to print. However, that doesn't mean I want the Yankees to throw A-Rod money at this smoldering free agent fire.

Although I am a Jeter fan and appreciate everything he's done for the franchise, I'm a Yankees fan first. The truth of the matter is that the 36 year old shortstop had his worst statistical season of his illustrious 15 year career. In 157 games last season, Jeter hit .270 with 10 HR's, 67 RBI's and 18 SB's. For a bit of a shortstop reference point, Ian Desmond of the Washington Nationals hit .269 with 10 HR's, 65 RBI's, 17 SB's and made a whopping $400,000. Ok, whopping to you or me, but the Yankees have reportedly offered Jeter $45,000,000 over three years.

There's no questioning the intangibles Jeter brings to the Yankee lineup and clubhouse, and those should be worth something. Are those intangibles worth more than $14,600,000 a year? Not likely, but here's the thing. This is the New York Yankees and Jeter will continue to be a productive player. I don't think he's going to have as poor of a season as he had last year. Actually, I think he'll bounce back with a very respectable .288 BA, 12 HR's, 85 RBI's and 15 SB's. Those are very productive offensive numbers for almost any shortstop in the MLB today. Despite the best efforts of the AL Gold Glove, Jeter's defense is a liability in the field and will need to be addressed over the longevity of any contract he agrees to with the Yanks. The truth of the matter is, the Yankees offered Jeter far more than he's worth on the field and took into account what he means to the team off the field. I think he and the Yankees will eventually agree on a three year deal worth about $60,000,000. To date, Jeter has earned $182,830,000 from MLB contracts alone. I think another $45 or $60 million is fine.

So what do you think? Is the reported offer by the Yankees insulting, spot on or too much?

- Fun Facts: Here's a list of the top 35 MLB earners of all-time: (click here).

Poll: What's The Yankees Biggest Need?

(1997 Upper Deck SPx Cornerstones #'d/500)

So with the World Series over, it's time to get back to the important stuff. Like what the Yankees need to do to get back in the Series next year. The Yankees recently resigned Manger Joe Girardi to a three year deal, so what's the Yankees most urgent need this offseason to get number 28?

Poll: Which Batter from this Yankees/Red Sox Quad Jersey Would You Want Up in the Bottom of the 9th?

(2008 Upper Deck Ballpark Collection Quad Jersey)

In lue of the Yankees/Red Sox series double-header today, I have a little poll question for readers. Which player from this '08 Upper Deck Ballpark Collection Quad Jersey card would you want up to bat in the bottom of the 9th of an A.L.C.S. game 7 down by one and with two outs? For the purposes of this question, let's assume/consider each player in their prime.

Hoopography Top 25: 13

This spot in the countdown of my favorite 25 cards in my personal collection features a New York Yankee and a 90's insert. If you've been following Hoopography for any amount of time now either here on Blogger.com or the previous Apple iWeb blog, you certainly know my affinity for the New York Yankees and the design of 90's inserts. This 1997 Derek Jeter Flair Hot Gloves card is an excellent combination of the two. The Hot Gloves cards were inserted in the Flair Showcase packs at a rate of 1:90 which doesn't make this the rarest Jeter card ever. They actually pop up on eBay relatively frequently a couple times a month. The die-cut flames are what make this card great, but just think about how Flair was able to incorporate a full bodied silhouette on that smaller die cut card. Sure, you can shrink any image down to fit whatever background, but the finished product doesn't always look this great. Pretty cool stuff.

This may not be the most valuable card in my collection, nor the rarest, but it just might be the hottest. Ok sorry, but I just couldn't resist that one. Stay tuned for numbers twelve through one in the Hoopography Top 25 countdown and remember… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".

Hoopography Top 25

Just before I made the switch from iWeb over here to Blooger.com, I started a little series of posts counting down my favorite 25 cards I've been luck enough to add to my collection called, "Hoopography Top 25". I started the countdown off with an honorable mention post, consisting of cards that just missed being in the top 25. Those honorable mention cards can be seen in the image to the left. Most of those cards are Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'neal 90's inserts with an Iverson RC refractor thrown in for good measure.

It's really fun going through a countdown like this because it gets collectors to really appreciate the cards they have, instead of the cards they wish they had. I've been lucky enough to add a number of really great cards with a limited budget. No card in my entire collection has cost over $35 and no card you see in this post cost me more than the one outlier at $23. In fact, many of the cards in the countdown I purchased for right around $7 - $12.

I got all the way to number 18 in the countdown before I made the switch over to Blogger.com. The first third of the countdown is pretty diverse. There're some cool old school basketball auto's (early 90's is old school to me), some NY Yankees cards and a few of my hometown Buffalo Bills cards. With some of these cards it's really about the player like the Hoops Dreams co-star, Arthur Agee, but it's also about the card design for a few of the others. I love the '97 SPx Cornerstones Jeter/A-Rod design. It's basically the same as the '97 SPx ProMotion basketball and football sets that I'm currently attempting to put together. The '98 EX-2000 Credentials card of Andy Petite also features one of my all-time favorite card design. All-in-all, these are some great cards and they were really fun to add to the collection.

So these are some of my favorite cards, what are some of your own favorites that you've been able to add to your collection? Stay tuned for a post on number 17 in my "Hoopography Top 25" countdown!