Yankees Prospecting: 2009 Upper Deck Icons Brett Gardner Auto'd RC

I decided to collect Brett Gardner cards about halfway through the NY Yankees 27th World Series Championship season. It's not that Gardner is the flashiest Yankee or that he hits gargantuan home runs. He's actually far from any of those types of players. Instead, he simply does the little things to help a team win. Whether it's playing great defense, getting on base with a .381 OBP or stealing bases to get into scoring position, Gardner is one of the Yankees unsung heroes.

I bought a few Gardner cards toward the end of last season and during the MLB off-season. One of those cards is this 2009 Upper Deck Icons Auto'd RC. There aren't too many Gardner auto's out there yet, but this one is pretty nice. It's not all that limited with a print run of 600, but I probably wouldn't have been able to afford it if it was extremely limited. I paid just under $8.00 with shipping. That's a pretty good deal as many are now selling for $20.00 - $30.00 right now on eBay in Live auctions (click here), and are right around $50.00 on Buy Now eBay auctions (click Here).

Gardner currently has a .285 BA, 5 HR's, 39 RBI's, .381 OBP, 73 R's and 34 SB's.