Relics/Autos By Team: New York Yankees

The next team in my relics/autos by team post series that I began almost 2 weeks ago is the New York Yankees.

I have quite a few player collections of Yankees players. From Mantle to Ford and even Sparky Lyle and Don Mattingly. Finding relics and autographs of Yankees players can be difficult. Especially for a good price since most Yankees stuff is very expensive. Over the years I've accumulated exactly 5 relics and autographs.

Without further adieu here they are.

This is my only Yankees autograph and even though it's not of a super well-known player it's still a decent card. This Jim Leyritz autograph is from 2005 Team Topps. The sticker auto features a foil top of the card and a grey bottom of the card. Leyritz was a career .264 hitter and even though he never had a spectacular season he still has a pretty good signature.

This is a nice relic of none other then Hideki Matsui AKA Godzilla. This relic features the 2009 World Series MVP in the 2005 Fleer Tradition Stand Outs. The set is similar to 1958 Topps, but had a more modern look to it. It also seems weird that part of his leg was cut out. I assume it was to make space for the jersey, but shouldn't he still have his leg in the photo. After all his shoe is in the picture as well. I'm definitely a sucker for pinstripes in relics which is part of the reason I love this card so much.

Speaking of pinstripes.

2017 Topps came up with a pretty simple design for their relics. I like the multi-color waves throughout the card as well as perfect sized jersey. I picked this relic up at a card show for $4, because of how well Sanchez has done this year and last. The pinstripe just made it more bang for my buck as it elevates the relic to a new level.

Now we're getting into the real deal relics. This 2005 Bowman Heritage relic features a larger than usual bat relic of A-Rod. While Rodriguez is for sure not my favorite player I can't help but admire him. Even though he used steroids he had some amazing years without steroids including his 2015 comeback season. I was even fortunate enough to witness his final career home run at Yankee Stadium last year. It was number 696 for the regressing A-Rod. Even though he's not my favorite player I still wish he could've made it to 700.

But not many relics can compare to this final one.

This 2005 Topps Heritage relic features a piece of a stadium seat from the original Yankee Stadium. This Heritage flashback card commemorates Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series. Topps knew that construction was set to begin on Yankee Stadium and seized the opportunity to make these relics offering people who were lucky enough to pull these in packs (like my dad) a little piece of a lot of history.