2011 Topps 60 Joey Votto Jersey/Autograph

There are cards that are pretty self explanatory.  A Joey Votto card is in that category.  He's a great player and has not signed much over the years keeping his autographs in high demand and high priced. There are some cheap options out on the secondary market, but if you are going to go for a big card than you might as well go for it.  I figured that this copy of a 2011 Topps 60 Joey Votto Jersey/Autograph would be a good addition to the collection.

2011 Topps 60 Joey Votto Jersey/Autograph

As a Cardinals fan there have been many rivals that have annoyed and been avoided in my collection.  For example, I will usually trade anything and everything from the mid 80s Mets teams.  Dwight Gooden.  Not a fan.  Same with Strawberry, Hernandez, and Carter.  Trade Bit.  There have also been plenty of Cardinals rivals over the years that I have respected and enjoyed watching.  The Bagwell and Biggio Astros teams of the late 90s and early 2000s come to mind as a team that butted up with the Cardinals every year, but I did not mind the players on the team.

Votto comes to mind as a player in the same category as the great Astros teams.  I am not a huge fan of Reds, especially Dusty Baker, but I really enjoy watching Votto.  I was fortunate enough to see Votto play for the Louisville Bats in AAA and was impressed with him as a hitter.  Votto's first two and half years in the majors were nice, but the last three have been great.  Basically, Votto is an on-base machine with a good glove and good power.  He's led the National League in walks the past two years and on-base percentage the past three.  In fact, he led the National League in walks despite only playing 111 games.  ESPN writer Jayson Stark compared his season, prior to injury, to Babe Ruth.

Since it's Friday and I have a few extra minutes I will go ahead and post a bonus card for this evening.  My newest Votto card is my second copy of his autograph in my collection.  I was able to pull a copy of his 2004 Bowman autograph out of a pack shortly after the set was released.

2004 Bowman Signs of the Future Joey Votto Autograph 

I've been posting a lot lately about different sets in my collection.  The Bowman sets are an annual addition to my collection, but I usually put the cards into a box and set them aside for a few years.  I try not to get too high or too low on players for a few years until they have some established value.  Every once in awhile I get something good to show off and I cannot complain about this pull almost a decade later.  The Bowman autographs from 2004 are not the nicest looking cards, but the autographs are on-card and are pretty highly sought after on the secondary market.