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Michael Pineda was one of the notable rookies and an All-Star in 2011. He came up with the Seattle Mariners but hobby excitement was short lived as he was out of baseball for the following two years and was moved to the New York Yankees in 2014. However, he proved to be a dependable utility player.
I caught on to Michael Pineda while shopping at the now defunct Santa Monica Sports Cards back in April of 2012. I lived just a few miles up the road from the shop and I’d go down there on the weekends. Aside from the one employee, it was always empty. I felt like I had the whole shop to myself every time I entered. I’d go through bargain bins of singles and random sealed packs, some of which I bought and opened right there at the shop.
On one visit prior to The National in 2012, the one employee brought up Michael Pineda in conversation and at the time I felt like I’d heard his name before from a Beckett magazine cover or something. I hadn’t bothered to look at auctions or do player research yet though. This came years later but from that point on, Michael Pineda’s name became synonymous with memories of 2012.
Since then, I’ve acquired a few Michael Pineda cards and along the way, I noticed one particular auction that for years appeared priced too high. In December of 2022, the seller re-listed it at a much more reasonable price and with an OBO option to boot so I took advantage of that and won the item. Later that day, the seller messaged me and asked if I’d be interested in the 2011 Finest Rookie Dual Relic Autographs Red Refractor. The price was just too good to pass up so I said sure. We completed the necessary details and in one go, I added two more Michael Pineda rookie cards.
To see what’s currently on eBay from 2011 Finest, click here.
Set Information:
| Important Date(s) | |
|---|---|
| October 12, 2011 | Release Date |
| October 31, 2014 | Exchange Deadline |
2011 Finest is one of those mega releases with a plethora of insert sets and parallels. This stuff can seem a bit overwhelming but the upside is that we have lots of options. To further elaborate, the 2011 Finest Rookie Dual Relic Autographs is one of 50+ sets from this release. It’s just a lot. The following is a breakdown of this particular skip-numbered set that exclusively features rookies.
| Set | Total Cards | Print Run(s) | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refractor | 20 | 499 | 1:4 Mini Box |
| Green Refractor | 20 | 149 | 1:12 Mini Box |
| Orange Refractor | 20 | 99 | 1:18 Mini Box |
| Gold Refractor | 20 | 69 | 1:26 Mini Box |
| Red Refractor | 20 | 25 | 1:72 Mini Box |
| Die Cut | 20 | 10 | 1:171 Mini Box |
| Purple Refractor | 20 | 5 | 1:342 Mini Box |
| Superfractor | 20 | 1 | 1:1709 Mini Box |
| Framed Printing Plates Black | 20 | 1 | 1:427 Mini Box |
| Framed Printing Plates Cyan | 20 | 1 | 1:427 Mini Box |
| Framed Printing Plates Magenta | 20 | 1 | 1:427 Mini Box |
| Framed Printing Plates Yellow | 20 | 1 | 1:427 Mini Box |
Checklist:
| Card # | Player(s) | Card # | Player(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | Eduardo Nunez | 86 | Michael Pineda |
| 63 | Eric Hosmer | 87 | Andrew Cashner |
| 64 | Julio Teheran | 88 | Jordan Walden |
| 68 | Mike Minor | 89 | Alexi Ogando |
| 72 | Freddie Freeman | 91 | Hector Noesi |
| 77 | Brandon Beachy | 92 | Darwin Barney |
| 79 | Dillon Gee | 96 | Aaron Crow |
| 82 | Dee Gordon | 98A | Mike Moustakas |
| 84 | Zach Britton | 98B | Ivan DeJesus Jr. |
| 85 | Craig Kimbrel | 100 | Alex Cobb |
To see what’s currently on eBay from 2011 Finest, click here.
