First off... congratulations Kris Bryant and Mike Trout for taking home this year's National League and American League MVP Awards.  Bryant's plaque will go nicely with his 2015 NL ROY Award and the 2016 World Series ring he'll receive sometime next season.  Trout's has plenty of accolades himself as his 2014 AL MVP Award and 2012 AL ROY Award will need to make room in his ever growing trophy case.

With two under his belt at the tender age of twenty-five, Trout is already on pace to break Barry Bonds' record of seven MVP Awards.


Will he actually break the record?

It's easy to bet against him, but it's not impossible.  In his first five full seasons, he's won the award twice and has been the runner-up the other three seasons.  Assuming he stays healthy... it wouldn't surprise me if he won the award six more times over the next ten to twelve years.

I guess only time will tell.  Regardless he'll hopefully be entertaining fans with his bat and glove for many years to come.

While we're waiting to see if Trout (or even Bryant) can approach Bonds' record... let's check out the Sports Card Trifecta I built of Barry.


Rookie Card: 1987 Topps #320


This card is without a doubt my favorite rookie card of Bonds.  The perfectly timed and centered action shot go perfectly with the wood grained border to make a great looking rookie card for one of the best hitters I've had the privilege to watch.


Autographed Card: 2001 Topps Gallery Autographs #GABB


The second cog of the trifecta is an on-card autograph from one of my favorite products:  Topps Gallery.  I had been looking for a Bonds autograph for years, but they were always a little too pricey for me.  Then two years ago, I ended up snagging this card for less than the price of an unopened wax box.  The insane thing is... this card was an insanely tough pull back in the day.  Topps inserted the Group A signatures (Alex Rodriguez, Ivan Rodriguez, and Barry Bonds) into packs at a rate of 1 per 1,066 packs.  That's one of these cards in every 44 boxes.  Gotta love the days when pulling an autograph was something special.


Memorabilia Card: 2002 Topps 206 Relics #BB2


I own eight different Barry Bonds memorabilia cards, but to be honest... none of them are that rare or unique.  I decided to use this one for my trifecta, because I do have a soft spot for framed relics.  The downside?  It's a piece of game-used uniform... which means it's likely a piece of his pants instead of his jersey.

Well there you have it.  This is officially the twelfth baseball Sports Card Trifecta in my collection.  If you'd like to check out the other eleven, click here.



Okay... now that the election hype has died down... let's get controversial:


If you had a Hall of Fame vote, would Barry have your support?

Whatever my response is... there's gonna be people who don't agree.  That's what makes this such a great topic to discuss.  With that being said... I'd let him in.  Plenty of players used PED's during that era and if Cooperstown allows guys who used greenies or doctored balls into their club then I feel that they should let one of the greatest hitters of all-time in as well.

As usual... I look forward to reading and responding to your comments.  I hope all of you are having a great week.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!