Cards you don't see on the blogs.

 

So, I've never liked Roberto Alomar. Even before he was the guy who spat in an ump's face.

But I've always enjoyed this card. Can you think of any other card which shows a broken bat AND the ball in the same photo?

Me either.

Short, but sweet.

Silver Packs. Everyone loves silver packs.

 

Well, it's been a difficult time in the last few years to be able to write or blog as much as I feel the need to. As most of us know, it's an outlet and sometimes we just need to do it. I've spent most of the last ten years writing awful jokes on Twitter, mostly because brevity is appreciated there, and there's a lot of others doing the same.

Back to baseball cards, 1985 Topps is one of my favorite sets of all time, mostly because of the large team name, logo, and team color-coded design. The following cards are the cards that accompanied the 2020 boxes I have bought over the last 3 years. The Strawberry is 059/199 and the Bellinger is 22/50, two of the best parallel cards I've pulled in years.

None of these guys have really inspired anything on the field in 2023, but they're still great cards to have in the collection, particularly the Hiura, because I need more cards of Californians whom I had mistakenly thought were Hawaiians.

There's a lovely Griffey, which happens to include year by year career stats on the back, not that I can read them any more. I still don't know if the Bichette will be included by collectors as a version of his RC. I don't recognize it as such.

Not much to say here, except Kieboom has been a real disappointment. Still, cool cards to have.

Gwynn, even to this Dodger fan, makes me so happy. It's also a great thrill to own an alternative version to Roger Clemens' RC of 1985.

Some of the lesser names round out the list of 1985 Topps silver packs. I will always love these cards, as much as any of the silver pack cards from any of the years, They're just so well made and so pleasing to the eye.

I had one more bunch of 85 reprints, because 85 is much more appeasing to the eye than 2020 Topps. That Neuse is 33/50. Buying jumbo boxes of every series in 2020 gave me no complete series like they used to, but they gave me some good 85 reprints!

When you become friends with a Hollywood screenwriter on Twitter.

 This is my first post that is not on the subject of baseball cards.

But I just had to share it, not so much for my own gratification, but for the kindness of a stranger. It occurred back in 2017, when I was more active on Twitter, rather than the blogs.

My joke writing had caught the eyes of several Twitter "elites" and thus some of the people who actually wrote for a living. Included among this bunch, was Ed Solomon, writer of Men in Black, Charlie's Angel's, Bill & Ted. etc.

I had just complained briefly about the fact that I loved Cheez-Its, and they weren't available anywhere in Australia. Ed sent me a private message asking for my address, and I gave it to him, anticipating one box of Cheez-Its. 

This is what he sent me.

What a great gesture, from a great man who has repeatedly asked for nothing in return.

Ed Solomon. What a guy. I owe him a beer or 10!

Nick

Look what I got! 2023 Topps Jumbo Box Review

 No, this isn't so much of a 'Look what I Got' post, but more of an I'm still alive and I want to start blogging again as often as I can. Basically, this is my therapy. I endured 3 strokes early last year and I've only just returned to full time work after spending months in hospital and rehab. And what would someone like me do with extra cash once they were back on their feet? Buy cards, of course! I needed to catch up on the previous 24 months of cards which I had missed out on due to other circumstances. I did that nice and early. But earlier this month, I had the chance to nab a jumbo box of 2023 flagship series 1, and it arrived from NY less than a week later. By now, everyone has seen the base cards. I still need 4 to complete series 1, a trend which has become unfortunately common since 2020 series 2 jumbo boxes.

Here are my awful silver packs :

Don't get me wrong, I still love the shiny, thick cards, but this is my least preferred batch of players.

How did I go on the regular 88's?

Not too bad. I'm supposed to hate the Giants and the Padres, because I'm a Dodger fan, but anything Mays and Gwynn will always make me happy.

Now it's on to the other 88's and randoms..

That blue bordered Maddux would look so much better if he were pictured as a Dodger. Or even a Cub.

The Aces are by far the best insert this year, and I was genuinely happy to land an Aramis auto, instead of some rookie pitcher from the Rockies whom nobody will know about this time next year.

How about some numbered parallels?

That orange Trout is /299 and I absolutely love it. I remember getting similar looking cards in heavily discounted retail packs of 2015 Bowman from Walmart in Hawaii back in 2016.

Gold and silver rainbow foil cards aplenty!

I think that Adley cards are overrated. Not his fault, but the fact that he was born in 1998, which makes his too old to be a hobby prospect. Like Judge in 2017.

Cool, but boring.

Apart from not completing the entire first series from a Jumbo Box, this was a very satisfying bunch of packs to rip. Can't wait for series 2!

Nick