Apparently Topps is doing a giveaway for purchasers of their hobby boxes, which is fantastic. I believe the “catch” is that you have to buy hobby boxes in order to get the four card per pack freebie…which i’m totally fine with. Most of my boxes, actually all of them now since i don’t really do blaster boxes, are from Dave and Adams or my LCS down the street. So, as a collector it’s a win-win chicken din-din!
Wanna see what i got? Take a look-see.
It’s a Freddie Freeman from the Atlanta Braves. Wonder how he feels about the local football team crappin’ the bed last Sunday?
I also got a Joey Votto card. He’s a Canadian. I work with a Canadian and she’s great, really nice. I always imagine Joey Votto would be a nice guy as well, until i saw him swat that fans shirt last year…he did end up giving him a souvenir afterwards, so maybe he is nice.
Next guy is Adrew Benintendi. Name is much harder to spell than i had expected. Seems like yet another young superstar for the Sox…great…they have a pretty stacked lineup and don’t think they will miss Papi much this year, except maybe the veteran leadership?
One of my best friends is a Padres fan…he was a Chargers fan, but i think he’s since moved on. For his sake, i’d love to see Will stay healthy and lead his team to the playoffs, maybe even the World Series. Dreamers gotta dream i guess.
I love Cuba and I love Cuban players. This guy is from Cuba and a solid power hitter. Seems a bit like a wild card though…how great of a player can he be for the Mets this year?
Piggy! Next to Verly, he’s my favorite Detroit player…that’s all i got.
Hammerin Hank Aaron with the Atlanta Braves and high stirrups.
Last card is Jackie Robinson…love this card and love the image. Great card.
That’s all i got tonight…crazy tired from the Run the Jewels show the other night…i’m too old to go to midnight shows…but hey, it was well worth it! I love RTJ!
When i travel to a new destination I like to pick up a few packs or a blaster from the local Target or Wal-Mart. It’s kind of a souvenir. A souvenir that matters to me and hand a greater level of value than a cheesy shirt (although i love an odd shirt now and again…). The cards serve as a little reminder of the town I was in, an artifact from a past vacation. In the past, the trips have been via automobile and the cards were a little easier to handle since i could always see where they were and keep them safe and sound. The last couple of trips though have been via airplane…the friendly skies! When traveling, i’m always concerned about the safety and security of the cards and tend to open them up when i get home. Not this time though, i wanted to join the mile high club! Well, i wanted my cards to join the mile high club…of sorts. So i did it on a plane earlier this week!
Since we card people don’t like damaged cards, getting these guys on the plane safely was a bit of an emotional journey for me. Going through security and boarding a plane is difficult enough! My first concern was the lovely TSA folks that can be a little handsy with people and peoples stuff. The only thing worse than the disinterested cashier man-handling (woman-handling…? person-handling…?) the cards and dropping them 18″ to the bottom of a plastic bag is definitely getting them through TSA. They pick up bags and boldly ask “THIS RED ONE YOURS SIR!”, why, yes. The red bag that i was about to grab is mine…definitely my bag. The surly looks that follow…them, not me…i’m nice. Half the battle has been fought, but the war has not been won. I still need to get these unprotected packs boarded and loaded on a flying tube with an ever increasing shortage of personal stowing space. Done deal. Packs located gently on my fold away tray until i am told to hide my fold away tray. See the photo above (and now below) that was after we reached our cruising altitude…so no foul there although my phone was not in airplane mode.
Normally when i’m opening a pack of cards i like to have space to lay them out and sort them as i go through the cards. Kinda particular about those sorts of things, you know. It’s nice to have a little layout space and a clean surface to boot. In hindsight this plan would have been better if i had a more sturdy box to put them in afterwards. Enough with the long winded build up. Here is what was pulled.
Dee Gordon – Miami Marlins | Cole Hamels – Texas Rangers
Brian McCann – New York Yankees | Tyler White – Houston Astros
Kenta Maeda – Los Angeles Dodgers | Gleyber Torres – New York Yankees
Javier Guerra – San Diego Padres | Jorge Mateo – New York Yankees
Kolby Allard – Atlanta Braves | Lucius Fox – San Francisco Giants
Not a bad pack, no real jaw droppers. I do like the three Yankee cards and the Alex Bergman is nice as well as the Maeda card. They all have a nice little shine to them as well. My wife, sitting in the miserable middle seat (love ya babe!) was particularly fascinated by the shiny-ness of these cards which the cabin lighting made a little extra sexy! Here’s pack two!
Each of the cards made it home safe and sound, no dings, no dents, no errors. Twenty Four shiny cards to sit and wait on now…will they become stars or not…!
So there you go. That was the very first time i’ve ever busted a pack on a plane, in the air above the United States of America. Hope you enjoyed the show!
***BIG PIMPIN***
Now it’s time to do some contest pimpin’ for Collector’s Crack and his annual NFL playoff contest!
Since i don’t have to deal with the emotions of having my team in it this year, i’m free to pick a SB matchup that will hopefully be closer to reality…and so should you! So, hit that link and sign up! But first, in honor of CB’s contest i thought i’d post a couple of videos in line with all the pimpin’. First is one of my favorite UGK songs and the other is an interesting documentary on Pimp C that i haven’t quite gotten through yet. It’s by Mass Appeal, so you can’t really go wrong though.
