Sittin’ on Chrome

Posted by cardboard hogs on December 18, 2020

Retail is crazy man, insane really. I remember not that long ago when we would all laugh and joke about spending (read wasting) a Jackson on a blaster from Topps or Panini at your local Target or Wal-Mart. We would go as far as saying, I spent $20 bucks on cards from COMC or Sportlots or eBay and got a whole bunch of fill in the blanks that I needed for my PC!!! Yeah, I was one of those guys…but something happened.

What was it?

Greed?

FOMO?

COVID-19?

Social Media?

No. It was Gary Fuckin’ Vee!!!

Well, not really. It was a bit of all of those things…(side note, I have nothing against Gary Vee or what he has brought to the hobby, any interest in the hobby in my mind is a good thing) every one of those, plus more than what I mentioned. I’m sure of it.

Crazy times ya’ll.

So with retail evolving into sneaker heads land and lines waiting for new releases or limited editions of whatever’s new, my thirst for retail has grown. Grown more out of the FOMO category more than anything else, but also just enjoying a good cheap rip once in a while. I like to open cards. I would venture to say we all do, or at least the vast majority of us…I need to do a better job of not speaking for others…I never depended on anything from Target to build a collection around, just something that was inexpensive that I could open on a Tuesday night…fill some need for instant gratification…and go on with my life. A few years ago I began hording boxes. I’d buy a box or two but not open them, you know? Just buy them.

Saving them for a rainy day.

Saving them for a day that didn’t go as I had planned.

Saving them for a long week of work.

Saving them for something to write about on a blog I abandoned.

Saving them for something cool to break.

I could pick up blasters of cards that I’m not super interested in, but like to have just to get an idea of what they look like…I like design and I like sports, so sports cards fill both of those buckets for me…but also the rip factor.

That has obviously come to a screeching halt during the past six plus months, but I have still managed to accumulate a few tasty samples from Target and Wal-Mart as well as from my LCS’s Hoody’s and The Sports Room.

The first two locales for an acquisition are great because the’re based on MSRP…no ‘flippity flip flipper-life’ markups. There’s no LCS overhead cost markup or anything else that would make the box more than they should be. Trust me (you know this too), retail boxes should not be going for these nutso upticked prices.

…HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT PRIZM FOOTBALL IS GOING FOR ON EBAY, HOLY SMOKES!!!!…

The hobby shops are a bit of a different story, there’s a markup. The great folks over at Hoody’s though, didn’t do too much for this box of Topps Chrome 2020 I picked up a couple months ago. $35 for a $20 box. Nothing too egregious I guess…?

The packs are lovely aren’t they, Mr. Pete Alonso and some honeycomb corners for the exciting Sepia Refractor Pack. Let’s see if this was worth the $35!

Here are the results of the box and the ‘bonus sepia pack’

*****

PACK ONE

Joey Gallo and Bobby Bradley

AJ Puk ’85 Insert and Luis Urias

*****

PACK TWO

JD Martinez and Austin Nola

Robel Garcia Prism Refractor and Ian Desmond

*****

PACK THREE

Archie Bradley and George Springer

Jean Segura Refractor and Trevor Story

*****

PACK FOUR

Paul Goldschmidt and Lucas Giolito

Austin Riley ’85 Insert and Jose Altuve

*****

PACK FIVE

Freddie Freeman and Nicky Lopez

Dansby Swanson Refractor and Charlie Blackmon

*****

PACK SIX

Matt Olson and Rafael Devers

Mike Yastrzemski Future Stars and Michael Fulmer

*****

PACK SEVEN

Randy Arozarena and Kevin Newman

Babe Ruth Decade of Dominance Die-Cut and Sam Hilliard

*****

PACK EIGHT…THE SEPIA PACK!

Fernando Tatis Jr. Refractor

Aaron Civale Refractor

Orlando Arcia Refractor

Luis Arraez Refractor

*****

All this writing reminds me of one of my favorite all-time MC’s, MASTA ACE! Here’s Sittin’ on Chrome…the namesake for today’s post. Enjoy the jeep thumping mid-90’s bass heavy joint.

Cabin fever cards

Posted by cardboard hogs on March 15, 2017

About a month ago, my family took a weekend trip to Mt. Hood, with me, i went too. We’re lucky enough to have good friends that own a small cabin in the woods and are more than happy and willing to share the tiny abode from time to time. It’s near Rhododendron, which is close to Zig Zag, which is close to Welches, which is close to Government Camp, which is close to Mt. Hood…it’s on Mt. Hood actually. The cabin is a small, one bed timber framed cabin with a kitchenette, it’s…umm… cozy…(read small)…but it is nicely nestled in the forest off a small unpaved road. Normally the roads are covered in snow, but we were able to visit just after a heavy rain storm that washed away most of the snow, leaving some ice.

cabin road

I believe these cabins were once used to house park rangers that would work during the year. It allowed them to retreat to a nice home after a long day at work rather than travel to and from their own homes each day. For one person, these cabins are crazy comfortable, for two people, it’s perfect…for two people and a toddler…you need more space. A LOT MORE SPACE! But, hey it’s free…and i got some cards to open while i was there too!

That blurry flash is my child doing his best to run around in a small building while my wife makes snacks and i build a manly fire. So, cards.

One of my goals with the renewed interest in blogging was to open packs or do something card oriented each time i travel. We were kind of in that weird time of year where the 2016s didn’t interest me anymore and the new 2017’s weren’t out yet…other than the flagship Topps…which i already had a box of. So i picked up one of those dreaded repack jobs that deliver very little in return. Spoiler alert, my low expectations were met with a couple of mild surprises. Let’s take a look.

As the box mentioned, 4 packs and a total of 50 cards and a BONUS! Before we open everything, let’s do a little inventory. The 4 packs were of 2015 Topps (2), 2016 Leaf Babe Ruth Collection (1), and 2016 Gypsy Queen (1). The white box of surprises had a little mini Twins baseball guy which was quickly jacked by the toddler. There were 53 cards in the white box, so i’m already ahead no matter what happens. Here are some Topps highlights.

Justin Upton and Clayton Kershaw were the only names of significant note for me. Hey, notice the vintage table pattern, apparently the table has been in the same location for over 50 years…i imagine it’s been moved a time or two to sweep though.

A couple insert cards. High leg kicking Carlton and top 40 Free Agent Robbie Cano. One of these guys is going in to my collection and the other one is going in to the Phillies box i got in my basement. Let’s take a look at the Gypsy Queen cards!

A couple of real DBacks.

BB GQ McCovey

A power alley McCovey.

BB GQ mini Drury

And a mini Brandon Drury…a Diamondbacks hot pack i guess. Now lets take a look at the Ruth cards.

Two odd photos of Babe Ruth, kids and bats.

Two odd photos of Babe Ruth swinging things that aren’t baseball bats.

BB LR Ruth 1

One photo of Babe Ruth doing baseball warm ups, his Career Achievements card…but what about that white box? Mostly junk wax stuff, but kind of fun to look through. There were three cards of note that made me want to take a photograph of them, and here they are…in order of how much i like them, from least to most.

BB box Jackson Winfield

Some Yankee stuff

BB box Posey

A Posey Bowman.

BB box Jeter

A Jeter Diamond King! Yay! This was by far the best card in the bunch, pretty nice card. I think i may have a copy or two of this one, but it’s still a nice little piece to pull in a cabin in the woods.

the end…

Something that’s hopefully appropriate for this post…family member, Paul Riddle on the drum kit here.

A Big ole’ box of Memories

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 4, 2017

I pre-ordered a jumbo box of ~~1987~~ 2017. This is the big 30th anniversary for a set that is seemingly very popular with a lot of people. Me though, i have a different memory of these vertically wood grained over produced cards.

I started collecting baseball cards in the fall of 1985.

I was 9 and had fallen in love with baseball and baseball cards.

I wanted to learn everything about baseball and own everything i could about baseball.

So, baseball cards met that need at the highest level for a young’n like me. There weren’t many opportunities to buy cards at that time due to scarcity at my local Stop n’ Go or 7-11, but also my lack of funds…I was 9. I did what i could back then. When the 1986 cards rolled out, i was able to complete a set via trades and multiple pack purchases. The way it was done in the old school days. I had a little more money and ’86 turned out to be a fun year, a year that i became addicted to these damn cardboard things.

That all changed in the winter of 1987.

The very first packs of cards i bought that year were in the Stop n’ Go down the street from my home. I was headed out to my very first camping trip for the local Boy Scouts troop…a trip that i wasn’t too excited about (maybe a story for later, but my BSA experience was very forgettable!). My mom pulled in to the parking lot and gave me some money to get a special snack and a juice…i bought a coke and two packs of cards. 1987 Topps. The cards had gum in them, so that’s kind ova snack, right? Fearing that i had betrayed my mom, i kept the cards tucked in my pocket to be opened later that weekend…during a camping trip. I made it successfully to the bus without anyone finding out about my card purchases and was able to procure a solo seat and open them on the ride to the camp site. I had 34 brand new cards in my hands…and two horrible pieces of gum. Little did i know that this was the start of an incredible amount of over-consumption of wood grained cardboard that i would later become overwhelmed with.

For me, this was my first understanding of over production of a product. I was buying packs everywhere. I was even able to buy a few boxes at our local Sams Wholesale Club…for about $18 each. Now, t’ve never been a collector for the investment purposes but i also don’t like to buy junk…well that year i must have spent about $100 on 1987 Topps. I was completely overwhelmed with them and grew to really dislike them…everything about them. So when the set gets a re-up, i don’t jump for joy. I’m old enough now and have some perspective to understand and appreciate the design, so maybe this year won’t be so bad.

I mean, they do actually look kind of nice and as others have mentioned, the wood grain is quite lighter than the original. The cards stock as i remember it is quite better as well, significantly better actually…as i look at these cards, i can see why they are adored by so many…i have baggage that i need to let go of i guess.

They are nice, very nice. Well done Topps. You did a great job with these re-issues. Tweaked some of the things that were of concern to me…thank you for listening 🙂 Some of you may have already seen the cards that i pulled as i thought it would be nice to pre-share over Twitter last night. Just in case though, here is my very first 2017 Topps card of the year!

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Miami Marlins Giancarlo Stanton! Pretty sweet first card eh? Don’t think i know what my first card is for the past 30 years, but i would venture to say that none of them are as good as this one.

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This was my first card pulled for a favorite team, the Nationals or Yankees…Bryce Harper is cool, i mean…he’s probably going to have a good season. Yeah, this card is fantastic for me not to mention that i got two in the box. One for my flagship set and one for my Bryce Harper PC. Collecting goals are being met.

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This was my first Yankee, Nathan Eovaldi. It was immediately followed by Aaron Hicks, also a Yankee. Guess that duo was a nice little mini Yankee hot pack…or not…?

Topps is also continuing with the buyback program, but stamping them differently this year with a vertically embossed stamp along the right edge of the card that reads “REDISCOVER TOPPS’. Nothing spectacular, but i have to admit these cards are in great shape.

One of the many inserts that you get are the foil cards which are great looking cards, assuming you can see them. I passed up a couple of them and had to go through the stack again to make sure i pulled them all out and when i did…four of the five were team cards. Feel a little gipped here, but i guess it would have only been successful if one of them was a player or team i collect. The fifth was a Kurt Suzuki.

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Topps is also continuing to do the first pitch cards…and i think they are running out of celebrities or there just aren’t enough celebrities to go around. Not trying to blast either of these two musical entertainers, but one of them is great and the other one is Mase. I’ve tried to associate the connection of the First Pitcher to the team they are pitching for. Mase, per wikipedia was born in Florida, but left with his mom for New York when he was three. I guess maybe he’s always been a fan of a Florida team? Ms. Jett is from Pennsylvania, so maybe she grew up watching Harry Caray and Steve Stone on WGN like me? I kid…Joan Jett was one of my favorite rockers in the early 80’s, mostly due to my mom liking her music with The Runaways. I like her biggest solo hit, a cover of ‘I Love Rock ‘n Roll”

Speaking of hits, i have three of them…well, two and a half. I don’t consider redemptions hits until i have them in my hand. Here they are, in my current favorite order. When the redemption is in my hands, that will be without a doubt my favorite one…assuming of course it’s a Yankee card.

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My timeline counter is starting on February 3rd, 2017. Let’s see how long this takes to hit my blog post. Ball is in your court Topps Corporation. 17-tost-clayton-kershaw-3050

Clayton Kershaw Spring Training commemorative patch…it’s like a hard plastic’y metal’y thing’y numbered 38/50. Not gonna complain at all.

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My favorite hit, currently, is this Addison Russell trip color patch…they snuck that white portion of the patch in there didn’t they? Numbered 19 of 25 is pretty good too. Kinda wish it was autographed, but i’m quite happy with this pull. Russell is a great young player and nice to add to my collection.

d’oh! I have a couple more cool cards to show off. Nothing spectacular, but wanted to share. First one is the Bryce Harper Then and Now…i always remember that moment when i almost pulled that card in a box. The guy next to me picked the box that had it and i picked the other one…such is my luck…i always get the other one..Harper looks like he’s aged 10 years since the Bowman card, beards man…they make you look old.

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The other one is of the young Astros prospect, but aren’t they all? Teoscar Hernandez…feels like his name should be spelled T’Oscar…but that’s not my lane. I’m gonna stay out. This is one of those reverse negative cards that are not printing plates, but every time i see one that’s the first thing that crosses my mind…kinda wished it was yellow.

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Well, that’s the haul from my one jumbo box that i purchase for each series. Hope you enjoyed. I will be posting the cards from the two silver packs that came with the box another day, so until then. Enjoy some random music that i was listening to while writing this letter to you.

Collector seeking Autographs

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 16, 2017

I used to be an autograph seeker in my adolescent years. Cards and a fresh sharpie in hand, fighting my way to the front in hopes of getting an illegible scribble from the baseball stars of the 1980’s. After a while i build up quite a collection that i’m proud of and like to look back on every once in a while. San Antonio didn’t have a major league team in San Antonio (AA San Antonio Dodgers though!), but my mother…being the most amazing working / single mother that she was (and still is…) would take me to Arlington a couple times each summer. We’d mostly go the Rangers games rather than the Astros in Houston…i guess i’ve always been an American League guy…or maybe it was those horrific rainbow sherbet jerseys…the trips each year would include the Yankees, of course and maybe the Blue Jays or Mariners. Looking back, we went to quite a few Mariners games as a kid and now i live in the PNW, it’s like it was fate or somethign? My mother is an incredibly generous and giving person, and she always went out of her way to make sure i had what i needed, and most times what i wanted. Even if it was a terrible idea. Like sitting in an open air stadium under the relentlessly pounding late afternoon sun of Texas in July and August. It was a brutal request from an only child after driving for 5 hours, but she obliged, albeit with some resentment in her eyes…but hey, i’m an only child :)!!

As i got older and realized i could maximize my inventory while minimizing my road trips through through the mail autographs, or TTM as every single one of you kids out there reading this knows. I did this for a couple of years and had some success, check out the page of autographs HERE. DOIT!!

As i got even older…and was able to finally get that Rickey Henderson auto i always wanted…but can’t seem to find anymore…shit…i’ll dig it out. Anyways, after that autograph, i decided to stop asking adults for their signature. Seemed kinda silly of me i guess…not sure why, maybe it was that i was starting to get older than the people i wanted autographs from? Maybe I was a little embarrassed? Maybe it was simply the asking for something and being shy about it? Not really sure. That said, i have nothing against collecting autos…especially if they have some kind of story associated with them. Unfortunately, the cards below have no great story other than they are what i pulled from the box i picked up at Brian’s shop. Here they are! There are 5 of them and they are nice pieces to have in the collection for now. You gotta wait for these guys, some of them never pan out and other may take a couple of years to get there…so enjoy.

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Will Benson – Cleveland Indians – 1st Bowman Card 16-bd-robert-tyler-auto-227250

Robert Tyler – Colorado Rockies – 1st Bowman Card 227/250 16-bd-dylan-carlson-auto-316499

Dylan Carlson – St. Louis Cardinals – 1st Bowman Card 316/499 16-bd-ben-bowden-auto

Ben Bowden – Colorado Rockies – 1st Bowman Card 16-bd-anfernee-grier-auto

Anfernee Grier – Arizona Diamondbacks – 1st Bowman Card

Actually got to see this guy play a couple of games last year in Hillsboro for the Hops. He was the 39th pick from Auburn in last years draft, so there is some hope that he could find his way to the big leagues in a year or two.

The jumbo box included a couple other cards of note that i was pretty excited about. This lovely Griffey Jr. card, which could have been posted in my previous post on Sons and Fathers…doesn’t top Gavin’s 1/1 auto, but not a bad looking card to have…and Bo Jackson…

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These Bowman Chrome cards are really nice cards to hold…but do smell a little bit like syrup as Sooz mentioned in a very cool and random tweet a couple days ago. Speaking of Yankees…Here are the last two cards i wanted to share. A couple of guys i have high hopes for this year that came through via trades Cushman made out on, or at least the Yankees fans hope so.

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I apologize for the fingerprints on that Sheffield card, not only do they smell like syrup…they love to grab hold of anything that touched the surface. So much grit!

I hope you had a good MLK day and took a moment to understand the importance of his life. Normally, this is where i post a music video that ties in to the cards or story of the day but i wanted to post something appropriate for the day rather than the post. I listened to this while i was at work today and…well, you should listen to. And in case you question why #BlackLivesMatter, it’s very thoughtfully explained and passionately addressed by Dr. King.

One more Chance!

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 4, 2017

I have a stack of cards in front of me that have a story that needs to be unearthed, something that can connect the pieces of card stock together in a nice little cycle of like kinda way. I just don’t know what that story is yet. I got foil cards. I got celebrity cards, I got guys with turkey necks and a guy that took a barbecue sauce bath, and some cards that are called Fire but look like Chihuly glass…guess it was fired glass…semantics i guess. Let’s start with the celebrity stock of First Pitches.

Two rappers, one is The Rapper…Chance that is. The other is Warren G. If you have been reading my words the past few years, you are fully aware of my affinity towards the rap music and culture. I’m pretty critical with my rap music though, almost a snob…yes, you should call it a snobbish attitude. I love lyrics and great storytelling. Guys…and Gals…that can paint a picture with their words in a seemingly quick or witty manner. The two guys above do that, although in all honesty, i can’t say i’m a fan of either. The reason for me? Their voice. Guru from Gangstarr had a song “Mostly the Voice” that clearly explained that its mostly the voice that we love or hate about a rapper. Now, he did go on to explain that the lyrics are critical as well, but in his opinion…it’s mostly the voice, and i agree with these two guys. Both Chance and Warren G have very distinctive sounds to them and are incredible story tellers. One of Warren G’s biggest hits was a terrific narrative of the wild life of an inner city Regulators, but the voice though…couldn’t handle it, plus it was the kind of laid back west coast music i wasn’t really in to back then. Now, Chance is one of those new rappers and i’m an old guy, so part of my distaste for his sound is that i’m not sure i truly get his metaphors. Seems like a great kid, positive kid trying to do some great things and share his stories…just not something i’m really in to yet. Possibly haven’t given it a good enough listen, I just struggle with him. Plus he’s in Kit Kat commercials and gettin’ down with so many different stars on my television set and internet machines. Seems like a lot of success came quick for him, too quick. I’m sure he’s been grinding at his craft for a while…but too much too soon for me to be a believer.

Speaking of quick success, Aubrey Plaza. Came on the scene out of nowhere with her popular character in the comedy series Park and Recreation (April Ludgate) who might have been the quintessential apathetic employee…that’s what the backside of this card said about her. Think that’s pretty appropriate. I had never heard of her until the Parks and Rec show that i watched for Nick Offermans’ character, Ron Swanson and the lovable Amy Poehler. I feel like Aubrey is one of those actors/actresses that doesn’t really ACT! but rather ends up playing the same person in each role that is really her in real life like Vince Vaughn or Michael Cera. She’s cute, awkwardly funny and somewhat edgy i guess. I must admit that her glove seems excessively large for her scale of human being. A smaller glove may have been in order for her big first pitch opportunity. Wonder if she could borrow another one?

Here are those Fire cards i was talking about earlier, not really sure how i feel about these inserts. Maybe if the card stock was thicker and possibly shinier, shiny is good sometimes, then i might be all in. I’m definitely all in for Griffey and McCutchen.

Griffey and Cutch appear to be in a flaming cauldron and trying to swing their way out to a burning hell. The Cutch card should be a Steelers card. Meanwhile the two Dodgers i pulled are emerging straight out of a pit of propane and butane, or more poeticly, emerging from the latest experimental Chihuly sculpture. Either way Maeda is feeling the effects of those flames coming in as hot as blue blazes!!! (my grandma would have been so proud of me for getting that one in, miss you Winn!)

We’re about to go from fire to foil, just like a night over the grill. (Really wished i pulled a Jason Grilli foil card, would have made that transition solid gold). I will settle for this quote though from the back of Pat Deans’ card “the cunning southpaw soaked up a barbecue sauce shower after beating Felix Hernandez for his first win”. So foil, grilling, BBQ sauce, Pat Dean:

You readers at home are just going to have to trust me in regards to the foil on these guys. It’s there, you can’t see, but trust me, it’s there.

The next card was a pretty cool pull, a Cubs team card black and white reverse negative SP card…wait, It’s a Jake Arrieta card…wait, it’s a Jake Arrieta no-hitter card…wait, it’s a damn checklist. Damn!!! It’s also a very demonic appearing David Ross.

Moving on to the next group of cards. Serial numbered foil cards with perforated screen print and a running 2016 Topps banner…these cards have it all…everything on one card. If it had a snowflake/snow flake (forgot to look that up today…) it would have been over the top though. The thing that struck me about this trifecta of National League East pitchers was their turkey neck poses. I wonder how many players get excited to see their cards in a pack and pull…

THIS!

OR THIS!

OR THIS…!!!

Actually, i can’t really see Bartolo Colon ever caring about his image on a card, seems too carefree for such frivolities. That glove…he should let Aubrey Plaza use that if she ever tosses out the first pitch for the Metropolitans.

I have a few more cards to post, the hits you know. Gotta wait for those tomorrow though. Kinda happy with the little success i had with those three cards…not a bad bunch. Nothing ground breaking, but nice no less.

Hope you guys have a great evening.

Here’s a video from one of the greatest storytellers in rap and a no doubt classic. From 1988!!!

We’re all snowflakes…

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 3, 2017

I grew up in Texas and snow is not a normal thing for me. When i was 9 we had a huge blizzard in San Antonio, 14″ to be exact. It was absolutely nuts…as a kid though, fantastic! It was a freakish event that i will never forget. Rafik and I missed a couple days of school and had the greatest time ever. We watched Chris Marrou tell us about the school closures and hoped it would never end! Our days were filled with bags of sugar to fuel the moments in between epic snowball fights and a rudimentary snow man construction site. It was the greatest of times for every kid in town.

When we were able (forced) to go back to school, our classrooms had so many leaks that we were huddled en masse in the schools gym. A very large, crowded and noisy gym. A gym on the edge of child anarchy. It was one conch away from being a snowy version of Lord of the Flies. The teachers were on edge trying to keep us all in line for the couple of days. We were being taught in a prefabricated building not suited for long division or lessons on social studies. But they did it and they were the real MVP’s that week.

But now…

I’m a tall adult that likes collecting things like cards and books and also likes rap music. I also like familiarity and something i can depend on…surprises don’t work well for me. For the last month or so, my part of Portland has had 3 different weekends of snow…g’darn freakin’ snow!!! Now, don’t get me wrong, snow is cool when you go to it and are able to look at it and touch it. But when it comes to you as an unwanted guest, it’s a bit of an annoyance. We haven’t have had a ruler lengths of snow, but enough to shut the city down a couple of days and keep me from work. It’s also made my snow driving (sliding) skills ratchet up a tick or two.

All the snow that i was surrounded by made me cave and pick up a box of cards with snow flakes on them. Subliminal marketing. Well done Topps, you got me. Now, let’s see what you gave me Topps.

One of the first things i noticed about these cards is the streaking on the card fronts. Half of the cards in the blaster box contained the streaking. Maybe the other bloggers have already touched on this and as usual, i’m late to the party, but it seems that the quality of these cards may have been left to be what they are. Not super upset about it, but a little disappointed with these…especially the Kershaw card.

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Another thing that was very noticeable is the large amount of white space, most notably on the landscape cards. Guess that’s the Topps blizzard parallel…? Seems like a little gradient or transparency could have been a savior for Nick’s card.

These cards were awesome in their original issue and Ricky Bones seems to be dressed appropriately for this card, while Mike Trout is attempting to catch a tiny little snowflake. Is snow flake one or two words? snowflake snow flake…

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Dickey Flakes should be a cereal, f’real.

Please let me digress a bit here. Not sure if you have heard of Krampus, I hadn’t until about two weeks ago. He’s an incredibly evil Germanic character created to scare the shit out of bad kids…to be honest, i saw a video of him and was a tad scared. We used the Krampus tactic over the holidays to keep our little snowflake/snow flake in line. For the most part it worked…but i feel guilty about it in hindsight. I would point out the window, similar to what Carlos Correa is doing and say “I SEE KRAMPUS!!” and my child of 51 months would run off terrified, similar to what Jed Lowrie is doing. The things parents do to get done what they want to get done the way they want it to get done. Not my best parenting story…but sadly, it yielded the result i was looking for.

We now begin the bumpy snowflake portion of the blog post with a couple winners. Dexter and Kris. It’s a shame Ernie Banks didn’t get to see these guys win the title. RIP #14.

If the card on the right was Steve rather than Nori Aoki, the hair on this pair would be most epic. But it’s just Jacob and Nori.

My game used memorabilia card was Adam Jones which is pretty cool. I really like Adam and often wonder what his career would have been like if the Mariners kept him..also wonder what the Mariners could have done with his dependability over the incredibly fragile and unreliable Erik Bedard…hindsight is 50/50 man..

So that’s my highlights from a Wal-Mart box of snowflake cards. Rumor has it we may get some more snow in the next few days up here, climate change ain’t no joke…remember that we are all snowflakes/snow flakes and nobody is like us…even though those Adam Jones cards are pretty much the same thing.

Mile High Hogs

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 2, 2017

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!

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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.

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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.

Tyler Glasnow – Pittsburgh Pirates | Alex Bergman – Houston Astros

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!

JP Crawford – Philadelphia Phillies | Austin Meadows – Pittsburgh Pirates

Raul Mondesi Jr. – Kansas City Royals | Byron Buxton – Minnesota Twins

Eddie Rosario – Minnesota Twins | Joey Votto – Cincinnati Reds

Matt Carpenter – St. Louis Cardinals | Billy McKinney – Chicago Cubs

Tyler O’Neill – Seattle Mariners | Conner Greene – Toronto Blue Jays

Brady Aiken – Cleveland Indians | Francis Martes – Houston Astros

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!

Almost the Easiest Super Bowl Contest on the Web

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.

2014 Topps S1 – Packs 1 and 2

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 8, 2014

I’ve always been a little slow and therefore have been late to various things in my life. So i’ve developed a mentality of sitting and waiting for other people to do something before I go. It allows me time to think of what I want to do or can provide…since 2014 Topps has been out for a couple of weeks I’m going to show you what I got as well as give you a piece of my mind! 🙂

I know some folks don’t like the Topps flagship or are upset with their exclusive MLB license. You won’t get any of that vibe over here though, I’m all in for the Topps flagship. To the parallels and inserts, I say…”I don’t care” or “I choose to ignore you”. I say that to the cards. Take them out of the center of the packs and put them aside. Sift through the base cards first and them make my way to the “hits” part of the program. You should probably also know that I always eat muffins by starting from the bottom and working my way up. I like to save the best for last. Gives me something to look forward to.

On to the card judgement.

Topps has come back with the white border cards and personally i’d like to see a different color border, or possibly a full bleed. I know this isn’t anything groundbreaking but a little variation would be great for the borders. I’d like to se a card from each year and know that there was more than just a slight variation of the previous years designs…something bigger like the changes in card designs from 85 to 86 to 87. Basically I want a fresh and new design each year. The photos though, those are great. Lots of action photos from what i’ve seen so far and great shots of men leaping in to walls.

One of the things that Topps has done with their photos is select the image that makes you stop…and look…and think…why this photo? The Crisp card has appeared all over the blogosphere and it now appears here. That afro is straight up Oaktown. If rappers had baseball cards, this would be the exact same image that Boots Riley from The Coupe would have. Big Ass Afro and a clean pair of mutten chops piercing out of each cheek, shoulders back doing the Bernie lean.

Besides the cool images, you get the obligatory post game celebration photo. The gatorade bath. Now, this would make a much better football card. In fact, I think Topps should have one football head coach card next year and it should be Pete Carroll getting an orange bath after the Super Bowl and it should be card number 48. That’s a free one for you Topps people, run with it. This Dozier card though…it reeks of gimmick that folks complain about. Dozier…remind me of the Souls of Mischief lyric…’Maintain composure, hit dosia, pick a booga, don’t be shook up, i got the hook up.’

TWO OAKLAND RAP REFERENCES in one blog post!

This kid. Love this kid.

One last base card before i show a couple of the ‘Hits’. The Kendrys Morales card. This card should never have been made unless it was a Mariners team card. In this modern world of high price cameras and digital media at every turn, how can you have a card of a player that only shows his back. AND THE BACK IS OUT OF FOCUS!!! Seriously??!!??! The only guy that’s really in focus is Felix Hernandez. Not Morales! The moral of this card is that team celebrations are good and should only be shared as a team card. Really bad decision on this one.

Mini’s. Die Cuts. I love both and that’s what you get this year! Some 1989 design mini with various border colors that are die cut! Yes please! Sign me up for that. AND I get a Lou Gehrig. Such a lucky boy I am.

This next pair of cards came in my first two packs and I started to think I had a Segura Hot Box. Guess you will have to wait and see…I’m not trying to tease you, I have no idea either as i’ve only opened two packs.

Be on the lookout for the following 8 packs America. I can only hope that I get more blurry cards of guys backs.

I can make a M’s hat more famous than a Mariner can

Posted by cardboard hogs on December 7, 2013

I took some artistic licensing with the well know Jay-Z verse on this post.

Robinson Cano is no longer a Yankee and I am kind of sad about that.

Next to Jeter, he was my favorite baseball player…a very close second mind you. I loved his hitting and his quiet confidence on the field, some may say it was apathy or laziness. I’m going with subtle greatness. The kind of numbers he put up, you had to love him as a baseball player. Even if you are a Yankee hater. I have complete respect for Dustin Pedroia and you should have respect for Cano.

My admiration for him will continue to keep him in my personal collection for the duration of his career, albeit less of a priority now to Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg. I can take some joy in the fact that he is now a Mariner and I don’t hate them. I actually like the M’s and have the opportunity to watch him more frequently on TV and possibly in person…if I can convince the wife to take a trip or two up to Seattle. Which is never too difficult! The great thing about Panini cards is that they only need to change New York to Seattle. DONE! No additional photoshop skills needed!

As for the Mariners locking him up for 10 years at $240M, i can’t believe that’s a great contract for them in their market. Now, i’m no market analyst, but i’m just thinking that when I pick through the great baseball franchises the Mariners rarely come up, if ever. That’s not to say I don’t like them. I am actually a fan of theirs and tried my hardest to make them my second team when i moved to Portland…but I just couldn’t do it. Other than Ichiro, they didn’t have any player that I could latch on to. Griffey, A-Rod and Randy Johnson were gone and they were a franchise sinking away. They have King Felix, whom I love to watch pitch, but doesn’t really do it for me.

I really hope this signing helps catapult them into relevance as Seattle is a phenomenal baseball town with a gorgeous ballpark. I just don’t know if his contract is going to allow them to get the various pieces they need to compete year in and year out against the thrifty A’s and powerful Angels and Rangers…and Astros.

Robbie is going to continue to put up great numbers and play well for the M’s, but i’m thinking in 3-5 years he will end up getting dealt for prospects to a larger market team. Maybe the Yankees?

Don’t go Cano!

Posted by cardboard hogs on December 3, 2013

There are rumors that Robbie Cano may be joining the Seattle Mariners. I’m torn. I would love to see him stay with the pinstripes as he is currently my favorite player on my currently favorite team. He’s demanding a boat load of money and with the amount of dollars the Yankees spent today and last week, i’m not sure they can afford Cano…i’m also not sure he wants to return to the team…or maybe Jay-Z doesn’t want him to re-join the Yanks. Did you know that Hova can make a Yankee hat for famous than a Yankee can? Maybe he’s trying to outshine Cano, i don’t know.

Here is a shiny colorful gold parallel card of Cano sidearming the ball to what i would assume is first base.