Night Owl Cards

  I got my first look at 2021 Topps in person yesterday. It was just one card. I received the above Tony Gonsolin from Jeremy of Topps Cards That Never Were , plus a wish that this would be the first of many 2021s in my collection. Thanks, Jeremy, I think your wish will be granted. Usually when I receive the first cards of the season, I go about dissecting the design, etc. But I did most of that six months ago and there's not a lot new to say (nor any packs to buy). I will mention that this design could have been better if Topps did not add the extra slash bars on the left side. Those are pointless and they also infringe unnecessarily on the photo. I don't think having a shelf where the rookie cup logo can sit is enough of a reason.     It's a very Bowman-esque design with lots of unneeded doodads (why is there a height measurement chart on the left-hand side?). But the only thing I want to write about in detail for this post is the size of the name font: Why the f**k is...

I don't spend much time thinking about what sets should be in my collection. But if I do think about it a little, there is definitely a theme to what I like and the sets in my collection reflect that. It comes down to three specifics really: 1. Are the players pictured in the set from when I was following baseball as a kid or a teenager? 2. Is it a kind of set that interests me? 3. Did Topps make the set? If all three of those boxes are checked, then the set needs to get in my belly ... er, collection.   Sometimes I dismiss sets for some reason or another and then I realize that they meet the criteria and it becomes a no-brainer: Get. That. Set!!   So it is with the 1987 Topps Traded set.   As you know, I consider everything '87 Topps overblown, overproduced and overplayed. It's ubiquitous. I'm tired of it, sick of it, every this is so BOOORRRING phrase that you want to use. However ... The 132-card set showcases a whole bunch of players that I followed when I was you...

I received a very nice package in the mail about a week ago from Mariner1 of Emerald City Diamond Gems . He helped with a few Dodger/set needs, which you'll see later. But also in the package was this: That's nine 1981 Topps Terry Forster cards. Actually, I think I missed one. There were 10 in the package. As a veteran bippee, I looked around for the confirmation note. The "ha, ha, you got bipped, sucker" note. I didn't find one. So, I'm confused. Was this a bipping or not? Don't leaving me hanging. I have received packages in the past in which there were more than 6 or 7 of the same card without an accompanying note, but that was before the whole bipping epidemic. Now that bipping his officially passe, I'm wondering if Mariner1 executed a stealth bipping. Maybe he didn't leave a note so he could bip with impunity. Very clever. If that was the intent. I suspect not. Or maybe I do. I'm still a little skittish you know. But a...

About a week-and-a-half ago, I featured a card package received from Lake Effect Cards. It was filled with Dodger goodies. Before I even wrote the post, Greg emailed me and told me another package would be coming. This one would be even more tailored to my want lists. And it certainly was. Thanks to Greg, I can ignore a few sets forever. I like that. I'll grab the giant magic marker hanging over the fireplace that I have for such occasions and draw a huge line through four pesky sets. The first one is the Dodger team set from 1992 Stadium Club. Mike Scioscia , Dave Hansen and Lenny Harris were the last three I needed, and I don't need none of them no more. Here is another set that I don't have to waste brainpower on anymore: 1983 Topps . Now, you may have read how I completed this set already . But there were a few cards from the set in desperate need of upgrading. These three were the last of the woefully creased. And as much as Jack Clark cards deserve to ...