Night Owl Cards

Somewhere in the 1990s, card companies started removing the backgrounds from cards and inserting alternate realities. I admit, it took me awhile to adjust to not seeing fields and dirt and grass and trees on every one of my cards. And I'm still not crazy about a lot of the alternate looks behind the players. But it's grown on me and sometimes it makes for interesting cards. This is one such example. I've gone on record that there needs to be more lightning on cards. I'm not fan of lightning in real life. It's freaky and I'm convinced that those people who go on the porch during a wild thunderstorm secretly want to be burned to a crisp. But lightning images sure make for pretty pictures. It's that "light up the night" effect that I have appreciated since I was a boy on everything from city lights to bedroom nightlights to those colorful bug-zappers in the summertime. So when this card showed up on Cards On Cards, I stood up straight as...

It's all in the way you look at it. Like just about everything in life, a repack box can be praised or ridiculed. You can seek out the negative. It's very easy to do, particularly when Fairfield hides the less desirable packs so they are not viewable from the outside. So you could focus on the repack's weak points. It's bound to include a pack or two of some version of the lifeless, metalic-looking Prizm. Grown men in wordless laundry on a set that is from either 2012 or 2013. Who knows? And, yeah, you could emphasize that every repack seems to contain multiple packs of Panini Triple Play, including those useless puzzle pieces. You'll scare plenty of collectors away with that rant. Also, there are lots of packs of cards from sets that either I don't need or don't want, like 2015 and 2016 Topps flagship. The box is filled with collecting incidentals. But I find that after I'm all done opening the repack packs and sorting through what ...

I will be announcing the winner of my anniversary contest in this post, but I wanted to clear off one side of my desk first. This is the last remaining trade package on the card desk. That means I have to get my butt in gear and get the cards on the opposite side of the desk out to people. The rest of this week, though, is looking fairly grim for that kind of frivolity. Anyway, these cards are from Twitter pal, Will. He sent very recent and very needed cards from 2016. I have neglected 2016 cards so much. There was a selection of needs from a variety of products. Let's take a look: Some Bowman. Only Kershaw and Puig are still with the Dodgers. #ThanksBowman. Some Allen & Ginter. These are from the retail-only insert set, I think. I get these confused with the Numbers Game inserts, which tells you how necessary it was to create both insert sets. Some Stadium Club. This just leaves three Dodgers cards remaining for the team set: Kershaw, Koufax and Jacki...

(I've figured out a way to post a few more times this week. We'll see how that works in the next few days. There is about to be "worlds colliding" hubbub in the night owl nest. Meanwhile, here's some Cardboard Appreciation. This is the 241st in a series): I was watching the last few innings of the Mets-Pirates game last night. Noah Syndergaard was dealing and the New York audience, as is their habit, responded like he was setting 'em down in the Series. Although I greatly enjoy this golden age of starting pitching, I miss the days of a finely-crafted complete game without anyone thinking we should throw rose petals in front of them as they walk off. (Of course Syndergaard wasn't allowed to complete his game after giving up one run and still possessing a 10-run lead). Still Kershaw, Snydergaard, Sale, Cueto, Arrieta, Strasburg, Scherzer, Fernandez, Bumgarner, it's silly the amount of starting pitching that exists today. Leave it to m...

I wrote an awkward, uninformed post more than seven years ago here about 10 players at the time who I wished were Dodgers. Out of those 10 players, four of the top five listed did eventually play for the Dodgers. The results weren't great for most of those guys who were once so desirous, namely Jim Thome, Josh Beckett and Jimmy Rollins. As a result, I'm a little less of a fan (although Thome can't be blamed). There is one of player on that list, though, who I still like quite a bit. Perhaps more now than ever. And that player is the "annoying" Chase Utley. Utley is "annoying" or perhaps even "evil" in the eyes of Mets fans, who were tormented by that player long before his slide into Ruben Tejada last postseason. He's made things miserable for Mets followers and done it with barely the hint of recognition, which I absolutely love. Those two home runs and the grand slam after Noah Syndergaard threw behind him (you can pretend that ...

Although I far prefer cards to any other kind of collectible and generally discourage people from sending me memorabilia, I admit that memorabilia can stir a conversation like cards can't. Bring up a card with noncollectors and their first question might be "how much is it worth?" Either that or they're bored instantly by whatever you have to say. But memorabilia? It seems to naturally hold the attention of the noncollectors and even nonsports people. I don't know what it is. Maybe people can relate to clothing more than cardboard? Or using equipment? I don't get it. Because to me, a card with a photo on it tells many more stories than a hat or a glove. But it's apparent that memorabilia draws a wider interest. I received just such an example from Rod of Padrographs recently. I admit it's very cool and a definite conversation-starter. And it's one of those memorabilia items that I will hold onto forever. And there aren't many noncards...