Night Owl Cards

(Hello on Veterans Day weekend. On this Veterans Day I am remembering my dad, who passed away five months ago. While going through some of his things shortly afterward, I found a copy of a newspaper clipping. It was a report from the local paper about how he and eight other men bailed out of a flaming tanker plane before it crashed and exploded in Louisiana while he was in the Air Force. I didn't know a thing about that. Time for Cardboard Appreciation. This is the 286th in a series): Why in the world would I be appreciating a cardboard disaster like this item from Panini Chronicles, a set that seems hell bent on confusing the heck out of every collector and does it all without using a single major league logo? Well, first I'd say, Chronicles isn't all that bad if you can find it in your heart to find the set fascinating. I kind of do. All of the different themes and looks takes your mind off of the lack of logos and the trashman-appearance of the players. Plus...

As we all know, Topps is the only card company granted an MLB license. But that hasn't stopped Panini from making baseball cards. I give them credit for trying, even though it's clear they don't know what they're doing. (Although turning Kershaw and Seager into Dumb and Dumber is kind of a feat). It's like this guy I know who used to work with me. He really likes sports. He's really into media. He's been a sportswriter and a TV news reporter and radio show host and self-published his own book. He tries really hard and he's enthusiastic. And he's a pleasant guy. Likeable. But he's just not that good. The talent isn't there. Yet he keeps plugging along. That's Panini. They just keep trying. They don't have it. I don't know if they ever will. But they own a license from the MLB Players Association, so, dammit, they're going to keep making lousy cards. I never thought this Donruss thing would last. Just about every year...

I am behind in almost everything in life. So why not write an Awesome Night Card post? I haven't done one of these since August! So when someone hassles me about what I haven't done I can say, "well I wrote an Awesome Night Card post, so there!" A round of applause and backslapping will commence. Anyway, I was perusing the Walmart card aisle the other day, which in terms of baseball product means Update and Gallery and THAT'S IT, MISTER. While scanning for anything else, I spotted a blaster of something called Panini Chronicles Baseball. I had no idea what it was. I hadn't heard about it -- not that I keep up on that stuff anymore. Since it was Panini, I kept a safe distance away and told myself I'd do a background check when I found the time. I just did one of those and I honestly have no idea what it is still. The best I can gather is it's some sort of mash-up of Panini brands with a story written on the front and back and with the usual ...