Night Owl Cards

A couple of years ago, I wrote a post titled "Let's Complete a Team Set Today" . It was a happy little tale about how I completed the 1996 Fleer Team Wax Dodgers set, as confusing as Fleer made it that year. But that was mere peanuts compared with what we're going to do today. I have a list on my sidebar called "The Nebulous 9". I like to put the final card needed from a particular team set on that Nebulous 9 list, because there is nothing more satisfying than completing a set. You may have noticed that the list is now down to three cards. That's because I won a contest at Bob Walk The Plank and he decided to wipe out my needs on the Nebulous 9. Because of his decision, he completed six team sets for me. SIX. Let's take a look at them now: 2015 Topps Archives Dodgers . Completed. Technically, there's still that stupid short print Jackie Robinson card. But I'm not paying $25-$50 (that's what it's going for these da...

To me, there is no greater change in a player's personality than when one switches from pitcher to hitter, or from hitter to pitcher. This is why there is so much amusement/discussion when a position player pitches in a game, and so much amusement/discussion/outrage when a pitcher steps to the plate. The player is actually changing his very baseball personality. Pitchers and hitters are so different, and they are adversaries. They're on opposite sides of the battlefield. They're also narrowly defined. Pitchers "throw smoke," while batters are "sluggers." Hitters are "scrappy," while pitchers are "crafty." Seeing a position change on a baseball card from "third baseman" to "second baseman" is no big deal. But seeing the position change from "pitcher" to "outfielder," that is quite a big deal. This is why I have held on to this particular card for so long. I'm not a fan of the Ca...

I received a follow-up physical today. They (and I) wanted to see if what they saw last June was just a fluke or whether I'm some kind of freak. How could someone diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in March not have it in June? Well, the results are in, and I still don't have diabetes. I'm a freak. Not only that, the doctor said my blood work numbers are the same as "an 18-year-old who just came in for his athletic physical." He also wanted to know if I wanted to give a clinic to his patients. Needless to say, that made me feel good, and it's definitely a great start to the new year. But let's steer it toward cards again, OK? Another bonus to the new year, for me, has been the return of some bloggers who were absent for a few months. No Relics Pulled , Indianaland Baseball Cards , Uncle Doc's Closet , Carl Crawford Cards  and The Lost Collector  have all emerged in the last couple of weeks. It seems "blog more" was on a lot of resolutio...

I watched the MLB Network's countdown of the top 50 prospects in baseball last night. I don't normally care much about prospects, but there is so much talk about them that I figured I should at least know the name when I hear it. Basically, what I gathered from the show is that there are tumbleweeds blowing through the Dodgers' farm system (something I already knew), and the Braves and Rays are ridiculously stocked with baseball studs. But it all doesn't matter, because there were SIX Royals in the top 50 and Kansas City is going to chew up all the major league teams, turn them into fuel for domination, and win the next 46 World Series. One day people will actually hate the Royals, which I don't think has ever happened in history. I'll be thrilled if K.C. becomes a perennial winner. It's always been one of my favorite teams. It's the reason that I don't really mind when collectors send me Royals cards, thinking that they're Dodgers cards. ...

In yet another unsettling development in the modern card scene, I have suddenly grown weary of rack packs. This is disturbing. In my cash-crunch state, I have subsisted on rack packs to obtain my weekly intake of modern card nutrients. Blasters bind up the system. But I have grown increasingly frustrated with the rack pack servings. It's basically my own fault. I'm looking for Dodgers only, and buying rack packs isn't going to get that done. But I never thought it would be this brutal. For example, I have pulled a grand total of two Dodgers (Ramirez and Martin) out of Topps Chrome. Meanwhile I have dupes of five different Angels. Last night I decided to try another Topps Chrome rack pack, plus a Bowman Chrome rack pack and a Topps Update rack pack. They were all hanging out together, side-by-side, and I couldn't resist trying out the newbies, along with my annoying friend, Topps Chrome. I'm not going to show too many of the cards, because they're di...

(I'm in a very weird place in my job. This week will likely decide whether that place will get weirder or get better. So here's to taking the plunge. It's time for Cardboard Appreciation. This is the 73rd in a series): I know what you're thinking, old-timer. You are wondering how the hell a card like this can appear on Cardboard Appreciation, a place that usually salutes the vintage soldiers of the past. It's here for only one reason: The guy is named Bo Bowman and he's on a Bowman card!!! IT'S A BOWMAN BO BOWMAN!!!! THAT IS FANTASTIC!!!!! Think about how unique that is. That is like a guy named Don Donruss appearing on a Donruss card. But that never happened, did it? And there's never been a Tip Topps or a Pam Panini or a Sporty Sportflics. I looked at the back of the card and it says Bowman's real first name is Brent, but that he wants to be called "Bo." It's like Bowman (the card company, not the player) is saying,...