Night Owl Cards

It's been quite awhile since a Topps insert set interested me enough to collect it. This shouldn't be the case because I could think of about 15 fascinating insert sets in the next 15 minutes. It probably has to do with licensing or getting enough Babe Ruth cards in the set. One insert set that did interest me quite a bit was the Tales Of The Game set from 2010 Topps. It featured terrific subject matter spanning the entire history of the game and only a few ulterior motives (Mantle card, littered with Yankees and Red Sox). I completed the full 25-card set , but just in case you weren't around then or you have sort of aversion to clicking links, I've gone through the trouble to show them here again for you now:   It's not a perfect set, but because of the sheer variety of famous moments, I'm willing to overlook its drawbacks, and I still love going through these cards in a binder. Topps added a "M...

This is a mess of a night card. So many people, so much going on that it's difficult to absorb and therefore difficult to appreciate. So let's break it down to see if I can like this thing any more than I do. On the surface, this appears to be a simple throw to first base to keep the runner close. But there's more to it than that. I'll start with the camera person. He seems particularly intent on capturing some action. Something interesting must have just happened. More interesting than a pitcher throwing to first. You know it's the All-Star Game because of the number of people wearing lanyards. Here's an older guy who got some exclusive seats because of his lanyard. He seems intrigued, but not particularly excited. This kid also appears to be wearing a lanyard. And he appears to be an Angels fan, which would be appropriate because the All-Star Game in 2010 took place at Angel Stadium. He's standing up. When kids get excited they st...

More research. Yesterday, I experienced one of those moments of synchronicity that are probably all too common for baseball card collectors. I know they are for me. While shuffling through some cards while the game played on TV in the background, I came across this night card of former Diamondback/current Met Chris Young just as the name "Chris Young" was uttered by the TV broadcaster. But the TV game wasn't the Mets, it was the Mariners and Tigers. And the Chris Young mentioned wasn't the hitter, but the veteran pitcher, who started for Seattle. That caused me to wonder how many card groupings I have of two different players with the same name. Not including father and son, of course (sorry, Sandy Alomar and Sandy Alomar Jr.) I immediately went to my incomplete card database to find out: 1. Mike Adams (Twins outfielder from '70s and recent Phillies reliever) 2. Frank Baker (Indians outfielder in '70s and Yankees/Orioles infielder of '70s) ...

I have this habit of announcing in the comments of other folks' blogs that I want a certain card and then forgetting that I said anything. Then, later, the card arrives in my mailbox and I marvel over how thoughtful the person was to tailor the cards they sent to my specific tastes without me even saying anything. Of course, I did say something. I just don't remember it because I'm at an age in which brain cells melt away literally every second. I can see my future as an elderly person and much of it consists of someone saying to me "you SAID that already!" Can't wait for that. Anyway, this happened when I opened a package from Ryan G. at This Card Is Cool . It contained lots of stuff I like, including some Lineage '75 minis that I showed already. One of the other cool items were some "More Tales of the Game" cards from last year's Topps Update set. I've already said how much I love the Tales of the Game set and the sequel, More ...