Night Owl Cards

  I've done a fairly good job of avoiding the blaster purchase over the last four or five years.   Once a standard pick-up, I gradually pulled away due to  blaster-exclusive "manufactured relics," then general unavailability during the pandemic, then a hike in price and the repeated frustration of pulling Marlins and Diamondbacks.   There are really only 3 times out of the year that I respond to the blaster siren call: When the new Topps flagship comes out, when new Heritage comes out, and when I get a gift card for Christmas. (Keep in mind I was regularly buying multiple blasters a week a dozen years ago).   The Target Christmas gift card arrives when I'm at my weakest. Typically at the holiday I haven't received any separate cards as gifts and I've also avoided buying cards during the holiday season so I can purchase gifts for others. The gift card gives me permission because I haven't opened packs in soooooooo long.   So that lengthy intro was intended ...

    Christmas greetings.   My very first -- and, so far, only -- 2025 Topps Holiday card arrived in the mail a few days ago. I've said a few times that this year's Holiday set doesn't appeal to me because the design doesn't do enough to forget that the set is basically a repeat of flagship -- which was the issue with the first few years of Holiday.   However, the parallels are rather fun and this card is special. Not only is it my first Holiday card from this year but it is Jhonkensy Noel's first appearance in Holiday -- see the rookie logo -- which means this is a First Noel card.   It's too bad that Noel is currently without a team but he's useful in my collection right now. Added together with the other Noels in my collection, I have four total, which allows me to do this:     🎶Noel     🎶Noel     🎶Noel     🎵 Noel!     🎶Born   🎶is the     🎶King of     🎵Israel     Merry...