Night Owl Cards

A little more than three years ago, I made a list of the 10 players that I am the most sick of pulling from packs. Those are the players that show up the most times when I buy packs, or maybe it's just a player that I've never heard of who keeps popping up over and over. Or maybe it's a player who's a downright irritant, no matter how many times he appears. I decided to update that post , even though I don't buy nearly as many packs as I did back then and don't exactly feel qualified to do this post. It was interesting to look back on my innocent viewpoint back then. For one, I didn't have much of a problem with Mark Teixeira, relatively speaking anyway. I also had barely heard of Zack Greinke. For those who don't enjoy clicking links, here was the top 10 three years ago, in reverse order: 10. Mark Teixeira 9. Alex Rodriguez 8. Jose Vidro 7. Nook Logan 6. Zack Greinke and Tom Gorzelanny 5. Jeff Weaver 4. Eric Chavez 3. Carlos Lee 2. To...

When I say I'm not collecting any 2012 Topps, that means I'm not collecting ANY 2012 Topps, in all its forms. Heritage, Opening Day, Attax, Update, Allen & Ginter (gulp), none of it. I'm reasonably confident that I will be able to stick to this. Even if I grab a few packs every so often, there's nothing there that's going to make me chase the set. However, Allen & Ginter is the one that could give me some hesitation. It's not for the reasons you might think. I'm beyond the design (two straight years of disappointing designs will do that). I'm beyond the non-ballplayer subjects. I'm even beyond the quirkiness (there wasn't much quirkiness in last year's set). No, the problem I'm going to have is next summer when everyone gets their boxes of A&G and the latest edition of Gint-a-Cuffs commences. As a three-time Gint-a-Cuffs participant, I know that GAC is a heck of a lot of fun. It's even fun for a loser like me w...

I am about to reveal packs 8 through 11 from my 2010 box o' Allen & Ginter. You will be happy to know that there is finally a hit involved. But I warn you: no scrolling ahead. First, that's cheating, you impatient, impatient squirrely people. Secondly, you will be sorely disappointed. You will want to blame me after seeing it. But you can't. Because I told you: NO SCROLLING AHEAD. All right. Before I hit Pack No. 8, I need to correct a scoring error. Way back in Pack 1 , I pulled an Adam Dunn This Date in History card. Apparently it was worth 3 points for being a TDIH card and for being on the favorite player list. But I credited myself with just one point. I sabotaged myself. Sorry, it's a lifelong habit. So, instead of 46 points, I have 48 points, so far. That should make beardy quake while he opens his 54-hit box of freak. Onward: PACK 8 1. #165 - Nick Jacoby (1 point). Half of the card-blogging tandem that cracked the code. I hope people don't...

I promised last week that I would reveal the players that I do not enjoy pulling from packs. This is considered "equal time," after I lavished praise on 10 non-Dodgers in this post . Interestingly, most of the players listed here do not bother me, as far as their personality, behavior, playing style, etc. It seems that while all those factors go into the reasons why I enjoy getting cards of certain players, the main factor for why I dislike getting certain players is simply that I get too damn many of them. None of these players, of course, are Dodgers (well, there is one small exception coming up), because I enjoy getting everyone who wears Dodger blue. Even fat Andruw. With that, we are officially entering countdown mode: 10. Mark Teixeira. I have a sneaking suspicion that he could take a major leap up this list if I ever decide to update it. The guy just screams Mr. Money Bags. He's ticked off Braves fans. He's ticked off Angels fans. And by signing with the Yanke...

First, a public service message about the contest. If you haven't tuned in within the last 24 hours, you'll want to know that I'm giving away free baseball cards. (Free baseball cards! Is there any better word combination than that?) You may scoff at '93 Upper Deck, but I'm quite fond of this edition, and I'm giving away 15 packs worth (that's 225 cards, baby) of Series Two. They're straight from the hobby box. Not a pack searcher in sight (but, sadly, no relics either). Here's your chance to win rookie cards of Midre Cummings, Matt Walbeck and Tony Tarasco! Or, put another way, here's your chance to win Derek Jeter's rookie card. Or cards of Barry Bonds and Greg Maddux. All you have to do is answer the two-part question in the previous post. It's fun, it's festive, and it's free cards! Just leave your guess in the comment section in the previous post. If you don't have an email address readily available in your profile, the...