Night Owl Cards

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 ...

Yesterday, the 2017 Topps Update checklist made the online scene and it's pretty much a disaster. Topps Update hasn't resembled the old Traded set that I loved so dearly in the 1980s for a long time. But the 2017 checklist seems exceedingly lousy. For Dodgers, I am blessed with five All-Star cards -- in other words, players I already have from Series 1 or Series 2. Then there are three other Dodgers represented: Franklin Gutierrez, who barely played because of medical issues; Brett Eibner, a prospect who barely played but he's in Update because ROOKIE CARD, and, of course, Cody Bellinger. Then there's Cody Bellinger and Cody Bellinger and Cody Bellinger. Four Cody Bellinger's in the set. Nobody needs this. Cody Bellinger's mom doesn't need this. Meanwhile there is no card of Chris Taylor, one of the most valuable Dodgers of this entire year. He's not in Series 1 or 2 because who knew Chris Taylor would do anything? But since the start of the ...

The Dodgers are one of the few teams -- the Giants, Brewers, Braves and Royals are some others -- who combined with the local police department to issue annual "police sets". The Dodgers did it for a long time, even into the early part of this century, although the cards weren't the same, as the team issued them in ugly perforated sheets during the '90s and early 2000s. Before that, from 1980 through 1991 (or maybe '92, my reference guide is unclear), with a break for 1985, the Dodgers issued police sets in the same non-standard 2 13/16-by-4 1/8-inch size. In fact, the oddball size and the lectures from the police on the back are what makes the sets stand out. Long before mass-produced cards were advising "Do cards not drugs," Police cards were telling youngsters "Dare to say no". Since the cards were issued regionally and I live nearly 3,000 miles away from L.A., I never saw a Dodger police card live until I started this blog. In the fo...