Night Owl Cards

If you've collected for long enough then you've probably done that goofy thing where you give the cards you purchase powers of knowing. They're inanimate objects, yet sometimes, I could swear they know what I need. Or at the very least, they are trying to tell me something. It's the only way I can explain my recent experiences with Allen & Ginter. I haven't bought a lot of 2016 A&G because I'm not trying to complete the set. But A&G is one of my first choices during impulse buys because I still like the set and, oh yes, minis. So, speaking of minis, I pulled this one. Now, I had pulled the same mini when I bought my first blaster of A&G and posted its contents. And I had just sent that mini to a fellow collector. So what are the odds of getting that mini again? Yeah, I know some math guy is going to tell me and say that the probability is actually not all that unusual. Don't spoil my post. The A&G cards are trying to tell me...

Chances are that unless you're a Red Sox fan, or familiar with one of his many managerial stints, you don't know Steve Dillard. Well, let me clue you in. Steve Dillard was a member of The Resistance. He was new blood, joining the Forces Of The Just, which I watched from my underground bunker in Yankeeland. Dillard was going to boot Denny Doyle and his .240 batting average out of the Boston lineup, declare second base conquered territory, and most importantly, knock the hated Yankees on their can. A guy like Dillard was revered in a Red Sox-loving household like mine. Any new player who arrived with Boston was treated in the same way. They were new hope for a devoted fan base who had suffered a long, long time under the tyranny of an obnoxious pinstriped ruler (older relatives taught us about those '50s and '60s teams). Boston fans would plot their strategy in a desperate quest that their plans would get to their men on the field -- Freddy, Yaz and Dewey, Rice...

It is official: I will try to complete the entire 2009 Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee set. This card clinched it. Someday, I will create a list of my 100 favorite night cards of all-time, and I know this card will be on the list. The base set card was already a favorite, but the black-bordered parallel is stellar. It seems to emphasize the "night life" going on in the picture, if that's even possible. Yes, I know Dustin Pedroia's back is to the camera. But that is what is so weirdly great about last year's O-Pee-Chee set. Half of the photos made you shake your head, but then, for me at least, they made me smile. Have I mentioned that I love quirky? That's what this set is. For me, this is Upper Deck's last goofy hurrah. I don't even consider this year's base set, or that other thing they're trying to pawn off on us -- Signature Suckiness, or whatever it is -- an attempt at a finale. To me, if UD really disappears from baseball card-making forev...

I don't think this falls under the "secret shame" category. But I've been a little reluctant to confess a bit of information: I have a hard time telling a refractor card from a regular chrome card. I'm not actively collecting the Topps Chrome set from 2008, but I do pick up some packs here and there just because I can't resist. It's chrome! But I can go months before realizing that a card in my possession is a refractor. Just today, while continuing my never-ending attempt to sort my cards, I discovered that the Dustin Pedroia card up there was a refractor. It's a good thing Topps mentions it's a refractor on the back, or I'd be as clueless about this card as how the Arizona Cardinals got to the Super Bowl (I can name three players on the team. Maybe four). Then it dawned on me: how many chrome cards had I thought were doubles were actually refractors? I immediately headed to the basement and dug through my 2008 dupes. I found two refractors s...

Everyone has seen this year's Topps Chrome offering, I'm sure. But I'm a sucker for a pack-ripping, as I know a few others out there are, too. A Pack A Day is the best. Set up a ripping of 1991 Donruss and I'm there. So anyway, I picked up a couple of packs Sunday. Lest anyone think I wasted precious gas on cards only, let it be known that the family also purchased toothpaste, cake frosting, a CD for my daughter, spray paint and a pet bed. Now that's one fulfilling afternoon. It's all about the Yankees tonight, so I'll try to keep it in a New York State of Mind: Too late. First one out of the gate is a Dodger, albeit an injured one. I don't know if Brad Penny is ever going to get back to his former self, and that's too bad because he was my favorite player during that year-and-a-half with L.A. when he was just bad ass. And that was before he started dating her . OK, the Yankee theme can start with Mr. Cocky. If this guy stays in a Red Sox uni...