Night Owl Cards

  Howie Kendrick announced his retirement the other day. I admit my first thought was "good." I am still having a problem digesting that 2019 postseason.   My second thought was his rookie card. Kendrick's rookie card is in the 2006 Topps Update set and anything having to do with that 2006 set, flagship or update, means a little extra to me. That was my return to collecting modern cards. That was the year I discovered they sold cards in Walmart down the street and responded by trying to complete everything Topps issued in flagship that year. Kendrick's retirement means that there are precious few rookie card players from that Update set that are still active. This kind of stuns me. Was 2006 that long ago? Yeah, turns out it was. All of the following notables with rookie cards in 2006 Update are no longer playing: Andre Ethier, Stephen Drew, Jered Weaver, Chad Billingsley, Mike Napoli, James Shields, Kendrys Morales, Ben Zobrist, Josh Johnson, Melky Cabrera, Carlos Que...

I've heard a mention or two of this past World Series being "one of the greatest ever." I'm not 100 percent sure where I heard such a sweeping statement but if I had to guess, it would be Twitter, that all-or-nothing social media outlet that I do enjoy but also shake my head over when I read the extreme reactions that occur daily there. It was not "one of the greatest ever." I'm not sure if I'd even call it "good." Keep in mind, I've been watching World Series for more than 40 years, so I've seen a few good ones and bad ones and have a little perspective. But I'd say about the only thing this World Series had going for it is that it lasted seven games and that the road team won every game. It was fine. If you like baseball it was fine. But that's about it. You know how I can tell? I didn't panic at work over a single game this Series. Usually, the most exciting World Series games -- the ones every fan root...

I don't know how long stamped buybacks have been around. I have considered them a recent creation as they are so pointless to me that they have to be a modern invention, right? The earliest reference to buybacks that I can find on my blog is from July, 2014, not that I should be a historical source for buybacks. In fact, my disregard for these affronts to cardboard means I'm fully unaware of the fact they probably have been around for much, much longer (I am aware of the longstanding practice of inserting old cards that are newly signed into new product, but that's a different thing and totally understandable). For instance, the card above. Did you know that is a buyback? Did you know it's a buyback from 2003? I didn't notice the stamp at first as it's much less apparent than the buybacks these days. And then I was horrified. WHY ARE WE STAMPING A PERFECTLY GOOD 1961 TOPPS GIL HODGES CARD? It's a good thing I have a copy of this card -- unst...

Well, you did it. You got me to buy one of these things. I'm sure I would have purchased one anyway, I usually do. The megaboxes -- or whatever they're calling them this year (please note there is no mention of megabox anywhere on them) -- are usually good fun. The Update Chrome cards are nice to add to the collection and the regular Update packs often hold surprises. This year seems to be no exception as I've already seen black-bordered parallels and relic cards fall out of the megaboxes shown on the blogs. But also I wanted to pick one up because I was surprised by the fawning over the Update Chrome cards this year. Really, what was all the fuss? As you probably know the Update Chrome cards have a special finish this time. Each of the cards in the set feature a shiny bauble background that glistens when it reflects light. I don't know if there is a name for this technique -- I really think each of these special treatments should have a name. ...