Night Owl Cards

A couple of people have weighed in on the recent Topps announcement that it is extending the 2015 base set by 20 cards per series. Instead of 330 cards, as has been the case since 2006, I believe, Series 1 and Series 2 will be 350 cards. Of course, there is a lot of speculation about what Topps will do with those extra 20 cards. I don't really care what Topps does with them because I don't collect the base set anymore. If Topps surprises me and produces a 20-card "turn back the clock" subset, then you will hear some giddy noises from me. But throwing in 20 extra relief pitchers isn't going to bring back Topps Total. And expanding so there can be a fourth card of Mike Trout or a 20-card Derek Jeter tribute is merely what everyone expects. Where my "concern" -- and I use that word lightly -- lies is in what Topps does with the Update set. Will that set, which also has been 330 cards the last few years, be 350 cards, too? Because that thing is alrea...

2008. The year that I started this blog. The year in which I was buying modern cards at a semi-ravenous rate. The year in which I still had money. I was a happy owl then. All you have to do is read those early blog posts with all the exclamation points to know that. Sure, I'll never be confused for the bubble-headed bleach blonde who comes on at five, but I was less of a cranker in those days. What 2008 night owl and 2013 night owl have in common though is neither one has a respectable hobby shop. So a hobby pack of these 2008 Trading Card History cards is something new for both of us. Actually, 2013 night owl knows that the cards aren't new -- he also knows he's probably seen a number of these already, might have a few in his collection, and probably can't give away the ones he pulls. But let's not spoil it for 2008 night owl. This was very nicely sent by reader Stewart, who also sent me some Dodgers, which you'll see some other time. Right now I w...

I used one of my daughter's favorite words in the post title, kind of to celebrate that she's back to her goofy self after her bout with the flu. She will often talk about words she likes. She likes the sounds they make. "Intriguing," is one. So is "information." She has a whole list of them. Completely random words that roll off her tongue. "Intriguing" also describes the card packages that have arrived here recently. Intriguingly, none of these packages are connected to trades. In fact, most of them are "gifts." And because of their similar nature, I thought I'd throw them all together to share the intrigue with everyone. The first card is the Ryan Howard card that leads off the post. Chris from Nachos Grande read that I needed the card for the Allen & Ginter set and shipped it off to me. Howard will always be cool to me even if he did struggle periodically in the World Series. (My daughter told me that she heard Yankees suppo...