Night Owl Cards

  It's tradition around here at this time to select the best Dodgers card from the year's Topps flagship. I've done this post every year on the blog since 2017, although I skipped it in 2018 for an unknown reason. (Probably the prep work was too long). And it's rooted in me selecting my favorite Dodger card way back in the late 1970s and then continuing it each year. It's now time for the 2024 selection, and like last year -- and probably the last few years -- the candidates aren't too exciting, because Topps has to crop out everything exciting. I don't know the exact reasons, but I'm betting they're modern-and-stupid. So once again we have a lot of batters batting and pitchers pitching mixed in with a few yellers yelling but virtually nothing on the periphery or in the background. Here is my selection of finalists: Can you feel the excitement?! This year's design is so good that the lack of interesting photos doesn't bother me too much.  Un...

  I have the latest selection of freebies from Johnny's Trading Spot that have been sitting for a little bit waiting for me to say something profound about them. But these aren't profound cards, they're pretty nondescript, with the only thing they have in common is that they're modern and most of them are needs. So when nothing springs to mind, you know what that means on NOC. It's countdown show time! Yes, that thing that is all too easy but has been a staple of this blog since the beginning. It will never not be fun to me, and those who don't like rankings just aren't fun. It's what I do. So let's see how these nine cards stack up. 9. Grant Holmes, 2016 Bowman Platinum This is a dupe. And Holmes is still toiling in the minors seven years later. That was not the plan and all the cards of Holmes in 2016 is proof. 8. Kenta Maeda, 2016 Bowman Platinum Also a dupe and also a 2016 sensation. But Maeda actually made the majors and is still there, althoug...

  I mentioned last week that I had the opportunity buy a blaster (or blasters) of 2023 Bowman. They were staring at me from a shelf in Walmart, like five of them. I ignored their glare because they have no power over me. I haven't bought a pack of Bowman in five years and that was only to find an Ohtani rookie. The time before that was 2013 -- 10 years ago. So it's very weird that I should be the first blogger, at least I think, to open 2023 Bowman. I guess that's a commentary on the state of card blogs. I received this pack from Rod of Padrographs . it was part of a wild shipment of items that deserves its own post. I believe Rod has introduced me to the new Bowman in the past, too. So I opened the pack, and as usual knew about only half the names. Someone else really should be opening this. Here we go: Excellent. My first Bowman card out of the only Bowman pack I'll open this year is a Dodger. Miguel Vargas is displaying the same "I'm not really grabbing my c...