This Card Holds Sentimental Value

    When I was fairly new to card collecting, I found this 1972 Topps Tony Perez taped to the top of a box at the card store I frequented at the time. I remember thinking that the card seemed so old to me because at the time I owned almost exclusively modern cards (for reference, I really started collecting in the 2010s). Since then I've added plenty of cards older than this one to my collection, but this was the oldest in my collection at the time.

    It had been beaten up pretty badly, as you can see. When I first removed it from the tape, the middle of the card was so creased I was in danger of accidentally folding it in half. It could probably tear in half easily as well, but I'm not about to try it.

    I had this card in my possession for a long time, but eventually misplaced it a little while ago. This was a bit frustrating because of the sentimental value it held for me. I just recently found it in its top loader, in a plastic box hiding in a drawer. Thankfully, it wasn't any more damaged than it was when it first came to me.

    1972 Topps was a pretty solid design. I like the little bits of trivia one can find if he looks on the back of a baseball card; though  I have a very bad history when it comes to getting the answers right.

    The 1972 OPC card of Tony Perez is almost identical to this one. Here's a comparison (images courtesy of TCDB):

    I had to double-check the back of the card to make sure it was the Topps version and not O-Pee-Chee. 

    My friend enlightened me on why the cards look so similar: OPC reprinted cards for Canada. I didn't know that. Cool.

    Well, that's all I got for today. Thanks for checking out the blog, have a great week, and happy collecting!

The Mouth Agape PC

     I love those baseball cards featuring players with their mouths open so wide it looks like you can stuff a triple cheeseburger into their maw. I have many such cards, some of which happen to be sitting on my desk right now.

    These cards are extremely easy to come by. For example:

2023 Topps #9

    The wide-open mouth and flailing hair make this one of my all-time favorite mouth-agape cards.

    This gives me a wonderful idea. Whenever I hit the LCS I want to find a single card of a player with his mouth agape and add it to my new Mouth Agape PC. I've set a few rules for myself to make the game a little bit more challenging:

    1) It must not be a base card
    2) If possible, I must find a different player every time

    Granted, I don't hit up the LCS too often these days (sadly), but whenever I do I hope to grab one of these cards for the new PC. I'd like to see how long this PC will continue and how many different players I'll add to it. We'll see how this goes down, but I hope to have a good deal of fun doing it.

    

    Also: From my Two Truths and a Lie post on Tuesday, the lie was for Adael Amador. He stole his first base off of Cardinals pitcher Andre Pallante, not Andrew Kittredge. Thanks to everybody who played the initial game of Two Truths and a Lie. That's a bit I'd hope to continue.

    Thanks for checking out the blog today, have a great weekend (we're almost there!), and happy collecting!

Two Truths and a Lie: Baseball Card Edition

     I'm a night owl for sure (not to be confused with Night Owl, lol). All my best thinking happens late at night. For example, I've been working for awhile now on a creative writing project, and most of my best writing occurs between 10:00 and 11:30 at night.

    Anyway, the idea of doing two truths and a lie with baseball cards came to me at 11:09 a few Tuesdays ago (I know because I started writing this post then). The thought of playing a game and using baseball cards in a post appealed to me.

    Here's how I envision this going down. I'm going to pick three cards, and show them off on the blog. They may be chosen randomly, but more often than not I'll use players of the same position. Then, I'll take the player from each card and give some form trivia about him (injuries, college stats, children, etc.). However, for one of the players I'm going to be a filthy liar. Some of these facts may be super obvious, and some not so much. I really don't know. Bonus points to those who don't look it up online.

    At any rate, I should know pretty soon whether or not this is a good idea. So without further ado, let's begin our first game of Two Truths and a Lie. Get your detective hats ready, folks, cuz here we go!

    

    For today's game of Two Truths and a Lie, I've selected three second baseman from the Topps flagship sets of 2023, 2024, and 2025. The topic for today is major league firsts. Here they are:

2023 Topps #56

        Jermaine Palacios made his first career double play in June of 2022 on a ground ball hit by Spencer Torkelson. He was playing shortstop at the time.

2024 Topps #177

    Jonathan India gets hit by a lot of pitches. The first time he was ever hit was in his second-career major league game, when Jake Woodford hit the second baseman in the bottom of the fourth inning.

2025 Topps #191

    Adael Amador stole the first base of his career in a 2024 game in June off of Cardinals pitcher Andrew Kittredge.

    I realize that this may have been pretty difficult. If I continue making these posts I'll get a feel of how hard to make them. Nonetheless, good luck on guessing which player I lied about! I will announce on my next post which was the lie.

    Please let me know if you liked this idea and if you would like to continue seeing Two Truths and a Lie on the blog. Have a great week, thanks for stopping by, and happy collecting!

MORE DRAFT RESULTS!

     One fantasy team down, two to go. Three leagues is too many, I'm telling you. But I'll live; I just might not spend as much time on each of them. 

**Disclaimer - Stick around to the end of the post for an exciting announcement**

    This fantasy league includes some siblings and their friends. It is a twelve-team holds league with 26 roster spots. Those holds leagues man! I don't know what to think of them.

    I've got another inside joke for a team name, and one I am not proud of. I'll probably change it very soon, but I was convinced to name my team.....this.

    I kind of don't like to admit that I know enough about Spongebob to use this as a joke...but I was asked to do it, so I did.

    Anyway, the name isn't the point; I'll change my team name sometimes, and will almost certainly be changing this one.

    Anyhow, I'm here to recap my team's 26 picks. I got the 8th pick out of twelve, which isn't too good, but I made the best of it anyway.

Round 1 (8th overall): Jose Ramirez (3B, CLE)
    I want a big power-hitting third baseman, so drafting Jose Ramirez was great, especially since he steals bases as well

Round 2 (17th overall): Gunnar Henderson (SS, BAL)
    And now my shortstop position is filled

Round 3 (32nd overall): Matt Olson (1B, ATL)
    I would've liked Kurtzy or Vladdy or Harper, but Olson should definitely be pretty good

Round 4 (41st overall): Bryan Woo (SP, SEA)
    I drafted my first starter in the fourth round, like I usually plan on doing

Round 5 (56th overall): Jackson Merrill (OF, SD)
    Hehe I got Merrill again

Round 6 (65th overall): Austin Riley (3B, ATL)
    My utility spot is full now

Round 7 (80th overall): Nolan McLean (SP, NYM)
    This shows how much faith I have in McLean

Round 8 (89th overall): Devin Williams (RP, NYM)
    A few closers were taken right before my turn a couple rounds before, so I landed my first one in the eighth round

Round 9 (104th overall): Nico Hoerner (2B, CHC)
    I always like getting Nico :)

Round 10 (113th overall): Trey Yesavage (SP, TOR)
    I have a lot of faith in Yesavage, and was glad to get him in this league

Round 11 (128th overall): Michael King (SP, SD)
    That's a solid top-4 starting rotation right there

Round 12 (137th overall): Emilio Pagan (RP, CIN)
    I'm not sure how great Pagan will be, but the saves are certainly welcome

Round 13 (152nd overall): Lawrence Butler (OF, ATH)
    I've been forced to have a lot of faith in Butler, but I believe he can rebound this year

Round 14 (161st overall): Brenton Doyle (OF, COL)
    Not sure about Doyle, but he's hitting really well in spring and gets to play half his games in Coors

Round 15 (176th overall): Ivan Herrera (C, STL)

    Considering that I neglected drafting catchers, I think I got a solid one for the fifteenth round

Round 16 (185th overall): Ryan Walker (RP, SF)
    Closer numero tres

Round 17 (200th overall): Dylan Crews (OF, WSH)
    I started to panic at my lack of outfielders, so I hope Crews plays well

Round 18 (209th overall): Jac Caglianone (1B, OF, KC)
    Another product of my panic, but he's raking in spring, so we'll see

Round 19 (224th overall): Brandon Lowe (2B, PIT)
    I mostly got him as trade bait, but he should be a solid option

Round 20 (233rd overall): Shane Bieber (SP, TOR)

    He'll start the season injured, but hopefully he'll be great when he returns

Round 21 (248th overall): Spencer Schwellenbach (SP, ATL)
    It looks like he might be out longer than I thought, which scares me. But he should be great when he makes his 2026 debut

Round 22 (257th overall): Matt Shaw (3B, CHC)
    What can I say? I really like him and think he'll be good

Round 23 (272nd overall): Tanner Scott (RP, LAD)
    I hope Tanner Scott will get me some holds

Round 24 (281st overall): Camilo Doval (RP, NYY)
    Got him for the holds as well

Round 25 (296th overall): Evan Carter (OF, TEX)
    My last product of my outfield dilemma, as well as a sentimental grab. He's hitting well in spring, so I hope that continues on to the season

Round 26 (305th overall): Parker Messick (SP, CLE)
    I'm running out of pitching options, and he was solid last year. I narrowly chose him over Connelly Early because it looks like Early will begin the season in Triple-A

OFFENSE:
C: Ivan Herrera
1B: Matt Olson

2B: Nico Hoerner

3B: Jose Ramirez

SS: Gunnar Henderson
OF: Jackson Merrill
OF: Lawrence Butler
OF: Jac Caglianone
UTIL: Austin Riley

BN: Brenton Doyle (right now I have more faith in Caglianone)
BN: Dylan Crews
BN: Brandon Lowe
BN: Matt Shaw
BN: Evan Carter

Grade: B-

What I like: My infield is pretty stacked, and we should see a fair share of steals

What I dislike: My outfield is looking really sketchy, and I made a couple too many sentimental picks, which leads to not enough pitching depth

ROTATION:
SP: Bryan Woo
SP: Nolan McLean
SP: Trey Yesavage
SP: Michael King
SP: Shane Bieber
SP: Spencer Schwellenbach
SP: Parker Messick

Grade: B-

What I like: Patience is a virtue. The top four of the rotation are really good, and once it hits mid-season my top six should be great 

What I dislike: Too many injuries

BULLPEN:
RP: Devin Williams
RP: Emilio Pagan
RP: Ryan Walker
RP: Tanner Scott
RP: Camilo Doval

Grade: C-

What I like: Those two setup men should be awesome, and I expect a bounceback from Devin Williams

What I dislike: I don't have enough arms, and missed out on Aroldis Chapman, Ryan Helsley, and Daniel Palencia, to name a few

OVERALL GRADE: C

    Eh, it's alright

    

    We'll see how the fantasy season goes. 

**ANNOUNCEMENT**

    I just found out that a blog known as Red Cardboard has returned from a 12-year hiatus, and is offering quite a nice prize to anybody who shares his post on their blog. This isn't just an attempt to win a sweet baseball card, but also an offer to check out a new blog (if you didn't read it 12 years ago). So go on ahead and check out Red Cardboard!

    Don't worry, I've got cards to show off for the next post, which will hopefully start a fun and challenging new series for the readers of the blog. Until then, thanks for checking out the blog, make sure to have an amazing weekend, and happy collecting!

DRAFT RESULTS!

     I had my first fantasy baseball draft of the season this afternoon. I'm playing in three leagues this season with three different friend groups (it's too much, I know), and I expect this league to be the most competitive.     

    My team in this league is called 'DA FISH,' which is an inside joke between a fellow league member and me.

    

    Anyway, this league contains 12 members, and is a holds league. I won't go into the entire scoring because I'm not in the mood to put anybody to sleep. It's pretty typical, other than the fact that holds is a category (which it is every year, so it's pretty typical for me).

    There are 24 rounds in the draft, and my draft position was sixth, which is my personal favorite since I don't need to wait a ton of picks for my next turn.

    This is my team for this year:

1st Round (6th overall): Paul Skenes (SP, PIT)

    I usually don't like drafting pitchers until the fourth round at least, but Skenes has an ERA under 2.00, so I made an exception

2nd Round (19th overall): Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. (1B, TOR)

    I was mad Nick Kurtz was taken a couple picks before, but that's okay because Vladdy's awesome.

3rd Round (30th overall): Yoshinobu Yamamoto (SP, LAD)

    I made another exception so I could have two of the top four pitchers in the MLB

4th Round (43rd overall): Chris Sale, (SP, ATL)

    I did it again.  My friend playing in the league called my top three pitchers a three-headed monster.

5th Round (54th overall): Jackson Merrill (OF, SD)

    I wanted Merrill. 

6th Round (67th overall): Shea Langeliers (C, ATH)

    I preferred Raleigh, but Shea hits bombs and they're playing in a minor league ballpark.

7th Round (78th overall): Nolan McLean (SP, NYM)

    I planned to draft him since the end of last season. This kid's stuff is insane (don't know if I should call a man with a full beard a kid, even if he is a rookie)

8th Round (91st overall): Nico Hoerner (2B, CHC)

    I always get Nico. The second base crop isn't too good and Nico's extremely consistent.

9th Round (102nd overall): Christian Yelich (OF, MIL)

    I went with my heart in this pick. He was good last season, and I think he can do it again.

10th Round (115th overall): Ryan Helsley (RP, BAL)

    You always need closers, and I think Helsley's going to return to form in 2026.

11th Round (126th overall): Willy Adames (SS, SF)

    Yeah, I neglected drafting shortstops.....but Willy's a solid option.

12th Round (139th overall): Raisel Iglesias (RP, ATL)

    More closers! I wanted to draft Robert Suarez as well, but somebody else nabbed him later.

13th Round (150th overall): Jacob Wilson (SS, ATH)

    The kid hit .393 in the minors

14th Round (163rd overall): Lawrence Butler (OF, ATH)

    I still have faith in Lawrence Butler. Besides, I need steals.

15th Round (174th overall): Munetaka Murakami (1B, 3B, CWS)

    I've been looking forward to Murakami in the majors since I first heard of him in 2024. Now he's my starting third baseman.

16th Round (187th overall): JJ Wetherholt (2B, 3B, SS, STL)

    Wetherholt's tearing it up in spring, and he plays a lot of positions, so I'll gladly take him.

17th Round (198th overall): Joe Musgrove (SP, SD)

    Starter number five is a solid option.

18th Round (211th overall): Kyle Teel (C, CWS)

    I'm glad to draft a backup catcher who's such a high-ranking prospect.

19th Round (222nd overall): Seranthony Dominguez (RP, CWS)

    Closer numero tres

20th Round (235th overall): Bryan Reynolds (OF, PIT)

    Could you believe this guy was still around in the 20th round? I'll take that all day.

21st Round (246th overall): Jeremiah Estrada (RP, SD)

    This is a holds league, and Estrada's good at getting 'em.

22nd Round (259th overall): Andrew Painter (SP, PHI)

    Why not take a chance on a prospect pitcher? Painter's got good stuff.

23rd Round (270th overall): Grant Taylor (RP, CWS)

    I like Grant Taylor, and he should get holds (and an occasional save), which are welcome.

24th Round (283rd overall): Chase Dollander (SP, COL)

    The draft rounds out with Chase Dollander. He was a top prospect who struggled in the majors last season (6.52 ERA), but as long as I bench him when he starts at home he's gonna have a great season. I can feel it.

    As of right now this is what I project my lineup to look like:

C: Shea Langeliers

1B: Vladimir Guerrero, Jr.

2B: Nico Hoerner

3B: Munetaka Murakami

SS: Willy Adames

OF: Jackson Merrill

OF: Christian Yelich

OF: Lawrence Butler

UTIL: JJ Wetherholt

BN: Jacob Wilson

BN: Bryan Reynolds

BN: Kyle Teel

GRADE: B- (probably a little too generous lol)

What I like: I have some solid star power and some solid rookies that I'm expecting to contribute

What I dislike: I forced myself to put too much trust on guys who underperformed last year or are doing badly in spring training.

This is what my pitching staff looks like:

SP: Paul Skenes
SP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto
SP: Chris Sale
SP: Nolan McLean
SP: Joe Musgrove
SP: Andrew Painter
SP: Chase Dollander

GRADE: A

What I like: I drafted four superstar pitchers (assuming McLean doesn't tank)

What I don't like: If Painter and Dollander don't perform the way I expect them to, I won't like it.

RP: Ryan Helsley
RP: Raisel Iglesias
RP: Seranthony Dominguez
RP: Jeremiah Estrada
RP: Grant Taylor

Grade: C(-)

What I like: Ryan Helsley

What I don't like: I don't know if Raisel Iglesias will keep the closer role all year (Atlanta also has Robert Suarez), and I'm not sure how many saves Dominguez will be getting with the White Sox. My bullpen has a small number of arms, and I fear for their consistency.

Overall: B

I think a B grade is fair. The draft didn't seem to be amazing, but it could be. If I manage well I think I should have a dangerous team this year. Here's to hoping!

    Well, that does it for this post. Thanks for checking out the blog, have a great rest of the weekend, and happy collecting!

Rescued from THE BOX - Ep. 4

     *channels British accent*

    'Welcome back to the next installment of Rescued from THE BOX, where a half-insane card collector acts as though cardboard boxes and baseball cards are alive and sentient, and hallucinates action-packed battle scenes with said cardboard box.'

    

    Last time I saw THE BOX I freed Rafael Montalvo's 1991 Bowman card. The mission of freeing every card from a life of mediocrity is a slow one, but one worth undertaking.

    THE BOX contented itself with making a mess of the room I keep all my cards in. That definitely has nothing to do with me. In fact, when I walked into the room my eyes disintegrated and fell in two small powdered piles on the floor. THE BOX's first attack was successful.

    Thankfully, eyeballs grow back, and I was able to see THE BOX as it lunged at me. Since it has no means of propulsion, it was an awkward fall. 

    My laugh may have sounded too confident as I tried in vain to humiliate my foe. THE BOX has no emotions, as I found out. We rumbled the way comic book superheroes do with their arch-nemeses. Whenever a hit was landed giant words magically popped up, such as 'BANG!' and 'POW!'

    Eventually, human limbs triumphed over cardboard edges and I wrenched open THE BOX's black hole-like maw and pulled a card out before it clamped upon my arm. The paper cut was so deep I had to make a tourniquet with a shirt that was lying on the floor. Who knew cardboard could be so deadly?

    After I had taken care of my battle wounds, I saw the card that had been rescued.

    Another '91 Bowman card, this time of Floyd Bannister!

   The expression on Bannister's face as he delivers this pitch would intimidate any batter of the era. 

    

    Floyd Bannister played 15 seasons in the majors from 1977-1992 (he pitched in Japan in 1990). In 431 career games (363 starts), Bannister pitched to a 134-143 record and a 4.06 ERA in 2388 innings. He was an all-star with the Mariners in 1982 when he went 12-13 with a 3.43 ERA and led the league with 209 strikeouts.

    

    Bannister made one postseason appearance, with the White Sox in 1983. He threw six innings and allowed three runs as Chicago fell to the Orioles, 3-1.

    Floyd has three children, all of whom followed in their daddy's footsteps. His son Brian pitched for the Mets and Royals for five seasons, where in 117 games (114 starts), he went 37-50 with an ERA of 5.08. Floyd's other two sons, Brett and Cory, both pitched in college. Brett played one season in the minors in the Mariners organization.

    I'm glad to have freed Floyd Bannister's 1991 Bowman card from the clutches of THE BOX and to have learned a little bit more about him.  

    Thanks for checking out the blog today, have a wonderful rest of the week, and happy collecting!

2026 Season Predictions

    As we get closer to the start of the 2026 MLB season, I would like to make a handful of predictions as to what will happen. I'm historically bad at predicting, as some of my earlier posts have shown, but I'd like to take my guesses anyway. I've paid little attention to what's been going on in the MLB recently, so forgive me if I'm leaving somebody important out. Without further ado, here we go!

World Series Matchup: Dodgers vs. Tigers

    I think the Dodgers coming out of the NL is kind of a default prediction. I like going against the odds sometimes, but I would be disrespecting Dodger fans if I didn't predict them. They've put together one of the best teams the world has ever seen (if not the best, I'm not qualified to guess on that), and I think they could realistically win 120 games this year.

    The Tigers are a little more of a toss-up, but I like the team they have. With the exception of Riley Greene, they seem to abide by playing small-ball, which I have much respect for. The Skubal/Framber stack is going to be one heck of a one-two punch. 

    I think the Dodgers are going to have a three-peat and defeat the Tigers in six games.

Rookies of the Year:
NL: Nolan McLean
AL: Trey Yesavage
    I have two pitches taking home the Rookie of the Year awards. I think Nolan McLean might actually be a top-ten starting pitcher this season. His pitches have an absurd amount of movement, and in his 48 innings in 2025, McLean pitched to a 2.06 ERA and struck out 57 batters. I'm really high on this player moving forward.    

    Yesavage was a beast in the postseason. He throws really hard and has a great breaking ball along with the ability to perform well under pressure. These two pitchers might be winning Cy Young Awards in the near future.

Cy Young Award Winners:
NL: Paul Skenes
AL: Tarik Skubal

    These are likely the two best pitchers on the planet (though I'm not sleeping on Yamamoto). They might be my picks for a long time, barring any injury. They both throw hard and have nasty secondary pitches, as well as incredible control. Imagine if they were playing on the same team. 

Most Valuable Players:
NL: Shohei Ohtani
AL: Aaron Judge

    Again, these are default predictions. Shohei will be both hitting and pitching for the Dodgers, and Judge is consistently awesome. I'm not counting out players such as Bobby Witt Jr, Juan Soto, Gunnar Henderson, Ronald Acuna Jr, Jose Ramirez or Elly De La Cruz, but they will need to have otherworldly seasons to dethrone Judge and Ohtani.

    That does it for my season predictions! The season doesn't kick off for three weeks, but I'd like to get them out early. Let me know if you think differently on any of them, and rest assured knowing I have cards to show off for the next post. Until then, have a great week, thanks for checking out the blog, and happy collecting!

Are you seeing what Greg's seeing?

    (Disclaimer - I cropped out the borders of the first two cards because it seriously looks as though the previous owner spilled coffee on them. Nonetheless, enjoy this Don Cardwell production)

'Hey, you seeing what I'm seeing?'

'Where? I can't see it'

'Oh, I see it. It's - it's...'

BOINK

    Whoever the photographer for that last card was is in need of a serious raise. 

    

    Thank you, goodnight!

Rescued from THE BOX - Ep. 3

    Usually when people speak of action, you think of buff criminals with giant biceps speeding up the sides of tall buildings in motorcycles with a katana in one hand and a coke in the other. 

    Not stealing baseball cards out of boxes. 

    Last time I had a run-in with THE BOX I was able to rescue Greg Olson's 1992 Fleer card. THE BOX hadn't shown his face around the house until this morning.

    It seemed to sense that I was approaching. And it was angry. It's difficult to describe what it's like to have an inanimate object angry at you, because it's not possible. 

    Clearly THE BOX wanted to have a rematch with me. The deal was simple; if I win, I get another card. If it wins, sorry Greg Olson. 

    Fortunately for me, humans have fancy things like arms and legs, and brains. Boxes are just awkwardly shaped rectangular prisms that imprison baseball cards. But hey, I won't turn THE BOX down, especially if it means saving another card from it's evil clutches.

    THE BOX lunged at me. Typical first move. I channeled my inner buff motorcycle guy and dodged it before pinning THE BOX against the wall. Then, prying it's mouth open I was able to save one card before it slammed shut on my hand.

    Getting bitten by a cardboard box is more painful than you'd think. Mostly emotional pain though, because you wonder how on earth an inanimate object without teeth can bite you.

    Anyway, after this ordeal THE BOX snuck back into the closet it came from to nurse its battle wounds and defeat me when we meet again. Pfft. Like that'll happen.

    I looked in my hand to see which of THE BOX'S captives I had saved from a life of mediocrity. And it was none other than....

    1991 Bowman Rafael Montalvo!

    The card has a simple picture framesque design. Nothing too spectacular. Montalvo has a great smile on his face as he poses for this picture. 

    Montalvo threw one career game in the majors, well before this card was made, in 1986. He threw one inning, giving up a hit and walking two while allowing one earned run, pitching the Houston Astros. He made two of the inning's outs on comebackers.

    After his extremely brief 1986 season, Rafael played in the minors through 1991 with the Angles, and then again in 1995, playing for the Dodgers organization. He is depicted on Baseball Reference with the Angels, though he never played in the major leagues with the club.

    In 537 minor league contests (12 seasons), Montalvo pitched to a 47-33 record in 537 recorded games. His ERA in the minors is not known. 

    In 2007 he was a pitching coach in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays system.

    I'm glad to have freed Rafael Montalvo's card from the imaginary hands of THE BOX. Freeing a card is always a good chance to learn both about the set it's from and the player on the card.

    Until next time, have a great week, thanks for reading, and happy collecting!

What to do with an ugly picture frame

     Do you have a picture frame that you wouldn't even put your worst enemy's photo in because it would be too insulting? Well I know exactly what to do!

    Obviously that's a bit of an exaggeration (maybe). But I did come across an interesting picture frame almost a week ago while re-organizing my closet. 

    It's a square picture frame made out of concrete (I think) with a bunch of lines in it and a tiny little panel for the picture to go in on the upper left-hand side. Maybe that sounds pretty bad, but perhaps not. Don't worry, you'll see it in just a sec. I remember somebody on my street was giving it away a while ago and I thought it looked interesting, so I took it. And it sat in my closet for a long time before I found it again.

    At this point you may be thinking to yourself, 'Ginko, this has nothing to do with cards. It's called a 'card blog' for a reason. Why on earth would I care about a picture frame you don't even care about? Why the heck am I reading this blog anyway?'

    Before you close the tab and crush my dreams, I would advise you to bear with me if you'd like to know what I did with the frame. It does have something to do with baseball cards, in fact, don't you worry.

    I took a little bit to formulate an idea for the frame; at first I said I'd give it away as a wedding gift, lol. But I wouldn't want to insult the couple. Eventually, with the help of a brother who was hanging out with me at the time I found it, I came up with an idea to transform it from a rather ugly brick taking up space in the closet into a lovely card collector's mantlepiece.

    This is literally sitting on the mantle to my left as I write this post.

    Firstly, I flipped the frame over to put the panel for the picture in a better position. The frame stands up on its own or can lean against the wall, so it didn't matter that I flipped it.

    After thoroughly cleaning up the dirty glass panel that protects the photo, I found that I could fit a baseball card in a top loader into the frame as a replacement for a photo without causing any damage to the card itself. Clearly it's not a perfect fit, but I don't have a picture that would fit in there anyway. 

    As to which card I should place into the frame, that's where that brother came in. He suggested that since the frame is more or less a rock, a Rockies card would be the perfect one to use. And I agreed with him wholeheartedly while also chuckling a little. A quick look into a few binders, and I was down to three Rockies to choose from. Ultimately I chose the 2025 Topps Drew Romo, #296. I did so for a few reasons; firstly, I wanted to leave my serial-numbered gold parallel in its binder. Secondly, it's a rookie card, which is cool. And finally, Romo's a catcher, and I thought it best for a catcher to go into the frame (get it???). 

    Like I mentioned before, the entire card didn't fit into the opening, but I can assure you it's safe; I didn't want to harm any of my cards in the process. It's not perfectly centered, but I didn't mind it enough to change it. 

    Well, there you have it. If you have a strange-looking picture frame and want to do something cardy with it, I hope I've been a help to you. If not, well, I have failed you. I'm quite satisfied with the way this quick little craft turned out, and think it'll have a permanent home on my mantle.

    Thanks for checking out the blog! Make sure to have an amazing rest of the week (almost at the weekend) and happy collecting!

FINALLY!

    I've been a Macklin Celebrini superfan for the better part of two seasons now (we've been over this on the blog before). However, I've never owned one of his cards. Tragic, isn't it? I typically prefer finding cards at the LCS or other stores that carry sports cards to ordering them online, but realize that my chances of pulling a Celebrini card are far worse and more expensive than just ordering one, especially since my LCS hasn't gotten any packs of hockey cards this year. So I did end up ordering one, for six dollars, which is more than I'd typically spend on a base card; but the way I see it, if he keeps performing at the level he's played at this season his cards are just going to get more and more expensive. And I want at least one of his cards without breaking the bank.

    I ordered the 2025-26 Upper Deck#136 base card of Macklin Celebrini, which is an awesome card, not to mention the cheapest of his I found. So it's a win-win, right? Well, not exactly.

    I ordered the card ages ago. It was 'scheduled' to arrive weeks before it actually did, and I was worried that it got lost in the mail. But in the end good ol' Macklin came through and I got the card. Better late than never, right? And it was a good test in patience too 😉

    This is such a great card. The picture is awesome; Macklin really does look like a shark on the attack. Though this card was on the cheaper end of his cards, the picture is my favorite of all of them. I appreciate how much space the card leaves for his picture as well. This instantly becomes my favorite card in my small hockey collection.

    The San Jose Sharks season has been....interesting, to say the least. I think 'tortuous' is a better word. It's like watching a happy kid's show and then accidentally leaning on the remote to change the channel to a horror film. And then you find that both shows are interesting and you keep switching between them. The Sharks were looking so good early on, and absolutely fell off a cliff the last few weeks before the Olympic break. And to make things worse they lost out on trading for Artemi Panarin, and he went to the Kings instead, one of the teams they're competing with for a playoff spot. Wow, I just spouted off a huge chunk of my hockey knowledge right there....

    No matter how well the Sharks play as a team, Macklin is performing like a beast, both in the NHL and Winter Olympics. He is in serious consideration for the MVP (Hart Memorial Trophy), with the likes of Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon. Should he win the Hart, that would make me a very happy superfan.

    If the Sharks end up pulling through to make the playoffs, and if I live through the rest of the season to witness it, I will be absolutely stoked. If not, people may want to keep their distance from me until the Rangers start looking like they'll make the playoffs.

    Well, now that I'm off this shark-fueled high, I'll leave y'all to the rest of your various card collecting. But not before asking a question: Do you have a favorite hockey player? If so, who?

    Now that I've opened up the floodgates to such a deep and thought-provoking question, I will leave you with your innermost sports-related thoughts. Have a great rest of the week, thanks for stopping by the blog, and happy collecting!

The Final Flea Market Finds

    You know something I love doing? I like going to the blogs I follow and reading the first post they ever made. I dunno why, but I guess I like seeing how the blogging greats got started. I also don't know why I'm posting this for a completely non-related topic. Aaaaaaaanyway... 

    The last couple weeks have been really busy, so I'm getting this post out a bit later than I would have liked. I think I only have one really long post on queue for awhile though, so I'm hoping to crush my projection of 50 posts this year.

    This is part two of my flea market grabs from a week or so ago. This vendor sold a lot of packs, as well as the entire wall of individual cards I spoke of last post. 

    His dollar packs were all in a giant bowl, which I sifted through for about ten minutes before taking a quick look at his extensive collection of individual cards for sale. I left his booth with seven dollar packs (buy five get two free), and one lovely individual card.

    

    I divided the highlights of the seven packs into three subsequent packs, which I named according to what they contain.

    

    SHINY PACK:

    Here we have two really nice-looking 2022 Panini Select baseball cards. The light captured the design of the Matt Brash card wonderfully. Vladdy's card didn't show up too well, but I didn't want to change it. The slashes on Vladdy are on the penny sleeve and not the actual card, thankfully.

    Another nice shiny card. Panini typically doesn't get much love, but I kinda like this design.

    This is my second-favorite card from the shiny pack. The back left corner is slightly damaged, but I can't complain. The back of the card references Giolito's 2020 season, where he finished 7th in Cy Young Award voting. In 12 starts he went 4-3 with a 3.48 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 72.1 innings pitched. That certainly was a mighty fine season.

    The Rockies' colors are well represented here. The back of the card describes his mashing of my Texas Rangers in July of 2020...

    A colorful pair of Panini Prizm cards from 2021. 

    Of all the cards featured in the shiny pack, this one is the shiniest. I can see why Panini called this 'Mosaic.' Sixto Sanchez had a brief major league career from 2020-2024 where in 21 games (14 starts) he threw to a 3-5 record and 4.70 ERA. I thought he might be around in the minors, but I guess he's retired.

    Next up are a couple of Bowman Chrome Prospects, from 2020 and 2024, respectively. I hadn't heard of either of these players before. Bayron Lora last played in the minors in 2021 when in 47 games he hit .218/.413/.401 with 48 walks! Middle infielder Mitch Jebb is still around with the Pirates. Last year in AA the 23-year old batted .265 in 122 games with 33 stolen bases. Interestingly he hit no home runs, but his on-base/speed combination seems to be doing him well in the minors.

    And finally, my favorite card of the shiny pack. This is just a really cool card. I wonder how much time Sean will get with the Braves in 2026 with Rookie of the Year catcher Drake Baldwin playing. Both those guys have a lot of talent; Braves catchers are gonna be tough to pitch to this year.









    DONRUSS PACK:

    This time my favorite card of the pack comes first. Waino presents a strong Hall of Fame case, and I hope to see him get in when he's eligible. 

    I don't have many Skenes cards, so this is 2025 Donruss card is a welcome addition to the collection.

    Speaking of 2025 Donruss...

    ...we have a few retired greats. 

    And here's an Optic Circles Pudge card from 2025 Donruss. It's a bit less shiny, to the point that I didn't notice it was different from the other Donruss cards until I saw them under light. Otherwise it may have been included among the shiny cards.

    I put the packs for this post together about 2 1/2 weeks ago, and this card was included the Donruss cards. I dunno why I put it in here since it's obviously the wrong brand, but it's a card I would highlight due to its serial-numbering:

(432/2023)

    Though it makes no sense for it to be put with the Donruss pack, it wouldn't make sense for this card to be included in the final pack either

HOLIDAY PACK:

    When I saw an Evan Carter card I needed at the front of the pack, I knew I needed it. The Holiday set Topps put out in 2025 was a good one. I like the wreath going up the side of the card, though it makes the team name even harder to see 🤣

    I think I might make a 'Mouth Agape' PC that this Dylan Cease card would fit nicely into.

    We wrap up this pack with a couple really nice horizontal shots.

    And finally, the single card I purchased at this booth. 

    Drumroll please.....

    It's nice when you can hit a flea market not even expecting to pick up any cards, and leave with two new Evan Carter cards to go along with two autos. A couple bucks landed me this 2024 Topps Chrome Future Stars card. 
    Evan hasn't lived up to his 2023 hype yet, but I've still got faith for him this coming season. Maybe I'm a little bit naive? Well, I'll find out soon enough.

    I haven't been collecting Carter's cards as fiercely as I was a year ago. My PC continues to grow slowly, though it's still a bit smaller than I would like. It's only a matter of time before that collecting flame bursts up in me again and I spend way too much money on his cards lol. 

    I also got a handful of 2021 Topps Update cards in these dollar packs. If anybody is working on completing that set, and if I have any of your needs (or if you just want a card), let me know and I'll send them out to you. These are:

 #US-19 Chase Anderson
#US-72 Aledmys Diaz
#US-113 Aaron Civale
#US-120 Seth Brown
#US-123 Kolby Allard
#US-134 Charlie Morton
#US-137 Trevor Cahill
#US-233 Nick Anderson
#US-254 Cole Tucker
#US-291 Eric Sogard
#US-311 Jake Arrieta

    That'll do it for the flea market additions of a few weeks ago! Hopefully I'll be able to hit another flea market soon and make some more finds to add to the collection.

    Thanks for stopping by the blog today! Make sure to have an amazing week, and happy collecting!

    Also, Fuji won my Super Bowl Pick 'em! If you could shoot me an email confirming your address, I have a pack of  2025 Donruss football cards to send you. Thank you to all who played the pick 'em!