30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

End of an Era

The past three years, P-town Tom over at Waiting 'til Next Year... has held a Favorite Card of the Year Contest... which was pretty awesome, because it motivated me to dig through my collection and look at cards.

In 2016, I went with this Rickey Henderson autograph:

2016 Topps Strata Signature Patch #SSP-RH

This card reminded me of those cool shadow box cards that Upper Deck produced, which utilized multiple layers to provide depth to the cardThree years later, this is still one of my favorite Henderson autographs in the collection.

The following year, I was super excited when I heard that Topps inserted autographs of Krazy George into packs of Allen and Ginter:

2017 Allen and Ginter Autograph #MA-KG

This guy is a Bay Area legend.  I vividly remember him back when I was a kid... standing on the dugout banging his drum and getting people fired up.

Last year, I went with another autograph as my favorite card of the year:

2018 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-BJ

My love for baseball and baseball cards have always been based on my fascination for statistics.  And when it comes to baseball statisticians, Bill James is one of the most famous.  At the time of his contest, I hadn't actually found a copy for my collection.  However I did manage to grab the card you see above at the very end of the year on eBay for $11.50 (+ $3.50 shipping).

Well this year, P-town Tom decided against holding his Favorite Card of the Year Contest... which I completely understandRunning contests can be a lot of work and when blogging isn't as enjoyable as it once was... it could even become a burden.

I'm not saying that's the reason he stopped running this contest, but it is why I stopped running my Olympic style contest from back in the day.

Anyways... in spirit of his contest... I thought I'd share three cards that really stood out to me in 2019.  But this year... to honor the end of an era... I'm going to switch gears and focus on cards that aren't autographed.

2019 Topps Allen and Ginter Collectible Canines #CC-18

I love dogs and Bernese Mountain Dogs are hands down my favorite breed.  Here's a photo of my best friend's Berner:


That's Mika.  She's super happy laying on the brand new bed she received for Christmas.

Next up is another Ginter insert card...

2019 Topps Allen and Ginter History of Flight #HOF-12

I've been fascinated with the SR-71 Blackbird since I was a little kid when I discovered that my father worked on the top secret project back in the 60's.

And finally there's this beautiful base card of the Oakland Coliseum...

2019 Topps #126

Topps has struck out a lot with me in regards to the excessive parallels and overproduced inserts they've been flooding our hobby with the past few years.  But they absolutely hit a home run with their 2019 Topps team cards.

I realize that this place is the laughing stock of MLB stadiums, but it's the setting of many fond memories from my childhood.

Before I wrap up this post, I wanted to do a quick response to our blogosphere's latest Blog Bat-AroundBilly over at Cardboard History has asked his readers to write about their favorite set of the decade.

My response?  2015 Topps.

In an effort to kill two birds with one stone... I decided to use the Derek Jeter card from that set to demonstrate the beauty of that year's flagship design as well as show of my favorite card of 2015.

2015 Topps Chrome Refractor #1

Unfortunately, my 2015 Topps set is buried in a box somewhere, so Jeter's Chrome refractor will have to suffice.

Okay... I can't have an end of the year post, without a question of the day.  Here's yours...

What is you favorite animal?

What is you favorite stadium to attend a sporting event?

Well that wraps up another year of bloggingThank you Tom for inspiring this post... and for hosting that contest the past three yearsThank you Billy for starting another interesting Blog Bat-Around.  And thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read any of my blog posts over the years.

I hope all of you enjoy a safe New Year's EveHappy New Years and sayonara!

24 comments:

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

1) Dog, but I do like the BIG cats.

2) Any Stadium the Braves are playing in whether home or away.

Billy Kingsley said...

My favorite animal is by far the squirrel. I have been a fan of them since I was a little kid. Hours of enjoyment watching them.

friend11 said...

My Favorite Animal Rainbow Trout I caught my first one a couple of months ago
I've been to 21 of 30 MLB parks and my favorite so far is PNC park in Pittsburg

P-town Tom said...

I have a weird infatuation with moose and I'm actually planning to drive to Maine this summer to see some in the wild.
I think my favorite stadium I've been to so far is PNC Park. The ballpark workers were so friendly and the skyline is just gorgeous.
Thanks for the kind words! And I'm glad you showed off your faves of 2019. I really enjoyed this year's ballpark cards... although I preferred Wrigley!

John Sharp said...

My favorite animals are Dogs, and, of course, Michigan Stadium is my favorite place to watch a game... Go BLUE!

Great job, and, hey, Happy Nrw Year!

Peter K Steinberg said...

Happy New Year. Great post and cards. Favorite animal is the Great Blue Heron. This is a cheap cop out, but honestly any ballpark I'm at for baseball is my favorite ballpark. PNC Park was perhaps the most magical ballpark I visit this decade.

Nachos Grande said...

My parents had a Berner for a number of years, one of the best dogs I've ever known. Loved that big guy! Happy New Year!

The Bucs Stop Here said...

Great year-end post. That Jeter is AWESOME. Never seen that card before, the picture is classic Jeter. I’m a dog guy. Super biased but of course I’d have to say PNC Park. I also love visiting historic college basketball venues, and WVU Coliseum has been my favorite so far.

Anonymous said...

Coolest Animal - Orangatan (just watch the youtube videos).

Favourite Stadium (actually arena) - Bridgestone Arena. I am not from Nashville, but I saw the Predators play there on a trip to Nashville and it might be the best place to see a hockey game.

-Anonymous Paul-

Adam Kaningher said...

Everyone knows my favorite stadium is Coors Field.

And my favorite animal is a pika.

The Lost Collector said...

The Jeter was a great, great card to cap off a HOF career.

Favorite animal is definitely dogs, because they are the best.

As for favorite venue, I'd probably go with Old Yankee Stadium or MSG.

Brett Alan said...

My favorite place to attend a sporting event has to be the World's Most Famous Arena. Much as I love baseball, Madison Square Garden has so many great memories for me, from the Knicks and Rangers teams of my childhood on. Not just sports--I've seen some great tennis there, too--but a lot of my favorite concert memories, including my first Paul McCartney show (and 3 or 4 more since then) and some amazing all-star shows.

I'm really not an animal guy, but when I'm in Singapore there's an odd, large bird called an oriental pied hornbill who shows up near our place, so I'll choose that.

Nick said...

Happy 2020, my friend! I love dogs, but I'm definitely more of a cat guy. And despite the drunkards and general bro culture, I still say Wrigley Field is the best sporting venue in the world.

Ryan G said...

I'm a cat guy. Dogs are lots of fun, but only for a little while, since they're so high maintenance. I had a dog when I was younger, and he just wasn't for me.

My favorite stadium? One with a game. Really, seeing games at any minor league park was generally more fun than at major league parks, with smaller crowds. I can't pick any particular stadium as a favorite.

Reds Card Collector said...

Can't go wrong with Topps Strata. Those cards are amazing....expensive, but amazing. Favorite stadium, I would have to say Progressive Field. There just isn't a bad seat in that place. I wish I could say Great American Ballpark, but I feel that they tried to do too much when they designed that place and seating was the least of their concerns.

The Snorting Bull said...

First off, I love that Rickey Henderson Strata autograph. Those are great looking cards in general, but Henderson has such a great signature. Beautiful card.

As an elementary school teacher, I have a canned response to favorite animal, because someone inevitably asks me that question once a month at a minimum. My answer is a tapir.

Favorite sports venue is a tough one. It really depends on what sport I am watching. For baseball, I would go with Durham Bulls Athletic Park or Busch Stadium for baseball. For basketball, I would take Reynolds Coliseum, which is NC State's old arena. The women's team still players there. It's one of the great historic college basketball arenas, designed by the same architect as Cameron Indoor. They are essentially the same building, Reynolds is larger.

Fuji said...

Here are the results of the favorite animal survey:
dog 3.5
big cats .5
squirrel 1
rainbow trout 1
moose 1
great blue heron 1
orangatan 1
pika 1
oriental pied hornbill 1
cat 2
tapir 1

Lots of variety among the animals... but dogs came out on top with cats coming in 2nd. Next up favorite sporting venue:

pnc park 3.5
michigan stadium 1
wvu coliseum .5
bridgestone arena 1
coors field 1
old yankee stadium .5
madison square garden 1.5
wrigley field 1
progressive field 1
durham bulls athletic park .5
busch stadium .5
reynolds coliseum .5

PNC Park wins in a landslide. Local radio guys have raved about that park on numerous occasions. Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to check it out eventually.

johnnys trading spot - i hope to get to see the braves again in the near future. if i do, it'll probably be at at&t

billy kingsley - i used to feed the squirrels when i was in college. they'd come right up to us and hang out. not sure if it's legal, but i'm sure they'd be cool pets.

friend11 - 21 out of 30 is pretty impressive. out of the active ballparks, i've only been to the oakland coliseum, at&t, dodger stadium, and chase field. i might have also gone to a game at angel stadium too.

p-town tom - hope you get to spot some and end up writing a blog post on them

john sharp - happy new year to you too!

peter k steinberg - i can wait to one day experience the magic of pnc park

nachos grande - berners are so awesome. they're so kind, gentle, and have really cool personalities

the bucs stop here - i've written about the jeter card before. it really is a classic card. love how topps captured that moment on his final flagship card

anonymous paul - i'll have to check them out.

adam kaningher - had to look up the pika. cute animal

the lost collector - that jeter would definitely be in my top 20 cards of the decade. maybe top 10

brett alan - msg is definitely on my bucket list. if i ever make it out to the east coast, it'll be high on my places to attend

nick - gotta look up bro culture. as for cats... i'd probably like them more if i weren't allergic to them

ryan g - yeah, dogs are definitely high maintenance. that's why i won't get one of my own until i retire

reds card collector - i was pretty lucky to snag the rickey for a great price (because it was a redemption card). i'd love to add the maddux and kershaw from the same set to my collection one day as well. probably never going to happen though

the snorting bull - gotta love it when students ask you the same question over and over. i think the most popular questions i get are... dc or marvel? and do you listen to k-pop?

acrackedbat said...

late to the show but want to say the Topps Oakland Stadium card is one of my faves from this year. The field is gorgeous in this view! I loved the Rangers Ballpark. Gonna miss it! I'm a cat gal (3) with one cat herding Yorkie. Animal lover in general but cats are tops for me.

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