Thursday, June 4, 2020

Famous and Unique

When I was growing up, my father always encouraged me to find something I was passionate about and focus on it.  The goal was to be unique and stand out to others.

Well... I didn't listen too well.  I'm the guy who just wants to blend in with my surroundings.

I sure hope Carol Hinton isn't like me, because on April 27th, 2009... she went to a Fresno Grizzlies baseball game and when she walked through the turnstiles and into Chukchansi Park, she unknowingly became the 5 millionth fan in franchise history.

2009 MultiAd Sports Fresno Grizzlies #16

She was showered with confetti and became the first non-player, coach, or mascot to receive their very own trading card.  


I've always wondered how cool it would actually be to receive my very own trading card in an Allen and Ginter set or in this case a minor league set.  

Heck... I've even created a couple of different custom cards that I've sent to many of you out there.  But upon further reflection, I'm not sure I'd want my face floating around in dime boxes across the country.


Congratulations to Mrs. Hinton!  You're not only unique and one of the most famous Grizzlies fans of all-time, you're also my Day 2 submission into Tim B.'s 7 Day Trading Card Challenge.  He originally asked people to show off a card from a current release with a unique photo.  Unfortunately, the only 2020 product I've opened so far is a blaster box of Opening Day and nothing really stood out to me.

However, this card of Mrs. Hinton definitely caught my eye when I was opening up those mystery bags back in March or April.  So I had to modify his challenge a little in order to complete the task at hand.

Here's another card I considered using for this challenge:


Not sure exactly when or how this card was distributed or if there are other players in the set, but it's not often you get to see a baseball player sitting in the middle of a zen garden.


I'm guessing these cards were distributed to kids who visited the Exploratorium in San Francisco as part of their Science of Baseball exhibit.

If you're not familiar with this place, it's a really cool museum that focuses on science and technology.  I haven't been there in years, but I have very fond memories of going there when I was a little kid with my parents.  We'd go up to the city, hit the Exploratorium, then Pier 39, and wrap things up at Ghiradelli Square for an amazing banana split.

Man... I hadn't thought about those trips in years.  Good times.

Well there you go.  Two unique cards for Tim's challenge.  Sorry I had to stretch the rules.  Hopefully it doesn't draw too much attention to me.

What about you?

Do you enjoy the spotlight?  Would you want Topps or Panini to feature you on a trading card for one of their products?

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

16 comments:

Elliptical Man said...

I'd rather get free tickets.

Those are certainly unique cards.

The Angels In Order said...

Wow that Sanchez card is kinda creepy. I don't like the spotlight, I'm a behind the scenes kinda guy.

Jongudmund said...

I like trading cards that have fans in the background. I have a few but now it seems it's very rare for card photos to feature fans, or the faces are blurred to make them unidentifiable.

sg488 said...

No and no.

The Lost Collector said...

I would not want to be on a card. At all.

shoeboxlegends said...

Great selections Fuji, I think this was a perfectly acceptable and understandable bending of the rules :)

Jeff B - Wax Pack Wonders said...

Nope, no card for me!

Alex Markle said...

Fun Fact: I was at that Grizzlies game with the 5 millionth fan. Not sure which side of 5 million I was on though.

acrackedbat said...

Lucky lady! I woulda fainted right then and there. Dont put me on a card! Love the Sanchez. Now that's a cool and unusual card. Makes me wanna hunt one down.

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

Heck yeah baby, put me on center stage. (ignore him....that's just my type A personality acting out).

SumoMenkoMan said...

Oddball cards for sure....I hate standing out. Like to blend in too.

Nick said...

I don't think I'd wanna be featured on a card, because I'm worried that soon enough Topps might want a strand of my hair for some kind of "relic" card.

Shlabotnik Report said...

My first reaction to that card is "Carol has a scorebook? I love Carol!" I'm among the few who do keep score at games, so I feel a kinship with others.

As for your question - hell no, I don't want to be on a card! It took me years just to get comfortable being in people's snapshots.

BTW, I got nosy, searched on "Carol Hinton Fresno" and found a video from the Grizzlies of Carol getting recognized... The video ends with this same photo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQg0Pc98I_c

GCA said...

Aw that kills my idea that we should make a custom set of Blogger cards.

Though I'm also the type that prefers to be "the man behind the curtain" than center stage. Being out front usually goes like my 1st grade play. Bumped into the microphone and the crowd cracked up. Probably killed my self esteem for years... :)

Jay said...

I may need to get that Carol Hinton card. You already turned me onto the Ethan Blackaby cards from the Phoenix Giants 70s teams - thank you.

Fuji said...

elliptical man - i wonder if they hooked her up with some tickets. i sure hope so

the angels in order - lol. sanchez isn't making you feel relaxed?

jongudmund - being a fan on a player's card would be kind of cool.

sg488 - sounds like we'd get along

the lost collector - what if you were in the background of a hensley or tino card?

shoeboxlegends - thank you for having my back. i don't anticipate opening too many more packs of 2020 products, so this might have to be my actual submission

jeff b. - sounds like the majority of us want to stay out of the spotlight

alex markle - that's pretty cool. do you go to fresno games a lot? maybe you can get her to sign this card for me ;D

acrackedbat - the sanchez is yours.

johnnys trading spot - lol. i used to be type a when i was in my teens. not anymore

sumomenkoman - that's probably why you and i get along

nick - as much as i enjoy relics... and reading blogs... i can officially state that i have zero interest in collecting blogger "hair" relics ;D

shlabotnik report - i sat down next to a couple who were keeping score at one of the a's games i went to last year (maybe the year before). it was so cool. they each had their own book and the husband was listening to the radio call... while the wife just watch the game and recorded.

gca - maybe a blogger set using bitmoji's? i could see that killing my self-esteem too.

jay - it's yours. i was gonna send you some giants eventually. email me your address and i'll get some cards shipped to you one of these days.