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!