Metal Meets MLB

The majority of my readers are here for baseball cards.  Don't worry... this post has them.  However there's a little music incorporated as well.  If you're familiar with Night Owl's Match the Song Title posts... this is a copycat version.  So if you just want to see baseball cards, then scroll down a little.  Otherwise, let's talk music...

Metallica was my favorite band in high school.  One of my friends bought Master of Puppets and we rocked out to it on a daily basis.  We worked our way backward to Ride the Lightning and Kill 'Em All.

Life was good.

I continued listening to their music all the way through their ...And Justice for All and the Black Album, but never really got into their stuff after that.

These days, they're still a big part of my life.  I routinely listen to a Spotify playlist I made for my classroom and long car drives.  And if I were to rank them among my all-time favorite bands, they would be up there with Fleetwood Mac, The Beastie Boys, The Police, Journey, and A Tribe Called Quest.

That's why I was excited to hear that back in 2021... December 16th was declared as Metallica Day in San Francisco by Mayor London Breed.  In honor of their special day, I figured show off a special sheet of cards I purchased awhile back:

The sheet was inserted into the 2011 September/October issue of Revolver:

The front and back of the cards utilize the 1986 Topps baseball design... which is perfect, because that's the year I started listening to the band.

The magazine included another sheet of cards featuring two more "thrash metal" bands:

Slayer, Megadeath, and Anthrax are the three other bands that make up what is considered the Big 4 of U.S. thrash metal.  Personally... Metallica was reason I bought the issue.  I have a couple of Anthrax albums and remember listening to Slayer back in high school, but labeling me anything more than a casual fan of either of these bands would be considered a stretch.

In an effort to entertain those who came here to read about baseball cards, here are nine baseball cards that are related to nine Metallica songs...

#1:  Enter Sandman

2011 Topps Chrome Refractor #42

When most of you hear this song, I'm guessing Mo is the first person you think of.

#2:  Fade to Black

1971 Topps #118

This is my favorite Metallica song paired with one of my favorite black bordered cards.

#3:  Master of Puppets

1986 Donruss #647

Beane was a master of puppets orchestrating some major changes to the way the Oakland A's approached the game we love.  It never paid off with a World Series title... but it entertained diehard fans until it didn't.

#4:  The Unforgiven

1987 Classic #1

Pete Rose was gambling right about the same time Classic released their first board game containing baseball cards and they honored him with the first card in the set.

Unfortunately... betting on games is considered the cardinal sin of baseball.  Although there were plenty of fans willing to forgive him... many have not... so I dub thee unforgiven.

#5:  For Whom the Bell Tolls 

2015 Topps Tier One New Guard Autographs #NGA-SDO (#'d 302/349)

Some people think of Jonathan Papelbon when they hear this song.  I think of Mr. Doolittle and the right field rockers at the Oakland Coliseum.

#5:  Seek & Destroy

1994 Kenner SLU #NNO

When I picked this song for this post, I knew I'd be featuring an intimidating pitcher.  Two came to mind.  Bob Gibson is arguably the most intimidating pitcher to stand on the bump.  Unfortunately... he was a little before my time.  So I'm gonna go with the Big Unit. 

#6:  Harvester of Sorrow

1989 Fleer World Series #5

Baseball cards bring joy to my life.  At least most of them do.  This card reminds me of the 1988 World Series... which conjures up feelings of sadness.  But it's still a part of my collection... which is why I spent over thirty minutes digging through boxes searching for this set.

#7:  The Shortest Straw

1984 Topps Traded Bronze Premium #NNO

Standing at 1.75"... this is the shortest Straw in my collection.  Actually... that's a lie.  I own all of Darryl's Topps Micro cards which measure only an inch in height... but they're sitting inside factory sealed sets.  So this is the shortest Straw that's been pulled for you.

#8:  Am I Evil?

1988 Kenner SLU #NNO

Great song.  Terrible human being.  I'd like to believe that people can turn their lives around and learn from their mistakes... but what this guy did is unforgivable. 

#9:  One

2017 Topps 30th Anniversary #87-11

I should have put this song at the top of the list, but that's too obvious.

As for the card... I went with the first guy that came to mind when I thought of players wearing #1.  Ozzie Smith wore that number his entire hall of fame career with the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals.

It was a lot of fun putting together this list of songs.  Honestly... Metallica has so many classics, I could have easily put together two starting nines.  Maybe next December 16th. I'll create a list of B sides.

Until then...

Are you a fan of Metallica?  Do you have a favorite song?

Happy Metallica Day and sayonara!

Round 2

Last weekend I showed off the big box filled with presents that Ryan (SumoMenkoMan) sent me.  It's literally a handmade advent calendar that he put together for me.  I honestly have no idea what I've done to deserve this generosity and thoughtfulness, but I'm truly grateful.

My goal was to follow the advent calendar rules and open up a present each day of December leading up to Christmas.  Unfortunately, this week was a little busier than normal, so they all sat in the box until this afternoon.

Today's post recaps my advent calendar binge busting with the next seven days in the calendar...

Day 8:  NPB Snack Packs

At first glance, these might look like packs of baseball cards.  They are actually snack packs filled with Japanese rice crackers, sometimes referred to as "chili bits" or "arare":

I've been snacking on these since I was a kid.  In fact I just bought a bag a few weeks ago and they're sitting in my desk at work.  These were from the eight bags that were in the advent calendar.

Each snack pack came with one pack of cards attached to the back:

I opened all eight snack packs and seven of the card packs.  I kept one pack intact for my unopened pack collection.

Each pack contains one card that looks something like this:

2024 Bandai Pro Baseball Deforme Card Collection #BDC1-HO1

This one has a gold refractor tint to it, so I used it for the sample.  Here are the other six cards I pulled:

The only name I recognized is Tsuyoshi Wada.  He pitched for the Chicago Cubs a few years ago.

If you're interested in reading more about this set, click here.  Sean over at Getting Back into Baseball Cards... in Japan wrote a post about them back in July.


Day #9:  Antique Tin w/Cards

Next up is an antique tin:

According to Ryan, kids in Japan would often store their cards in tins like these.  If you're wondering if this one contained any cards... it did:

Let's start with the really old stuff:

I have no idea who these gentlemen are... but I'm guessing they celebrities.

He also included two more vintage cards and seven phone cards from Japan:

Here's a peek at the back of one of these phone cards:

I've seen these on Ryan's blog and YouTube channel and I'm stoked to add them to my collection.

Day #10:  Non-Sports Promo Cards

He knows that I'm a big fan of 90's sports card promos, but he wasn't sure if I collected non-sport promo cards like these:

The simple answer is "heck yeah"!  I collect promo cards of any subject from any decade.  But I'm especially fond of promo cards from sets I'd actually love to own like this one:

2021 RRParks Ultraman Series One Promo #P1

Like those rice crackers... I've been a fan of Ultraman since I was a little kid.  I had no idea this set existed, but now that I know it's out there... I want one.

Day #11:  Japanese Calligraphy

This is a canvas board with some Japanese writing on it.  It says "Destiny".  I believe that certain things in my life have happened for a reason.  Can't say for sure if starting a blog and building a friendship is one of those things, but regardless I'm very grateful that's the way things played out.

Day #12:  Twelve Vintage Planes

My interest in Japan transcends trading cards... which is why I was stoked to find this:

It's a sealed package of decals/stickers that look older than me (and I'm old).  I could open it up and look for a date, but something this old should be preserved.

Day #13:  Ohtani Tea

One of my favorite beverages is green tea.  Ryan sent me two bottles of it:

These are extra special, because they're endorsed by this year's National League MVP... Mr. Ohtani:

I've already opened up one of these bottles.  It paired well with the chili bits from Day #8.

Day #14:  Potentially Rare Insert Cards

Ryan write a note for each present in the box.  His message on this envelope said "People threw these out so now they are more rare than the regular cards".  

Kinda makes you wonder if Tom over at The Angels, In Order is onto something.

Here's my favorite of the bunch:

1996 Upper Deck Meet the Stars Trivia Challenge #72

Do you know the answer?  

Perkins started his career in Dallas.  Payton and Kemp hadn't been in the league for ten years when this card was released, so McMillan would be the correct answer.  Unfortunately this contest ended over twenty-five years ago.  I wonder if anyone ever got a chance to meet MJ.

Well that wraps up the Part 2 of Ryan's 2024 Advent Calendar.

Thank you Ryan!  Love the variety of gifts, the tasty snacks, and appreciate the time and effort you put into this advent calendar.  Totally awesome bro!

Happy Saturday and sayonara!