Feeding My 2020 Cardboard Cravings

This weekend I was looking for Stranger Things Season 2 on Blu-ray at Target.com which has been impossible to find.  Anyways... I decided to see if there were any baseball card blaster boxes online since I haven't seen any of those at my local Target since before the lockdown.

I was pleasantly surprised to find 2020 Allen and Ginter in stock and ready to ship.  I'm sitting on a stack of Target gift cards, so I threw a few into my basket where they sit waiting for me to click "check out".  Not sure if I'll actually follow through on the purchase.  On one hand, I'll never see retail blasters in my area.

2020 Allen and Ginter #201

On the other hand, I'm not the biggest fan of Ginter.  Plus... bloggers like Rod (Padrographs) end up sending me their extras like this cool card of Sakura Kokumai (karate champion).

Not only did he supply me with my first helping of 2020 Ginter, he also sent me with my first examples of 2020 Diamond King, 2020 Topps Fire, and 2020 Stadium Club (why can't Target have these blasters in stock?).

As most of you know, Rod is my regular supplier of SI for Kids sheets:

I know at least a handful of these came from the bookstore that Rod has managed the past two decades.  Sadly, he announced last month the bookstore would be closing and that he would take the "voluntary" retirement.  Just one more piece of evidence proving that 2020 is the worst year of my lifetime.

On the bright side, Rod is a huge San Diego Padres fan and for the first time in fourteen years they're back in the playoffs.

Fourteen years seems like a lifetime ago.  Let's see.  Fourteen years ago, I was out of the hobby, still teaching at the elementary level, and had no idea what a blog was.  The icing on the cake?  My current seventh graders weren't even born yet.  

Let's go Padres!

Jim (GCRL) also sent me a 2020 first...

2020 Topps Archives #11

Technically, this isn't the first 2020 Archives card in my collection.  I've picked up a few of the Fan Favorites autographs.  However this is my very first base card from the set.

He also sent me my very first 2018 Topps Chrome Sapphire card...

2018 Topps Chrome Sapphire #608

Not exactly sure what the story is behind these Sapphire cards, but I'm pretty sure they're an online exclusive product that is very, very desirable.

Thank you Rod and Jim for thinking of me with these care packages.  You guys are the reason, I don't get disappointed when I see empty shelves in the card aisle at my local Target.  Who needs them when there are generous bloggers like you two who feed my 2020 cardboard cravings?

Happy Monday and sayonara!

TWIB: Childhood Crushes, Poetry, and Cereal Killers

It's been another busy week... at work, in sports, and in the blogosphere.  Don't worry, I'm not gonna be ranting about distance learning.  This post is purely focused on This Week in Blogging...

#1:  The Final Frontier

Star Trek has taken a back seat to Star Wars ever since my parents took me to see Luke Skywalker blow up the original Death Star back in 1977.  That being said, I grew up watching and enjoying the original Star Trek television show.

It's been sitting on my Netflix queue for several years, but there's always something else to binge watch on there.  But last Saturday, GCA showed off a few singles from his 1976 Topps Star Trek set and wrote about three episodes, including his favorite... The Tholian Web.  I finally had the chance to watch it this morning and it was awesome.  Thanks Greg for the suggestion.

Both of these William Shatner signatures were obtained at the 2016 Silicon Valley Comic Con by my buddy Mike.

#2:  Wonder Woman

If you're a fan of 70's and 80's television shows then I encourage you to click here and check out Gregory's gorgeous 1974 Topps All-Star customs that feature popular characters from that era.

One of them had Lou Ferrigno's Hulk and Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman.  I figured I'd use this opportunity to share a signed 8x10 I purchased back in 2017 on eBay.  Normally I avoid buying autographs that aren't certified by PSA, JSA, or BGS, but this signature looked good compared to certified signatures I found online.

Carter was one of my childhood crushes and as she approaches seventy years of age, she still looks wonderful.

#3:  Real Cardboard

1969 Topps #59

I'll accept just about any form of trading card into my collection, but that doesn't mean I believe all cards are created equally.  As much as I enjoy a shiny refractor from the 90's, I will always have a deeper appreciation for trading cards printed on real cardboard like the ones mentioned in Night Owl's post on Monday.

I decided to use my oldest copy of a Jay Johnstone card as an example of a piece of real cardboard that I treasure.  If you want to see more "real cardboard", click here.

1986 Topps #496

Sadly Night Owl's post is also where I learned that Mr. Johnstone passed away recently.  Rest in peace Moon Man.

#4:  Goodbye Gibson

1969 Topps #378

This morning I read the tragic news that Bob Gibson passed away yesterday.  He threw his final MLB pitch right around the same time I was turning three years old, so I obviously don't remember watching him play during his career.  But his legacy is one of those that transcends the 60's and 70's.  Baseball fans of all ages know about him and the way he intimidated batters during his career.

1999 UD Century Legends Epic Signatures #BG

However based on the smiles on both of these baseball cards, you'd think he was the friendliest flamethrower in baseball.  Rest in peace Gibby.

#5:  Ms. Jackson... If You're Nasty

Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989)

Janet (1993)

If you enjoy reading posts about music and/or you're a fan of 1991 Pro Set MusiCards... then you should definitely subscribe to Gavin's blog:  1991 MusiCards Blog.  The amount of research he puts into these post is truly impressive.  I enjoy reading them even when I'm not a huge fan of the featured artist.

This week, he wrote about Paula Abdul and how she is still one of his "guilty pleasures".  Personally, I prefer one of the artists she choreographed for:  Janet.  Or Ms. Jackson, if you're nasty.

#6:  Hobby Haiku

1999 Topps Gallery Autographs #GA3

Do you enjoy poetry?  How about baseball card related poetry?  If you answered "yes" to either of these questions click here.

I've learned some really cool trivia from Matt's haikus.  This week he wrote about Eric Chavez who happens to be a fan favorite in my neck of the woods.

#7:  Pretty in Pink

2010 Japanese Idol Costume Card #01

Another week.  Another contest over on Collecting Cutch.  This week's challenge is to show off some "pink" cardboard on your blog.  If you do, leave a link to your blog post in the comment section of his contest post and you'll be in the running for a Babe Ruth seat relic card.  Yup.  He's giving away a Babe Ruth relic card.

2018 BBM True Heart #40

It's a good thing he's not giving the Ruth away to the blogger with the most "pink" cards.  If that was the case, you'd be hard pressed to take down Mr. Miller over at Johnny's Trading Spot.  Don't believe me?  Click here.

2017 BBM True Heart Autograph

By the way, a huge shout out to Kenny, Raz, and Ryan for providing the three "pink" cards for this post.

#8:  Cereal Killers

Rounding out this post are a few sketch cards I completely forgot about until I saw some really cool Wacky Packages featuring cereal boxes on Johnny's Trading Spot.  If you're a fan of Wacky Packages, make sure to subscribe to his blog, because he's always showing off some WP's on Wacky Wednesday.

These sketch cards aren't Wacky Packages.  They come from a Wax Eye product released back in 2011 called Cereal Killers featuring the artwork of Joe Simko.  I opened up a case of this stuff and pulled the four sketch cards seen here.

Well that wraps up another This Week in Blogging post.  Sorry this one ran a little longer than usual.  There were just too many cool posts to comment on.  In fact there were a few I had to scratch at the last second due to lack of time.

Here are today's questions of the day...

Star Wars or Star Trek?

Who was your childhood celebrity crush?

Paula or Janet?

What is you favorite cereal?

If you read this post, you know my responses to the first three questions.  As for my favorite cereal, right now I'm on a Cheerios kick.  But a few months ago, I was all about Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

The Last One

With my recent plethora of Topps Project 2020 posts... you might be thinking that I've decided to fully endorse this product line... but that's not entirely true.

There are a handful that I enjoy and have purchased, but a high percentage of the cards produce a feeling of "meh" in me.  Today's post covers the last one I will be sharing unless I eventually pick up cheap copies of Blake Jamieson's Mark McGwire and Ichiro cards.

Sophia Chang is my second favorite Project 2020 artist, so I knew there was a good chance I'd be purchasing her interpretation of Tony Gwynn's rookie card:

2020 Topps Project 2020 #225

Although Ermsy is my overall favorite Project 2020 artist, I actually like Chang's version a lot more.  Like Ermsy her style gives off a "street art" vibe, but she managed to keep Gwynn's head intact.  I'm also a huge fan of her use of different fonts and the interesting "Easter Eggs" she includes on her cards.

Some of the facts are obvious like the inclusion of .394, 1983, and "outfield".  But I had absolutely no idea how "Jack Rabbits" and Tony Gwynn fit together.  Thanks to Google... I discovered they're the Long Beach Polytechnic High School mascot... where he lettered in baseball and basketball.  Speaking of basketball, she includes Gwynn's SDSU single game record of 18 "dimes" against UNLV back in 1980.

2001 SP Game Bat Edition Piece of the Game #TGw

I'm surprised that I didn't know that Gwynn called his prized ash bat... "Seven Grains of Pain"... but I do now thanks to Ms. Chang.  And her inclusion of "Chemistry Guy" is part of a quote by Mr. Padre himself... "I'm a chemistry guy.  I believe you've got to play together to have a chance to win.".  Although I wasn't familiar with that quote, I always knew he was a team player and loyal to the Padres.

"Play Hard, Have Fun" is part of another direct quote from Gwynn... which makes sense since Gwynn always seemed like he was having fun on the diamond.  And if you're a fan of Gwynn, I'm sure you're familiar with how much effort he put into the game he loved.

1990 Classic #87

Well that's it for today.  I wanted to leave you with this tidbit of Tony Gwynn trivia.  Exactly thirty-one years ago, he went 3 for 4 at the plate against the San Francisco Giants pitchers to sneak past Will Clark for his 4th National League batting title.  Good times.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!