A Splash of Snowflakes

I got a call from my dad about a month ago asking for opinions on cards. He was in the Wal-Mart card aisle, looking for something to break open and send along my way. He ultimately decided on two blaster boxes of 2018 Topps Update Holiday Snowflake.

To be honest, I had never even heard of the Holiday Snowflake set, but it sounded intriguing. I figured it was probably the same set as Topps Update with some snowflake graphics, which ended up being the case. Seeing as I never picked up any Update, however, I figured it would be fun. The snowflakes aren’t too intrusive, and when combined with great photography, they can make for a great card. Just check out that Beltre above.

Baseball, of course, is predominately a summer sport, and the juxtaposition of snowflakes and baseball players is a bit odd. In the baseball world, winter is typically reserved for a flurry of blockbuster trades and players signings, but that hasn’t been the case over the past two off-seasons, just ask Manny Machado (who, in case you haven’t heard, is still on the market). This is one of my first cards featuring Machado as a Dodgers and likely one of my last, especially with Corey Seager back in the fold after missing most of 2018 with Tommy John surgery.

Speaking of Seager, what a magnificent action shot.

I started my 2019 my officially closing the door on my Matt Kemp PC, but I think this may still find its way to Kemp’s binder in my closet. Topps sure does find a ton of shots of Kemp smiling.

As my dad ripped through the packs, we both remarked about the terrific parity in the pair of blasters. Each blaster contained 100 cards (10 packs of 10 cards), totaling 200 cards between the boxes. When all was said and done, we managed only 9 doubles. Not bad.

I’ve long been a fan of Shohei Ohtani, and I was excited about the possibility of pulling one of his rookie cards. The final pack held the cardboard of 2019’s hit two-way phenom and now so do I.

To make things better, each blaster box had a guaranteed hit, useful when recouping the price of the box or adding to a list of trade bait.

We managed a “only” pair of relics from a couple of All-Stars. Not bad.

It was a great pair of boxes overall and a fun time breaking the boxes across the country with my dad.

Dollar Store Packs

After a lackluster year of collecting in 2018, I was determined to start off 2019 with a bang. Determined, I planned a trip to Target (one that is out of the way via public transportation) in the hopes I would find a blaster box or two. But I had no luck–the Target only had football cards.

To the interwebs, I thought next, as I logged onto eBay. Maybe I’ll find some Topps Chrome or something to start off the year–and I did. A hobby box of 2018 Topps Chrome for only $37.00? This seems too good to be true, I thought. But the seller checks out and the item has sold in the last hour. Let’s go ahead and order!

The excitement of that steal of a deal lasted only a few minutes before I was greeted with an email from eBay stating that the seller had been hacked, the listing was cancelled, and I wouldn’t be getting my cards. Oh, and it didn’t give me any indication of how to go about a refund. Fun times.

But I was determined, so as a last-ditch effort, I decided to take a long walk to the dollar store. And what did I find?

Two measly packs of 2018 Panini Donruss. This is the way 2019 begins. Not with a bang, but a whimper.

Pack 1

#158 – Corey Seager – Dodgers

Not a bad first card, to be honest. Seager was out for most of 2018 recovering from Tommy John surgery but should be back and healthy in 2019.

#132 – Christian Yelich – Marlins

A mainstay of my fantasy baseball team for years, Yelich broke out in a big way in route to the NL MVP for the Brewers in 2018.

#74 – Duke Snider – Dodgers

More Duke Snider cards, please.

#168 – Josh Donaldson – Blue Jays

Pack 2

#216 – Dave Concepcion and Tony Perez – Reds

While I applaud the sight of a Dave Concepion and Tony Perez card, this thing is just…terrible. It’s boring, bland, meh, whatever you wanna call it, I don’t like it. The position plate on the bottom right of the card is invasive unnecessary, and Panini’s lack of MLB licensing really hurts them here.

#178 – Carlos Martinez – Cardinals

#102 – Nelson Cruz – Mariners

#11 – Jose Altuve – Astros

Not a bad showing overall, as I managed two Dodgers in just eight cards. I’m not a huge fan of Panini products (or the unlicensed products in general), and some of these just seem hit or miss. The dual Concepcion-Perez card is a disaster, but the vertical cards are decent. The splash of baseballs behind the position is a nice touch, too.

Though 2019 didn’t start out quite the way I envisioned, I can’t say cracking some dollar store packs wasn’t fun.

The End of My Matt Kemp PC

Part of my blogging/collecting woes from the past year have been due to my lack of dedicated card space. I’m jammed into a tiny apartment with two roommates, so my room doesn’t accomodate a desk or any other furniture besides a bed and our common area doesn’t allow for much either. Because of this, all of my cards (the few small boxes I have with me in NYC) have been stored at the top of my closet, requiring me to pull out a stool to access them. This also means I dont have a dedicated space (i.e a desk) to actually do much writing. I often write while sitting in my bed, which I don’t find comfortable or constructive.

Thus, one of my early goals for 2019 was to figure out a better way to store my cards, maybe adjusting my collecting goals along the way.

Since moving to this my new place, I’ve used the window sill in my room as a makeshift bookshelf, with my books stacked from wall to wall. It worked out perfectly, actually, as I had exactly the right number of books to coincide with the space between the walls. But with a need for card space, I decided to dissemble my row of books to create some additional room.

The books have been moved over and stacked in two columns, leaving me just enough space to keep my cards. And, unfortunately, there isn’t much. I have two small stacks of top loaded cards, two blaster boxes filled with singles, another small box filled with some vintage cardboard, and a bubble mailer of cards for a fellow blogger. I also have five binders of my various PCs and Dodgers flagship sets in my closet, but I’ll leave them there for now.

Reorganzing, of course, is the perfect time to look through a collection, and that’s what I was doing when I ran across this beauty.

2006 Topps ’52 Matt Kemp 52S-MK

A sweet on-card auto from 2006 Topps ’52. I bought this card a few years back, just before I stepping away from blogging., so I never had the opportunity to properly blog about it.

At that point in time, I was fully committed to building a super collection of Matt Kemp cards. Kemp was my favorite player at the time (and still a Dodger), and his cards were priced fairly reasonably. As a Kemp collector, this autograph, one of his first, was a definite must have for my collection.

Of course, Kemp was traded (along with Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood, and Kyle Farmer) to the Reds a few weeks ago, closing a Dodger career that saw him hit over 200 homers for the Dodgers in his ten years with the club. And while I still have an affinity for Matty, I also think it’s about time I close the door on my Kemp PC.

I’ve already sold off, gifted, and traded many of my Kemp cards, including most of my high-end Kemp stuff. And now that he is with the Reds in what is most likely his final year in the big leagues, I don’t see a reason to contiune to building that PC.

I suppose it’s the end of a chapter for me and this blog, and perhaps a timely one. I started blogging back in 2013, largely as a way to share my collection with all of my fellow collectors, and my Matt Kemp PC was the driving force of the blog. In fact, my first blog post featured a Matt Kemp relic that I was super excited to share. I eventually built my Kemp PC to well over 200 cards, and while I’ll never quite match the impressive collection of Greg over at Plaschke, Thy Sweater Is Argyle (seriosuly, 505 Kemp cards!), I can say with certainty that I had a blast trying.

My colection will continue to grow and shift as we move into 2019, and I am looking forward to sharing those collecting goals with you soon. Until then, enjoy some of my favorite Kemp cards from throughout the years.

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Wrapping Up 2018 with Topps Chrome

Future Dodger Bryce Harper...and some other guys.

This year my girlfriend and I flew to Ohio to spend the holidays with her family. We celebrated Christmas, hung out with her extended family, made a quick trip to Chicago for more family stuff, and lounged around her parents' house. It was a fantastic and unproductive week and a half, and I loved every minute of it.

We happened to drop by a Target toward the end of our stay, and, lucky for me, I happened upon a decently-stocked card aisle. I have been unable to find cards at NYC Targets for the past several months, so this was certainly a boon. I planned on buying a blaster box, though they only had Panini blasters, so I opted for a few hanger packs of 2018 Topps Chrome Update Series instead. I'm a sucker for chrome, so I was definitely excited to get cracking.

Right off the bat, my girlfriend ripped open back-to-back packs and pulled a pair of autos. (She had quite the lucky touch this week, as she also won 100 bucks on a two-dollar scratcher.) Dustin Fowler is a former Yankees farmhand, now with the A's, and has a ton of promise. It's a sticker auto (meh) but a solid pull nonetheless.

The Minaya auto is a bit more exciting, as it's a green rookie parallel #'d /99. These things fall only once every 3,200 packs, so I was definitely happy to see it. Minaya has bounced around between the minors and the big leagues for each of the last three years, though he has a solid showing in 2018 and is likely to stick around in the White Sox bullpen.

Each hanger pack also came with a couple of pink parallels, which are pretty fun. The Braves are young and fun, so it'll be exciting to watch Albies develop other the next few years.

Other than the autos, the packs weren't all that exciting. There was a mixture of veteran stars and young rookies, but the cards themselves weren't too interesting. That is until I took a closer look at this Rhys Hoskins card.

The Phillies logo on Hoskins' helmet is barely visible, and his swing completely blocks out "Phillies" across his chest. If it weren't for the Phillies logo on the bottom left of the card, it would kinda resemble an unlicensed Panini card.

In fact, a majority of the cards I pulled seemed to fit this bill. Logos are hidden by arms and heads are often turned away just enough to obscure the helmet/hat logos. I'm not all that bothered by this, though I did find it a bit odd. I didn't buy all that much in 2018, so I'm wondering if this was a theme for Topps this year.


2018 wasn't a big year for cards here on the blog, but it certainly ended with a few packs and some satisfying pulls. Here's to a better card year in 2019!

A New Home for Chavez Ravining

I've been traded! I haven't stopped blogging, I've just moved to a new location and URL. Be sure to follow me at my new digs. And enjoy this sensuous photo of Yasiel Puig in the meantime. 

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