Happy Fourth of July!!! I hope everyone out there has a safe Independence Day. I put some thought into how I could commemorate the holiday while sticking to the Baseball Card theme of the blog. Here's what I came up with.
For at least the past several years, I've tuned in to ESPN to watch the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. I'm not really sure how or why this caught on as a holiday tradition, but it certainly has. If anyone is interested, here's an article addressing that very topic. For me, I think it is simply morbid curiosity that gets the better of me. It's like watching that old proverbial train wreck, it's hard to look away... Anyway, this event has gotten so big, that some of the competitors have cards out:
Kobayashi was the first star of this event, winning six years in a row starting in 2001. Joey Chestnut literally picked up where Kobayashi left off and has won the last eight contests, beating his own world record in 2013 by eating 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes. If you'd like a more in depth history of the event which dates back to the '70's, check this out.
After watching one of the strangest holiday traditions around, I usually like to watch a ball game or two.
I realize the iconic speech that Ortiz was delivering here was not related to the 4th, but it is one of the most patriotic cards I own and I really dig the flag as the backdrop. Most stadiums will look similar today, at least prior to the first pitch.
Speaking of the scene prior to the first pitch...I especially enjoy watching the players during the National Anthem on this holiday. After the last note is played/sung, it's time to PLAY BALL!
Who doesn't love a little game action? I'm not a Mark Ellis fan or a fan of the A's for that matter, but the composition of this card is great!
A little later, once the sun goes down, there's one more thing that's an absolute must when celebrating on the 4th...FIREWORKS!
These cards from Prizm have such a cool theme, I almost forget that they don't contain logos. I chose these two to show off because they were THE major stars of the '90's both on the field and in the hobby.
I'm hoping that these two guys can stay healthy and recreate a little piece of the '90's for me. So far, I'm almost as interested in watching these guys play as I was watching Junior and The Big Hurt back then.
Once the fireworks are over and the smoke clears, it's almost time to sleep. So, I leave you all with just one final patriotic card.
I love these Bowman Chrome International parallels from the early days of the brand. The flags really stand out, and is like that they didn't use state flags as they have in some more recent years. Here's one of my favorite former Durham Bulls who had a pretty decent major league career sporting the red, white, and blue background.
Well, that wraps up the highlights of my July 4th celebration told through baseball cards. I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed putting it together!
