My Favorite Card of the Year - 2017 Edition

I originally started this post on 12/3/17 and had to quickly put it in the shelf. Then I heard about P-Town Tom's 'Favorite Card of 2017' contest currently going on over at Waiting 'til Next Year... Check out the contest here: http://tilnextyear-tom.blogspot.com/2017/12/contest-favorite-card-of-2017.html There are still a few days to enter if you haven't already! I figured it was the perfect motivation to resurrect and repurpose the original post. So, here goes.

This story begins way back at the end of February and wrapped up just as the baseball season was entering the dog days of summer(in the midst of my unintended blog sabbatical). On the day I found Heritage on my Target's shelf a day early, I also picked up a free pack of Topps Series One(courtesy of a coupon on the Heritage hanger box). That free pack would provide me with my favorite card of 2017.

This SSP of Kris Bryant was an awesome surprise out of that retail loose pack! It's got a great photo of a key World Series winning contributor and is a really tough pull but I don't specifically collect SSP cards or Kris Bryant and it doesn't appear to be directly tied to the WS like the Highlight cards I tend to gravitate towards. So, why did I choose this as my favorite card of the year(especially with all the excitement over Aaron Judge this year)? Well, it's because of what I was able to turn his card into. Yes, I immediately posted this gem on eBay and it fetched a good amount. For months I debated internally what I should spend my new found hobby funds on. Then I found it.

I'm really not sure what to say about this card other than I am awestruck every time I look at it. This is one relic card that will never lose its luster or its feeling of being something special. The Kris Bryant SSP allowed me to add an incredible card that fits into my collection, has become an instant favorite, and, I wouldn't have been able to add without the help of my free pack windfall. For that, it is truly my favorite card of 2017! Thanks for reading.