30-Day Baseball Card Challenge - Day 4

It's been a while, but I'm back on track and tackling the day 4 topic: a rookie card of one of my favorite players. I went back and forth about which player/card to focus on. Something that happened Friday night made my decision for me though. One of my favorite former Durham Bulls, Taylor Motter hit his second grand slam of the season(and career) for the Mariners. I'd venture to say that this one was far sweeter than the first because it came against his former team, the Rays! I hate that the Rays traded him during the offseason. He became one of my favorite players during his time in Durham. I even got the chance to meet him a few times at the ballpark. He's genuinely a nice guy and I had hoped he would earn the role of super utility guy in Tampa. While that won't be happening in the foreseeable future, I am still pulling for him to have a great season.

As it relates to the cardboard, I'm kinda cheating since I'm about to highlight two different parallels of one of my favorite player's rookie cards. I've had these tucked away in my collection for a few months now so there's no better time to show them off.

As any modern-day collector knows, there are typically 20-30 different RCs to chase of any given player. However, this is one of only two official RCs featuring Motter. That makes it easier for a player collector to go parallel hunting. Though you can't tell from the scan, the card on the left is the reverse stock version. These flip the finish from a 'normal' card. The front is rough and has a flat finish to it, whereas the back is smooth and slightly glossy. On the right, we have the red back version. These aren't serial numbered, but they have a reported print run of 10 copies. For what it's worth, I'm still looking for the far more common gum-stained back. If anyone reading happens to have one, I'd love to trade for it. Thanks for reading.

Now Starting at QB for the Denver Broncos...

Paxton Lynch!

My Broncos seem to be playing it safe with Trevor Siemian's shoulder injury. So, after stepping in just before half time last week and playing a solid second half, Kubiak is starting the rookie Lynch this week against the Falcons. I've been slowly acquiring Lynch RCs since the draft and figured this would be a perfect time to show off two that haven't been featured here yet.

I grabbed this Panini National Convention exclusive RC relic off of eBay shortly after the end of the National. Even though it's a plain orange swatch, not a sick patch, this is one that I'm thrilled to add to the PC. The other acquisition comes courtesy of a first time cardsphere trading partner.

Sports Card Collectors posted this as one of the inserts pulled from the box of Donruss a Football that was reviewed. I immediately tried to work a deal for this. I offered up a Rueben Randle relic card and before I knew it, this card was in hand. thanks for the deal SCC! I love the design(and shine) of this one. The scan doesn't even begin to do it justice. Hopefully his performance today is as brilliant as this card. Go Broncos! Thanks for reading.

An NFL-inspired Single Card Post

I've got a bunch of great stuff that I've accumulated over the past week, and I'm sure I'll have a few trade packages awaiting my return home, but since I am still out of town, I figured it would be easy to write about something that has been sitting around for a while. I'll be sure to get back to the usual content in a day or so, but until then...

...it is upon us. Tonight, the first pre-season NFL game is being played. I'm slowly beginning to get excited. A new season means another chance to claim a Super Bowl title. Hopefully this guy can help my Broncos do just that.

This Juwan Thompson die-cut RC was a Listia win from a few months ago. It only set me back a few hundred credits which was totally worth it. This is my first RC of a guy who was really productive last season when given the chance. The Broncos situation at the RB position is cloudy at best, but considering Montee Ball's tendency to get injured, and Ronnie Hillman's inconsistency, I think Juwan will get some touches and make the most of them. The Broncos will need all of their offensive weapons firing on all cylinders if they're going to make another run deep into the playoffs.