Checking Out Some Opening Day Before Opening Day - The Favorite

Today I did something a little out of character. I bought a blaster of Opening Day... I'll expand upon that tomorrow, but I wanted to devote this post to my favorite card of said blaster.

I certainly have grown as a collector and sports fan in general. As I've stated previously, there was a time when I wouldn't have given this card a second thought after flipping past it once. I mean, it's a Red Sox card after all. Fortunately, when I flipped to this card today, I stopped and took it all in for a few minutes. Then I researched when the pic was taken and under what circumstances. Now, I'm sure there are a bunch of you out there that could tell me that info off the top of your head, but I couldn't pinpoint it. Here's what I found out, for those that don't already know.

This photo was taken on 9/21/15, nine days after Ortiz joined the 500 HR Club while on the road. The BoSox held a pre-game ceremony to honor his achievement. Now, this is a great card! Iconic player? check. Significant baseball moment? Check. Captures the emotion of said moment? Check! At this point, I think I like this card even better than the Bautista bat flip that everyone has gone bananas over so far this collecting year. True, the design elements take away from the photo slightly, but not as much as the butcher, crop job Topps did(as usual). What do I mean? I'm glad you asked.

Here is the Original version of the photo from MLB. Had Topps cropped a little less, the '500' in the outfield would be clearly visible and the '500s' on the facades near his left wrist and forearm wouldn't be so obscured by the 'mist' design element. It's a small grievance, but a really great card could have been even better. Topps is gonna have to step up their game for this guy's sunset card in 2017 Topps if they expect to match this one.

Tune in tomorrow if you have any interest in seeing how the rest of the blaster looked. Thanks for reading.

There Should Be More Cards Like This - A Single Card Post

I have been a New York Yankees fan for as long as I can remember. In my younger days, I would never have allowed myself to like anything related to the Red Sox. I bought in to the whole rivalry thing. I thought that because I loved my team, that I had to hate anything to do with the Sox. Fortunately, I've grown older (and what I like to think) wiser. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't happy when they broke the Curse of the Bambino and won their first championship in 86 years, especially since they made history by rallying in the ALCS. However, I've learned to appreciate some of the great talent they've had over the last decade(I'm talking about you, Big Papi). Their subsequent WS wins didn't make me happy either, but at least they didn't make me angry or depressed like some fans. In fact, at least one good thin came from their 2007 Workd Series win.

It's this 2008 Upper Deck Jason Varitek, recently pulled from one of those 100 card repacks.

This is one incredible piece of cardboard! It's got everything:

Great photo? Check.

Captain of the squad? Check. 

Championship sweatshirt and hat? Check.

A moment in baseball history frozen in time? Check.

World Series Trophy? Check!

I really dig cards like this. Sadly, they are few and far between. Cards like this can break down barriers. If I pulled a Varitek with a random picture of him behind the plate, hitting, or something of the like, I'd be frustrated at pulling a BoSox card and eventually throw it into a trade package. Pulling this was memorable. It's a rare occasion that I can say I'm happy to have pulled a card from my favorite team's bitter rivals, but hey... A great card is a great card!

Trading with Shoebox Legends

A few weeks ago, Shane from the great blog, Shoebox Legends contacted me and proposed an AL East rivals trade. Since I am a Yankee fan, the overwhelming majority of the Red Sox in my possession are certainly fair game, so I agreed readily. The other day an envelope arrived from Shane. Here's the goods.

A trio of Bowman Heritage rookies that I didn't already have start things off. For a while I had the Hughes and Chamberlain on a want list, but I really only looked for them half-heartedly. Once they both left NY, they really got put on the back burner, but it is nice to finally have these cards that I had on one of my official lists a few years back. The last one is Kei Igawa. I try my best to forget guys like him(Hideki Irabu anyone...). The only card that really stands out in my mind that I have is one that was given out at the National one year.

Next up, another Hughes and another Chamberlain. Very nice additions. I really like that Fleer Tradition Banner Season design, and this is the first Yankee that I have.

A little Mo and an appearance from the Captain make me happy. This Ultra Rising Stars appeared long after I had stopped collecting that product. The design reminds me of something from the late '90's.

I also like the Topps Turkey Red inserts, but until this arrived, I had no idea that there were refractor parallels of them as well.

I'm probably one of the few Yankee collectors that miss Chien-Ming Wang. I like to remember the few seasons that he was pretty dominant and came up just shy of being a 20 game winner, before injuries derailed his career. Shane's envelope didn't just focus on the more modern day players though.

These two from the '70's are right up my alley. I wish Topps would create a design similar to this for either traded or season highlight cards. I love the 'ripped from the headlines' feel.

There were also a few cards of Yankees legends thrown in for good measure! The Mantle came from a retail 'cereal box' configuration(I think) and is a shiny refractor, though it's tough to tell from the scan. The 2 GQ's are framed parallels, as is the Ruth Masterpieces. I particularly love the Action Packed Gehrig. All in all a great selection of cards that will now have a home in friendly territory.

A huge thanks Shane! You may not have thought that there was anything fantastic in here, but I would disagree. I have a large stack of BoSox to send your way, I just need to check them against your Zistle list. I'm open to taking cards of your AL East rivals anytime!