Celebrating Tino's birthday with an Xplosive new card

Today, Tino Martinez turns 51.

I think last year I felt a bit weird knowing my baseball hero was turning 50, and I remember him when he was in his late 20s and early 30s, cranking high fast balls over the right field wall at Old Yankee Stadium.

There's not much special about 51 (other than being Bernie's #!), but hopefully Tino continues to enjoy his 50s and then I feel extra old in 9 years when he turns 60.

As luck would have it, a new Tino arrived in the mail yesterday. I had known this existed and wanted it for a while, but never quite pulled the trigger. Finally I saw one in my saved search for the right price, and not wanting it to escape me again,  I made the purchase.

This card is 199 Skybox Molten Metal. Specifically, it's an Explosion parallel, and is actually a metal card with rounded die cut edges. The best I can compare it to is that it feels similar to a printing plate. These Xplosion cards fell at a rate of 1:2, so while not rare, it's not always the easiest set to find for player collectors.

I don't think this metal card will replace 1999 Topps Stars N Steel as my favorite metal-based set of all time, although this has a bit of a cleaner look and feels a little sturdier.

Regardless, it's a great card to show off of Tino on his birthday, and puts me at 856 unique Tinos.

Happy Birthday, #24!