Something shiny from Ryan's Pitch

I mentioned it previously, but I have a folder of scanned cards that I'm months overdue in terms of sharing. While its nice to have some show-and-tell fodder for the blog, I do feel bad that I haven't been more proactive in posting it.

One of my good buddies in this hobby is Ryan L. of Ryan's Pitch. Him and I may not trade (aka send packages back and forth) terribly often, but the ones we do are always meaningful. Ryan always sends a thoughful note as well. He is truly one of the good guys out there.

While he sent a few cards, my favorite is easily this Tino Martinez card:

 

It's a dark scan, but the card is super vibrant from 1998 Pinnacle Plus.  It really is a pretty card. This was one of the years that Pinnacle put out 250 different sets. It also makes me realize that card technology has really stalled out in the past 15-20 years. If I told you I pulled this card from Topps yesterday, it wouldn't seem far-fetched. I suppose that's the problem with a monoply. There is a lakc of innovation. Topps just recycles old ideas.

Speaking of recycling, here are two new Rizzutos, both sporting the same photo:

 

Ryan, thank you much my friend. I hope all is well!