The need to feel even

For many of us, we receive packages with a note that reads something like, "No need to send anything back. Just wanted to get rid of these."

Except it never seems to work that way.

Like so many others, I always feel like I have a debt to others who send me cards. No matter if the person said we're good and they need nothing in return, there is that unofficial score in my brain that says I'm behind and need to make things right.

I know I'm not alone feeling like this. 

Earlier this week, I received a bubble mailer from Coach Tom at Waiting Til Next Year. A few weeks ago, I sent Tom a few Cubs items I received from the Cubs Race to Wrigley Virtual 5K I ran. I think I sent a small bag and the Cubs shirt that came in the race package.

I told Tom I didn't need anything in return. I wasn't lying! I truthfully had no use for the Cubs gear, and even if he didn't use them himself, I knew he could find a good home for the items. I wanted and expected nothing. I kept the race medal and that's all I needed.

In his note, Tom acknowledged that I said that, but also said "you must know that's not how I operate."

So Tom sent me a few cards, I'm sure to make himself feel better. It wasn't necessary, but the cards were great.

First off, a Robinson Cano signed card! A Cano autograph has been on my 'most wanted' for ages. I just never got around to getting one. It's sad that Cano is now a repeat PED offender. I assume the market for his cards had tanked pretty hard as a result. Yet I never did have that autograph, until now. Very cool!

I had vaguely seen the Onyx Vintage set that was out, but hadn't;t acquired any. And Tom also delivered my first autograph of Yankees prospect Esteven Florial! Very cool! Florial made his debut last year and collected a hit. Hopefully there are plenty more of those to come.

Although we were even to begin with, I really do appreciate these cards.

Now the only question is...do I need to send Tom something back?

The Summer of PWEs

Holy moly. This summer is going fast.

For being stuck at home, the summer is sure finding a way to move quickly, as most summers do. I expected this one to drag, but here were are, mid-August.

Since it's really been the summer of PWEs, I thought I'd show off a few that have tricked in over the last few weeks.

Coach Tom sent a good one with a few different fun cards. The highlight for me was this Aaron Judge Syracuse Orange parallel from Big League.

A few other Big Leaguers. I love getting Gerrit Cole Yankee cards!

A couple Tinos! The diecut Retrospectives is a sweet design. I love the colors, too.

And as he tends to do, Tom sent me a few HOFers for my sons binder!

Thanks, Coach!

Kerry from Cards on Cards hit me up with a good PWE as well. I always like his, as they tend to be a mixture of Yankees and Knicks.

I wish the Knicks were in the Bubble since Kevin Knox cards would be worth like $50 a pop if he had a good game.

I like this CC from Big League, as well. Why didn't Topps give him a tribute card in flagship? That seems like an odd omission when a future HOFer hangs 'em up, right?

And finally a quick swap from Bru! I like the Defensive Wizards insert set as well. Players in outer space always goes over well with me.

I hope a lot of stuff from Covid time goes away, but I hope the PWE momentum continues to stay.

Running has its benefits

I don't like to run. In fact, I hate it.

I don't find it therapeutic or mind-clearing. I don't look forward to doing it. I can't run to put my stress away for a few minutes. If anything, it makes it worse, as my mind wanders to work or all the things I have to do.

Plus, I'm not good at it. My body wasn't built for it. I've always been a fast runner in sports. In baseball, I hit toward the top of the order and frequently stole bases. In basketball, I was a quick defender and a point guard. But distance running? Not something I was made for.

And despite running fairly frequently, I can't seem to improve my time. I can't seem to run much quicker than 9-minute miles, which is really bizarre. You'd think improvement would come. But I also don't really care if I improve. Playing golf, I like to see more score go down. But running? Meh. I just don't care enough to get worked about it.

I run because it's basically the cheapest way for me to stay somewhat in shape and be healthy. That's it.

It does make me feel better when I am running for cause. I don't want to train for a long-distance race or anything, but signing up for a 5K is about my limit, and gives me the extra motivation I need.

So when Tony Burbs of Wrigley Roster Jenga explained that he was the chairperson of a virtual 5K, I decided to run for a cause. And two other blogger runners came with me - Peter of Baseball Every Night and Coach Tom of Waiting Til Next Year.

Virtual 5Ks have become a cool thing during the Pandemic. While it's a lot more fun to go run a race with people all around, virtual races have been a great way to keep an event alive. It just looks a little different.

Basically, everyone runs a 5K on their own time, and inputs their time into a database between certain dates. We all run different courses, but it's for the good of the event. I am convinced Peter ran in a straight downhill course, by the way.

Tony's cause was for St. Coletta's of Illinois, a social service agency for those with intellectual disabilities. His wife works there, and I believe that this is a big fundraiser for them. Definitely a worthy cause.

For a small entry fee, I joined the race, and even received a bib and a t-shirt.

My time came in at 28:33. That's a 9'12" pace. Again, about as fast as I can go for whatever reason.

Coach Tom finished right around my time, and Peter nearly won the thing with his blazing fast time.

Because he's an awesome dude, Tony also put up a raffle prize for his blogging buddies, and somehow I won. I feel guilty about that, as each of the other two guys were more than deserving. The prize was a very vintage 1936 Goudey Wide Pen Premium featuring Ethan Allen. Very, very cool collectible! I had never seen these, but it immediately when into my "good box."

Oh, and my "good box" is a specially marked box I showed my wife how to locate. If I ever croak, I told her this is the one you want to save. Do what you want with the rest.

Also good info for anyone who wants to rob me.

The run was for a great cause, and it was nice to have something to run for that's bigger than me. It led me to participate in a second digital 5K, the Yankees Virtually United 5K, which I clocked my time for just yesterday...and went slower than my St. Coletta's time. Oof. I hope to do two more this 5Ks this year.

Thanks, Tony. I hope the run was a resounding success!

Put me in, Coach Tom

Our resident hobby high school baseball coach, P-Town Tom, hit me up with a nice care package the other day. Tom is a very thoughtful guy, and tends to always check off multiple boxes when sending a package. This one was no different, as he hit three areas of my collection in one swoop:

• Tino Martinez
• Phil Rizzuto
• HOFers for my son

Let's start with the Tinos. I needed this Flair! It's a pretty awesome card, even though this set was confusing with the Class/Row/Seat designation. Just a fancy way to say "parallel."

I also enjoyed this SPx Power Explosion card, even if it is a dupe for me.

Next up, the Rizzutos! This TCMA is awesome, and I love the classic top-step-of-the-dugout shot.

I also thought this Topps Gallery was very classy looking, and even thought the scripted font design element looked a bit like this:

While I've been bad about showcasing and keeping up with my son's HOF binder, I do still actively add to it, and will make sure these cards are added:

While certainly not known for his time with the Mets, the Ashburn is a great addition to the binder!

Tom threw in a few other Yanks for me, highlighted by this UC3 Mattingly. Great shot of Donnie hustling and playing the game hard, as he always did.

Thanks for thinking of me, Coach!

Cornering the market

It's weird being really the only market when it comes to collecting certain players. Now, I don't have complete proof of this, but I believe I'm the only person actively chasing Ty Hensley cards.

Even with my Tino Martinez collection, I face competition from Yankees fans, especially for some of his rarer cards and autographs. I still manage to snag most of the ones I want, but it's not easier.

Then you've got the super collectors with collections centered entirely around popular players. I can't imagine how hard it is for Junior Junkie or Collecting Cutch, as both must face a lot of competition for rare cards of Griffey and McCutchen, respectively. Although I have to say, I can't imagine anyone beats those two for key cards of that particular player.

I'd assume P-Town Tom (Vogelmonster) and Zippy Zappy (Torrens) can relate as to being the only market for a certain player. While it's great to not be in a major competition for cards, it can also be frustrating.

For me, Ty Hensley carries the label of "YANKEES FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICK." And that's true. He was. In 2012. Yet many of his cards still carry a premium price because of the interlocking NY, despite Ty's struggle to succeed in pro ball. It's annoying seeing cards I need that are either overpriced, or the seller isn't willing to negotiate. I just want to be like, "dude, if I'm not buying this card, no one is."

Luckily, anytime there is an auction with a minimum bid for a card I need, I usually end up with that card, and usually at the lowest price. So when this autograph numbered to /10 popped up with a $.99 bid, I was all over it.

And won it for $.99. The problem I now face is really the fact that shipping usually outweighs the card cost, but at this point, I don't have a ton of choices if I want to keep building this collection.

My card of the year

The last two years, I've done with a Topps NOW card as my card of the year in P-Town Tom's excellent yearly contest.

In 2016, it was the debut duo of Tyler Austin (now a Twin), and Aaron Judge.

In 2017, it was the Rookie of the Year celebration for Aaron Judge.

In 2018, I'm changing it up a little. I had a weird relationship with cards in 2018. I didn't buy as many. I was, and still am, unenthusiastic about many of the releases and the lack of creativity on inserts, and sets in general. My best pickups weren't even from 2018, such as my Ty Hensley Superfractor to complete my 2013 Bowman Draft Rainbow.

I've been harping a little on it on Twitter, but during my card sorting process recently, it's so hard to look at inserts of the '90s and early '00s versus some of the current releases. They are an afterthought; often a way just to shove more legends in a set and celebrate things like first hit or first home run. Which is all well and good, but the insert sets over the last few years have all blended together into a forgettable mass. Even the ones that stray a little and have some design element to them feel lackluster, such as 'Legends in the Making' or 'Don't Blink' from 2018. I think part of it is a lack of texture or interesting printing techniques.

Aside from the ramble above, cards were hard to find in 2018! I went to Target a bunch of times in search for newer releases, and my Target was usually pretty empty. Sure, there is a little thing called the internet, but the day I order a blaster online will be a first.

Regardless, I did have a favorite insert set this year. It dawned on me that in a few different posts, I consistently said that I thought the 1983 Topps Chrome Refractors were the nicest cards this year. Because while most inserts may stink, especially ones that continue to beat old sets into our brains, Refractors are the same awesomeness in 2018 as they were 25 years ago when they first debuted.

Side note - how was there not an 'Ode to Refractors' insert set on their 25th Anniversary??? (1993-2018)

So with that, my card of the year is this Giancarlo Stanton 1983 Topps Chrome Refractor:

Why Stanton? Well, I think 2018 will always be remembered by me for his debut season with the Yankees. It was right at this time last year when ninja Brian Cashman made the move to obtain Stanton. I remember watching coverage late into the night, hardly believing it was a reality. It definitely defined the 2017 offseason and 2018 season for me. Giancarlo was a Yankee.

He had a fine year, with 38 homers and 100 RBIs. He was a good teammate and I think he enjoyed being in a winning environment after his years in Miami. Sure, it wasn't his 59-homer MVP season from 2017, but it was a good year. And part of me thinks his year 2 will be even bigger, just like Alex Rodriguez's second year in New York.

1983 is also the year I was born, so we've got the whole birth-year set going for me. I've never really had an attachment to 1983 Topps, but still, just an added element to this card.

So there you have it, my personal nominee for my card of the year.

My card of the year - 2017

Thanks to P-Town Tom for once again running the Card of the Year Contest.

I was torn this year.

I really wanted to choose the 2017 Topps Jacoby Ellsbury Lightning Butt card. It's awesome. But Ellsbury and Yankee fans have a bit of a tough relationship, and while the photo is awesome, I'm not going to remember cards in 2017 because of him.

I'm going to remember cards in 2017 because of this guy, and because of how many Topps NOW cards I bought of him. So, my card of the year, is one of my newest additions: Aaron Judge Topps NOW Rookie of the Year.

Last year I chose a Topps NOW as card of the year - Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin homering in their MLB debuts. I didn't want to do it again, but it's really what my 2017 collecting was defined by. I bought a lot of Aaron Judge cards via the Topps NOW program, although most came from eBay versus directly from Topps.

It was hard to choose just one. There were many moments and instances to be commemorated, but on the whole, it was a record-breaking rookie season for Judge, and the card that simply states "Rookie of the Year" sort of encompasses all of that.

So here it is again, Rookie of the Year, and my Card of the Year.

And here is my Topps NOW Aaron Judge year in review. I spent a lot on Topps NOW cards this year. Sheesh.

Maybe I'll switch it up in 2018, but considering I already bought a Giancarlo Stanton Topps NOW from his press conference, I highly doubt that.