Night Owl Made A Pass At My Woman!

Nah.

Night Owl is a righteous dude with tremendous cardboard and Dodger knowledge surpassed only by his own incredible talent for writing. I just couldn't resist the gratuitous post title inspired by The Lost Collector's recent interview of [99.9%] retired blogger, Napkin Doon. It had me laughing out loud and wishing once more for a "Cleve's" of South Carolina....but alas, no such luck. The interview can be enjoyed here.

NO, it was I that was seduced by this glorious plethora of cardboard from our community's winged friend of the night. Completely unexpected but surely treasured, I must now hatch plans for a counterstrike.

Thank you very much, Night Owl!

Here we go - 

Yankees and Braves dominated this well-crafted package. I had never seen these tri-fold Upper Deck "BAT" cards before.....but I LOVE them. How do I store them?

We sure miss Robbie in New York but it's always a pleasure to see him knock one out of Safeco from time to time. I think I caught an update recently that he left a game with some pain...I hope he's okay. This "blue-sparkle" parallel from 2013 is a beautiful card and I have quickly become a fan of the Opening Day logo. Man, that follow-through.......one of the finest swings in baseball right now, folks.

What Mo can I say? Rivera cards will always be accepted around here. A simple baseball card with a winning smile from baseball's greatest closer is fantastic!

PC alert!!!!! A Donnie-Braves sandwich served up with my first look at the A&G insert set, "Across the Years". I can dig. The Braves colors and that OD logo (again) look great on the Freddie and Kimbrel cards. Great additions to my collections!

Here's a look at the back of the BAT card. See what I mean? They are REALLY nice and offer up some great baseball knowledge in an attractive, unique design. How were these cards distributed?

A giant Donruss Righetti!!!!! How giant?

THIS giant! Thank you for the perspective, Chippah (also included).

I'm a bit unsure as to how I'm going to store/display this bad boy....but I'll find a way to let Rags breathe safely in the Card Cave. In the end, a wonderful problem to have, right?

Thanks again, Night Owl and thanks for reading -

Ryan

My Kimbrel Collection - 2013 Panini Pinnacle #60 "Artist Proof"

(sigh)

I'm a free market kind of guy, so I rarely have bad things to say about different baseball cards - but I feel compelled to comment on this Kimbrel.   I am very happy to add to my Kimbrel PC, but this is a prime example of a poor photo/design choice by Pinnacle.

Pinnacle has some great stuff in their portfolio.   I can remember some favorites from Collecting Period I in the early 90's and I'm sure they had some stellar releases during my Hobby Ice Age.   And even today, I've picked up some BEAUTIFUL cards from Panini.

But this just ain't one of them.

The black card design that is engulfing a Craig Kimbrel that appears to be wearing an all-black, no logos (I know, licence) uniform really kills what might have been a cool "coming right at you" type of baseball card.   The "Artist Proof" foil label just pours salt in the wound here.   It's like he's suited up for the Night's Watch or something.   

Sorry - totally geeked out on you guys with a Game of Thrones reference there.

Here's the card; what do you guys think?   "Or am I being obtuse?"

Shawshank reference. On a roll here.....

Thanks for reading!

My Rizzo Collection - First Ink, Part One

Yeah, totally a shout-out to those fantastic Rambo movies of my youth with that title.

Happy Friday!   On to baseball cards.....

My last post announced my latest Player Collection (PC), Anthony Rizzo.   A bold move for me as Anthony doesn't play for the Yankees or Braves, my two favorite teams.   Have I betrayed myself?   Some may think so, but that's the great part about our hobby - collect what you like.

And I think Rizzo is pretty damn cool.   So, off I go.....

The collection started with one.

And, then a mini made two.

The next obvious move?   How about some ink on that third card?

YES!

Home Run

From 2013 Gypsy Queen, here's a sharp on-card autograph from the Cubbies' first baseman.   I am not the biggest fan of GQ this year though the 2011 inaugural version is a big part of how my tentative return to the hobby shifted into fifth gear.   Therefore, I still feel some set loyalty.

Rizzo's signature isn't winning any awards from me (I can see Killebrew shaking his head) but it is what it is.   What I DO love about this card is the way the blue ink works with the blue in the Cubs uniform.   It contrasts nicely with the sadly forlorn gray of the '13 GQ border.   AND, IT'S A RIZZO AUTOGRAPH!   For about half the price of a blaster, I was more than happy to scoop it up (30YOC nod).   Here's the back, just for kicks:

Thanks, Topps.

Love it!

Welcome to the collection.

Interesting Note:   Out of all of my official PC's (Mattingly, Freeman, Kimbrel, David Robertson, Rizzo), I lack autographs for the two I've had the longest - Freeman and Mattingly.   For Donnie Baseball, we're talking about 28, 29 years or so.   And while I have autographed cards for both Robertson and Rizzo, this Rizzo is the only CERTIFIED signature.

Funny how that happens.   Hopefully I'll be fortunate enough to remedy the voids soon enough.

But for now, I'm really excited to have a cornerstone for the Rizzo PC.

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!