2024 Adventures in Repacks - Part 24 - Restocked Baseball

 

Might as well do a baseball one as well! I admit to not being able to barely remember that Opening Day was still a release in 2022.

Not too long to get to a Jays card, followed by one of his teammates from the 80s. Jay Bell provides the best photo in this grouping, even though Sweeney could have climbed into the #1 spot if there was more infield dirt flying up on his slide. Also: Minor League card fun. While Kevin would get a big league card with the Cardinals in 1984, this one is far more interesting. 

Aside from the Wrigley ivy lurking on the background of Agosto's card, this was a really bland junk wax grouping.

And my first baseball hit is a card that will soon make its way to the Owl. It's also the shiny refractor version.

Things are a lot more interesting when I get to the last group. Gold Label is definitely unexpected, especially a level 2 parallel. There's actually not just one, but a pair of players that had MLB careers that could at least be called respectable with O Henry and the late Gerald Williams. Skinner gets a play at the plate photo for his card, even if it does appear Parker will be safe.

It may not be licensed, but it is hard to do better for a card on the back than Rod Carew.

There you have it!

Almost 8 Years

 

In 2016, I picked up this card, out of the ITG high-end Lord Stanley's Mug set. It was just an interesting card of someone who was a HOFer, but given his time as coming from the late 19th century, just one of a handful he has received.

I even added these images to TCDB in 2020.

Finally, this year, I realized he was a 2/14 baby, and that I'd already had a card of his worthy of the collection for, as the title reads, Almost. 8. Years.

Long live my incompetence!

2024 Adventures in Repacks - Part 23 - Restocking

The bad news is that I couldn't do mix-and-match anymore with repacks. I could only order bulk versions of a single repack. So, I doubled up with one of baseball hangers with a hit, and the same football versions. 

So, here they are! And there were a few random repacks thrown, so I don't have to post just these over the next year or so. 

I might as well get right down to busting them!

Tyler Lockett is a perfectly fine opener.

I actually get an insert early on, even though they probably should have thought twice about using the POS abbreviation on it. Especially when the player doesn't work out - like Christian Ponder. Art Donovan might be better known, at least among wrestling fans, for his color commentary on the King of the Ring 1994 PPV. Nobody bothered to smarten him up for the show, so he came off as what I will kindly describe as 'puzzled'.

Here's the hit. And it is of a player I have little memory of. But a hit is still a hit, and there has to be at least one Courtney Roby super-collector out there, right?

It is random occurrences like this that make me love repacks, as this repack turns into an Arizona hot pack. Even though they were still Phoenix for two of the three Cardinals card. But The Grand Canyon State love continues when you turn the card over, and realize that Mike Thomas was an Arizona Wildcat alum. That collation is more interesting than the hit.

We're still in Arizona here, but changing Alma Maters with a pair of Arizona State Sun Devils alum in Sparks and Noble.  I'm not sure if Ricky Williams counted as one of football's best, but he was certainly one of football's most interesting.

And I've got many more of these to go!

There you have it!

Forgotten Packs - Part 4

 The final baseball portion of these forgotten packs. I've got another small collection of the hockey variety to show off in future posts.

Two Series 2 packs, and a hobby pack. A little variety!

Left-to-right sees a CanCon lead the way! Teahan was born in the US, but his father was from St. Mary's Ontario (home of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame), so of course he counts toward the collection. He did represent Canada in the WBC, after all. Johnny Bench, even in mini form, makes for a great card, and the best one easily in the pack. Sorry, Maicer.

Mets content! Wrigley ivy content! That's a pretty solid second half!

Kevin Cash with the Panini special for his cards, before such photos were a necessity. This was also his Topps farewell as an active player, although he did start to make managerial appearances.

Everyone should hope for a rookie card as intimidating as Josh Reddick's. Although he still is bound to trail behind Tony Gwynn Jr for the best photo on a card in this pack. Sean Marshall needed a little more of the ivy to contend for second place. I've probably had that "Students' card thrown into many an envelope sent my way. It is odd to finally pull one. 

I wonder if the photo choice for Mitch Maier is a reference to the Jeffrey Maier incident. Either way, great picture. 

Wrapping up with some Blue Jays content. Mark Rzepczynski is one of a handful of players that got a pronunciation guide for his name on the reverse of the card. Lucky.

But there you have it!

Kick-Off In Buffalo

 This seems like the perfect day to showcase the Bills content in my COMC to-be-posted box!

And all I have is this. This isn't even a Bills card, as it features the one who is probably now their number #1 WR with a photoshopped Boise State Broncos uniform. I'd probably be a little more worried about him at #1 if I still didn't have sweet, sweet memories of his TD against the Steelers in the playoffs.

I can't end it with a one-and-done, so here's a small selection of other misc. football cards in the box.

Like a Mr. Irrelevant! Ryan would make more appearances on Bachelorette episodes than during NFL games. But hey, he still got closer to the NFL than I, or anybody reading this, ever will. So, good for him! On both counts.

Appreciate the beauty of a Running Back throwing the football on a base card. Wildcat!

I know it is Stadium Club, so sometimes one has to think outside the box when it comes to their photos. This, however, makes me wonder how far away from the box they were when they opted for this choice. 

This photo was certainly a choice. 

Especially when the photo on the back would work just fine for the front. 

This was the only card that Council Rudolph would get in his career. That's a shame, with a name as great as that. Even more of a shame is that it was with the dreadful expansion Bucs. But the reason this was odd comes from the jersey he's sporting in the photo. That's obviously Houston Oilers blue...

who he played for 3 seasons ago. So, they actually took a photo that could have been used, but wasn't, for a card in 1972. And they couldn't even find a more recent photo. I feel sorry for him having to show off "his card" only for it to be an old photo.

But there you have it!

Mailbag: Cards on Cards

 Today, the contents from the usual 3-PWEs that showed up in my mailbox.

#1 and the best was this Alec Bohm entry, which puts the final touches on the non SP portion of my Heritage set build. With my COMC shipment on the way - only 23 more SPs to wrap up the 500. WOO-HOO!

Mets content! Mostly super shiny as well! The Scherzer is a 3D version, which allows for the Photoshop job to shine through even more clearly.

Both Blue Jays entries were of the numbered variety. And both really act as a personification of the team this year, Manoah's mostly been injured, and Orelvis made his MLB debut, only to get a PED suspension days later. 

The baseball continues with the 2/14 cards, with Jim Kelly acting as an interloper. Despite actually busting some UK packs in repacks, I had no idea that I actually had a chase card available in the set with Yermin Mercedes. This puts his total at 36, with a whopping 29 more on their way in my latest COMC shipment. That will tie him with Scott Scudder for second overall among the baseball portion, with them both trailing John Marzano by 3 (although it will become 5 when the mailer arrives)

Over to basketball, which was the bulk of the contents, starting with the local kid.

And that leads into three scanner beds filled with Raptors content. This really does highlight the turnover for the team, especially the past 9 months or so.  Barnes, Dick, Quickley. That's it. At least I'll probably be adding a few new faces in 2024-25 releases.

There you have it!

E-Packing

 

Just a scanner bed worth of Compendium cards I either traded for on e-pack, or bought cheaply at COMC. The main reason for all of these being that I didn't have too many cards of any of these players, or many on the team they're pictured with. 

Bonus: Learning that Pheonix (sic) Copley has one of the most interesting birthplaces in hockey.

And let's throw in an autograph to go along with it. DeFazio managed two NHL games over his professional career, but it is still two more than I!

There you have it!

It's Grrreat!

 

Like I'm going to pass on a chance to add a relic of the short-lived Greenville Grrrowl to my collection. It featuring a future Ottawa Senator in Mike (distant relation) Brodeur to the collection is even better.

And it is also an alternate jersey too! 

Beckford-Tseu made it into one game for the Blues, so both of these guys were future NHLers, even if they didn't have long careers.

There you have it!