Two White Whales

 These new 2/14 cards weren't white whales in the usual way collectors use the term. But these were a pair of non-specific additions that I wanted. I just wanted one that fit the criteria

Not long before John Schneider's debut on the coaching staff for the Blue Jays, they ceased making their annual safety give-away sets. He started in 2019, while the final set was 2017. That means I had to go looking for minor league appearances of his. And any of his would do to snag the whale. 2003 provided a card for the Charleston (WV) Alley Cats, and his debut in the collection. 

Wikipedia tells me that they're now the Charleston Dirty Birds, and John isn't notable enough to be listed as one of their alumni.

This was the other one. I had yet to add any autograph of Drew Bledsoe into my collection, which is surprising since he's probably #3 among the QBs in my collection. I know he piled up the yardage, but if I were drafting a team of 2/14ers, he'd be holding the clipboard on the sidelines behind Jim Kelly and Steve McNair. I already added autos of them, so why so long for Bledsoe.

I guess I just wanted a Bills one badly enough to wait. A Washington State one would have sufficed, but if there were others out there, I didn't want a Dallas or New England one in the collection. 

And at least he used the space really well on thisone.

I've got another whale to show off when I finally get around to wrapping up the TMV mailer next post.

For now, there you have it!

Showing Evidence

 There are plenty of football cards crossing the goal line for a touchdown, but not a lot where you have proof, in terms of an official's signature, that the TD was actually scored.

But here's a couple.

That Select of Cris Carter is just an exceptionally framed photo, with him mirroring the signal. 

I'm just not feeling too verbose today, so there you have it!

2025 Adventures in Repacks - Part 17

 Let's do one of these!

Heritage is always a fun way to start a repack.

That Fabregas is new to me, not just in terms of the card, but whatever set it was from. I'd learn it was from a Stadium Club Teams set, which I guess were team sets available for various teams. 

And also, they may have not spent a whole lot of money on whatever it was to keep the cards from sticking. But at least it was the back and not the front that ended up damaged.

Stadium Club provides the most interesting card here with the Ben Rivera. It looks pretty generic, but when you learn he's a pitcher, a photo of him helping out on the basepath defense is something unique for a pitcher's card. 

Here's the hit! Color match! That's always a great little bonus. Even if he does appear to be out of baseball already.

An Expos card. A Jays card. A Mets card. But that's not the best in this grouping. Take a closer look at Blauser's entry. It's more than just a turning two moment with the Wrigley Ivy in the background.

O-Pee-Chee! Learn some French baseball terms. Like 'Grand Chelem'!

Heritage opener with a Heritage finale!

Each multi-grouping brought at least one card that was interesting to me. The auto was a colour match. That's a thumbs up repack!

There you have it!

Moreno Mania

Usually when I go bonkers grabbing up cards that are cheap because of e-packs it means I'm grabbing hockey content. 2/14, Senators, Kitchener Rangers alum etc. But, the most recent Goodwin releases did include some 2/14 baseball content. Both Gabriel Moreno and Brooks Lee, 2/14 babies, showed up in 2023 Goodwin/Skybox Champions releases. That means it is time for their numbers to jump up. Moreno's appearances easily outnumber Lee's, so the former gets a post all his own.

Even his autographs were reasonably priced. Here's my third one. It's here that I must point out that they didn't photoshop away the jersey on an Blue Jays card for these, or even a Buffalo Bisons one. Looking at the colors - it is probably a Lansing Lugnuts one, last seen for him on 2021 Pro Debut. 

If it is a separate release (this was Skybox, the auto was Goodwin) then it doesn't really count as re-using the photo, does it?

They also continued the tradition of the design from flagship hockey showing up in other releases. Here's the 2022-23 hockey design on an insert set. At least the photo is different. 

Are there parallels? Here's a page-worth rainbow of parallels for the base cards. If I've got enough cards to fill a page with the card and the parallels, that's a rainbow. Even if these Platinums are technically inserts and not the base card. For those that need to know such things, clockwise from the top corner, there's a Red Rainbow, base, Tortoise Shell, Pink Traxx, Orange Prizm, Rainbow, Blue Rainbow, Green Rainbow and Cosmic. 

That final one is an ebay 1/1! WOO-HOO!

And now I have 36 Moreno entries in the 2/14 collection.

There you have it!

A Flock of Jays

 Whether from a COMC shipment or the most recent TMV envelope, here's a bunch of cards from the local team.

At 4400+ copies, this card honoring something that will likely never happen again in MLB history was one of the more popular ones last year. I didn't really care about the print run - I just wanted this beauty. And half a Jays card is still a Jays card.

If I want to have evidence of Erik Kratz and his 34 games with the Jays in my collection, the only choice I have is his entry in the Summer Safety team issue, formerly the Fire Safety issue, and currently not-issued at all since '17.

Maybe it is just because the attempt to connect the tip to baseball became forced.

Joe Panik did get a mainstream card as a Jay - unfortunately for him, it was 2020 Update. That made this Topps Now entry the least expensive option.

I don't imagine Tate getting an actual card out of his short time with the Jays. So, this will have to do. And either way, we'll also have his reaction shot to Daulton Varsho's stumbling, falling backhand catch. Along with a pretty legible signature.

The reaction may have been better than the catch itself. 

Not really, but it was memorable.

Even if Ryan Jennings never gets a licensed Jays card, at least his sock game was strong for his Panini EEE release.

As for Williams, his nickname is "The Iowa Meat Truck". Short of that being his actual autograph on the card, how could any card of his not be one I have to have?

That's it for the COMC portion, and now off to the TMV mailer.

I didn't get these in the box of the 2024 Holiday I broke, so here they are from a non-wax source. Those are some rough photoshopped jerseys on the end. 

Say what you will about Alomar getting banned from baseball, at least he now, thanks to Pete Rose and the Black Sox, has a definite path to return. 

I'll always love any salute of the 1965 design. Pennants are always a nice element. 

One final autograph to wrap things up. Nick couldn't have been better in his MLB debut - he pitched a single perfect inning. And that was his last experience in the majors. Sheesh. Should he have had an immaculate inning as well? 

And there you have it! Only Mets stuff to go to wrap up the mailer.

2025 Adventures in Repacks - Part 16

 Switching back to a football one.

A Hollywood opening!

Flanker? That's not a position you see in football any more, even if it technically still exists with them just being part of the wide receivers now. And the bottom portion? An OL guy and a couple nose tackles, another two positions that don't really show up in modern sets. 

Nothing says how horrid the Jets of the early 90s were than their MVP being the kicker. That gives me unpleasant flashbacks to the time when Brian Moorman was probably the Bills MVP. That's John Fourcade on the Portraits card, for those that care, but don't care enough to look things up.

Here's the  hit. I have zero memory of Phillip Tanner, but he spent a few years as the third-string running back for Dallas, and is easily in the upper percentile for having a legible signature. I'm more pleased with that, and that makes for a good hit.

More OL love in the final portion of the repack. And there's also something else rarely seen on cardboard - the green Notre Dame uniforms. Although you don't have to go all the way back to the 1950's for photos like that.

 A Hall of Fame finale - the 4th of the repack (Elway, Slater, Rice). 

I got a card of a Flanker! And a bunch of OL guys. And some nice penmanship for the hit. That's a good repack!

Happy Victoria Day!

 After using 2/14 baby Victoria Cartagena last year, it is back to tradition. 

No matter how forced the comparison between her and Triple H is.

Hold my Mail

 Canada Post may be on strike as of May 22. So if you're planning on sending me a package, don't.

I don't want it sitting in a sorting center like Matt here.

A Ranger Round-up

 I'm returning to my to-be-posted box for this post, and I'm showing off all the Kitchener Rangers alumni cards contained within.

ITG's Franchises releases are always fun, and there were a lot of names in the set that didn't make many appearances in releases at the time and since then. While that might not be true for Coffey, Bellows definitely isn't a common sight in sets, and this was probably Mike Hough's last card outside of buybacks.

Alternate Threads was an insert set in 2023-24 MVP to highlight teams' reverse retro jerseys. I'm torn between "They should just have used one player to better show off the jersey" and "more players mean more PC opportunities like via Gibson's presence".

Speaking of Gibson, here's a Variante Francaise of his.

Of course airbrushed jerseys count towards the collection. Taylor was a 7th round pick of the Islanders, but never reached the NHL.

Landeskog made his return to the NHL during Colorado's first-round loss to Dallas. He did so after an almost three year absence due to injury. Nothing like taking things easy after a very extended absence. He has still been getting cards during the time off, so that's nice for my collection.

Speaking of the playoffs, Jeff Skinner finally made his playoff debut this season. He made his NHL debut in 2010. For this year, he's played in one game so far - the opener. Still, I bet it was worth the wait.

There you have it!

New 2/14 Faces

No events this time, meaning this won't be nearly as dark as the last 2/14 post.

My first sumo card! He's also a contender for the biggest member of the collection, tipping the scales at 386 pounds. While pro-wrestler Mabel/Viscera was billed at being in the 500 pound range, I'm far more trusting of Masashi's listed weight as opposed to a likely gimmicked weight.

Still, even 100 worked pounds is quite the deficit.

His Calder-nominated rookie season made acquiring his Young Guns card in time for this year's 2/14 recap cost-prohibitive. However, with his being all over Series 2, and likely also being all over Extended will make for some cheaper additions as the year progresses. Either way, this e-pack entry starts his presence in the collection. 

Despite being born in 2007, Sebastian Norman is still 6 years older than the youngest person in my collection in Indie Desroches from something in the Star Wars universe. He could end up drafted this year to give him some MLB cards in Bowman. If that doesn't work out, he will be off to Oklahoma State. 

Soccer may occupy its own section in my binders and spreadsheets, yet I still know very little about it beyond the most basic rules. But here's the latest addition to that binder in Alvaro Sanz on a Starball Foil parallel. I do know he played for FC Barcelona but is now with a second tier team known as Racing de Ferrol. I'm not too optimistic about cards becoming available of him there.

But there you have it!

2025 Adventures in Repacks - Part 15 - Repacks in the TMV Mail

 Like last time, there was a baseball repack in the TMV mailer. I foolishly opened it before taking a picture of it. It had a different design than the previous one, but the contents were the same.

The single purple was a definite downgrade from the Vientos from the first one. Still, a nice little bonus.

The other 9 random cards went above expectations with the '82 appearances. I'll always remember Bruce Kison based on his encounter with George Bell. There's a reason pitchers really didn't want to throw inside on Bell after that. One of those World's Series program cards counts as even more unexpected. The art is amazing - so much better than the generic stuff on newer entries in this subset.

Here's the packs.

I'll start with the S2 pack. The top row was extremely generic, but celebratory photos make the second one a lot more interesting.

Update Pack #1. Zzzzzz.

The bunting photo combined with a City Connect jersey makes things more interesting here.

The weather element to Stott's card makes it my favourite card from the packs - even over the Blue Jays content.

And some shininess from the final pack. 

The best overall card was in the previous repack with the Vientos parallel, but I think this one was more solid throughout with the 82s, the program card, and the Stott and Wade Jr. So it all evens out in the end.

There you have it!