A Raptors Mailbag

 

I was planning to wait a little before dipping back partially to the mailbag, but following last night's Raptors victory in Oklahoma City, I felt like showing off some cards from the team. I didn't have any in my COMC to-be-posted box, but there were some in a new TMV mailer. So, thanks to Dennis for providing content for the day.

Only one of the players featured so far in this post, RJ Barrett, was part of that victory. But damn, this a shiny group of cards. Still, lots of familiar names from the past in this bunch, and many memories of that wonderful championship season.

Kyle Lowry, so beloved that even his cards where he's listed/pictured with other teams are welcome.

I'll wrap this mailer's portion with an auto. I was going to remark that Chris Boucher, who departed this past off-season for Boston, was the last member of the 18-19 team still with the team. That was until I noticed Patrick McCaw had appeared in a handful of games this season with the Raptors 905. Despite going elsewhere for part of that gap, of course that counts.

And if Kyle Lowry signs a one-day contract to retire as a Raptor, that would reset the count as well.

Normally, I'd say "There you have it" and end the post, but while I was writing this post up earlier today, an envelope showed up with (some) Christmas cards from Billy Kingsley, aka Cardboard History.

Aside from Mogbo, everybody here is making their Raptors collection debut. Although the trade was last season, Ingram wouldn't appear in a game for the tam until this season. Hence the non-jersey photo here. He did get a post-trade jersey hold card in Mosaic and Haunted Hoops, and I've got one of those Mosaic ones on the way in a COMC shipment. 

Of the rookies, I had a Florida Atlantic card of Martin, but this is my first card of any kind for CMB. They've both seen action this year so far with the big club, although Martin has spent more time with the 905.

Thanks for these, and I'll be sure to return fire with a NY Rangers PWE sometime shortly.

Now I can end things with a "There you have it!".

Mailbag!

 Back to the mailbag again today, and a package from Dawg Day Cards. I'd promised to add a card to my COMC inventory, which I've done. Now I just have to wait for it to escape the shipping queue to pass it along.

I'm guessing it will be early spring or so before I can do so.

Preamble out of the way, let's dig in to the cards!

Baseball was one-and-done, with this addition to my Canadians-in-MLB collection. It might be a Phillies cap  and a 'World' uniform he's sporting, but that maple leaf is still very prominent here. Scott had a few cups of coffee in MLB, but did spend 8 seasons in Japan with the Giants. So, that's still a very solid career of people paying him to throw baseballs.

Sens content! I was somewhat certain that both of the autos were dupes. Not only were neither of them such a thing, these were my first autographs of either of them. So, WOO-HOO! Leevi Merilainen has recently been returned to the minors following a sketchy stretch and the team's signing of James Reimer. Sens netminding has a bit...unpredictable this season. To put it gently.

Football made up the majority of this mailer. This Drew Bledsoe appearance, newness for my 2/14 collection, was the only one that wasn't a Buffalo Bills card.

Here's 3 new Jim Kelly additions to the 2/14 collection, as I close in on the magical 300 mark for cards of his.

Naturally, there were other Jim Kelly entries that were 2/14 dupes that will enter the Bills binder, alongside some others showing up on shiny/parallels. I especially love that dual Thomas/McCoy out of Elite. That die-cut Smith is /1000.

Hit parade! Travis Henry is much better known for having enough children to field an entire NFL starting offense. Lee Evans is known for being on of the better players from the playoff drought era. 

I swear that I have more Jake Fromm autographs in my collection than his agent. I had zero memories of Martin Nance as a Bill, and with the extent of his time with the team being on the practice squad, that was probably why. But he does seem to have a very successful career in marketing post-football. 

I wonder if he'd count as a Michigan alum for future mailers to Ann Arbor?

Also, I remain disappointed there are no Basham autographs as 'Boogie'.

Thanks for all these, and I'll be sure to send things along to you when the COMC shipment shows up!

There you have it!

A New 2/14 Face

 I always love coming across new names for my collection, especially at their top professional level.

Here's the newest NHLer in the collection. John Farinacci earned NHL-level cards based on a single game last season. He scored a goal in that game against New Jersey, with Boston earning a point in the overtime loss.

And that remains his only NHL game to this point. At least the first one was memorable. His penmanship, on the other hand - not as memorable.

Still, that goal-a-game streak deserves to have the back shown off as well.

There you have it!

Party Like it is 2020!

 

And cardboard fans are at the games! 

Sure, it is cheesy in retrospect, but I still like it better than the 21-22 base design.

Ranger Roundup

 Time for a recap of recent acquisitions of the local alumni.

Here's one that I'm certain I've showed off before, but it was still in the to-be-posted box. So, the only way to guarantee it appears on the blog is to post it here. I supposed I could search the archives, but what fun is that?

Random e-pack acquisition!

Another one, although this brings Hall of Famer mojo into it. I like that this one avoids the easy choice of showing Al winding up for one of his slapshots, and instead shows the follow-through instead. 

I was somewhat conflicted as to wear this card should go. Al's son Ryan is also a 2/14 baby, meaning he'd be a wonderful addition to that collection as well. Including this, it would be my 9th card of his in that situation, with now an even mix between Kitchener and Columbus appearances, with the final being a Deutsche Liga entry. 

But since all of those are already in the 2/14 binder, it might be time to include at least one card of his in the Rangers one. And such a direct addition too!

There you have it!

Quiet Time

 I don't feel like writing much today, so let's see what's in my to-be-posted folder today...

Here you go. Enjoy Tony Batista's beautifully wacky batting stance.

Which should have been featured on at least half of his base cards from the time.

2026 Adventures in Repacks - Part 2 - 2 Packs

 Just a pair of repacked packs that I've had around for too long without showing the contents off.

They've been around long enough.

Being able to pull a Dontrelle Willis card in a 2021 release? YES! The parallel might not be the best available player to get, but at least it is a nice colour match.

Looks like I'm getting a bunch of horizontal cards to start. While I would probably point out that only one of them was a true player card, I'll happily note that there's a really nice photo of the Nationals' City Connect uniforms in the mix. So, thumbs up!

It would be a challenge to find a worse option to begin the next grouping of cards than Wander Franco out of a 2023 S1 pack.

Sure, I often complain about the generic nature of the Stars of MLB insert name, but I won't complain about a new Jays card for the binders. I was generally surprised I didn't already have this one.

I was going to lament the blandness of the photo selection on all of the vertical cards, but then Julio Rodriguez and his flying headgear came in to save the day at the last minute.

Nothing too amazing, but, aside from Franco's appearance, nothing too bad either.

And there you have it!

Children Ruin Everything

 It might not be directly from the show, but here's an autograph from one of the show's regulars:

Nazneen Contractor played Dawn, the sister of the mother whose children ruined everything on the show. She also was a regular/star in several procedurals, such as The Border and Ransom, but it was the CRE role that inspired me to get the card. It's the second Star Wars card I got because of another role for the featured person, joining an Angus MacInnis I got because of Strange Brew.

All About the Penmanship

 Just a couple new additions to the penmanship binder.

I admit having a bias for people with long names that manage to get it completely and legibly on the sticker. Izaiah Brockington certainly hits that qualification.

Oddly, his non-Leaf autographs are initials-only. I won't question it, I'll just admire what we have.

Javon Leake made a slight adjustment as things went on. He too has shortened his autograph since his first ones, but he's just reduced his first name to the initial since then. Still, I'll play less than licensed stuff and get the full name original!

There you have it!

Mailbag

 

These particular mailers were a long time coming in terms of getting shown on the blog. Over the summer, a bunch of PWEs arrived from Night Owl. I was getting everything ready to post, but read that one of the many got returned to New York. So, I then waited for the next one to show up so I could just scan everything en masse. Finally, months later, the bubbler arrived to complete the sending, and I can now show everything off.

A team set will always be a highlight among a mailer, and here's part of the entire 1991 Ultra Mets team set in the bunch. Does Keith Miller being in the background of a checklist make it a Mets card even if it doesn't include the Mets portion of the list itself on it? Yup! My collection - my rules!

Surely that Lindor can't be my first card with a City Connect jersey on it, can it? It might be, but I'm too lazy to look. It might not be the original '65s, or even Heritage '14, but I'll love any appearance of one of my favorite designs, including Archives.

I'm not a fan of Fantasy-themed inserts in football, and the same is true in baseball. Still, we've got some parallels in here, and I really like the photo choice on Strawberry.

Let's complete the 2023 Archives set salute with a couple more entries to wrap up the Mets portion.

The Jays stuff wasn't as numerous, but there's still interesting stuff. At least they went for an actual Jays image for the Stadium Club entry, as opposed to the crap Photoshop job in his Update entry. The Sega Card-Gen hits that sweet spot of being an oddball and having an interesting photo on it.

Bills! Bills! Bills as the finale. Ah, Rob Johnson. I remember when he was the most wince-worthy QB of the post-Jim Kelly era.  Now, he's maybe hanging on to the top 5.

So, although it took a while for some of the cards, thanks for all these goodies Owl! I've got some stuff on the way in my post-Black Friday COMC shipment, and will be forwarding them on to you!

There you have it!