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!

New Year Nightmare Fuel

Sleep tight!

It is safe to say that nobody is having anything related to a goodtime if Abner is near.

2026 Adventures in Repacks - Part 1 - A Great Way To Start the Year

 The same repack types as the year closer.

And here we are!

All flagship in this pack - but at least there's a reverse retro jersey in there. Even though it was the opening card, and therefore not a surprise. 

And the contents of the Value Pack. Looks like I'll have a hit coming my way!

And the appearance of a 1981 card puts this repack easily ahead of the previous one. It was completely unexpected. Getting the great name that is Steve Konowalchuk is a bonus.

Here's that hit. It might not be a huge name, but he's still playing in North America, and yellow is a fun swatch colour to see on a Penguins card. 

Guess the Superstar? Is it a historic one in Jagr, or a current one in Boeser? 

Timmy's card! CHL card! That's enough to offset the blandness of any 21-22 entry. 

A relic? A 1981 entry? Steve Konowalchuk? Yup, that's what I want from a repack experience!

There you have it!

2025 Adventures in Repacks - Part 36 - A Great Way To End the Year

 A repack 2 pack!

With these two, in particular from Dollarama.

Here's the 4 card pack. An alternate uniform is nice, but the easy win here goes to the Tim Horton's entry. I remember the days where even one player opting to sport #59 would be considered silly, and now there's two of them good enough to make it onto an insert set. Damn, I'm old....

Here were the contents of the Value Pack.

Starting with the 5-pack, there's a perfect card for this time of the year -  a World Juniors card! I'm not sure if Kurashev is an intense face-off card, or if he's just glazed over. Also, Whalers content! Airbrushed Whalers content, but Whalers content nonetheless!

That is quite the reliance on 1990 UD for a 1990s pack. That said, the face-off photo on Dave Gagner's is a nice selection.

Pronger is my Hall of Famer in the pack, making for 4 cards in the repack for relocated teams. You can even add the Coyotes appearance in the first portion to make for 5. 

Can you tell I'm really bored by the contents of these ones?  When some of the most interesting cards to me were two of the 1990 UD entries, the dullness is hard to disguise.

But there you have it!