2023 COMC BINGE - PART 8: A PIECE OF CAKE

WE HAVE AN ODDBALL FOOD ISSUE SET COMPLETER TODAY. THE WHOLE SET IS WAITING FOR YOU SO LET'S GET GOING ALREADY

1982 DRAKE'S DAVE WINFIELD

DRAKES! THE FIRST ODDBALL I WAS ACQUAINTED WITH. THE 1981 VERSION, NOT THESE. I DON'T THINK EVER CAME ACROSS THESE WHEN I WAS A KID, AT LEAST I DON'T REMEMBER THE YELLOW BORDERED CARDS AS MUCH AT THOSE RED AND BLUE FRAMES FROM 1981. WHILE THIS SET MISSED ME IN MY YOUTH, I BOUGHT A BULK BOX FROM THE LCS (MAYBE THE FIRST TIME I DID SO, NOW THAT I THINK OF IT) THAT HAD A TON OF OLD ODDBALL SETS INCLUDING A BUNCH OF DRAKE'S. MOST WERE FROM 1981-84 AND I HAD CHIPPED AWAY ON THE WANTLISTS UNTIL DAVE HERE WAS THE SET CLOSER. THE 81 SET MEANS MORE TO ME BUT MY GOAL WAS TO COMPLETE AS MANY SETS IN THIS BINGE AS POSSIBLE SO I DID

I STILL FIND PLAIN OL' TOPPS BACKS ON RANDOM ODDBALL SETS TO BE INCREDIBLY CHARMING. I ALSO LIKE WHEN THE LAST CARD NEEDED FOR A SET IS A STAR. I STILL NEED GEORGE HENDRICK FOR THE 81 AND 83 SETS AND THERE AIN'T NO GEORGE HENDRICK BOX AT YOUR LOCAL SHOP UNLESS IT'S A SHOP IN ST. LOUIS THAT'S BEEN OPEN 40 YEARS. DAVE WINFIELD'S A STAR, HE'S IN THE STAR BOXES. THIS PARTICULAR CARD WASN'T AT MY LCS BUT I KNOW I'VE PICKED UP OTHER COOL WINFIELDS DIGGING THRU THE BOX. HERE'S THE WHOLE SHEBANG FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE, ENJOY THAT CLASSIC RED AND GREEN ON THE BORDERS TO DIFFERENTIATE THE LEAGUES

UP NEXT:: THE FIRST MINI CARD

NEW BATCH OF FIFTY CENT CARDS

WHEN I BOUGHT MY TOPPS HOBBY PACKS I ALSO PICKED UP FIVE BUCKS WORTH OF THE 50 CENT CARDS. WHILE I AM ENJOYING RIPPING THE OCCASIONAL PACK AGAIN, CHEAPO ODDBALLS ARE THE BREAD AND BUTTER OF MY COLLECTING NOW. LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE GOLD I WAS ABLE TO MINE

THREE 1992 KELLOGG'S HALL OF FAMERS

LOVE FINDING CHEAP KELLOGG'S EVEN IF THEY ARE THE 90S VERSION. THREE HALL OF FAMERS TOO! I AM NOW VERY CLOSE TO COMPLETING THE 92 SET, I'M ONLY MISSING MADLOCK AND QUIZ. I'M FINDING THE 1991 SET TO BE MUCH MORE CHALLENGING, EVERY TIME I FIND ONE, IT'S STILL IN THE WRAPPER AND WHEN I LOOK IT UP ON THE CHECKLIST IT TURNS OUT I ALREADY HAVE IT. SPEAKING OF ALREADY HAVING IT, I PULLED OUT THE BINDER TO PUT THESE AWAY AND DISCOVERED JIM PALMER STARING BACK AT ME. I'M NOT MAD AT HAVING EXTRAS OF JIM THOUGH

1998 PINNACLE MINT RANDY JOHNSON WITH GOOBERED UP FOIL

LATE 90S ODDBALL ISSUES ARE DIFFICULT TO FIND NOW, AND GOOFED UP CARDS OF HALL OF FAMERS ARE INCREDIBLY SCARCE. PINNACLE MINT CARDS HAD TWO VARIATIONS: ONE WITH A FOIL STAMP IN THE MIDDLE AND ONE WITH THAT BIT PUNCHED OUT WITH A DIE CUT SO YOU COULD SQUEEZE IN A PLAYER COIN. THIS FOIL MISHAP IS EXTRA INTERESTING AS THERE'S A BLANK WHITE CIRCLE UNDERNEATH THE STAMPING. IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S POSSIBLE BOTH FOIL STAMPED AND DIE CUT CARDS WERE PRINTED THE SAME AND JUST FED INTO DIFFERENT MACHINES. IF THEY HAD THOUGHT UP THIS IDEA A FEW YEARS EARLIER THEY COULD HAVE SOLD THE LEFTOVER DIE CUT TRASH AS POGS AND MADE A MINT

1985 DRAKE'S REGGIE JACKSON

LAST TIME I RAIDED THE FIFTY CENT BOXES I PICKED UP THE 1982, 1983, AND 1984 REGGIE DRAKE CARDS. I'M NOT SURE IF I JUST MISSED THIS ONE OR IF IT WAS NEW TO THE BOX, BUT I DIDN'T PASS IT UP THIS TIME. I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO COMPLETE ALL THESE DRAKE'S SETS BUT IN 1986 THEY TRANSITIONED FROM THESE TOPPS WITH A DIFFERENT FRONT CARDS TO CARDS YOU HAVE TO CUT OFF THE BOX AND THEY SEEM TO BE MUCH HARDER TO FIND. I GUESS IN THE 80S NO ONE WAS THROWING AWAY TOPPS CARDS BUT THEY HAD NO PROBLEMS TOSSING A SNACK CAKE BOX

2018 HERITAGE HIGH NUMBER REGGIE JACKSON HIGHLIGHTS

I WAS COMPLETELY CHECKED OUT ON HERITAGE AFTER 2014 OR SO AND I THINK I SAW THESE JACKSON HIGHLIGHTS CARDS ONCE OR TWICE ONLINE AND THOUGHT 'COOL!' AND IMMEDIATELY FORGOT ABOUT THEM. I'M OK WITH THIS BECAUSE MY BRAIN GOT TO EXPLODE ALL OVER AGAIN ONCE I REDISCOVERED THIS CARD IN THE CHEAPO BOX. I'M NOT SURE I HAVE ANY OTHER CARDS OF REGGIE WITH A KANSAS CITY A'S LOGO ON THE UNIFORM SO THIS IS EXTRA COOL. LIKE THE 1993 UPPER DECK CLARK BAR SET, THIS ONE'S ONLY FIVE CARDS SO I THINK I NEED TO TRACK DOWN THE OTHER FOUR NOW

THREE UPPER DECK INSERTS OFF MY WANTLISTS

1992 HOMERUN HEROES MARK MCGWIRE

I'M NOT VERY GOOD AT COMPLETING INSERT SETS BUT I'VE BEEN PUTTING SOME EFFORT IN FINISHING UP MY 1993 UPPER DECK INSERTS LATELY. THE HOMERUN HEROES CARDS WERE INSERTED ONE PER SERIES ONE JUMBO PACK. THIS IS ONE OF THE NICER INSERT SETS OUT THERE WITH A VERY CLEAN DESIGN FEATURING AN EMBOSSED BASEBALL BAT THAT WORKS MUCH BETTER THAN IT SHOULD

1992 BASEBALL HEROES BENCH & MORGAN

I WAS CRAZY ABOUT THE UPPER DECK BASEBALL HEROES SERIES, ESPECIALLY THE HANK AND REGGIE SETS, BUT I FELT IT STARTED TO JUMP THE SHARK WHEN THEY SPLIT THIS ONE BETWEEN JOHNNY BENCH AND JOE MORGAN. AS A RESULT I STILL NEED A BUNCH OF THESE TO FINISH OUT MY BASEBALL HEROES RUN. SADLY I AM JUST FINDING OUT NOW THAT THERE WAS ONE LAST ONE-PER-BOX BASEBALL HEROES SET OF BABE RUTH FROM 1995 SERIES TWO THAT I HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE AND ARE QUITE EXPENSIVE

1991 SILVER SLUGGER EDDIE MURRAY

ANOTHER ONE-PER JUMBO PACK INSERT. I GOT QUITE A FE OF THESE IN 1991 BUT AM STILL MISSING SOME. IT'S AN 18 CARD SET TO MATCH THE NUMBER OF SILVER SLUGGER WINNERS, SOMETHING MY INSERT BINDER APPRECIATES. EDDIE MURRAY CARDS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME

2020 ARCHIVES FRED MCGRIFF

MY FIRST FRED MCGRIFF CARD AFTER HE WAS ELECTED TO TEH HALL OF FAME. I HAD TO GET THIS CARD WITH ONE OF MY FAVORITE DESIGNS, IT'S FRIGGIN BEAUTIFUL. I DON'T EVEN MIND THE SKINNY LETTERING ON THE NAME OR THE GOOFY FAKE AUTOGRAPH ON THE BACK. EVERYTHING IS IS SO PERFECT RIGHT DOWN TO THE 1994 ALL STAR MVP CARTOON THAT THE FLAWS JUST ENHANCE THE ENJOYMENT

1994 MOUND MARVELS MIKE MUSSINA UNPEELED

ANOTHER ORIOLES CARD I LIKELY ALREADY HAVE, THIS WAS FOUND WHILE SCROUNGING THROUGH THE M'S LOOKING FOR THE 1992 KELLOGG'S BIL MADLOCK. I DIDN'T FIND IT BUT THIS WAS A NICE CONSOLATION PRIZE. I REMEMBER PULLING SOME OF THESE FROM PACKS IN 1994. PROTECTIVE FILM WAS A BRAND NEW THING AND DONRUSS DIDN'T REALLY KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH IT SO THEY SLAPPED THIS GIGANTIC WARNING LABEL TO REMOVE THE FILM SO PEOPLE WOULDN'T GET CONFUSED. IT WAS FUNNY AS HELL THEN AND IS STILL FUNNY TODAY. WHILE I HAVE NOT PEELED THIS CARD YET, I AM 90% CERTAIN I HAVE ANOTHER COPY OF THE MUSSINA MOUND MARVELS CARD SOMEWHERE AND YOU MAY REST ASSURED WHEN I FIND IT ONE OF THEM IS GONNA GET PEELED