FATHER'S DAY CARDS - TOPPS SERIES 2 HANGER PACK

 I GOT A TWENTY FIVE DOLLAR TARGET GIFT CARD FOR FATHER'S DAY AND IMMEDIATELY DECIDED IT WAS GOING TO BE USED ON ONE (1) HANGER PACK OF SERIES TWO TOPPS AND ONE (1) RACK PACK OF 2023 DONRUSS. IT TOOK TRIPS TO FOUR DIFFERENT TARGETS TO FIND ANYTHING OTHER THAN HOCKEY, POKEMON AND CHRONICLES BASKETBALL DRAFT PICKS BUT MY PERSISTANCE PAID OFF. MY POSTING HAS BEEN ERRATIC THE PAST COUPLE WEEKS SO MAYBE DOING A PART TWO OF MY FIRST HANGER PACK POST MIGHT GET ME OUT OF THE FUNK. LIKE LAST TIME, I'VE MOVED THE BASE CARDS IN THE BACK TO THE FRONT TO SAVE THE GOODIES FOR LAST. NO DOUBLES THIS TIME BECAUSE I ONLY BOUGHT THIS ONE HANGER OF SERIES TWO. ONCE AGAIN LET'S FUKKKINN GOOOOOOO

381 WHIT MERRIFIELD

GOTTA SHOW OFF THE FIRST CARD EVEN IF IT'S THE FIRST CARD OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE PACK. NOT GONNA LIE, I GET MERRIFIELD CONFUSED WITH BOBBY WITT JR. ANOTHER BIT OF FUN IS THIS CARD HAS SOME OLD-SCHOOL O-PEE-CHEE CUTTING ON THE TOP OF THE CARD. YOU DON'T SEE THAT TOO OFTEN ANYMORE

374 MICHAEL TAYLOR

505 JOSÉ MIRANDA
403 JUSTIN TURNER
451 ROYCE LEWIS
554 JESÚS AGUILAR

THREE TWINS RIGHT AWAY JUST WHEN THE BRAVES ARE STARTING A SERIES AGAINST MINNESOTA SO I GUESS I BETTER POST THEM. THIS FAILED MISERABLY WHEN I TRIED TO PUT THE WHAMMY ON SPENCER TORKELSON BUT MAYBE IT WILL WORK THIS TIME

388 MAX MEYER RC
551 JOHNNY CUETO
438 BRANDON BELT

I REMEMBER MAX MEYER FROM WHEN I PULLED HIS CARD IN SOME ANOTHER PACK, AND ALSO REMEMBER THAT HE'S OUT RECOVERING FROM TOMMY JOHN. CUETO AND BELT ARE ON UNFAMILIAR TEAMS BUT I DON'T CARE ENOUGH ABOUT THE UNCANNY PHOTOSHOP JOBS TOPPS IS KNOWN FOR NOW SO NO PICS. AIRBRUSH OR GTFO

351 STORY TIME CHECKLIST
514 COLIN MORAN
366 COREY KLUBER
584 BRENDAN DONOVAN
419 MICHAEL CONFORTO

I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE EITHER OF THE SUPERSTAR INFIELDERS UNTIL I LOOKED ON THE BACK ALTHOUGH 'STORY TIME' SHOULD HAVE TIPPED ME OFF. THERE ARE A LOT OF UNCANNY PHOTOSHOP JOBS IN THIS SET BUT APPRECIATE THEM NOW BECAUSE THERE'S A 90% CHANCE THEY'LL BE DONE BY AI WITHIN A COUPLE YEARS SO FANATICS CAN FIRE AN ADDITIONAL INTERN

460 ANTHONY VOLPE RC
530 BRICE TURANG RC
561 SHINTARO FUJINAMI RC

A TRIO OF RCs BEFORE WE HIT A RUN OF SIDEWAYS CARDS. I FOLLOW YANKEE FANS ON TWITTER SO I KNOW EXACTLY WHO VOLPE IS BUT I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE OTHER GUYS. GONNA BE HONEST, WHILE I WAS CHAMPING AT THE BIT HOPING TO PULL A MICHAEL HARRIS II OR VAUGHN GRISSOM CARD FROM SERIES ONE, I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT ROOKIES I SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR HERE

375 RYAN TEPERA
368 LOGAN WEBB
623 TAMPA BAY RAYS

TWO THINGS HERE: HORZONTAL CARDS LOOK FRIGGIN GREAT, AND THE HOLIDAY CAPS AND CITY CONNECT UNIFORMS MAKE NORMAL PHOTOS OF PLAYERS JUST AS UNCANNY AS THE TOUCHED UP ONES

630 JOSÈ ABREU
437 LANE THOMAS
347 JEREMY PEÑA

ASTROS CARDS OF A COUPLE MVPS. THAT IS A NICE ROOKIE CUP CARD

413 ALEJANDRO KIRK
492 EVAN LONGORIA
585 MICHAEL KOPECH

LOOK AT THAT ABSOLUTE UNIT

499 SLAM DUNK WIN!

THAT'S A NICE LOOKING CHECKLIST CARD, GOOD TO SEE THE ORIOLES DON'T SUCK THIS YEAR

523 CHARLIE BLACKMON
538 XANDER BOGAERTS
416 DONNY SANDS RC
453 WILL BRENNAN RC
431 EMMANUEL RIVERA
646 KYLE HIGASHIOKA
448 MATT WALLNER RC
497 ENRIQUE HERNÁNDEZ
553 DAVID BEDNAR

THE CHARLIE BLACKMON WAS UPSIDE DOWN BY ITSELF IN THE PACK WHICH MADE ME SUSPICIOUS OF SHORT PRINTS BUT THEY DO THOSE MORE OBVIOUSLY NOW. I'LL NEVER GET USED TO GREEN COLORADO UNIS EVEN THOUGH THEY LOOK KINDA GREAT. WE NOW HAVE A LONG STREAK OF PLAYERS I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO SAY ABOUT, WHICH SEEMS TO BE AN ANNUAL THING IN SERIES TWO. I'M ALL FOR THE KYLE HIGASHIOKAS OF THE WORLD GETTING A CARD IN FLAGSHIP THOUGH SO IT'S A NECESSARY THING

401 CORBIN CARROLL RC

OK THIS ROOKIE I'VE HEARD OF, LET'S CHECK THAT BASEBALL REF PAGE TO SEE WHY EXACTLY PEOPLE ARE FREAKING OUT ABOUT THIS GUY- OH MY GOODNESS. GOOD LORD, WELL AT LEAST I WON'T HAVE TO GO CHASING THIS CARD NOW. WOOF

563 JESÚS LUZARDO

EVERY TIME I SEE THIS GUY I CAN ONLY THINK OF THE JESUS LIZARD AND I'M WRONG FOR THAT SO I ADDED HIM TO MY FANTASY TEAM AND HE'S PUTTING UP SOME PRETTY GOOD NUMBERS FOR ME

443 LUKE VOIT
517 CHAD KUHL

ANOTHER BIG UNIT ALTHOUGH HE'S ALREADY MOVED ON TO MILWAUKEE AND THE METS SINCE THIS UNPHOTOSHOPPED (?) PIC WAS TAKEN

456 AMED ROSARIO
449 DREW RASMUSSEN
424 LOGAN GILBERT
657 JAKE FRALEY

GUARDIANS CARDS LOOK SO DAMN GOOD, I LOVE THAT LOGO SO MUCH

560 THAIRO ESTRADA
593 TREY MANCINI

THAIRO ESTRADA IS THIS YEAR'S "GUY I PICKED UP IN A FANTASY LEAGUE KNOWING NOTHING ABOUT THEM WHO IS CARRYING THE WHOLE TEAM ON HIS BACK". HE JOINS NICOLA JOKIC ON THAT LIST SO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THAIRO. TREY IS TRANSMOGRIFIED INTO A CUBS UNIFORM WHICH MADE ME LOOK UP TO SEE IF HE EVER GOT AN ASTROS CARD. I ONLY FOUND TOPPS NOW CARDS AS AN ASTRO WHICH IS KIND OF A SHAME

331 CHARLIE MORTON
521 NICK ALLEN

YAY!  A BARVE! CHARLIE IS DEFINITELY ON THE TAIL END OF HIS CAREER BUT HE'S STILL CHEWING UP A LOT OF GOOD INNINGS FOR US. THIS PHOTO OF HIM LOOKS ABSOLUTELY BIZZARE IF YOU LOOK AT IT TOO LONG. STARTING TO WONDER IF TOPPS ISN'T ALREADY USING AI ON THESE CARDS

459 RYNE NELSON RC

I HAD TO GO BACK THRU MY FIRST SERIES CARDS TO CHECK ON THIS, BUT THIS IS THE FIRST 2023 TOPPS CARD I'VE SEEN WHERE THE CORNER PORTRAIT ISN'T COMPLETELY INSIDE THAT LITTLE TEAM WINDOW. NOT ALL THE MUGSHOTS ARE STARING DIRECTLY INTO THE CAMERA BUT THEY'RE NOT BARELY IN THE FRAME EITHER. LOOKS LIKE RYNE WAS LATE FOR THE CARD AND TRIED TO SNEAK IN AT THE LAST SECOND. KINDA COOL ACTUALLY! RYNE IS UNIQUE, AT LEAST UNTIL I SEE ALL THE OTHER EXAMPLES OF THIS ON CARDS I DON'T HAVE

602 SPENCER STRIDER
581 RAMÓN LAUREANO
550 MARK VIENTOS RC
439 JARED WALSH
595 GRIFFIN JAX
479 SIMEON WOODS-RICHARDSON RC

HOORAY! SPENCER STRIDER ROOKIE CUP! THE NATIONAL LEAGUE DYLAN CEASE. THIS MIGHT BE MY ONLY STRIDER CARD? MY BRAIN HAS THE DUMB SO I DON'T REALLY REMEMBER. VERY HAPPY TO SNAG ONE FROM A PACK BECAUSE STRIDER CARDS ARE HARDER TO FIND IN ATLANTA THAN EVEN ACUÑA. PEOPLE LOVE THE STRIKEOUTS

600 SHOHEI OHTANI

WOOOOOOO! SHOHEI! ALL SHOHEI CARDS PULLED FROM PACKS ARE BLESSINGS. A VERY NICE FINISH TO THE BASE CARDS. TIME FOR THE SHINIES!

SMLB-38 XANDER BOGAERTS STARS OF THE MLB 
SMLB-45 YORDAN ALVAREZ STARS OF THE MLB 
SMLB-59 SALVADOR PEREZ STARS OF THE MLB 
SMLB-53 KYLE SCHWARBER STARS OF THE MLB 

ONCE AGAIN THERE ARE FOUR STARS OF THE MLB SHINYFOIL INSERTS IN THE HANGER PACK. THEY'RE OK? YORDAN IS COOL AND I LIKE SCHWARB'S POWDER BLUES BUT THIS COLLECTION OF PLAYERS DOESN'T DO MUCH FOR ME. THE MICHAEL HARRIS AND AUSTIN RILEY CARDS I'D LIKE TO PICK UP ONE DAY

LG-3 NOLAN RYAN LEGENDS OF THE GAME

ANOTHER EXTRA SHINY INSERT. THE BASEBALL CARD GODS MUST HAVE HEARD ME BITCHING ABOUT HOW I'M MISSING NOLAN RYAN CARDS FOR ALL MY SETS BECAUSE HE'S SHOWING UP EVERYWHERE NOW. I WASN'T PLANNING TO SHOW OFF ANY BACKS DUE TO THE STUPIDLY MASSIVE SIZE OF THIS POST BUT YOU GOTTA SEE THIS ONE

HYPER SHINY FOIL FRONT, FAUX VINTAGE CARDSTOCK BACK. VERY WEIRD. AND LOOKS A LOT LIKE THE BACKS OF THE DONRUSS CARDS AS WELL?? BUT THAT'S ANOTHER POST

WBC-5 TIM ANDERSON WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC

YES! ANDERSON IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES AND WBC CARDS ARE ALWAYS COOL. THIS SET'S DESIGN IS REALLY GOOD LOOKING AND I HAVE A MIGHTY NEED FOR THE ACUÑA FROM THE SET

2T88-25 NICK PRATTO RC 1988 TOPPS

NOT SUPER ENTHUSED ABOUT THIS ONE. I GOT LUCKY PULLING OZZIE ALBIES LAST TIME, GUESS I SHOULDN'T GET GREEDY. THE NUMBERING FOR THIS SET IS DUMB. FIRST SERIES IS T88-## AND THIS ONE IS 2T88-##. I GUESS THE UPDATE VERSION WILL BE UT-88-## IF THEY DON'T JUST CHUCK IT AND DO 1987 TOPPS AGAIN. ALL THATR EFFORT TO TRY TO DISGUISE THAT THIS WILL EVENTUALLY BE A THREE HUNDRED CARD SET. THAT'S TOO MANY CARDS FOR AN INSERT

399 JEAN SEGURA FOIL PARALLEL

MOARER SHINY. I ONLY COLLECT THE GOLDS WHICH ARE STOOPID HARD TO PULL NOW SO WHATEVER. I WOULD TELL YOU THE EXACT ODDS BUT THE BACK OF THE PACK TELLS YOU TO GO TO TOPPS.COM AND I AIN'T DOING THAT

HRC-14 JOSE RAMIREZ HOME RUN CHALLENGE

I FUCKING HATE THESE. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO PLAY THE GAME AND HAVE NO INTEREST IN SCRATCHING A CODE ON THE BACK JUST TO HAVE TOPPS TELL ME I LOSE. WASTE OF AN INSERT CARD. BOOOO! OH WAIT WHAT'S THIS

HUMMINA HUMMINA HUMMINA HUMMINA

MLM-MM MICHAEL HARRIS II RC MAJOR LEAGUE MATERIAL

I'VE LOST MY BITCHING ABOUT BASEBALL CARDS PRIVILEGES FOR LIKE THREE YEARS AFTER THIS. HOLY SCHNIKES THIS IS MY BEST PULL SINCE THAT TOM GLAVINE 1971 MINI AUTO A DECADE AGO. THE ODDS OF GETTING ANY KIND OF HIT FROM A RETAIL PACK IS HIGH ENOUGH, GETTING THE EXACT GUY YOU WANT IS ASTRONOMICAL. ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU BUY MAYBE TEN PACKS A YEAR. ONLY CARD FROM THIS SET THAT COULD BEAT THIS IS RONALD AND THAT ONE DOESN'T HAVE THE VAUNTED ROOKIE CARD LOGO ON IT. KINDA BLOWN AWAY BY THIS ESPECIALLY SINCE THIS WASN'T THE FIRST HANGER I PICKED UP. I GRABBED ONE, PUT IT BACK FOR SOME REASON AND THEN PICKED THIS ONE. I CAN REALLY REALLY QUIT BUYING PACKS NOW (EVEN THOUGH I WON'T) BECAUSE I'M NOT PULLING ANYTHING BETTER THIS YEAR. BETWEEN THIS AND THE DOG CARD (HAVE I POSTED THE DOG CARD? I NEED TO POST THE DOG CARD) I'M PRETTY CERTAIN I'VE PEAKED ON MY 2023 PICKUPS ALREADY AND IT'S NOT EVEN JULY

ANYWAY, I STILL HAVE A DONRUSS PACK TO SHOW OFF AND ABOUT A HUNDRED POSTS ROTTING AWAY IN THE DRAFT FOLDERS SO UNTIL NEXT TIME, GO GET A HANGER AND SEE IF YOU CAN BEAT THAT (YOU WON'T). HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO MEEEEEEE

WASTING SOME MONEY AT THE FLEA MARKET - PART 3: KID'S STUFF

HERE'S THE GRAND FINALE OF THE FLEA MARKET POSTS. PART 1: RANDOM JUNK, PART 2: BASEBALL IMMORTALS, NOW ON TO PART 3: SILLY RABBIT, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS FOR KIDS

I FEEL LIKE I SAY THIS EVERY TIME I POST SOMETHING I GOT FROM THE LAST BASEBALL CARD SELLER LEFT AT MY LOCAL FLEA MARKET, BUT IF YOU'RE WILLING TO DIG DEEP, YOU CAN FIND SOME COOL DEALS AMONG THE OVERPRICED JUNK WAX. THIS LITTLE PACKAGE HERE WAS PRICED AT 6 CARDS FOR THREE BUCKS. FIFTY CENTS A CARD. WITH JESSE OWENS ON THE FRONT! NOT BAD. PLUS THERE WERE MORE THAN SIX CARDS IN THE PACK, I GUESS HE JUST KEPT PUTTING MORE IN THERE. WHILE I DO NOT SPECIFICALLY COLLECT SI FOR KIDS CARDS, I'VE ACCUMULATED A FEW THROUGH THE YEARS AND THIS SEEMED LIKE A GOOD PICKUP FOR THE PRICE OF A RETAIL PACK YOU CAN'T EVEN BUY ANYMORE THANKS TO FLIPPERS

FIRST CARD: 1990 JESSE OWENS. SI FOR KIDS SETS ARE A GREAT PLACE TO FIND CARDS OF PEOPLE WHO PARTICIPATED IN SPORTS OTHER THAN THE BIG TEAM SPORTS. JESSE HAS 163 CARDS PER TCDB GOING BACK TO 1936, SO IT'S NOT LIKE HE HAS NO OTHER CARDS OUT THERE, BUT OWENS IS SO ICONIC ANY CARD OF HIM IS A GOOD ONE. I WASN'T AWARE THAT SI FOR KIDS EVEN MADE CARDS BACK WHEN I WAS STILL TECHNICALLY A KID BUT IT WOULDN'T HAVE MATTERED BECAUSE AT THAT AGE I WANTED THE ACTUAL MAGAZINE, NOT SOME BABY STUFF EVEN IF THERE WERE CARDS IN THERE

SECOND CARD: 1991 RON GANT. GOODNESS GRACIOUS, LOOK AT THAT BORDER. WE ARE TRULY IN THE 1990S. I KNEW I WAS BUYING THE PACK WHEN I SPOTTED THIS ONE, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S A DECENT CHANCE I ALREADY HAVE IT. THIS CARD IS FRESH OFF HIS 30/30 YEAR. GANT WAS SO DAMN GOOD, THAT ATV ACCIDENT IS ONE OF THE GREAT TRAGEDIES OF THE ATLANTA SPORTS CURSE

THIRD CARD: 1990 GORDIE HOWE. I'M SLOWLY BUT SURELY GETTING SOME OF MY HOCKEY CARDS SORTED OUT IN HOPES OF MAYBE UNLOADING THEM SOME TIME SOON BUT GORDIE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES AND I'VE BEEN PICKING OUT ANY OF HIS THAT I FIND. I SADLY HAVE NO VINTAGE ONES BUT HE'S GOT A TON OF CARDS ON INSERTS AND LEGENDS SETS FROM HIS POST-PLAYING DAYS

FOURTH CARD: 1990 WILMA RUDOLPH. THE DECEMBER 1990 ISSUE OF SI FOR KIDS HAD AN ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC LINEUP OF TRADING CARDS. CHECK IT OUT: BILLIE JEAN KING, JESSE OWENS, WILT CHAMBERLAIN, PELE, JACKIE ROBINSON, BABE DIDRICKSON ZAHARIAS, BABE RUTH, GORDIE HOWE AND WILMA RUDOLPH. NOT GOING TO FIND A MUCH BETTER LINEUP THAN THAT. I ALREADY HAVE A COUPLE OTHER WILMA RUDOLPH CARDS FROM OLYMPICS SETS BUT SHE DOESN'T HAVE TOO MANY CARDS OUT THERE AND THIS IS A NICE LOOKING ONE WITH THAT WOOD BORDER

FIFTH CARD: 1989 OZZIE SMITH. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO SHORTAGE OF OZZIE SMITH CARDS, BUT THEY'RE ALL PRETTY COOL NEVERTHELESS. THIS MIGHT BE MY OLDEST SI FOR KIDS CARD NOW AND I'M IMPRESSED THAT THEY USED THESE FUNKY BORDERS AS EARLY AS 89

SIXTH CARD: 1990 SCOTTIE PIPPEN. BASKETBALL CARDS WERE STILL SOMEWHAT OUTSIDE OF THE MAINSTREAM IN 1990. THIS IS A PRETTY NICE EARLY CARD OF SCOTTIE. THAT'S THREE HALL OF FAMERS, TWO OLYMPIC LEGENDS AND A BRAVES FAVORITE IN THE SIX-CARD PACK. EVERYTHING ELSE IN HERE IS GRAVY

CARD SEVEN: 1990 MICHELLE GILMAN. THIS IS THE ONLY MICHELLE GILMAN CARD EVER CREATED BECAUSE HER TWO SUBSEQUENT SI FOR KIDS CARDS CAME OUT AFTER SHE GOT MARRIED AND BECAME MICHELLE GOULD. IF YOU WANT THE ROOKIE CARD OF THE GREATEST RAQUETBALL PLAYER EVER, YOU NEED THIS ONE. I'M A LITTLE MIFFED SHE GOT A BASKETBALL TRIVIA QUESTION ON HER CARD INSTEAD OF ONE FOR RAQUETBALL LIKE ON HER OTHER CARDS. I DON'T CARE THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO TIE IN HER HOME STATE OF OREGON, THAT STILL SEEMS A LITTLE DISRESPECTFUL. SPOILER: THIS IS MY FAVORITE CARD IN THE PACK BY FAR AND I'M NOT KIDDING

EIGHTH CARD: 1990 GEORGE BRETT. ANOTHER HALL OF FAMER FROM A MISSOURI BASED TEAM. JUST NOTICING NOW THAT SI FOR KIDS KEPT THE SAME BORDER FROM 1989 TO 1990 BUT CHANGED THE COLOR FROM BLUE TO GREEN. WHO KNEW 1991 DONRUSS WAS RIPPING OFF SI FOR KIDS?

LAST CARD: 1990 TONY HAWK. SO. UHHH. APPARENTLY THIS IS TONY HAWK'S GODDAMN ROOKIE CARD*. I JUST LOOKED AT SOME ONLINE PRICES FOR THIS THING AND HOLY FUCKING SHIT. I CAN UNDERSTAND IT THOUGH, IT IS THE FIRST CARD OF THE MICHELLE GOULD OF SKATEBOARDING AFTER ALL. MAY I REMIND YOU, THIS WAS AN EXTRA CARD ON THE BACK OF THE PACK. I KINDA FEEL A LITTLE BAD NOW BUT I DIDN'T PRICE THE THING AND THAT PACK HAD BEEN SITTING IN A CASE FOR A HOT MINUTE WHEN I FOUND IT. YOU GOTTA KEEP DIGGING AT YOUR LOCAL FLEA MARKET, KIDS. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT DEALS YOU MIGHT FIND

*ROOKIE CARDS ARE FAKE AND MADE UP AND TOTALLY A MARKETING SCHEME AND I'M A JUST A LITTLE BIT GLAD THEY HAVE COMPELTELY BRAINWASHED THE POPULACE AT THE MOMENT

THE GREATEST BASEBALL VIDEO GAME EVER CREATED

Just say the words out loud



NINJA BASEBALL BATMAN

What the ...

So I clicked on this auction. You know what auction it is. It's been on Yahoo! News for Pete's sake. Not sure where I found it, I've seen a half a dozen posts on this in the past couple of days. Anyway I clicked on the auction link and my reaction was this:

Whatever sucker eventually buys this better pray to Jeebus every single day that Stephen never ever meets Dr. James Andrews. And us old-schoolers still feel bad about all those Brien Taylor cards we bought. Ha!