REGGIE APPRICIATION POST

 ON MY LAST LCS RUN I DECIDED TO BUY ENOUGH FIFTY CENT CARDS TO GET A DISCOUNT SINCE I HAD A BIRTHDAY GIFT CARD TO BURN. I WONDER IF NIGHT OWL IS JEALOUS I GET TO SPEND MY GIFT CARDS AT A CARD SHOP INSTEAD OF BUYING BLASTERS AT TARGET, I AM SURE AS HELL JEALOUS HE FOUND AN ALLEN & GINTER BLASTER AND PULLED A RONALD ACUNA JR MINI IN THE FIRST DAMN PACK, I'LL TELL YOU THAT MUCH. THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER OR SOME SUCH. I ADMIT I DID PRETTY DANG GOOD IN THOSE FIFTY CENT BOXES. GOT A BUNCH OF CARDS FOR PLAYER COLLECTIONS, A LARGE PILE OF SET NEEDS AND HAD A FEW CARDS LEFT OVER FOR FRIVOLITY. I PICKED OUT A FEW NEWER BRAVES AND AN ANDRUW JONES CARD. I COULD GET TWO MORE CARDS SO I STARTED SCROUNGING AROUND A BIT IN THE HALL OF FAMER BOXES AND CHECKED OUT BRETT, YOGI AND CAREW. THEN I HIT THE REGGIE BOX

I LITERALLY COULD HAVE GOTTEN A COUPLE DOZEN REGGIES OUT OF THAT BOX WITHOUT THINKING. I EVEN PUT ALL THE BRAVES BACK EXCEPT FOR ONE OZZIE AND ONE RILEY CARD AND I WAS REALLY THINKING ABOUT DUMPING THOSE TOO. I ENDED UP WITH SIX REGGIES AND THE UNDERSTANDING THAT REGGIE JACKSON REALLY IS UP THERE WITH LEMKE AND HEYWARD IN THE CATEGORY OF 'CARDS THAT MAKE ME UNREASONABLY HAPPY' 

SINCE THIS IS THE, UH, LOOOOOOOONG ANNIVERSARY OF ME STARTING THIS BLOG LET'S HAVE A LITTLE NEW REGGIE CARD APPRECIATION ON HERE

THIS IS THE CARD THAT PUNCHED ME IN THE MOUTH

AS I SHUFFLED THROUGH SOME REGGIES THIS 2022 ARCHIVES CARD WITH THE 1969 ROOKIE CARD PHOTO ON A DADGUM 1963 TOPPS DESIGN JUMPED OUT AT ME AND I ALMOST MELTED. ICONIC PHOTO ON ONE OF MY FAVORITE DESIGNS? HELL YES. IS THE FONT A LITTLE WONKY ON THE NAME AND TEAM? YES. IS IS CLOSE ENOUGH FOR GOVERNMENT WORK? ALSO YES. I DIDN'T NOTICE THE FONT, I NOTICED THAT LITTLE BLEED OVER FROM THE SOLID COLORS ON THE BOTTOM INTO THE PHOTO. THAT SHIT IS EXACTLY LIKE THE ORIGINAL SET. TOPPS DOESN'T ALWAYS GET THE SMALL DETAILS RIGHT ON THE ARCHIVES BUT THEY NAILED THE HELL OUT OF THAT ONE. I ALSO APPRECIATE THAT THEY HD'D THE PHOTO A BIT. IT LOOKS SUPER CRISP AND LESS WASHED OUT THAN THE ORIGINAL '69

I LIKE THE BACK TOO. YES YES YES, THE FONTS ARE ALL FUCKED UP AND THERE'S NO CARTOON AND THAT GAP ABOVE MAJOR LEAGUE BATTING RECORD LOOKS AWKWARD. THEY GOT THE COLOR RIGHT AND IT'S PRINTED ON NICE CARD STOCK. THIS IS A HELL OF A LOT BETTER THAN A LOT OF OTHER ARCHIVES SETS. NIGHT OWL REALLY SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN THAT ARCHIVES BLASTER INSTEAD. JUST SO I WOULDN'T BE SO DAMN JEALOUS, DON'T THINK I DIDN'T NOTICE THAT OZZIE ALBIES MINI TOO

I JUST CAN'T QUIT TURKEY RED. LORD KNOWS I TRIED, I PULLED MY SETS OUT OF THEIR BINDERS YEARS AGO AND ABANDONED THE CARDS TO A RANDOM BOX TO ROT AWAY. FINALLY THIS YEAR I PULLED THEM OUT AND PUT TOGETHER A NEEDS LIST. WHICH MICROSOFT PROMPTLY ATE WITH AN UNEXPECTED UPDATE. BUT I DID IT. IRONICALLY I GOT FED UP WITH THEM INITALLY WHEN THEY SUDDENLY WENT FROM BEING A RETRO SET TO AN INSERT SET AND THEN WHEN THEY BECAME ON DEMAND I DIDN'T WANT TO SEE THEM AT ALL. BUT THEN THIS 2020 INSERT SET APPEARED AND I FOUND A FEW IN CHEAPO BOXES AND FELL IN LOVE ALL OVER AGAIN. THIS CARD LOOKS FRIGGIN GORGEOUS, GIMME THEM TURKEY RED SUNSETS ALL DAY LONG

YOU'D THINK SINCE I WAS LITERALLY PUTTING BACK CARDS OF MY TEAM TO PICK UP REGGIES I'D GO WITH MORE ARCHIVES OR SOME TOPPS INSERTS OR EVEN JUNK WAX BEFORE LOGOLESS PANINI STUFF. BUT YOU'D BE WRONG, I FIND THIS ODDBALL ELITE INSERT THAT LOOKS LIKE A THANKSGIVING GREETING CARD TO BE QUITE CHARMING. IT'S JUST SO AMAZINGLY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT YOU WOULD EXPECT A REGGIE JACKSON CARD TO BE. AND IT'S NOT JUST BECAUSE I ENJOY AUTUMN, THE LAST REGGIE CARD I PICKED UP AT THIS SHOP WAS ANOTHER ELITE INSERT. THAT ONE WAS ON VERY UGLY FOILBOARD BUT FEATURED REGGIE IN AN ARIZONA STATE UNIFORM. WHAT CAN I SAY, I LIKE VARIETY

THE LAST THREE WERE ESSENTIAL AS THEY WERE: A) REGGIES B) DRAKE'S CARDS AND C) REGGIE DRAKE'S CARDS I NEEDED FOR MY SETS. THESE SETS FASCINATED ME SO MUCH WHEN I WAS A KID AND I'M HAPPY THAT I'M GETTING CLOSER TO COMPLETING THEM. WHILE I ALREADY HAD A HEALTHY AMOUNT OF DRAKE'S CARDS I HAD EXACTLY ZERO DRAKE'S REGGIE CARDS. AND NOW I HAVE THEM ALL WELL, HALF OF THEM. STILL NEED 1981, 1985 AND 1986. THESE ARE NICE ENOUGH AND IF THERE ARE COPIES IN THAT 50 CENT BOX I MIGHT BUY 'EM AGAIN

OH BOY DO I LOVE THE BACKS WITH THE DRAKE'S LOGO BY THE CARD NUMBER. FAMILIAR, YET DIFFERENT. THESE CARDS WILL BE GOING IN THE 80S ODDBALL SET BINDER WITH THE REST OF THE DRAKE'S CARDS INSTEAD OF IN THE REGGIE BOX. I SHOULD REALLY GET MY ACT TOGETHER AND PUT MY REGGIES IN A BINDER TO ENJOY. MAYBE I CAN DUMP ALL MY ALLEN & GINTER SETS INTO A BOX TO ROT TO FEE UP SOME PAGES SINCE I CAN NEVER FIND BLASTERS ANYMORE GRUMBLE GRUMBLE. HERE'S TO ANOTHER YEAR OF THIS NONSENSE, MAY ALL YOUR BLOGGERY GO WELL IN 2023