SOME DOLLAR BOX PICKUPS FROM A DIFFERENT ANTIQUE MALL

 I AM FORTUNATE TO LIVE IN AN AREA FILTHY WITH BOUGIE ANTIQUE MALLS AND ONE REASONABLY CLOSE TO ME HAS A FULL BLOWN CARD SHOP WITHIN ITS PREMISES. THIS PLACE HAS EVEN HOSTED A COUPLE MINI CARD SHOWS IN THE PAST, IT'S A PRETTY DOPE PLACE. I HAD SOME TIME TO KILL BEFORE AN APPOINTMENT AND CHECKED THE PLACE OUT. SADLY MY PHONE HAD .001% POWER SO I WAS UNABLE TO TAKE A MILLION PHOTOS OF COOL SHIT (AND DEAR READERS, THERE WAS A TON OF COOL SHIT) BUT I DID FIND AND RAID THE DOLLAR BOXES SO YOU GET A FEW PICS OF NICE CARDS TAKEN AFTER THE FACT

BUYING SOME BASEBALL CARDS AND GETTING THEM PACKAGED IN A TINY LEOPARD PRINT BAG IS ONE OF THE UNDERRATED JOYS OF FINDING CARDS AT SHOPS WHERE CARDS ARE ABSOLUTELY NOT THE PRIORITY. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME EITHER

2020 TOPPS UPDATE RONALD ACUÑA TURKEY RED

I BEGRUDGINGLY LOVE TURKEY RED. I BOUGHT AN ABSOLUTELY ABSURD NUMBER OF PACKS IN 2005-6 WHEN IT CAME OUT, WAS A LITTLE CONFUSED BY THE 2007 SET AS I HAD NEVER SEEN ONE OF THE ORIGINAL BOXING CABINETS BEFORE, GOT CONCERNED WHEN IT BECAME AN INSERT SET IN 2010 AND GAVE UP ON IT COMPLETELY WHEN IT BECAME AN ONLINE FOOTBALL EXCLUSIVE. TIME HAS PASSED THOUGH AND FINDING THESE 2020 INSERTS REKINDLED MY ENJOYMENT OF THE SET. THE IMAGES JUST LOOK SO GOOD. I WAS EXTREMELY HAPPY TO FIND THE ACUÑA CARD IN THE BRAVES BOX, MARKED DOWN FROM THREE DOLLAR TO A BUCK AS WELL!

HOWEVER, THIS CARD IS GIVING ME THE WEIRDEST CASE OF PAREIDOLIA I'VE EVER HAD. EVERY TIME I LOOK AT THIS CARD I SEE DARRYL STRAWBERRY IN THE SHADOWS ON RONALD'S NECK. AND IT'S THE FIRST THING I SEE. I CAN'T NOT SEE IT NO MATTER HOW I TRY. I WENT AS FAR AS GOOGLING DARRYL STRAWBERRY SO I COULD PROVE TO MYSELF THAT ISN'T DARRYL STRAWBERRY, THAT'S A NECK BECAUSE I FELT LIKE I WAS CRACKING UP AND

IT'S DARRYL STRAWBERRY. I AM CRACKING UP. SOMEONE WITH BETTER IMAGE SEARCHING SKILLS THAN I HAVE PLEASE FIND THE ORIGINAL PHOTO THIS CARD WAS BASED ON SO I CAN FINALLY SEE A NECK 

2020 TOPPS RONALD ACUÑA 1985 TOPPS 35TH ANNIVERSARY

I LOVE FINDING CHEAP ACUÑA CARDS AND I PROBABLY COULD HAVE JUST CLEARED OUT THE BOX OF DOLLAR RONALDS BUT THERE WAS A LOT OF GOOD STUFF IN THAT BRAVES BOX. I COULDN'T PASS UP ON THE 1985 TOPPS  35TH ANNIVERSARY CARD, IT LOOKS TOO DAMN GOOD. THIS SERIES OF INSERTS IS A BIT FRUSTRATING AND I'M CERTAIN TOPPS WILL RESET BACK TO 1987 TOPPS AGAIN BEFORE TOO LONG BUT THE INDIVIDUAL CARDS LOOK GREAT

2019 TOPPS CHROME UPDATE HANK AARON 150 YEARS OF BASEBALL

NOW YOU KNOW WHY I DIDN'T JUST WIPE OUT THE ACUÑAS. CHEAP HANKS ARE EVEN BETTER. I COVETED THIS 150 YEARS OF BASEBALL INSERT FROM THE BASE TOPPS SET AND CHECKED A WHOLE BUNCH OF TARGET BLISTER PACKS LOOKING FOR IT WITH NO SUCCESS. THE CHROME UPDATE VERSION IS EVEN BETTER THOUGH, ESPECIALLY SINCE IT'S A SHINY REFRACTOR. I LATER LEARNED THAT THE ENTIRE INSERT SET FROM CHROME UPDATE ARE ALL REFRACTORS BUT THAT DOESN'T BOTHER ME ANY. ALL CHROME/PRIZM/OPTIC/FAKE PLASTICKY METAL CARDS SHOULD BE REFRACTORS. THEY HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY, USE IT!

2020 TOPPS CHROME UPDATE HANK AARON A NUMBERS GAME

ANOTHER CHROME UPDATE INSERT AARON CARD FROM THE FOLLOWING YEAR. CHROME CARDS HAVE NOT BEEN ON MY RADAR SINCE THE EARLY 00S AND CHROME UPDATE EVEN LESS SO. AND I'M CERTAIN THAT IF I HAD SOMEHOW BOUGHT A BOX OF THE STUFF IN 2020 FOR FORTY, FIFTY, A HUNDRED BUCKS OR WHATEVER THE STUFF COST, I WOULD ABSOLUTELY NOT HAVE PULLED THE AARON. THIS CARD LOOKS SO FANTASTIC IN PERSON TOO, THE SHINY REALLY MAKES THE BLUE AND RED POP. I'M ALSO PLEASED THAT THE TWO AARON CARDS HAVE THE CLASSIC MILWAUKEE UNIFORM AND THE 1974 ATLANTA UNIFORM ON THEM. THAT KIND OF VARIETY IS NICE ON NEWER LEGENDS CARDS

2018 TOPPS HERITAGE LUCAS SIMS/OZZIE ALBIES ROOKIE STARS

SINCE MY ACQUISITION OF NEW STUFF STARTED TO TAKE A NOSEDIVE A FEW YEARS AGO, ONE OF THE PLAYERS I FEEL I'VE REALLY NEGLECTED IN MY COLLECTION IS OZZIE ALBIES. ALL-STAR SECOND BASEMEN DON'T GROW ON TREES, ESPECIALLY ONES AS FUN AS OZZIE. THIS ONE IMMEDIATELY CAUGHT MY EYE AS IT'S A ROOKIE CARD THAT DOESN'T HAVE THAT RC LOGO PLASTERED ON IT. IT LOOKS JUST LIKE AN ORIGINAL 1969 ROOKIE STARS CARD! EXCEPT FOR THE TRADEMARK SYMBOLS AND LEGALESE AND WIDER BORDER AND SLIGHTLY WONKY FONTS. THAT PURPLE IN THE TEAM NAME CIRCLE IS SPOT ON. OZZIE'S ROOKIE PARTNER LUCAS SIMS ALSO GOT THE BRAVES ADAM DUVALL WHO PAYED BIG DIVIDENDS. LUCAS IS STILL PITCHING IN THE REDS' BULLPEN AT LEAST AS OF THIS WRITING

2021-22 DONRUSS TRAE YOUNG

I CAN'T BUY AN ACUÑA CARD AND NOT PICK UP A TRAE AS WELL, BUT THE BASEBALL BOXES VASTLY OUTNUMBERED THE BASKETBALL ONES. NEW HOOPS CARDS ARE A LITTLE MORE SPENDY TOO, BUT I DID MANAGE TO SNAG THIS DONRUSS BASE CARD OUT OF A DIFFERENT DOLLAR BOX. AT THE FRONT OF THE STORE THERE'S AN OLD CARDBOARD PACK DISPLAY BOX THAT WAS FILLED WITH TONS OF RANDOM JUNK AND TRAE WAS HIDING AMONGST THE ODDBALLS. I FOUND SOME OTHER COOL STUFF IN THERE LIKE A RANDOM VINTAGE KELLOGG'S CARD BUT AS I HAD NO JUICE IN MY PHONE I COULD NOT CHECK MY WANTLISTS. THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT THE PHOTO ON THIS CARD BUT THAT IS ACTUALLY THE SUBJECT ON A FUTURE COMC BINGE POST SO YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT TO FIND OUT 

1991-92 FRONT ROW UPDATE DIKEMBE MUTOMBO CHARTER MEMBER SILVER FOIL

THIS WAS THE LAST DOLLAR CARD I PICKED UP AND I HAD TO MAKE SOME TOUGH DECISIONS. BACK IN THE CORNER OF THE SHOP WAS A TABLE FULL OF BINDERS FILLED WITH JUNKWAX SETS AND THERE WAS A DOLLAR BOX OF OLD 90S BASKETBALL CARDS. I FOUND A 1994 FLAIR GRANT HILL ROOKIE THAT TEMPTED ME BADLY BUT CHOSE THIS DIKEMBE MUTOMBO DRAFT PICK CARD INSTEAD. I REALLY LIKE GRANT HILL BUT I LOVE DEKE AND WHILE THERE ARE A TON OF FLAIR CARDS OUT THERE THIS ONE IS SORT OF AN ODDBALL. AND YOU KNOW HOW I LOVE ODDBALLS. THIS ONE IS EXTRA ODDBALLY AS IT IS NOT EVEN FROM A THE DRAFT PICK SET, IT IS AN UPDATE TO THE DRAFT PICK SET. I'D SAY FRONT ROW WAS DOUBLE DIPPING DIKEMBE BUT IT'S MORE LIKE THEY WERE QUADRUPLE DIPPING AS THERE WERE MUTOMBO CARDS IN THE FRONT ROW PREMIER SET, HE WAS IN A TOP TEN DRAFT PICKS SET AND ALSO HAD HIS OWN SEVEN CARD CARD SET BEFORE THIS ONE. AND THAT'S NOT EVEN COUNTING ALL THE PROMOS AND PARALLELS. SPEAKING OF PARALLELS, THIS ONE'S GOT FOIL! BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE:

IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE POINT WHERE TRADING CARDS OFFICIALLY STOPPED BEING FUN LITTLE BITE SIZED RECORDS OF YOUR FAVORITE PLAYER AND THE ARTIFICIAL SCARCITY FOR 'ADDED VALUE' STARTED TAKING OVER HERE'S A NICE LITTLE DATA POINT FOR YOU. IF FOIL IS GOOD ON THE FRONT, IT'LL BE GREAT ON THE BACK! STAMPED RIGHT ON TOP OF THE STATS. I LOVE THE WILD WEST OF JUNK WAX SO MUCH, NO ONE KNEW WHAT THE HELL THEY WERE DOING AND WERE WILLING TO TRY ANYTHING TO SELL MORE CARDS. THIS TICKLED ME SO MUCH I HAD TO PUT POOR GRANT BACK IN THE BOX. HOPEFULLY HE'LL STILL BE THERE ON MY NEXT TRIP