BLACK FRIDAY COMC PICKUPS - PART 60: RONALDS

WHILE I HAD CHOICE PARALYSIS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHICH TRAE YOUNG CARD TO PICK UP, I DID NOT HAVE THAT PROBLEM WITH RONALD ACUÑA JR. I KEYED IN ON THREE CARDS I REALLY LIKED AT SUPER CHEAP PRICES. AND THEN WHEN I WENT TO BUY THEM, ONE HAD ALREADY BEEN YANKED OUT FROM UNDER ME. I REGROUPED AND CHOSE A DIFFERENT CARD THAT WAS PRICED LESS  AND IT ENDED UP ALLOWING ME TO PICK UP A REALLY COOL CARD LATER. SILVER LININGS, EH? PLUS I HONESTLY CANNOT EVEN REMEMBER WHICH CARD IT WAS ANYMORE. MAYBE IT'LL POP UP AGAIN THIS YEAR. HERE ARE THE THREE RONALDS THAT MADE IT IN MY ORDER

2021 TOPPS 582 MONTGOMERY CLUB SET 4 RONALD ACUÑA

THIS WAS THE ALTERNATE RONALD. I STILL CAN'T FOR THE LIFE OF ME REMEMBER WHICH ONE I MISSED OUT ON. MAYBE IT WAS THAT SUPER SEVENTIES SET WITH THE MASHUP OF 70S DESIGNS? AT ANY RATE THIS CARD WAS FIVE CENTS CHEAPER. THIS IS ONE OF THOSE 582 CLUB EXCLUSIVE CARDS YOU HAVE TO SPEND A LOT OF MONEY IN ORDER TO EVEN BE ALLOWED TO BUY THE CARDS SO YOU CAN DUMP THEM FOR UNDER A BUCK A YEAR LATER. I SURE THEY GOT SOMETHING ACTUALLY COOL AND RARE THAT US PLEBIANS CANNOT HAVE BUT I'M FINE WITH THE DREGS. THIS IS AN ODD LOOKING CARD BUT IS BASED ON THE 1951 TOPPS TEAM CARDS SET WHICH IS ALSO HORIZONTAL, BLACK AND WHITE WITH 1991 FLEER BORDERS. I'VE ONLY ACTUALLY SEEN ONE OF THOSE CARDS TWICE IN PERSON SO EVEN A FACSIMILE IS PRETTY COOL TO ME. RONALD IS DOING THE 'STRAW THAT STIRS THE DRINK' CELEBRATION THE BRAVES USED FOR A COUPLE MONTHS IN 2021. IT'S NICE WHEN CARDS CAPTURE LITTLE MEMORIES LIKE THIS

THE BACKS ARE KINDA BORING. JUST AN AD FOR THEIR EXCLUSIVE BIG RICH WHALES CLUB AND ABSOLUTELY NO INFORMATION OTHER THAN THIS IS A LOST DESIGN FROM THE VAULT. IT'S NOT LOST! IT'S JUST A SCARCE ISSUE! FROM A YEAR THAT TOPPS HAS DISAVOWED SINCE THEY HAVE TO HYPE UP 1952 TOPPS ALL THE TIME!

2020 PANINI PRIZM RONALD ACUÑA INSTANT IMPACT

WHO NEEDS LOGOS WHEN YOU GOT ALL THIS OTHER SHIT GOING ON. RONALD IS THROWING AND SWINGING AND THE USS ENTERPRISE IS GOING INTO WARP 10 IN THE BACKGROUND AND THERE'S GIGANTIC TEXT WITH THE INSERT NAME AT THE TOP AND MY SENSES ARE OVERWHELMED. IF THIS WAS A REFRACTOR PRIZM CARD I MIGHT NOT SURVIVE THE AWESOME. GOOD THING I'M CHEAP. NOT GONNA LIE I'M GOING TO MISS PANINI INSERTS WHEN THE FANATICS OVERLORDS MURDER THEM OFF FOR GOOD

THE BACKS STILL AIN'T GREAT BUT AT LEAST THERE'S SOMETHING ON THEM UNLIKE THE CLUB CARDS

2020-21 TOPPS 582 MONTGOMERY CLUB SET 1 RONALD ACUÑA

OK SO I THINK THIS SET IS ON AN ALTERNATE UNUSED DESIGN FOR 1979 TOPPS. I REMEMBER READING AN ARTICLE WITH A COUPLE TEST CARDS WITH THIS DESIGN A FEW YEARS AGO AND THINKING, WOW, THAT'S REALLY COOL. THEN I SAW THIS CARD AND THOUGHT, WOW THIS IS REALLY COOL AND PUT THE CARD IN MY CART. NOW, I GO SEARCHING FOR THAT ARTICLE, OR ANYTHING AT ALL THAT EXPLAINS WHAT THIS DESIGN IS AND THERE IS NOTHING TO BE FOUND ANYWHERE. OR, MORE LIKELY, IT'S THERE BUT BURIED UNDER A MOUNTAIN OF AI GENERATED CRAP IN THE SEARCH RESULTS. SO IT'S A COOL LOOKING CARD, WITH A NEAT STORY THAT I CAN'T TELL BECAUSE TOPPS COULDN'T BOTHER TO PUT A LINE OF TEXT ON THE BACK EXPLAINING JUST WHAT THE HELL THIS IS

UPDATE: THANKS TO A TIP FROM THE SHLABOTNIK REPORT THIS DESIGN IS FROM A 1979 PROTOTYPE. RIP TO MY LARRY HISLE PLAYER COLLECTORS OUT THERE

MAN, THESE 582 MONTGOMERY BACKS REALLY ARE DOGSHIT AREN'T THEY

WAIT. I JUST REALIZED I MIXED UP THE BACKS. THIS IS THE BACK DESIGN FOR THE 1951 TEAM SET CARDS AND THE OTHER ONE IS OBVIOUSLY THE 1979 TOPPS ALTERNATE DESIGN. SO THEY DID PUT A TINY BIT OF EFFORT INTO IT! TOPPS IS STILL LAZY FOR THIS AND NOW I'M AN IDIOT ON TOP OF IT ALL. STILL, THREE NICE ACUÑA CARDS FOR ABOUT TWO BUCKS! WHICH WILL PROBABLY BE MUCH, MUCH HARDER TO FIND THIS YEAR WITH THE SEASON HE'S HAVING