Post-Christmas blowout

I spent my Christmas money today. Most of it anyway. Oh, what a lovely day that is. It's the only day of the year that I enjoy shopping. It's like I suddenly become a male version of Rebecca Bloomwood. It's alarming.

Baseball cards will bring that out in a guy. Thank goodness this day comes around only once a year. Otherwise I couldn't stand myself.

The first think I bought were some binders and some pages. As dull as those things are, I am very happy to have them. I can really do some damage on the stacks of cards I have piling up. But then I'm going to have to figure out where to put the binders. I might have to pull a Wrigley Wax and build some shelves in the basement. That will definitely get the shopping willies out of my system.

After that, I went to the hobby shop, and I swear that will be the last time. First, the place was awash in football and basketball. Even the boxes with loose packs. Yawn. Secondly, I was dying to buy a box of something. But everything was crazy overpriced.

I settled on a box of Topps Chrome because I think I'm going to try to kill off the set. Hopefully, this will do it (but probably not).

But I had to haggle with the owner over the price. For a long time. I hate that. The only haggling I ever do is when I am buying a car. And I even hate the hell out of that. But for a freakin' box of cards? From now on: Online. All the time. And I might return to the hobby shop -- to applaud when he locks up for good.

I got him down to something semireasonable and left with my cards in a huff. That was actually the end of the shopping experience for me.

But before I hit the hobby shop, I was in Target. I happened by the card aisle, where it looked like the place not only was bombed, but that it was bombed back to 2008. Updates & Highlights from 2008, Timeline from 2008, Documentary from 2008. I cannot find 2009 Heritage High Numbers anywhere around here.

So, I settled on a few packs here and there. The last pack I opened yielded the biggest surprise.

First I went with 2 packs of Topps Chrome. I know I bought a hobby box, too, but you can't find the xrefractors in the hobby box. And sometimes ...

... you get two xrefractors in one pack. Even in xrefractor mode, Ryan Braun looks sleepy.

I also selected two packs of O-Pee-Chee. I have a lot of this set, but I'm still not committed to completing it. Sedate me and remove a brain cell or two, and I might commit fully.

There was nothing great there. This insert card was about as thrilling as it got. But I like OPC for its understated quirkiness anyway, so that's cool with me.

Yes, I bought one pack of Documentary. Mostly because it was cheap and because I need like 150 more of the Dodger cards.

I didn't get a single Dodger card. Just stupid stuff like this: a card praising the Reds in a 12-6 win by the Mets.

Finally, I grabbed three packs of SP. I bought these only because it was the only baseball-related brand there that I hadn't purchased yet. I like variety, so I had to try these.

The box was filled. It looked like only one pack had been purchased. When I opened the first two packs, it was the usual ho-hum SP fare. And there was a useless 20th anniversary Tiger Woods card, about the 9th one I've pulled.

Then I opened pack three.

The Clayton Kershaw card was in that pack. I already have this card. But it's always good when Clayton stops by to say hello.

But there was a card in front of the Kershaw card. The third card in the pack.

How about that? That is an autographed card of Kevin Kouzmanoff there. Hmmm, someone collects Kouz cards don't they?

This was quite a surprise. The first time I ever pulled an autographed card out of a loose pack was a major disappointment. This makes up for it.

I haven't opened my hobby box yet. I'm guaranteed of getting two autographed cards. I know those are on-card as opposed to the sticker Kouzmanoff here. But I'll be interest to see if those cards are of anyone more notable.

If they are, you'll know.