Kind of a hypocrite





(Special note to View From The Skybox: Never fear. I'm OK now. My soul was possessed by college basketball for a few too many stressful hours, but I conducted an exorcism and I'm back! Here is the post that was meant to appear on Sunday night):

 

I go on quite a bit about the modern hobby's neglect of the base card. It's pretty infuriating for someone who knew almost nothing except base cards for the first decade of his collecting life.

But there is one time -- and it's repeated over and over -- when I dismiss the base card, too.

It happens when I open trade packages. Often, but not all the time mind you because there is that period in time when a set first hits the shelves, the base cards that fall out are mere dupes. Just something to shuffle through before you get to the good stuff.

It's at that time that I feel like a case breaker. And, if I think about it too much, I almost feel guilt and that I am a hypocrite.

For example, there is the George Foster card here. I received it from Life and Baseball Cards. It's a terrific card in any way you want to definite it. But, sadly, it's also a dupe. Someone beat Lonestarr to my want list need.

That caused me to look eagerly for what else was in the package, and, of course, what I needed was not base cards.

 

Here you go. This is a card I need. It is the "museum collection" parallel of the 2013 Panini Pinnacle Zack Greinke card.

All you folks who grew up in the '90s probably just salivated over the phrase "museum collection." Older guys like me who ignored cards for much of the '90s had to look up what the heck this thing was.

It looks better in person. Shiny and glaze-like. You almost forget the lack of logos. Definitely not a base card.

Oooooh. This is definitely not a base card, too. Goldie Gordon is numbered to /50, and although Bowman Platinum is a set I bypass, this card defies you to ignore it.

When I see cards like this I understand why some collectors scoff at all base cards and make sure only cards like these are in their collection. It's almost like putting the sun in a room in your house. Open the binder and your collection sings to you.

So, you can see that the cards from Lonestarr that hit the spot were not base cards -- even though I go on and on about base cards.

But there are people who understand my hypocritical behavior.

They're the ones who don't even bother to put base cards in their packages to me.

Here are two cards from Matt of the stupendously named Bob Walk the Plank blog:

This gold Puig card is terrific and makes me want the season to arrive in a hurry.

The card also unfortunately contains a terribly mangled sentence on the back. Here is how the write-up begins:

"Badly in need of a spark, Puig provided one to the Dodgers upon his call-up on June 3, 2013."

REWRITE!!!!

(*takes out his editor's hat*)

"Puig provided a badly needed spark to the Dodgers upon his call-up on June 3, 2013."

That's free, Topps. The rest will cost you.

This is a very nice-looking stickered autograph card of Dodgers catching prospect Pratt Maynard. Very fancy looking card from Panini.

This is my first of anything card of Maynard whose been floating around Class A the last few years. I don't know if he'll dig himself out.

Also, decidedly not a base card. Thanks, Matt, for understanding.

Another package arrived from hiflew (see I used his new old name) of Cards From The Quarry. And it contained nothing but fancy stuff, which is kind of amusing because I think he and I are pretty much team set/base card collectors.

Let's see what the hypocrite got:

Yup, I'm still working on last year's Dodger blue parallels. This is way back from when we couldn't find Greinke in a proper Dodger uniform.

Going back even further with the blue parallels, this time to 2011. I didn't cry when the Dodgers traded Rubby De La Rosa. I probably won't until he does something amazing -- otherwise I can't get worked up abut stuff like that.

 

There apparently are no Targets in hiflew's neighborhood. This is a blue parallel of the reigning Cy Young Award winner, Rookie of the Year winner and Elbow Surgery winner.

Hey! There's a red card. But these aren't the Target parallels, of course. This is one of those blood rain parallels.

 

How about this? This is only the second camo parallel that I own. It also might be the busiest card that I own.

But all of that parallelness above was mere appetizer for what is to come:

 



Look at that thing.

 

This has instantly soared to being on of the top three Adrian Beltre cards in my collection. And if you knew how many Beltre cards I have, that's a statement.

 

This here doesn't feature a mere jersey, but also a chopped-up section of baseball cap (apparently the cap innards) and an authentic game worn SHOE.

 

How you chop up a cap and a shoe, I don't think I will ever know, but this thing is fantastic.

 

And while I was viewing that thing, I think I forgot that base cards even exist.

 

I'm such a hypocrite.