It's The Penguin's day. Celebrate if you have time

 

I've been pretty damn busy today, really pretty damn busy the last few weeks, and it makes me sad that I can't spend all the live long day looking for 2024 Topps.

 

That's partly Topps fault for deciding to release its flagship set on The Relationship Holiday and two days after The Biggest Football Thing Ever. Give us a chance to breathe, man!

 

It's also the time that I recognize the birthday of my all-time favorite player, Ron Cey. Today is that day. He's 76 today and wow, I hope I get to be 76.

 

Last year, on his 75th birthday, I showed all of the 1975 cards in my collection. I'll do that for you now with '76.

 

Lots of round cards to go with the square ones. (I swear those four that look almost exactly alike are different). I also have that Linnett Superstars oversized item somewhere, but there's zero time to search for it.

Usually I take the time to find a new Ron Cey card for my collection on this day. I've done that -- sorry, it's another MSA disc. There just aren't a lot of Cey cards out there that I don't already have and I most definitely am not going to start collecting his Cubs cards.

I also have my eye on another MSA disc of his. There are few other oddballs I can see myself getting at some point, too.

I also took the occasion of his birthday to officially start reading this:

Yeah, I know, when did I get time to read a BOOK?

I don't know, I think there was a moment around 11:43 this morning.

My plan was to have this book all read and then give you a book report on Cey's birthday, but that failed miserably. I'm on page 5. (Although, like I said earlier, I did read like half of this in a bookstore over the summer).

I hope The Penguin enjoyed his day -- I know he has a book-signing coming up, way over there on the other side of the country. And I hope I have more time next year for his 77th birthday.

I still can't believe that player I rooted for as a kid is that freakin' old.