Yay, you're seeing another one of these!
As you've no doubt have read already, Chris of The Collector sent out some generous giveaway packages to celebrate a couple of milestones in his collecting life -- 40 years of collecting and 10 years of blogging. Today is the exact day he started his current blog. The baseball card blogging world is more interesting for it.
As you know, I love milestones, in fact I have one coming up with the next post (it was a little tricky coordinating programming). When I look back, my 10th year of blogging arrived in 2018 and I hit 40 years of collecting in 2015.
The Collector said he's stepping away from collecting at the end of his anniversary year but I believe he'll still be writing on his blog, which is great news as I enjoyed some of his researched-themed series, particularly the All-Time Teams one.
But this is not about the future or the past, it's about round numbers and goodies!
I have 10 separate images -- for 10 years of blogging by The Collector -- to show off from the prize package I received. Cue the cascading balloons, let's do it.
I'll start with a 1986 Topps rack pack. I don't know if everyone who received a package from Chris got an '86 rack pack but that would make sense because that's the year he started collecting. Thank goodness he didn't start in 1987. I don't need any more of those cards.
But I've also completed the 1986 set (which I love) -- way back in the early days of the blog. I even have the glossy All-Star card that's showing. So this will stay sealed, and hopefully displayed in some manner when I figure out how.
The glorious back. I loved rack packs as a youngster, because you could see six cards that you were getting! It was like pack-searching without performing the dirty deed!
1986 is one of the few years during my 50-plus years of collecting when I didn't buy a single pack of cards (I was in college). So it's even cooler than I have a rack pack from this time.
Next up, a pack of Brockum Rock Cards with it's very utilitarian foil wrapper. I have virtually the whole set of 288 cards, thanks to Angus. In fact, I need just one card -- Motley Crue's Mick Mars. So this will probably be opened at some point.
I was also bestowed with a pack of 2026 Bowman. For the prospector in me (which doesn't exist). I can't tell you the last time I opened a pack of Bowman. Early 2010s? My blog would tell me, but I don't like researching Bowman posts. Let's open this one.
As always, Bowman starts out solid with knowing three of the four players. (It's possible I knew who Yanquiel Fernandez was briefly in 2025 with the Rockies. But he hasn't played in 2026 and is now in the Yankees organization).
The next six. A diecut insert of Jac Cagliaone and five prospect types I don't know. Par for the Bowman course.
OK, that's six images. What else was in the envelope?
Ooh, singles of the Dodgers-sort. Very nice. Let's open them up and check out what I needed!
Very cool. The first 2026 Finest Dodger in my collection, an increasingly rare A&G Dodger mini (I just don't pick them up like I used to), the last Dodger need for the 1993 O-Pee-Chee team set, a 2025 Platinum Chrome need and a very nice blue Christmas parallel of the retired Kershaw.
A couple of other Dodgers needs in Yamamoto and Kimbrel plus a welcome 1991 Swell Joe Torre card (I need to focus on that set right now).
The two 1967 Topps cards are both from the high-number seventh series and the most impressive thing in the package. My records say I own the Jim Owens card already so I'll have to see what it looks like. This is pristine and I may have left the other one on a want-list due to condition.
A look at some of the cards that I received that I already own. Per usual Johnny's Trading Spot sent me some of these just before these versions arrived -- specifically the 2025 Platinum Chrome (I also I pulled the Campy during my wayward purchase of a box). Nobody could have pulled an Ohtani or Betts card?
I went a little nuts during the first edition of the Platinum Chrome set in 2021 (when I foolishly thought it would be a one-and-done), so that team sets finished. But another Tommy John is nice. And I probably will have a secondary use for a few of these.
And that's 10 images for 10 blogging years.
It's super cool that Chris thought of others during his anniversary. I'm looking forward to what other things he has in store on his blog, it's really one of the true ones where you can still see the wheels turning.
All right, one milestone done, another one coming whenever I get to my next post.
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