Night Owl Cards

This is one of my favorite Nolan Ryan cards. It has a lot going for it. It's a night card. It's a "moment in time" card. It's a "moment in time" card of the last out of a no-hitter. If we are to believe the sideways writing on the card, this is the final pitch of Ryan's sixth career no-hitter. And that is Willie Randolph directing a fly ball foul to right field, which will settle into Ruben Sierra's glove to end the game and set off Rangers pandemonium. A few other IDs: The catcher is John Russell. The umpire is Don Denkinger. The shortstop is Jeff Huson. The left fielder is Pete Incaviglia. Of course, the stadium is Oakland-Alameda County Stadium, before the Raiders returned to town, and before a number of other renovations. I am so glad the Jack In The Box and Michelin signs were not cropped out of the photo. They make the card. (I can identify the smaller Oakland Tribune sign to the lower left, but I have no idea what the other sign...

When I look back on my favorite card moments of 2009, I think Friday will rank in the top 10, if not the top 5. For starters, Topps '09 made a triumphant reappearance back in my neighborhood with the arrival of blasters and jumbo packs. Good things really do come to those who wait . I went with two jumbo packs, but I don't think I'm going to show them here. I needed almost all of the cards and I pulled 6 Dodgers (Ramirez, Park, Kemp, Kuroda, Sweeney and Campanella Legends of the Game), but I think you've seen 'em all by now. I think this officially means I'll have to put together an '09 Topps want list in the next few days. But for me, the bigger news was finding baseball cards at the dollar store across town. I often whine about how more dollar stores and drug stores should carry cards. When I was a kid, you couldn't find a drug store that didn't have cards. Now, you can't find one that does. Meanwhile, I'll find cards periodically at...