Post office drop-off regret

On Sunday, during the height of "first-Sunday-of-the-NFL-season" frenzy, I left the house, and went searching for baseball cards.

It probably wasn't a good idea because it was very busy out there, dominated by other people who weren't interested in watching the NFL all day, which mostly means mothers with screaming kids. But I made sure to keep my visit short, get in and get out.

I brought home my first blaster of 2015 Allen & Ginter, a rack pack of Stadium Club and my first repack in a long time, this one those tall thin boxes of 100 random cards, 1-in-4 containing a relic, wooooo! But we'll get to that last part later.

All of the items did their job. Nothing exciting, but they helped me get closer to some half-hearted completion goals and that's all I want. As usual, the repack was the most interesting package.

My objective with repacks, which I've said a billion times, is to be dazzled by cards of the past. I love sheer randomness. Plus, since there are huge holes in my collection from periods when I did not collect, I'm guaranteed of seeing something I've never seen before.

There was a smattering of 1994 Topps. Since my attempt to collect '94 Topps stopped after about five packs in 1994, this interesting Ozzie was new to me.

I like repacks because I'll see cards from sets I gave up on. I did not buy any Series 2 of 2012 Topps willingly. That's right. The Series 2 2012 Topps you'd find in my collection was purchased at gun point.

Part of me wishes that every card in the repack box is a card from between 1996-2005. Not that I'm particularly fond of cards from that time period. But since I have so few, and I'm so addicted to "I've never seen THAT before," I'd be out of my mind. This Ripken card is an example of one of those new-to-me cards.

As many '80s cards as I own, there are certain areas notably lacking. The '89 Topps Traded set is nothing I ever pursued. So the four '89 Traded cards in this box were most welcome. Also, if you want to send me an '80s card, I recommend '86 Fleer, like Don Robinson here, or anything mid-'80s Fleer or Donruss.

Repacks are great for oddballs. This box contained a load of Star minor league players, most of whom never made it. But this was the highlight, a Ted Williams Card Company dedication to Jim Taylor, who played and managed for like 30 different Negro League teams.

As is typical, my collection is more impressive than it was before I bought the repack, and I spend happy minutes and hours logging the cards into my collection.

I never think about getting a hit when I buy these. The advertisement of "1-in-4 boxes" containing a hit didn't sway my purchase in the least.

But I did get a hit. And this is where the post office drop-off regret comes in.

(Of course it's a Giant. Why would the persecution cease with this particular rack pack?)

Not more than two days after sending a package to Adam of ARPSmith's Sports Card Obsession, one of the few Giants fans I tolera ... er, know, I pull this card.

Arggh.

You ever get that feeling that you sent a card package a little too soon? That happens to me all the time.

I had really wanted to throw something in to beef up Adam's stack of cards because it seemed like it needed something, and this would have done nicely. But I didn't have it then. If I had only waited a few more days to send it.

Oh, well, I'll probably ship it out shortly in a PWE, although it seems quite the waste of a stamp for Brandon Belt.

As for me, I'll keep on enjoying the base cards.