March is kicking my ass per usual. But I have a hobby to off-set that, and when I get the time, I dig into the greatness and realize my life should consist of nothing but sorting all the goodies people send me!
I've been swimming in new-to-me cardboard for the past month or so and it was ramped up when my friend Greg (@grogg.bsky.social) sent another amazing package -- rather a big ol' box -- that I knew was coming, and even knew some of the contents, but was still not prepared for the greatness.
There's the box now (with the dreary winter backdrop -- right now the wind has decided to howl for three days straight). Inside that box were several smaller boxes, with lots of variety but with one thing in common -- I collect that stuff!!
Now whenever I show off an arrival this size with this kind of variety I usually go for the big finish. But I realize some readers don't care about the old stuff (although I've probably driven away all the people who only like cards from the last 30 years). So I'm going to mix it up here, draw-from-a-hat style, but maybe slightly more organized.
The box was parallel-and-insert heavy. I'm not going to pretend to know what the Topps Gallery Freeman card is. Or the Bowman Betts for that matter. But weirdly I know all about the Easter eggs floating behind Buehler.
This is the 2024 Update set. Greg opened a bunch from this and I was happy to take these off his hands. I hadn't intended on collecting it, but I still love the design, so it's a natural fit in the 2024 binder. A couple of cards were missing, but that's nothing -- I got a 348-card head start!
Naturally, if you open all that, a bunch of inserts and parallels will follow, and I'll take all the Dodger kind! That "Let Them Cook" phrase totally passed me by. I don't know what it is. Are players yelling that on the field? Yeah, I'm old. But the players probably think all '70s music sounds like the Beatles, so we're even.
Some appreciated cards for my 1969 Topps set quest, which includes the Lou Piniella
Just a few late '90s Dodgers. Those Flair Showcase cards always send me on a fact-finding mission. I've done it once already for TCDB. I'll have to do it again when I'm adding to the binders.
Some framed rarities. I love the signed-Matt Kemp. The Uribe silk card reminds me that Greg was collecting those, I'm not sure where he is on that, but I know it's beyond impressive.
This signed Steve Garvey card comes from something called Chrome Black and I'm not fancy enough to know what that is.
The league leaders cards from the 1960s are super impressive and hit way different than leaders cards of current stars. Makes me wonder if 30 years from now, will fans ooh and ahh over the leaders on 2013 Topps like I do with these 1967s? Doesn't seem possible.
Is it Halloween already? This is by far the most Halloween parallels I've viewed all at once. It's a little disorienting. I had two before this.
But what about the pumpkins and ghosts?
There you are. Those are fun -- and totally unnecessary.
The second set to show up in the box was most of 2025 Series 1. Just eight cards short, despite all of the boxes Greg opened. Crazy. I guess I'll collect this set now. But I may just wait til December to see what comes my way.
ALSO THE TEAM SET!
AND SOME INSERTS!
All of these 1967 cards are needs, possibly one upgrade. I know 1960s players a lot better than I did 10 years ago. I still don't know what they were like, except for the stars. But I bet I could tell you Bob Barton from Bob Burda now.
Some of my dear, dear, dear 1970s Kellogg's cards! I have a couple of these, but I'm not saying which ones. They could be arriving in trade packages. If you look at the penny sleeves in the bottom row, you'll notice the notches at the top. These are so you can slip the card in more easily without risking dings. I never knew these existed but I saved all of them.
A couple of parallel Graterols. The card on the right is my first True Photo variation. They're kind of neat, though they remind me of collecting TCMA in the 1970s or even the Dodger postcard sets. In other words, it's been done.
Even more parallels. I've run out of things to say about them but I'm happy they're in the house!
How about some old Dodgers to mix things up a little bit! I love the Bell Brand cards and have just started looking into acquiring some more after adding a few two years ago or so.
OK, these are the final cards and I lied. There is a big finish!! I couldn't help it, I'm not going to put these in the middle of everything else! The Lou Brock is a very fine upgrade but all the others are new. Willie Mays!!!!
I appreciate every kind of send, large or small, when it comes to cards, especially this time of year. March has already been difficult for me and my family, I just learned some bad news while writing this post. It's nice to have a hobby to lean on, so thanks all.
Comments
As for the 2013 Topps leader cards, the AL batting leaders card is certainly worthy of oohs and aahs--Miggy, Mike Trout, and Adrián Beltré. None of the others are, though.
P.S. I have some 2024 Topps Update dupes. If you email me your wantlist, I might be able to help you out.