All This and Steve Sax, Too!

My second ever card of 3-time All-Star Curt Simmons is a certified autograph. 

In the midst of endless reproductions of Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle cards (well, not him so much anymore), a lot of good to great players of the past end up getting lost in the shuffled. Topps Archives, in their various incarnations over the years, shines a light on some of the lesser known but still fondly remembered players. (This selection process also leads to some odd places, as I touched on last night.) I was honestly drawing a blank when I first pulled out this Curt Simmons card from 2016, courtesy of the legendary Night Owl.

It wouldn't be a Night Owl trade envelope without some quality want list needs. My massive, but quietly shrinking 2016 Ginter list took another dent. Mr. Brown here is an actor, as noted by the camera icon in the upper right hand corner. He was in Field of Dreams, which is clicking with me now, but I never would have made the connection without reading the facts on the back.

This, er, last year's Heritage was also taken down a peg. Here's a confident looking Dillon Gee, looking pleased that I have fewer cards to collect. He would be displeased at the current state of my closets, however.

In the Cardinals section of said closets, this David Freese insert from Panini's 2013 Hometown Heroes set ticks another box. I've been swimming in base cards from this set from kind traders everywhere, but I've barely even seen any of the non-base stuff since I was still holding a grudge against unlicensed MLB cards in 2013.

This is a really, really busy Allen & Ginter design, but the Wizard is doing his best to fit within the tiny frame that he's given.

Sometimes you get a Steve Sax card from a Dodgers collector! As quickly as I put down the 1993 Upper Deck set, the other junk wax(ish) era set that I dared put together through this blog still isn't complete. I'm an idiot for neglecting one of my first true (cardboard) loves, but I'm down to needing just Tom Brookens and Bob Freaking Dernier to finish off the set that taught 10 year old me about team colors.

Because I arrived super late to the 2015 Stadium Club (exclusive VIP) party, this... er... LAST year's set doesn't get enough love from me. It's great. I need more. But I have quite a few other things to think about at the moment, including those stupid closets.