Enter the Big Black Void

Small envelope jams from @TLFrankKing @Scribble4Me and @breakdowncards as we journey into the darkness. 

 

I can't believe it's already... what month is it? In this time of very little sports, where it seems more likely than not that another shutdown of leagues is imminent, there are still a few cards to look at to pass the time. Let me just say that cards from trading friends in mailers of all shapes and sizes are a really nice diversion from the increasingly commercialized so-called hobby right now.

First up is a few things from The Legendary Frank King, a Rangers fan who may not be totally over the events of 2011. (To be fair, I don't think I'm totally over 1985 or 1987.) The reverse negative Paul DeJong parallel might be a first for me. These cards are just as absurd and unnecessary as they look, but as the team collectors' mantra goes: if it exists, I must have it!

This Jack Flaherty is of the indigo variety and is numbered to 250. Topps still seems relatively sane with their color parallel naming schemes, while Panini long ago veered off into territory that reminds me of the crazy names people come up with for different types of weed you can purchase.

In a more recent mailing from Frank came a need to kick some more Cardinals to the curb. I'm assuming he had a spot in a 2016 Topps Heritage High break, as all of the cards were from that set. This is my second Adam Wainwright black refractor pickup in a matter of weeks, which is a truly promising trend.

Paul from Scribbled Ink is a devotee of the Topps Home Run Challenge contest. He saw a card I had on a Free Stuff Friday post from this summer that had one of these codes on it, claimed it, and was nice enough to send a return. This card from the 2017 Bowman Chrome set is a nice addition to my burgeoning Jack Flaherty collection.

Several years back I picked up a lot online that contained a bunch of cards from this weird Upper Deck Game Face set, but I was still missing the Albert Pujols card. This has been rectified, thanks again to Paul.

Lastly, there's an envelope from Baseball Card Breakdown to discuss. Has Topps really been doing the online thing for half a decade now? Or more? This card is from their TBT (Throwback Thursday) online set from 2016. Of course, they've been "online" for a lot longer than that, for those of you who remember the days of eTopps. (I don't.) With the way things have gone this year, it seems likely that they're going to move most of their products towards online sales, which is a shame for impulse buyers like myself.

The second in the three former Cardinals from Gavin to be featured here is Luke Weaver, part of Arizona's return in the Paul Goldschmidt deal. He had a rough go of it in 2020, but haven't we all?

To wind things up, here's a Sterling signature from one and only Shelby Miller. Do you know personally know anyone named Shelby Miller? Of course you don't. 

It's a green parallel, not that it really came out well in the scan, and it's numbered 125/125 for those of you that like symmetry.

I guess I could show the back.

There you have it. Thanks again to everyone who has sent me stuff in 2020!