Christmas Gift From Mallory - 2019 Leaf Perfect Game Showcase Box

Normally, when I bust a box and the break makes its way to the blog, I show the numerous hits and provide commentary on what I think.  Well, this break was special for several reasons.  I specifically sent my wife, Mallory, a link for Blowout Cards for a box of 2019 Leaf Perfect Game Showcase.  The reason was simple, pull one card that I was looking for.  The specific player was Joe Reid.  Here's why:

A long time ago, I started my Instagram account because an online friend of mine said I would probably enjoy posting pictures and stuff.  I started my account back in April 2013, and my first posted photo was of my cat, Jericho.  I would post a few random pics here and there, and not really do much else with it.

I started posting random baseball cards in my collection, beginning with my Hall of Fame baseball collection.  I started getting more and more followers and finally around 2014, someone messaged me about making a trade for an extra Manny Machado baseball that I had.  I won't go into full details on it, but the trade didn't work out.  However, it kind of did.

Issues surrounding the trade were later resolved, and a friendship blossomed from it.  As the trade was initially discussed, the kid and I would have Kik conversations, and talk about getting autographs, what cool cards had we picked up, and when the trade didn't work out, I was upset.  I felt like I had made a card buddy.

About a year later, the same kid messaged me out of the blue and asked for my address.  A week or so later, I got a package in the mail with a nice note and an assortment of nice Orioles cards.  Since then, the kid and I have chatted back and forth when time allowed.  I have sat here the last 6 years and watched the two-sport (baseball and football) player grown into a heck of a baseball player.  He has also grown into a heck of a man.  That little hiccup back in 2014 is a faded memory now, and I can say that I am so very super proud to say that I "knew Joe when..."

The whole reason I wanted the box of 2019 Leaf Perfect Game Showcase was so that I could pull a card of one, Joe Reid.  I didn't open the box live on Instagram like I normally like to do.  I only opened it with my wife by my side.  I wanted the moment I pulled Joe's card to be mine.  I pulled the card.

Instantly, I sent Joe a direct message on Instagram and showed him the card.  Joe was as excited as I was.

Joe will probably read this, and I don't want to embarrass him too much, but I do want to say that the moral of the story is that I never gave up on Joe.  He never gave up on me, either.  We realized that there was a friendship there built over the love of baseball, and we used it to form a connection.  My hope is that Joe continues on his path, and maybe someday soon, I can catch one of his games in person.  I would love to go to a game with my autograph book and graph someone I "knew back when...".  That would be really cool.

Thanks for the Christmas gift, Mal.  You saw how excited I was when I pulled the card.