Christmas Gift From Drake

My friend, Drake, sent me a nice stack of autographs for Christmas this year.  One of the cards was the above 2020 Bowman Chrome blue refractor of Randy Florentino.  This card is numbered 144/150.  He was a former Wood Duck who is now in the Orioles system, which is cool.

Drake sent this really cool Topps Now card signed by Randy Arozarena, which will be awesome in my album.  I love Topps Now cards, and rarely have an opportunity to get them signed.

Here is an assortment that Drake sent; a lot of these are from when Drake has graphed in the past.  He mostly sees Illinois-area teams and Florida State League teams when he is on vacation.

Drake helped me add some 2022 Stars & Stripes cards and also some different Topps base cards to my album.  I don't have many 2021 Topps cards at all in the album, and the above Adam Plutko helps that cause.  The truth is, 2021 Topps is hard for me to go through quickly with the tiny font on the front of the card; they are very hard to read at a glance.

Finally, here is a 2017 Topps Roman Quinn.  This is the only landscape oriented card, so it got scanned by itself.  I had been trying to get Quinn a few times, but now I at least have this card in the album.

Thank you so much for the cards, Drake!

A Yooooge Pickup

Before I left for the National, I got a package in from Topps Now.  This is the Cubs visit to the White House card with President Trump holding up his #45 jersey.  I figured it would be a cool addition to the collection.

I bought the 5 pack of cards and gave one of them to my buddy, Max, since it was a Cubs card.  I also have one for my friend, Josh.  I will keep one for myself, then probably will make the other two available.

I would like to get one of them signed sometime in the future, but I don't know when will be the next time I'll be at the White House, haha.

Politics aside, I think it is a pretty cool card.  I don't care whether you like or hate him; please refrain from blowing up my comments with unnecessary hate.  Thanks guys!

New Topps Now Pickup - Mancini's Magic Bat

Trey Mancini has done pretty well so far this season.  He might just end up becoming a new full-on PC for me, especially now that Nolan Reimold has retired and is not likely to have any new cards issued.

When Topps Now issued this card about the game the night before where Mancini hit a couple homers, then Gentry and Machado borrowed his bat and did the same...  I had to get it.  I got the 5-pack, and send one of the cards to my new friend, Andy, who is a huge Mancini fan.  I know he enjoyed the surprise.

There are a couple other Orioles Topps Now cards from this year that I missed out on, so I will have to EBay those.  I like this year's design.  The back has almost a glossy refractor look to it, which is pretty cool.

TTM Success - Nolan Reimold

I couldn't leave my guy, Nolan, out of my TTM obsession.  I really had to send him something to sign and add it to the album and roster of TTM successes, even though I have been sent signed cards from him before,  When this Topps Now card of Nolan came out for July 24, I made sure to let his wife, Jenny, know that they were available.  Unfortunately, she was busy that day and forgot to pick a few up.  No problem, though, because I bought the package of five.  I told her that I had ordered them and intended to send her one, and she said that if I sent an additional one, she would have Nolan sign it for me.

So, I sent the two cards out at the beginning of August, only to find out that they were lost by USPS.  I didn't realize they were lost until January, so I went on Ebay and bought two more and sent those out.  Thankfully, the second package got to the Reimold house safely, and Nolan sent me this one back signed in silver Sharpie.  Now, this card can be placed among all of my other TTM and IP autos.

Nolan isn't signed for this season, yet, but I believe he will be soon.  He has a huge family, so he has a lot of commitments going on right now, anyway, but I'm sure he feels great and wants to continue his career.  It is unfortunate that his Orioles career is likely over for now, but you never know, he could be back at some point.  He is very popular in the Orioles organization, so maybe some day he will be a coach for them, if that is a path he wants to take.  My hope is that is a long way away and that he gets a deal to play in the majors for 2017.

Normally, for my TTM successes, I post a player's career stats, and for Nolan I will, but I fully expect the stats to be incomplete, as I believe he has several more years left in the tank.  Go get em, Nolan!!

Reimold (b. 1983) has played in the majors since 2009 for the Orioles, Blue Jays and Diamondbacks.  He has 339 hits, 56 home runs and a .246 batting average.  His career was derailed when he broke a bone in his neck while diving into the stands to catch a ball in 2012.  I've met Nolan on several occasions and he has always been awesome to me.  Although, I probably creeped him out pretty badly by inviting him to dinner with my friend, Ryan and I when the Bowie Baysox were in Richmond playing the Flying Squirrels.  I couldn't help it, I was pretty star struck and figured it would be a nice gesture.  Ryan told me later that it probably came off as a bit creepy, and I have felt embarrassed ever since.  We laugh about it now, though.  I meant what I said, I would buy him dinner sometime.

I met Nolan's wife, Jenny, through this blog because of a Bowie Baysox bobble head that I had picked up.  I traded it to Jenny for a pair of batting gloves that Nolan had been wearing during the final game of the 2011 season, when the Curse of Andino struck the Red Sox.  Ever since, I have corresponded with Jenny.  She has hooked my son and I up with some amazing stuff, and I am forever grateful for her generosity.  I hope Jenny knows how much I appreciate everything, even though I tell her thank you every chance that I get.

I sent the second package to Jenny on January 25 and got the card back on February 2, for an 8-day TAT.

Thanks again, Nolan and Jenny!

End-of-Season Orioles Topps Now Cards

The Orioles were bounced pretty quickly from the playoffs, but the days leading up to that moment were some of the most exciting and tense days that I remember as a fan.  The Orioles squeaked into the Wild Card Game after a sub-par August.  Their September was much better, and they got in.  Only to lose to the Blue Jays.

Topps issued a few Topps Now cards to commemorate the moments from the last day of the season when Matt Wieters hit two home runs against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium to punch their ticket to the post season.

I bought the clincher card and also the Wieters, since he is likely to leave once he becomes a free agent after the World Series is over.  I wanted to get a few of his cards that they are finally issuing.

Before the Wild Card Game, I spent the $49.99 for the "If The Os Win Then You Win" playoff set.  Little did I know, they didn't win.  Oh well.  The set is nice, albeit over priced.  It would have been great if they had gone farther, then I would have been able to have cards added to the set.  It does provide for a new Davis for the PC, so it's not a total loss.

Topps Now Hyun-Soo Kim RC

I have had a slew of Topps Now cards coming in lately, and I was happy to get this Hyun-Soo Kim rookie card in first.  His pinch hit home run was probably the biggest hit of the Orioles season, and it came from the most unlikely of sources.  Kim was asked to take a demotion upon the completion of Spring Training since he had a horrible time at the plate in March.  He refused the assignment, as was his contractual right, and remained on the Orioles 25-man roster.

Kim ended up endearing himself to Orioles fans and completed his rookie season with 92 hits, 6 home runs and a .302 batting average.  He won't win the Rookie of the Year award, but will definitely get votes.  I wasn't sold on Kim at the beginning of the season, but I am happy that he is an Oriole, now.  He really won me over!

Another Topps Now Pickup - Ichiro Edition

I imagine that when the idea for Topps Now was being proposed, moments such as Ichiro's 3,000th hit were big selling points on the idea.  Well, Ichiro picked up the historic hit on August 7 and I made sure to partake in the 5-pack of the Topps Now card.  I sent one of them off to my good friend, Ryu; I'll keep one for myself, and I gave my wife one, since she loves Ichiro.  The others, I will probably sell at some point at a show.

As of tonight, Ichiro stands at 3,018 hits, 27th All Time.  The Topps Now card is really nice, and I am glad I decided to pick it up.

Nolan Gets a Topps Now Card

I had hoped that when the Topps Now concept was coming about, I would end up with a few from this season that showed my favorite players and some awesome moments for the Orioles.  Well, I got my wish when Nolan Reimold cranked a walkoff home run on July 24.  The O's were able to defeat the Indians, and Nolan was able to be the hero.

I ordered the 5-card deal when they were announced the next day, and promptly messaged Nolan's wife, Jenny, about them.  She had no idea that Topps was doing this, so I was glad to let her in on it.  Unfortunately, she was busy the day they were available and forgot about them.  Not to worry, though, I ordered the 5-pack for a reason.  I made sure to send her one, when they finally arrived (after I got home from the National).

Nolan has had a rough go as of late, but I'm thinking he will be able to turn it up for the stretch run.  He is still a very good player and one that I definitely would love to see in a big at bat during the playoffs.  He deserves it, after all that he has been through the last several years.

I (obviously) still keep in touch with Jenny.  She is always helping me out and is always adding to my Nolan PC.  She also still reads this blog, when she finds the time.  I will always appreciate the help she has given me, and I was more than happy to pick up one of the Topps Now cards for her.

My First Topps Now Card - Orioles Record Breaker

Topps came out with a really cool idea this season by putting the previous day's highlights on a card.  The concept gets even better in that the cards are only available for order for 24 hours, then the print run stops.  Some cards have been run for 200+ copies; some for over 1,000.  There have been a couple Orioles ones issued this year, but I finally took the plunge on Topps Now when the Orioles tied the home run record for June.

I bought the card off of the Topps website for $9.99 and it ended with a print run of 526 copies made.

This card will be an entry in my Chris Davis PC, but when I was scanning the card for this blog post, I noticed something about the card that I didn't realize before.  Have you caught it yet?

That is Matt Wieters on a Topps card.  Why does that matter?  Well, since he signed with the Orioles, Wieters has not been featured on any Topps products, with the exception of Topps Bunt and E-Topps.  He has had no regular issue Topps cards.  He signed an exclusive deal with Razor back in 2008 that would have allowed him to appear on Topps or Upper Deck cards one year after his debut.  He has had no Topps cards at all, so either he or they have not budged.  So, this Topps Now card could be his first ever Topps card (really, who counts E-Topps or Topps Bunt?).  That makes this card that much cooler for me.

There are two other Chris Davis Topps Now cards that I have seen.  I plan on picking them up, but am holding out for the National.  My hope is that a vendor there will have them, and I can rack up.  I really like this concept and hope that Topps keeps it up.  I also hope some of my PC guys do some major things to end up on future offerings.