Earlier today, I had a message from "The Hobby" delivered through Mark Aubrey. Many of you in "The Hobby" will know him from his posts over at "Mark's Ephemera." "The Hobby" and I had grown a bit distant following the season's pack breaking, and I have no choice but to admit (and accept) fault there. I stepped away from the hobby, at least online anyway. I still have packs to put together from the summer's pack breaks. I know, I know. But, there is no getting around it. Frankly, I had grown of tired of seeing "The Hobby" every single day. I took a break. That break stretched into something that lasted longer than a Kardashian marriage and an A&E suspension added together. The road ahead is still pretty grueling: namely, I am still sorting through cards to be sent out to all your GREAT readers that played along this past baseball season. But, as I am off for the holiday break, I can assure you that the packages will be mailed before January 10, 2014. No more messing around and putting it off.
I received a plethora of packs for Christmas from various friends and family members. That simple act also helped me rekindle the love I have for collecting these bits of cardboard. My "Non-Indians" collection has been seriously lacking over the past few years, and several of the cards I got for Christmas will find their way into that collection. I also bought a couple packs of Panini's latest offerings. I bought 1 pack each of "Cooperstown" and "Hometown Heroes."
Here are some samples from "Cooperstown." I pulled a Triber! That's a sure sign "The Hobby" and I are well on our path to recovery. I also pulled a disc and a "Museum" card (among other cards in the pack):
The "Hometown Heroes" cards are an interesting lot. I pulled a lenticular disc, Joey Votto (posting that one for Joe C), and Josh Reddick (among others). I posted the Reddick to show off what can be done with a skilled Photoshopper. In fact, all the cards have a pretty well-done sleight of hand, considering Panini has no MLB licensing rights due to the Topps monopoly, er contract.
Now, getting to the "Giving by Proxy" portion of tonight's post: I received a couple packages that were temporarily, er, misplaced during the past month or so. One was from Backstop Cards with no note or anything! That one has a TON of cards in it! I will scan some of those and have them posted soon. The other envelope was from Brian Snider over at "Play at the Plate." Inside was a note that reads: "From Mark Aubrey via ME! (Enjoy!):
THANK YOU so much, Brian, Mark, and Marcus!! It's good to be back.