Top Pulls of 2019: #5

I'm just about at the point where I can copy and paste the intro paragraph for this feature from last year's.  Once again, the majority of my card dollar went toward wrestling cards, set building, and after that, going to my first National.  The highlight of my collecting year was probably finishing my 1971-72 Topps basketball set.  The low point was finding out I no longer had access to THORZUL WILL RULE.  Following the death of one blog, another emerged, along with the opportunity to write some new history.  Barring any huge surprises between now and midnight, I am done opening packs of cards for the year, so it's time to show off the best cards I pulled in 2019.

Card: 2019 Topps Opening Day #ODA-FL Francisco Lindor Opening Day AUTO

 From: Hobby Box

Why I Like It: Aside from the comedy club poster design, it's just nice to get a hit when one is not guaranteed.  Lindor seems like a good dude, and to be at 28.6 WAR after four-and-a-half years in baseball is pretty outstanding.  I'll be keeping an eye on Lindor this season, as Cleveland hopefully proves 2019 was just a one-year aberration with the Twins coming in first in the AL Central.
 

2019 Card-vent Calendar: December 24

December 24, 2019:
1994 TCM Associates Santa Around the World Milk and Cookies Santa

I hope everyone got a nice visit from the big guy.  Wishing you and yours all the best this Christmas, and a prosperous 2020.

$10 Scumbucket Grab Bag 4.11

1988 Topps Tom Glavine

 Remember when card companies used to release their base sets for the next year in December?  Step back in time and claim this Glavine rookie (along with everything else below) on Christmas Eve.


THE PILE
2005 Prime Patches Jason Jennings Jersey/Glove/Shoe Relic (149/150)

2014 Topps Craig Kimbrel Orange Parallel (186/199)

2014 Topps Trevor Plouffe Pink Parallel (11/50) 

 

1997 Donruss Chipper Jones Rocket Launchers (0330/5000)

2001 Pacific Peter Warrick Impact Zone 

 

2015 Topps Update Series Brett Gardner Sabermetric Stats Variation

2002 Fleer Tradition Plays of the Week Magglio Ordonez

1976 Topps Kurt Bevacqua Bubble Gum Blowing Champ
  

2002 Fleer Tradition Jose Vidro Glossy Parallel (067/200)
   
1993 Topps Chipper Jones Top Prospect
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2019 Card-vent Calendar: December 23

December 23, 2019:
2015 Topps Hi Tek #25 Aaron Rodgers Pattern 2 Spiral/Dots

Ahhhhh, late December, that time of the year when the Packers figure out new and creative ways to ruin the holidays by losing to the Minnesota Vikings.  Oddly enough, tonight's game is practically meaningless thanks to the Seattle Seahawks, a team I also hate.  Basically, I hate almost every NFC team.  If Green Bay can't win the Super Bowl in a given year, it might as well go to the Patriots, or the Broncos, or, hell, let the Browns win one.  In any case, GO PACK GO, fuck the Vikings, let's beat them tonight and then somehow find a way to lose to them in the playoffs because suffering is reality.  Truth be told, I don't watch very much football, there are just so many teams I can't stand to even look at.

2019 Card-vent Calendar: December 22

December 22, 2019:
1966 Topps Batman #3A The Menacing Mummy

Pretty reliable rule of thumb: These old Topps Batman cards are never not good.  That beard makes this the coolest mummy ever, hands-down.

Trade Me Anything XIII: #4

Coming up is another trade from a long-timer, David G.

Giving:
Opening Day #94 Paul Goldschmidt Red Foil

#US248 Ryan Helsley 150 Years Parallel

#84-23 Lane Thomas 1984 Topps 35th Anniversary

#US95 Nick Senzel

Getting:
Robert Talbott Paisley Tie
Nice try.  I only wear ties when forced.  It stems from having to wear a tie at a near-minimum-wage job during high school.  I've done my time.

San Diego Loyal SC Temporary Tattoo and Belching Beaver Coaster
I would like to try a Belching Beaver, but their locator says that I cannot find it within 100 miles of me.

3-Pack Wine Glass Writer Markers
I stay away from wine, but the packaging shows that these have a variety of other uses.  I will have fun writing jokes on dinner plates.

Brewers Grab Bag
That Yount is one I didn't have yet, so SCORE.  There's two cards in there reporting on Brewer losses to the Dodgers in the 2018 NLCS.  Nasty, nasty.

Beurer 3-in-1 Travelmeister
Looks to be a portable power source for a phone.  Good thing, 'cause my phone's battery has a mind of its own lately.  Hoping it works.  It's German, so it should.

Ken Griffey, Jr. Photo Ball

The Superior Spider-man TPB
A little worn, but looks like it could be a good read.

The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson
This is my favorite item of the lot.  I actually read A Walk in the Woods last year and really enjoyed it.  Can't wait to get started on this one! 

 Thanks for all the cool stuff, David!
 
 

2019 Card-vent Calendar: December 21

December 21, 2019:
2018-19 Panini Donruss #19 Manute Bol Retro Series

Among the many positive things related to having a superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo on the Bucks is that you now have an automatic topic of conversation at dinner parties.  We were at a housewarming/Christmas/Hanukkah party last night, and before long, most of the guys were in the basement watching the Bucks beat on the Knicks.  With luck, we'll have stories to tell about how Giannis helped bring a championship to our city.

Some of last night's conversation revolved around the dismal years of Bucks basketball.  This is roughly 1990 through 2000.  We had nobody on the team.  I don't want to rehash all of the painfully awful decisions made by team management during that period.  It's more fun to go back a little farther to the Moncrief/Cummings/Pressey era.  Back in the '80s, Milwaukee could be counted on to get a playoff spot, win a series or two, then get bounced by the Celtics or the Sixers.  Every.  Damn.  Year.

I still remember my dad taking me to a handful of games during that time.  He usually picked giveaway nights that were against teams that weren't much of a draw.  It was harder to be more of an also-ran then the 1980s Washington Bullets.  I distinctly remember getting a free full-size basketball at this game, but another memory sticks out even more.  Even from the cheap seats, spectators could marvel at the size of Manute Bol.  He didn't run so well, had no real offensive moves to speak of, but just try to go up against him under the rim.  Yes, I got to see Manute Bol play in person.  What else does one need from life?

2019 Card-vent Calendar: December 20

December 20, 2019:
1995 Upper Deck Collector's Choice Special Edition #75 Ozzie Smith

Congratulations, you've made it to Christmas break!  Ozzie Smith wants you to slide him some skin, so don't leave him hanging.
Come to think of it, if Ozzie Smith were to invent some new kind of elaborate handshake/five greeting, it's likely that one would have to enroll in a three-day training seminar just to wrap one's head around the first couple of steps.  And maybe you would have to be Roberto Alomar to perform it correctly.  In any case, just try not to botch the whole affair.

Note: The editorial staff of this blog acknowledges that there is part of a baseball visible behind the Special Edition logo, making it likely that Mr. Smith is catching or throwing a ball behind his back, and is not offering a "low five."  The dexterity and coordination required to execute this action is at a level neither you, nor your children, nor your children's children, will ever possess.

2019 Card-vent Calendar: December 19

December 19, 2019:
1977 Topps Star Wars #109 Ben turns off the Tractor beam

So I've been seeing some people who have come home from seeing Episode IX tonight.  These are mostly people with no children and no real responsibilities, so, yes, I'm a bit jealous.  I'll have to settle for Obi-wan in cardboard form.  I think I'll be able to soothe myself to sleep tonight by imagining those powering down sounds the control panels made when Ben had to manually switch them off.  You know the sound: "DOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooo."
Such a great movie sound.

2019 Card-vent Calendar: December 18

December 18, 2019:
2019 Topps Post MLS Zlatan Ibrahimovic

For the first three quarters of the season or so, there wasn't a bigger villain to be found in MLS than Zlatan.  He came out each week to score goals and hurt people.  By the end of the playoffs, the Sounders were really the only villain left, but during the summer it was fun seeing how Zlatan would score a half-field goal, then follow it with a deliberate elbow to a defender's face.  I'm just happy to live in a world where you can still cut trading cards (officially licensed, at that!) off of cereal boxes.

2019 Card-vent Calendar: December 17

December 17, 2019:
1981 The Detroit News #64 Bobo Newsom

With a career spanning four different decades, Newsom was an interesting character.  No one would fault you, though, if hearing "Bobo" makes you think of someone else.

I'm not above being alone in the house, looking for an object, finding it, and saying to myself, "Aaaahhhhh, Bobo."  No shame in it.

 

2019 Card-vent Calendar: December 16

December 16, 2019:
2011 Topps WWE Heritage #H-23 Brian Pillman

To get the best sense of Brian Pillman, perhaps you should check out this video where Jim Ross shares an anecdote about the man.
It looks like this is a kind of nice insert from the 2011 Topps WWE set.  Currently there are no others for sale on COMC or eBay, so let's just say that I have the only one in the world.  (Fully expecting some jerkoff to "Well, actually..." and ruin my moment.)

2019 Card-vent Calendar: December 15

December 15, 2019:
2002 Fleer Focus Jersey Edition #11FR Ricky Williams Freeze Frame

It's a football Sunday with a full slate of games today, the biggest of which is Packers-Bears at Lambeau.  Neither of these teams appears on this card, which actually features three of them.  The coloring indicates Ricky Williams is a member of the Dolphins, but the acetate "slide" embedded shows him carrying the ball against the 49ers while playing for the Saints.  Yet another example of a card company trying something different in an era without exclusive licensing.

I'll leave you with this.  There's a Brett Favre Freeze Frame card in this set.  FLEER FOCUS FREEZE FRAME FAVRE.  Try saying that five times fast.

2019 Card-vent Calendar: December 14

December 14, 2019:
2003 Fleer Ultra #37WG Robin Yount When it Was a Game

Kind of a strange design on this Yount card.  Mustard-gold border, with kind of a wood panel television set motif, or maybe a cafeteria tray or cutting board thing going on, a portal to another dimension of cloud-filled grandeur.  But the star of the show here is the name, slightly off-center in the middle of the card in beautiful yellow drop shadow sitcom font.  Yes, Robin Yount would have made a good neighbor on Perfect Strangers, playing the straight man when Balki needed to pop next door to borrow some power tools.  On an endless timeline in infinite universes, this has already happened.

2019 Card-vent Calendar: December 13

December 13, 2019:
1963 Topps #373 Jim Campbell

I hereby declare today Fucked-Up Friday.  You've made it to the end of a hard week, reward yourself by getting fucked up.  Obtain the substance of your choice, find a safe place to consume it, and have at it.  At some point in the revelry, go and page through some of your cards.  If they all don't look like this one, you're doing it wrong.
And, of course, do not drive in this condition.  Listen to some music instead.