Birds In My Mailbox

Over the past month I've received a pair of Orioles-laden PWEs (or maybe they were manila, I forget). The cards got buried during my office makeover but they emerged over the weekend. I warmed up my scanner today after a rather long break so let's take a look.....

Oh, before I show the cards I have to say that yes, I know the O's are awful. And that takes a shine off the season but I've been through a lot of ups and downs as a sports fan for lo these many decades. I'm used to it.

The first group of cards came from Tom of The Angels, In Order blog. Of these four the highlight is the Zack Britton card from last years Topps All Star run. Poor Zack is gonna return as the O's closer and rarely have a game to close.  The Chris Davis-Jim Palmer spat was embarrassing but JP fired from the hip. I can't fault him for telling the truth. And I don't think Crush is gonna make it to 500 homers. But I do like that card.

I need to tweak my scanner to show the chrome/foil elements on my cards better. This Chris Hoiles card is a Topps Gold from 1994. I'm not sure what that means but it sure is glittery! I don't buy Bowman so I seeing current stars like Manny Machado on Bowmans makes me stop for a second. I always associate the brand with kids I've never heard of. This Machado is pretty nice. I stuck it into my fantasy baseball binder tonight. It bumped a Heritage. Variety counts in that binder don't ya know. 

 

The binder had no Gypsy Queens of this style either so Trey Mancini makes it. I've had (and cut and re-claimed) Mancini on both my teams this year.

Finally this bad boy...

That looks like a '78 Murray but it actually comes from a Topps reprise Rookie Cup in 2017. Again, I'm lost when it comes to keeping up with the comings and goings at Topps but this card is currently propped up against the base of my new lamp here on my desk because it's a way I can look at my favorite card regularly without risking ruining a real one with a coffee spill. This one has that shiny coating that's probably impervious to coffee.

Thanks, Tom. I know I have some Angels around here someplace for ya. 

The next envelope came from Joe Shlabotnik. Joe is an Orioles guy (well, he's a Mets guy but the O's are his second team). He was probably happy to get these out of his house. Me, I'm just enough of a masochist that I enjoy Orioles cards even though they serve as a reminder of how lousy my team is. 

The O's won on Opening Day this year but it all went south from there. The first card from Joe's pile is a '17 OD card featuring The Bird. He also sent a card of the nat's Racing Presidents which will land in my Presidential cards binder once I firgureout where I put it.

There are five Presidents on that card. Must be a reunion of all the ones they've used.

Joe sent a group of Orioles from the current year and the past two. All but one is new-to-me. My favorite of this first group is Chance Sisco. He's not hitting much but I like his grit. Next to him is Kevin Gausman winding up to serve a hanging slider that will be launched 495 feet towards the Warehouse.

In this next bunch we have Manny, Schoop and AJ10. My three favorite current Orioles. Plus Ryan Flaherty who I miss. As of tonite he's hitting .270 for the 1st place Braves. I'm happy for him.

Nice cards, one and all. Thanks, Joe! Here's something for you.

Batman Sketch Card and a couple of mystery Batman cards

I added a Batman sketch card before 2017 ended. I haven't been looking for them aince I filled up my designated pages but this one sort of fell into my lap.

Before I get to the card it's worth mentioning that one year ago today I was contemplating a return to this blog after a few months off. I did so later in January but I didn't really have my heart in it. And at times it showed. I'll try to do better in 2018. Maybe America can as well.

The Batman card is by Jeff Ward and I think I was the only bidder. Hard to beat one this nice for a buck plus shipping. Maybe I'll have to start a new binder page and find 8 more sketch cards. Maybe not.

These other two cards were sitting on my desk under some football cards. I think they were sent to me by Tom of The Angels, In Order blog. I scanned (and posted) the great Sky Box set he sent and I think I remember that he included these as a 'bonus'. I probably put them to the side and promptly forgot I had them. Getting old can be difficult.

But here they are now, better late than never. They are from Topps' 1993 Batman: The Animated Series set which is based on the show that ran from 1992 thru 1995. More great Batman art from a cool animated series. Not much for me to add.

This is card #1 (of 190) which the Trading Card Database describes as the 'cover card'.

This one I'm guessing is a promo card. There are several listed on TCD but not all have scans. So which one this is will take some detective work.

I'm at the point where I'm going to need a separate binder for my various Batman cards. That's not a bad thing.

Thanks again, Tom. I have a few things that'll be on their way to you this week.

Amazing Batman Set from Angels In Order

About a month ago Tom of The Angels, In Order contacted me to ask if I was looking for any cards from the 1996 Sky Box Action Packs/The Adventures of Batman and Robin set. My answer was "I would be if I had knownit existed!" Even as a collector of all things Batman I'll admit that my modern card game needs to be stepped up. My sons were 8 when the TV series was popular and I watched a bit of it here and there when I could. But those were busy times for me.

According to the BatmanWiki this set is based on the second season of the televised Batman: The Animated Series. It consisted of 20 episodes. I love the artwork. Batman has gone through many changes over time. This art is among my favorites. 

Tom was kind enough to send what is pretty much a complete set, wrapper and all. Research (and Tom's envelope) told me that there are four 'card' components to this and each pack also came with gum. The set itself is pretty small, 36 cards plus the assorted extras. But what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in 'coolness'. 

Here is the sample wrapper that Tom included. 

The card at the top of this post and the next couple are 'game cards'. They are the closest to what might be called the 'base set'. Total of 12 comprise this group.

Just great artwork.

The backs form a game board.

One card has the game directions on the reverse:

There are 12 'Pop Out' cards which feature the major characters:

The back of each had instructions on how to make them stand-ups:

Being an activity set aimed at kids there were six cards meant to be colored:

Quiz questions forms the backs of these:

And there are also six puzzle cards:

Here is a look at the backs of these:

New to me is the gum sealed in cello with four different characters printed on them. Tom sent the whole group. Tough to scan but a fun addition.

The 'completist in me appreciated the fact that Topn included the Eskimo Pie coupon that was inserted in each pack!

Poking about on non-sports sites told me there was a 'promo' card. I found one on eBay for a buck or two. It is pretty much a dupe of the Batman pop-up card on the front. Here they are together with the promo card on the left, regular card on the right:

The backs with the promo card announcing the sets release date, etc.

I can't end this post without showing off a couple more of the sweet 'base' (or technically 'game') cards. This whole thing looks really great in a binder. 

Tom, I really appreciate your generosity. This is a nice addition to my modern Batman collection. I have a few things set aside for you and once they holiday nuttiness quiets down I'll be packaging them up for you.