Swag from Night Owl Cards

I don't know how he does it - Not only does Night Owl Cards blog at epic proportions, but he is also one of the best traders out there. Here are a couple of Phillies Highlights from a package that NOC sent our way recently.

2012 Topps Chrome Red Refractor #36 Cole Hamels

I have been testing using a smart phone to capture my card images - so you will need to bear with me till I get a little better at finding well lit locations.

The red border really helps out the Phillies 2012 Topps Cards, which rightfully is consider a pretty hurting design.

 

2012 Bowman Gold #184 Chase Utley
2013 Topps Calling Card #CC5 Jonathan Papelbon
2010 UD Biography #SB26 Ryan Howard

Wow a 2013 Topps Insert card - I have only picked up a hanger box and a single pack of retail of 2013 Topps so this is my first insert to feature a Phillies player - pretty sweet to get that in the mail within a month of the products initial release,

2011 Topps Diamond Stars #DS-22 Ryan Howard
1991 Topps Stickers #262 Tug McGraw
2012 Topps Chrome #15 Jimmy Rollins

Here we have another Ryan Hoard insert - I don't have a lot of 2011 DS cards and this is a welcome addition. Thats a Tug McGraw sticker in the middle.  This might be the first 1981 Topps sticker in my collection. Jimmy Rollins from last years chrome set.

2012 Topps Heritage Retail Blaster Phils Cards

2012 Topps Heritage was available at my local Target in 3 configurations.  Blaster $19.99, Rack $5.29 and single packs at $3.19 I think.

Here are the Phils relate cards from the Blaster I picked up. 

2012 Topps Heritage #136 Jonahtan Papelbon

My first card of the offf-season catch as a Phil. 

2012 Topps Heritage #29 2012 Rookie Stars

This is the 2012 version of the card I referred to yesterday.  I believe this is the regular version (2012) while the 2011 version would be the variation.  Who knows?

2012 Topps Heritage #7 LL Pitching 
2012 Topps Heritage #13 Phillies Team

More floating heads League Leaders and the Team Card - that gives me 2 Phils Base cards out of 71 which is about the right ratio.

By The Numbers
1 Blaster Box
$20.15 (including PA Sales Tax minus 5% Target Discount)

71 cards

65 Short Set

67 Base Cards

4 Phils Related with 2 Phils Base Set Cards

 

1 sticker - M Cabrera 

2 High Numbers - K Seager, CarGo

1 Target Red Parallel - A Avila

1 T&N - M Bourn w/ Aparicio

1 NAP - T Lincecum)

1 NewsFlash - Alcatraz Closes

Etc
Will glance at some of the non-Phils over the next couple of weeks - intersperse those cards with some Opening Day postings. 

MLB.com fantasy report feartures 1986 Topps knock offs

MLB.com publishes a fantasy baseball preview profiling the leagues players, In a nice nod to baseball cards of the past MLB creates custom cards of each players to accompany their player summaries. 

This year they sort of used 1986 topps.  While the 1986 Topps design is somewhat minimalist, due to the sheer volume of 1986 cards it is quite memorable.  I am not as enthralled with this years sample as past years, but they are interesting to check out.  

Every year these cards sort of appear like UD Vintage or OPC cards where they try to recycle an old Topps Design, but change it just enough that it isn't really "stealing".  Not sure why MLB.com chooses to do this.  They are already in cahoots w/ Topps, so why not just use the design or build it into the partnership.  You would think Topps would be all for the idea. 

Faux 1986 Topps Cole Hamels

You can tell they are going for 86 topps, but right away you can tell that things are a bit askew.  The Fonts on both the team and player names are way out of whack - A subtler difference is the position is in a box while in 1986 Topps it was in a circle. 

For a more detailed look at 86 Topps - check out the 1986topps blog. 

New Phils

Faux 1986 Topps Jonathan Papelbon

I think this is the first card of the closer as a Phil!

Faux 1986 Topps Dontrelle Willis

And dare I say Super Short Print #333??

Faux 1986 Topps Prince Fielder  

Previous Previews

2011 (1983 Topps)

2010 (1987 Topps)

2010 Phungo Cards Jonathan Papelbon - The New Guy

Running behind as always - A few weeks back the Phillies are welcoming a new closer, Jonathan Papelbon, formerly of the Boston Red Sox. 

2010 Phungo #15 Jonathan Papelbon

Typically I don't get to many shots of closers for Phungo Cards.  There are a variety of reasons - once the game starts I tend to put the camera away, Closers typically are only involved in tight games,  and they only pitch at the end of games when light is less favorable for good shots.  The game this pix is from happened to be one of Boston's blowouts of the Phils and by that point in the game, I was more interested in gettting a decent picture then in the game.

Regardless I am happy to have already produced a Phungo Card of Papelbon prior to him ever suiting up for the Phils.  Hopefully act II of his career will be as successful as his stint in Boston. 

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I hope to have a card show regarding the Philly Show which was this past weekend up tomorrow.  The Show was pretty successful for team Phungo.  I was able to knock out quite a few cards from my vintage want list and thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Game Report 2009 06 13: Red Sox 11 @ Phillies 6

Jonathan Papelbon v Chase Utley (click to enlarge)

Ok Phils got clobbered, it rained and game after midnight. A year ago I would have been completely bonkers upset. The Phils winning a World Series has changed all that. I had a great time on Saturday Night. Got a couple of good pictures, enjoyed an otherwise miserable game and was really happy to make it back to the ballpark for only the 2nd time this year.

The above shot is really nice. It is not very often that I take pictures of closers, largely because game situations are often too tight and I would rather watch the game then snap a picture at that point. Saturday the Bosox were up 5 runs so the situation was less dramatic. This shot is of Papelbon pitching to Chase Utley. It is always great to get a picture that features two Superstars in a single shot. You can also tell this is mid pitch and if you enlarge the shot you may make out a white blurr that is the ball - it's just below first base.

I got one other shot of Papelbon. The 2009 Phungo Set didn't have any Red Sox cards included and at least one blogger noticed. I am not giving away any secrets on who might be on the 2010 checklist, but I am thinking the photo below may be good enough to make the cut.

Jonathan Papelbon


Antonio Bastardo

Antonio Bastardo only pitched (or attempted to pitch) one inning, but I was able to get a picture of him, for what might be one of his few appearances at home all year.

Good Guy: Ryan Madson

Good Guy Awards: Ryan Madson was leading the Good Guy parade on Saturday Night. Jack Taschner and Clay Condrey were also signing autos. When the Bosox are in town they are among the few away teams that fill up the autograph area more than the Phillies Fans. The only person I saw signing for the Red Sox was Brad Penny. There was one other Boston player signing close to game time but I never identify the player.


And For The Card Collectors:

Phillies Starting Lineup Cards Presented by Topps

The Phils have giant baseball cards viewable from the Center Field entrance which display the nights lineup for fans. The cards had not been updated since 2006. This year they are new!!


Topps Giant Phillies Starting Lineup Card Jayson Werth

I think at least some of the cards have different Photos. There is one other minor difference, if you look in the bottom left, prior to the players position the players number is listed followed by a star and then the players position. The Topps cards only list the players position. For outfielders these Phillies cards have the specific field while the regular Topps issue has the generic OF only.

Scoops - Brad Lidge was out long tossing prior to the game. Photo is a little grainy but the knee looked ok to me. Also John Smoltz was at the game and in uniform (#29) but I wasn't quick enough to get a picture.

Brad Lidge Long Tossing

Couple of other curiosities. Mitchell and Ness (and maybe Topps) were running some promotion that bordered on gambling. They were selling baseball cards and then based upon the numbers of the cards you received you could win a prize. For example they would pick a card numbered say 421 and if you had a card bearing that number in your pack you would win that rounds prize. Which amounted to some pretty nice stuff - signed jerseys, tickets, and various giveaway items. The area was marked with a couple of Topps Attax posters, but I never figured out if Topps was tied in with the promotion or not.

The other one was, I am sure you have seen this before the "Between Innings Marriage Proposal". Well what made this one a little different is the girl being proposed to was holding and infant. Maybe it is just me thinking this but it appeared to me that the Phils cut away from the shot a lot quicker then they would normally. Of course there is no guarantee that the child belongs to the bride to be, but I have been to an awful lot of ballgames, and it definitely was something I hadn't witnessed before.

While the game was in Rain Delay the Phils broadcast the Braves @ Orioles game. Props to the Braves broadcast for noting the way that "progress" had eliminated one of the great views in baseball when new constrution was erected to obscure the Baltimore's Emerson Bromo-Seltzer tower .

Overlay of Emerson Bromo-Seltzer tower on present day Camden Yards skyline