2023 Favorite Cards and Action Figure

I really enjoy doing these Favorite Card posts.   My only criteria for these are that I posted them on the blog in 2024.  They can be old, new, doesn't matter.  And why they are my favorite can be very random.  #1 this year goes to Carlos Correa on this 2020 Big League Baseball card.  The photo is what does it for me.  Only thing that could make it better is having the catcher involved but this one is still my favorite of 2024. That post is here.

This Kyle Petty card was so close to taking the top spot.  Mello Yellow, the hair, the colors.  It screams early nineties, and I love it.  This was part of a 2024 Donruss NASCAR post found here.

The photo, determination and focus of KAT, framing, design and colors really work for me on this card.  The 2022-2023 Hoops post can be found here.

Howie Long has a great football look to him.  That flat top is the icing on the cake.  Seeing him talking with baseball great George Brett in this photo is just too cool.  Combined with one of the all-time great designs this really is a great looking card.  The post can be found here.

This Jaws 2 card really does a good job of capturing the spirit of the Jaws movies. The design is nice, but it really is the artwork depicting a scene from the movie.  Watching the movie, you imagine the shark doing just what you see here in those frantic moments.  The post is here.

For the first time I didn't have any hockey or wrestling posts.  Just a casualty of budgets and focusing funds on other cards and collectibles.  But I am going to show off my favorite action figure from the year - this great looking McFarlane Alan Scott Green Lantern Platinum Edition Figure.  I'm a big Alan Scott fan and couldn't be happier with this figure.  Hoping to post enough action figures next year to have their own "favorite post".  The Alan Scott post with more photos of him are here.

I posted more on the blog this year than I ever have in years past.  I'm hoping to focus my collecting this next year, but I'll keep posting lots about cards and randomness.  Thanks to everyone who comes to my little world on the interwebs.  Have a safe and Happy New Year!

2024 Donruss Football Blaster

2024 Donruss:  I don't usually kick my posts off with offensive lineman, but I really like this photo and Joe Thuney is a 4X Super Bowl winner, 2X Pro Bowl and 1X All-Pro selection.

I'm still not sure about this design but I think I like it.  Kinda feels like we've seen something pretty similar not too long ago.

Youngsters get to shine on different cards and the Jayden Daniels is a really good pull.  I like those Rated Rookie Retro cards.

Speaking of retro, there's lots of retired greats.  Love the inclusion of some of these guys.  Danny White had a 62-30 record as a starting QB.  He was also a punter and the starter replacing Roger Staubach upon his retirement.  Vince Ferragamo and the Rams made a playoff run to the 1980 Super Bowl before losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers.  I really like the Drew Bledsoe photo.

The backs are pretty bland which is a Donruss staple.  Would have been nice if they'd had the logo on the current and retired great players as they did with the rookie cards.

Jim McMahon in an Eagles uni is a curious choice.

The Jamaal Williams is a Red Press Proof Parallel.

My inserts included Galaxy of Stars, Champ is Here and Dominators.  I really like the Champ is Here inserts.  Great way to salute each player for winning the championship.  There are 19 players and Andy Reid in the insert set.

Wish Panini would do some vertical offerings on base cards.  I think it'd work with football pretty well which we saw with Topps back in the day.

This was a fun box of cards.  I'll definitely pick up more.  Maybe try to complete the retired greats.  We'll end it with Andre Reed and that nice Bills uni.

BREAKDOWN:
90 – Total Cards
18 – Retired Greats
13 – Rated Rookie
1 - Optic
1 – Retro
1 - Dominators
1 – Champ is Here
1 – Galaxy of Stars
1 – Rated Rookie Retro
1 – Red Press Proof Parallel

 

Mail Call: Cards from OhioTim

 OhioTim surprised me with cards this week and they have been so much fun.  I needed so many and they are great cards. I appreciate his kindness, and it made Christmas week that much more special.  We'll kick it off with this Ronald Acuna Jr. 2019 Topps Heritage Cloth Sticker.

So many Acunas and I'll only show off a few here.

It is the holidays.

Tim does really well paying attention to the different players, teams or special collections I have.  Here we have a favorite player (Doug Williams) and the Creamsicle unis all in one.  I do love those Tampa jerseys.

Crime Dog!

Cards I've never seen before.

There were some Red Sox included as well as all-time greats like Murph.

Plenty of parallels.

I really like this Strider card.

Greg Maddux even makes Donruss and no team logos cool.

A lot of Stadium Club which I haven't even gotten around to collecting this year or last.

Your 2024 National League Cy Young award winner.

McCollum from my Trail Blazers and Tim does a good job of remembering my college teams in the pros as we see here with Michigan alum Franz Wagner.

Other notable cards.

Again this is just a small sampling of the great cards he sent.  So thankful for Tim's generosity and it makes for even happier holidays.

2024 Christmas Goodies

Christmas was again a fun time.  We did ours Monday and yesterday with the different kiddos so today should be fairly quiet.  Santa was good to me with lots of fun gifts.  I'm a big Green Lantern fan so the Alan Scott Dread Lantern McFarlane figure was a must have for me.  I'm a fan of Bane from the Batman movies so one grandson surprised me with this McFarlane figure which I needed.  Looks like a custom coat for the figure.  The other grandson got me a Blood Shot figure.  We were at a collectibles store, and I worked with the owner so they could shop for something without me knowing.  Lots of fun.  I really like DC's animated movies and added Justice League: New Frontier to the collection.  A bigfoot shirt and Reba McEntire shirt were much appreciated as well.  As a huge Clone Wars fan, I'm digging the character encyclopedia.  I hope everyone has a great day and Merry Christmas!

 

Christmas Holiday Movies Watched This Holiday Season

I always enjoy this time of year watching holiday classics and new releases.  It was a busy holiday season for us, so my list is small but still fun.  How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Christmas Carol are my go-to favorites right now.  I did see Red One in the theaters and sat and watched White Christmas with pop.  I must have been a kid last time we watched a holiday movie together.  I watched Holiday Inn, starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, for the first time.  It's not all Christmas but enough and a fun watch.  I hope everyone has a great Christmas day!

 

Red One (In Theater)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
A Christmas Carol (1999) w/Patrick Stewart
Holiday Inn
White Christmas
The Muppets Christmas Carol

Klaus

Santa Claus 2

2024 Topps Holiday Mega Box

 2024 Topps Holiday: Who's pumped for Christmas?  This guy...and Pete Alonso.

Topps goes all in for the holidays with this design.  I like it.  Panini skimps on the holiday trimmings and their designs normally fall flat.  Here we're all in on the Christmas cheer.

Plenty of rookies in this box with 38 of the 100 cards dedicated to youngsters.  We have our first SP here with Shota Imanaga rocking the Christmas Lights Necklace variation.  Speaking of, a guide to the variations can be found here.  Gunnar Henderson is a Blue Metallic Glitter Parallel that come 1:10 mega boxes.

There are 200 base cards in this set.  The card numbers on the backs are prefaced with an "H".

Some alternate uni love.  The team names are all done in holiday green to help mark the occasion.

We love passion in our players and wearing Santa Hats which is another SP variation.  Well done Byron Buxton.

How do these not get you into the Christmas spirit?

That Trea Turner is a Silver Glitter Parallel.

My Ornament card and Relic.  They are okay.

I look forward to the holiday set each year and these didn't disappoint. 

Another Christmas Lights Necklace variation.  Variations can be tough to spot sometimes but the proof is on the back.  Check the code at the very bottom of the card if you're unsure.  Specifically, the last three digits.

Base Card – 141

Variations – 155

These are all about fun including the SPs.  We'll end it with some more World Champions in World Series MVP, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts.  And I always like a good Cutch card.  Merry Christmas!

BREAKDOWN:

100 – Total Cards

33 – RC

5 – All-Star Rookie Cup

5 – Silver Glitter Parallel

2 – Christmas Lights Necklace Variation SP

1 – Relic

1 – Ornament Card

1 – Santa Hat Variation SP

1 – Blue Metallic Glitter parallel