Christmas Cards From An Owl

 

Christmas music is playing, snow is falling, coffee is hot, and I am ready for a post this morning.

Today, my parents are coming over to do their Christmas with us and my father is bringing an extra box of random trade bait. Should be fun. I guess we are also watching the Giants game, we like to be depressed apparently.

This time of year, I love getting cards in the mail. Especially since nobody mails real Christmas cards anymore. My wife and I used to look forward to the mailbox and looking for how many Christmas cards we received to add to our card rack. It used to be either match the number of days in the month or ahead. 

This year, we are on day eight and we have two.

TWO.

I know many have gone to sending digital cards or mostly texts, but it's not the same. What happened to the good old days of Christmas???

So, guess it's sport cards now. I have gotten more of those recently.

Not that I am complaining, I just want both. Best of both worlds.

*takes a sip*

My latest card haul came from the legendary Night Owl Cards who sent me a variety of fun.

 

My lack of funds for the 2024 season has left plenty of gaps in my collection in many collections. Coles are new additions.

So, weren't these minis. I was always a fan of O'Neill.

  

Rizzo is gone. I don't expect him back nor do I want him back. I never felt he provided much in the Yankees lineup other than needing to be replaced because he was never healthy.

  

I only have a few Yankee Soto cards. Without knowing if he will be a long term Yankee I wasn't planning on adding to many. I am however sick of hearing about him every day, just wished he would return to pinstripes already and stop dragging other teams into this. Of course, looking at the Dodgers un-ending amounts of money, watch him go there.

If Soto ends up a Yankee for life, then I will definitely seek more of him in pinstripes.

J-Dom has been a side PC the last few years. This kid has the talent, just needs to play. Hopefully 2025 will be his year.

Stroman had an up and down season for the Yankees. They have so many needs in pitching, it's scary. I don't think Stroman is the answer, that's why he has bounced around.

Just when I was down on Stanton and wanted him gone, he put on a postseason for the ages. He was the reason why the Yankees advanced to the World Series in my opinion.

I have been wanting this card since I first saw it, I believe it WAS on my want list. No more.

 

I know many of you are down on Leaf, but this card looks super cool. I couldn't capture it in full light and my light box couldn't do it either, but believe me, it's awesome.

Thanks again for the mail day Greg!

*takes a sip before finishing up today's post*

Well, I better get to cleaning up soon before my parents arrive. Here's to hoping for some Christmas cards and well, sport cards in the mail this week.

Have a great Sunday full of coffee.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Delivery From A Night Owl

*sits down, takes a sip, makes sure Kleenex box is close by and gets ready for a new post on Cards Over Coffee*

April has been a long year, I mean month, so far.

I kicked off the opening weekend with one of the worst stomach bug cases I have ever had. There was no coffee to be had and I was stuck in bed if that tells you anything. Not too mention the five-and-a-half-pound loss. Though that part I won't complain about as much.

Then this past weekend hit. I started to have cold symptoms Friday Night, leading off with a runny nose on Saturday, then a full-on faucet nose and congestion on Sunday. By the time Monday came, I tested positive for Covid. My second round with it since it became a thing. 

I have no idea where I caught either sickness being an introvert, but I guess the one or two times I left the house it found me.

*takes another sip, the coffee soothes the cold symptoms or pretends it does at least*

I may not have had the best April so far when it comes to health, but when it comes to the hobby my April has treated me well. I completed multiple trades in bed, received a couple of RAKs and got a mail day from the blog Legend Night Owl Cards that I am showing off today.

He made note in the envelope that he knew I didn't collect random Yankees anymore, but it was all he had to send, and he still nailed this mail day.

Gerrit Cole is off to a hot start this season and definitely looks like the top when it comes to the Yankees rotation.

I always like shiny no matter what team or player it is. I just wished this guy could stay healthy. I know how that is....

This card is nice. There will never be a team in baseball ever again that will be like the 90's Yankees teams. There just won't be and one will never be as dominant as they were. 

This is a great looking card with the black border and it's numbered to 299.

I absolutely lack in vintage cards and when they look like this, I will take those all day of random Yankee players or any players. I have had a man crush on these Kellogg's cards since I got my first one last year.

Then was the card I commented on I saw in a Night Owl post. I really wanted this one for my Aaron Judge collection. I didn't open a single pack of Stadium Club, or the Chrome version for that matter, and as soon as I saw it was the Field Of Dreams background it was a must have. Such a great old but new school photo.

And finally, this mail day finishes up with a new card for my 2015 Panini Americana chase. I really like these rainbow foil parallels.

Thanks again to Greg for the mail day and sorry about the delay in posting it.

*takes a sip before finishing up today's post*

I have a lot of mail days to catch up on when I am feeling better. Today, I am heading in the right direction and had to put together 17 PWE's to mail including one back to Night Owl for his great cards.

Thoughts on my mail day welcomed in comments.

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday.

*Feeling better Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Coffee Break:2021 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary Baseball

As baseball season, and my Yankees, roll on we are seeing more baseball releases make their way out there.

However, just like with some football products, there were some delays, so we are seeing some late products getting into our hands.

One of the latest products I was excited about last year, forgot about it, and now have it in hand for today's Coffee Break.

*takes a sip, begins to rip*

Every box of 2021 Tops Chrome Platinum Anniversary baseball comes with 24 packs of 4 cards. Each box comes with multiple refractors and one autograph per box. Sort of set up like regular Topps Chrome. Each box is roughly $125-$150.

BASE:

The base design uses the iconic Topps 1952 design that gets the chrome treatment.

The base set itself is MASSIVE. 700 cards in total, I don't think I have ever seen a chrome product with so many cards in a set.

Back of the card.

The base set consists of players from the present like Cole.

 

Past like Fred Lynn and Jackie Robinson (was hoping for a Griffey base in my box but no such luck)

Future like this Apostel.

And it also includes some bad centering on some cards. Makes it feel more authentic right?

PARALLELS:

Of course, with a chromed product, you are going to get a massive number of refractors.

Here are the offerings for this product,

Refractor, Prism, Black & White Mini-Diamonds, X-Fractor, Aqua Wave, Blue Mini-Diamonds /199, Red Atomic /100, Green/Yellow 70th /99, Rose Gold Mini-Diamonds /75, Platinum 70th Mini-Diamonds /70, Gold/Rose Gold 70th Wave /50, Orange/Yellow 70th /25, Black/Gold 70th /10, Black/Red 70th Mini-Diamonds /5, SuperFractor 1/1.

Base refractors fall 1:4 packs. I love the Torre find.

X-Factor falls 1:24 packs. This card however won't slap you in the face.

Kyle Cody seems surprised by my Will Smith comment or was aiming to have one of those faces you get by kids in one of their expensive school photo shoots, is a mini Rose Gold Mini-Diamond /75

Aqua Wave (my favorite parallel so far I have seen)

Blue Mini Diamonds /199

AUTOGRAPH:

 

Meh. Nothing big here. That's the way my Chrome breaks go.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

It's a sharp looking product, including the base. I like the parallels, even though I had to do some research to distinguish them. I wouldn't mind however seeing this be another product in rotation every year.

My box didn't provide much value, but that's because I was saving that for you guys to go out and buy.

Thoughts on today's break welcomed in comments!

Have a great Wednesday.

Coffee Card Blogger Out!