Moving Backwards

It’s not hard to feel like you’re moving backwards in this hobby sometimes.  A new set or two gets released in rapid fire and your want lists suddenly explode, all while you’re still trying (unsuccessfully) to tread water on the last couple sets.

Blogging can be like that, too.  You start to make progress with semi-regular posts, and then all of a sudden a week has gone by without a peep.  I’m going in the wrong direction.  But at least I’m here.

Unfortunately, I can’t currently say the same for the sender of these cards I’m about to show.  Adam from ARPSmith’s Sportscard Obsession and I worked out a trade in exchange for some of my 2013 Topps blaster cards.  Now, not too long after, my blog went dark due to the move and other issues.  During my absence, it appears that Adam has gone dark due to his own move.

I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that I hope everything is going well and that we would welcome him back with open arms if he chooses to “move back” to blogging.

Now, let’s move backwards chronologically through the goods he sent.

Part 1 of 3 (out of 6 possible)

Well, if we take collections on a granular level, I’m actually moving forward on Frank Thomas -> 2013 -> Topps -> Chasing History Inserts.  You’ll be seeing this card in various forms a couple more times.  Now, if you move back to any of those other levels in the chain, I’m not doing so hot.  But the Chasing History aspect, I’m rocking!

I think he would have been a little skinnier in 1972

The great thing about a popular new set release is that good cards are bountifully available and trade partners are easy to find.  I was thrilled to land this Gwynn mini for the price of a Target Red Giants parallel.  Of course, that’s all it took to get the rest of these, too.

Enoore

Hey, I recognize this set.  While I didn’t get any Tony’s in my recently opened box, I wasn’t expecting to see this one anyway.  It’s from the Update set full of rookies no one likely cares about and subsets designed merely to wedge popular players like Tony so that people will buy it.  Or in my case, trade for it.

No Mel Gibson

Here’s a card we could have potentially seen in our group break box.  I was lucky enough to see Big Frank and send a couple others off to new owners.  Now, I don’t know what Tony’s hitting off the road, but he’s doing it in a freakin’ hurry.  Good move. There might be cars coming and that road is dark.

So simple. So clean.

Oh man, old school non-Donruss-clone Leaf.  I ate this stuff up.  The black gold parallels (not pictured).  We’ve seen gray/silver and black executed on other sets since, but for some reason the rest look cheesy.  Leaf pulled it off year after year.  As we’re about to see.

August 3rd, 1991. Little Tony plays ball again.

I love the photo album effect.  Remember photo albums?  I mean physical ones. Not Facebook photo sets.

That’s not the right way to move forward.  See?  Sometimes technology moves us backwards, too.

Well, regardless I’m ready to keep moving ahead.  I can’t guarantee that I’ll post regularly, but any momentum is good momentum, right?