I Got Zapped!

I feel like this title has been used many, many times before I put it up there. As I am certain everyone knows, getting "zapped" means that you received a crazy good package from one Mr. Zippy Zappy. Before the holiday, I was zapped for the first time.

A while back, I pulled a rainbow variation of Luis Torrens' 2017 Topps Update card. I finally got it in the mail to Zippy earlier this month. I had no expectation of anything in return - I was happy to help out a Torrens collector.

But Mr. Zappy would have none of that.

I received several repacks - all of them amazing! Let's have a look at the highlight of each pack.

For the record, these came from the same pack and I couldn't decide which I liked better, so I chose to share both. I'm really starting to fall in love with non-Topps minor league cards. The Alfaro is a 2013 South Atlantic League All Star card. Love it! I also love these Gallery of Greats inserts and did not have the Beltre, so this was a welcome addition! 

You can never go wrong with a Pudge card. I haven't bought much Bowman this year, so this was definitely on my list. I love old school Upper Deck, mainly because the photography was great. Here, we see Kenny Rogers catching the pigskin. I'm certain Nolan Ryan threw it a year before. (See what I did there?!)

Zippy even included an auto! This one comes from 2013 Panini Prizm Perennial Draft Picks and features Alex "Chi Chi" Gonzalez. Chi Chi was cut and re-signed with the Rangers earlier this offseason. He's a first round pick, so hopefully he can put something together. The Bell hails from the 1983 Topps All-Star Set Collector's Edition, the first of it's kind in my collection.

Lastly, we finish up with a Sega CardGen card of Michael Young. This, too, is a first for my collection. I've been wanting one for a really long time (I've had a Matt Harrison Sega card in my eBay watchlist for a year or more).

I was unaware that these were Topps products. It's cool to see everything written in Japanese!

Zippy, thank you for the cards! They are truly appreciated!

An eBay Insert

I've found myself searching for oddball Ranger teamsets lately. One of the sets that I've found was printed as a promotional item (I think) by Jarvis Printing in 1984. The cards look pretty standard, if such a things exists, for promotional cards:

The front consists of a basic picture with the player and team name in a big blue box. The rear features a few stats about the player, including marital status and where he lives.

Other than that, there really isn't much to talk about with this card. However, I do want to briefly chat about what the seller included in the package:

A tri-fold brochure titled "Mickey Mantle: His Final inning." I thought that this would be a neat account of the literal final inning of his baseball career...

...But it wasn't. Instead, it's a brief account of the Mick's hard-partying lifestyle and how that lead him to an early death. Furthermore, it tells of his acceptance of Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior.

Now, I'm a believer of these things - I, too, have accepted Jesus as my savior. But, I don't know how to feel about this. I'm certainly not upset by receiving it. I guess I just feel odd receiving it from someone that I have never met. I dunno, I digress.

What's the strangest thing - if anything - an eBay seller has included in a package to you that you did not purchase or request?

I'm Starting To Fall In Love With Oddballs

When I first started collected, oddballs were just that to me: odd. I didn't know what to make of them. At some point, I decided that I didn't care for them.

However, as time has passed, I've found myself being drawn to oddballs more frequently.

For instance, I just picked this up:

I tried multiple times to get a scan of the other image on this coin (Bell's face), but evidently I'm not talented enough to do that.

This coin is form the 1984 7-11 Super Star Sports Coins set. I don't believe any other Rangers were featured in this set, unfortunately. That doesn't matter though, because I dig this one.

I think oddballs are really becoming some of my favorite pieces.

It's Been Awhile...So Here Are Some Recent eBay Pickups

I feel like a broken record saying this, but I've been gone awhile and haven't posted since the end of May. That being said, I feel the need to break the postless streak. So let's look at what I have picked up on eBay during the past month or so.

First up, I finally broke down and grabbed a couple cards I have been wanting for a while:

First up is this Buddy Bell card from the 1982 Kellogg's 3-D Super Stars set. I also snagged this card from the same set:

Al Oliver! I love the Kellogg's sets. I've thought about trying to put together the entire line, but I keep postponing that idea. We'll see if I take the jump one day. But back to the cards - I really love the now "vintage" T on the hat. I wouldn't be upset if I never saw the bubble font used on the jerseys, though.

I also purchased a card from a recent set:

This meaningful material relic of Cole Hamels comes from the 2017 Museum Collection set. I gotta say, I really like this set. Sadly, a box runs about $200...and I do not have that kind of cash. No worries though, I can pick up cards like this one, which set me back a whopping $8, shipping included. 

That's it for now, but I promise that I am working on having more posts ready for you to read soon!