The Collecting Doldrums

After my year started out hot, I've hit a wall - I feel like nothing has hit the shelves that interests me. Part of that is also the absolutely crazy prices that boxes are selling for these days because of names like Judge, Bellinger, and Benintendi. A box of Bowman going for $150-4200? C'mon man.

I'm also a logo snob. This has prevented me from purchasing anything Panini in years past. But when one's desire to rip packs gets strong enough, one will consider logoless cardboard.

I did just that and bought three boxes of 2017 Diamondkings. My LCS owner gave me a really good deal on the boxes so I couldn't pass them up. I'll share the "big" hits now, but don't plan on much commentary.

This Ted Lyons dual relic was the first hit I pulled. Numbered 7 of 10, it offers a solid patch on the right and some kind of weird fabric on the left. I couldn't figure out what it was until I read the back:

So I went searching to see if I could find an image of I assumed to be a warm-up jacket, thinking I would have very little luck. But, thanks to Goldin Auctions, I was in luck. I found this jacket that once belonged to Lyons:

It seems that the swatch in the left window of the card came from the wrist of the jacket. Very cool!

The next "big" hit was this Trey Mancini auto relic, numbered to 49. The swatch in the bottom is pretty awesome, but the auto is a sticker. I gather than most, if not all, autos in this product are stickers.

The other auto I puled (worth noting) is this Yasmany Tomas Bat Kings auto relic, numbered 2 of 5. Low-numbered auto, that's pretty awesome. The relic could have been larger, though. I guess I shouldn't complain, though.

There wasn't much else worth mentioning. I pulled a couple Cubs relics that went to P-Town Tom. He made a few kind words directed towards me and I appreciate it. I forgot one card in the package I sent, Tom, so I will show it to you here:

A Rizzo Artist's Proof parallel numbered to 25. Nothing special, but I know it will find a good home with you. I'm on my way to Omaha for some CWS action and then on to South Dakota for some time with college friends, but I will drop it in the mail when I return home.

I hope everyone is well!

Something I Just Noticed

In all the excitement around my hot hand with 2017 Heritage, I missed something. I make no bones about my distaste for most things Topps - I'm no fan of the exclusive licensing with MLB because I think it makes Topps lazy. I've pointed out easily correctable problems in the past to support this. However, in my excitement, I gave Topps too much slack. I found something that makes no sense.

Below is the base card (a short print) of Aroldis Chapman:

In the card, Chapman is featured in a Yankees uniform, very clearly from 2016. No problem there. But let's take a look at the Chapman Chrome card:

What? Why the heck is he in a Cubs uniform? I spent some time thinking and came to the conclusion that the Chrome cards most likely require more time to manufacture. This could have meant that the card design had to be submitted before Chapman re-signed with the Yanks (December 6th, if I'm not mistaken). That still seems like more than enough time to get him in the proper uniform, but I'm willing to give Topps the benefit of the doubt.

Until I saw this:

This is the mini parallel for Chapman, printing on normal stock, just smaller. Again, Chapman is sporting a Cubs uni, rather than the pinstripes of New York. So what in the actual hell gives?

My guess: Topps is trying to milk the Cubs' World Series championship for all it's worth. They want to feature him Cubbies blue to sell more cards. I mean, there is no other explanation, is there?

I guess my last question is this: why didn't Topps just feature him in a Cubs uniform on the base card also and wait until High Number came out to put him in pinstripes? That's their normal procedure, so what gives?