My First Rip In Quite Awhile

 I had an unexpected envelope arrive in the mail the other day, and I finally found a minute to dive in. There was a nice, handwritten note from a good blogging friend, a couple of extra in-person autos and a pack of cards. 

I don't buy packs of cards anymore. There was a time when I couldn't wait for the next product to hit the shelves, but times change. 

In any case, this pack got me more excited than anything baseball card related has in awhile. For one, this pack was a gift from a blogger, not just a random one from a box off the shelf. Secondly, take a look at that wrapper. How cool is that?

Yep, what I had in my hands was a Japan Edition pack of 2024 Topps card straight from Japan!

Abrams and Jung are couple of nice young players to start things off. 

There were four rookies in the pack, including Kyle Harrison, who I had on my fantasy team for a spell last year. 

The Everson Pereira could be headed back to Japan. I know the sender has a soft spot for the Yankees. 

I'm glad I got a Shohei, even if it's an insert. This is my first card of his as a Dodger. 

I didn't get any Cubs. A Seiya or Shota card would have been like hitting the lottery. The closest thing to a Cub out of the ten cards was this card of William Contreras. 

Yes, I'm aware William has never played for the Northsiders. His brother did though. That's kind of close... I guess. 

Always save the best for last. Randy Arozarena is one of my favorites. I love this card and this pose. 

Thank for you so very much for the care package, Zippy Zappy! If there's anything I can send your way frow the States, cardboard or otherwise, please don't hesitate to reach out. All the best to you and the rest of my blogging brethren. 

A Pair of Cubs from the Far East

 It's not very often these days I feel the motivation to check in on the blogosphere, and even more rare that I feel the itch to scratch out a post. There were times when I would read everything, hit the refresh button on my feed, and cross my fingers that someone else had posted something in the last thirty seconds. 

Times Change. Interests Change. Priorities Change. 

In short, I'm doing well. Really well actually. I'm in a good spot professionally, physically, and mentally. 

As far as cards go, I think I have a handful of Cubs cards from each of the past few years, but not enough to know what the current Bowman design looks likes off the top of my head or even what year of Heritage we're on. I'm still chugging away on my Vogelmonster collection. I recently hit 900 unique-to-me Vogelbach cards, but they aren't all listed in TCBD, which has me at 852. (A part of me wonders if this is the last year we're gifted with the joy of Vogelbach on cardboard. 😢) 

Otherwise, I'm pretty disconnected from the collecting world altogether, which is by design. 

I read more about the Cubs than anything else these days. I'm not sinking money into the Marquee Network, because I just can't commit enough time to watching a game. The Cubs weren't carried by a local radio station in Peoria this year, but the White Sox and Cardinals both were. (The 121-loss White Sox, seriously?)  So, I watch MLB.com's Cub game summaries each morning and search for articles to read about the players. 

I actually feel more connected to the players this way. I enjoy getting to know who the players are and I've come to find that most of the current Cubs roster is comprised of really good human beings. The Cubs may have been underachieving in the eyes of some the last couple of years, but I find them extremely easy to root for. That's important to me. 

Two of my favorites are Seiya Suzuki and Shota "Mike" Imanaga. For those who haven't heard, Shota decided to use "Mike" for his coffee orders to make it easier on the baristas in Chicago. That's just a quick tidbit I unearthed from my daily readings. Fun stuff!

One of my best blogging friends sent me the two cards in this post all the way from Japan. So very, very cool. Thanks, Zippy Zappy!

Thanks for reading and enjoy the holiday season. 

But, that's my guy!

 2024 Topps Flagship is starting to find its way to the interwebs and I finally found a picture of this collector's most coveted card from Series 1. 

Behold!

The Vogelmonster

I called my wife over and asked her what she thought.

"That is not attractive facial hair."

"He looks pale." 

I retort with, "But, that's my guy!"

She pauses and adds, "They can't all be winning shots." 

She walks away. 

Man, I'm so glad baseball season is almost here! Happy collecting!

My First Disc Golf Ace

 It was a pretty muggy day in P-town, but I needed some exercise so I met up with my disc golfing friends at our local course, Bradley Park. Much to my surprise I hit my first ace today on hole 8!

I've been playing pretty regularly since May of 2020 and my skill set has improved to where I'll say I'm now an average disc golfer. 

Recently I've started scoring below par on this particular course for my rounds, but this was my first bogey free round at Bradley Park. Woo-Hoo!

Here's an up close look at the disc which I scored my first ace.

It's made by Prodigy Discs and it's the A2 mold, super overstable midrange. I needed this slot filled in my bag and I picked this one up when the Masters Championships tournament came through town last summer. 

My last day of teaching was about a week ago and I finished my baseball coaching duties just two days ago. What a great way to start the summer!

Thanks for reading and I hope all is well with my blogosphere friends!

Blogiversary

 Twelve years ago I started this blog. I'm not sure if it's a true blogiversary because of my prolonged hiatus. Either way, I'm okay. 

There's six weeks left in the school year and the sophomore baseball team I coach is off to a 6-2 start. 

This morning I shot five under par at my "home" disc golf course, which is a personal best. Pretty exciting!

Family, friends and my cats are all in relatively good health. To cap it off, the Cubs are in second place (for now)!

I just wanted to give a quick life update and show off a pretty neat trinket sent to me from Mark. Mark is relative on my mom's side, and he might be as just a big of Roberto Clemente and Jackie Robinson fan as myself. Thanks, Mark!

Enjoy the spring everyone!