Sunday, October 25, 2026
2026 Factory Set
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Williamsburg, VA
These nine cards were sent by David in Williamsburg, Virginia. David runs the blog "Card Boredom," where you can see that he just completed the run of cards #1-310 in the 1952 Topps set. Congrats! I myself tackled the first 310 cards about five years ago after a more than decade long effort to do so, and I'm glad I did it when I did, because there is no universe in which I'd be able to pick up the Mays today.
Cards from David is turning into something of a fall tradition, as this is the third fall in a row I've received one of his excellent bash brothers envelopes in the mail. Included in this bunch was a 1988 Score Glossy. It's the first time I've added a 1988 Score Glossy since 2013 (that's 13 years ago!) and only the 3rd copy in my collection. I was a little surprised to learn both of those facts.
Thanks for the cards David!
1983 Donruss x2: 238
1983 Fleer: 1,075
1984 Donruss x3: 245
1985 Topps: 537
1988 Score Glossy: 3
1993 Topps Finest: 10
Sunday, October 18, 2026
"Topps Now" Sterlin Thompson #317
When "Topps Now" first came out, I thought it was a dumb gimmick that would likely sell millions of cards. Ten years later, I feel vindicated on both counts. I just didn't ever expect to actually order any myself. That changed last June when they finally lured me in with an offering I couldn't turn down. I would have waited for these to show up on eBay, but I wasn't confident any would find their way there, as I couldn't imagine this would be a super popular offering (I was wrong, regular variations showed up almost immediately and for cheaper than I paid, live and learn). Since I was going to be paying a shipping fee, I figured five copies would be better than one. So here it is, my first "Topps Now" card, Sterlin Thompson "Call Up," at least, I think that's what's its called:
The card commemorates Thompson's walk-off pinch hit single to beat the Cubs on June 10, 2026. Since moving to Albuquerque a few years ago, I've been a season ticket holder for the Albuquerque Isotopes, the triple-A affiliate of the Rockes. My seats are near the left field foul pole, where there is a section where all the seats are elevated swivel chairs and the rows have a bar top for drinks, food, whatever. For the majority of the last two years, Sterlin Thompson has been the left fielder. Before every game, I give him shout of "Let's go Sterlin!" and he's nice enough to wave over in acknowledgment. He's also nice enough to toss over a ball nearly every game. I've met him a few times at season ticket member events, and with my daughter at a couple of the team's "Friday Night Autograph" sessions before games. He's a really nice guy and we're all rooting for him to leave us behind in Albuquerque become an everyday starter in the big leagues. He led all of triple-A baseball in on-base percentage this year with an absurd .475 obt, and I've also seen him go over the wall to bring back homers and he regularly guns guys out when they're dumb enough to test his arm. So hopefully he makes a roster out of Spring Training next year, be it with Colorado or someone else (bad as the Rockies have been, they are flush with promising young outfielders). Thompson did pretty well in 27 games with Rockies this season after making his debut, including a monster game at Wrigley that saw him hit two homers and a double.
The card itself is pretty mediocre. Topps really mailed in. The back has no write up, no stats, just a another large photo. The design itself is pretty generic and uninspiring, more or less a 2020 base card rehash. I've never really looked at any other "Topps Now" cards so I don't know if this is the standard format, or if other cards get different treatment and looks. To be honest, for a long time I thought Topps Now was the same as the "Living Set." Now I'm not sure if the "Living Set," is still even a thing.
For those that have never ordered Topps Now, here's how it arrives. The cards come in this semi-sturdy black "pack" with a flap on the back.
The back of the card, as far as I can tell, is identical to the regular card. No serial numbering on these and even the foil stamped numbering is on the front of the card (see below). I have no idea how many variations there are. I can't imagine a whole lot, as there couldn't have been that many people racing to pull out their credit cards to pull the trigger on Albuquerque Isotopes fan favorite Sterlin Thompson, at least not at this point his career (which no doubt will get better).
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures #15 "Paint Splatter" #/15
Card Review: 9.2
(my scanner was being difficult, so these are photos)
This is the 16th variation of this card that I've posted. I believe there are five (5) more I don't have, a Rainbow Auto, Grayscale Auto, Shoebox Treasures Logo Auto, and the two "one of ones" (yes, two "one of ones," I hate everything about modern cards so much).
I prefer this non-autographed version a little more than the autographed version. I just have the strong opinion that unless you're under the age of 15 or so and are having the card signed in person at the ball park, that autographs don't really belong on cards. They're just sharpie stains that blemish the card.
My feelings on this card are more or less the same as they are for the autographed version, or any of the other 15 versions I've posted about. It's fine. The concept is great. The regular base card was a really cool and fun idea, as was the entire set. Then they made two dozen variations. What are we doing here? I know it's hypocritical, as I post about buying them all, but who asked for this? Who are the people getting excited about endless inserts, and numbering to various amounts? Sure, I'm here blogging about the 16th version of what is more or less the same card, but I'm grumpy about it. I feel taken advantage of, that my o.c.d. is being exploited for profit.
I want to see a figure as to how many "one of ones" of a given player, say Shohei, have been produced in the last five years. My guess is it's more than 1. I know, "they're different," and each one is "unique," but come on. I can lay out a 100 copies of a 1987 Topps Tim Wallach and fine differences and unique traits about each one. More so, who is going to want these in another five years? Take this set. Who is going to be seeking out these variations down the road? I see a future where dime boxes are loaded with cards numbered out of 20, 10, 5, even 1, while there are still a few collectors seeking out the base cards to complete their sets and paying a premium of a few bucks to do so. Not that I believe you can judge a card by it's resale value, but just to illustrate my point.
Today, there are a lot of collector's still celebrating the acquisition or actively seeking a 1972 Topps #729 Bob Veale, nearly 55 years after kids were pulling it from packs. And while Veale was fine pitcher who won 120 games and went to two all-star games, does that really warrant the number of people who weren't even born in 1972 that know exactly what that card looks like from memory? Now try to imagine a scenario 55 years down the road in which anyone still wants this card currently listed for 50K on eBay:
Maybe I'm wrong. But I've seen this movie before and I doubt the ending is going to be any different this time around. Try to imagine explaining why you thought paying 50K for this "card" was a good idea in another 20 years. I can't.
Number of this card in my collection: 1 (well 2, but I somehow misplaced my first one, so I'll keep it at one until it shows up.)
Thursday, October 8, 2026
Mansfield, TX
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Oceanside, NY
These six cards were sent by long time contributor Bo, of Oceanside, New York. Bo has been sending me cards going all the way back to 2015. It's kind of wild to type out here in this post. I have hard time reconciling that in my mind, that over a decade has past since I started this blog, or that a generous stranger would continue to send me cards for that long. Thank you, Bo, as always, the cards are greatly appreciated.
For a number of reasons, most of them good, I'm not posting on this blog nearly as much as I used to. Of late, I've actually started to consider if I should wrap it up as I just don't see a future where I start posting regularly again. Rather than let it linger in the background and stress me out, or feel like something I'm neglecting, some sort of satisfactory conclusion feels like an okay idea.
I don't know what that means, or what it will look like, but it's an idea I've started to kick around. We'll see.
Thanks again Bo!
Updated Totals:
Monday, August 3, 2026
2025 Topps Shoebox Treasures #15 "Paint Splatter Autograph" #/15
Card Review: 9.0
This is the 15th variation of this card that I've posted, and I have another variation in hand that I haven't posted yet. There is alos at least one more variation on ebay that I don't have (or plan on having given it's price tag and it being numbered to "1"). This "paint splatter" is pretty much the same as most the other autos, which is to say, it's fine. It's a take on the 1988 Topps All-Star card which is hard to mess up.
Yet, I feel as though this card is a missed opportunity and as such is a bit of a disappointment. From the name, "Paint Splatter," I was expecting somthing else. I thought maybe the image on the front would be a more blurry, muddled, "splattered," take on the original. But it's the same image on the front as every other one of these. The "paint splatter" is confined to the back. Also, given only 15 of these were printed for each card (technically 30, with 15 getting the auto sticker), how long could have taken to hit these with actual water color paint instead of just the printed design of a "splatter" on the back?
In any event, don't count on seeing any of the other 14 of this card being posted here anytime soon. Then again, this stuff is hard to predict.
Number of this card in my collection: 1
Sunday, June 21, 2026
Bulletin Board Material
1992 to 1995
Thanks a lot Upper Deck, and misguided kids who bought it (my brother and I bought a crazy amount of Upper Deck from '89-'91). This is the start of Topps messing with the program that had worked perfectly well for forty years, wasn't broken, and didn't need to be fixed. 1992 saw the white backs with color photos of the stadiums, '93 introduced gloss to the backs, and for some reason Topps decided their bubble gum cards required foil stamping in 1995 and have never looked back. By 1995 I wasn't really buying cards any more. I would pick up a few packs every year until '97, just to see the designs, but I had moved on to other interest for the most part.
I appreciate Topps making an effort to take some design risk during this run of sets. They don't all hit (2016 I find particularly terrible), but a few of them do and I'd much prefer Topps take a risk that doesn't work out with a design, then pump out another generic boring set.
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Ebay Pickup
Updated Totals:



.jpeg)