#TheBloggerNational2024

Hey!

If you haven't heard, for those of you at home and not going to The National, you can join in on the fun from home!

Just join #TheBloggerNational2024.

What is the Blogger National? Well, it's a blog-bat-around where you just take one post (or multiple if you so choose) in the next few days and dedicate it to showing off your coolest cards or your most favorite cards or a recent mail day you hadn't posted yet using the blog post title, The Blogger National 2024.

I want you to try to find the cards that are show worthy to you. You know, the dazzling cards that would attract all of the people over to your table (blog).

I know my latest mail day from long time blog reader Grady M would draw a crowd!

Last week I received a box of packed full of blaster boxes that are packed full of cards. If I had a real title for this post it would have been called packed full.

There are 11 blasters in all containing shiny, inserts, parallels and PC cards across multiple sports. It's always a fun dig in.

I will be exploring these boxes while everyone is experiencing The National. This is my National.

Thanks Grady for a good time!

As for the rest of you, blog post your own #BloggerNational2024 using the hashtag on social media or on your blog.

And if you actually made it to The National, have fun. I am jealous. 

The Grady Boxes: Box 1

A few times a year, blog reader and good friend Grady M (@gradyfishinsea), sends me a box full of goodies. He has been doing this for many years since we met on my Facebook page.

These boxes usually consist of my four New York teams, some player collections and so much shiny that I have no other choice but to smile.

I never know what is arriving and what surprises hide within until it arrives. But I do know that it will be fun.

So, when Grady sent me a Christmas box round of cards, I had a hard time waiting until Christmas to open it, but I did.

Inside of the big box it came in, were multiple empty blaster boxes full of treasure.

I thought to myself, how does one post so many cards on a blog without spamming it completely. After much thought, I sat down and decided I would show off some, yes some, of my favorites from each blaster box.

Let's take a peek of what was inside of this Rookies and Stars blaster.

I don't know what these parallels are called, but I love 'em. I would take all of these that I can.

I think I need to find one in Griffey form. That would be sweet.

I am not sure if Upper Deck just used the same photo twice or if this was in the same product. Either way, two new Griffeys for the PC.

Mahomes! I will continue to take any and all Patrick's I don't have.

I don't know much about soccer, but I saw this parallel and thought it was super cool.

With lack of opening products this year, this card marks my first Aaron Rodgers card in a Jets uniform.

Speaking of NY QB's, Danny Dimes or this year, Danny Hurts. No relation to Jalen. All Giants fans expect this year to be the last straw for him with the Gmen and I expect the same. It's too bad to, last year he played so well. But being hurt often in the biggest position in football is not a great place to be. Not to mention he played terrible when he did play.

 

And last eye-popping card from this box is of newest Yankee, Juan Soto. So far, the biggest acquisition this offseason for the Yankees. The Dodgers made many other moves. But, I don't think the Yankees are done yet.

Well, that does it for Box #1. There are more to come from this series and some boxes I show off more cards than this.

While I am also at it and have your attention, I wanted to let you know of a new blog in the blogosphere that has some fun daily content especially if you are into vintage cards, especially football. Check out daily vintage football card posts from Vintage Football Card Of The Day HERE:Vintage Football Card of the Day - Highlighting a card a day from the Vintage Football Card Gallery and please add it to your blogroll!

I Don't Know Who You Are, But I Like You

Long time friend of the blog, Grady M hit me up again with some awesomeness in a box. You have no idea how much I look forward to receiving a mail day from him.

It's always a big-packed-to-the-rim box of inserts, parallels, above the notch shiny goodness that makes you feel you are on a treasure hunt.

Today, I kick off what I expect to be many posts on this box of goodies. It cannot all be captured in one post, impossible.

Today's part of the mail day is soccer. A sport I know absolutely nothing about player wise, but a sport that has some stunning cards which is the main reason I hold onto them.

Especially if they are as shiny as today's cards I am about to show off,

I assume all of these came out of Chronicles, those are some great looking cards. The stars in the background really make them standout.

Merlin the wizard definitely put a spell and made these look amazing.

Life is better with Prizm in it.

Mosaic was so underrated in my opinion in the world of chromed cards.

But cards that look this good, I think they make a name for themselves in the same group as Prizm and Chrome.

Spectra and Select bring the wacky purple shiny to your eyes to dazzle them.

Thanks to Grady for the shiny soccer.

There is plenty more from this box of inserts to show off. Stay tuned!

More Gleybers

 

It's time to showcase my next player in my latest installment of that massive mail day from Sport Card Collector reader Grady M mail day. Today we feature who I consider the cornerstone future star of the Yankees in Gleyber Torres.

Gleyber's cards don't get a whole lot of respect or value in that matter, despite a kid who has put up decent numbers in his short career so far.

Yes, 2020 was a way down year for him but who didn't have a bit of an off year? Also the injury bug hit him some as well. But, his first two years in the league he put up 24 and 38 home runs respectively and I expect big things in 2021 barring no set backs from injuries or Covid getting in the way of a full season again.

I have collected Gleyber since his rookie year, mainly because he was the one guy I kept pulling so it only made sense.

I don't have an updated number on him yet, but hopefully soon I will have it ready on the blog.

  

Power Producers with Judge and Torres. Both Players I collect so had to pick which one to give the card to and I chose Torres.

Aficionado from Diamond Kings. I don't care for their base design but these inserts and subsets are sharp.

Me without coffee, me with coffee

Golden Gleyber Of Fire

Oooooh shiny!

Power Zone is exactly what Gleyber has.

Only one more player to feature in this short series of mail days from my loaded box of goodies. The final player has the biggest amount of cards in my collection and if that doesn't give it away, it's Ken Griffey Jr. Sorry for the lack of surprise element there.

Platinum Allure

Every few months, my buddy and big time Sport Card Collectors reader @gradyfishinsea sends me a box full of inserts from a multitude of sports. It's like a treasure trove dig and is amazing.

A good portion of those inserts are shiny and everyone knows what shiny to a collector does...reels them right in.

Especially those like myself.

I mentioned a few times on here how I don't know a lot about hockey anymore since it was in the 90's I used to watch the NY Rangers and Colorado Avalanche, but I still collect the cards regardless. That's the way I am with other sports as well and not just hockey.

There are some hockey cards I prefer more than others still and some day my four biggest needs, a rookie card each of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux along with autographs of both too, will be knocked down somehow. In the meantime, I will just enjoy the shiny stuff.

And there was plenty of shiny to find that Grady passed along for hockey. Most of which came from Upper Deck products O-Pee-Chee Platinum and Allure. They both are hockey's version of chrome cards.

Let's see a gallery of most of the ones he sent,

 

(this card still has my attention)

The only exception out of the shiny that wasn't those two products was this Tomas Hertl

which came from Sp Game used.

This is only a minor section of what Grady passed along in this mail day. There is so much more to show off as I go along and I will be breaking it all down into separate posts. It will be impossible to showcase every card he sent along but I will do my best to tackle to most standout ones.

Spot The Difference:Gives Me Goosebumps

I have a new fun idea as my creativity is flowing on here again.

When I was a kid, I loved Spot The Differences in Highlights magazine. You know, two pictures side by side that you would have to compare to see what's different in picture two from picture one.

Well, I have taken that concept into a blog post.

Today, you will see two what seems to be similar posts but they will have their differences. Post number one will be the real post, the second one coming up today will be the fake version. I challenge you to pick out the 10 differences and comment with them on the second post that will publish around 5pm et. Things to keep an eye out for is picture changes, work mispellings, etc. 

If this works out well I will do more of these down the road and I also challenge you to a BLOG BAT AROUND of doing your own!

So have fun!

Now onto the post...

Just like many bloggers and collectors it appears, I am also on the hunt for 2020 Where Monsters Live set.

 

With some help online from @gradyfishinsea, @nekbone860, and @farmercard i was able to narrow down my set chase need to 3. I am getting ever so close!

In my trade with @farmercard, along with getting a card need for my Where Monsters Live set chase, we also worked out a trade that gave me some Goosebumps.

Well, not these kind of Goosebumps but close.

Instead it was the writer of the popular kid series Goosebumps relic card. I know a lot of people are never happy with Allen And Ginter because of relics like this, but this is exactly why I love that product.

RL Stine was an inspiration to me growing up wanting to write. A lot of my early pieces from Grade 4 all the way to my senior year in High School were horror/scary stories and many I still have now. I also wrote an unpublished horror book that remains on a pin drive with needed corrections that I started but never finished. Maybe some day I will jump back on and finish those corrections or maybe even start a new story. I have always been passionate about writing my entire life and I don't think that will ever change. One dream I have is to get a book published but the only way you can chase and follow a dream is to stick with the chase and never give up. I feel as if I took a break from chasing mine, I have been thinking a lot recently that maybe it was time to pick up that momentum again. I am not getting any younger.

Thanks to @farmercard for the trade. Now I need to find someone who has the matching RL Stine autographed card from Allen and Ginter along with any of the mini's and parallels.