An honest to goodness, drama free, baseball card post

I decided the best way to break out of the blogging/collecting doldrums was to bust a few packs.  It doesn't fix all the real life stuff that's going on, but it was a really nice distraction for all of it.  I happened by the card aisle for the first time in quite a while and dropped $40 on a couple of Christmas gifts for myself. 

The first one was some "Best of 2012 Topps" repack box that had 11 packs.  It was 6 packs of Ginter, 3 packs of Bowman Platinum and 2 packs of Chrome.  No, I didn't really need anything from these packs, but it sure was nice to open some packs again.  There's an underlying theme here as well and we'll see if you can figure out what that is when we get to the end. 

I'm just going to give you a one card highlight from each pack.  I know you've seen these before, but writing is therapeutic so let's get to it.

Pack 1 started off with a nice Sandy Koufax card.  I'm on the fence with all these retired player cards.  I
never saw Koufax play, but I've always looked upon him in a reverential way.  Sort of like he's one of the baseball gods.  I don't want to see him diminished by appearing on so many new cards that he becomes another Mantle.

Pack 2 was pretty boring, only giving up one card I might keep.  That would be this Brian McCann mini, but I'll probably just send it to Canada instead. 

Pack 3 had a mini SP and this Colby Lewis SP.  The theme of this little break could have been "Look at all my former Rangers", but Colby is still with the team.  Sort of.  He'll be back eventually as he's scheduled for a June return from surgery. 

Pack 4 gave up the second copy of some raquetball player and this black bordered Brooks Robinson mini.  I think that mini will make some O's fan happy. 

Pack 5 didn't have much, but there was new Ranger Joakim Soria.  Like Lewis, he's coming off surgery so he won't be pitching for awhile. 

Pack 6 had current Ranger Mitch Moreland, but this Curly Neal was the best card in the pack.  I loved the Harlem Globetrotters when I was a kid and got to see them in person once.  It was great stuff for a kid and I spent hours trying to do some of those trick shots. 

Next up are the three packs of Bowman Platinum.  Platinum might just be the biggest waste of cardboard around.  Next to anything Panini does.  Ok, that's not fair.  I sort of liked Triple Play. 

Pack 1 had a Yankee, a Met a Padre and a Athletic.  You know you've got a bad pack when the best card is from a division rival of your favorite team. 

Pack 2 revealed former Ranger and what I can only hope is future failure as an Angel Josh Hamilton.  Not that I want him to fail, but I do want the Angels to fail.  And I mean in an EPIC FAIL kind of way. 

Pack 3...well, pack three rubbed salt in the would with former Ranger Mike Napoli.  I liked Napoli and his blue collar ways, but there's no way I would have given him 3 years for $39 million.  No Way. 

The last two packs in the box were from one of my perennial favorites, Topps Chrome.  These weren't the best two packs of Chrome I ever opened. 

Pack 1 was pretty weak.  Eric Hosmer wins because the other cards in the pack were an Athletic (Division rival), a hated Giant (see 2010 World Series) and a hated Cardinal (see 2011 World Series). 

Pack 2, the last pack in the box, reminded me how the highs and lows of being a baseball fan.  Michael Young, my former favorite Ranger and current favorite non-Ranger, was the best card in the pack.  

That was fun.  I should write about baseball cards more often.