Had to grab this refractor featuring the juniors of Tim Raines, Gary Matthews, and Garry Maddox. Topps knew the assignment.

I’m a Penn State alum but I picked up this card because it’s just beautiful.

Happy Blue/White game day for all those who celebrate. In typical Blue/White style, it’s 55 degrees and raining. I think the universe mandates it.

While scrolling through 1999 Stadium Club One of a Kind parallel listings on eBay I saw a play at the plate between Phil Nevin and Brady Anderson that I swear I just scrolled past a minute earlier. It turns out Stadium Club used a before and after photo on the respective cards for Nevin and Anderson.

I did some digging and discovered that the play in question occurred in the bottom of the 9th inning of a game on 9/12/98. The Angels went into the last frame up 2-0 but the Orioles rallied and Eric Davis sent a single up the middle that resulted in a collision at home between Brady Anderson and Phil Nevin. Brady won the showdown and the Orioles took it in a walkoff, 3-2.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen another example of a set featuring the same play on different cards. I’m happy to have this easter egg in my collection.

I recently acquired this game-used jersey of former NFL player Margus Hunt.

Hunt had a ridiculous path to the NFL. He was born in Soviet-era Estonia and was a standout track and field athlete. He enrolled at SMU to further that career but by the time he arrived on campus, SMU shut down their track program. So what’s an athletic giant to do? Play football, of course.

Hunt began playing football for SMU and earned the nickname “The Eastern Block” due to his talent for blocking kicks. His size and ability was put on display at the NFL Combine, where he ran a 4.60 40-yard dash and bench pressed 38 reps at 225 lbs. Worth mentioning that he did all this at 6’8” and 277 lbs. The Bengals nabbed him in the 2nd round of the 2013 draft.

This jersey is from Hunt’s best season, which was 2018 with the Colts. He started 15 games and the jersey has battle scars from four of them. In this jersey he sacked Andy Dalton twice and Deshaun Watson once, also stuffing Joe Mixon and Leonard Fournette. Very happy to have the Eastern Block in my collection.

9/9/18 vs Cincinnati Bengals

2 sacks, 3 tackles

Photomatch: Getty Image 1030867028

9/30/18 vs Houston Texans

1 sack, 3 tackles

Photomatch: Getty Image 1043889922

10/21/18 vs Buffalo Bills

1 tackle

Photomatch: Getty Image 1052751794

11/11/18 vs Jacksonville Jaguars

2 tackles

Photomatch: Getty Image 1060924750

Every card collector has a few sets that they’ve looked through so many times they can remember the card fronts from memory. 1996 Topps baseball is one of those sets for me. A much younger version of myself spent lots of allowance money ripping packs from this set.

I recently bought this Rondell White refractor as a bookend to those memories. I might be a little older and my tastes more refined, but I’m still spending my money in the best way I know.