Something new

After my earlier look at some of the vintage goodies that Nick at Dime Boxes sent me for winning his thousandth-post contest, let's examine some of the more recent cards that happened to land in my mailbox. Perhaps these newer cards don't have quite as much character as the vintage, as is true for most any manufactured item, but they have a beauty all their own, not to mention the pin-sharp photographs and (usually) glossy surfaces.

Adding to my Coors Field mini-collection, here's one of Luis A. Gonzalez, who played for my hometown Rockies from 2004-2006.

2006 Fleer Ultra #150 Luis Gonzalez

This is not the famed Luis E. Gonzalez of the Astros and Diamondbacks, the one who drove in the championship-winning hit of the 2001 World Series (that one still hurts), but it's still a great shot of Gonzalez at his primary 2B position, with a bonus view of the manually-operated out of town scoreboard in right field at Coors.

I also mentioned to Nick that I am a sucker for anything shiny or serial-numbered. To fill that want, he included these two parallels from 2013 Topps Update.

2013 Topps Update Emerald #US289 Kevin Correia

2013 Topps Update Gold #US291 Logan Schafer /2013

But these just aren't any parallels. That Emerald parallel on the left has to be one of the prettiest baseball cards I've ever seen. And the serial-numbered Gold parallel on the right matches the Brewers' alternate gold jerseys quite well.

This next one is a certainly a bit of an oddity. Clearly a Photoshop job, and a rather silly one at that.

2008 Upper Deck #326 Justin Maxwell RC

Upper Deck, who is so well-known for advancing the level of photography in this hobby with their 1989 set, is reaching a bit in my opinion. Surely this is supposed to be showing the construction of Nationals Park, which opened in 2008, but no umpire? No backstop? Construction workers loafing around? In fact, I was rather surprised to learn this wasn't some wacky short print like Topps' Abraham Lincoln cards in 2010, but actually his real, true, MLBPA-approved rookie card.

And what is Jim Thome holding while beginning a trot around the basepaths after slugging his 500th career home run?

2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces #23 Jim Thome

It looks more like a ramrod for a Revolutionary War cannon than a baseball bat to me. Kudos on 612 career homers, though.

And last, a non-baseball baseball card, this one from Topps American Pie.

2002 Topps American Pie #88 Buzz Aldrin

I've read numerous posts on Dime Boxes about the American Pie sets, but this is the first example I've owned. I really couldn't pick a better one to start the collection, as I am a total space nerd. To prove this, you can even see a comment I made nitpicking another moon landing card from the 2001 American Pie set. That card refers to the 1969 landing but shows a picture from Apollo 15 in 1971, the first Apollo mission to carry the lunar rover. But that really is Gemini 12 and Apollo 11 veteran Buzz Aldrin behind the reflective visor above, strolling around the moon in July 1969.

Nick assures me that his inclusion of this card in my contest winnings was purely a coincidence.