The Extra Pack comes through!

Only a few days ago, I was educating the blogosphere about the existence of Arizona's Baxter the Bobcat mascot, and lamenting the fact that I didn't own a card of Dinger.

Thanks to another $10 blaster of 2014 Topps Opening Day, I pulled exactly the card I had been looking for.

2014 Topps Opening Day Mascots #M10 Dinger

Dinger looks a bit unusual here with this black mask/beard, but he is twenty years old now and has apparently grown up a bit. The card gives us some background on Dinger, mentioning that he "specializes in distracting opposing pitchers in the late innings", can easily be spotted in the wild due to "colorful dots on his head", and that a triceratops skull was discovered during construction of Coors Field.

Though there is a grain of truth to that, further research indicates that this is a bit of an embellished urban legend. Construction at Coors Field did indeed unearth triceratops fossils, though the skull they refer to was found in Brighton, a northern suburb of Denver where Todd Helton happens to reside. In fact, triceratops fossils have been unearthed all over the Denver area, including at Heritage Golf Course not far from my home.

Another Fun Fact: Dinger's uniform number has changed through the years. He was once #94, referring to the year of his "hatching" when the Rockies were a year old, but now sports #00. Dinger remains the only "Rockie" to have worn either of those numbers.

The Rockies lost five of six on their most recent road trip. Dinger is sure to be a sight for sore eyes once they return to Coors Field on Friday.