2017 Card of the Year

Apparently, I missed that Tom changed his Cubs-focused blog name back to Waiting 'til Next Year shortly after the 2017 NLCS ended. His blog went by the name "Eamus Catuli!" for about a year, but he just didn't feel that same spark in the year after the Cubs' century-plus drought was broken. So, like any die hard baseball fan, Tom is hoping that Next Year is the year, even if 2016 is a lot closer in the rear-view mirror than 1908. As he puts it, "It was great, it really was, but it has left me wondering, 'Now what?'"

Even if you win, you still want to win again. And maybe that helps explain the perspectives of Yankees, Patriots, and Duke fans. Obviously, my Rockies have never won it all, but in my lifetime, there have been two Stanley Cups and three Vince Lombardi Trophies brought to Denver. You still want to keep the party going.

However, even though his name change flew under my radar, I did not miss that he's running another Card of the Year contest, and I'm entering just a couple days before the deadline.

There's been a lot about 2017 that I'd just as soon forget. But assuming you managed not to pick up a newspaper, there were still plenty of bright spots, like a couple road trips I took, including one to see a particular celestial event back in August. I'll carry the memory of a total solar eclipse with me for the rest of my days. But another important event that occurred in my family this year was the birth of my nephew on May 10th.

2017 Topps Now #132 German Marquez /378

I bought a Topps Now card for that day, and luckily the Rockies performed well enough to get a card in the daily set. The German Marquez card you see above is my official entry into Tom's contest. Obviously, it's a Coors Field card, and I remember it being a rainy, drizzly sort of day. Marquez took a no-hitter into the 7th inning against none other than the Cubs, and even helped his own cause with a 2-RBI single. 

It's interesting that my selection for last year also featured a Rockies pitcher at home. The team or the location shouldn't surprise you, but what is surprising is that the Rockies have a solid rotation and lots of talented young pitchers. Most of the moves the Rockies have made so far this offseason are focused on the bullpen, so 2018's card may not be much different.

I bought this card to commemorate a very important birth in the family, and when I look back years later, this is how I want to remember 2017. 

Maybe I'll even give this to him someday.