The Hostess with the Mostest

I'm a pretty scatterbrained guy.  I'm constantly having make notes on little post-it notes so that I don't miss appointments at work, I can never remember everything at the grocery store and I once used my phone as a light source to help me find my phone...  Most people would likely think I was high all the time if they didn't know me.

As such, when I received an e-mail from Gavin at Baseball Card Breakdown the other day, letting me know that he was putting his end of our latest trade into the mail, I had to take his word for it.  I honestly do not remember sending anything his way; but, unless there's another rogue Tony Burbs running wild on the internets, randomly mailing baseball cards to people...

As per usual. Gavin's end of the trade was "grade A."  I was delighted to find an example of one of his latest custom projects:

Here we have "Sparkles" on the design of the beloved Hostess design from the decade of disco.  Appropriate that this is making it's way into my hands as Archives makes it way onto our shelves - same concept after all.

I'm embarrassed to admit, but I'm fairly certain that this is the first Hostess design to make it's way into my collection... I don't think I have any originals.  Please don't revoke my card-collecting license!

Here's the back, with Kris' Major League stat-line from his 2015 ROY campaign:

This turned out wonderfully and it's probably my new favorite Bryant card.  Also, how cool would it be to have a product in the mold of Archives but, instead of using old Topps templates, employed vintage, oddball designs?

Imagine seeing Jake Arrieta's intimidating glare on a 3D Kelloggs card, or Anthony Rizzo's majestic swing on a TCMA layout, or Javy Baez's infectious smile emanating from the borders of an MSA disc... I'd snap that up in a heartbeat.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Gavin also included some pretty nifty cards that he, himself, did not create:

A couple of Bowman cards of guys who were supposed to lead the Cubs' rotation for years to come. Gonzalez did hang around as a fringe MLB moundsman for several years.  Meanwhile, in the heat of the 1998 Wild Card chase, GM Ed Lynch decided we desperately needed a mediocre middle reliever; so, Jon Garland became a key cog in the White Sox machine for the next ten years, while Matt Karchner hung around in the back of the pen for a couple of years, usually with an ERA over 5.  

Definitely a big oopsy of a trade.

Gavin, does this "Noel" qualify as a Christmas card?  Hahahahahahaha... I'm funny, dammit.

The first Noel, the angels did say, was a total bust of a prospect, drafted in the first round of the 1996 draft and never made the Bigs.  Cubs fans, let's just take this moment to appreciate what we have in Theo, Jed and crew.

Nevertheless, this makes a welcome addition to my binder of failed Cubs prospects... yes, I really have that because I'm a glutton for punishment.

Speaking of punishment, football!

Gavin was kind enough to try and help me out with my all-time Bears collection.  Unfortunately, neither of these QB's ever played a down with the team.  Although,  Enderle was rostered as a backup signal-caller during the 2011 season, so he technically qualifies for the binder.  However, Trevor from Bump and Run just beat Gavin to the punch. 

Still, I love me some shiny, chrome cards; thus, these are still more than welcome in my domain.

Speaking of shiny, Topps Gold Label!

I feel weird calling a baseball card beautiful, but these things truly are, what with their glossy, almost rainbow-like chrome finish and sweeping, color-coded design.  What's not to love?  These Gold Label cards truly feel like a hit when holding them in hand, at least to me anyway.  

Speaking of hits, an autograph!

I've been make a (sort of) concentrated effort to add more Cubs autos to my CATRC lately, seeing as it's getting tougher and tougher to add new names to those pages.  Autographs make that collection feel even more like a historical tome or artifact to me.

Brett Jackson might have been another first-round bust, but he sure does have some exceptional penmanship!  This GQ John Hancock is going to look fabulous as Brett's representation in my CATRC binder.

Thank you Gavin, both for yet another phenomenal trade package and for being a much better record-keeper than I.  I can only hope you enjoyed my half of this trade at least half as much as I did yours.

Now, maybe I should go ahead and check my calendar.  Scatter-brained me is probably supposed to be doing something more important than blogging right now.... hmmmmm..... laundry perhaps?

To the post-its!