Updating Cole's Colors

Way back in July, when the Cubs first acquired Cole Hamels from Texas, I ran a quick poll asking you, the readers, to determine which card should be entered into my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection binder.  In this particular situation, I was having a tough time deciding exactly which card should be selected for inclusion in my most treasured tome; so, I asked for help.  Offered up was an assortment of seven pasteboards culled from the Phillies and Rangers sections of my trade boxes that I felt were more than adequate options.  However, surely one would prove itself to be the most popular among my fellow collectors.

As it turns out, this process only helped in muddying the waters even further.  By the time the activity died down, there was a five-way tie for first place in said poll... yikes.  As it turns out, the blogosphere had just as much trouble narrowing down the field as I did and I was left flapping in the wind.

Fast forward to exactly five months (to the day) later and the matter has finally been resolved:

This afternoon, I was finally able to track down a copy of Cole's first pack-issued Cubs card, from this season's Topps Update Checklist, which hit store shelves in October.  No matter how much hemming and hawing there was previously, Cubbie Blue is always a more appealing shade than Rangers Blue and is leaps and bounds more attractive than Phillies Red.

Of course, I knew back in July that whatever card I inserted into my CATRC binder would be a temporary placeholder - there's simply no way that Topps was going to leave a star like Hamels (especially moving to such a marketable franchise) out of it's annual Update release.  Furthermore, it wasn't long after the original transaction that Cole was honored with a Topps Now instant release which depicted him in a Chicago uniform.  That said, since I wasn't about to pony up for instant gratification, it was going to take a while to "Cubgrade" his spot. 

Now, after a quick, "because I'm in the area" trip to my LCS, the wait it finally over.

For one card?  Methinks not.

Although, I must admit, the Now card has a lot more going for it than the Update single that I purchased.  For one, the home pinstripes are always a more welcome sight than the road grays.  Additionally, the photograph on the instant card is much more intriguing, showing the wound up Hamels screaming with intensity immediately after delivering a pitch during a complete game victory - the extreme closeup on the Update card is no where near as memorable.  Lastly, I have a strong distaste for horizontal cards and my OCD tendencies lead me to prefer that my CATRC entries all be vertical whenever it is possible.  As such, in a perfect world and with all else being equal, I would take the Now over the Update.

That's okay though, it's not like the card I ended up with is bad.  Furthermore, since the North Siders exercised their team option on Hamels for the 2019 season, I'm 150% certain there will be plenty of cards produced with Hamels in Chicago Cubs duds over the next year or so.  Again, there's no way Topps will ignore a star player in a major market.

Maybe one of these 2019 cards will more closely meet my preferences or maybe not; but, either way, Cole Hamels is now officially represented, with the correct team colors, in my CATRC binder.

Thank you, 2009 Upper Deck SP Authentic Base (one of the five that drew a first place vote in the July poll) - you served my Cubs of a Different Color Collection well as a placeholder.

Speaking of my CATRC, I should also mention that Santa Claus was apparently supremely generous this Yuletide season.  I'm still working on the sorting, photographing, and filing, but I ended up with a significant amount of new additions to the roster collection on Christmas morning.  I'll have more to share about this massive haul later on, once I've finished the associated record keeping; however, for now, let's just say it's the single greatest one-day influx to my CATRC in the fourteen-year history of that  collection... by far.    Stay tuned for further details in the next week or so.

In short, Cole has plenty of company in the "to-file" stack of cards perched on my computer desk, a stack which is almost as tall as a Jenga tower, at this point!