A Cracked Bat Wows! Again!

 
    Earlier this month, I received a box, stuffed with baseball goodness from Julie of the A Cracked Bat: Baseball Cards and a Hot Dog blog. This is the second time she has wowed me with  SUPER SHINEY baseball cards that celebrate Chicago's place in MLB.  Baseball bloggers are the best!


    I won't be posting images of all the cards Julie sent, but I've set a few aside to share here. There are several awesome chrome cards in the mix, both Topps and Bowman. There are even a few new Ernie Banks beauties, but the first card I'm going to share is a 2011 Topps 60 material relic. I have developed a strong fondness for relic and memorabilia cards. In fact, 'Textiles & Timber' is the descriptive title of a new project that I am working on. This project and the awesome mooc (Antiquities Trafficking and Art Crime) I am currently taking are the reasons my blog has been relatively silent of late. I had intended to not write about this card here at Now and Zen, but to reserve it for the project. However, when A Cracked Bat sends a relic card of Tyler Colvin, one must include it in a blog write-up. Back in 2010, Tyler Colvin had a projectile shard from a broken bat puncture his lung while running to home plate. It was a rather horrific injury, and although it put an end to Colvin's late season play, he recovered and was able play a few more years in MLB. Odds are that this material relic is from Colvin's fateful 2010 season. The Cubs were away and wearing their blue jerseys when Colvin took the hit to his chest, so this relic is not from the jersey he was wearing that day. Check it out.-

A Shattered Bat Memory from A Cracked Bat

   The early Diamond Kings art cards don't do anything for me, although they now possess a retro vibe that I enjoy, but the recent Diamond Kings art cards are fabulous in my book. Here are some of the new ones Julie included that loaded box.

Showing a little love to the White Sox.

And some Cubs. 

 

  I have only a few Hendricks cards, but I'd say this Diamond Kings card is my favorite Hendricks.

This next card is a Legendary Cut, and it is gorgeous! Billy Williams, very nice! 

     Billy's scan doesn't show it, but that is gold foil over black marble, Upper Deck nailed classic majesty with this design.

    Next up, some Bowman Platinum cards. These are my first cards from this brand, and boy are they sweet!

  Julie found room to fit this Addison Russell Triple Thread into the mix. Cards that stand on end- brilliant!

Of course this Russell card is another example of a card whose glory refuses to come to life on a scanner. 

    

    I'm going to divide the spoils between two posts, but I want to fit three more cards into this first post. Up next are the Tristar Obak cards. I had neither heard of them, nor noticed them before these three cards arrived. Now and Zen LIKES these cards! They are deliciously quirky! When awesome people like Julie randomly send cards to me, I relish finding new cards to add to my want list. In general, I go into The Trading Card Database, add the new cards to my collection, then add all of the missing Cubs cards to my want list. This Obak set is the first set that I've added every missing card in the set to my want list. Gotta Catch 'Em All!

   Fabulous cards Julie! Thank you!