At the Trade Deadline 33: A Long-Forsaken Zippy Zapping

I've been digging through my scans folder in an attempt to get everything cleared out, and I found a batch of photos tucked in between a bunch of 2014 Topps Mini scans. After some research I determined that this was a long-lost Zippy Zapping from the writer of the Torren' Up Cards blog, who is known for sending out very generous packages to unsuspecting bloggers. The date on the scans was 06 DEC 2014, so this thank-you post has been a long time coming. Probably the highlight of this first scan is the Robinson Cano Bowman card and its Chrome companion.

Mike Zunino's Chrome card down in this scan has its base twin up in the first scan. I probably should have scanned them together, but I didn't. George Springer has been playing well for the Astros in the playoffs so far (I am writing this last Sunday evening, just after Game 3 of the ALDS against the Royals), and I really hope the Astros can close the Royals out in Game 4. I guess by the time this post goes live we'll know how things worked out. I know people have mixed feelings about the All-Star cards in Topps Update, but I think they're okay. I like to see players in uniforms different than the ones we're used to seeing them wear. That Felix Hernandez card is pretty good; probably my favorite card from this scan.

I sat here for a little while trying to come up with something to say about any of these four cards, but there wasn't much there. Zunino and Montero got almost the same base card photo. It's a good thing Montero has that goatee or we're have no idea who was who.

Robinson Cano makes another appearance in this scan, this time on a Donruss card. There are several sets here, representing three different decades of cardboard.

It wouldn't be a Zippy Zapping without some prospects in the mix. If you keep up with his blog or his comments on other blogs, he manages to know something about nearly every prospect in the minor leagues. I can't even keep track of four or five big-league rosters, let alone all 30 teams and their attendant minor league systems. 

Zippy Zappy included a hit in the package, this Bowman Chrome Prospects Refractor Autograph of Dylan Unsworth. A little bit of Googling tells me that he is attempting to be the first South African to make the major leagues. He made it as far as AA this year and he is still pretty young, so there is time for him to achieve his goal. This autograph card is numbered # 011 / 500.

This Franklin Gutierrez card comes from Topps Attax, another in a long line of fairly short-lived baseball card games. I like the idea of sports card games, but in practice it seems like they don't work out well. I am not sure why. I guess this kind of game is a niche hobby within a niche hobby, and you just can't get enough people together in groups to build a robust community. I don't even know any other baseball card collectors in person, let alone baseball card collectors who might also be into gaming.

One of the hallmarks of a Zippy Zapping are cards from SEGA Card-Gen, a set of cards that went along with an arcade game in Japan. This component of Zippy Zappings is likely to go away sooner rather than later, as the game has been cancelled and I have noticed that the eBay and internet pipelines for these cards are drying up. I got lucky in this Zapping with a card from way back in 2010. I have a fair number of Card-Gen cards from 2012 and 2013, but this might be my only 2010.

Thanks for the Zippy Zapping! I feel really bad for losing this in my scan folder for so long. This was a great batch of cards, and it was poor sportsmanship on my part to leave this post on the shelf for so long. I hope you can forgive me someday!