There was a baseball game last night. I don't have a particular affinity for Cleveland or Chicago, but I was kind of pulling for Cleveland to pull out the win. That didn't happen, but there was plenty of excitement and that was good enough for me.
The Cubs' rebuilding process has worked out very well, which is more than I can say for my Houston Astros so far. The Astros have too many holes in their roster, and I don't know if they will be able to fill them well enough to compete at a championship-worthy level.
I picked up a Cubs card recently, the 2016 Topps NOW card # 475, featuring World Series MVP Ben Zobrist riding his bicycle to the park after the Cubs clinched their division. The card received some criticism at the time it was released, as it was delayed by a day while Topps secured rights to use the photo. Topps usually uses photographs from Getty Images and probably has some kind of agreement in place, but I believe this photo was taken by Zobrist's wife and required some sort of separate contract. The card was very popular, with a print run of 2,968 copies.
There is a second Ben Zobrist bicycle card out there on the Topps website that is still available for purchase. Until tomorrow (04 NOV 2016) at midnight ET, purchasing the card earns an entry into a drawing for a replica of a bike Zobrist designed. Proceeds from the sale of the cards go to a charity.
I picked up one of each for my collection because as it turns out, I am not immune to Topps' money grab schemes like I originally thought. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI grabbed this one, but not the contest one. I'm not a Cubs fan, though, so my motivators are different. It would be kind of cool to win that bike, especially now that he's the WS MVP.
DeleteI too was critical of this card when it first arrived. However, I've since come to my senses and realized that it's just a fun card and baseball cards are supposed to be fun, are they not? It's definitely a unique one.
ReplyDeleteIt is kind of a silly card, but I like a silly card now and then. It breaks up the monotony of cards showing the usual hitting, throwing, and fielding poses.
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