2016 Topps Now: Freddie Freeman #117 (310 print run)

I was behind Topps and their eTopps program from years ago, but I haven't felt the need to buy into their newest program, Topps Now. At first I thought the program offered oversized cards, but when I realized that wasn't the case and they were regular sized cards I became a little more intrigued. After all, I like the idea of producing a small print run of cards based on a player's performance in a single game. However the problem with all of this is that I'm a Braves fan and the 2016 Braves...well basically they suck.

A few weeks ago I was telling my wife about the program (for some odd reason) and how cool it would be if a Braves player got their own card, but seeing how poorly they've been playing I didn't see that happening. Then the next day Freddie Freeman goes yard with a walk off HR to win the game on June 1st...my wife's birthday no less!

The next day I eagerly signed on to Topps' website to purchase the card. Then the wait begun. I had no idea how long it was take for the card to arrive and finally the other day I received this big white cardboard shipping envelope in the mail from Topps. Was it my Topps Now card or one of the two redemption cards I've been waiting on for some time now? (see the Redemption! section on the side bar) Well I'm happy to report that it was in fact the Now card.

Freddie's card only had a print run of 310 and skimming through the website it appears this is one of the lowest print runs thus far. I also happened to be watching this game against the Giants so it was cool watching Freddie hit the homer and immediately thinking, "Yes! Freddie will now appear in Topps Now!".

And wouldn't you know it, last night Freddie hits for the Cycle so I expect to see another Topps Now card of him offered later today...and yes, I will be buying it!

A silver lining in an otherwise gray cloud

This shouldn't come as any sort of news flash, but the 2016 Atlanta Braves are pretty horrible. This marks the first season in many years where I don't tune in to many games on the television. Earlier this year I was contemplating if I even wanted to make a trip down to Turner Field in Atlanta for one last visit before the teams moves to Cobb Co. and their new SunTrust stadium. Overall it's been pretty blah of a season for me...until this young guy with a cool first name was called up.

2015 Topps Heritage Minor League #103

April 11th is the day when my outlook on this season started to change. Mallex Smith was called up from AAA Gwinnett and it has been a blast watching this young kid play. There hasn't been a lot of offense highlights this season, but the few there have been Mallex has provided.

2016 Topps Pro Debut #7

Through last night's game against the Padres, Mallex is batting .239, but has 32 hits, 7 doubles, 4 triples, 3 home runs and 20 RBIs. The kid has some speed on both the base paths and patrolling center field. He's been able to swipe 7 bases in the 48 games he's played.

2016 Bowman #BCAP-MS

It's still relatively early in the baseball card season so Mallex doesn't have a lot of cards (yet), but the few cards he does have seem to be heating up on the secondary market. I was able to get these autos for a very fair price, but forget some of the serially numbered parallels of the Bowman auto...those prices are starting to go through the roof!

It's been hard watching games this season, but the games I have watched that Mallex has played in I have enjoyed. I'm now looking at scheduling a trip down to Atlanta later this month to catch a game and I really hope he plays. Some of my favorite seats at Turner Field are in right center field so if he plays I hope to have a great view of his athleticism on display.

Pack Break: 2016 Topps Marketside

I heard about Topps including new trading cards inside Marketside fresh pizzas at Walmart, but since my household doesn't buy a lot of pizza I kinda forgot about the promo...until the other day when my wife sent me grocery shopping and asked me to pick up a pizza.

The only pizzas that were marked with this promotion at the time I was there were the extra large, but I don't know if that is the same at other locations. The silver foil packs of cards were just tossed in the box, making it easy for someone to possibly remove the cards without buying the pizza.

After I got home from the store I removed the packs before placing the pizzas in the refrigerator and almost forgot about them until Friday evening. Looking over the checklist there are only two Braves in the set and one of them is Hector Olivera and I've made the decision not to add his cards to my Braves collection. Freddie Freeman is the other Brave in the set and he is one of my top PCs so I was hoping to pull his card from one of the two packs. Let's see how I did.

Pack 1

Well no Freeman in the first pack, but the Kershaw is a keeper. Kinda surprised to see an Opening Day caliber card like Mr. Met. Let's move on to pack 2 and see if I have any luck.

Pack 2

Mr. Met again? I know it's a small set but I didn't figure I'd get a duplicate in only my 2nd pack. Well at least Bumgarner showed up. Not a Brave, but a fellow native North Carolinian. Not too bad overall. The cards are nice looking, but I guess from here on out I'll just resort to eBay or trading to get the last card or two I'd like to have. If the Dee Gordon, Evan Longoria or Mr. Met cards interest you, just let me know.

Sunday Verse

Romans 15:13 (NIV)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that yo may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Have a great Sunday everyone! Hope the weather is as beautiful out your door as it is mine.

Rey Ordonez Super Collector: A new blog, a new journey

Even though I've been a Braves fan since the beginning, I haven't always collected cards of Braves players, or even some of the veteran players I now collect. Before I walked away from collecting cards in general in the mid-2000's, I had a rather unusual goal...to collect every card produced for shortstop Rey Ordonez.

Why Rey you may wonder. I'm not entirely sure. When I first started on this quest it was rather easy. Rey made his debut in the Majors in 1996 and had minor league cards as early as 1994. Even though he started his career with the Mets, it really didn't seem like he was on anyone's radar, especially from a collecting standpoint. 

While Rey never would wow anyone with his bat, he could flash some leather out in the field. I had an opportunity to watch a good many of his games when he was with the Mets and from a defensive angle he was fun to watch.

While I haven't done much with my Ordonez collection lately, I felt it was time to share some of the fruits of my labor and what better way than to start a new blog. After all this blog is usually more Braves centric and I figured readers there may not care about a Mets shortstop. The goal of this side project will be to highlight every card (eventually) in my collection, post my want list just in case anyone can help me out and post any updates of new acquisitions.

Gonzalez out, Snitker in

After 40 years of working with the Braves organization, Brian Snitker gets his chance to manage a major league ball club...at the expense of his friend, Freddie Gonzalez.

The Braves announced earlier today that they were making the switch and fired Fredi G. Snitker was the manager of the AAA Gwinnett Braves before today. I remember him fondly as the arm swinging third base coach for the Braves. When a move such as this is made and the new manager is from within the organization it has to make it a little tougher. I know it was a bittersweet moment tonight for Brian, but he's glad to be up with the team.

I watched the beginning of the game from a restaurant and saw the team immediately fall behind to the Pirates 9-0. Ouch. Several old guys sitting at the near by bar were just laughing and making fun of the team...and you know it was hard for me not to chime in. This version of the Braves are pretty horrible. It's not from a lack of trying however. These guys keep on playing day in and day out...they just don't have the Ws to show for it.

While I wasn't Fredi G's biggest fan, I get while the club made the move. However I'm not sure Snitker will have much better success. There are some good players on the team and there are a lot of young promising players currently tearing up the minors. However until they arrive it's hard watching this team on TV. There have been some early bright spots (Mallex Smith), but overall this team doesn't look like a major league team.

I know baseball is a business, but when I heard that FredieGonzalez found out about his firing my receiving his airline ticket back home in his e-mail before the team every approached him...well I think the organization could have handled this better. However what is done is done and I'll be interesting to see if Snitker can get something out of this team that Gonzalez wasn't able to.

Just a little S.Mack Talk

The generosity of my fellow bloggers was on display again as Jimmy from S.Mack Talk reached out to me with an offer to help with my 2014 GQ and 2016 Topps want lists. In exchange he wanted some A&G and GQ minis plus a few other things.

Once the swap was made I only need 1 card (#1 ironically) to complete 2016 Topps series 1. Always glad to put a dent in my GQ needs as well. I appreciate the trade Jimmy and hope to do it again soon.