Ray 'Flippin' Lankford

There is an evolution that has happened throughout my baseball card collecting life, and a rather amusing one at that. I have found that as I look through my cards and take note of the positions they are photographed in and couple them with other cards and make conversations between them. Maybe I didn't have friends as a kid... SO WHAT?!? Don't judge me! Here we go.

A baseball field is the home of these professional athletes for 162 nights of the spring, summer, and fall. Sometimes these overpaid gunslingers get a bit rambunctious. Manager Pete tries his best to thwart the disrespectful efforts of these 'ungrateful kids' before they act out. However there isnt much he can do about one wild card. Yes, that wild card is Ray Flippin Lankford. It doesn't help that Ray will do ANYTHING he is dared to by his teammates. Just the others day...

HEY, RAY!
Hey Ron, nice haircut.
Thanks... I think.
Yeah, the curls compliment your pale albino-like skin a your lack of eyebrows...
........... Anyways Ray, me and the guys were thinkin, it would be sooooo rad if you could do a back flip during an at bat today.
I dunno Ron last time you told me to do something rad coach got really REALLY mad.
no way, he wasn't mad. he was just having a bad day.
no I specifically remember him telling me that he was really REALLY m....
we DARE you to do a back flip Ray.
.... Alright.

OH MAN, HE DID IT! RAY DID THE FLIP.

COACH!!! COACH!!! RAY'S DOIN IT AGAIN!!! LOOK HE JUST FLIPPIN FLIPPED OUT OF THE BOX!
MAN, YOU SUCK GREG! YOU ARE SUCH A TATTLE TAIL!

DAD GUMMIT RAY!! What is the blue blazes do you think this is a jungle gym?!?! You must be outside your mind to think that th...

OH SHOOT!! He's mad again. I'M OUTTA HERE.

ARRRRGHHH!!! RAY!! What am I gonna do with that kid. I swear he is driving me to my own prison without bars. Eck! ECK!! when Ray gets back, its on you to figure out whats wrong with him because I swear the boy ain't right.

oh Ray. You've done it again.

Thanks for reading my latest installment and check back soon for a review of the new 2011 Topps Triple Threads. As always Peace and Baseball cards.

2011 Topps Chrome Review

2011 Topps Chrome
Box Price: 80-100$
Distribution: 24 packs per box 4 cards per pack
Hits: 2 RC on card autos per box

My grade:  B   The parallels and inserts make this set.

    Topps follows up their base sets with another loaded set and attractive card design. The regular Topps set was an excellent set for collecting and was relatively affordable, but the Chrome set uses the same base card design and solidifies the card with a gloss finish and numerous parallel refractors and inserts that truly catch the eye of the collector. One thing that chrome has always done that is a bit upsetting is they only include 4 cards per pack. if you are buying retail packs it is a bit more affordable to buy. but hobby at 5-6$ a pack for hobby packs only getting 4 cards can ultimately be a disappointment if the pack does not yield a superstar or high profile RC/parallel. Lets get to it!! here are some of the pulls from 1 $20 blaster and one jumbo pack.
Base cards:
you can see the basecards have the exact same design as the regular Topps set with the exception of a few players who have different poses. still a pretty card. There are some centering issues still with this set. Some cards are cut off center and really look poor but a majority are well done.

Inserts:
Left: Topps Chrome Heritage RC's all of which are serial #'d /1962. There are some refractor versions of these as well that are more scarce but look better.
Center and Right: vintage chrome inserts (based on the 1996 topps chrome design) of Miguel Cabrera and Buster Posey.

Refractors:
Left: Evan Longoria chrome X-Fractor. really cool looking! picture does it no justice.
Right: Josh Beckett standard Topps Chrome Refractor.

Left: Hector Noesi RC Purple Refractor. Nice card and all of them are serial #'d /499.
Right: Adam Jones Orange Refractor. The Orange Refractors are only available through retail packs and are not serial #'d but are awesome looking cards none-the-less.

 Overall the 2011 Topps Chrome is a buy! I love the look of the set and its parallels and refractors. The price is a bit off-putting because you only get 4 cards in each pack so building the set may take a lot of money to do but if you are looking for certain players or RC's you should for sure check out this set. Thank you for reading my latest installment and as always... Peace and Baseball cards.