Rare Ben Zobrist and a Topps Now Birthday Cubs Baseball Card
A few great oddball Chicago Cubs baseball cards were delivered on Friday.
Three packages altogether were in my mailbox. Thanks to my mom for looking out for Cubs baseball cards. She loves traveling to antique stores, which is probably where I developed my own love for antique stores and junk shops. Mom found some 1980’s Cubs cards at one shop. Those wonderful wood borders from 1987 Topps.
Shawn in New York sent a PWE of 18 Cubs cards inside. It only takes two stamps and he sent them safely in cut up 9-page sleeves.
Beth in Vermont sent a second box. I was taken aback by a couple cards. One I actually had to Google for more information. It’s a 2016 Topps Ben Zobrist in a bicycle. At first glance I thought it was an image variation SP or SSP. Then I looked at the back and it was a NNO.
I also remembered a Topps Now card of Zobrist riding his bike to Wrigley Field, so this couldn’t have made any of the 2016 Topps sets because this act occurred during the second half of the 2016 season (or maybe even the playoffs).
Digging up information, it appeared Topps and Zobrist collaborated on the card and proceeds went to a charity called Patriot Forward. According to an Amazon listing, only 983 of these cards were made.
Topps Now is not a product I typically purchase, unless there is a card made from a game I attended. But, if I find them in a dollar box I’ll quickly grab them. I also gladly accept Topps Now cards in trades.
This is a Topps Now card from 2016 featuring Kris Bryant and Jake Arrieta on the front. This card is about the Cubs reaching 40 wins and being the fastest to reach that milestone since the 2001 Seattle Mariners.
Wait, there’s more. I happened to look at the date: June 6. That’s my birthday!!!
Here’s a shiny Heritage Chrome Refractor of Addison Russell from 2017. This is numbered 409/568.
Topps Big League is an underrated product and featured some excellent images. Like this Javier Baez kissing a bat photo.
Who doesn’t love a fully geared up catcher photo. This may be my favorite Willson Contreras card.
Thanks to Beth I added a couple more Topps Utz oddballs. A pair of Kris Bryant, Jose Quintana, and Willson Contreras. Utz is a snack food company, and these cards came with products mainly on the east coast. My local Costco carries a couple Utz products, but none of them were the snacks that included the baseball cards.
One Million Cubs Project Stats
Friday's (8/9/2019) Cards: 221
Friday's (8/9/2019) Packages: 3
January's Cubs Count: 9,343
February's Cubs Count: 8,980
March's Cubs Count: 15,704
April's Cubs Count: 11,651
May's Cubs Count: 7,273
June's Cubs Count: 7,690
July's Cubs Count: 10,803
August's Cubs Count: 8,767
Total Trades/Donations: 200
Trade States of Origin: Arizona (2) Alabama (3)
Arkansas California (15)
Colorado (4) Connecticut (11)
Florida (9)
Georgia (3)
Idaho (3) Illinois (17) Indiana (5)
Iowa (2)
Kansas
Kentucky (2)
Louisiana Maryland (8) Massachusetts (6)
Michigan Minnesota (3)
Mississippi
Missouri (2)
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire New Jersey (11)
New Mexico (2) New York (17) North Carolina (5) Ohio (8)
Oregon (3) Pennsylvania (5)
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota Tennessee (6) Texas (6)
Vermont (2)
Virginia (2) Washington (5)
West Virginia (4) Wisconsin (11)
Countries of Origin
Canada (1)
Korea (1)