Baseball Cards from @Section_36 Make January Better

2008 Bowman #62

2008 Topps #238

2008 Topps Opening Day #124

2008 Upper Deck #606

I've never been a big fan of January.  There's the natural post-Christmas let-down, the frigid temperatures, the busyness of my work schedule and the complete and total lack of baseball.  It's dark when I leave the house in the morning and it's dark when I get home.  My attitude towards January is usually, "Let's get this over with," and I'm not entirely proud of that.

Last week, I walked in the door from a long day at work and a crappy commute home and found a small package on our kitchen counter with a familiar return address.  The fine folks from Section 36 had once again cleaned out baseball cards that had reached their 10-year expiration date, and the Phillies cards from this purge came to me.

As has been the case the last few years, I honestly already have most of these cards, but there are always a bunch of gems in the bunch and my sons now reap the bulk of the spoils.  But most importantly, it was such a welcome (and relaxing) exercise to open a package of baseball cards and thumb through each of the three stacks within.  Along with the Phillies cards from 2008, there was a cool selection of older and some more recent Phillies cards.  There were a number of cards from a variety of years for Jimmy Rollins, Cliff Lee, Ryan Howard and the Phillies all-time saves leader, the Closer Who Must Not Be Named.  Section 36 also added to my Adrian Cardenas super collection with another autographed card of the former Phillies prospect.  (I received my first two in a surprise mid-season package this past June.)

1998 Bowman #181

2007 TriStar Elegance Signature Marks #SM-AC

2009 Upper Deck Spectrum #75

2013 Bowman #81

I had to count the years linked below, and I'm a little shocked that this exercise has now been happening for nine years.  That means I've been maintaining (and enjoying) this blog for the past nine years and Section 36 has joined me on the journey.  Time really does fly.

Thanks to Section 36 for the baseball cards and I'm excited for 2018 World Series between the Phils and Sox!

Memory Lane - Section 36 Purge
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008

2017 - Mid-Year Surprise Package

Surprise Howard, Halladay & Lee Package from @Section_36

1975 Topps #94

2006 Just Rookies Autographs #6

2010 Topps Topps Town Gold #FCTTT13

2016 Topps Walmart Holiday Snowflake #HMW145

The four game set coming up with the Red Sox this week gives me a great excuse to show off a few cards from the best section in Fenway Park - Section 36.  Last month I was the recipient of a surprise package from Section 36 and having already received a package in December containing the annual Section 36 purge of Phillies cards from a decade prior, I was not expecting another package so soon.

I tore into the package of baseball cards and quickly noticed a pattern.  The vast majority of the cards were of former Phillies greats Roy Halladay and Ryan Howard with a sprinkling of Cliff Lee cards thrown in for good measure.  Most of these cards were from post-purge years (2008-2016) so perhaps Section 36 felt the early need to find a good home for these Phillies cards.

In total, the unexpected bounty from Section 36 included 41 Howard cards, 34 Halladay cards and 8 Lee cards.  In the interest of full disclosure, I already had most of these cards in my collection, but my two sons were missing most of these "vintage" cards for their collections.  I'm staying out of the intense negotiation sessions to determine which cards go into which collection.

Along with the Howard, Halladay and Lee cards, there were several other cards that found welcome homes.  Section 36 crossed off two of my 1975 Topps needs with the Jim Lonborg card featured here and the Phillies team card.  There were also two autographed cards of former Phillies prospect Adrian Cardenas.  If I recall correctly, these were both pulled from a repack.  While I'll keep one of the autographed cards, I'll let my sons figure out which of them gets the second.

Finally, I was happy to receive three cards from last year's Topps Walmart Holiday Snowflake special edition set.  I didn't have any of these cards yet so I'll need to track down the other Phillies for a complete set.  Thanks again to Section 36 for the unexpected, but very welcome package!

2006 Bowman Heritage Prospects #BHP77 Adrian Cardenas

This is just a quick post tonight since I wanted to share a link to a recent article in The New Yorker, written by former Phillies prospect Adrian Cardenas.  It's a great read, and I read the final paragraph a few times in order to fully appreciate one of the themes of Cardenas' essay.

In short, and in the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Cardenas was a first round draft pick by the Phillies in 2006, and he was traded to the Athletics on July 17, 2008, with Matt Spencer and Josh Outman for Joe Blanton.