deck the halls and what not - it's christmas time! it's also time for me to show some topps holiday cards that i've added since we last shared yuletide greetings.
this release should really be called "topps christmas" because that is the only holiday the cards reference, and it's been that way since the first issue in 2019. here's a 2019 cody bellinger variation
this 2020 bellinger variation
is a bit tougher. here, the variation is the "la" ornament hanging off of his bat. i am guessing that there are many of these languishing in forgotten boxes of unwanted base cards.
the 2021 set included the bead curtain design, and here's a max scherzer variation
i wore a scarf just the other day.
mookie betts variations are also in my possession - this one from 2022
as well as this one from 2024
which combined the santa hat with the christmas light necklace.
as well as the remainder of the 2025 base cards i needed to complete that team set
the parallels have evolved over the past few years, and i added a few of them to my collection over the past few months. here's freddie freeman's 2022 silver metallic snowflake parallel
and then freeman and max muncy on their 2024 equivalent
dalton rushing's light blue & white glitter
blake snell's metallic blue foil christmas lights
teoscar hernandez' gold foil christmas lights
and freeman's green plaid
for $40 which is a steal (pun intended). let's take a moment to look at rickey's almost career totals on the backs of these cards
the refractor is noted on the back down by the card number.
and this one from 2023
that last one is him in an elf hat, but the card design has it looking more like something that comes out of a christmas cracker.
this year, the variation i purchased was roki sasaki's
i also picked up betts' 2021 base card to complete the team set
except these are called "silver glitter" now.
no surprise that 2025 expanded on the parallels. here's clayton kershaw's sliver glitter
that last one was a throw-in into a lot of 2025 allen & ginter i bought which was a nice surprise. it came with some other, non-dodger inserts from 2025 topps holiday that i found interesting, like this evergreen harmon killebrew card
which is die-cut. i also got a laugh out of seeing emmanuel clase on the nice list
what a crazy story that is.
it wouldn't be (almost) christmas without me thinking of the late rickey henderson. at some point during the year, i found a seller with rickey's 2003 topps chrome traded base and refractor listed. they were listed separately and i am not sure that the seller knew one was a refractor. i bought them both
i still need a couple more refractors to complete my 2003 topps chrome traded team set, but i did find james loney's card shortly after picking up the rickey
just in a different way than rickey's.
rickey's 2003 upper deck card is probably my favorite from his dodger stint
but i have questions about the back
i have never seen "mariners" shortened to "mrl". and, "athletics" is nine characters, so why not say "mets/mar". ponderous.
this one was listed as a refractor, and it was pretty obvious from the photo of the front, and it is marked as such on the back
back to christmas, i pounced on this complete printing plate run from 2024 leaf metal happy holidays web exclusive
so i suppose i could print my own steve garvey holiday cards now? i haven't seen any of the actual cards hit the market yet, but i may have missed any that did because these are so short printed by leaf.
that i pulled from a holiday tin earlier this month. it's the first noel relic card i've pulled. ha.
some other holiday "hits" to share - a 2022 topps holiday cody bellinger relic
and, very fittingly, a 2025 topps holiday jhonkensey noel relic
also in that tin was a 2009 design card of ol' saint nick himself
which is part of the multi-year santa archives. here's the back:
i remember hearing about zsu zsu pets but did not partake.
earlier in the year, i found the 2014 card in a dig box at the lcs
here's the back
i don't recall any of those toys. i think i first heard about paw patrol last year.
finally, here's the first card i purchased from 2025 topps holiday - the 1978 design santa archives
i've added it to my 1978 topps master set. any idea why santa's position is identified as "cpt"? at first i thought that was an abbreviation for "captain" which didn't make a lot of sense. i googled "cpt" and found that it is also an acronym for "carriage paid to" which is an international trade term that means the shipper delivers goods at their own expense. that certainly applies, but it seems like an obscure "position" for mr. claus. here's the back:
ah yes. this i remember. it was all star wars at my house that christmas. i remember getting the milennium falcon and immediately mixing up the stickers on the back. good times. here's hoping that 2025 creates memories that last a lifetime.
and now please enjoy norm macdonald reading the dickens classic. merry christmas to all and to all a good night!
