Aaron Judge's Epic Blunder Won Me Cards!

Before the World Series began, Brendan (The View From the Third Floor) had a little contest. All you had to do was pick the players that would finish the World Series with the following criteria (my picks in parenthesis):

• Player with the most Home Runs plus Steals (Ohtani)
• Player with the most Runs Scored plus RBI (Betts)
• Player with the most Innings Pitched minus Earned Runs Allowed (Cole)
• Player with the most Wins plus Saves (Weaver)
• Tie-Breaker Only: Official World Series MVP (Ohtani)

I felt pretty good with my picks, but thanks to Freddie Freman's epic hitting and the randomness of determining wins, my picks didn't fare well at all.

The only one I got right was Gerritt Cole, and that was only due to what can only be called divine intervention: 

 

Despite giving up 5 runs in that famous Game 5 collapse, they were all unearned thanks to the Yankees' sloppy play and lack of fundamentals.

Turns out Cole was the only correct choice anyone picked, and I ended up sharing the win with two others.

For my feeble attempts at guessing, Brendan sent me a nice little stack consisting of Josh Winckowski and a bunch of former Red Sox players:

Favorite Card: It's a toss-up between Eck's Dream Team jacket ad the green-bordered Canseco. 

Thanks for the cards, Brendan!

Some Halloween Trivia Netted Me Cards!

Every blogger has there own fun thing they do. Johnny (Johnny's Trading Spot) has an impressive collection of cards and players for each of the major holidays that he shows off each year. For Halloween, he showed off a large collection of players born on October 31st. He made a little contest asking readers to comment with any missing players born on that date, and offering a prize for any correct additions. I happened to read his post shortly after it went online, and had the opportunity to be the first comment. I remembered a bit of trivia I had heard before, double checked and made sure the player wasn't already in the collection, and submitted the name of Hall of Famer Fred McGriff (born 10/31/63). That was enough to earn a PWE from Johnny!

 

Two very cool cards! The colors really pop on that Chrome Future Stars card, and the gold trim on Doerr's card provides a classy elegant frame. 

Thanks for the cards Johnny!

Sleuthing My Way To Some Free Cards

 

"I don't claim to have all the answers, but I know where to find them."

 

I tell people that a lot. I have been fixing computers for over 20 years, and every time the technology changes, whether it's a new Microsoft Windows or a new hardware standard, chances are I'll run into a problem I haven't seen before. In truth, a good chunk of my job is in researching and finding the solutions that I don't currently have. I'm hardly an expert in researching, but I do alright. I can find answers when I need to.

This gift of sleuthing paid off for me recently. One of the more prominent members of the TCDB community, Dan, had a little contest on the forums. For 10 days, he used a site feature to randomly pick a card from his collection. He then described the card, giving as much detail as he wanted, and tasked others to name the card. Get all 10 right, and win a prize! All but one of the cards was baseball, so I was able to figure out the set based on the graphical elements easy enough, but from there I had to actually look through the sets to find exact card that matched Dan's descriptions. It wasn't easy, but I don't think it took me more than 15 minutes to find any one card. 

In the end, I was among a small group who got all 10 cards correct, and received a PWE for my efforts. I'll start with the batch of cards from Topps' trippy 1995 DIII set:

 

I really like the Conlon Collection set, and will pick up any cards of those when I can cheaply, so I was happy to add this trio as well:

 

 

Rounding out with a mix of other cards:

 

 

That Dykstra is the the first card printed on a steel plate that I own, and that Aurillia is a Keebler food issue I had never seen before.

 

Favorite Card: I love the uniform on the Jim Scott card!

 

Thanks for the contest Dan! It was a fun diversion from the normal sleuthing I do!

Chose The Wrong Adventure, Still Got Cards

Another example of how this hobby is filled with fun-loving and generous people:

A TCDB member named Kurt held a giveaway recently on the site's forums. For fun, he decided to run a contest with a premise based on the old "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. He told narratives about a trip to The National that he went on years ago, and every day he would offer up a scenario in which you had to pick what came next. If you picked wrong, you were out of the contest, and the further you got, the larger the prize. 

In the first scenario, he talked about trying to get a free ticket for a signing of hockey icon Manon Rheaume. All the tickets were given away by the time he got there, but he was given an opportunity to purchase one of these "free" tickets for $20. The choice was either he bought it or he saved his money. Although I personally would have paid that to get her autograph, my gut instinct told me that I should pick the other option and say he spent his money elsewhere.

To quote the third (and the best) Indiana Jones movie:

 

Yeah, I was among the one-and-done crowd. He of course paid up for a cool autograph. Despite this, Kurt generously gave everyone who participated a prize, and I was allowed to claim a small lot form his For Sale/trade inventory.

I, of course, went little Red Sox heavy.

 

 

The lone non-Red Sox card is from the 1988 Fleer All-Star Team insert set, with Trammell being the penultimate card I needed to complete it. I was also able to knock off a good amount of needed Red Sox from previous Topps base sets. The rest were just cards I found interesting.

 

Favorite Card: In what may be the only time I'll give Carl Crawford props as a member of the Red Sox, his card from 2012 is fantastic!  

Thanks again for your generosity, Kurt!

Johnny's Contest Winnings - In 3D!

 

Johnny (Johnny's Trading Spot) continues his almost daily giveaway of cards. Despite only commenting a couple times a week, I find myself winning yet again. One of the fun things about Johnny's posts are that he always finds cards from sets I've never seen, and this prize pack reflects that. Out of 6 sets represented here, 5 of them are from sets I had no cards from!

 

I'm not a Bowman collector, but I'm happy to own my first card of Red Sox top prospect Marcelo Mayer (aka the real reason the team let Xander Bogaerts sign elsewhere). I'm not sure what to make of the Donruss set yet, but I will give them props for using players who were popular but not elite. I'll always welcome new Dom Dimaggios and Tim Wakefields to my collection. The Trevor Story is the 3D version put out by Topps, and although I don't have my red and blue glasses, the card is awesome looking in hand. I've thought to myself that if I were ever crazy enough to attempt a completed parallel set, the 150th Anniversary stamp from 2019 would be it. Send me all your 150th Anniversary stamped cards. Finally, another On-Demand set card. Outside of Topps Now and the Living Set, I couldn't name, much less identify, any of Topps' other online offerings. 

Favorite Card: Tough choice. I love the photo on JBJ's card, but in the end, I'll pick what is now the 3rd card I own of the "Little Professor" Dom DiMaggio!

Programmed To Receive

You can checkout any time you like, but you can never leave! (*cue guitar solo)

 

I went to college majoring in computer science. I learned a variety of computer languages, wrote numerous scripts, and created what kids nowadays would call "apps". I hated it. It was tedious, boring, and few things will frustrate you as much as spending hours staring at thousands of lines of code looking for one single mistyped character that prevents your whole script from executing properly.

Needless to say, I can only give my respect to anyone who does it, especially those that do it out of their own sense of moxie. Kevin (The Diamond King) wanted a database that would fill his personal needs as a collector, and decided to make his own. He put together a database that does what he wanted, created a short little video tour, and invited his readers to check it out.

He did a great job, and you can tell it'll only get better as he tweaks it and adds to it. With my programming background, I felt compelled to offer my support and commented what insight I could.

As a thank you, Kevin held a little giveaway for those who commented, and I ended up with some cards:

 

The cards he offered were fantastic, and it was tough to whittle my choices down to these six. Of course, I had to pick up Red Sox cards, especially when they are serial numbered or feature Hall of Famers. I also picked up two more Laughlin World Series cards, which combined with the ones I got from another recent Diamond King giveaway, strengthen that internal pull to finish at least one of the sets.

Thanks for the cards, Kevin!

Shiny Winnings

Johnny (Johnny's Trading Spot) continues to give out cards on an almost daily basis, and once again I was a winner (actually twice in back to back days!). 

The stuff Johnny gives out isn't junk either. He sends some good cards, and this time was particularly amazing.

Starting out were some cards I've never seen before, but are absolutely beautiful in hand:

 

 

These cards are from the 2022 Topps Chrome Ben Baller Edition - an online set if I'm not mistaken. I'm not familiar with this sets backstory, and the BB logo is rather tacky, but the black border on chrome is just *chef's kiss*. 

The rest of this prize envelope wasn't too shabby either, highlighted by a Stadium Club rookie card of Rafael Devers:

 

Two wins equals two envelopes, and the other PWE from Johnny continued with the shiny goodness. 

Thanks again Johnny! You are a shining star of the blogging community!

Enjoying A Card Show By Proxy

I'm guessing I haven't been to a card show in about 30 years.

It was probably 1992. I was starting my senior year in high school, and as often happens around that time in a young person's life, more important things take the place of beloved hobbies. That was around the time I stopped actively collecting baseball cards, a passion that stayed dormant until late 2015/early 2016, when I rediscovered these beautiful pieces of cardboard once again.

In this "second age" of collecting, I don't have nearly as much disposable income as I did in my youth (stupid rent/groceries/bills/adulting...). Plus I now currently live in an area that is pretty devoid of the hobby. There's apparently a hobby shop over the mountain that I've never visited, and the nearest card shows seem to all be in northern Virginia, which is a detriment in itself because I loathe driving to northern Virginia, due to roughly a dozen lanes of traffic filled with aggressive drivers. It's just not worth the 2 1/2-3 hour drive to dig through boxes of cheap cards. So, it's been awhile since I've enjoyed a good old fashioned card show.

Kevin (The Diamond King) recently announced that he was going to attend an upcoming card show, and threw out a little contest where the winner would get to use Kevin as their own little personal dime box buyer. As luck would have it, I won! So while I didn't get to peruse the boxes personally, I did get to ultimately feel that rush of discovering previously unknown cards now in my hands.

Part of Kevin's contest required listing what he should be on the hunt for. I'm a man easy to please, and could of just listed Red Sox cards, but I saw an opportunity to have some fun and be a little more selective. Although I did say any Red Sox cards would do, I picked out Pedro Martinez as a player of particular interest. Pedro played during that time when I wasn't collecting, so chances are high that any cards I got from the show would be ones I didn't have. I also picked three niche sets that I'm not actively trying to complete, but enjoy enough that I'll pick up cards here or there when I can.

I got my cards from Kevin last week, and as far as I'm concerned, he knocked it out of the park! Let's start with the Pedro cards he found:

 

Those are some sweet Pedros there, Kevin! I have the Topps base of the Divisional Highlight card, and  I'm glad to have the Chrome version too. (Pedro with his arm raised in victory is such a great shot!) The rest are welcome additions as well. Since I said any Red Sox cards really would be of interest, I also got a healthy dose of other players too.

 

Lots and lots of shiny cards, including a quartet of superstar Rafael Devers. The Martinez, Eovaldi, and Bradley are all serial numbered. That blue refractor from the 2021 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary set is probably my favorite of the bunch.

 

Finally the niche cards. Kevin was able to find a trio of cards from one of the brands I was looking for, Fleer Laughlin World Series cards. 

 

 

I've always loved these cards, and was happy to see theses in the envelope. Even though I already had the two Red Sox cards, they are upgrades from what I have, so still a big win. I really do need to pick up a few more of these (in particular the 1971 set - I'm only 24 cards short of finishing that one!)

Thank you so much Kevin for allowing me to share in the fruits of your card show efforts!

A World Series Prize Pack From The 3rd Floor

It only took me two months, but I'm finally getting around to showing off some cards I won from a World Series contest held by Brendan (The View From The 3rd Floor). Prior to the start of the series between the Astros and Phillies, Brendan asked his readers to make three predictions. I nailed 2 of the 3, missing only the World Series MVP. For my precognitive abilities, Brendan gifted me a nice lot of baseball cards:

A Wade Boggs hot pack, and surprisingly I needed 3 of the 6 (Technically, two were variations, which I do not make a note of chasing, but still I did not have them!) Other highlights include a green bordered card (serial numbered to 75) and a recreation of Roberto Clemente's iconic card from this year's Heritage set.

Favorite Card: It doesn't hold a candle to the original, but seeing that Clemente photo can't help but remind you of how truly special of a player he was!

Thanks for the cards Brendan!

Shiny Cards From Johnny's Trading Spot

Johnny (Johnny's Trading Spot) continues to give away cards on an almost daily basis, and the wheel of randomness blessed me once more with a win. This time the prize was designed specifically for me, and it was amazing:

 

 

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not a fan of Chrome. I find the main Chrome set just another parallel to the base set, but one you have to buy separately. However, these Platinum Anniversary cards look amazing, and I absolutely love the variety of players represented. The Gallery cards are great too - it's ironic that Topps finally comes out with a Gallery design I like, but at the cost of the art-like appeal of the subjects.

Favorite Card: Dave Roberts spent only half a season in Boston, but his impact was immeasurable. Every Red Sox fan could guess when this particular photo was taken!

Thanks again for the cards Johnny! Very generous of you!

Football From The Third Floor

Sometimes all you got to do is comment!

Brendan (The View From The Third Floor) held a little Halloween contest where all you had to do was list your top 3 favorite Halloween/Horror movies. Although I don't generally collect football cards, I couldn't help but profess my love for one of the greatest comedies of all time, "Young Frankenstein"! 

 

I guess I earned some cards!

 

 

Some pretty good looking cards here! I plan on holding on to Bills' Hall of Famer Bruce Smith, and I'm planning on using the Super Bowl XVIII card for a personal Time Travel swap. The others however, I would be willing to trade if someone desires them more than I. (Edit: Ozzie Newsome is off the board now too!)

Favorite Card: Bruuuuuuuce!

Thanks for the cards, Brendan!

Once...Twice...Three Times A Winner!

Johnny (Johnny's Trading Spot) has been giving away cards like a man possessed. He posts, we comment, he randomly picks and someone wins 9 cards. It's hard not to comment on his posts too - he shows off some great cards, and I think he has introduced me to more sets I had never seen before than anyone else. Without really even trying, I was the lucky winner 3 times already!

The first prize pack included 5 cards featuring Hall of Famers, including 2 of Red Sox legend Bobby Doerr (Cabrera will someday be the 6th). Throw in a couple of solid hitters in Gonzalez and Staunton, plus a nice vintage card of former MVP/Cy Young winner Vida Blue, and you get one happy blogger!

Favorite Card: Every time I see that Panini Cooperstown set, I like it more and more, but I have to go with the awesome 1973 Vida Blue here!

The next PWE of cards included another 70's card, more Hall of Famers and some very nice modern cards. I will never turn down a Raffy rookie!

Favorite Card: I'm tempted to go vintage again here, but I can't deny the sharp photography of Stadium Club!

My latest winnings from Johnny hit me with a trio of Gypsy Queen Red Sox, along with some of the greatest hitters in the game. 

Favorite Card: Love me some fun food issue cards, so the Big Hurt wins this round.

Thanks for the cards Johnny!

Generous Cards From Daniel

I've spoken at length many time about a recent contest held over at It's Like Having My Own Card Shop. It was centered around a certain player I won't name. In truth, I had a lot of fun just participating in the contest, and challenged myself to comment on his blog post every day that the contest was open (It was one of the ways to earn extra entries!) I didn't win (or I did depending on your way of thinking), but Daniel appreciated my efforts enough to send some cards my way anyways.

He sent quite a few cards, more than I could reasonably show. But I will show off some highlights and personal favorites. We'll start off, of course with some Red Sox cards:

 

 

A Fred Lynn rookie card? Please and thank you!

 

Another Red Sox card from an insert set I'm chasing. Although I'm not a fan of 30 card inserts devoted to one player, I'm glad Topps did this before Mookie joined the Dodgers. (Man, that trade still stings...)

 

Speaking of sets I'm chasing, these two cards officially close the book on the 1988 Topps Kmart Memorable Moments set. I could have bought the whole set off eBay years ago, but what fun would that have been?

 

Another set on my So Close page that I'm chasing is the 1991 Fleer Pro-Visions insert set. I just need Bo Jackson for that one, but Daniel sent me the entire 4 card factory Pro-Visions set instead! Awesome!

Daniel also included some great vintage - 2 of baseball's more fascinating stories in LeFlore and Washington, along with 2 of baseball's most memorable faces in Moon and Mossi!

Food issues are always fun, and this dual-player card from French's is a new one to me! Baseball cards with your mustard? Why not!

We'll finish things off with 5 cards from the 1979 Topps All-Time Record Holders subset. It's a shame certain all-time record holders won't be appearing on cards anytime soon, because subsets like these are fun just, especially when you can see how these lists have grown over generations.

Thanks for the cards Daniel! Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

The Spark of Generosity

I have a tale to tell. It's the story of a former player, his rookie card, 3 amazing bloggers and how acts of kindness not only spread joy but self-perpetuate to something larger than itself.

 

Our journey begins in Goodyear, AZ. Daniel (It's Like Having My Own Card Shop), who acquired two copies of Sparky Lyle's 1969 rookie card. Daniel generously decided to hold a contest and give one of those copies away. 

 

(Quick aside: Are you guys sick of me bringing up Sparky Lyle? This will be the 8th post since the beginning of July that I've mentioned Mr. Lyle/Daniel's contest. I'm not done either - I still have to show off the cards Daniel sent me. It just feels like I'm over-saturating things by invoking the "birthday cake prankster" so many times...)

Anyway, despite my best efforts, I did not win the rookie card. The card was sent to San Diego, home of frequent Time Travel Trading partner Brendan (The View From The Third Floor).  Brendan was at the time holding his own contest. I didn't win that one either, but I did come in 2nd! That was good enough for a prize, which I showed off last week. Brendan was kind enough to pass the Lyle rookie onto me.

 

 

A few days later, I received an envelope from Jon (The All-Time Portland Beavers Project). It was a response to a mailing I had sent to him. Inside was another 1969 Topps Sparky Lyle rookie card!

 

 

Like Daniel before me, I was now in possession of two copies of this card. Both cards here with me entirely because other people wanted to make my day a little brighter. I am blessed, but I can't help but feel that the world is telling me that the "7" Lyle was not meant for me. Despite traveling approximately 2,884 miles to get here, Waynesboro Virginia was not to be it's final resting place. The kindness shown to me must be passed on. Therefore, I have sent the marked card on to another blogger. (I won't say who - I'll let them reveal it if they desire.)

I've been a part of numerous groups in my life, but this little fraternity of card collecting bloggers is a unique one. I haven't met any of you in person. I don't know what any of your voices sounds like, and with few exceptions, couldn't even pick you out of a lineup. That's probably true for most of us. Yet, we're close, aren't we? Our love of this hobby has allowed us to be ourselves, and few groups I've been in have seen so many quick to send a little cardboard happiness to someone else, to share in the joy that each and every card brings to our fellow collector. Paying it forward isn't just something we do, it's practically our creed. I've been on the receiving end more times than I can count, and I aim to be on the giving end even more than that. 

In my letter to the recipient of Sparky's new home, I wrote that this card was the physical manifestation of the kindness we collectors regularly show each other. To remind myself of this, you'll find Sparky's image on my main blog page from now on. Keep the kindness flowing my friends!

Prizes Dropped From The Third Floor

Brendan from The View From The Third Floor recently held a month long contest where each day contestants could guess which 9 players fills up his team page (or in the case of the Padres, Phillies and Yankees, more than 9). What kept it interesting is that it wasn't always the 9 best players, and there were a few times I was sure someone just had to be there and ended up not. Through dumb luck and the consistency of playing almost every day, I managed to take 2nd place. For my efforts, I was generously given a PWE of 15 cards:

 

So, let's talk about that Sparky Lyle card, shall we? Readers of my blog know that July had quite a few posts dedicated to Sparky, all because of a contest being held by Daniel at It's Like Having My Own Card Shop.  I didn't win that contest, but Brendan did. That's right, from Daniel to Brendan to me! It was completely unexpected, and brought a big smile to my face when I saw it.

Favorite Card: Sparky by default, but a Red Sox card from 1958 is awesome too!

Thanks for the cards Brendan!

Oh, just a heads up: This isn't the last you'll see of that Sparky rookie card. The saga continues...

Celebrating Three Holidays In One

Happy New Year! Merry Christmas! Happy Halloween!

Obviously, me wishing you a Happy New Year is expected today. You could be forgiven if you forgot (or just didn't know) that we are still in the Christmas season as well. But why would I wish you a Happy Halloween on the last day of 2021?

It's because I'm finally getting around to showing off some cards I won from Brendan over at The View From The Third Floor. He had a little Halloween giveaway, asking people to comment on their three favorite Halloween movies or candies (My picks: Young Frankenstein, Ghostbusters, and The Nightmare Before Christmas). I was randomly selected the winner and received a nice selection of cards:

 

Favorite card: I gotta give the nod to the 1972 Doc Ellis! 

Thanks for the cards, Brendan! To my friends, readers, and fellow collectors - May 2022 be filled with health, happiness, and an abundance of cards. See you next year!

I've Been Flashed!

It's all about being in the right place at the right time.

Piggybacking off an idea from A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts, Kevin (The Diamond King) decided to try his hand at randomly giving away cards.

I happened to be in a position to snatch up his initial offering, a 1973 Topps Victory Leaders card. The catch is that if I do, I'm not eligible for any future flash freebies. Do I pounce now while I have the opportunity, or hope that I'll be the lucky first commenter on a more desirable card down the line? In the end, it was hard to pass up this great card featuring two Hall of Fame members.

 

Thanks for the card Kevin! Now do me a favor and don't offer up any great Red Sox cards, OK? ;)

Not To Brag, But I Also Won The Home Run Derby

The Polar Bear ain't got nothing on me!

Sure, it was an impressive display of power as Pete Alonso went on to win this year's Home Run Derby. I guess I have to tip my hat in appreciation of his back-to-back wins. I'm not saying he didn't do great things, because he did.

But could Alonso have predicted that he would win? (Probably, those athletes are a rather confident lot.)

OK, but could he have guessed the exact number of home runs he would hit during the event? (Yeah, neither could I. But I came close!)

So close in fact that I was named the winner of a small little game played over at the TCDB. One of the members, Chris (aka Speks) gave away some cards to whoever came closest to predicting the winner and number of home runs hit. I was one of a few to correctly state Alonso would win, and my guess of 65 taters was just 9 off of his actual total of 74. 

My prize was a set of cards depicting each of this year's Derby participants:

 

 

Favorite Card: Ironically, most of these cards show the player post-swing tracking a ball! It's a tough call, but I'll go with Ohtani and Stadium Club's photographic excellence.

Thanks for the cards and the fun contest Chris!

Creative Cards That Always Should

When it comes to creativity, I consider myself to be average at best. I may have a few moments here or there, but the word "creative" probably isn't the word most people think of when my name is mentioned. 

Some of my fellow bloggers on the other hand are highly skilled at creating things, and it never ceases to impress me when they show off their latest masterpieces.

I was the lucky beneficiary of such creative genius when I saw the latest card creations over at Cards That Never Were. If you've never been to this blog, you should. It features an endless array of custom created cards that are just flat out amazing. You can even buy some of them if you so desire! The latest offering on the web site is a pack of 12 cards (plus an insert) featuring some true greats of the game and some lesser known favorites! You can even buy individual cards on eBay (His seller name is ctnwblog_8 - check it out!) Personally, I'm considering adding that amazing Ted Williams to my collection!

Due to a error, he ended up with a lot of extra copies of one of these cards, and decided to give some away. How could I not try to win a Wade Boggs/Ryne Sandberg?

This isn't a cheap production, either. It's on good card stock, and the photo quality is excellent. It really looks like it'd belong in a pack of 1982 Fleer cards (well, the card stock is better...)

Check out the back:

I love the QR code - it'll take you right to his blog. It's got a nice little write up for each Hall of Famer and you can tell he puts as much thought into the back as he does the fronts!

Thanks for the card, and keep up the incredible work!

Johnny's Trading Spot BFG (August Edition)

Another month, another Big Fun Game courtesy of Johnny from Johnny's Trading Spot! I got signed up early enough to me a part of lasts Friday's game, and as usual I'm quite happy with the cards I ended up with!

Stealing another player's pick is half the fun of these games, so I hope that my pick is closer towards the end so I can see if anyone else has something good. That was the case this time, and I picked up a few new Red Sox cards for my efforts.

 

These 1987 Fleer World Series cards were originally included in factory sets, so pack rippers like me never got the joy of pulling one. Although the 1986 World Series is one Red Sox fans look back as a missed opportunity, it's still worth remembering a great team that kept fighting and didn't give up.

 

Do you know what the best part of this set is? The write-ups on the back! Fleer didn't focus on the game score, instead focusing on the individual players who excelled in the spotlight. Hard to believe that a set dedicated to the 1986 World Series doesn't even mention Bill Buckner's error! Just goes to show you how a narrative can change over time!

Favorite Card: Marty Barrett has the best action shot. I would love to see a clearer, higher-resolution version of it!

Can you believe that there are still open spots available for the rest of Johnny's BFG this month? Seriously, it's free cards! Even if your not around to play he gives out consolation prizes. Sign up! 

As always, thanks again for the free cards Johnny!