Catching up with Topps image variations

Besides what I might pull, I don't think I've actively collected the various Topps image variations released over the years - I can't keep up with the flood of gimmicky cards that might be harder to find [not always the case] and may cost a premium [not always the case].

As it goes, unless super short printed and/or featuring hot players like Mike Trout or Ronald Acuña Jr. - the cards have gotten fairly common, so there might be an opportunity to grab a run of the unique image cards featuring Hall of Famers or retired stars to add to my own mini-collection subsets or my decade stars binders.

2019 Topps SP Greats variation Will Clark #428 - maybe this was peak 1980s Clark, getting fired up after recording an out with the base runner [Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith] out of luck.

2019 Topps SSP Greats variation Vladimir Guerrero #675 - this feels like such a pure image of presumably an early-career Guerrero inking it up.

2019 Topps Clear Travel Mike Trout #CP-1

I didn’t know what this set was but after reading the Baseball Cards Come to Life! blog and doing some quick searches on eBay, I picked up a copy of the Trout - there maybe a number of oddball and/or regional Topps issues each year that maybe distributed as promos through different brand tie-ins.

To get suckered into paying a premium to pick up any one particular card is a little silly, especially when the oddball mirrors the flagship card of the player except for some cosmetic changes - still, maybe a little FOMO was in play as I missed out on picking up a couple of current year specialty issues outright, like the 2019 Topps Utz and 2019 Topps Walgreens yellow Trouts.

Cards from this set have different numbering as part a promo tie-in for the company that does expedited security screenings at the airport - I was hoping these cards were only released through airports, making the distribution a little bit more peculiar, thus making the cards seemingly harder to find under normal circumstances.

After the fact, it looks like the cards were more likely [but not outright] stadium giveaways at MLB games - since the Clear screenings have expanded to big league ballparks as well.

Rest in Peace Tyler Skaggs 1991-2019

I'm not going to mention every person that passes on and the idea of death is inevitably awkward, but it does seem to mean a little bit more when someone relatively notable passes like professional athlete or celebrity - maybe because they are in the spotlight and as far as a MLB player goes, someone who is supposed to be at their athletic peak in their late 20s.

A player's untimely passing makes me think for a moment about the times I've objectified these players as performers on the field, generating statistics I pore over on a day-to-day basis and guys whose autographs I have or don't have in my collection - at the end of the day, professional athletes are just like anybody else with their own lives.

I got my last Skaggs autograph is spring training this past year and he always seemed to be linked at the hip with teammate Andrew Heaney - for the most part, it hasn't been Mike Trout or Albert Pujols that end up doing the most 'fan service,' signing autographs and taking pictures with fans, but Skaggs and Heaney.