Four-Bagger!

Here's a great-looking card from the 1977 Topps baseball set.

The whole thing resembles the back page of a newspaper, even down to the headline: Chambliss’ Dramatic Homer Decides It. And there’s the scene right in front of you. Chris Chambliss is finishing a hero’s follow-through, watching the baseball soar into the cool night sky, soon to clear the outfield fence.

Home runs are always dramatic, but add the fact that it was the final game of the AL Championships, in the bottom of the 9th, in front of the home fans at Yankee Stadium, and you get a historic winning moment.

 

Here's Chambliss himself talking about the game, complete with video footage.

 

 

 

All those fans on the field. Pandemonium!

 

 

But this post isn't just about famous home runs. Something else has touched four bases in a figurative sense:

 

This blog is 4 years old!

It was an eventful year. I created over 30 custom cards, which is the most I've done in one calendar year. Some of those were commissioned works too, which was a first.

Then there was the Battle of the Bands series, which provided a great creative outlet for me. It also helped me rediscover some bands that I hadn't listened to in a long while.

I also finished creating the series of 8-bit sports stickers and posted them on redbubble.

 

And on top of all that, I was able to post content to the blog every Sunday throughout the year once again, which means the streak that started way back at the beginning of this blog, in 2019, is still going.

 

But it was a strange year too.

 

All the time I spent designing custom cards and doing creative work meant less time for the hobby in general. Less time to read and comment on other blogs. Less time to collect. In fact, I probably only added a couple dozen cards to my personal collection the entire year.

 

Part of that has to do with the absurd boom this hobby has been experiencing. There's good and bad to it, of course. But as one example of the negative side, I know I've put a few of my 1980s set builds on hold because some of the high-dollar cards in those sets are currently sporting prices that I'm just not willing to pay.

 

But I can't let that sap my enthusiasm forever. I've got to regain some zeal for the hobby. I need something to reinvigorate me. That's a goal for 2023, especially if I want to keep coming up with engaging content and continue that Sunday streak here on the blog.

I have some good confidence that it will continue, but even if the streak ends at some point during the year, I'm still going to post content. Still going to create custom cards, too. No worries there.

So stay tuned for more good stuff as we head into year 5 of the Nine Pockets blog, including some new giveaways.

Thanks so much to all of you who've followed along, commented, and otherwise exhibited your generosity and friendship.

Keep on collecting!