Desperately Seeking Sasaki

Heartbreak is the word that best describes how I felt when I heard the news that Roki Sasaki picked the Dodgers.  Obviously as a Padres fan, I wanted him to choose Yu over Shohei and Yoshinobu.  But you don't always get what you want (unless you're a Dodgers fan).

The worst part about the situation is that even though he's officially a rival... I want to see him find success in the MLB and I'll definitely seek out his cards

Yesterday, I started the hunt.  I kicked off my morning by purchasing his first Topps Now Dodgers card off of eBay.  Then I ripped open seven packs of 2024 NPB cards that were sent to me by Ryan (@ SumoMenkoMan) a few weeks ago.

Back in December, I read on NPB Card Guy's blog that Topps was releasing three NPB products on their website.  Since Ryan is currently in Japan for work, I showed these products to him.  I also mentioned that if he was going to place an order, I'd be interested in buying some too.

A few weeks later, a box from across the Pacific arrived in my mailbox:

2024 Stadium Club NPB

2024 Topps 206 NPB

2024 Topps Chrome NPB

With shipping... these three boxes came out to almost $300.  But he tossed in a few bonuses: more snack packs with cards, a pack of 2024 Stadium Club NPB, and a pack of 2024 Topps 206 NPB.

Let's bust into some of them.  First up are five packs of 2024 Bandai Pro Baseball Deforme Card Collection.  Some of you might remember these from Ryan's advent calendar back in December.

Here's what I pulled:

I actually pulled two of Takuya Kai's cards, but no Roki.

Next up is the pack of 2024 Topps 206 NPB:

I was excited to open up this pack and check out this product.  Nothing too special and more importantly... no Roki.

Last up is a pack of 2024 Stadium Club NPB:

Here's a peek at the card backs for those who are interested:

Most of the photography is decent, but one particular card stood out:

Not sure if they're celebrating a championship or a no-hitter... but this card is awesome.  The joy on the catcher's face is priceless.

The final card in the pack wasn't a Roki, but it was an insert:

Even though part of his right hand is cropped of, it's a decent looking card.  Unfortunately, the card back is boring:

Lots of wasted space, but that seems to be the trend with Topps NPB cards.

Well... no Roki cards in these seven packs.  But that's okay, because there will be plenty of his cards for me to collect in 2025.

Just like they flooded the hobby with Yoshinobu Yamamoto cards this year.  But I'm not complaining, I'm excited.

John over at Johnny's Trading Spot included a huge stack of Japanese athletes in the last care package he sent my way and one of them was this awesome rookie card of him:

2024 Topps Chrome #18

He also tossed in this Hobby Rip Night card:

2024 Topps Hobby Rip Night #35

Here are eight other cards from his care package:

2022 Allen & Ginter Pitching A Gem #PAG-9

2024 Topps 1988 Chrome Silver Pack #T88C-27

We live in an era where every Shohei Ohtani card is treated and hoarded like gold... so whenever I can add two new cards to my binder, it's an exciting day.

2024 Topps Chrome Future Stars #FS-9

Kodai sat out most of his sophomore season with a calf injury, but he did return for one game in the playoffs.  It wasn't pretty... but these Future Stars inserts are.

2008 Topps Updates & Highlights WBC Preview #WBC1

Love this card.  I'm a big fan of the 2008 Topps design... and this card previewed the 2009 WBC tournament... which Dice-K dominated in.

Here are two more popular Japanese players...

2006 Topps Stars #TS-HM

2020 Topps Chrome Prism Refractor #166

And you can't forget this legend...

2024 Topps Hobby Rip Night #31

Looking forward to seeing Ichiro get inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame this summer.

And I'm looking forward to seeing where this guy will land in 2026...

2023 Topps WBC Stars #WBC-60

Unless... of course... he lands with Roki Sasaki and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Thank you John for another large stack of Japanese athletes for my collection.  And thank you Ryan for helping me acquire those boxes... and for all of the freebies you tossed into the box.

Happy Monday and sayonara!

Round 2

Last weekend I showed off the big box filled with presents that Ryan (SumoMenkoMan) sent me.  It's literally a handmade advent calendar that he put together for me.  I honestly have no idea what I've done to deserve this generosity and thoughtfulness, but I'm truly grateful.

My goal was to follow the advent calendar rules and open up a present each day of December leading up to Christmas.  Unfortunately, this week was a little busier than normal, so they all sat in the box until this afternoon.

Today's post recaps my advent calendar binge busting with the next seven days in the calendar...

Day 8:  NPB Snack Packs

At first glance, these might look like packs of baseball cards.  They are actually snack packs filled with Japanese rice crackers, sometimes referred to as "chili bits" or "arare":

I've been snacking on these since I was a kid.  In fact I just bought a bag a few weeks ago and they're sitting in my desk at work.  These were from the eight bags that were in the advent calendar.

Each snack pack came with one pack of cards attached to the back:

I opened all eight snack packs and seven of the card packs.  I kept one pack intact for my unopened pack collection.

Each pack contains one card that looks something like this:

2024 Bandai Pro Baseball Deforme Card Collection #BDC1-HO1

This one has a gold refractor tint to it, so I used it for the sample.  Here are the other six cards I pulled:

The only name I recognized is Tsuyoshi Wada.  He pitched for the Chicago Cubs a few years ago.

If you're interested in reading more about this set, click here.  Sean over at Getting Back into Baseball Cards... in Japan wrote a post about them back in July.


Day #9:  Antique Tin w/Cards

Next up is an antique tin:

According to Ryan, kids in Japan would often store their cards in tins like these.  If you're wondering if this one contained any cards... it did:

Let's start with the really old stuff:

I have no idea who these gentlemen are... but I'm guessing they celebrities.

He also included two more vintage cards and seven phone cards from Japan:

Here's a peek at the back of one of these phone cards:

I've seen these on Ryan's blog and YouTube channel and I'm stoked to add them to my collection.

Day #10:  Non-Sports Promo Cards

He knows that I'm a big fan of 90's sports card promos, but he wasn't sure if I collected non-sport promo cards like these:

The simple answer is "heck yeah"!  I collect promo cards of any subject from any decade.  But I'm especially fond of promo cards from sets I'd actually love to own like this one:

2021 RRParks Ultraman Series One Promo #P1

Like those rice crackers... I've been a fan of Ultraman since I was a little kid.  I had no idea this set existed, but now that I know it's out there... I want one.

Day #11:  Japanese Calligraphy

This is a canvas board with some Japanese writing on it.  It says "Destiny".  I believe that certain things in my life have happened for a reason.  Can't say for sure if starting a blog and building a friendship is one of those things, but regardless I'm very grateful that's the way things played out.

Day #12:  Twelve Vintage Planes

My interest in Japan transcends trading cards... which is why I was stoked to find this:

It's a sealed package of decals/stickers that look older than me (and I'm old).  I could open it up and look for a date, but something this old should be preserved.

Day #13:  Ohtani Tea

One of my favorite beverages is green tea.  Ryan sent me two bottles of it:

These are extra special, because they're endorsed by this year's National League MVP... Mr. Ohtani:

I've already opened up one of these bottles.  It paired well with the chili bits from Day #8.

Day #14:  Potentially Rare Insert Cards

Ryan write a note for each present in the box.  His message on this envelope said "People threw these out so now they are more rare than the regular cards".  

Kinda makes you wonder if Tom over at The Angels, In Order is onto something.

Here's my favorite of the bunch:

1996 Upper Deck Meet the Stars Trivia Challenge #72

Do you know the answer?  

Perkins started his career in Dallas.  Payton and Kemp hadn't been in the league for ten years when this card was released, so McMillan would be the correct answer.  Unfortunately this contest ended over twenty-five years ago.  I wonder if anyone ever got a chance to meet MJ.

Well that wraps up the Part 2 of Ryan's 2024 Advent Calendar.

Thank you Ryan!  Love the variety of gifts, the tasty snacks, and appreciate the time and effort you put into this advent calendar.  Totally awesome bro!

Happy Saturday and sayonara!