A pack of 2025 Stadium Club, for some reason

 Yes, I'm alive. If you are bold enough to call any of this living.

My poor baseball card blog has been ignored in favour of a new job I started in April, which has left me exhausted after many months of wretched unemployment. I don't know which is worse.

But now I find myself on a quiet Saturday night with a fat pack of 2025 Stadium Club. I decided awhile ago to stop ripping new wax for all the regular reasons, which of course means I am going to continue ripping new wax. Like a smoker, I'm just having one more.

 $12.99 is in Canadian money, so don't worry. I spend my money poorly elsewhere.

 For some reason Fanatics is still releasing 2025 baseball products while they are now releasing 2026 cards. I guess releasing cards on time isn't a priority for the new ownership of Topps. A lot of things are not a priority for the new ownership of Topps. Certainly not the customer.

 

 

I was prepared to hate this set because I had seen mostly negative reviews online. I was surprised to enjoy it. I really like the pink parallels. They look gorgeous and the colour really pops. I'd like to get some Blue Jays pink cards. And is Justin Verlander still with Kate Upton?

 

 

A sepia tone Mark McGwire. I don't like this one as much as the pink cards. It might work better for cards of prewar players because it gives off an old-time photograph vibe. 

 

I also guess the steroids era was long enough ago now that people aren't as pissed at McGwire and his cohorts as they used to be, so card companies can start printing their cards again. It's so strange how forgotten it is when Big Mac broke the single season home run record. It was a huge cultural event, and I still remember watching it live. It's pretty much completely erased from the collective consciousness. Wait, is there still a collective consciousness? 

 

A few legendary guys. Ichiro looks like he's 186 years old. Someone will have to ask him what it was like playing against Ty Cobb. Larry Walker always looks wrong in a Rockies uniform. I mean, I guess most players look wrong in a Rockies uniform, but Larry in particular looks wrong. I'm not a Braves fan, and Braves players from that era will always be villains in my mind. I enjoy using my birthday wishes to ask for grave misfortune for Braves players. John Smoltz is still on tv, so don't get upset because it isn't working anyway. But Dale Murphy not being a HOFer might be my fault.

 

 

 

A few Blue Jays to round out the post. The photography is good. Not as good as Stadium Club sets in the past, but still pretty good. They're still releasing cards of Bichette as a Jay even though he is persona non grata up here now. It was nice getting a few Jays, at least. It's a real pain in the ass collecting Jays cards in Toronto because literally everyone collects the same cards, so I can never find them locally, or have to pay way more than they are worth.

 

Anyway, that was my pack. What exactly is a stadium club, though? Is that located a level above upper deck? I have to imagine it's still a level below a skybox. I think these card companies ought to get together and figure out their architectural hierarchy. 

 

Overall, I liked these cards better than I thought, but I usually like Stadium Club anyway. I'm really considering giving up on modern cards altogether and just sticking to stuff from the 20th century. That's where I am at with comic books. I don't really relate to the younger, modern collector and their tastes, and I don't understand why anyone thinks any of this current stuff is going to be worth anything in a few years. But I'm an old man yelling at clouds, so best ignore me.