Manny Machado, 2013 Topps 1972 Mini #TM-65

Marked-down blasters of 2013 Topps Series 2? Don't mind if I do! I earned it by enduring an hourlong commute yesterday afternoon, yet still stopping at Target to pick up a few household items. Though I had no luck pulling Orioles from the few packs of 2015 Topps I got weeks ago, this Psychedelic Tombstone Mini-Manny was in the second pack of my newly purchased box. The text on the back informs me that he was the first position player under the age of 21 to debut for the O's since Eugene Kingsale in 1996. Now there's a name I didn't expect to see on a 21st century baseball card. If you were wondering, Manny has 296 big league games under his belt as of this writing, so he's already got more staying power than the Aruban-born Kingsale (211 games in parts of seven seasons, which in itself is surprising to me).

Now we'll see if my luck keeps going, as I head to Camden Yards in hopes that the Birds and Yankees can squeeze in nine innings despite the rain.

Adam Jones, 2013 Topps 1972 Mini #TM-9

Adam Jones was born in San Diego, and he seems to have enjoyed visiting Southern California this past week. In five games against the Padres and Giants, Jones batted .571 (12-for-21) with seven runs scored, two home runs, and eight RBI. With his ninth-inning three-run homer off of Barry Zito in today's 10-2 rout of the Giants, he set a new career high with 85 RBI. It's funny...I don't miss Erik Bedard much at all.