Luis Ayala, 2012 Topps Update Series #US270

My recent fascination with 2014 Topps Heritage notwithstanding, I've bought very few current-issue baseball cards over the past four years. I recently found myself in Target with some time to kill, so I wandered into the card aisle looking for bargains. I spotted a $20 repack box that was full of 2012 and 2013 Topps products, 20 packs in all, and took the plunge. If nothing else, I figured it would give me some trade bait (assuming that I ever put forth the effort to initiate trades with other collectors again) and a few packs of Allen and Ginter and Heritage without the usual sticker shock. Besides, within the span of a few hundred new cards, I was bound to find something to surprise me. I actually laughed when I pulled this Luis Ayala card from the lone pack of 2012 Update. It was new to me, and the image of the jacket-clad middle reliever pointing a bat at the camera with what I hope was mock-menace was a welcome departure from the customary sea of stock action photos that has come to define Topps' flagship set and update series. It's always nice to have a reminder that card collecting can be fun...what a concept, huh?

Luis Ayala, 2013 Topps Blue #276

It sure seems like I put the whammy on ol' Luis Ayala by featuring him on my blog two days ago. Sure, the O's had reportedly been shopping him before Opening Day, but it's funny that he was traded to the Braves for a AA pitcher less than 24 hours after I hit "publish". Anyhow, now's a good time to show off the other half of my Big Retail Parallel Tandem, the Walmart blue-border special. Adios to Luis, whose superficially good 2012 season (2.64 ERA, 3.64 strikeout-to-walk ratio) was undermined by a tendency to allow inherited baserunners to score. Last year, the righty permitted 22 of 50 inherited runners to cross the plate, a lofty 44% rate. Even so, there were years in the not-so-distant past when the Orioles would have killed for a guy who did the things that Ayala did in their wild card season. I'm not even talking about his ballhawking exploits on home runs hit into the team's bullpen, impressive though they were.

Now I can add a bit of trivia to my experience at the 2013 home opener. I witnessed Luis Ayala, in his final appearance as an Oriole, earn credit for the win with an inning and two-thirds of scoreless relief. That's surely something to tell the grandkids about one day.

Luis Ayala, 2013 Topps Red #276

What's this? A current-year Topps product? That must mean that it's mail day! Indeed, on this beautiful and unseasonably warm day, I had a small yellow envelope waiting for me after work. It was an unexpected package from none other than the friendly neighborhood Night Owl. He sent a half-dozen cards, all of them new to me...though one was older than I am. (To be revealed on Friday. Ooh, a cliffhanger!) Thanks to Night Owl, I now have both the red and the blue border parallels of Luis Ayala's 2013 Topps card. Those in the know say that the red ones are inserted into packs of cards shipped to Target, and the blue guys are inserted into packs of cards destined for Walmart. I honestly think the red looks better, as it's more vivid than the grayish-blue of the Wallyworld parallels. Besides, you get a warm-color effect with the O's orange logo and color banner that's not half-bad. It's a shame that I got tired of spending my money to support Topps' monopolistic reign of terror, because this year's design is light years better than their 2012 effort. Anyhow, I'll have to pull out the handful of Dodgers inserts I bought at a flea market a few months back and see if I have anything that Mr. Owl can use. It never hurts to think of others when you're hunting for bargains.