What Happened Here?

A few years back when I was collecting sets, I would frequently get mail.  I was always excited to walk out to my mailbox to see what cards showed up that day.  The closer I got to completing a set, the more and more important the packages felt.  It didn't really matter whether the last card was a super star player, or some backup catcher.  That final card always felt great to get in the mail.  

Now that I collect single cards?  

I am a little less enthusiastic about the mail.  Sure, there are days where I know what is coming and get really excited about getting a brand new card for my collection.  However, there are also days where I completely forget about the mail and it sits in my mailbox overnight.  

I forgot about the mail on Thursday this week.  Friday morning rolled around, I was scrambling to get my kids out the door and into the car.  I pulled my mail out of the box, threw it in my car, and headed for work.  I dropped the kids off for the day before heading to work.  When I got to work I ended up sticking it into my bag.  

First thing I had Friday morning was a virtual staff meeting.  I got myself settled into my classroom, then looked through my mail from home.  How did I miss this bubble mailer?  

What happened here?  

Plenty of theories, but no answers.  

Beyond the curiosity of what happened to this package, I was also concerned about the contents of the package.  The cards inside were far from irreplaceable, just a pair of Rays autographs from players who appeared for the Durham Bulls.  Miraculously both were in great shape.  

First up is a Topps Chrome autograph of Michael Brosseau.  

He plays all over the place.  He even pitched the other night and struck out Randal Grichuk on a 64 mile per pitch right down the middle of the plate.  

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mike Brosseau, 64mph Curveball and K Strut. <a href="https://t.co/kuY5GDZiDP">pic.twitter.com/kuY5GDZiDP</a></p>&mdash; Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) <a href="https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1294451319164424192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I have a few other Brosseau autographs from earlier in the year.  I like the action shot on this card and the horizontal layout.  

Because I am a sucker for cheap cards and combined shipping, I also picked up a copy of a 2009 Upper Deck Goudey B.J. Upton autograph.  Upper Deck was really good at remaking old baseball card sets, the 2009 Goudey set is a really good example.  

I have a ton of B.J. (Melvin) Upton cards, but somehow did not have a copy of this one.  This is a really sharp card.  I like that he signed the card vertically, so he did not write across his picture.  A great looking card that showed up in a not so good looking package.