Kings of the Common Box - Cory In the Sky With Diamonds

One thing I wanted to do on my break was learn to appreciate the smaller things on the hobby - I often found myself building the set, pulling the hit, but not really taking the time to look at and really learn to appreciate the card.

It's a lot like dating. At first you love the girl with the sweet rack and that's enough, but eventually, when she keeps making cat noises, you realize that you'd rather be kicked in the dick by a toddler then spend another minute with her. Once you get over that plain white swatch in a card (which turns out to be that crazy laugh every time she watches "The Nanny"), you realize that you are probably not holding anything that special.

So, one of the reasons that my collation has been taking so long is that I have been making a concerted effort to really take the time to appreciate what I have - the kings of the common box you.

Our first "King of the Common Box" is non other than Cory Snyder. Cory had himself a very nice career on the strength of having good pop from the right side and a hell of an arm from the outfield. While never being a superstar, Cory enjoyed a very nice career. Unfortunately for Cory, the best parts of his career happened before his time in Major League Baseball. Cory was

a 3 time All-American @ BYU and was named to the Olympic team.

Cory did finish in the top 10 in homers a few seasons during his peak, but never fully realized all of his potential. Another reason to be a fan of Cory is that he does sign through the mail, and you can bet for sure that eventually this card will be making its way to him.

Now what is it that makes this card so kick ass? Well first, Cory is a doppelganger for Clay Morrow (or whoever the actor is that plays him) on the incredible FX show Sons of Anarchy. Next is the super obvious photo shopping of a beautiful summer sky behind him. They took what would have been a nice sliding shot of the man, stuck up a few clouds, and made themselves a very memorable card.

All Hail Cory! Hopefully the first of many.

That's Clay for the record - compare for yourself!