Walking off

This is the first post in a while that wasn't pre-planned.

I've somehow came up with a decent-sized batch of ideas for posts these last few weeks, and I've just been running off the backlog of those ideas since.

Yesterday's "lemonade" post was the last from that batch.

I guess it's time to hit the binders in search for some new ideas. I picked the Rockies binder by chance after getting home from class this afternoon, and it gave me an idea for a few of my favorite "celebration" cards.

I have to admit, I really like the base cards from 2012 Topps. I like simple designs, and this year's flagship definitely has a back-to-basics approach to it. (Topps has done pretty will with this in the last few years.)

But what makes the base cards great is the photography. As I've said before, the theme seems to be celebrations.

And no celebration is greater than the walk-off home run.

There may be more, but here's a few of my favorite "celebration" shots.

In 2005, Rockies shortstop Clint Barmes smaked a walk-off home run off of Trevor Hoffman on Opening Day. He was well on his way to capturing the NL Rookie of the Year award in '05 until he tripped and injured his shoulder, putting him out of commission for the rest of the season.

He's never been quite the same since.

In a memorable Coors Field moment, this shot captures the aftermath of Barmes's homer, although the shot is slightly obscured by the umpire.

Ah, that's better.

Just a sea of Mariner blue. No umpires.

I love the excitement that Griffey shows on this card (near the center). He's like a kid again.

This is also one of my personal favorite night cards. On the night of September 18, 2009, Ichiro blasted a walk-off homer to give the M's the win. The homer came off of none other than stud closer Mariano Rivera.

One thing that I never knew about until I started reading blogs was being able to date cards. I'd never even thought about it before. Ones like these are pretty easy to find, but I've seen some crazy analysis from a few bloggers that were able to nail it down to a single moment in baseball history with very little info.

Just another benefit to reading all the great blogs out there!

Oops. Wait, wrong one.

That's actually kind of creepy.

There we go.

I'm a big fan of the black-background cards Wal-Mart has issued in the last few years, but it just doesn't work for a few of them. Notably, this one.

The only walk-off home run that I could find during Orlando Cabrera's days in Cincinnati was the one he hit on May 5, 2010, against the New York Mets.

Cabrera hit a solo homer in the bottom of the tenth to win it for the Reds that day.

I'm not sure that any single play in sports is more exciting than the walk-off home run.

You just can't beat it.