Christmas List

I'm a 34 year old married father of 1 who has a bachelors degree in molecular biology (not as impressive as it sounds) and a doctorate. I write this hoping that in contrast it will illustrate how completely ridiculous it is that my mother still insists on a Christmas list. I thought that the Christmas list request would have disappeared 2 years ago when I graduated from the kids table to the big time. (Truth be told, I love the kids table. I'd eat there for eternity if I could and the younger generation accepted me.) Didn't happen. I have to admit, though, that a 34 year old man making mommy and daddy a Christmas list is probably no more ridiculous than a 34 year old man collecting baseball cards and writing about them on his computer machine.

Nevertheless, my mother has asked for a Christmas list. And, when someone's mother asks for a Christmas list, she better damn well get one. It's been a long time since my parents have bought me any baseball cards. In the late 80's I would basically get the factory sets of most of the major brands. I am no longer interested in factory sets. They just sit there in their factory produced cardboard boxes never to be unwrapped lest the book value moves from$15 to $12, a completely unnecessary loss. There's also no way my mom is going to try to track down any singles. Anyway, I think the last time she did that she paid about $80 for the Billy Ripken card (have I mentioned how awesome my mom is?).

That leaves hobby boxes, which is good because that's what I'd probably like above all else anyway. It would be easy to give her a list of sets and years and the address for blowout cards, Dacardworld, and hookedoncardswholesale.

That's where you guys come in. I want help with the list. I want to know a few boxes that anyone out there reading this post would want. Right now I like just about everything, so I need some way to trim it down a little. What's quirky? What's interesting? What has a good checklist? What has cool rookies?

Please leave, if you don't mind, a few things that would be fun to open in the comments section. After Christmas, we'll see what I got, if anything, and bust it up for all the world to see in a blog post trapped in the ether for all eternity. See, this could be very important.

What boxes would you bust?