Now That's Interesting: A Cardpocalypse Challenge, Day 2

The second challenge in Tim's blogging gauntlet was to post a card from the current release year with a unique photo. I thought of a few candidates.

Here is a 2020 Opening Day card. Honestly, I don't know what is happening in this picture. It looks like Anderson has thrown his bat, not dropped it after a swing. But I can't read the expression on his face. Is this a look of disgust after a called strike three? Or is it excitement when he takes ball four after working a good at-bat? Maybe he just walked in a run? Or got beaned? I guess it could be a bat flip of a sort. I can't tell, but I can't say I've too many "throwing a bat" cards.

For football, I'm using 2019 as the current release year. This candidate shows Alejandro Villanueva catching a pass. It was probably a short-yardage touchdown. So why is this unique? Well, how many cards feature photos of an offensive lineman catching a pass? How many of those are in a set called "All-Hands Team?" This is one unique card.

But my winner is the card that I immediately thought of when I read the challenge. From 2019 Donruss, here is the T.J. Watt photo variation. He is caught mid-sack celebration, folded in half at the waist with his arms completely extended. When I first pulled this card, I couldn't tell what orientation it was. Is his head tilted back and eyes up, or is running while bent at the waist? It wasn't until I focused on the background that I could tell how Watt was standing. One of the best photos of the year, I think.