5 Hobby Treats for Santa

Don't leave Mr. Jolly off your list!

So here we are a week out from Christmas, and you’re probably feeling pretty smug about your holiday standing, right?

Got your shopping done?

Your list(s) buttoned up?

Cool.

But let me ask you this … what did you get for Santa himself?

If you just choked on your Big League Chew or stammered like a Niekro caught flinging a nail file, don’t worry … I can help out.

But you gotta hurry. The Santa Shopping Crush is coming to a head, and there are just a few days left until he fires up Rudolph and heads out into the foggy night.

Here, then, are five hobby treates that any Santa would love to see waiting by the hearth this Christmas.

(Note: Some of the following sections contain affiliate links to eBay listings for the cards being discussed.)

2009 Topps Heritage Melky Cabrera (#640)

Everybody knows you have to leave a cold glass milk standing by the tree on Christmas Eve so that Santa can wet his whistle after all that flitting around the globe, right?

Right.

And the best person to deliver said dairy product? The milkman, of course.

Or, our baseball proxy, the Melk Man.

Marry that snazzy nickname with a throwback card that’s now a bit long in the tooth itself, and you have a cardboard bauble for the ages (and the aged, red-suited, bearded).

1960 Topps Cookie Lavagetto (#221)

Of course, Santa doesn’t live on milk alone, and he can’t maintain that striking figure of his with such high-protein, low-junk fare.

No way.

And, anyway, you don’t leave “milk” for Santa.

You leave “Cookies and Milk,” proper compound noun.

Wheeling out good old Lavagetto in his vintage 1960 Washington Senators form also makes him a perfect match for Cabrera above.

1984 Topps Greg Luzinski (#20)

Ever wonder how how Santa spent his summers in the 1980s?

All pasteboard evidence suggests he spent those dog days hitting bombs on Chicago’s south side. What’s not clear is which of St. Nick or Luzinski is the actual name and which is the nom de plume, but it’s a pretty safe bet the old elf would appreciate at glimpse of his younger self.

Painful as the memories may be.

1982 Fleer Woodie Fryman (#189)

Us old guys need a bit of a rest every now and then, especially after a grueling race around the world.

Sometimes, even in the middle of the race.

Heck, sometimes we need a breather just to get from the lockerroom to the dugout.

But you know how it goes — pride gets in the way and we keep pushing and pushing, and before you know it, Donner is hefting our spent old carcass across his antlers once more when we’ve overdone it again.

Woodie Fryman is here to remind us — and especially Santa — that it’s OK to sit down and gather your wits on occasion.

1980 Topps Manny Sanguillen (#148)

Christmas is supposed to be the happiest time of the year.

Supposed to be.

Sometimes, though, it devolves into a soul-sucking cauldron of stress and commercial pap, and that’s for those of us who don’t have to service every kid in the world.

But you can turn blech into HAPPY anytime you inject Manny Sanguillen into the situation, and this giddy Manny card is enough to make even end-of-the-line Santa smile.

—

Feel free to come up with your own Santa treats, but whatever you do, don’t forget the old man this year.

Word is he’s down about the tinsel shortage and could really use a pick-me-up.

Until next time, enjoy the holiday sights and souns, and the bubbling free agent market.

Thanks for reading.

—Adam