P-town Tom - Where Are They Now?

Here's an idea I've been kicking around for a while: A blog series checking in with some of my favorite former/dormant cardbloggers. To me, the glory days of cardblogging were the mid 2010s (I hear the aughts were a lot of fun too, but I hadn't returned to collecting yet then). Lots of trading, learning about cool cards, and making new online pals through the hobby.

Keeping a blog active is a commitment, of course, and it's sad but usually not too shocking when somebody decides to give it up. Sometimes they say goodbye, other times the "next post" just never comes. Used to be you could probably keep in touch with them via other social media, but with Twitter getting all musky and Bluesky failing to recreate the better times, those lingering connections are harder to maintain.

So yeah, figured I'd reach out to some friendly names of the past to see if they'd like to be featured in a "Where Are They Now?" post. It's daunting for me because there are probably a hundred such people I'd love to hear from, and I didn't want to just send out a mass email to everyone at once. So for a first batch, I started by narrowing down to the Chicago-centric folks (e.g., Cubs fans, plus Jedi Jeff representing the south side). Looks like I may need to take another pass at drafting the message, as I only got a single response. But the good news is it was a terrific a response.

P-town Tom launched his blog Waiting 'til Next Year in 2011 and kept up posting consistency for a decade or so. Just a solid dude who always seemed to have something interesting to say. Often left thoughtful, encouraging comments on other blogs, too. I think I speak for all of us around back then what I say he's sorely missed on the scene today. The current most recent post on his blog is recapping a Zapping from April 2025, so not ancient history. In fact, after receiving Tom's substantial response, I had to encourage him to turn it into a new post on his own blog, though he generously chose to stick to the plan of guesting here.

Without further ado, let's check in with P-town Tom!

I loved my time blogging and all the friendships I made along the way. When the Cubs won the World Series in 2016 I kind of lost my way for a bit. I had spent so many years cheering on my team to a championship... I didn't really know how to respond when they won it all. My consumption of all things MLB related took a serious step backwards, including card collecting and blogging. Not helping matters, I felt the Hobby was at a crossroads: Collectors vs. Investors. I'm a collector in the truest sense of the word and I felt I was being squeezed out. I miss ripping cheap product, without chase cards, to complete a set. Are there even set builders out there anymore? I digress. I still have all my cards... my Folder of Fun, my HOF collection (which I keep up to date), my Vogelbach collection & ect. I feel the urge to open packs I typically will watch single pack rips on Youtube. 

What have I been up to? I'm still teaching high school math, primarily Calculus and Geometry. I was the math department chair the last seven years, but have taken a step back this upcoming school year. In the fall I coach the 6th grade baseball team at one of the middle schools in the school district. Coaching that age of athlete is so much fun and so rewarding. In the spring I'm the high school assistant varsity baseball coach. We've had a combined record of 86-23 the last three seasons, which I'm pretty proud of. Coaching baseball takes up much of my time in the fall and spring, but I truly love the game and it's the best way for me to personally stay connected to the game. 

 

Team picture from the past spring when we clinched the conference championship (I'm on the far left)

 

I'll be celebrating 22 years of marriage to my amazing wife this summer and we still call P-town Home. We still have the same two cats, Hugo & Holiday, who have been around since I was last blogging fulltime. I became a Bradley University basketball season ticket holder with my sister. NIL and the transfer portal means we're learning a whole new roster next year. I also joined a bowling league and my team, a coed foursome, has won the league championship two of the last three years. I lead the league in average each of the last two years!

 

I still add cards here and there, but it's really slowed since Dan Vogelbach cards stopped being printed. Here's a few I've picked this year: 

 

 
A) I've been following the Cubs' 6th round pick from the 2025 draft, who was given a record two million dollar signing bonus to pull him away from his college commitment. Josiah Hartshorn didn't make his professional debut until 2026, but the switch hitting outfielder has already been promoted to High-A. Great strike zone discipline, good power, okay defensively. He's currently being comped to Joey Votto. We'll see! 

 

 

B) I've been chasing Vogelmonster whales. Dan Vogelbach retired and is now an assistant hitting coach for the Brewers. Since there aren't dozens of parallels to chase anymore I have spent my limited resources filling in holes in my PC. I've only been able to find three new-to-me Vogelbach cards this year, but one of them is a 2013 Bowman Sterling Canary Diamond Refractor dual auto with Anthony Rizzo. I've been chasing that card for 13 years! It's numbered  3/3, so it's a big get. I bet the other two are with Rizzo collectors. 

 

 

 
C) Ohn Scoggins. I probably should have started with this from the top, but I've played over 180 rounds of disc golf each of the last two years. I love being out in nature, playing with friends, and trying best my previous rounds. I also volunteer each year as a spotter when the Pro Tour makes its way through through the Peoria area. I'm not a big thrower off the tee, but I'm a pretty accomplished putter... much like my favorite player. Ohn is one of the biggest stars on the female side of the tour, definitely the one with the most positive energy, and the one I model my game after. I've bought three cards of hers over the last six years, but only when they strike my eye. 

 

 

Hugo (tan) and Holiday (gray) reminding me that it's dinner time.

 

Big thanks to P-town Tom for taking the time to let us know what he's been up to. With all that going on, it's no surprise he doesn't have much time to carve out for drafting up blog posts these days. But if/when he finds himself with more downtime and drive to blog, us guys still here will be thrilled to read whatever he has to write.

That'll wrap up this inaugural Where Are They Now post. Who do you think we should try checking in with next?