98. (SOLD OUT) "The Kid" 7" x 10.5" Art Print

The 98th Pop Fly is now live and in the shop. This 7 x 10.5" preorder print is available for only one week, then it is retired forever. This piece is none other than Hall of Famer Gary Carter. He was one of many to bear the Nickname "The Kid," but in this series, many worthy athletes could've been featured on this project with that nickname, but I choose Carter to be THE Kid for this project.

Whenever I think of Gary Carter, I think back to one of my baseball binders I had when I was about 10 years old. In it, I wrote a bunch of different sayings and nicknames regarding many current baseball players of the time -- like little commentaries. Of Gary Carter, I wrote the not-very-endering "Gary Carter is OLD ."

I think of that often.

Doing the math now, I realized that he was about 35 around the time I wrote that. THIRTY-FIVE! Looking back at the binder, now in my early 40's, I know that no, 35 is not even close to old. But there's a lesson in there I take with me. Looking forward, 35 was old, but looking backward, it was not. I refuse to ever feel like I've gotten old because there will come a day when I look back on that age I thought was so ancient and think, "boy, how young I was and had no idea!". So my early 40's will still find me young...and so will my 50's, 60's, 70's, and god-willing on up. The ages, these beautiful ages that we turn -- they're all such a gift. Not everyone got to make it 43 like I did. Many didn't get to 42, or 41, and so on. I look at birthdays differently now, and I have Gary Carter to thank. What a true treasure each number we get is. There's much here to love, enjoy, experience, and make. I hope to make it to the triple digits!

I know that we lost the beloved Gary Carter so young, at only 57. All the more reason, the message is profound to me. He lived an incredible life, was beloved by thousands, and lived with so much joy. "I cannot conjure a single image of Gary Carter with anything but a smile on his face. I have no recollection of a gloomy Carter, not even as his knees began to announce a slow surrender ... Carter played every day with the joy as if it were the opening day of Little League." wrote baseball writer Tom Verducci after he passed. May we all get to do the things we love for as long as we can and do them with the same joy as the opening day of little league. Thank you, Gary Carter.

This is a pre-order item and will be shipped 40-60 days after the print is retired.

Our art prints (not a comic book) is printed on double-thick card stock & comes packaged in all the nostalgia you can ask for. The art print is a pre-order item for sale for one week only and then the print is retired and the print run is locked. *Frame not included. 

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A new piece of art each week -- a sports-themed 7” x 10.5” double-thick cardstock art print of an original artist-made piece of art. That's right, this isn't a comic book, it's just one piece of fun sports-themed nostalgia at a time. There are 20 different art prints released in a season (1 per week) and once they're gone… they're gone! From then on they'll only be available at higher cost on the secondary market.

*Tariff fee is applied during checkout on shipping cost for international orders.