2015 trade package #33: Christmas with the Planks OR Yes, West Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus

(Yeah, I've been stretching it on the titles recently, so what?)

It's the night before Christmas Eve and I'm excited to have a pre-Yule trade package to celebrate the occasion.  For the fifth time on this here blog alone this year I get to show off cards I received from my favorite West Virginian (suck it, "regular" Virginia), Matt from Bob Walk the Plank.

Matt's such a generous trader that you really never know what you're gonna get, but rest assured, if the package is light on cards, it's heavy on awesomeness.  Bob Walk's #1 fan sent me two cards this time with a promise of more to come (we're not just gonna stop trading?  Whew!) and just wanted to make sure to send me something before Christmas, which was very thoughtful of him.

Here's what he sent:

Nick Castellanos 2014 Topps Five Star Golden Graphs auto (#02/50)

See what I mean?  Dude sends you some high end stuff!  This isn't the first time Matt's sent me a Castellanos autograph this year--in fact, it's at least the third!  This time it's a Five Star issue, thick as hell with a signature in bold gold, which looks as great on a card as it does on signed memorabilia, especially thanks to the effective black background.

I now have five 'graphs of the Detroit 3B, and I'm pretty sure all but one of those have come courtesy of Matt, who somehow finds a way to score great stuff like this and send it my way, which makes me glad I put as much thought as I do into what I send down to Morgantown.

Al Kaline 2015 Panini Cooperstown Induction Signatures Red auto (#36/49)

And speaking of high-end cards, here's the highlight of the envelope, all decked out in Christmas red!  Back before September, I had exactly zero autographs of Motown great Al Kaline in my Tigers collection.  Then Matt struck with not just one, but a pair, that month.  Now he's gone back to that well and bumped up my Kaline signature count another 50%, and I'm simply floored.  What a great looking card from this year's excellent Panini Cooperstown product!  I love the integration of the Hall of Fame logo, but most of all, Kaline's outstanding signature makes this card a winner.

Matt, I don't know how you do it, but whether you send me two cards or 22, I'm surprised every time.  Thanks for another amazing year of trading, and I can't wait to see what 2016 brings.

In the likely event that I don't post anything tomorrow, I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and say thanks for making 2015 another great year of collecting.  I hope some of you are enjoying the Christmas cards I sent your way, and that all of you get some nice stuff in your stockings, if not your mailboxes, this holiday season!