2019 trade package #15: Scribbled Ink

I've probably said this a few times, but I love living close enough to a few bloggers that we can meet up for fun stuff like the occasional card show.  That's what happened in early May (as I previously posted) when the stars aligned and I was able to catch John (John's Big League Baseball Blog) and Paul (Scribbled Ink) at my monthly spot in Taylor:

While we were there Paul and I did a bit of in-person trading, saving us both some postage (negated by the gas driving there) and wear and tear by the USPS (priceless).  Paul has long since had his act together and posted lots of trade bait on TCDB so I had an easy time IDing stuff of my PC guys I really wanted, and he was generous to bring all of that and more.  Check it out!

In this first group I picked out the cards of 80s Tiger favorites Evans and Nokes, plus awesome swing guy Mickey Tettleton.  Paul tossed in a Stewart RC from a huge Diamond Kings group break, plus PC guy Scott Kamieniecki.

Currrrrrtissss!  The Grandy-man can when Paul has this many new ones for me available--mostly somewhat recent Topps issues.  My favorite is the flagship Blue Jays base as it's the only one of him not with the hated Yankees and dumpster fire Mets.  Also, I have zero idea why Topps paired him with Maris on the Timeless Talents insert.  Anyway there's some nice action shots here and I do love adding to my former blog namesake's collection.

Though not as much as scoring new stuff of Mr. Junior Griffey.  A bunch of these products were made during Kenny's prime and therefore feature terrific shots of him at the plate where he owned one of the game's top five swings.  For my money it doesn't get better than that '99 Pacific base:  a great design plus a pose that shows he knows that one's outta here.  The Rookies & Stars card brings an excellent hitting photo to the table as well.

This group includes two more of the Tribute to the Kid insert found in 2016 Topps, giving me six.  And yeah, those having some hot batting action too!  The Omega card below them from 1998 is another fun example of Pacific being zany and fun.  And perhaps the most interesting card here is the die-cut Diamond Marshals insert from Panini's 2015 Prizm--the only card in this bunch I didn't pick out.  I guess Paul had a feeling I'd like it, which was really going out on a limb but worked out.

Mr. Padre was well represented--I mean, I did pick these out, right?  There's great variety, starting with an 80s Fleer boxed set offering and oddballs from Starline Long John Silver and "Legends Sports Memorabilia" (which is totally unlicensed but not bad).  '97 Zenith looks like it belongs in a photo album, if not hung on your wall.  Upper Deck's Collector's Choice-like MVP had a Silver Signature-like parallel called Silver Script, offering a nice look at Gwynn's signature.  I can't explain why I like the City Hall insert in Panini's 2013 Hometown Heroes, but I do.  And finally, the mini you see is the Red Back version of one of Tony's two cards in Upper Deck's Goudy product from 2008.  Great additions of an all-time great.

There was a bit less to be had when it came to Maddux, but it's a good day anytime I can post new additions to his PC.  Pinnacle's '98 Plus product wasn't totally necessary and is foil-y enough to be difficult to scan, but still features otherwise solid Pinnacle design.  A 2002 Opening Day card brings me back to the end of the era when I was good with Topps' designs.  UD's Documentary is a supremely goofy set so why not add a card of Mad Dog with the Pads?  Greg's Goodwin Champions card from 2012 is pretty good compared to some of the nightmare-inducing artwork the product has put out.  Finally, Greg's horizontal '99 Ultra base is a trip back to when choice was king and base cards didn't suck!

The last player up today is old Cal Ripken Jr.  For his group I went all the way back to '87 Fleer, which is a good reminder that I have a decent number of holes in my PCs when it comes to 80s stuff, even around the junk wax era.  Score appears twice in the form of base from '94 and '97, with the latter a textbook example of the clean look they offered.  1997 Upper Deck Memorable Moments is a wavy die-cut insert and a cool way to honor the Streak.  A Gems of the Diamond chase card from Pacific Prisms ('97) comes with a super cool double-play shot.  And there's another example of Pinnacle Plus, which I always confuse with New Pinnacle, which makes me think of New Coke.

The rest of the Ripken group is quite nice as well, including another Invincible insert, a pair of Finest base (2000 and '01), '04 SPx, and a 2016 Topps Archives insert called 65th Anniversary.  That image is pretty much iconic in the collecting world at this point even though it didn't appear on Cal's RC.  To those I added a '96 Collector's Choice Silver Signature, with the Orioles logo substituting for Ripken's since it's a team checklist, and a numbered Gold parallel from Panini's 2017 Chronicles (which naturally discusses the Streak).

Thanks to this large Ripken haul he's become the first of my PCs to hit the 900-card mark (on the nose)!  That's a fun milestone, and I look forward to seeing if he or Griffey will get to 1000 first.

So that's a ton of goodies but it's still not everything Paul brought me because there was this as well:

A Verlander 8x10 for my autographed memorabilia collection?  Yes, please!  Paul had personal reasons to part with this signed photo and I was more than happy to accept it, thanking him for his generosity, in words at the show and with cards thanks to a future trade package whenever we can meet up again.  This was the cherry on top of another great show and a fun couple hours hanging out with a pair of the best card bloggers Michigan has to offer.  Thanks again, Paul and John!