2019 trade package #21: Scribbled Ink

A couple Saturdays ago I got to do another fun in-person trade with fellow Michigander Paul of Scribbled Ink while we attended that day's Tigers/Red Sox game.  He had an extra ticket available and I jumped at the chance to get to a game for free since I hadn't been yet this year, mostly owing to the team's awful roster and performance.

Despite some extremely persistent rain that caused a four-hour delay I had lots of fun even taking into account starter Jordan Zimmermann's trademark ineffectiveness.  Mookie Betts and birthday boy Andrew Benintendi put on a show for the visitors while the Tigers rallied to make it interesting.  Meanwhile, Paul was somehow able to sell both of our giveaway items--Miguel Cabrera bobblehead picture frames--and I used a gift card to buy both of us a 10-card set commemorating the '84 champs.  More on that in a future post.

Anyway, I'm always glad to trade with Paul, especially in-person so we save the shipping cost and risk of USPS destruction.  Also, he's always good for stuff I know I'll need since he's a TCDB wizard.  Here's what he brought me this time:

First up is a 2005 Bazooka 4-in-1 sticker starring PC guy Ken Griffey Jr. and a supporting cast of Bartolo Colon, Manny Ramirez, and Dontrelle Willis.  Who would have thought that 14 years later Colon would still be active?!  Also, I wonder if any of my readers are young enough that they don't remember how much of a sensation Willis was with the Marlins?

Junior's fellow HOF "G"-man Tony Gwynn is next, in the form of a sweet, uh, Sweet Spot base from '03, plus a rare baseball entry from Press Pass Fusion (2009).  The latter is a college-themed product that includes baseball, basketball, and football, plus less sporty things like poker and racing.

Paul may not be a college collector like I am but he definitely knows which one I collect, and that explains the next four cards of former Michigan diamond stars Drew Henson, Rich Hill, and Barry Larkin.  Henson obviously flamed out, but I'm glad that "Dick Mountain" is still going--at least somewhat, since he's still on the IL.  He's the other two-card guy today with Topps flagship base issues from 2017 and '19, giving me 298 unique Hill items.  Almost milestone time again!  Larkin, meanwhile, pops up on one of his Donruss Originals appearances from 2002, a fun reminder of a set I really enjoy.

One good Junior is worth another so why not have Cal tag along?  The throwback SS looks right at home on the vintage-y 2014 GQ N174 insert, which I'm assuming is a reference to one of the many old-old-old school sets cataloged by Jefferson Burdick.

And finally, Paul covered his bases (pun not intended) with a new Verlander insert for me.  I initially mistook this 2018 Topps Chrome parallel for an X-Fractor because that's where my aging collector's mind goes when it sees this pattern, but eventually I believe I correctly pinned it down as a Prism Refractor.  Refractors are awesome, JV is awesome, this card is awesome, end of story.

That marks the end of the card items but Paul had another surprise in store:

A super glossy paperback book made around the time Ripken broke Gehrig's Iron Man streak.  He said he found this at a garage sale, and hearing that makes me think I should make more of an effort to check them out once in a while.  There's a ton to enjoy here and I'll likely get down to reading it soon, but for now here's a look inside:

You can see the top cover is embossed or raised while the inside cover is glossy like the rest of the book.

There are sections on different topics by a number of authors, discussing his offense and defense, comparing him to Gehrig, highlighting his family, etc.  I grabbed a shot of this two-page spread because of the sweet six-panel action photo at the bottom.

Besides the articles there's a number of one- and two-page photos like this one of Cal waiting on-deck at Camden yards.  This is very much a visually appealing book!

Lastly I'm including a look at the book's final section (other than an appendix with an interview), a career timeline.  I like how each page covers a year while the timeline below goes into specific events and includes examples of his baseball cards and magazines, among others.

While paging through the book I also came across this fold-out poster advertising cards from the 2006 season.  Paul mentioned he had a bunch of these from a previous retail job and was thoughtful enough to include it.  Each team is represented (Pudge for the Tigers, in this case), with a card from Fleer, Upper Deck, or Topps.  Cool!

Paul, thanks again especially for inviting me to the game, and for all of this great stuff.  I know you don't have much time for blogging anymore thanks to TDCBing, but I'm looking forward to your next summary post!