2019 trade package #22: Collector's Crack

Going back to the theme of "trade packages I received this month" (and it's definitely been a great few weeks in that regard), here's a fun mailer of Mark from Collector's Crack.  The Alaskan who calls himself "Cynicalbuddha" let me know I should expect something from him, and sure enough I was the new owner of a fat stack of Tigers (plus one non-Tiger) that'll fit perfectly among my collections:

As I tend to do, I'll start with the Tigers I have sorted by player in my monster box devoted to the team.  Bonderman is a great reminder of that awful 2003 team that lost 119 games, something the 2019 squad seems determined to beat.  The Evans, Morris, and Sweet Lou bring to mind much better times, especially the 1984 season!  And that UD Past Time Pennants Morris looks amazing to boot.  It's too bad Fryman never made it to a World Series, and I doubt A-Jax gets to one with his current organization (the hapless Mets), but at least Miggy and Kinsler won it all, albeit with other teams.

Speaking of Jackson, my favorite quasi Granderson clone, here's a nice relic of him from 2013 Topps.  The history he was chasing was joining last namesake Shoeless Joe as the only AL rookies to amass 100 runs, 180 hits, 30 doubles, 10 triples, and 25 steals (in 2010).  He lost out to flash-in-the-pan closer (as they always are) Neftali Feliz in ROY voting but went on to enjoy a much better career.

Next is a mix of miscellaneous guys and inserts.  Fick wasn't part of the 2003 squad staffed mostly by nobodies, but Young decided to put up a career year out of the blue.  Bautista never amounted to much with or without the Tigers (though he did play for parts of 12 seasons) but those Score Boys of Summer inserts are a bastard to find, so I was surprised to see one here.  And Doherty somehow went 14-11 back in '93 (when starting pitchers used to earn decisions), the second season of an otherwise unremarkable five-year career.

I grouped the rookie types together here.  Frank Catalanotto had a fun name and I was disappointed he was given up in the ill-advised trade with Texas for malcontent Juan Gonzalez.  Encarnacion was flipped for the previously mentioned Young.  Exavier "Nook" Logan had a cool nickname until you found out it was pronounced like the the Kindle competitor.  Sanchez was used in the deal that brought even bigger malcontent Gary Sheffield to Motown.  Stewart's still an intriguing prospect, albeit with a good amount of shine off of him given his 2019.  And 2006 World Series winner (against his original team!) Jeff Weaver gets paired with Masao Kida, Detroit's stab at Japanese success that netted them just 51 games over two seasons.

Here we have a bunch of stickers (and one mini), which caused one of the many distractions that led me to take so long to get this post going.  Naturally I had to track down my Panini albums to see if I needed any of the six from '89 that you see above (I didn't).  I'm planning on doing one or more posts covering those, potentially giving me fodder for content that isn't "Look what I bought/traded for!"  Happily the '90 Topps Sticker of Whitaker and the JV from the same product's 2016 version are new to me!

I think this section is where Mark's effort this time really shines:  a selection of HOFers and fan favorites on some amazing designs.  Cobb got the most action but we also get looks at Sam "Wahoo" Crawford, "Hammerin'" Hank Greenberg, and the inseparable pair of Kaline and Kell.  A couple versions of Diamond Kings get their just due as does the previously mentioned Past Time Pennants and some great black-and-white shots.

And that wasn't nearly all!  Kell's back for more and he's joined by '68 champ Mickey Lolich and HOFer Hal Newhouser of the title winners of '45.  And then there's the bonus of three Colgan's Chips inserts, which can mean only one thing:  Panini's Cooperstown.  The trio couldn't be better, either:  C Mickey Cochrane (a '35 champ), 2B and PC guy Charlie Gehringer, and Mr. Tiger once again.  Speaking of the Mechanical Man, it's about time I added another cut sig to his collection.

Mark also paid the nine-Verlander minimum* to get his trade package featured here, and I was fortunate enough to need most of them.  Though there's some good options I'd have to go with the '06 Heritage second-year card as my favorite--look how young he is there!--but the '14 Opening Day Breaking Out insert is a nice reminder of chase cards Fleer produced in the 90s, so it's a solid runner up.  The countdown to 400 gets closer with a new total of 381.

*not actually a thing, but it should be

Last up is the only non-Tiger in the whole envelope, a Ripken Franchise Feats insert from this year's Topps.  The listed stats threw me off until I realized they were referring to the entire team, not just Ripken's experience (limited to just the '83 Series, for example).

Mark, thanks again for hitting me back with so much great stuff!  I'll be happy to return the favor again once I can pile up more items that'll fit your PCs as well as these fit mine.