2019 trade package #27: Scribbled Ink

Altered?  What do you mean altered?  BGS gives this a 10

It was a bye week for Michigan this weekend, freeing up a few hours from my usual fall Saturday schedule.  What did I do with that time?  Watch more football!  But I also put some effort into getting this trade post ready, one that covers the medium-sized enveloped I received in this month's small/medium/large trio.

That one came from buddy of the blog Paul, writer of Scribbled Ink.  He clearly put a generous amount of effort into coming up with some nice stuff for me at this year's National, as you'll be able to see here:

The less said about this year's Tigers, the better, so it's probably a good thing that Boyd--a rare highlight from the not-Mike-Illitch Illitch family/Alex Avila reign of error--was the only one represented here in the form of a Topps Chrome base.  I hope to see him carry over the progress he made into next year so we don't run into another Michael Fulmer "We could have had who in a trade?!" situation.

Here comes a super nice run of baseball PC guys.  Jimmy Abbott is a good way to start a September post since two weeks ago he was celebrating the 26th anniversary of his amazing no-hitter.  Former blog namesake Granderson makes a fun cameo on an X-Fractor from 2010.  Griffey is one of the top stars of the package with four cool new cards:  '99 Fleer's Vintage '61 insert, a 2000 Fleer Tradition Glossy base of card #1, the extremely bad-ass 2019 Leather & Lumber die-cut insert called "W.A.R.", and a 2019 Topps Gallery preview that was found in packs of Bowman Platinum.  That's 888 cards of one of my two favorite Juniors!  Finally, Mr. Padre joins his fellow '90s star with a trio of late 90s base cards:  '96 Ultra and '98 SkyBox Dugout Axcess.  It's always nice to see Tony.

The card I was most excited for this time leads off this scan:  Rich Hill's 2006 Topps Opening Day Red Foil parallel (#0776/2006).  I'd been after it for a long, long time without being able to find a good price, so this one is as good as gold to me!  It's also Hill #300 in my collection, which is a very exciting milestone to hit as I continue one of my favorite PCs.

HOF SS Barry Larkin comprises most of this scan with a mix of cards from 1994-2017.  Of particular interest to me are the two numbered Panini parallels:   2013 USA Baseball Champions Legends Certified Die-Cuts Mirror Green (#097/199) and 2017 USA Baseball Stars and Stripes Longevity Ruby (#002/249).  Each depicts Barry as a member of the '84 US olympic team when baseball was a demonstration sport, and they both look terrific, especially the die-cut card!

Finally, Putz represents the third of four former Michigan pitcher today, on a 2013 Topps Wal-Mart Blue Border.  While this one's a dupe for me I already have a new trading partner that I can flip it to, so it's just as useful as a new card for me.

Clayton Richard is the fourth and final UM pitcher in this post, and Paul was nice enough to let me know that he'd landed the second of Richard's two base cards from this year's Heritage (High Numbers, in this case).  He appeared with the Padres for some reason in the lower numbers, then got an appearance with the Jays, to whom he was traded last December.

Speaking of pitchers, Paul made sure to hit my current blog namesake, the one with three no-hitters to his name, Justin Verlander.  This is one of those Topps National Baseball Card Day issues, the type I likely wouldn't get myself, so I appreciate him including it here.

Last up on the baseball side is a horizontal offering:  Chris Sabo's 1994 UD Electric Diamond parallel.  I have a decent number of his cards from his time as an Oriole, but it's still relatively strange to see him in a uniform other than the Reds'.

As if all of that wasn't enough on its own, Paul flipped me a couple Michigan Football cards--both in Michigan uniform!--as well.  #1 is Amara Darboh's 2017 Panini Father's Day offering, #d 455/499.  Like National Baseball Card Day, I'm not usually privy to these so I love getting them indirectly like this.  It's a great example of Panini's combo of college unis, foil, and numbering, and I'm excited to land it as my 39th Darboh.

Last up is another highlight:  a hit of my favorite football PC guy, Chad Henne.  While flipping through the cards in this package I got to this one, 2008 Press Pass SE Game Day Gear Jerseys Holofoil jersey (#24/99), and thought, "Oh well, I already have this, but thanks anyway, I'm sure I can trade it."  And then I finally realized I didn't have it, or any of the other versions of this card for that matter.  At almost 300 cards overall, with a crazy 125 of them of the hit variety, I think you'll excuse me for assuming I already had it.  I'm ecstatic that I didn't and get to add another excellent card to that collection.

Paul, thanks again for thinking of me at the big show and sending me so many useful cards for my PCs!  I'm glad you enjoyed your end, and I'm looking forward to our next trade, and maybe getting to another show together in the future.  Michigan bloggers rule!