2019 trade package #29: Topps Cards That Never Were

I know I've mentioned multiple times in the past that I love finding new trade partners as it's one of the things that keeps collecting and blogging interesting.  That's why I was glad when Jeremy, who reps Topps Cards That Never Were, reached out to me a couple weeks ago.  It didn't hurt that he was offering up one of my player wants, but it was also fun to be dealing with another Tigers collector.  As it turns out, I was able to send him nearly half my pile of dupe/unwanted Detroit cards, plus a few Rays and other guys he collects.  And what he sent my way was quite useful for my own collection!

Tigers stuff was the majority of this package, so we'll start there.  There was a '90 Topps-sized hole in my Sparky collection because I still don't own that set, but no longer!  Fulmer's and Iglesias' '18 Topps base were also new to me.  Fryman, Gibby, and Henneman were all stalwarts on the Tigers teams of my youth so I was plenty happy to see them again here.  And that Kinsler Elite (#203/349) is my second version of that fun Donruss insert, not to mention the third appearance by the revamped Panini brand in this scan alone.

Kudos to Jeremy for hitting my Tony Phillips and Mickey Tettleton collections as well.  They get less time here compared to many others that I collect--they don't have Google Photos albums, for instance--but I still love collecting that fun pair of 90s Tigers.  Tony's 2000 MLB Showdown card was definitely a surprise for me, and a nice inclusion.

Hicks, Perez, and Stewart are naturally more recent guys, and I especially hope that the latter two are part of the team's future.

Here we have a fun mix of the last of the non-PC Tigers stuff.  Cruz and Nevin are a couple more 90s guys I remember well, and I appreciated that Deivi signed a TTM auto for me way back, possibly because the made the effort of sending my request in basic Spanish.  Pemberton has to have one of the most British names the sport has seen, and he would fit well in a group chaired by fellow OF Reggie Abercrombie.

On the right the trio of team cards is pretty cool, with none more interesting than the one highlighting the 2005 Lakeland Tigers.  The franchise's A+ team, now known as the "Flying Tigers," they play in the Florida State League in the Tigers' spring training complex.  The card appears to have been produced by Grandstand Cards and sponsored by Peter Pan peanut butter, and the team checklist mostly notes an array of uninteresting prospects, plus one Justin Verlander!

Now that we're on to the PC content, first on the agenda is former blog namesake dude Curtis Granderson...and boy did Jeremy ever hit that collection hard with 10 cards, eight of which I needed (you'll see the 10th in the next scan).  Most of what's here is Topps-branded cards from 2010-13 with Grandy as a Yankee, which explains why I didn't have them, but there's a trio of Tigers cardboard as well.  The Uncommon '08 StarQuest insert is kind of cool but I can't deny that the Diamond Anniversary card looks great.

After a 2010 Topps National Chicle of Granderson (putting me at 151 cards of one of my favorite former Tigers), we get to the star of this post.  When Jeremy offered me a 2001 Topps Traded Gold parallel of Griffey (#1619/2001) I was definitely motivated to get off my butt and get a trade done--after all, it was on my single/player wantlist!  I've long loved the 2001 Topps design and its inaugural Gold parallel numbered to the year.  Junior was one of a few players who got a reprint of their first Topps Traded issue as an entry in the base set produced during Topps' 50th anniversary.  Sweet!

Joining that is a fun pair:  a Moments & Milestones card with a bit of damage up front and some paper loss on the back that might interest Fuji for his damaged cards PC, plus a 2018 Donruss Holo Green parallel.  Mr. Padre Tony Gwynn joins him from that insert and brings a base card from the 2015 set along for the ride.  And a slightly damaged 2005 Studio Heritage (#0840/1000) of the other Junior I collect, Cal, closes out this group.

Sticking with PCs but going back to Tigers content, here's a page's worth of Tram and Lou.  As dad was told by mother, you can't have one without the other!  None of these is new to me--I own all seven sets represented here--but I'm still happy to see this bunch of cards of the best double play combo anyone's likely to see for quite a while.

And now we've almost reached the end, but we're not done yet, not if JV has anything to say about it!  Four of the five cards in this scan are new, with just the Postseason Heroes card already having a place in his collection.  I'm not sure how rare the Gold Topps Town cards are relative to the regular ones, but either way, I'll take it.  If Upper Class doesn't describe Mr. Upton's status among active pitchers, I don't know what does.  After Gwynn's card above, 2015 Donruss makes another appearance.  And the Ed McMahon to the Gold Griffey's Johnny Carson in this package is a 2008 UD Piece of History Timeless Moments jersey.  New Verlander hit alert!  A quick count tells me I have 29, broken down into 17 relics, three manu-relics, six autographs, and three 1/1s.  What a nice way to cap off a package!

But not so fast, my friend, because we're not quite done here.  What else would you expect from a guy who writes for "Topps Cards That Never Were" besides...

...custom cards!  Jeremy mentioned that he had done a few custom Barry Larkins and I jumped at the chance because I love seeing what folks do with these.  Not only did he live up to his blog's name with a Topps offering--the Olympic team subset from '85--but he tossed in a couple two player Fleer offerings in the style of the '86 and '87 products.  Nice!

Jeremy, thanks again for a fun first trade, which I'm sure will lead to many more.  I know you received your couple pounds of cards and I look forward to seeing what interested you most out of those.  Once again, hooray for new trade partners!