2020 trade package #38: the Collector

As is the case for many people right now I'm awaiting delivery of some stuff from DeJoy's woefully underprepared USPS--I appreciate the hard work being put in by everyone other than that corrupt cue ball--but there's no way that's gonna spoil my holiday. Why? Christmas cards!

This evening I'm covering the last of those I received (so far) this month, and today's envelope comes from a generous dude who's one of my most reliable commenters, and who runs a truly outstanding blog: Chris over at the Collector.

Chris, whose name comprises the first five letters of "Christmas" (whoa, conspiracy! Illuminati confirmed!) upped the ante by sending cards inside of a literal Christmas card:

Not only was this holiday-appropriate, but it also served as a great way to protect the trading cards:

That was a very nice gesture by Chris who, to my knowledge, has never been seen in the same room with Santa Claus, just sayin'. Anyway, my collecting will be very happy since he sent me this great trio:

A Tigers card, a PC addition, and a Wolverine base make for an outstanding not-so-secret Santa gift for me!

First up is a 2019 Panini Father's Day base (/199) of Casey Mize, one of Detroit's top pitching prospects. The 2018 #1 overall pick out of Auburn made seven starts last year and went 0-3 for another tanking Tigers squad, but his future looks very bright, just like this card. The scan doesn't remotely capture how nice it looks, with glittery rainbow dots and lines appearing all over. As indicated here, Mize pitched for the US Collegiate National Team in 2017 after his second college season, and was just as successful against other countries as he was here. I'm looking forward to a Tigers rotation staffed by guys like him, Matt Manning, Tarik Skubal, and other future stars!

Next is a card that may have some of you turning your heads sideways like confused dogs, but it's perfect for me. I PC former Tiger Dean Palmer and needed that 1994 Fleer base, which I confirmed after checking on my TCDB wantlist. While I've crossed the 150-card mark I still have a long way to go, so everything helps, even low-end base cards like this (though I do have reinforcements coming in from COMC at some point). Dean-o wouldn't head to Detroit until five years after this card was made, but the previous season, 1993, saw the slugging 3B smack what at the time was his career high of 33 HR. He'd go off for 38 in both '96 (still with Texas) and his '99 Debut in the Motor City. Kudos to Chris for remembering I collect him.

And double bonus points for including a Michigan card of some sort, in this case a '92-'93 Ultra base of Jamaican Wolverine G Rumeal Robinson. Seen here in some old-school Hawks duds, he's best known for making two foul shots to win the '89 NCAA title with Glen Rice's Wolverines. His subsequent NBA career wasn't much to speak of, and then he made some bad decisions that led to criminal charges, but he at least seems to have been out of the headlines for five years. His role in Michigan's basketball title gives him a special place in my UM collection so I was very happy to see him as I opened Chris's card.

And here's the backs for all you...uh...back-o-philes? Apparently I did a terrible cropping job since a good chunk of Mize's card is cut off. "2019 Panini - Father's D--"? Father's what?! Father's Donut? Father's D'Brickashaw Ferguson? We may never know.

Chris, thanks very much for thinking of me and putting some nice thought into this Christmas card filled with cards! Once the COMC order that includes items I purchased to send out my own versions arrives I'll happily be returning the favor.

With nothing else in-hand besides the massive UM box from TCDB that I'm still trying to figure out how to present, I may be taking a brief hiatus until after the holiday, but as always, you never know when more cards will materialize into your possession. In case that happens, I want to say Merry Christmas and thanks to everyone who traded with me and read/commented on TMV this year--you're all the gift that keeps on giving!