2021 trade package #4: Scribbled Ink

I was all set to work on my COMC football pickups post having gotten everything scanned and into the post, but then buddy of the blog Paul of Scribbled Ink (or more commonly at this point, Twitter), managed to get a PWE to me just before the month ran out, making it number four for January. Since the PWE requires much less writing, plus I give preference to trade cards over purchases, that's what you'll get to see tonight!

As always, Paul did a perfect job protecting everything in the PWE. In this case he surrounded it with this greeting card. But that's way too tame for a package from him, and he felt the cards required more protection...

...so he made sure they were safe in the embrace of this lovely lady! Besides being one of my favorite trader partners, I think Paul's my favorite recycler.

Oh, yeah, and the cards themselves, let's look at those too:

Along the left side we have a couple items that are new to me. Junior's card comes from a 10-card set produced by Pacific in 2000 that helps to advertise the video game Backyard Baseball. That looks to have been a Windows/Mac only kids game (the series has since moved on to consoles) that included real Major Leaguers. You can get an idea of how kid-friendly it was by the back, which you'll see in a second. This is definitely a fun oddball of one of my favorite PC guys, and it's from a time when Pacific used some very nice designs.

Below him is what I thought for a minute was a dupe of Rich Hill's 2020 Topps Series 2 issue. Then I flipped it over to find that it's the Advanced Stats version, which is distinctive in two ways: standard stats are replaced by numbers like spin rate, FIP, and wOBA, plus the card is serial numbered to 300. This was definitely a need for me and I was happy to add it thanks to Paul.

And last up is one of Paul's hilarious and fun customs, the first he's ever sent me. It's about the thickness of a relic since I believe the background is from a pack decoy. He cut out Hill's image plus part of the border and affixed that to the decoy, on which he drew the background, giving it a bit of a 3D feel when you look at in in person. About that background, though...

...it reference's Rich's awesome nickname bestowed by former Red Sox teammate Brock Holt, "Dick Mountain". Hence the rather phallic shapes in the faraway hills. Out of the stuff that Paul's sent me this might be the funniest--I've heard of NSFW packaging, but NSFW cards?!-- and I promise it'll get a place of honor among the rest of my Hill collection. Here's hoping old Rich brings his Big Dick Energy to whichever team he signs with in 2020!

You also get a good look at the cartoonish Kid and Hill's advanced stats on their respective backs.

Paul, thanks for this awesome surprise PWE and the amazing contents therein. Oh, and also for sending me your Rich Hill cards instead of being a dick!