2021 trade package #16: The Lost Collector

A few weeks ago when I did my show report after getting to one for the first time in forever, I mentioned that as usual most of my money went towards trade bait, which was excellent since that's generally my best source for reasonably priced quality items for trade packages. As solid as everything was, it was only $1.

I mention that because one of the cards I snagged just in case was a Tino Martinez numbered jersey. I deal with enough folks that could potentially use it that I was glad to bring it home, and at worst it could go on TCDB anyway. That worst cast scenario was in no way necessary, though, because the first person I offered it to (via Twitter DM) is a bigtime Tino collector, and as it turns out he even needed it, despite being over the 1,100 mark in that player collection!

I'm guessing that most of you who know him already put together that I'm talking about A.J., a.k.a. the Lost Collector, who was nice enough to show his appreciation in his post here. A.J. didn't stop there, though, as he subsequently sent me an unexpected PWE with a few cards that fit my collections perfectly:

That trio of Tigers along the top is an excellent start! First up is Ty Cobb's appearance in 2020 Topps' Topps Choice insert set. In that one you can find past and present players on Topps designs from 1956, 1965, 1987, 1991, 2008, 2011, and 1971, with the latter being the source for the Georgia Peach's card above. In addition to the usual writeups, the backs mention in large print which set the designs came from, which is a good way to try to educate folks less familiar with their past products.

Big Daddy is up next on his 2019 Topps Chrome Update Family Business insert, and "daddy" is the key word here. Every player in this Refractorized insert has or had at least one other family member in the game, and of course Tigers fans were well acquainted with Cecil's son Prince before he became a star in his own right. Due to the way the younger Fielder's tenure with Detroit ended, my opinions of the two have flip-flopped and I'm back to preferring the guy who brought joy to the area when he socked 51 HRs in 1990.

Last up in the Tigers group is Mr. Tiger, Al Kaline, who got plenty of screen time in my most recent post. Happily, while I added a bunch of new stuff to his collection via Sportlots, I still needed the 2019 Topps Update Perennial All-Stars insert you see above (my third, to go along with Griffey and Ripken). The back states that Al is the youngest position player to start an MLB Midsummer Classic at 20 1/2 in 1955 (the year he won that batting title), plus he'd be named to 13 in a row (15 total), which is the definition of "perennial"!

Last up today is a pair of Wolverines that makes me appreciate this envelope even more, because it shows that A.J. put as much effort into knowing what to include for me as I did in finding something for him. I love my Michigan uni cards and that's exactly what I have here in 2020 Prizm Draft RCs of QB Shea Patterson and WR Donovan Peoples-Jones. It's no surprise that Shea went undrafted after the way his Michigan career went, but DPJ has a chance to make some noise in his upcoming second season with the Browns after putting up 14 TD catches and two punt return scores in college.

And here's the backs for those of you who like to see those.

A.J., once again I'm glad you liked the Tino, and I'll be happy to look for more stuff you could potentially use, especially if I can get back to the same show next week. Either way, I really appreciate you getting me back with this five pack that really targeted my collections nicely!

With nothing else coming in the mail for the foreseeable future I'm planning to be back next time with more Sportlots cards as I continue to work through those stacks.