2023 trade package #14: Cards As I See Them

How great is the blogosphere that you can reconnect with an old trading buddy without missing a beat? I ask because recently I was dealing with one of my favorite TCDb-ers and spotted an item I knew would fit the collection of GCRL Jim of Cards As I See Them perfectly if he didn't already have it. As it turns out he didn't, so eventually I was able to send it northwest of me to his mailbox.

I'm referring to Jim as an "old" trading buddy because for whatever reason we hadn't swapped cards since December of 2015. That's ok because it can totally happen, but you can tell it's been 7 1/2 years because he ceased operations on his Garvey Cey Russell Lopes blog earlier that year and will mark his seventh year of Cards As I See Them in September.

Anyway, it was great working with him again because as if no time had passed he sent me a fantastic return envelope chock full of stuff I love to collect:

We'll start with a couple recent cards of Miggy. I smile looking at the backs of his cards which need the fonts for his stats made smaller to fit in his 20+ years of service. Cronenworth is mostly a newer PC since Jim and I last traded, though his first cards did come out in 2015, but since then he's appeared in a lot more sets. Gehringer's from one of those classic Renata Galasso sets that I can't help but enjoy. Granderson's always a callback to my original blog name that I may decide to return to one day if I feel like it. And it's crazy that Hill's still pitching, an MLB journey that he resumed back in '15 with a few successful appearances with the Red Sox. Speaking of that team, hell yeah to the Chrome Purple Refractor representing his third and most recent stint for the club!

Mr. Tiger is always welcome in a trade envelope that comes my way, and it's no secret why he reached the 3K hit mark! I was very impressed with the number of Barry Larkin cards Jim included, and he even got creative with the '04 Topps Traded checklist. I remain a fan of Topps' 2021 Chrome Platinum Anniversary product because of cards like the one you see dead center.

The 30/30 card got me looking at the other members who joined the club around the time, in this case 1996, the year after he won his NL MVP award. Barry smacked 33 dingers to go with 36 steals, and he was joined that year by Dante Bichette (31/31), Barry Bonds (42/40, which was his fourth 30/30 season and made him the second member of the club Jose Canseco started, since joined by A-Rod and Alfonso Soriano), and Ellis Burks (40/32), Bichette's teammate. It looks like the only other time teammates achieved the feat in the same year was 1987 when HoJo and Darryl Strawberry went 36/32 and 39/36 for the defending champion Mets. By the way, Bonds' dad Bobby was the first player to reach the dual marks five times, since equaled by his son! They and Alfonso Soriano are the only to put up those numbers in four seasons. It's an interesting achievement and group, hence this huge aside about it!

Heading back to today's players, I sure hope Mize has a successful return from TJ surgery. I just looked into his recovery and it's been just a little over a year since he went under the knife...

Not unlike the card that opens this scan! TJ recovery is tough but he could certainly still be part of the team's future, assuming it has one under its current awful ownership. In better news, Tork has shown some signs of improvement lately which is nice to see, though I get how hard the switch from amateur to pro ball can be. The Rainbow foil card below those two features ex-Tiger Robbie Grossman and "what amazing and or completely stupid thing will he do today?" guy Javy Baez.

A Bowman's best autograph of former Tigers SS Dixon Machado was a fun surprise. He's got a super loopy signature that stands out at a time when a lot of guys can't be bothered.

A Mini Ginter X of Larkin brings us back once more to the '90 WS champ whose collection I'm striving to get to the 1000 mark. Then a trio of horizontal cards ends the baseball group. I love quality shots of Jim Abbott's delivery and you know you can expect a good one when it's Stadium Club (bonus for Chrome!). Granderson piled up 31 doubles in '06 but his encore the following season was one for the record books: 38 doubles, 23(!) triples, 23 HR, and 26 steals. Wow!

And last up is a Topps One-Two Punch insert of ex-Tiger teammates Verlander and Scherzer. Those guys were co-aces in Detroit from 2010-14 and each won a Cy Young Award (and Verlander an MVP) and won 20+ games in a season during their run. Yet despite combining for 169 wins over those five seasons, Detroit failed to win a World Series, getting swept by the 2012 Giants, losing in the ALCS twice, falling to Baltimore in the ALDS in 2014, and missing the playoffs entirely in 2010. Those failures loom large since the exits of Scherzer and Verlander signaled the "rebuild" the Tigers remain mired in almost a decade later. So I can't help but laugh at their fate with the 2023 Mets!

Jim added a trio of Michigan Football cards for good measure which was mighty nice of him, and though Edwards is a pretty well known Wolverine, I wouldn't expect just anyone to know which school Hall and Manningham (well, maybe not Manningham!) played for. Braylon, possibly making a great catch, is from 2008 Stadium Club, and he's joined by fellow WR Manningham's RC from the same set, with the latter numbered /1799--pretty sweet! Hall played on the opposite side of the ball as the first-rounder seen on his '07 Topps RC was a defensive back.

Big thanks again to Jim for this excellent mail day and the return to trading between the two of us. I look forward to seeing the reactions from some of you if he posts what I sent him, but regardless, let this recap be a reminder that he's still a great guy to deal with.

Still to come: MORE trade packages, June's show pickups, and a fun eBay score too! When will I get around to them? Eventually!