2026 trade package #15: the Collector

It's a Friday, it's a beautiful day, and even better yet, it's celebration time! One of my oldest blogging/collecting friends is marking a couple big anniversaries, and in typical fashion he decided to put a generous spin on it and send out cards to a lucky few.

By now you've probably seen a few posts that open up with this image, and I'm proud to have been included in Chris's (the Collector) Anniversary Celebration Extravaganza! 40 years of collecting and 10 of blogging are big deals for sure, and the hobby and blogosphere are much better places for having Chris be part of them.

Of course I also love his incorporation of Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons in the logo, and if I had the power, I'd nominate Chris for the second annual Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence. Anybody that agrees is one of the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked.

Anyway, if you haven't for some reason, do yourself a favor and go check out his anniversary-related posts, including the box breaks of Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary he included in his generous (I'm gonna use that word a lot today) giveaway packages.

I mean, what other word can you use to describe a big-ass envelope stuffed with free cards that cost him $13 to mail?

Here's an overview of the contents: a note, three unopened packs, some penny sleeves, and a bunch of cards. I opened the top two packs (which you'll see shortly) but since I have a complete '86 Topps set, I decided to leave that rack pack sealed, one he included thoughtfully as Tigers HOFer Jack Morris appears on the front.

I tend to think of including a note in a trade package as a classy thing to do, even if it's just a brief "thanks for trading and I hope you enjoy these!" So I thought this "thank you" from Chris was very, very nice, and it just continues to prove that he deserves all the love for being a fantastic writer and trader, not to mention going through a tough time the past few years. I'm grateful he stuck with it and hope he does keep the urge to write more even if he's collecting less. His blog has been the home of some very well researched and written series, and the Collector remains one of my all-time favorites among long-timers like Night Owl and Fuji.

Ok, now that I've gone overboard in expressing my appreciation, here's the loot, starting with my pack of '92 Topps:

Nothing too crazy here, but plenty of names that I know, with Hrbek and Bernie being the two best names if you ask me.

And 2026 Bowman is certainly the newest product I've opened in a long time. Matt Holiday's kid and Roman Anthony are solid pulls, and I also got an Electric Sluggers insert of Aiva Arquette of Miami. The latter is a 2025 first-rounder out of Oregon State via his birthplace of Hawaii (cool!), and a pre-2026 consensus top-50 prospect.

Now that we're done with the packs, here are the cards Chris "curated" for me, and as always (and I do mean always), he did an excellent job:

A pair of Cronenworths is a great place to start! You'll see a solid amount of the aforementioned Topps Chrome Platinum throughout my post as well as those of others who received these packages thanks to Chris breaking a few boxes. That includes guys like Greene and Kell. He also sent me a good number of '25 Topps Tigers, plus a cool '26 Diamante Foil of OF Parker Meadows.

Oddly enough this scan opens and closes with the two biggest names the Tigers traded (correctly, I'd say) at this year's deadline. That Ripken is one of three Chris sent, and at 99 copies made is one of a pair that were numbered too! Future HOFer Scherzer continues to be very welcome in trade packages like this, especially when it's on an "ace" playing card-themed item.

And lots of shiny in the last baseball scan. The whole top row plus the Ripken at the bottom comprises Refractors, most of which are from TCPA. While blog namesake guy Verlander is much appreciated, the Cal is especially cool, and it was fun seeing Chris pull that from his box and note it in his break video. Speaking of Ripken the younger, that three-player Orioles card is numbered to just 50! And going back to Mr. Kate Upton, the Heritage insert as another very nice item as it's a holofoil version. Then, finally, we go back to Cronenworth with what's hit #6 (third relic), an Absolute jersey that pairs him up with erstwhile Tiger Isaac Paredes, a very cool piece for this here blog.

I'll just spoil now that Chris hit all four major sports. The Penny/Shaq/Webber insert is very cool and I was happy to get an insert of recent Wolverines basketballer Danny Wolf.

He delivered even more high quality stuff when it came to football. The Holo parallel of RB Blake Corum, one of my absolute favorite recent guys, is one of three you'll see if that player. I think Will Johnson's going to have a very good NFL career, and I'm happy to see him on some nice color such as the Prizm/Chrome pair above. That Bowman Chrome U insert of brief UM transfer QB Mikey Keene is my first card of his from a major manufacturer (the other are ONIT) so that was a fun inclusion). No matter whether or not he starts again in the NFL, I love seeing new cards of McCarthy, especially in college action. Sainristil and Schoonmaker are two more recent guys that join the rainbow here. And the Woodson pairing is quite nice: a Select parallel numbered /149 and an acetate-type insert that looks very cool in-hand.

Cleaning up the football items, we get the other two Corum cards: yet another eye-popping color parallel plus a Pink parallel of a blue Rams jersey swatch, giving "the Great" five hits in my collection. And those are joined by the card that was covered up by a note in the picture above that shows everything. Chris says he found that IP/TTM auto of five-time Pro Bowl OT Mike Kenn in a dollar box and knew it was worth it regardless of its legitimacy. Good call!

I'll get to the larger hockey stack featuring my Wolverines in a moment, but first there was this OPC Platinum Wings pair: Swedish wingers Jonatan Berggren and Lucas Ryamond. The latter's still with the team and has been a quality player since being selected #4 overall in 2020.

Hockey scan 1/2 includes some very good names in Beniers, Blankenburg, Connor, Hughes, Johnson, and Larkin, and of course Larkin and Patch are two of my favorite icers to collect. The Pacioretty minor league card from '08-'09 is especially cool as I have so few of those when it comes to collecting hockey. Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, I'm still happily collecting Larkin despite the ongoing saga of his trade demands.

And lastly, Greg Pateryn, Owen Power, and Zach Werenski join the party along with an encore from Hughes. The Hughes/Werenski defensive pairing here is a very impressive one, given they both are Norris Trophy winners who are two-time All-Stars that were also named to their All-Rookie teams during their debuts. That UD Bustle insert of Zach is definitely one of these nicest cards in the whole envelope.

Chris, once again, thanks so much for this huge, generous, and hugely generous package of cards that you sent to celebrate two big personal anniversaries of your own. I can't say enough how glad I am that there's still a good number of bloggers like you who keep that practice alive, and that we've been able to continue trading cards through ups and downs. No matter what your collecting and blogging future look like, you've earned some rest to go along with all the respect you deserve. And I'm enjoying reading all of the other posts by folks who received these packages. Be well, and be ready for the next time I can send cards back your way!

I'll try to be back relatively soon with more posts covering my pickups from the past few months, but today's took priority over everything else. I've still got tons of scans covering eBay, shows, Facebook, and TCDb trading to get to and look forward to sharing those soon!

2025 trade package #29: Scribbled Ink

Tonight's trade package, the final one of 2025, came from Paul of the erstwhile blog Scribbled Ink (plus he also ditched Xitter as cool people are wont to do). He and I don't trade all that often anymore as he's been busy with family and other stuff, but fortunately we do get together for the occasional deal. I sent him some cards around Christmas and then of course he sent the above BOX my way, which usually indicates insanely awesome goodies (spoiler alert: it contained some insanely awesome goodies).

Seriously, Paul's basically the Wes of the north when it comes to what he sends me these days from his estate sale purchases. Here's what my former fellow Michigander sent me late in December:

This complete boxed set of 1993 Pinnacle Cooperstown is a great place to start. Not only does it include the box portion, but it comes with an attached panel featuring a good look at the front and back of Cal Ripken Jr.'s card:

Also, box sets with printed checklists on them are awesome. Also also, boxed sets are awesome. This is a great looking set from when the Pinnacle brand really got its design juices flowing. The checklist is excellent and it includes PC guys Ripken, Gwynn, Griffey, Larkin, and Fielder, plus the rest of the lineup isn't exactly chopped liver. For taking a stab at who'd make the Hall back then, they did a pretty good job. Of this bunch, only these guys haven't been selected: Murphy, Mattingly, Bonds, Clark, Clemens, Gooden, Carter, Gonzalez, Fielder, and McGwire. Out of that group, you've got a few "not quites" along with PED-adjacent names. So, yeah, great start!

Here's the rest of the card portion, plus a bonus 2024 schedule for Paul's current home team, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, who play Double-A ball in the Blue Jays organization.

Switching over to football for a minute, Paul included a RC of HOF DB Ty Law, plus Michigan uni autos courtesy of Panini Contenders Draft Picks of FB/TE Khalid Hill and S Tyree Kinnel. Hill was an outstanding blocker who could occasionally catch a pass while Kinnel played in Ann Arbor from 2015-18 as a solid contributor in the defensive backfield.

So what other kinds of ridiculousness did Paul get up to this time? Let's start with this:

Go ahead, get all of your plate jokes out of the way. This roughly 8" plate features some great artwork of the Iron Man throughout his career, and of course it was made to celebrate Cal standing alone as the leader in consecutive games played.

The back has four different write-ups on the outer edge while the inside is useful for identifying it--and making it known you should not be eating off of this thing! I'm not sure who else was part of this series distributed by the Bradford Exchange other than Lou Gehrig and Mark McGwire. Regardless, it's a great looking showpiece and Paul did a great job getting it to me in ONE piece.

Next, if this ball looks familiar, that's because you saw one like it in a trade package from Kerry last year. The main difference is that this one has a different photo, and a black & white one at that, on one of the panels. All I can say is that great minds think alike because this one is just as cool as the one Kerry was nice enough to send me (also in a box!).

That's already some very nice stuff, but we haven't gotten to the true ridiculousness yet. I'll give you a hint: the Ripken ball above wasn't the only one in this package:

As soon as I pulled these out, I immediately DMed Paul and asked him if they were what I thought they were: baseballs (ROMLBs, in fact) signed by Griffey and Ripken. While he couldn't offer a COA from either, the previous owner of them (Paul acquired them through an estate sale) was considered a "reputable" collector. Considering I have zero interest in ever giving these up, that's more than good enough for me to consider them to be authentic. So, one more time, autographed official MLB balls of two of my all-time favorite HOF PC guys of all time: Griffey and Ripken. Now do you see why I'm saying Paul's ridiculous?!

In all seriousness this was just another example of Paul's extreme generosity (you know, the same guy that sent me separate shipments including a Mickey Tettleton signed bat and then a Dean Palmer game-used one) which I assure you I completely appreciate and don't take for granted. I have no idea how to get him back for these but I'm currently scheming away so I can return the favor at some point.

Until then, thank you so much, Paul, for another incredible box of greatness! Your mailings remain undefeated and you've more than earned your place on the hobby Mount Rushmore of generosity with Wes. This was a fantastic way to close out my year in blogger trades and I'm still picking my jaw up off the floor from you sending me those two baseballs. Readers, please show Paul some love in the comments!

I'll try to be back a bit sooner for the next few posts which will close out 2025 for me. I would expect those to be: the December show, eBay pickups, and one or two posts recapping TCDb trades from July-December. Then I'll be able to move on to 2026 with this month's show and two blogger trades I've already been fortunate enough to receive!

Recognizing Extreme Generosity: CardBoredom

I'm sure I've started many posts the same way as this one, but it's always worth mentioning how much this hobby attracts some very generous people who enjoy doing nice things for their fellow collectors. That's one of the biggest reasons I've collected as long as I have, especially thanks to following the example of some fellow bloggers whose examples I've followed over the years. How great it is to receive a surprise envelope containing not a trade, but a gift from someone who isn't expecting anything in return? Or to be the one doing the surprising, knowing you're about to make someone's day?

The reason for the sappy (but heartfelt!) intro tonight is such an unexpected gift that I received back in April thanks to David of CardBoredom. It was "unexpected" in the sense that the card he sent floored me, though I should explain that he first emailed me for my address hoping I'd accept what he sent without arguing about getting something for free. You'll notice I didn't use "trade package" in the title because this wasn't a trade, it was one blogger treating another to a very cool item (which I promise I'll get to soon). As a matter of fact, he and I have never traded before, which makes this experience even more generous on his part.

Not that I should be surprised, given what he says in a FAQ section found in his About page:

Yep, that sounds like a stand-up guy to me! Ok, I'm pretty much out of synonyms for "generosity" here, and I'll show off what he sent in just a second, but first, I want to highlight this:

I'm really not exaggerating when I say that this is one of the nicest things anyone in the hobby has ever done for me, and that's really saying something. Recognizing my blog, sending me something unprompted, and then not worrying whether or not I even keep it (oh, but I'll be keeping it).

By now you must have guessed that David sent me something pretty significant, and you'd be right:

"That sure looks like Al Kaline's 1955 Topps base," some of you are saying, because you're way more educated about vintage sets than I am. That is indeed Mr. Tiger's second ever Topps issue, and now the oldest in my collection of him by a mile (next best is 1958 Topps #304, the card he shared with Harvey Kuenn).

I don't think I can stress enough that this is a 1955 Topps base of a HOFer (and Tigers favorite) which also happens to be in very nice condition given it's 70 years old! Guys, this isn't some kid's card that took a few spins on his bike spokes, was pinned to his wall, or was written on. It's a well-loved gem I'd happily own with creases and tearing galore, but I don't have to slum it with something like that because my copy is a bit rounded with minor stains and creases.

Did the person who originally owned this card have any idea that its bonus baby subject, whose stats in his first full MLB campaign of 1954 were somewhat pedestrian, would go on to become a HOFer and franchise icon? Maybe they expected big things the following year when he won the AL batting title as a 20-year-old and lost a close race with Yogi Berra for the league's MVP.

I don't know, but I have the benefit of knowing the outcome to Al's career and his value to my favorite baseball team, playing all 22 years in Detroit, helping them to the '68 World Series, and being a key voice of experience for the franchise until his death five years ago. That alone would make this card a special addition to my collection, but it's even more gratifying to receive it as a gift from someone as generous (see?) as David.

Before I end this post I want to highlight the fact that David treated a few others I follow to some very nice freebies as well. If you missed them at all, please check out the related posts on:

• Baseball Cards Come to Life
• Cards Over Coffee
• Diamond Jesters

(And possibly others that I missed.)

As for me, please consider your mission accomplished, David. I'm humbled to have received a card I'll certainly treasure for a long, long time, from someone who doesn't want anything in return. That's not to say that I won't ever try to hit you back, but for now I'll at least try to pay it forward to someone else who'll hopefully experience the same joy I did thanks to you!