2022 trade package #13: Cards on Cards

Time to get back to some old fashioned blogger trades! Today's is from Kerry of Cards on Cards. I recently sent him a mix of stuff from shows and other sources and not long after I found a bubble mailer from him in my mailbox containing a great combination of Tigers and some of my PCs:

We'll look at the Tigers today first, and almost all of them are current players, even if some are injured or down in AAA. Baddoo's Chronicles Gold Standard base looks great but I can't say the same for the bland design of the Pinnacle version with the same photo. Baez has heated up of late and socked a grand slam in a win last night so maybe he's righted the ship? I like the numbered 2022 Donruss Red parallel here, and you'll see another shortly. There's four more Miggy cards to add to his large collection (350-plus!) and I'm a fan of both the Contenders and Elite Series insert (numbered /349!) to say nothing of the other two.

Cameron's been up and down a bit but Mike's son could still turn into a productive bench OF guy. Jeimer (who needs to take an example from Baez) looks good on his own Donruss Red /2022. Manning (Rated Rookie!) still has a shot to return this season from injury, but unfortunately that won't be the case for TJ subject Casey Mize. I'm grateful to Kerry for the six new Mize cards, though! The Chronicles Revolution and Donruss base DK card are very cool and I was also happy to score my first hit of the injured prospect, a Donruss jersey!

Paredes' Chronicles Elite card looks great but mainly it's just a reminder that awful GM Al Avila lost him to Tampa in a panic trade for Austin Meadows after Riley Greene got hurt before the season. I hope Rogers can return to health soon and bump Tucker Barnhart to a reserve role (and eventually off the team for good). Skubal's been roughed up lately since a strong start, not that it matters much in a lost season like 2022.

With the Tigers covered we can get into some other player collections. I was stoked to find the five Cronenworth cards you see above since I love to see his collection grow as he's the most notable Wolverine in the Majors right now, if not tied with Boston's Rich Hill. The Classics design is pretty boring but the Revolution cards bring to mind the heyday of Pacific. By the way, the version on the right is the Fractal parallel. Michigan alum Jesse Franklin looks smart on a (what else?) Blue Prizm from 2020 Prizm Draft, and I'm now up to six cards of his, with few looking better than this one that also comes with a great college action photo.

And today's last scan covers two of my most popular PCs. Cal is still #1 by a mile and with more than 1100 of his cards in my collection it's always a thrill to get new stuff of his. That was the case with all three cards you see along the top row featuring the Iron Man: 2021 Chronicles Revolution and Prizm and 2022 Diamond Kings. I wouldn't likely be chasing these down myself unless I found them at a show in dime/quarter boxes so I appreciate folks like Kerry that take the time and effort to send stuff from newer releases my way.

Finally, we have the co-star of the package who also got to add six new cards to his collection. You might even go so far as to say that's...too many? It's the guy whose name is at the top of every post you read here! Kerry sent me a great variety of Verlanders, all of which I needed. First you see a 2012 Heritage Chrome insert (#d /1963) and then we move all the way up to 2021 Prizm's Red/White/Blue Prizm parallel, which is a few weeks early for Independence Day but plenty welcome today. The four recent Topps cards you see are a 2021 Topps Update 1992 Topps Reflux--I mean Redux--insert along with base from the same year's Gallery (still looking nice!) and Holiday, plus 2022 Opening Day. JV's off to a string 9-3 start this year with a ridiculous 2.22 ERA and 84 strikeouts. In case any of you forgot, he pitched in a single game in 2020 and none last season before returning this year...at age 39. What can you say other than: legend.

Kerry, thanks so much for sending me some great cards like you always do! Hopefully next weekend I'll be back to the monthly show to start a new stack to send back your way.

Next up will be another envelope from a good friend and reliable trade partner, so watch out for that soon.

2022 trade package #12: The Collector

A few weeks ago I was flipping through Facebook Marketplace as usual and something caught my eye: a signed hardback copy of Anna Kendrick's Scrappy Little Nobody. And it was just $5! And I thought, you know who I bet would love this? Chris from the Collector. A quick car ride (before gas hit $5/gallon!) and a media mail label and the memoir written by the adorable actress and singer was hit.

Oh, and Chris did indeed love it. He also let me know he was returning the favor with a PWE heading my way, and that showed up the other day. And the best part of the hobby, "Here's something you'll like!" "Cool, here's something from me that you'll like!" goes ever on.

Chris did a great job selecting cards that would fit my various collections, and between my experience of trading with him, plus the good omen of the envelope--

--and its Yogi stamps!--I had no doubt he would.

Here's what he sent this time:

The three-card baseball portion was of the Tigers-and-PCs variety, always a great way to go. Baddoo and Jeimer are emblematic of Detroit's anemic offense this year though they're hardly alone. They both also have shown flashes in the past and may be able to turn things around. Their cards here hail from Panini's 2022 Donruss product, with the rule 5 pick coming out of the Holo Red parallel and the former Cubs prospect repping Independence Day. Meanwhile, #1 player Cal Ripken Jr. represents the PC contingent out of Topps' high-end 2020 Museum Collection set. I can claim more than 1,100 Ripkens in my collection thanks to folks like Chris.

Flipping over to the gridiron we have another great trio, all of which were also new to me. While impatiently waiting for college football season to return (but otherwise enjoying the non-football season weather, my favorite) I've once again been going through WolverineHistorian's youtube channel and going on the nostalgia trip of watching my favorite teams and games. These three guys--Braylon Edwards, Brian Griese, and Cato June--all feature in some of those, which is no surprise given the amount of talent that's poured out of Ann Arbor. Braylon is a Blue parallel from 2005 Press Pass (college uni!), Griese is a different Blue parallel from the same year but Topps' Bazooka product, and June is one of three Colts (who wore white and, wait for it, blue unis) on a Topps Total base, also also from 2005. GO BLUE!

Last up is a quartet of hockey cards (no surprise--Chris' TCDB profile is "hockeydude"!) with one Wolverine and three Wings. Harlock's the former UM defenseman, and Chris contributed just the second card to his PC, a 99-2000 Ultimate Victory base. He has under 50 cards listed on TCDB but the four-year UM icer (89-90 through 92-93) did appear in NHL games with the Leafs, Isles, and Thrashers after being drafted by Chris' Devils.

Meanwhile, former Wings goalie Jimmy Howard has a college connection that I bring up often as I saw my Wolverines defeat him and his Maine team live in the NCAA regionals the last time they were held at college sites (which was a blast, so obviously the NCAA said no way to that!). Meanwhile, I'm not as familiar with some of the recent Wings as I haven't been following as much during the team's doldrums the past few years. Namestnikov is an ex-first round pick of the Lightning who's suited up for six teams over nine seasons including more than 100 games with Detroit the last couple years before being sent to Dallas for a draft pick. Zetterberg of course needs no introduction, and neither does the manufacturer of his die-cut Atomic-branded base card: Pacific. Hank was a blast to watch in his 15 seasons in Detroit and a die-cut Pacific card is a kick-ass reminder of that.

Chris, thanks for thinking of me with a PWE that once again expertly targeted my collections! I hope you enjoy Ms. Kendrick's book while you're humming along to "Cups", which at least always runs through my head whenever I think of her (besides Up in the Air, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Pitch Perfect, and her other appearances).

2021 trade package #31: Cards on Cards

I'm liking the idea of getting more cards put away today so let's look at another trade package from late last year! Kerry from Cards on Cards is a great dude to trade with because, as with a few of my other partners, we both college and MLB team and a college. In his case it's a couple of birds--the Cardinals and Oregon Ducks. Both of us saw our colleges lose to tough competition in bowl games, but we also root for the two teams that beat Ohio State in 2021, which is an exclusive and awesome club!

Anyway, back in mid/late November Kerry posted a break of a blaster of Bowman Platinum. While that's one of my least favorite of Topps' overabundance of products, he pulled a card of one of my PC guys and was nice enough to set it aside for me when I asked about it. I made sure to include him in my yearly Christmas cards mailing (which I think he hasn't posted yet? Not that I'm one to talk since I'm only now posting this!) and at some point I believe in December I got a really cool PWE back from him:

First up is rookie sensation Rule V pick Akil Baddoo on a 2021 Panini Chronicles insert. I'm very happy that I was so thoroughly proven wrong about his ability to stick in the bigs because he was a bright spot in 2021, plus he has a chance to step into the shoes vacated by talented character guys Curtis Granderson and Austin Jackson in CF.

The Bowman Platinum of recent Michigan up-and-comer Jake Cronenworth is the card that got this deal started, and that would be his base RC. Side note: you saw the Ice Foil parallel in my trade package post yesterday from Doug. Kerry was generous enough to add another RC to add to the #CroneZone, out of 2021 Topps Chrome (#ChromeZone?). I appreciate Kerry for sending the pair as I try to build his collection despite his prices increasing due to his breakout.

Heading back to the Tigers for a minute, Kerry surprised me with a pair of issues from 2021 Allen & Ginter X. I don't understand the point of the product as it appears to be the same as the regular product with a black color scheme, but I do like getting cards of both Mr. Tiger and rising pitcher Tarik Skubal (also a RC). That's a great photo of an older Kaline, and I need all the Skubals I can get as I watch him compete for a long term spot in the rotation!

Last up in this scan is one many Verlander, and I'm grateful that he included it as it's a new one to me from 2021 Panini Prizm. I don't think I'll have to worry about the number of JV Astros cards in my collection dwarfing Tigers cards anytime soon. After a quick check only about 20% of the nearly 500(!) Verlanders in my collection depict him with Houston, and that is not too many!

Besides that nice bunch, Kerry tossed in five Ripken cards as well. It's really nice to be known for collecting certain players (especially when you don't collect that team in general) and knowing some folks will include them in trade mailers sometimes.

This mostly 2021 group starts with a Panini pair from Donruss and Diamond Kings. The Donruss base mimics the '87 design (if not color scheme since they're white instead of black) while the DK card, a Red Frame parallel, looks super sharp. Long live the Diamond Kings brand/insert/design in general.

Hopping over to Topps we have a pair from this year's Stadium Club offering (and may that continue in perpetuity as well!). The vertical card in the top row is from the Stadium Club Greats insert that reprints fronts from some of the game's biggest stars, then has a writeup on the back. This one is, of course, Cal's appearance in the '91 Debut set that's now more than 30 years old (that can't be right, can it?!). Below it and to the left is the Iron Man's base card from the '21 set, one that includes a cameo from fellow HOFer Wade Boggs. The horizontal action photo is outstanding, and honestly other than the updated brand name logo, I'd say the card could pass for a number of past designs. Thumbs way up!

And to close things out this evening we have the smallest item in the envelope: a 2015 Topps sticker. Cal joins a number of past stars in a checklist that mostly skews towards today's players (and mascots), hopefully bringing them to the attention of younger generations. I have stickers in my collection dating back to at least the 70s and will continue to enjoy collecting them as long as they're produced alongside cards. The biggest difference is that I'm no longer sticking them into albums like I did as a kid. Then they wouldn't be mint condition!

Kerry, thanks again for sending the Bowman Platinum Cronenworth my way and giving it some very nice company for the trip! I appreciate it as always and look forward to another great year of trading with you in 2022. Expect a healthy pile of Cards and Ducks to come your way once I've restocked.

Coming up next is, you guessed it, another blogger trade package!