2020 trade package #11: Brad's Blog

I'm currently awaiting my end of a pair of TCDB trades, currently sitting on "In transit, arriving late" and "Delivery date unknown" statuses, but that doesn't mean I'm being deprived of cards in my mailbox. Not if Brad of Brad's Blog has anything to say about it! The Phillies collector/Ryan Howard supercollector surprised me with a mailer that arrived yesterday, one that was both beneficial to one of my PCs and easy to scan:

 

I've long since stopped naming my trade posts, opting to stick with just the blog/sender name, but if I hadn't, I'd probably call this one "two (of) many Verlanders." Eh? Eh? This is quite the pair of cards of the pride of Manikin Sabot, Virginia, and Goochland High, Justin Verlander. Hailing from approximately opposite ends of his career we get to see young and old versions of Mr. Kate Upton.

#1 is a 2005 Bowman Draft Gold parallel, which would have come out after his RC-not-(RC) from the regular Bowman set (which I still need!). I like that the Team USA jerseys kind of ended up being Tigers colors back then. In this case "back then" was 2003, when the collegiate team participated in series with Japan, Mexico, and a couple tours, then competed in the Pan American Games. Verlander has had the best career of that roster, which included fellow stars Dustin Pedroia, Huston Street, and Jered Weaver, plus future busts Jeff Larish (Tigers) and Jeff Clement (Mariners). By my count 10 of the 20 team members were selected in the first or second rounds in the '04 and '05 drafts, so it was a pretty good group. Anyway, it's a nice parallel of one of JV's earliest mainstream cards.

Today's other contender may look like a regular 2018 Topps base appearance, but what if I told you his actual "regular 2018 Topps base appearance" looks like this?:

(I had to grab that image from COMC--I don't actually have this one yet somehow!) I couldn't say for sure before looking it up, but given how nice #1 was, I had a feeling Brad had sent me a short print, and that hunch proved to be correct. This horizontal issue with JV celebrating with his (new) teammates is the "SP" version with an even rarer SSP available to boot. I think I may have just one other JV SP, whose cards still sell quite well, so this was another generous offering by Brad.

Thanks again for a fun surprise envelope as I was anxiously awaiting a couple other packages, Brad! These are excellent additions to my Verlander collection, and as the name implies, I can't have too many. While I don't have more than a couple things set aside for you at the moment, I'll work on a response to send back your way whenever I can!

2019 trade package #7: Brad's Blog

Brad of Brad's Blog is the next generous blogger to have hit my mailbox in what's shaping up to be a surprisingly busy month!  Not that you'd know it given the usual dearth of posts around here.  Well it's about time I took a break from my TCDB-induced ADD, gave Brad (among other traders) his due, and put some cards away!

The goods from this terrific bubble envelope stuffed with Tigers:

Tigers, like these five guys, two of which are still with the team.  I recently entered all of my Miggy cards into TCDB (including these and stuff from the rest of my trades) and he ended up in the top 10 of my baseball collection, which is pretty cool.   I'm most excited for that Castellanos Negative Refractor, though, even if Halloween is six-ish months away.  And the Rajai Gold is a fun reminder of the walk-off slam I saw him hit a few years ago.

In keeping with the theme of the last scan, here's five more players, including at least one HOFer.  I really hope Fulmer heals up and returns to his pre-injury form instead of becoming another flash-in-the-pan, what-if story.  And while I'm at it, I hope Jimenez, seen twice here in shiny form, avoids the fate of former Detroit RP Bruce Rondon.  Then there's three excellent "Killer 'K's" in Kaline and Kell--who were outstanding to listen to when they called games--and recent favorite Ian Kinsler.  Question:  has Topps ever made anything as simple and excellent as Greats of the Game?

He may be starring for another team--what former Tiger isn't these days?--but it's still fun to pile up new cards of J.D. Martinez.  Ditto for the recently retired Victor when they have a nice parallel border.  I'm glad to see McCann doing good things even if it's for the hated White Sox.  Stewart's been a somewhat interesting bat on an absolutely garbage offense in 2019.  Tettleton also played for some awful Tigers teams but was fun to watch.

Brad included what I'll assume is a team set from 2018 Heritage, which has a solid design as usual.  Four of these guys are currently with the team, with Fiers (Oakland) and Gerber being the exceptions.  Niko's been useful around the diamond, at least, and Greene has locked down the games the Tigers can get to him.

Of these guys, unfortunately the one I like the least--Zimmermann--is still with the team, though I hope he recovers well from his injury.  Liriano's one year in Motown was nothing to write home about and Mahtook, to nobody's surprise, didn't work out either.  Happily, Martin recovered from his near-fatal illness after joining the Indians, so there's a bright spot!

And now we get to the really good stuff.  Tram and Whitaker go together again, as is mandatory.  MANDATORY--you hear me, MLB Hall of Fame?  I don't always highlight non-hits like this, but I give Brad a huge thumbs up for sending me the '79 Topps Trammell second-year as I somehow didn't have it.  While the Whitakers are dupes I'm always happy to get any and all "Sweet" Lous in my mailbox.  And three of the five Verlanders are new to me as well, which is something that's not terribly easy to do given the stack I now have.

You've already seen lots of nice base and insert stuff, so maybe you're as surprised to see this sick Miggy patch here as I was when sorting through the envelope's contents.  Numbered a ridiculous 06/10, it's the Red parallel from 2018 Topps Museum Collection's Meaningful Material Relics.  That's my first patch of the future HOFer and I appreciate that Brad was generous enough to flip it my way!

And as if I wasn't wowed enough by that, check out this sweet vintage trio!  As his appearance implies on that '67 Topps leaders card, McLain was indeed among the AL's best in 1966, placing second in wins with an even 20 to Kaat's 25.  His teammate Wilson came over from Boston partway through the season and put up 13 of his third-place 18 victories in a season where he also led the league in bWAR!

McLain's all well and good, but the pair of 60s Kalines really floored me which is why I saved them for last here.  On the left is his '66 base card which includes a bit more than half of his career stats.  At that point he'd piled up 1949 hits and exactly 250 homers, and while he didn't even eclipse the 400-mark for the latter, Mr. Tiger did join the 3000-hit club in 1974, his final season.

His other card hails from the following year's set and pairs him up with another former Tigers star, or "Bengal Belter" if you'd like, "Stormin'" Norman Cash.  1966 saw Kaline match his career high with 29 longballs while Cash was money with a team-high 32 of his own, good enough to join his teammate at the Midsummer Classic.  Of course the year after this card was released the players shared the excitement of a World Series ring.

Brad, thanks again for some amazing new cards I'm excited to add to my collection because of this well-balanced envelope!  As always I'll be on the lookout for new Phillies (and the occasional Frank Thomas) for you.

2015 trade package #18: Brad's Blog appears from out of the woodwork

Yes I'm finally back again and I'm even getting around to posting trade packages from last month, which is almost two months ago at this point!

Today's envelope comes from that guy that runs Brad's Blog--Bob or Bill or whoever.  The biggest Ryan Howard collector (along with Frank Thomas!) I know sent me a very cool unexpected bunch of cards.  Feast your eyes on these:

Page 1 starts with Tim Belcher, a pitcher for the '94 Tigers who lost 15 games that season but finished above .500 for his solid 14-year career.  Next up is a Bondo from 2007 Topps Chrome.  After him is Eric Davis, and I'm not sure everybody remembers his two-season, 60 game stint with Detroit in 93-94; by the way, he was traded to the Dodgers for Tim Belcher in '91!  More successful as Tigers were Cecil "Big Daddy" Fielder, seen here on a quartet of cards, and Travis Fryman.

This group starts with Avi Garcia, the guy the Tiger flipped to the White Sox in the deal that netted them Jose Iglesias, a trade that's worked out well for both teams so far.  Gardiner was an early-90s pitcher I can't claim to remember.  Dan Gladden is best know for being with the Giants and Twins in the 80s, then appeared in Detroit for his final two seasons.  Gomez, turning two against a sliding Mike Greenwell, was drafted by the Tigers and went on to a solid career as a role-playing IF.  Incaviglia was a #1 overall pick whose draft story overshadows a career that saw his power dwindle by the mid-90s.  Infante was a two-time Tiger who appeared on both recent World Series squads.  Jack Morris is very well known and is seen here on an '82 Topps All-Star subset.  Parrish is one of my all-time favorite Detroit catchers and made it to his fifth straight ASG in '86.  And David Wells needs no introduction at this point.

Hey, how about my favorite pair of Tigers PC guys?  I don't care if they're from the junk wax era or the Toppsopoly era, I want 'em if you've got 'em!

Bruce Rondon 2013 Panini America's Pastime Inked auto (#100/125)

Here's something I wasn't expecting in this unexpected trade package:  my first autograph of rotund reliever Bruce Rondon!  The big guy has had a forgettable 2015 so far but it's nice to see him back from injury after a lost 2014; his debut the previous year led many to believe he could be a key bullpen piece before long, and I think the fireballer still has it in him once he gets back in sync.

Curtis Granderson 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini Wood (#4/5)

And now the biggest surprise from this surprise arrival:  a very, VERY low-numbered Granderson!  That's right, I'll come out and say it--this card gave me Wood.  It's my first of that A&G parallel so I'm thrilled that it's one of the guys I love to collect, Yankee or not.  I'd call this a top-three card in his collection so far, just beautiful.

Thanks again for the extremely generous and out-of-the-blue envelope, Brad!  I actually have a few things set aside for you that I'll send out in the near future.

Ok, one trade post down, a few more to go!

Happy outgoing mail Friday!

I'm just back from the post office taking care of shipping four trade packages I've been dragging my feet on or just couldn't send until today:

None are surprises, so I'll reveal their eventual destinations right away (click the banners to go to each blog):

This is a newer blog run by Pirates/WVU Mountaineers fan Matt, so check it out!

Brad recently traded me a beautiful Drew Smyly Refractor auto along with a bunch of Tigers, and since my COMC package arrived today, I'm finally able to respond in kind, so keep your eye out for a trade post from him soon!

GCRL promised me a pretty exciting vintage card, among other stuff, for a few specific COMC wants, so I look forward to seeing how that return turns out.

Spiegel asked for--surprise--a Hideo Nomo insert on COMC, and I was happy to oblige and make that part of a trade package headed to his coast.  I don't know what he has planned for me, but everyone knows he's great to trade with so I can't wait!

You guys should all hopefully see your packages by Tuesday.  Sorry to those of you I made wait this long, and thanks again for making trades with me and making the blogging experience that much better!

2014 trade package #3: Brad nails it

Keeping up with yesterday's theme of my first trade with a particular blogger since late 2012, here's another fantastic package I received, my second from whatever the guy's name is that runs Brad's Blog.  The Ryan Howard aficionado (the MLB player, not the character on The Office) highlighted some trade bait not too long ago and I jumped all over a card that especially interested me.  In return, I'll be sending Brad a few cards I think he'll be pretty excited about--you know, as soon as they make it into my hands first.  In the meantime, he actually asked if it was ok if he threw in some other Tigers?  As if anybody needs my permission!  Here's what the Philly Fanatic sent me this time:

Tigers, part 1.  A good mix of players here, with my favorite being the sparkly Bonderman, but a trio of Miggys is always welcome too!

More Tigers, and a good bunch at that.  I'd call the two Kaline inserts the highlights of this scan, but the CYMTO of Fidrych is great as well.  AND I got another Granderson.

Best scan of the package?  Just three players and they're all outstanding:  Scherzer, Tram, and JV.  Better yet, one of the Verlanders is a Topps Gold parallel, one of my traditional favorites.

You can't really have Trammell without Whitaker, and fortunately Brad got that right, including a sweet double-play card.  I also wanted to show off a few of the inserts he included, such as the Higginson Refractor, which is a beautiful card of a player I don't care for, and will reside with the rest of my Tigers inserts. Much of the rest of this scan has me seeing Red too.

Here's a last of the bonus Tigers, including a few misc. players and prospects.  Three of them--Iggy, Smyly, and Rondon--are rising stars that could be a big part of a successful 2014 Tigers season.  The Deivi Cruz is a nice action shot that got Chrome-ified.  And the Rivera takes me back to the early 00s when he was a catcher with huge offensive potential.  Speaking of offensive, all of the Chrome cards were impossible to keep straight and in line with the rest of the stuff in the scan thanks to their infamous bowing--I think I spent five minutes trying to get them just right and finally gave up!

And now for the card that originated this here trade:

Drew Smyly 2012 Topps Chrome Rookie Autographs Blue Refractor auto (#039/199)

BLUE REFRACTOR IS BEST REFRACTOR.  I'm not a prospector by any means, but considering Smyly's potential and flashes of brilliance last year, I jumped at getting this gorgeous auto before the kid hypothetically blows up.  And even if he blows IT instead, it still looks great alongside the "base" version, a card I landed in a previous trade with Sam the Dimwit.  It's a Refractor, a Tiger, an autograph, and it's blue--what more could I ask for?

Thanks again for a fantastic trade, Brad, and I promise I'll have a response out to you just as soon as the COMC package arrives in my mailbox, and I'll load it up with a few surprise bonuses as well.  Readers, show some brotherly love to a great blogger by heading over to Brad's Blog tonight!

Merry TradePostMas!

Hi everybody!

Work and life have been plenty busy in the last week or so, especially with what's sure to be a kick-ass Christmas quickly arriving next week.  Because of all that, I've been lax in posting over here, but I owe y'all a trade post featuring a couple awesome trade packages I received last week.  You can also see two MORE over at Too Many Manninghams while you're at it.  It doesn't matter what time of year it is--bloggers and readers are always generous.

I do want to point out a quick programming note before I proceed, though:  this will likely be my last post over here until the new year.  If I get up the energy, I'll try to post a year-end look at my spending and resolutions for 2012, but this seems like a good time to focus on family and friends.  I will, however, be keeping up with the blogs in my Google Reader every day.

All right, onto today's trade post fun.  As I mentioned before, many of you jumped all over my fall cleaning lots, which I still really, really appreciate.  What was even cooler is that some of you who did so were also generous enough to shoot me something back.  Here are two examples of that:

Reader Shano (a.k.a. Shannon), who took the city of Cleveland off my hands, mentioned he had some football wantlist help for me, which is always welcome.  He wasn't kidding:

2008 UD First Edition

2010 Score

2008 Topps

As you can see, that may have been a touch of an understatement.  These 19 cards put a nice dent in those three sets, especially the 2008 Topps.  As an added bonus, those featured cards I didn't have of a pair of Wolverines in Tom Brady and Jamar Adams.  Sweet!  Because these weren't sets where I was within a small handful of cards, I'd been neglecting them for a while, but Shannon's got me motivated again to finish these very soon.  Thanks, buddy!  I'll be sending more stuff out your way pretty soon--hopefully this week.

Another fall cleaning lot participant who was nice enough to send something back was the guy who runs Brad's Blog--Steve something.  Oh, no, that's right, his name is Brad.  How the hell are you supposed to remember that?

Brad actually showed off the card he sent me in an overview of some recent show pickups, but you can also now see it here:

Yes, this is how it arrived.  THANKS, USPS!  'Tis the season to continue to be habitual fuckups.  Just to be clear, this is less than 0% the fault of Brad, whose care in packaging the card literally saved it from any damage--that's right, the item in that envelope arrived unscathed due to Brad's TLC ("tender love of cards"). So what did he send me?

An absolutely ridiculous dual auto of a couple Tiger greats! (and I do mean that, especially in Tettleton's case)  I actually already nabbed this one earlier this year, but I know I can find use for it, even if it's trade bait for a fellow Detroit collector.  In any case, it was an extremely generous return for a bunch of Phillies I didn't particularly want.  Thanks again, Brad!  I'm now following his blog, and all of you should too.

Well, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas/awesome holiday season filled with food, football and 'Fractors.  Merry Christmas from TMV!