7/31/26 card show report: Whatever

The past few weeks have been a bit "whatever" sports-wise, what with Michigan Football struggling with its transition to a new coaching staff that was supposed to help; the Tigers' season going out with a whimper and the Red Wings starting with one, proving once again that the Illitch family needs to sell both teams; and the NFL is in full swing but it's hard for me to find any team actually likeable, so I just root for individual former Michigan players.

That "blah" kind of feeling has sort of carried over to my blogging, even though they're not really related. I just don't get the itch to post very often, though don't worry, I don't intend to leave anytime soon because I still really appreciate the trading aspect blogging brings, and I have plenty to show off.

And more importantly, that stuff hasn't dulled my interest in the hobby at all. As a matter of fact, on the last day of July, for what would technically be August's show, I headed east to Taylor and tied my high for show spending for the year at $170.

A large chunk of that money was spent on higher-dollar cards, including a few for myself, but then again, "whatever," right? I haven't been spending like crazy this year (or even the past few years) so a splurge every now and then is fine, especially if I enjoy what I'm bringing home. The results of that thinking are below:

To start with, my 381st Rich Hill card may look somewhat plain, but it's actually the Vintage Stock version of his 2018 flagship base, and is therefore numbered /99. I'm glad to add anything new of his, but a numbered card is even better!

Speaking of pitchers I love to collect, one of my absolute favorites this time was the 2001 Stadium Club Capture the Action Game View of Maddux that you see above. It's not quite a 90s insert as it was made in 2001, but the creativity it brings is certainly in the spirit of the golden era of chase cards. Stadium Club offered some gorgeous insert designs in addition to the perennially awesome base looks, and the addition of the embedded slide is a winner. This is also numbered to just 100 copies. Would you rather have something like this or a slightly different colored variant of the usual Fanatics junk? That's what I thought!

A couple cheap Pudge inserts (which actually demonstrate Topps' most recent lack of design) give way to my first relic of young Tigers IF Colt Keith. It's from 2024 Select and the crazy pattern you see is called a Flash Prizm. No, I can't keep track of all of those either. Colt hasn't turned into the star people hoped he would after promising years in 2024 and '25, but he's still just 25, is versatile, and is locked up on a reasonable contract, so he's got time to become a long-term guy.

Another former Tigers IF, George Kell, made the trip home from this show along with the Maddux above, and I think one or two other cards. His 2002 SP Legendary Cuts bat relic caught my eye and I know I didn't pay as much for it as I thought. The addition of the olde English "D" on the bat chip was a nice touch! That appears to be my first relic of Kell, which surprised me.

Last up from baseball is a relatively understated but pretty solid Cal Ripken Jr. relic. As I march closer to 1500 of his cards, my most significant recent addition to his PC is this 2000 Skybox E-X Genuine Coverage jersey, which is a lovely orange Orioles swatch. There's not a whole lot going on with the design but sometimes that's a good thing. That's relic #10 of the Iron Man in my top player collection.

The football content goes just as hard, if not harder, if you can believe it. The Select base of former Vikings QB McCarthy was from the cheap boxes, but the rest certainly weren't! I'd seen two or three of the big cards in this scan in this seller's "as priced" boxes for quite a while (I'm talking more than a year at least!) and finally said to myself, "whatever," and asked for his best price on them along with the rest of the stuff I picked out. I was satisfied with what he asked and now I own them.

First up is my 78th card of Amara Darboh, and hit #52 (yep, I sure like that ratio!). Hailing from 2017 Rookies & Stars, it's a Longevity Signatures Green auto, and since the serial numbering is right up front you can see why I was especially interested in this one. At just five copies it's my lowest numbered Darboh aside from a printing plate, not to mention the 37th that includes his signature.

Keeping up the WR theme--he was a "TE" briefly in name only at Michigan--is Devin Funchess on a variation of his 2015 Panini Contenders auto/RC. This is the "facing forward" version while a "facing right" front image also exists. This one wasn't nearly as pricey as the others here but was still a fun addition as it joins 36 other cards in my bunches of Funchess.

The last WR in the group is possession guy Jason Avant, a sure-handed receiver for Michigan and then the Eagles. The card you see of him above is from 2006 Leaf Limited, way back when the Leaf name still meant something other than "Endless garbage 1/1s and stupid Trump shit." The bright foil you see is due to the card being a Gold Spotlight parallel of his RC, and it comes with both Avant's signature and a nice two-colored jersey swatch. Though you wouldn't know this by the front, it's almost as rare as the Darboh above, limited to just 10 copies. Just another gorgeous piece of one of my best looking football PCs, now sitting at 67 cards strong.

Last and kind of least, since it pales in comparison to the others--but is still much appreciated--is my third relic of ex-Minnesota QB J.J. McCarthy. The national champ shares a 2004 Donruss Rookie Holiday Dual Sweater insert with former teammate Dallas Turner. As always, these are kind of gimmicky, but also no worse than "event worn" cards, and at least the multiple colors make them more interesting. I'm hoping JJ gets more of a chance with the Giants (or someone else) than he did with the Vikings, who cut bait on him pretty early, at a time when it's become clear a number of young QBs need years to develop. But that's fine since I have no love for the Vikes anyway. "Whatever" again, right?

And that's another successful show in the books. I've got two more to recap and will get to them whenever I feel like it along with the other stuff that's hit my collection since then. Until I do, I hope many of you are doing better than "whatever" when it comes to the teams you root for. Unless you like the Yankees, in which case I'm not sorry!

2025 trade package #12: Sport Card Collectors

Tonight's trade package cards came from the lone blogger envelope(s) I received in June, and none other than Matt of the Sport Card Collectors family of blogs. (Don't worry about me being starved for cards--July ended up being a doozy!) As summer kicked off he sent me a nice little bunch of Tigers and Wolverines:

Who knew back in Spring Training that Riley would be an All-Star? It's no surprise that he continues to make highlight reel plays night after night, though! Jobe's unfortunately on the shelf due to the dreaded TJ surgery, but he's certainly earned his Rated Rookie logo. I believe Keith's '25 Topps parallel above is called "Silver Crackle Foilboard," not that I'd have any clue if I couldn't look it up somewhere. The number of parallels is too damn high!

Moving to the second row, Mize no longer pitches for the Erie Seawolves (or Moon Mammoths, if you prefer, thanks to the wonderful John Oliver), but that's because he's 10-4 for the Motor City Kitties this season! Olson ('25 Topps Holo Foil, apparently? I dunno, I see that and want to call it Sand Glitter, another parallel offering) is also on the shelf for at least the rest of the regular season, but he has an outside shot at a return for the playoffs. Perez (2020 Bowman Chrome Prospects Refractors) was supposed to be the centerpiece in the Verlander-to-the-Astros trade, but that didn't work out--JV's still pitching and Perez hasn't pitched in '25 that I can see.

The last regular sized card is a '24 Topps Update Gold (#d /2024) of short term Tiger Gio Urshela, who appeared in just under 100 games with the 2024 Tigers and then was released. There may be way too many parallels but Topps's Gold is still a solid yearly offering. And last up is a '21 Ginter A&G Back Mini of Daz Cameron, another promising young player that came over in the Verlander trade but didn't work out. He's still active, at least, having caught on with the A's in '24 and Milwaukee this season.

As we head over to the gridiron I'm reminded that Michigan kicks off its season in just three weeks! Unfortunately it's a night game, but whatever. Anyway, the cards Matt sent are a nice lead-in to the season.

From last year's Prestige product he sent me two of Michigan's best recent defenders. Hutch is of course very well known by now, and meanwhile DL Kris Jenkins will head into his sophomore NFL campaign with the Bengals.As with most draftees of the past five-plus years, I still need a lot of the latter's RCs like the one above (not to mention Hutchinson's!).

The second row is even more colorful. First up is a '24 Prizm Draft Red Ice parallel of Michigan DB and NFL HOFer Ty Law. While it's not a color match card, the shade of red plus ice pattern look terrific together, along with a great college action shot. And speaking of colors not matching on a card that still looks great, how about a 2022 Bowman U Chrome Pink Refractor of QB Cade McNamara, a guy who managed to beat OSU before heading off to browner pastures in Iowa?

Matt, thanks again for these fun Tigers and Wolverines additions! I haven't picked up much for you since the last package I sent, but I'm sure before long I'll have another mailer's worth of Giants and 90s inserts to send out east for your enjoyment.

I've got a few ideas for my next post but haven't decided what it'll be just yet--June's show, my eBay pickups from the first half of '25, or a quick recap of some TCDb deals from earlier this year. Either way, you'll see all three of those at some point in the next week or two, so stay tuned for those!

2025 trade package #10: Sport Card Collectors

We're in mid-June and the MLB season is getting close to the halfway point, but things were just getting started for my Tigers and the other clubs back in April when Matt of the Sport Card Collectors family of blogs sent me a cool pair of PWEs mostly featuring that team.

Here's what Matt sent me this time:

Bowman is often the home of prospects you've never heard of (and likely won't ever hear from again), and Ardoin's no exception--he pitched just three years of Minor League ball. Miggy and I were both six years old when the '89 Topps set the insert above is based on came out, and one of us went on to a storied MLB career. '24 World Series winner Flaherty is back in Detroit's rotation, and the results have been somewhat mixed, but he's still a solid guy I'm glad is on the team (plus, who'd say no to a Refractor?).

When it comes to infielder Colt Keith, he wouldn't be born for another 12 years after '89 Topps' release, and he made his MLB debut a total of 35 years after the abundant firestarter was found in packs, as seen on a cool Topps parallel. While '25 has been a bit of a down year for Keith, Torkelson has reversed his fortunes and is playing like a Star of the MLB, on pace to exceed the 31 bombs he totaled two years ago.

'84 World Series champ Trammell looks regal on a recent Panini Crusade design, and though he was famously screwed out of the '87 AL MVP, he does have a better crown to wear: MVP of the previously mentioned World Series. Verlander, meanwhile, has a trophy case absolutely stuffed thanks to a ROY, MVP, three Cy Youngs, and two World Series rings, not to mention an ALCS MVP. Autumn wasn't kind to him until 2017 with the Astros, and the third time was the charm for Mr. Kate Upton. As always he also looks great in Refractor form.

There were two more baseball items in these envelopes, both of diminutive stature. The first is a Mini Miggy, not to be confused with erstwhile Tiger Avisail Garcia, and the second is a Ginter Mini of 2008-09 and 2012 Tigers OF Clete Thomas, who ended his brief MLB career with the Twins in 2013.

Matt's also one of my more consistent sources of Michigan Football stuff, which I always appreciate, and he included a couple recent defensive guys here. First is a '24 Score RC of LB Junior Colson, who was drafted by his former college coach Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers, for whom he played 11 games last season. As always, hell yeah to the occasional college action RC! The other is a Panini Mosaic base of Aidan Hutchinson, the beastly edge player whose return to health could portend even more success than last year's Lions. My collection of the Lions' best player is growing nicely and is nearing the 50-card mark thanks to envelopes like this one.

Matt, as always, thank you for more of your trademark PWEs as they always include some of my PC favorites. Pretty soon I should also be able to cover the newest pair you sent this month, though I have a bit more catching up to do. In the meantime I look forward to any post(s) you put together on the envelope I just sent your way.

As this was my lone trade package from April I don't have too much more to show off from that month, but I'll be back soon with an outstanding showing of generosity. 

2025 trade package #6: Topps Cards That Never Were

Hey, look, I've finally made it to the last trade package I received in January! It was a busy month for my mailbox as this was #6 for the first month of '25, and it was a PWE from Jeremy of Topps Cards That Never Were.

He and I tend to send envelopes back-and-forth without warning, which is a lot of fun to do in this hobby of ours. I certainly wasn't expecting this one but enjoyed its contents as usual. Here's what Jeremy gifted me this time:

Not many managers get much more Classic than Sparky, and he still owns the Tigers record for wins with 1,331, exactly 200 more than fellow HOFer Hughie Jennings, the only other skipper in franchise history with more than 700 victories (Jim Leyland hit that number exactly).

Fielder and Fryman, seen on a pair of '92 issues (Big Daddy's a Gold Hologram version), were the main corner infielders in Sparky's twilight years in Motown. They manned those spots together from 1990-96, when Fielder was traded, a year after Anderson's last dugout appearance.

Keith (Topps Holiday) is tonight's only active MLBer but he still looks very promising despite struggling a bit to get his bat going for the surging 2025 Tigers.

When (not if!) I hit 1000 unique cards of Barry Larkin, it'll be thanks to many of you who've contributed, like this Donruss Orange parallel/'24 Panini Prizm pair from Jeremy. As of this post I need just 19 more.

Robson's the only recent guy besides Keith in this post but the OF and 2016 Tigers draftee (8th round) hasn't been in the organization since 2022.

Pudge joins Sparky in this post as a Tigers HOFer and he has something in common with Fielder above as well: the card you see above is the tougher to find Gold Hologram variant. It's really nice getting those knocked off my wantlists!

Big Daddy makes one more appearance featuring the star of my last post, Mickey Tettleton. The Cecil/Mickey pairing posted 35 and 32 HR in 1992, then 30 and 32 the following season when the UD card above was released.

Last up tonight is a 2014 Panini Golden Age Mini Hindu Back of Red Wings HOF C and current GM, Steve Yzerman. He's come in below expectations in terms of getting the franchise back to the playoffs but may still get there with a bit more time. If nothing else he'll always be a franchise icon and "The Captain" that led the team to three Cups.

Jeremy, thanks again for treating me to this fun PWE. I may actually be returning the favor relatively soon once I decide to pull the trigger to mail the small stack I've put together for you.

With that, January '25 trades are done and I should be mixing things up a bit with January's show recap next time.

2023 eBay purchases: three Tigers and a Wolverine

I haven't felt like blogging much lately but I still have a lot to show off, so I decided I'd compromise and kind of half-ass it. Here's a quartet of cards I bought in May, July, and August:

First up is my second autograph of rising Tigers star Riley Greene. I previously received a nice minors auto of Greene from everyone's favorite Dollar Store customer, but I decided I wanted one of him in a Tigers uni, ideally before he really blew up. Mission completed with this 2020 Bowman's Best auto that mimics the design of the Franchise Favorites insert 20 years prior. The signature is on-card, the card itself is numbered /200, and it's got that trademark Refractor shine, so I was really happy with this purchase, which set me back a reasonable $35 delivered way back in May. Riley's since gone on a tear but may be out for the remainder of the year after hurting his elbow on an amazing diving catch.

Next, I got a bit antsy about picking up a nice Detroit uni signature of a potential future star, Colt Keith. Keith was Detroit's final pick (round 5) of the drastically reduced 2020 draft that featured Spencer Torkelson joining the team at #1 overall. A HS 3B, he's since torn it up in the minors, and it would be fantastic to see him join the small group of homegrown bats the team has recently developed and hasn't yet traded for peanuts (cough cough Isaac Paredes cough).

I'm not generally the prospecting type but considering some of the hype he's been getting this season, I decided not to wait until a potential 2024 promotion to land his signature. That came in the form of the '21 Topps Pro Debut auto you see above. Back in July that cost me a bit more than $31 shipped and the seller was nice enough to include a Bowman Draft base with it.

Here are the backs for those interested.

A few days later a bunch of auctions being run by one seller (who offered a nice combined shipping rate) were ending, and I snagged an excellent group of cards targeted for trades, one of which hasn't been sent off just yet (soon!). My lone keeper was this 2011 GQ Mini Framed Cyan plate of one of my favorite former Tigers, Austin Jackson. As always, GQ is not a product I remotely care about but framed cards generally get my approval, and that this is a plate (my first of the OF) is a big plus. I believe each auction I won finished at the starting bid of $4.50 or $5, and the total shipping was about the same, so in the end I really only paid around $6 for this, a definite steal!

My most recent win came in mid-August when I spied this 2016 Bowman Chrome Draft yellow plate of former UM pitcher Brett Adcock for about $8.50. A three-year Wolverine, he was taken by Houston in the 4th round in 2016, though it appears he was away from affiliated ball in 2020, spent 2021-22 in indy ball, and hasn't pitched this year.

Still, he's been part of my collection for a while, and Jeff's as well, which I'm aware of because I first found out about Brett's cards via an MSO post. Also, Jeff covered his recent birthday, August 28th. This is my 12th card of his and first "hit" of any kind. Aside from five minors issues in 2016-19, he's got 26 2016 Bowman/Chrome Draft cards to chase, and those that I'm lacking are numbered /150, /25 (x2), /5 (x2), and /1 (x9). That means I'm about one card away from having a hard time getting anything new of his.

Now that I can put these away I think I'll get back to some trade recaps before reporting on this past Friday's show.