2025 trade package #7: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

It's the last day of April so let's finally look at the mailer I received from Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store back in February!

Your first place Tigers were well represented in this package that arrived a couple months before the season opened. The past guys are pretty good company between Miggy, Fister, and Grandy, but Carp, Greene, and Jobe are all making big contributions to a club that's exceeded my expectations so far. Speaking of Riley, who needs team parallels when you have your own name parallel?

Keith's been slower to get things going this year but did homer today. Manning's stock may be down but McGonigle's has shot up quite a bit, making that numbered Donruss parallel extra nice. Parker's still working his way back from injury and so is Rogers, but Mize has been a nice story so far as he leads the Tigers with four wins. Morris's Predictor insert is a bit of a combo-breaker, but not entirely since end his 13-year career in Detroit, playing 40 games here in 2000.

Ex-Tiger DeMeritte's fantastic 2020 image, one of the best of that year, gets the Chrome and Refractor treatment, and I have a feeling we'll see this one popping up in highlights for years to come. Miggy leads off the hit parade with a 2024 Ginter jersey, my 16th such card of the future HOFer. A beauty of a jersey/auto of '24 Tigers bullpen ace Tyler Holton was one of the bigger surprises of this mailing. Limited to just 25 copies, it comes with a solid signature and cool jersey swatch. And we'll end the baseball content with a non-Tiger: my first auto of former Wolverine Jordan Nwogu. The Canadian Cubs prospect eluded my hits collection up until Doug rectified that, and he becomes baseball hits PC guy #41. Nice!

I took way too long to post this package but it's still not that close to Halloween yet, no matter what that LeVert Hoops card would have you think. Franz had a career best season, albeit one limited a bit by injury. Ex-coach Juwan looks great on a gorgeous '90s SPx design. And LeVert makes a second appearance in the form of the second relic I can claim of him: a jersey inserted into 2020-21 National Treasures.

I didn't time it this way on purpose but this scan ties in well with the recently completed NFL draft. The group includes five '24 rookies, all of whom were difference-makers for Michigan's recent title, plus a base of talented vet Rashan Gary. It looks like I'm shy four more vets (Aidan Hutchinson, Nico Collins, Charles Woodson, and Ty Law) and one RC (Jaylen Harrell) to complete the team set. As always I'm a fan of Score using college action photos for the first-year guys.

Former Pats Ty Law and Josh Uche plus Giant/Raider Ty Wheatley round out the base portion of the football content. Then former TE/WR Devin Funchess double dips with a very, very nice pair of hits. His 2019 Certified auto, numbered to just 30 copies, features a typically eye-pleasing holographic design, and that marks 15 cards I own that include his signature. It's joined by a large jersey swatch from that year's Crown Royale, a decent throwback to the excellent Pacific brand. Funch continues to outpace the other three Devins in my football collection with 35 hits.

Fortunately some of the other teams represented today have been or were at least moderately successful this year because both of the hockey squads underachieved and missed their playoffs. So it goes, but I still enjoy collecting them! First up we have the local pro team, and a mix of recent and older. The big highlights for me are the bookend images here: Pavel Datsyuk and Nick Lidstrom. The 2014-15 Metal card of the former may have been a tough scan but it looks great in-person. And the further we get from Lidstrom's playing days, the more I appreciate the things he did to make the Wings a perennial playoff threat.

Unlike the second Datsyuk above, Lidstrom's second card--also a Fleer brand throwback--scanned very well and the image represents just how nice it looks. Seider's SP Authentic card is a shiny look at the future/present of the Motown blue line. Shanahan's UD insert looks just as pleasing in my hands as it does in 2D on your screen. And Sheppard was a favorite of mine from the Sega EA Sports NHL game days.

In this last Wings scan, Veleno and Yzerman are linked as the latter flipped the former in March in a deal to bring former Detroit goalie (and Doug's fellow 2/14 baby) Petr Mrazek back. Zetterberg was another of those stars the team doesn't seem to be developing much these days, but maybe we'll see more of them again in the future.

Speaking of player development, Doug included a pair of hits of former prospects. Ex-Spartan (barf!) Taro Hirose appears to be with a German team now but he was a decent prospect at one point and good enough to appear on beautiful UD cards like the numbered Black Diamond signature you see above. Meanwhile, Smith, seen on a very nice numbered jersey in the form of a large Red Wings red swatch, was one of the team's two 2016 second-round picks, and he's since bounced around a bit, finally landing in Philly's system.

Lastly, the Michigan Hockey content may not have been abundant, but the quality and a big side of shininess were most definitely there in spades. Just look how that top row trio of Beniers and Connor cards just pops! The numbered Hughes is especially nice right now as he chases a second straight Norris trophy, competing with a guy in the next scan. Hyman scored exactly half of his 54 goals from last season but still had a decent enough year for the Oilers. And Larkin continues to be a good captain for a Wings squad that continues to fail him.

You want more shiny and/or numbered? You've got it! A pair of pretty Pacioretty cards begins tonight's last scan, courtesy of UD's Allure and Ice brands. Trouba's finally away from the Rangers and that's probably the best I can say about his season. Werenski is Wolverine Norris Trophy finalist #2 this year thanks in part to his career highs of 23 goals, 59 assists, and 82 points. And yet another top-notch card of a high-end blueliner will close things out tonight: a numbered Black Diamond of Cam York. My York collection is small but pretty much nothing but bangers thanks to Doug, with pretty much everything being this high quality.

Many thanks to Doug, my favorite Canadian trade partner, who managed to send this and another mailer plus post the first part of the package I recently sent his way before I finally got off my butt to recap this February envelope! I look forward to seeing your follow-up posts as I try to reload for future considerations.

2025 trade package #2: the Collector

Today's the first day of March and it sees me returning with another trade envelope from January, the second I received this year.

I was very happy to see a PWE from longtime blog friend Chris ("The Collector") who'd largely gone MIA since shutting down his blog. The cards themselves were nice but in general I was a bit relieved that he was still around. I won't share his brief note or my speculation on what's happening in his world and just say that I'm grateful for the cards and wish him and his family the best.

Here's the contents:

The lone baseball item as Spring Training is kicking into full gear was this '24 A&G Gold Border Mini of former/current Tigers P Jack Flaherty. He was, of course, sent to the Dodgers to help them bring him another ring, and in the time between when Chris mailed this PWE and today when I'm writing this post, Flaherty returned to the team that helped him rebuild some value last year. Given some of the potential question marks in terms of the starters it's nice to have a proven guy like him to go with Tarik Skubal and some of the other young arms.

At the time he sent this both of these sports more associated with winter were still in action, and of course one of them will still be active for a couple months to come. On the football side of things, Brady and Woodson are two of the greatest players to come out of Michigan, not to mention play their positions in the NFL. Since Brady left New England for Tampa it's actually a bit funny to see older cards of him with the Pats. I'd say his record and that of Bill Belichick post-split pretty much tell the story of which of the two was more responsible for their remarkably dynasty.

Last up is hockey, which is still in full swing in terms of both the NHL and NCAA. The Red Wings have bounced back in a big way since firing a very ineffective head coach, and they're actually participating in an outdoor game in Ohio as I write this. A crazy eight former Wolverine icers can be found on the two rosters and six of them should be on the ice tonight. I don't think any of the Wings represented on these cards are still with the franchise, but Michigan alum Kyle Connor is still putting up huge points numbers with the Jets, and he may even crack 40 goals for the second time in his productive career.

Once again, thank you for the envelope and cards, Chris, and for indirectly letting me know that you're hanging in there. Again, I wish you and your family nothing but the best and want to remind you that you have lots of friends in the hobby if you ever need support.

Back soon with another January trade recap!

2022 trade package #26: the Collector

Now that I've made lots of progress getting Christmas packages out in the mail, it's time to get back to what I was fortunate to receive this month! Chris (the Collector) went the Xzibit route, sending Christmas cards with a Christmas card:

Chris is a nice dude, confirmed (as if I didn't already know that.

Here's the cardboard contents:

Scan number one includes cards of a couple local teams: the Tigers and Wings. I love that Chris hit both my former and current blog namesakes in Granderson and Verlander. Curtis is seen on a Mets-appropriate Orange parallel (/250) from 2014, though of course that color also works for his original team. JV appears with both the Tigers (Topps' Chasing History insert) and his new old team, the Astros. Dig the back of the latter, which is just a blast to look at:

Since that injury-abbreviated 2020 campaign he tacked on an 18-4 record/1.75 ERA/185 K NL Cy Young season and his first World Series winning decision while earning ring number two. To say his career has been special is an understatement!

Current (though injured) Tigers pitcher Skubal joins the orange party with that parallel from last year's Topps Big League to sew up the baseball group.

Over on the ice we have a fun group of Wings. Datsyuk and Zetterberg are two Detroit players I associate with each other because they were longtime European teammates (02-03 through 15-16) that were late round draft pick gems (sixth and seventh rounds, respectively) back when the Wings were great at that. They also won the 2007-08 Cup together while spending their entire careers with the franchise, and tallying more than 300 goals.

Chris Osgood is another name that's known well around Hockeytown, even if he wasn't initially given the respect he deserved. After backing up veteran Mike Vernon in 96-97 he led the team to a cup repeat. A few years later he'd be off to the Isles and Blues, but he'd return to Motown in time to run it back with the 07-08 squad mentioned above.

I have less to say about Hirose because he's a Michigan State guy, but as with those in other sports (see: Kirk Gibson) I'm willing to give him a shot.

As for Michigan State's big brother, here's some cards of guys that played football and hockey for my old school. Brady, Manningham, and Woodson are all legends of the Ann Arbor gridiron, and all won Super Bowls in the NFL too. Tom's 2022 Father's Day card looks great with the old college action photo, which appears way better than his NFL season, which proves he should have hung 'em up and put time into his marriage. The Manningham (hey, another former blog namesake, that's all three!) 2011 Rookies & Stars parallel is absolutely sick, a beautiful blue that works for his alma mater and pictured team. That one's also numbered /75 and is definitely my favorite of the bunch. That's not to knock the die-cut UM card of GOAT CB Charles Woodson out of '98 Press Pass, though, because the design, including a textured football, kicks all kinds of ass!

Heading back to the ice one more time we have a really nice pair of cards of former sniper Mike Cammalleri. The 15-year center scored almost 300 goals while suiting up for five different teams, including two stints each with the Kings and Flames depicted in his two above cards. On the left is a base from 2007-08 UD Mini Jersey, a fun product with the thing in the name as something to chase, plus what I believe to be a red(?) Prizm parallel from 2013-14. Whatever the actual color, Chris continued to kill it with the team-appropriate parallels in this package.

Chris, thanks so much for the warm Christmas wishes and cards of both types! I'm happy to report that a present of your own is on its way back to New Jersey as we speak, possibly in time for Sunday, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I loved these early gifts!

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 #24: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

Dollar Store dude and Canadian buddy of the blog Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store recently sent me a nice fat envelope for the fourth time this year and it was another doozy! As is often the case when he sends me stuff, all four major sports get hit so there's potentially something for everyone here. And most importantly, everything is for me! Let's look at the contents this time:

The baseball and basketball portions were limited but very strong. We get a look at two Cabreras: future HOFer Miggy plus potential future Tiger Daniel, an OF Detroit took in the second round out of LSU last year. Former Wolverine and sure-fire future star Jordan Nwogu, like the latter Cabrera above, came out of this year's Topps Pro Debut, which seems to be using a mix of designs, and that's always a plus. And the package's biggest hitter is also from that product: an autograph of one of the Tigers' cream of the crop prospects, Riley Greene. The fifth overall pick in 2019, Greene has as much upside as anyone else selected in that first round, and the outfielder tends to slot in just behind Spencer Torkelson atop the team's farm rankings. Doug pulled this bad boy, numbered /50 on the back, himself, and was nice enough to flip it to me for future considerations, which I'm still working on. Just another reminder of his legendary generosity.

Getting back to Wolverines, from a different sport, take a look at the recent-ish due of THJ and LeVert. It's crazy to me that the younger Hardaway will be going into his ninth season this year while Vert will be appearing in his sixth once he's healthy.

Heading over to the gridiron, Michigan's 6-0 start has surprised lots of fans including me. This here group mostly leans towards the rookies but has some vet representation as well. Alexander and Kenn appear on cards made after their first seasons while older Wolverines Brooks and Foote RCs bookend two of this year's newest NFLers in Collins and Evans out of Chronicles Draft, meaning best helmet in college football shows up front and center. And the two biggest items of the bunch come up next: twin (but not identical) autos of former RB Karan Higdon out of 2019 Contenders. The main differences between the variations are the photos and team logos used. The pair doubles my count of Higdon hits to four.

And of course the bulk of the package comprises hockey, with the Wings of Hockeytown dominating the count over the Wolverines. There was a great mix of old and new and I decided to lead off with the players I remember watching growing up along with some guys that starred for the franchise's dynasty in the late 90s/2000s (and a bit beyond). Almost all of these guys won Cups with the team aside from Racine, Sheppard (card #6), and Ysebaert (#7), and the latter are players I remember well from playing EA's super-fun NHL games in the mid-90s. It's fun to be a fan of a franchise with such a great history, and one with some decently recent success too!

Here we have mostly recent players with the exception of one-year Wing Crowder and Gallant, whose Wings career ended a bit before I was really following them. He's since carved out a solid coaching career. Hirose's cards are from UD's pretty cool Allure product, and better yet the back of the die-cut parallel tells you exactly what it's called: White Rainbow. More of this, please!

And we end tonight's post on this scan with a mix of Wings and Wolverines, but no Wolverwings this time. The erstwhile Nyquist and Tatar parallels are 2016-17 OPC Ice Blue Traxx cards, and I know that because once again Upper Deck told me exactly that on their backs. They're cool looking parallels in my book!

As for the alumni of the #1 team in the NCAA right now, we'll start with Connor's card which is a Puzzle Back from last year's UD MVP (part of an image that forms Brent Burns of the Sharks). Sharks draftee and current Sen (Doug's team!) Josh Norris makes his debut in my collection with a 2021 UD Synergy inserted called Rookie Journey Draft, which is numbered /999. Patch is much more represented in my collection due to his stardom resulting in a lot of cards made, like the insert above from 2020-21 UD called Ripple the Twine--a cool hockey term I'd somehow never heard before. And last up is a nicely designed jersey relic starring Jacob Trouba, a defenseman drafted by the Jets who now plays for the Rangers. I like how the swatch forms the blade in the hockey stick design they've got going on. I also like that it represents hit #15 of the former first-rounder in my collection.

And speaking of interesting numbers, which I don't feel like I've done much lately, it's time to celebrate yet another collecting milestone for my Michigan alumni hits collection: 2400 cards! 2401 to be exact, thanks to the three here from Doug. One of these days maybe I'll go through some older posts to try to calculate just how integral he's been in that collection, especially the 300+ from hockey alone, but even without looking I can tell you he's contributed a LOT.

So for the 42nd time on this here blog alone (not including those posted on Too Many Manninghams), I have to extend a huge thanks to Doug for the effort and generosity he put into a fantastic trade package. I look forward to seeing your reaction to the package you just received from me recently (finally!) and trying to up my game to pay you back for these latest goodies, especially that Greene autograph.

This was obviously a typically big trade package but I'll be back soon with a much smaller one courtesy of TCDB.

2020 trade package #33: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

Hey, we're a third of the way through November and I'm getting up my first post of the month!

Today I'm showing off another Canadian cornucopia from Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store. If you've read a recap of any of the slew of envelopes he's sent my way then you know his generosity is the stuff of legend around here. So here's a look at the latest mailer from him:

"Small packet" my ass! This was one of the larger bubble mailers you can get and it was stuffed with cards in toploaders, because that's how he rolls. Also, please notice the ridiculously cheap shipping cost, a very patriotic (Canadian) price of $17.76, about $13.60 American. If I was to send this exact package the other direction I guarantee you I'd be paying two to three times that. Then again, Canada often seems to do things more intelligently than its neighbo(u)rs to the south.

Anyway, on with the cards!

The baseball portion was definitely strong for its size. Gerber's no longer in the system but he's seen here on a 2017 Bowman Holiday card, numbered /99, which is very cool. Guillen's one of many past Tigers I still enjoy collecting. Both of those Griffeys were new to me, including a die-cut Leather & Lumber card and a Classics base from 2020 that has a design more reminiscent of Donruss but looks pretty cool.

Finally, the two 2020 Topps Chrome rookie autos are quite nice! Alexander is a former second-rounder who looked decent this year and may well benefit from the Tigers finally going after a good pitching coach in UM's Chris Fetter. Castro also looked promising this past season after coming over from Cleveland in the deal that sent Leonys Martin to the Indians. Considering the increased potential for the team under new manager (*sigh*) A.J. Hinch, it's nice to have autos of these guys already, so I appreciate Doug including them this time.

Hockey part one stars another team also rebuilding, the Wings. I didn't want to scan everything but didn't want to leave anything out either, so here's a family photo. You'll notice the similar one you'll see later looks better because I arranged the cards vertically instead. Live and learn. Anyway, there's some very nice stuff in here, such as a Prizm base of Doug's guy Daniel Alfredsson, and lots of other recent dudes as well.

I thought it would be fun to pick a page full of favorites. The Donruss card (position #2) is former Russian Five-r Slava Kozlov, and he's part of a group of shiny fun and star power. UD's Ice is definitely a super cool brand, especially the acetate versions. The recently re-signed Mantha makes a couple appearances here, and even more in the photo above.

And we're still not done with the guys from Hockeytown thanks to these two stunners. The first is a beauty from UD's aptly-named Allure (2019-20), a Red Rainbow autograph numbered /349, and the subject is forward Taro Hirose, an undrafted Canadian NCAA alum who played his college hockey at...checks notes...

--record scratch--

MICHIGAN STATE? Welp. That's still a very nice card with a signature that includes his jersey number, so it may just remain in my collection, we'll see.

The other is a huge jersey swatch from 2017-18 SP Game Used, celebrating the 2017 NHL Centennial Classic. One of those fun outdoor games the NHL does sometimes, it was celebrating 100 years of the host Maple Leafs (who won 5-4 in OT), not to mention the league itself. The player here is Tomas Tatar, a talented forward who put up some good numbers with Detroit before being flipped to Vegas. He was later traded that same year (2018) for former Wolverine Max Pacioretty. I love the enormous swatch design here and this one should be a keeper for me!

I put the basketball and hockey stuff together this time because it was just easier to scan them like that. There's some nice players and designs here, with my favorite being the Fleer Retro of Rice, though the Taylor SP Authentic is a close second. Also, Rudy T.!

A couple C-Webbs finish up the hoopers, then it's on to the gridiron. Doug sent me a nice boost to my Brady collection that was mostly 2020 Panini Legacy inserts on a nice mix of designs. I was certainly happy to see sideline-to-sideline LB Devin Bush, too, on a 2019 Chronicles Classics card, even if it reminds me that he's unfortunately done for the year. I see him having lots of success over his NFL career with the kind of talent he has!

Football finishes up with this sextet. Griese and the A-Train represent one of the best Stadium Club designs (2002), and Peppers gets a cameo after starring in the Giants' win (wait, they won a game?!) this past weekend. It's always great to see one of my all-time favorite Michigan QBs, Denard, in a college shot. And there's even a new Woodson for me: a 2016 Score No Fly Zone insert. I think a dude that piled up 65 interceptions and around 200 passes defended earned his entry into that set.

Part two of the hockey bounty starred this bunch of Wolverines, headlined by some of my favorites like the various hockey Mikes, multiples of stars like Larkin, Pacioretty, Trouba, and Werenski, and other favorites like Morrison and Turco.

I'm not generally the type to focus on card backs, but the difference between Carl Hagelin's 2019-20 OPC and the subsequent's version is stark. The earlier one immediately made me say, "What is this, a card for ANTS?!" while this year's is so much easier to read with larger text and a white background.

As I did with the Wings I chose nine favorites here, largely opting for the same stars & shine duo. Goalie Al Montoya is the fourth card and #9 is Wolverwing Aaron Ward. UD Ice makes three more appearances, including one for Larkin, and I was thrilled to add five new items to his collection, but there's really a lot to enjoy here, like Hunwick's Rainbow parallel and a brand new insert of young D-man Hughes.

And in case you thought we were done for some reason, we still have the hits, and six big ones at that! Doug definitely knows what I like.

#1 is 2019-20 UD Artifacts dual jersey (/125) of recent favorite Wolverwing Dylan Larkin. Featuring two beautiful red swatches, it's just my sixth hit of him, a beauty that makes me laugh because the swatch placement makes it look like his knees are extremely swollen.

Second is a bold orange swatch of former Oilers C Cooper Marody, who I saw play a few times over his three-year career in Ann Arbor. Out of 2018-19 Ultimate collection (/399) it's my first card of Marody, who was drafted by the Flyers, got a cup of coffee in Edmonton, and seems to be playing in Austria now. Definitely a nice way to welcome him as the 58th member of the hockey collection.

Player #3 here is Jeff Tambellini, whose three seasons with Michigan's hockey team coincided with my sophomore through senior years at the school. He was one of those rare guys who could take over a game, and he probably should have won the Hobey Baker award in 2004-05. Doug sent me three great new hits for his collection (now up to seven cards). The first is a 2005-06 Fleer Hot Prospects patch auto RC (/349) that comes with a really nice tri-color patch. Next is a dual jersey from the same year's UD Rookie Update product (/999) which pairs him with former Tampa sniper Martin St. Louis. And finally, we have a nicely done jersey auto RC (/1999) out of SPx, featuring another of that product's designs that I really like. This is a really nice trio for his collection, and even if he didn't really have much success in the pros, these serve as great reminders of his fun career in Ann Arbor).

Last up today is one-year D star Jacob Trouba on an autographed rookie of his own out of 2013-14 Ultimate Collection (/299). I know enough to realize that this is a pretty high-end card of a guy who's still pretty well respected in the league, and maybe will be more recognizable to Americans since he came over to the Rangers a couple years ago. My third Trouba that includes an autograph (out of 12 hits overall), all of which I bet are thanks to Doug, this is a great way to end tonight's post with a bang.

Actually, before I finish up, I should mention one more celebratory item: these hockey additions push that collection over the 300 mark to 303, meaning it joins football and baseball as Michigan sports collections to have hit that milestone. One of these days I'll try to count up how many of those were sent to me by my favorite Canadian.

Mr. Corti, thanks once again for the surprise bonanza of toploadered goodness! I've recently landed something I'm looking forward to sending you for Christmas, especially when I can fill out an envelope with a bit more (hopefully from a show or COMC?) to make your holiday season even brighter.

2019 trade package #2: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

I know what it's like to worry whether or not I sent a good enough trade package to Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store considering the amazing stuff he always sends me, but I'm not sure why he'd ever have to fret about that.  Once again he's termed the latest envelope he sent my way as "quantity over quality" but in typical Doug fashion there was both.  To the great benefit of my favorite collections a good amount of the quality tilted towards what I'm showing off on TMM this evening, but there's also plenty of great stuff you get to see right here:

Soon-to-be former Tiger, probably-not-for-a-while former Tiger, and recent former Tiger.  I'm curious to see if the Tigers get smart and put Castellanos at DH where his bat can do plenty of harm to opposing teams and his glove won't do the same to his own.  A full return to health could portend a return to form for Fulmer this year.  And JV is always welcome back to these here parts!

Here's a very good group of quality prospects as all but Gibby's son Cam can be found in the team's top 30 according to mlb.com.  As has been the case for a system that's struggled to produce quality hitters for a long time, the pitchers lead the way here with Alexander (24), Burrows (5), Hall (23), and Manning (2).  Burrows (86) and Manning (53) both also crack the site's top 100 prospects list.  Those two were Detroit's first-rounders in 2016 and '15, respectively.

As for the hitters, Lugo checks in at #15 for the organization and Paredes is the next best hitter at 13.  The former came over in the correctly maligned J.D. Martinez Deal while the latter was paired with fellow infielder Jeimer Candelario in return for Alex Avila and Justin Wilson at the deadline in 2017.  The Heritage Minors cards look especially nice here!

Doug also sent me a pile of Red Wings to rival or even outpace the Michigan Hockey cards he included this time.  I decided to start things off with the nine Hockeytown stars from 2018-19 O-Pee-Chee that I found in this envelope.  Glendening is a favorite since he's a Michigan guy, and I'll always remember Zetterberg fondly even though he's career is pretty much over at this point.

Cleary and Draper both played roles on Cup-winning teams as the former enjoyed the success of the 2008 champs while the latter was part of all four recent titles.  Hall of Famer Alex Delvecchio was a nice find here after his amazing 24-year career in Hockeytown that produced three Cups.

Plenty more winners to see here.  Fedorov scored exactly 400 goals for the Wings over his 14 years in Motown and was a blast to watch as one of the most talented of the Russian Five.  The recent HOFer was part of all of the Cup-winners except for the 2008 squad.  Holmstrom was an absolute pest in front of the net and joins Draper in the four-Cup club.  Mr. Hockey enjoyed both accomplishments:  the Hockey Hall and four Cups himself.  And so did another recent star:  my all-time favorite D-man, Nick Lidstrom.

I don't know that Osgood will ever be enshrined in Toronto but I sure am glad he spent 14 years with the Wings in his two stints and won three of those Cups.  So did franchise icon Steve Yzerman, who'll hopefully get a chance to right the sinking ship in Detroit as GM at some point.  Zetterberg "only" won with the '08 team but had a great 15-year run here.  And for some reason I remember being a big fan of Sheppard, though he was gone before the team turned things around in the late 90s.

As always Doug, thanks!  This huge bunch of Tigers and Wings and Wolverines was a great start to 2019 for another year of trading with my most prolific partner and I'm looking forward to hitting you back before that notable birthday of yours.