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 #11: The Collector

I follow a pretty large number of blogs, and based on the blogrolls and mentions I see on those I'm aware that they only represent a fraction of what's out there. That's awesome because it's a great sign that both the hobby and this part of it are still doing great.

While I can't claim to pay attention to many of them to the degree I'd like, such as commenting on posts the writers clearly put lots of work into, I do try to make the effort to participate on some more than others. One such blog is The Collector, run by one of my favorite trading partners Chris. He and I are like-minded collectors in several ways so he's always fun to deal with. He also recently reached a very significant milestone: 500 posts! Among those are one of the best series I've seen on any blog: his all-time teams, which definitely required a lot of work but resulted in some great reading.

I mention all that because last week I received a PWE from him which included a note thanking me for reading and commenting to the extent that I do, which is really nice considering he's one of the folks I can pretty much count on to find a comment over here. Oh, and some cards for me too!:

Jeez, anybody still remember 2013 Topps? Two-time Derby winner Fielder didn't take home the crown that season, but he was the 1B for the 2012 squad pictured on card #2 up there, a team that beat Oakland in the ALDS and swept the hated Yanks to reach Detroit's most recent World Series berth, only to get swept by another great even-year Giants run. I still can't believe one of the teams from that era didn't win it all!

Chris apologized for what ended up being a hockey-heavy envelope, as if that's a bad thing somehow. On the Wings side, AA's been gone for a couple seasons while Bertuzzi still has a chance to but into a star. And then we get to three big pieces of Hockeytown's success over the past quarter century: Holmstrom, Yzerman and Zetterberg. At some point I'll get my Wings PCs loaded in TCDB so I have a better idea of what I have of some of those favorites.

Oh yeah, and for good measure Chris included a very Alluring autograph. Kuffner only got a cup of coffee with the Wings in 2018-19 and then was included in the deal with AA above for Sam Gagner, a pick last year, and a second rounder this year, so that could still turn into something. He's one of those Canadians you occasionally see spurn the OHL to play American college hockey, which I love. That and the colorful design makes this one a winner.

He even managed to make an almost even split of Detroit stuff and Michigan cards, which is pretty cool (besides the already impressive fact that there were no dupes in this PWE!). I needed each of Burke and Sauce Castillo (a RC) from the shiny 2014-15 Panini Prizm. 

OLB John Anderson (who also punted in college!) played 12 seasons for the Pack but only made it onto 39 items catalogued by TCDB, with even fewer being mainstream products. Yet Chris was able to send me a third item for his collection, his 1984 Topps second year base--a card with six years of stats on it. RCs are weird but that design is still a classic.

And then there's a quartet of some recent(ish) Wolverines hockey stars. Cogliano has never been a star, but this year he gets to Be-a-Player for the 14th season, and that's awesome. Hagelin is nobody's idea of an MVP at this point but he chipped in 10 goals and 21 points over 48 playoff games with the Pens, winning a pair of rings. WolverWing Larkin has seen the quality of the team around him erode but is still young enough to become an MVP one day. And all Patch has done is score 300+ goals in parts of 13 seasons, never being named the most valuable, but winning the '11-'12 Masterton ("Qualities of Perseverance and Sportsmanship") so there.

(Wait, why was he worried about this being hockey-heavy again?)

Chris, thanks again for a fun PWE as you celebrate 500 posts! Congratulations on keeping up with the blog for that long (and hopefully years to come!) and thanks for being a terrific trade partner. Should things fall in line it's not inconceivable that I could have some card show-sourced items headed to your own mailbox in the next month or two.

And coming up next on this here blog...another trade package? Don't mind if I do!

2016 trade package #17: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store gives you Wiiiiings

Lots of red but no bull in this post!  Well, just a bit--despite being as useful as the USPS, Canada's mail system decided to work for a bit, so I was fortunate enough to be one of the recipients of another trade package from Doug over at SCFtDS!  Hopefully the American version will be functioning whenever Canada's gets back to some semblance of normalcy.

Anyway, Doug provided plenty of goodies--in fact, enough for a two-part trade post, which means there's even more to see over at TMM this evening.

But that's for after this post.  Here's the TMV content you're here to see:

Cleary was the first Newfie to win a Cup thanks to Detroit's last win in 2008.  Datsyuk was a team stalwart for 14 seasons before understandably heading back home after this year.  Draper was an often underappreciated key cog of four Cup teams.  Ellis played parts of two seasons with the Wings before heading to the Kings, then seven more seasons with Buffalo.  Filppula put up eight solid seasons with the Wings, good enough to earn a free agent contract with Steve Yzerman's Lightning.  Lidstrom needs no introduction as he's one of the greatest players in franchise history.  And Osgood was also underappreciated by many fans, but was part of three Cup-winners, starting most of the games for two of those squads.

And Hank gets his own scan thanks to this five-card bounty.  Zetterberg has put up more than 300 goals in his 13-year career and was also part of the 2008 Cup-winning squad.  The Ultra insert celebrates his feat of scoring 13 goals in the playoffs that year as the Wings defeated the Penguins.  He put up double-digit playoff goals--11--the following year as well as Detroit fell to the Pens in a rematch.

This bunch of Wings brings back some nice memories of some of Detroit's best recent teams and players, so thanks for sending them my way, Doug!  I'll respond in kind whenever you give me the go-ahead.

Please make sure to head over to TMM this evening for the rest of the loot!

2014 trade package #33: $30 a Wings Habit

(Yes I still exist, I've just been busy with lots of stuff, which is normal this time of year, but one project in particular will benefit many of you, so stay tuned for that!)

Robert of $30 a Week Habit recently told me he was sending me an "envelope" that would hopefully boost my small Red Wings collection a bit.  Robert understated things a bit:

First up is a pair of inserts from 2008-09 OPC, and it just so happens both of these guys are among the greatest to play defense for the Wings.  '07-'08 was Cheli's penultimate season in Detroit, and his last "full" campaign (28 games the following year, then just seven with Atlanta the next to close out his career), which he completed at the ripe old age of 46!  He celebrated by joining the Wings in winning their most recent Cup.  Lidstrom, meanwhile, was indeed an All-Star yet again that year, and won his fourth and final Cup.

Hey, how about some hits?

Kyle Calder 2007-08 Upper Deck Game Jersey jersey

I do remember Calder, who last played in 2010, though I had to look him up to remember when he was actually with Detroit.  As it turns out he was flipped to the Wings in February of 2007 and was reasonably effective for them in 17 games, then he signed with the Kings over the offseason, hence the pair of teams represented on the card!

Chris Chelios 2006-07 Flair Showcase Showcase Stitches jersey

Hey, it's that Chelios guy again!  This is my first hit of the HOF D-man, and appropriately enough it comes in the form of a beautiful red jersey.

Henrik Zetterberg 2005-06 Upper Deck Ice Fresh Ice jersey

Hank is another member of the 2007-08 Cup-winning squad (his only one so far), keeping that connection going for today's post, and better yet he actually scored the winner that year.  He currently appears on two other cards in my Wings PC: this six-way relic and a dual with Johan Franzen.  His first solo entry is this great UD jersey from their Ice product, which was actually still in existence as of last year.

Oh yeah, and to add to the fun, he threw this in as well:

Ivan Rodriguez 2006 Ultra Ultra Fine Fabrics jersey

Keeping up the current-or-future-HOF-Detroit-athletes theme, it's a Tigers jersey relic of Ivan Rodriguez!  It's my third Pudge relic--a base and another jersey--in my Tigers PC, and it was certainly a fun addition to an otherwise hockey-centric package.

Thanks, Robert, for another fantastic package, which, by the way, wasn't an "envelope" but a bubble mailer filled with Detroit goodness!  Readers, head on over to $30 a Week Habit for some excellent blogging (and trading) tonight!

2014 trade package #6: a 2x3 surprise PWE!

What's more fun than checking your mailbox in anticipation of cards you traded for or bought?  A surprise package, of course!  And that's exactly what I received from unsolicited-but-appreciated envelopes of the plain white variety, Jeff of 2x3 Heroes, earlier this week.  It doesn't matter that he's already sent me a few of these--it's still a blast every time.  Here's what I got this week:

A couple Tigers.  My brother and I referred to the player on the left as "Walt Terrible" for a long time, but he was actually decently ok over his seven seasons in Detroit, especially 1987.  Wilson, meanwhile, was known more for his six seasons with the Mets, but did play for the Tigers in 2005-06, the final years of his career, mostly as a backup.

And here's the best part of the package:  a quartet of the (hopefully) playoff-bound Red Wings.  Neither of today's teams are among Jeff's favorites, for obvious reasons, so I do appreciate him sending them over.  The Blue Prizm of Franzen is the clear highlight of the package, because blue parallels are always the best!

Thanks for doing what you do best and surprising me with a fun PWE, Jeff!  Readers, head on over to 2x3 Heroes if you aren't already following that fantastic blog, and maybe give the guy some help with his various projects, such as his newer one, a chase of Nellie Fox.