2021 trade package #4: Scribbled Ink

I was all set to work on my COMC football pickups post having gotten everything scanned and into the post, but then buddy of the blog Paul of Scribbled Ink (or more commonly at this point, Twitter), managed to get a PWE to me just before the month ran out, making it number four for January. Since the PWE requires much less writing, plus I give preference to trade cards over purchases, that's what you'll get to see tonight!

As always, Paul did a perfect job protecting everything in the PWE. In this case he surrounded it with this greeting card. But that's way too tame for a package from him, and he felt the cards required more protection...

...so he made sure they were safe in the embrace of this lovely lady! Besides being one of my favorite trader partners, I think Paul's my favorite recycler.

Oh, yeah, and the cards themselves, let's look at those too:

Along the left side we have a couple items that are new to me. Junior's card comes from a 10-card set produced by Pacific in 2000 that helps to advertise the video game Backyard Baseball. That looks to have been a Windows/Mac only kids game (the series has since moved on to consoles) that included real Major Leaguers. You can get an idea of how kid-friendly it was by the back, which you'll see in a second. This is definitely a fun oddball of one of my favorite PC guys, and it's from a time when Pacific used some very nice designs.

Below him is what I thought for a minute was a dupe of Rich Hill's 2020 Topps Series 2 issue. Then I flipped it over to find that it's the Advanced Stats version, which is distinctive in two ways: standard stats are replaced by numbers like spin rate, FIP, and wOBA, plus the card is serial numbered to 300. This was definitely a need for me and I was happy to add it thanks to Paul.

And last up is one of Paul's hilarious and fun customs, the first he's ever sent me. It's about the thickness of a relic since I believe the background is from a pack decoy. He cut out Hill's image plus part of the border and affixed that to the decoy, on which he drew the background, giving it a bit of a 3D feel when you look at in in person. About that background, though...

...it reference's Rich's awesome nickname bestowed by former Red Sox teammate Brock Holt, "Dick Mountain". Hence the rather phallic shapes in the faraway hills. Out of the stuff that Paul's sent me this might be the funniest--I've heard of NSFW packaging, but NSFW cards?!-- and I promise it'll get a place of honor among the rest of my Hill collection. Here's hoping old Rich brings his Big Dick Energy to whichever team he signs with in 2020!

You also get a good look at the cartoonish Kid and Hill's advanced stats on their respective backs.

Paul, thanks for this awesome surprise PWE and the amazing contents therein. Oh, and also for sending me your Rich Hill cards instead of being a dick!

2020 trade package #32: Scribbled Ink

Baseball's over, with the Dodgers finally claiming the World Series they were cheated out of in 2017, and they no longer have to worry about being the NL version of the Indians, winning a number of pennants in a few years but not a ring.

That certainly doesn't mean the baseball cards have stopped coming in, though! Buddy of the blog and former fellow Michigander Paul of Scribbled Ink let me know a couple weeks ago to expect a PWE, and not long after it arrived. He also informed me that this envelope, and I quote, "...make make [me] a bit uncomfortable." Interesting....

I pulled it out of my mailbox and immediately noted how well protected it was thanks to a good amount of cardboard, then removed the contents. First cardboard piece:

I mean, I dunno, recycling seems like a good thing, no?

Second piece:

👀 I don't think this is what the kids mean today when they say they're "vibing" but I'm probably too old to know. This was definitely good for a laugh, and I'm glad I didn't have to try to explain this to anybody, unless someone decides to go through my trash. Well done, Paul!

Anyway, here's the cards he sent, all seven of them:

Junior Griffey is certainly a nice start. He was still playing in 2010 when that A&G base was made, and that would be his sunset campaign, while the stats on the back cover his 2009 return to the Queen City. He'd hit the final 19 of his 630 career homers in '09, and he'd do it looking like the kid who made his debut 20 years prior. And 10 years after his penultimate season, Topps would produce an Archives card of him with the '75 design, giving us another look at the backwards-hatted Junior.

Next up is one of my favorite Tigers mashers as a kid, 3B Dean Palmer. His '96 Finest base was a need, from one of my favorite designs that came out of that product. In fact, the 1996-97 run is probably my favorite two-year pairing they came up with. Dean-o played in only 36 games during the strike-shortened '95 season, but in '96 he'd go off for a career-best 38 bombs, a number he duplicated in his Motown debut in '99. I hope to keep pulling in as many of his cards as I can find and I appreciate Paul shooting one my way, likely because he found it on my TCDB wantlist!

HOF SS Tram never got to play on the left side of the infield with Palmer because 1996 was his last season, a year before his '97 Score Premium Stock card came out. The Topps-level cropping is a bit weird but I like the horizontal photo otherwise.

Then we have two (many) Verlanders, both of which were new to me, always a difficult task. Up top is a 2019 Topps Sticker where he's paired with former Mariners closer Edwin Diaz, who was shipped to the Mets in a hilarious lopsided deal (a.k.a. business as usual for that New York franchise). The other looks just like the 2013 Heritage base I've received a ton of, except for one thing:

it's the Venezuelan version! These are immediately obvious thanks to the black backs and actually fairly decently short-printed. Not a bad addition at all to the (too) many other Verlanders I own.

And last up today is a bit of a surprise in the form of a basketball card: a 2019-20 Illusions base of former Wolverines basketballer Duncan Robinson. A solid contributor in college, nobody expected him to do much in the NBA after going undrafted, but don't try to tell him that. In just his second season he was a big part of the Heat fighting all the way to the Finals before losing to the LeBron James-led Lakers superteam. It was fun watching him drain some big threes in the highlights I saw, and I hope this season leads to a long and satisfying career for the Michigan man.

Here's some backs, including the Venezuelan Verlander you already saw. Hey, remember when Michael Wacha was a thing? Stay away from the Mets, kids.

Paul, thanks a ton of some great cards well protected by some X-rated materials! With any luck I'll get to a show next weekend and come up with a few items to send back your way, though I don't know that I'll try my luck one-upping you in the packaging department. If I do make it up to Taylor Town I'll definitely be thinking of you if I get surrounded to the point of molestation by smelly, sweaty guys digging through boxes.