2023 trade package #12: the Collector

Tonight's trade envelope comes from a collector I've traded with many times who recently celebrated 600 transactions on TCDb (quite the feat!). That collector's name? THE Collector, Chris!

Not one to sit around and wait for deals to come to him, Chris put in a bunch of work to hit that 600 deal milestone (in preparation of celebrating his 600th post). I can see in his transaction history that he started 2023 with 545 done and he's completed 78 already this year as I'm writing this. Nice! Find him over there as hockeydude, by the way.

Chris reached out to me early last month and I became his 596th swap. He offered me a nice little mix of items from my wantlist in return for future considerations, though I happened to have some stuff on hand I was going to send him anyway, so that worked out really well.

Here's what the New Jerseyan sent westward to me in Michigan:

The transaction Chris proposed actually only included the bottom six cards so the trio of Tigers were nice throw-ins. The Cuyler and Fryman are from '93 UD while Jose Lima hails from the '96 product. Cuyler got a pretty good number of ABs with some of those terrible 90s Tigers squads while Fryman enjoyed a respectable career in Detroit before finishing out his run with the Indians. The late Lima looked like nothing special before a trade to Houston produced the highest moments of his career. He did return to Detroit in 2001 for parts of a couple seasons.

Another Tiger is the lone baseball representative from the deal as originally agreed upon. J.D. Martinez is a guy who pulled a reverse Lima, heading from Houston to Detroit and overhauling his swing to great results in the batter's box and his wallet. His 2017 Topps All-Star Game set card got me to look up his Midsummer Classic appearances, and he's made five--one with the Tigers and four with the Red Sox.

Basketball gets just one new card today but that's fine because it's my least favorite sport. Chris hit one of my Wolverine cager PCs with a 21-22 Donruss Optic base of Tim Hardaway Jr., a three-year Michigan guard who's spent the last five of his nine NBA seasons with the Mavs. Wait, he's been in the league for nine years?! Man, I'm getting old.

Switching over to one of my alma mater's more recently successful sports, Chris found a pair of ex-Wolverines that I was happy to see. First is five-time Pro Bowl OT Mike Kenn who played 17 seasons for the Falcons. He appeared in 251 NFL games, all of which he started, and that's an excellent pro career if you ask me. His '82 Topps card above notes his second of five eventual All Pro selections. Joining him from the other side of the ball is DE Kwity Paye on a '21 Panini Chronicles Flux base that shows him in college action. Paye, like Kenn, was a first round selection, in his case by the Colts, and he'll be going into his third NFL season this fall.

And we'll wrap things up with a hockey duo from hockeydude right in the thick of what's probably sports' best postseason setup. Mike Comrie (2001-02 Topps Reserve) never won a Cup but did contribute a pair of goals and four assists to the 06-07 runner-up Ottawa Senators, who fell to the Ducks 4-1. Meanwhile, Ann Arbor native Andrew Copp (21-22 OPC's Retro version) is still active in the league and has 54 playoff games under his belt including 20 last year with the Rangers, but saw his new team, the Red Wings, fall short this season. I'm hoping the team exits its long rebuild soon and that Andrew is part of that success.

Chris, many thanks for making me part of your quest for 600 trades and congratulations on blowing that goal out of the water! I'm looking forward to picking up more stuff for you at the next show and in the meantime I hope those deals keep rolling in on your end.

2017 trade package #18: Sport Card Collectors

While it would appear that the Yankees and Tigers had some difficulty getting along today,

fans of both of those teams have no such issues.  Take, for example, Sport Card Collectors, who sent me cards for the second time this year (previously:  back in January).  The collector of the Bombers, as well as the football Giants, Rodney Hampton, Ken Griffey Jr., and much more, was kind enough to grace my mailbox with more cardboard representing my hometown team:

Let's start with a six-pack of Miggy, one of the main attractions in today's free-for-all.  The future HOFer having a very down year is represented on 2017 cardboard from Archives (Retro Original), flagship ('87 Topps), Heritage, Opening Day, Stadium Club, and flagship again (Major League Milestones).  The Heritage is a very nice throwback, but I'll give the win to another well done iteration of Stadium Club.  Now that Topps knows I like it, let's see how they f&$k it up.

Speaking of Stadium Club, player #2 in the scan is second-year star pitcher Michael Fulmer out of that very product.  It's an intense shot of a very talented pitcher I'm looking forward to watching for years in Motown.

Our third player is a recent former Tiger, OF J.D. Martinez, who went off to Arizona for a song.  Simply a fun guy to watch at the plate, I'll miss his bat in Detroit, but I've still put together a decent pile of his Tigers cardboard, and SCC chipped in this pair from 2017 Finest and Gypsy Queen ("Get Gypped by Topps year after year!™").

One Tiger who deserves some nice cardboard for his turnaround since the first half of last season is Justin Upton.  The RF's put up some nice numbers this year, furthering my hope that he'll opt out of his expensive contract so the Tigers can get on with rebuilding.  He's seen here on this post's second-to-last '17 Stadium Club piece as well as a Chrome Refractor parallel (#413/568) from this year's Heritage.

On the complete opposite of the spectrum we have Jordan Zimmermann, once again from Stadium Club.  While Upton eventually improved, the pitcher has been a tire fire from the start, with a 16-18 record (that seems like it's been worse) and 5.58 ERA to-date.

Joining J.D. from this year's Finest is JV, a.k.a. this here blog's namesake!  Verlander has been all over the place this year, but he still fits in well in a product called "Finest."  Not only did SCC toss me a base Verlander, the Refractor is there as well!  Yes, the greatest of all Topps inserts.

And to go 16/16 on 2017 cards, here's a pair of Diamond Collection jersey relics of another Tiger from this year, OF JaCoby Jones, plus an encore of J.D. Martinez.  These simple but solid swatches from one of my favorite brands are a nice way to tie a bow on this well-rounded package!

Thanks for a fun bunch of Tigers, SCC--I hope I can return the favor soon!

2016 trade package #15: it's clear why I love trading with Bob Walk the Plank!

Yes I still exist, I've just been posting less frequently because [insert excuse here].  I really do have a good reason, though!  In preparation for another fun spring summer cleaning I'm doing a big reorg of my collection to once again clear out things I don't want so I can get them into your collections.  I'm still not quite sure when that'll be, but I'm shooting for the next couple weeks.

Anyway, I'm happy to report that I received a pair of new trade packages in rapid succession this week, and given my plans for this evening today is a perfect day to post one of them.  Here's another outstanding two-card package from Matt of Bob Walk the Plank.  (Incidentally, while I love receiving lots of cards in trades, sometimes it's a nice change of pace when I only have to scan, post, and discuss two!)

J.D. Martinez 2016 Topps Clear (#10/10)

First up is this outstanding Clear parallel of injured Tigers star J.D. Martinez, who wants to remind you to

You've all seen his bat--don't make him come after you with his BOOMSTICK.  Anyway, this is a totally fun and completely unexpected addition to one of my Tigers PCs, and it's especially apropos today as this evening I'm heading down to Comerica Park to watch the Tigers take on the Royals and (hopefully) get my hands on the night's giveaway:  a J.D. Martinez bobblehead!  We'll see if I can be one of the first 10,000 to enter the park tonight.

This is just my second example of one of Topps' nicer designs recently; I also have Wolverine (and former Royal) Chris Getz's version from 2014.  It's such a cool concept that I have a hard time believing Topps actually went ahead with it.  "What do you mean it's not just another different color?" was likely heard multiple times around the design table.  Multiple 90s and 2000s insert designs, such as 2000 Ultra's Swing Kings, proved that this look can be a winner when done right, and Topps done right here.  As rare as it is to say, I'm happy it's true, and I'm even happier that Matt tracked down this copy of one of the Tigers' brightest "Future Stars" [cue enormous eye-roll].  Like Topps, I don't have to go out on a huge limb here when I say that this is currently the gem of my J.D. collection.

The other card is of a player I usually associate with my Michigan PCs, but he has broad enough appeal that I thought I'd just stick with one trade post over here today:

Jim Abbott 2013 Gypsy Queen Autographs auto

Jim Abbott.  Jim Abbott?  Jim Abbott.

What a crime that show got cut down in its prime.  Anyway, file this card under "I don't have that already?  It looks so familiar!  Yeah, I have it.  I think.  Let me take a look.  Oh wait, I don't have it!"  Which means I'm happily adding my eighth autograph of the inspiring lefty.  I love shots like this that show some part of his unique pitching process, and the old California Angel uni/logos and look of determination on Jim's face combine to make this one a big winner.

Thanks for another outstanding pair, Matt!  I look forward to seeing your reaction to the latest bunch I sent you as we continue one of my favorite back-and-forth trade partnerships.

And go Tigers tonight!

2016 trade package #13: Cards Cards Cards

Kerry, owner of Cards on Cards--my favorite blog named with the same noun twice along with a preposition--sent me a very nice trade package a couple weeks ago.  It was stuffed with cards, and he hoped I could "use a couple of these!"  Well, my Cardinalphile friend, I'm happy to say I could use way more than a couple.  The very few that weren't new to me will be useful in an outgoing trade package or two, so I can use literally everything.

Here's what he sent my way this time:

Mini Miggy (literally, not Avisail Garcia) is waiting impatiently to get things started....

Lots of Tigers in one page, scan 1:  Miggy's back with a pair of recent cards while erstwhile Tigers Ty Cobb and Prince Fielder (the only time you'll hear those two mentioned in the same breath!) join wunderkind SS Jose Iglesias and a four-spot of unfortunately recently injured OF J.D. Martinez.  I don't think I'd had enough of J.D. to give him an individual section in my Tigers box but this quartet should just about do it.

Lots of Tigers in one page, scan 2:  I think I included that second J.D. in this scan thinking he was the guy pictured on the next three cards, the recently resurgent Victor Martinez.  Joining V-Mart Heritage-style is Anibal Sanchez with a cool Latino jersey.  Blog favorite Mickey Tettleton joins the fun with this older Ultra insert, and he forms a solid battery with a trio of new stuff for blog namesake JV.  I'm glad someone else was willing to send me the Marketside card because Topps is bad enough without throwing Wal-Mart pizza into the mix!

Lots of Tigers in one page, scan 3:  this is either a team set or just a nice chunk of the Tigers from 2015 Heritage, a solid looking set.  Of the nine players, Ausmus, Greene, and McCann are still with the club while Gose, Machado, and Ryan are available at AAA.  Cespedes, of course, was flipped to the Mets in a win/win trade (we love Fulmer!) while Chamberlain gets to suck elsewhere in the division and Nathan looks to get back on track with the Cubs.

And here's the last of the Tigers stuff.  Moya is J.D.'s replacement and I hope he proves to be an able fill-in for a few weeks.  He's got the talent to do it!  Stewart was Detroit's first-rounder last year and has more acting ability in his bat than his actress sorta-namesake.

And now get ready for exactly three pages (bonus points to Kerry for sending a multiple of nine!) of Cal Ripken Jr.!  In the interest of not already taking way longer than I should have to get these scanned I didn't put them into any kind of order, which actually ended up being kind of fun now that I'm looking at them.  The cards in this scan alone span 1989-2015.

I didn't do this on purpose but this second scan starts with three highlight-style cards:  the end of his Iron Man streak from '98 Fleer Update and his 3000th hit from 2001 UD and Topps.  Again you can see a nice mix of years and brands.  I really like the '96 Select checklist at the bottom because the term "Chase Program" referring to inserts was a fun throwback to the 90s for me.

Oddly enough this group features a much smaller time span:  1994-2000.  That would explain the variety in brands and products, including Sportflix (Pinnacle), Stadium Club (Topps), Pinnacle Performers (Pinnacle) x2, MVP (Upper Deck), Metal (Fleer), Upper Deck, Leaf, and Collector's Choice (UD).  Check out Cal talking on his totally portable mobile phone!

Once again, Kerry, thanks a lot for the generous additions to a couple of my favorite PCs and Tigers collection!

2015 trade package #32: ATBATT's Operation PWE hits 48105

My third trade package of the month was a fun surprise PWE from Stealing Home of All Trade Bait, All the Time.  He first sent me cards back in May, and come to think of it I don't think I returned the favor (d'oh!).  That didn't stop him from including my address in his large scale Operation PWE, in which he sent me some nice Christmas cards:

First up is a pair of Miguel Cabreras from 2014 Topps products.  The first is from Heritage while the other is from flagship in the form of a Yellow parallel.  Both cards highlight the AL's RBI leaders in 2013, with the latter leaving off Robinson Cano.  Crush and Miggy paced the league with 138 and 137 ribbies, respectively, while Adam Jones was next with 108, a huge dropoff from the top two!

Meanwhile, former 3B stalwart Travis Fryman looks snazzy on his '91 Studio base card from that product's debut.  Of course I love that it includes the older Detroit uni.

Finally I got a pair of 2015 flagship Series 1 base cards of will-he-ever-cool-off OF J.D. Martinez and Rick "Thanks for landing us Yoenis Cespedes!" Porcello (whom I'm still happy to collect).  As everyone knows by now, J.D.'s 2014 campaign, his first after leaving the Astros as a minor league free agent, was nothing short of remarkable as he hit .315 with 23 HR and was good for 3.1 WAR (Topps includes that now?  Nice.  Although B-R had him at 4.2 and Fangraphs said 4.0.  Topps gonna Topps...)  He followed that up with an All-Star 2015 and has a bright future in Motown!

One of my other PCs didn't get left out, though, thanks to the inclusion of this pair of Griffeys.  The first is from the '94 Topps base set and was part of the "Masters of Greatness" subset.  The other is from the goofy '98 Pacific Online set, one of those fun experimental products that disappeared as quickly as it came.  In this case, not only did the card include (very old) links at the top of the card ("What's the Internet?") collectors could visit, but this Web Cards insert had a code on the back you could enter into a site to see if you won an upgraded "Winners" card.  I guess we'll never know if this one was a winner!  By the way, Junior has a pair of cards in the product with this number as a fielding version exists as well.

Thanks a ton for including me in your holiday card-giving, Stealing Home, and I'm happy to report that this time I did return the favor and you should be getting a small package from me this week!

2015 trade package #24: Canadian bakin'

Blog favorite trading partner Doug of Sports Cards From the Dollar Store and resident of the great white 3 1/2 hours northeast of me sent me another fantastic two-part trade package a couple weeks ago, and now I'm finally getting around to showing off the goods:

First up:  a trio of terrific Topps Tigers from twenty fifteen.  Temporary Tigers ace David Price, who'll hopefully lead the resurgent Jays (one of Doug's teams!) over the tiresome Yankees, is first up with a nice base from this year's Heritage that mimics the '66 set.  Minor league signing diamond in the rough J.D. Martinez and Alfredo "We traded Eugenio Suarez for him?!" Simon, meanwhile, represent the about-freakin'-time (plus a year) return of Stadium Club.

Nick Castellanos 2014 Bowman Inception Rookie Autographs Blue auto (#65/75)

And then there's the real highlight of this side of the package:  an Inception auto of young 3B Nick Castellanos, a guy who's slowly improved a number of his stats from 2014.  Nick has a fun signature with lots of loopage going on, and I like that he took advantage of the large signing area on this super on-card auto.  It's now my fourth of Castellanos (you can see all of them here), and I believe all of them have come from Doug or from Matt at Bob Walk the Plank.  No surprise--that's a pair of extremely generous traders there.

To see the rest of what Doug sent me, including a 1/1(!), please head over to TMM.

Thanks a ton for the great stuff, Doug.  I've got a few things for you in-hand with more on the way, and it probably won't be much longer before I'm hitting you back, eh?