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).

2019 trade package #23: The Collector

I've traded with a number of collector-bloggers named Chris.  I've traded with a number of folks with some form of the word "collect" in their blog's name.  But only one of those is Chris of The Collector, lover of Devils and Red Sox and sender of my latest trade package:  a PWE that arrived at the end of July.

Chris stuffed this envelope--seriously, it included 18 cards!--with some very recent Tigers, many of whom are currently on the roster.  Let's take a look:

With the trade deadline having come and gone since this envelope hit my mailbox, the guy on the top corners, Nick Castellanos, has departed for greener (and smaller) pastures with the Cubs, and I'll definitely wish him well.  Nick shares that Donruss card leading things off with Miguel Cabrera, who's been anything but a masher since 2016.  Jeimer, a former Cubs prospect, has at least shown a little promise, though he'll have to show lots more to stick in the bigs.  Cespedes (2015 Donruss) was a Motown Masher until being flipped for Fulmer (also pictured), who could have turned into a major franchise cornerstone if GM Al Avila wasn't completely clueless.  Niko's at least turned into a very shrewd pickup as a utility guy who can actually hit.  His 1.9 fWAR (as of this post) towers over the rest of the offense, and I hope he sticks around.

Greiner (nice throwback to 80s Donruss!) doesn't seem like the future behind the plate like McCann, below him, could have been, but at least Jake Rogers (who came over in the Verlander deal) could make things interesting.  The Dixon Tigers fans are interested in right now is IF Brandon, not the offensively challenged Machado, who of course is doing quite well at AAA for the Cubs.  Mahtook's at least doing the same at Toledo for Detroit, though his MLB track record is iffy.  Stewart is another guy not performing well this year but it's not for lack of talent, and a real MLB hitting coach (and fielding coach, for that matter) could do wonders for him.  Zimmermann is a cause and symptom of a squad that seems dead set on losing a record number of games, but at least he'll finally be gone in...2021?!  Paws has at least been a constant during good times and bad, and is a solid mascot that actually represents the team's nickname, so we've got that going for us!

The Tigers may suck this year, and maybe even for a while longer--Al Avila got a contract extension?!--but there's still some bright spots if you know where to look, and that includes many of the keepers Chris was nice enough to send me here out of the blue.  Many thanks, Collector dude, and I look forward to hitting you back soon with a little return that's so clean you might just call it...pristine!