2025 trade package #3: Nachos Grande

Not too long after I received that PWE from Chris, "The Collector," that I just wrote about, I was treated to an envelope from another Chris that's east of me: Mr. Reed of Nachos Grande. I've known him as a great blogger and quality trade partner for years now and was happy to include him in my most recent Christmas Card mailings, helping him complete his run of Reds Topps Lineage relics.

He was nice enough to return the favor the following month with a package that screamed "Nachos Grande" to me as it was chock full of items I associate with his collecting habits:

That foil Cobb actually hails from the same 2011 Topps Lineage product I just mentioned and it's one of several parallels you could find in the set, not to mention a card I didn't previously have on hand.

Then we get into the Ginter stuff, which is definitely a Nachos Grande staple. I had all of the ones you see here on my TCDb wantlist including 2020 base of Cobb, Fielder, Gwynn, and Tram, a 2020 Mini of Mr. Tiger Al Kaline, and a 2011 of former blog namesake Curtis Granderson. As it turns out, Fielder and Tram are both SPs in the 2020 product so it was extra nice of Chris to include them. They give me four former Tigers that were short-printed, along with Jack Morris and Sparky Anderson. I could also add Magglio Ordonez and Jim Bunning to my wants but haven't decided to do that yet.

And as if those weren't enough, Chris also helped me out with a dupe of a guy we both PC, Barry Larkin. I appreciate any extras he can send my way since he's managed to write up individual posts for more Larkins than I currently even own! #980 in my collection is the '21 Donruss Red and White Stripes parallel you see above, #d 1801/2021. That marks my fifth parallel of his Retro '87 base appearance along with the base card itself in what would likely be a years long search for the product's rainbow. While I miss the MLB logos I do like the design, including the throwback to the 1987 set.

Chris, thanks again for thinking of me and sending these great new additions my way. I'll keep working on trying to find some new Larkins for you to try to get more of your doubles into my collection.

And once again I'll be back soon as I have three more blogger trades from January to cover, not to mention a huge one from February, and three monthly shows to recap. Until then, enjoy some Spring Training ball as we head into warmer weather and a new season!

2022 trade package #8: Nachos Grande

Today's trade package is one I was super excited to receive, and I was anticipating getting it just as much as I was impatiently waiting for today's Michigan Football spring game to get here since that marks the warmer (eventually) season and serves as a reminder that college football will be back before we know it.

The star of today's post actually almost came to Ann Arbor on a football scholarship before opting for the diamond and a Hall of Fame career. That would be one Barry Larkin, a guy who gets heavily collected by Chris of Nachos Grande. Chris generously let me pick from his Larkin dupes after he got them added on TCDB and I ended up with almost 50 new cards to add to my own collection (which still pales in comparison to his PC by more than 400!).

So here's a quick look at what he sent in this package stuffed with Larkins (and a few other PC guys too):

Scan #1 has the most oddball items of any of today's images but we open with a favorite of mine in Sportflics. This is one of the 1987 Team Preview cards and it includes a solid 12 players up front, some of which were big contributors to the Reds' 1990 title such as Eric Davis, Tom Browning, Larkin, and Paul O'Neill. The other two cards in that row from Classic and Topps/Toys r Us are also from Barry's RC year of '87.

Down the middle we have a Topps Magazine trio from 1990 that includes the previously seen Eric Davis plus fellow Wolverine and '90 champ Chris Sabo, plus a pair of U.S. Playing Card Company cards. And the bottom keeps up the oddball theme with food issues from Dairy Queen, Kraft, and Milk Bone. Hey, I didn't say it was all human food! I'm always a fan of cards showing former Wolverines participating on Olympics teams.

As we head deeper into the 90s there's less oddball stuff but it's still there. '93 Studio's Heritage insert looks awesome and is perfect for a game that works so hard to honor its history. UD's Fun Pack product tried all kinds of stuff to hook kids, including "base cards" that were, among other things, stickers. And there's our second Kraft card of the day--one of two food issues in this image.

'95 Score's Hall of Gold was a fun insert that shouldn't be confused with the Gold Rush parallel. It looks like September of that year was Barry's lone appearance on the cards that could be found in SI for Kids magazines. And Tombstone is the last of the food cards you'll see today.

The bottom row starts with one of the best looking cards of the envelope straight out of the greatest era for inserts, and that's a '96 Bowman Bowman's Best Preview Atomic Refractor. Hell yeah! Next to it is one of a few Larkin appearances in '96 Collector's Choice Silver Signature parallel, and after that we have Fleer's E-Motion XL with its design that included frames and stamps.

For a product that was all about the one-per-pack autographs, '96 Leaf Signature has a base set I find very appealing. Pacific Online is more annoying to collect because it's huge and the variations are hard to track down, but Barry's Reds team checklist looks cool too. And it's too bad the Pinnacle name didn't last beyond 1998.

I've long thought that 1998's offering was one of the best in terms of SP Authentic. The Gold Label (another gem!) next to it is the Class 2 version while the base sees Barry in the field and following through on a swing. And Paramount was one of a number of excellent Pacific offerings, with the '99 Copper parallel as an example above.

The bottom row runs it back with Topps Gold Label (1999 Class 3), the third year of Topps Stars (also 1999) and 2000's Pacific Prizm. On a scale of one to five, Topps gives Barry the following ratings on his Stars card: Hitting: 4; Power: 3; Speed: 4; Defense: 5; Arm: 3. Oh yeah, and give me the Pacific version of Prism over Panini's slightly differently spelled product any day!

This last scan that's 100% vertical cards has some of the highest-end stuff you'll see today. 2000 Pacific Vanguard was big on card thickness and shininess so you know I'm a fan. The back notes that Larkin is one of two Reds to join the 30/30 club, and of course the other one (at the time) was Eric Davis; Brandon Phillips joined the club with 30 jacks and 32 steals in '07. Next is our final Gold Label offering of the day: another Class 3 version from 2000. And even if its silver foil is so reflective that it doesn't scan well, 2001 Leaf Certified Materials was 100% certified Grade A high-end!

Next, 2001 SP Game Bat brings to mind the fad of one-per-pack bat cards that we enjoyed 20 years ago. And after that we have one of my favorites of the whole package: 2003 E-X. This product had multiple variations on the name and design but the '03 version was one of the best as it was mostly clear acetate! Larkin's 2004 Donruss World Series Blue insert is a great reminder of his excellent stats in the '90 World Series sweep of Oakland: .353 AVG (6/17) with a .421 OBP and 3 runs scored.

Heading to the bottom row we begin with the Retail version of Fleer's 2004 Skybox L.E. (limited edition) product. It can be easily differentiated from the hobby version which is die cut along the top. A flying Larkin once again turning two stars on a 2004 Ultra Gold Medallion card which is itself die-cut. And then we have one of the most recent cards you'll see in this post, a 2011 Gypsy Queen Framed Green parallel. You all know I'm not a big fan of the Ginters and GQs of the hobby but the framed cards do look quite nice.

Here we have six horizontal cards before we get to the final verticals. Up top are Barry's base card from Pacific's 2000 Aurora set plus the Pinstripes insert. Since his Reds wore unis with stripes I'd say his team was 100% appropriate to be in the set. Also from 2000 you can see his 2000 Upper Deck Gold Reserve base. That product used the same photos as the flagship product but had different design elements, especially the eponymous gold, and if you compare the two you'll also notice that the Gold Reserve card lacks the All-Star notation. The next card is a 2001 Upper Deck Vintage team checklist which uses the old floating heads look you might have seen decades ago. This card is great for me since it doubles as a Griffey appearance. Larkin and Junior were Reds teammates from 2000-04 and coincidentally they both made the All-Star team on the bookends of those five years!

The last two horizontals are Topps cards of the reprint variety, so don't be fooled and think they're older. On the left is a 2011 Topps 60 Years of Topps Original Back which very helpfully says "reprint" on the back. Of course that's another look at his '95 Topps base you see up there with its unmistakable design. The other is from last year's Stadium Club Greats insert which reprints Larkin's appearance in Stadium Club's 1991 debut product.

We're getting near the end now with two more vertical items that couldn't be more different. On the right is a 1992 Panini Sticker. I very likely pulled one of those from a pack when I was nine and dutifully stuck it in my album but now I have one that I can keep intact. To its left is one of just two numbered cards you'll see today, a 2011 Topps Tier One Blue parallel which is numbered /199 up front. I still need Barry's base card but this Michigan fan is certainly happy to say GO BLUE to the one he owns!

I had to say "near to the end" in the last scan because we've got two more Barrys to admire, and they're both relics, my 23rd and 24th hits of the HOF SS! On the left is a 2003 Prestige Connections dual memorabilia card that includes a Larkin bat along with a jersey of three true outcomes poster boy and feared slugger Adam Dunn. It's numbered /400 on the back and has just a little bit of damage in a couple places around Larkin's bat piece, but looks amazing otherwise with its bold red background.

The other brings to mind the kind of relic A&G is known for but it's actually much older than that product. The jersey you see before you is from 2002 Topps 206, but you still get that framed cigarette card look. I'm guessing this is one of the earliest, if not the first, examples of Topps making the framed minis, and you have the nice little cutout in the window so you can actually touch the relic piece.

This is simply an outstanding bunch of cards to add to a collection I'm happy to keep building so again I really appreciate Chris' generosity. These may have all been dupes to him, but they were new to me, and he could have just as easily decided to keep them to trade on the site for more Larkins. Trust me, I'll do my best to pay him back, especially if I can find some he needs somewhere in the wild.

We're not quite done yet, though, because Chris also let me grab four more cards of three other PC guys:

Bookending the top row are 1998 Sports Illustrated cards of Mr. Padre Tony Gwynn and Dean Palmer. One's an all-time great HOFer and the other...is a guy I still enjoy collecting. Speaking of Dean-o, I also snagged a '98 Pacific Online base of him. Down below is one other 2001 UD Vintage team checklist card, and if you look closely enough you'll realize I grabbed this one thanks to the presence of another Wolverine: current Royals skipper Mike Matheny. 2000 was his first of a five-year stint with the club culminating in the 2004 pennant, but he'd be in San Francisco for his sunset season in '06 when Edmonds was the only guy on this card to win a ring that year. In terms of the 2004 team, Matheny, Renteria, Lankford, and Edmonds all participated.

So once again I'd like to say a big thanks to Chris for allowing me to grab nearly 50 Larkin cards from him, many of which are of above-average quality or more. I'm hoping I have some success finding stuff he can use out of the boxes at my local card show if not elsewhere so I can reward his generosity.

Up next will be one more large trade package from one of the usual suspects, and then depending on what else comes in I may finally be able to recap my bevy of TCDB deals so I can put those stacks of cards on my desk away!

2019 trade package #38: Nachos Grande

Way back near the end of November Chris, who runs Nachos Grande, announced his Season of Giving giveaway in which people could sign up for some free cards of their favorite teams, with Chris trying to oblige as best as he could.  He's always been a good dude to trade with and I appreciated the dual goals of finding good homes for unwanted cards and sending things out for the holiday season, so I put my name in, and he was nice enough to send a stack of Tigers (and a few other things) my way.  If that's not the epitome of holiday giving I don't know what is!

Here's what Chris sent this time:

We'll lead off with possibly my favorite card of the whole package, a '98 Paramount Team Checklist card featuring Tony Clark, kind of the Tigers' Nicholas Castellanos of his day.  Detroit developed him as a high draft pick and he put up some good numbers on some awful teams before being cut loose in his seventh year.  At least he made the playoffs a couple times after that!  This card is another pefect example of how fun Pacific was back in the 90s.

Encarnacion was Clark's teammate for a few seasons and went on to win rings with the Marlins in '03 and Cardinals in '06 (against the Tigers!).  Fulmer's Bunt insert from 2017 was new to me, and I'll continue being a broken record in hoping he returns to health and effectiveness next year.  Hunter gave the team a couple quality seasons before retiring after a one-year return in Minnesota.  Kaline looks great on a 2002 Fleer Fall Classic base.  Kinsler (also '17 Bunt) was one of my favorites in his three-plus seasons in Motown and 2B hasn't been the same since he left.  Playoff hero Magglio appears on a 2008 UD Heroes Charcoal parallel #d 352/399.  Palmer's big bat was a rare highlight on some bad 90s teams, and '99 UD retro was a highlight of that year's releases.  And I somehow didn't have the base version of Phillips' '94 Collector's Choice base where the underappreciated multi-position player can be seen going airborne turning two.

And now some horizontal cards and more!  I didn't arrange things like this on purpose but the cards down the left side are all new to me while the other two are dupes.  While Granderson's redundant thanks to my '08 Topps complete set, I needed two of the '14 Topps base:  Miggy's 2013 AL RBI leaders base and an issue of V-Mart sliding into home in better times for him and the franchise.  '84 champ Larry Herndon's '88 Topps Big card was also new, and I'm sure I'm lacking a bunch of Tigers from the three-year(?) run of the product.  And then there's my co-favorite item today, an '85 Topps Rub Downs piece that includes Lou Whitaker along with Carney Lansford, Mario Soto, and John Denny, plus a glove and a couple of balls.  Chris had it in a penny sleeve with the instructions card, which was cool from a collecting perspective, and also wise of him since the other piece is so thin.  It's a very cool oddball item to add to Sweet Lou's collection, now sitting at 290 different items.

Lots more Tigers to get to!  Casanova had a great name but not a bat to match, and he was one of many players the Tigers acquired from the Padres or Astros in the 90s.  Higginson's act wore thin for me toward the end of his tenure, but that '98 Flair Showcase card is a thing of beauty.  The Bowman Chrome card (2012) is of RP Matt Hoffman, a 26th round pick that found his way into the set for some reason.  I'll always appreciate Robinson for being just good enough to entice the Orioles to send Mickey Tettleton to Detroit.  And while the humorous Sparks didn't put up great numbers, I do appreciate the fun design of 2003 Studio and its cool background photo of one of the entrances to Comerica Park.

Ok, now we're done with the Tigers.  Knudson's not worth mentioning but the 2011 Topps Attax cards of the park and mascot Paws are fun.  The former is actual a foil version but it was hard to get that to come across in a scan.

And last up today is a trio of non-Tigers cards, in this case Barry Larkin, a guy Chris also collects for some reason.  He sent a nice mix in the form of 2005 Throwback Threads, 2015 Contenders, and 2016 Topps Archives.  Those of you who know me at all shouldn't be surprised that I'd rank them 2, 1, and 3, in that order--Michigan uni cards almost always win--but all three look great no matter what.

Chris, thanks again for including me in your Season of Giving, and I'm glad you liked your own Christmas cards from me!  Let's do more trading in 2020, especially if I can hunt down more set-fillers for you so you can continue the completion momentum you've got going in your latest series of posts!

2019 trade package #25: Nachos Grande

Fellow Barry Larkin enthusiast and awesome trader Chris of the somewhat recently redesigned Nachos Grande put in some quality time updating his trade lists by set not too long ago.  That's a move that I think will pay off handsomely both for his collection and those of many other collectors.  In my case I had plenty of interest in some of his trade fodder from his Fleer Sports Illustrated breaks, so I claimed a few cards, for which I'll be rewarding Chris pretty soon:

Everything here is from SI's debut collaboration with Fleer, and what a product it was!  Great photography (naturally) on vibrant, glossy cards printed on thick stock.  Best of all, a number of those cards were reprints of classic magazine covers.

The top three cards above are the Tigers I claimed--a pair of Tony Clarks and one Travis Fryman.  Two of the better players from some of Detroit's lean years, they manned the infield corners in Motown for a bit of '95 (Tony's first season), then 1996-97, until Fryman was traded. They combined for 121 HR, 483 RBI, and 13.4 bWAR as teammates and rare bright spots on some rough squads.  Thanks to TCDB I've become more open to adding cards of non-PC guys because I get stats on how many items I have of every player, so I was happy to add these, putting me at 107 of Clark and 117 of Fryman.

The other base card I absolutely had to have was one of the cover reprints I just mentioned, starring PC guy Ken Griffey Jr. and fellow 90s badass/HOFer Frank Thomas.  The two graced the front of the August 8, 1994 issue, one that came out during that year's strike-shortened season, which was one to remember for a number of reasons.

And speaking of covers, Kenny's fellow Junior Cal came along for the ride on an Extra Edition parallel (#273/500) of another one, the biggest get of the package for me.  This was somewhat early on in numbered inserts so it's a terrific piece, with the July 29, 1991-dated mag highlighting the Iron Man nearing streak game #1500 while "enjoying the best season of his illustrious career."  Baseball-Reference would tend to agree, noting a career-high 11.5 bWAR and personal bests in HR (34), RBI (114), AVG (.323, in a full season, so not including 1999), and OPS (.940).  Oh yeah, and he won his second AL MVP.

Fleer was always a manufacturer that remembered to think about the kids in the hobby, so they included these Great Shots mini posters as a fun insert.  Naturally I grabbed Cal's version along with one of perennial Gold Glover Greg Maddux.  They don't hold up to well after being unfolded and folded again numerous times but they look great and feature more of that interesting photography.

Chris didn't stop there, though, sending me a nice pile of Tigers while he was at it:

Plenty of interesting guys here.  Alvarez never panned out, but Anderson looked like he might provide some value (if not #1 overall pick value) before injuries derailed his career.  Blair was a bit like Edwin Jackson, coming to Detroit by way of five other teams and enjoying a pretty nice season (16-8) in '97, bouncing around a fit, then returning toward the end of his career.  As for Fister, the Tigers fleeced the Mariners for a very effective pitcher, then did the opposite in getting Robbie Ray (and others) from the Nats while having no idea how to use him and getting relatively little value when they flipped him for Shane Greene in a three-team deal.

Exavier Logan has one of the more disappointing nicknames in the game's history when you learn that it's meant to rhyme with "book" instead of sounding like the explosive weapon.  Iglesias, Infante, and Peralta were all decent-to-above average middle infielders for the team.  And card-collecting aficionado Dmitri Young gets paired with his much younger (12 years!) brother below.

Yep, there's Delmon, who had a few big hits over a couple seasons with the Tigers.  Appropriately enough, former speedster Brian Hunter leads off, and he's probably already stolen second, too, after he went off for a career high 74 swipes in '97.  Lastly, it's a bit sad to see former ace Scherzer on a card with Big Sexy Bartolo Colon (who shares my birthday!) and future Tigers IL in residence pitcher Matt Moore.

Chris, thanks again for making those SI cards available and getting them to me along with some great Detroit stuff so quickly!  I'm gonna take a little bit to get back to you while I await next month's show, but I'm also putting together a Sportlots haul that will be of great interest to you.

2019 trade package #1: Nachos Grande

Chris from Nachos Grande was nice enough to be the first person to send me cards in 2019.  He was one of the many folks who received some Christmas Cards from me, and then he returned the favor after I claimed a couple things from his Trade Bait Blowout.  Naturally he threw in a bunch more stuff because he's a great guy to trade with.

Here's what I got this time:

Group 1 here is guys I have sorted by player in my Tigers box.  Miggy and Sanchez are the only ones that are still playing, but Clark is the head of the MLBPA and Henneman is still coaching in the Tigers organization (I think).  Peralta was quite good in his four years in Motown, but it looks like 2017 may have been his last year in the Majors.

And some other Tigers from the past 25-ish years.  Alvarez came to Detroit from Arizona by way of San Diego during the expansion draft in a deal for former star Travis Fryman, but he never got his bat going enough to last.  Anderson was a #1 overall pick as a closer but blew his arm out.  Benoit was a very effective arm out of the pen but his performance priced him out of Motown.  Fick was somehow an All-Star during the awful 2002 season.  Pena is back with the organization as a coach after retiring last year.  Rondon is the White Sox's problem now!  And Young just had a hell of a Winter League in Venezuela.

Chris's note mentioned that he thought I may have asked him for some Chris Sabos at some point and sent this five-pack my way.  That was awesome of him as three were new to me:  1990 Classic Update and Starline Long John Silver (#25, one of his two appearances), plus 1994 Pacific.  I'm especially glad he sent the latter because I'd included that set on the checklist of another player but not for Spuds.  That's all fixed now, and I'm happy to have even more cardboard of the notable 3B!

Also:  three many Verlanders!  The 2017 Topps Bunt card in the middle was a new one for me as was the A&G relic from the same year.  The latter was one of the two cards I claimed from Chris's piles of trade bait and I thought it would be fun to grab as I have his other version from the same set:

By their powers combined these give me 350 total Verlanders, which is not Too Many but is definitely a lot!

Last up is a very shiny Thomas Rawls insert, a Yellow parallel of 2016 Panini Phoenix's Adrenaline Rush (#49/99).  I claimed this one as well since Rawls is a former Wolverine (who blew up in his senior year after a transfer to Central Michigan).  While I usually post this kind of thing over on TMM I didn't feel like it was worth it for just one card.  Besides, the sport is especially relevant today, the NFL conference champ games, plus I have another Sportlots post I hope you'll all check out over there.

Thanks again for a great return package, Chris.  May your eight not be so elusive and your Larkins be plentiful in 2019!

2016 trade package #8: Red Barrys from Nachos Grande

Last week fellow Barry Larkin collector Chris from Nachos Grande sent me a nice little package entirely comprising that very player:

• 1994 Collector's Choice (#171)
• 1994 Fleer
• 1994 Fleer All-Stars
• 1994 Upper Deck (#269)
• 2001 Leaf Rookies and Stars
• 2015 Topps High Tek

Not only am I always happy to receive cards from Chris (and everyone else that sends them), I'm happy to say that all six of these are new to me thanks to his due diligence.  It's a nice bunch that includes cards from four different brands--UD, Fleer, Leaf/Donruss, and Topps--and reaches across three decades, from 1994-2015.

The Leaf R&S card is my favorite overall combination of photo and design, but the Collector's Choice has a cool action photo as well.  Fleer's base card calls to mind modern Topps' obsession with super zoomed-in images while the All-Stars insert looks pretty typical for the brand during that era.  Upper Deck's card is an interesting concept though it wastes a ton of space, and Barry's other card in the set looks much better.  Finally, I was relieved to see that Topps' Tek cards weren't as complicated as they could have been and it didn't take me too much work to figure out that this "waves" pattern is Larkin's base version in the set.

Chris, thanks once again for treating me to some new Larkin cardboard, giving me a new total of 329.  I'll soon have a few cards headed your way that should help you out a bit too!

By the way, readers, this isn't my only Michigan-related trade post going up today--please head over to TMM for more goodies.

2015 trade package #9: these Tigers are mine, Nachos

Chris from Nachos Grande is back at it again as he sent me a nice envelope a few weeks after gifting me a nice little haul in January.  Part of that package was a couple Barry Larkin needs from '93 Topps, and then I happened to comment that I didn't have their base versions.  Generous guy that he is, Chris sent those to me and much, much more!

I've posted the Larkins over on TMM for your perusal while highlighting the plethora of Tigers he sent my way right here:

Here's some of the Tigers I collect enough to keep sorted by player.  Henneman, Herndon, Lemon, and Sheridan are guys that didn't get much cardboard while with Detroit since they were with the team before the 90s explosion of products.  Parrish played long enough that he has a pretty good number of cards, many of which are when he was with the Tigers.  Fryman and especially Ordonez individually probably outmatch the other players combined!  Clete Thomas is not a guy I collect anymore but I'm keeping this 2008 Topps Gold parallel with my other unsorted Tigers inserts.

Here's what I believe to be part of a team set from 1998 Collector's Choice--I'm not sure since the set was split into two series.  Anyway, the point is that Chris sent me six Tigers, all of whom are familiar to me, including pitcher Willie Blair, who inexplicably won 16 games in '97, the awesomely named Raul Casanova and Frank Catalanotto, slick-fielding Deivi Cruz, Bob "How the hell was this guy a Rookie of the Year" Hamelin, and once-promising pitcher Justin Thompson, who was sent to Texas in the ill-fated Juan Gonzalez deal.

Also in this group is a '90 Topps of "Ken Williams," and OF/3B with Detroit for parts of 1989 and 1990.  Why did I include him?  You probably know him better as the GM and Executive VP for the White Sox!

Here's three cards I decided to specially highlight as they go towards player collections.  The Gibby is a (very cool) dupe (though I'm still confused by the "THIRD BASE" thing), while the Verlander and Sweet Lou are new.  Well, technically I already had the Pudge/Verlander by way of owning the 2008 Topps set, but thanks to Chris I don't have to scan it!

Finally, it wouldn't be a trade package from Chris with minis, specifically the incredibly well done Munnatawket version!  I landed the highly sought-after Chris Reed autograph along with competitive eater/muu-muu model Prince Fielder and some pitcher I collect sometimes.

Thanks again, Chris!  I've somewhat started building a new package to send back your way and I'll keep working at it until I have something worthy of  mailing to you.

2015 trade package #4: a pequeño envelope from Nachos Grande

Everyone's favorite Reds collector/blogger Chris from Nachos Grande sent me a cool little envelope a week or two ago with a nice mix of Tigers and Reds:

The Gehringer, from 2005 UD Baseball Classics, is one I already had for his PC, but now I have one to keep with my Tigers collection, which is awesome.  Having two of a card with a great photo of a great player is pretty nice when you think about it.  Verlander is a more modern player that I of course love to collect.  Jumping back to the Reds I get a Griffey at the end of his trademark sweet swing.  It's one of his issues from 2008 UD, so the photo comes from his final All-Star campaign a year before he was swapped to the White Sox (which is still weird for me).  Tying up the group is Dmitri Young, whom the Reds sent to Detroit, and who played five seasons in Motown.

Those were pretty good, but what really kicked off the deal was a comment I left on Chris' blog about a couple cards he posted a few weeks ago:

Barry Larkin 1993 Topps Black Gold and Topps Gold (#110)

I noted that I didn't have either of these inserts from '93 Topps--in fact I didn't have any Larkins from that set at all somehow--and cool guy that he is, Chris sent them my way.  This is a beautiful example of why blogging and trading work so well together:  though we both collect the same guy, he had no problem sending me a pair of cards I didn't have.  And really, were I to somehow stumble upon a Larkin he didn't have, I'd happily send it his way.  That would be tough, though, as he's posted nearly 100 more Barrys than what I have in my entire collection of the superstar SS, and I'm sure he's got a ton that he hasn't even posted yet!  Anyway, I now own 245 unique Larkins, so I'm looking forward to celebrating a fun milestone soon.

Thanks again for another generous trade package, Chris!  I appreciate that you followed up on one of my comments by sending me stuff I needed and continued to cement your reputation not only as a prolific blogger, but also a great guy to deal with.  Readers, check out Nachos Grande whether you're a Reds fan, want to get to know other bloggers, or love group breaks!