2024 trade package #18: the Lost Collector

Happy December! Tonight I'm finishing off my trade packages from August, and this one was a fun surprise envelope from A.J., the Lost Collector.

He and I don't trade a ton as this is just the fifth bunch of cards I've received from him according to my stats, but I think that's mostly because his collection is a bit more specific and I haven't always had great luck finding cards he needs, especially for his signature Tino Martinez PC. But that's totally fine as it makes it more special when we can send cards back and forth.

Here's a look at what he sent this time:

HOF pitcher Jim Bunning is more often associated with the Phillies, and it's their cap that he wears on his plaque in Cooperstown, but he spent a very productive first nine seasons of his career with Detroit. That means I was happy to see him wearing the Olde English "D" on that 2019 Topps Archives Silver parallel, which is numbered /99 on the back. Fellow former Tiger Nick Castellanos also gets the serial treatment on a 2019 card out of that year's Bowman: a Sky Blue parallel limited to just 499 copies as stated on the front. That's a nice numbered pair!

The other cards in this package represent Michigan Football guys, who I might have mentioned beat Ohio State for the fourth year in a row yesterday (just making sure nobody forgot). These cards bring to mind the ones A.J. sent me last December (which I finally covered this past February) as those were 100% Wolverines gridiron guys.

A Score RC of WR/PR Ronnie Bell (who was recently waived by the Niners) leads off this group. Another star WR comes next in the form of Nico Collins, who's back and starring for the Texans after a few weeks off due to injury. DB Brad Hawkins follows on one of just 12 cards he has to his name, and that reminds me that I need to grab one of his signed cards from that '22 SAGE product. Injured difference-maker edge Aidan Hutchinson comes next with a cool pair from 2023 Donruss Elite and Score (Celebration insert). It would be amazing if the Lions could make an improbable run to the Super Bowl with Hutch returning from his injury to lead the team to their first ring. And lastly, we have one more WR in Donovan Peoples-Jones, who doesn't seem to have played anywhere during what would be his fifth NFL season after being cut by the Lions in the preseason. He's represented on a great looking Score Red parallel (pictured in a Wolverines uni!) from his 2020 rookie season.

A.J., thanks so much for this fun surprise PWE and the goodies therein! I appreciate it as always, and I'm happy to get to say that you'll also be getting at least a little something Christmas cards-wise from me at some point this month, likely before the big holiday.

As for the next few posts, I count five more trades I still need to cover, plus I'm aware of at least one more on the way, so I'll likely keep these recaps going before seeing how I want to tackle my remaining 2024 pickups (Facebook Marketplace, shows, eBay, TCDb deals, and COMC once they arrive). My priority remains thanking folks for their generosity that's 100% in the spirit of this holiday season!

2023 trade package #7: Bob Walk the Plank

Well, so much for "rapid-firing" through these trade packages (with more having arrived!), but at least I'm back today with another one!

I sent Matt of Bob Walk the Plank some stuff around Christmas and he returned the favor last month with a very nice baseball/football mailer I was quite pleased with:

Four active players, three currently with the Tigers. Baddoo just got called back up with Austin Meadows out for an indeterminate stretch due to anxiety. Baez needs to start hitting! I hope Miggy (appearing on two very nice Stadium Club parallels) has a wonderful sunset season, even playing on a dead-end team like the '23 Tigers. The Castellanos cards are all quite nice with the first three being numbered Panini offerings. You all know I love those Stat Line parallels, and numbered cards in general, so hell yeah to those!

Will Mize be another super high draft pick pitcher who flames out in Motown? I love the Leaf card of Pudge that borrows from the old Sportcasters design, which I've always thought looked cool and unique. Also, it's numbered to just 50 copies! Short came to the Tigers in a 2020 deal for Cameron Maybin and I don't get the impression he's the answer to the team's need for middle infield hitters.

And then, how fantastic is the trio of (too many!) Verlanders? Matt and I don't tend to go as high-end as we used to in our deals but these are approaching that territory. Check out a fresh-faced JV on cards from 2005 Fleer Classic Clippings and Topps Update (x2). The Fleer card has a bronze look going on including the foil and is very consistent with a number of their brands back then like Greats of the Game, and more importantly it's a RC of the sure-fire HOFer. Meanwhile, his Topps Update base isn't a RC since that was found in the flagship set earlier that year, but it's still a very desirable card. You know I love the Gold parallel numbered to the set's year, 2005, even more. Thanks for helping me stick with my blog's brand, Matt!

The rest of the baseball portion includes three horizontal cards. I was happy to see Jim Abbott's '22 Stadium Club base as I didn't already have it (or just about anything else in this envelope, actually!). Joining Verlander with adding a Topps Gold to his collection is Miggy on a 2015 card that pairs him with fellow AL RBI leaders Trout and cheater Nelson Cruz (boo!). Lastly, a very appreciated new Cronenworth hails from 2021 Topps Gallery, and this is apparently the Green parallel even though the rookies in the set have much, much less of the color on their cards than the vets. It's numbered /125 which helped me ID it, and it's a great looking item to boot.

It would be impossible, though, to compete with the next two cards of HOFers in terms of star power and quality. Hit #1 is an Al Kaline bat relic from Panini's 2013 Golden Age. Team logo or not, it's a very nice looking card of a team icon known for his bat. You don't just throw around Kaline cards without a thought in trades so I really appreciate Matt's generosity here. That looks to be my 11th Kaline hit, split between four relics and seven signatures.

Speaking of generosity, how about the second item, which had my jaw dropping? For a relatively underappreciated HOFer, Barry Larkin's autographs can sell for some pretty solid money. That's why that term applies to Matt picking up the above 2022 Ginter X autograph of the Michigan/Cincy legend, signed in a sharp silver pen and numbered to a tiny 25 copies. Wow! This is the kind of item I love to add to my collection but don't tend to focus on because of the cost, opting for quantity over quality. Do yourself a favor and find a trade partner like Matt that'll get something like this for you, then load them up with good stuff and they might just return the favor like this! I count 23 different Larkin hits in my collection, and this is my eighth auto. Again, wow!

We'll end today's post with some football items, and while nothing was quite as explosive as those last two cards we looked at, there was zero drop in quality. That starts with a base trio of GOAT QB Tom Brady from 2004, and of course it makes me wistful to see three totally different manufacturers represented there. The two cards of fellow UM QB Brian Griese are even better as they're numbered to 150 (2004 Topps Black) and 32(!) copies (2008 Score Artist's Proof). Numbered inserts all day, please! A '22 Score insert of beastly DE Aidan Hutchinson, seen in college action (with, I believe, LB Nikhai Hill-Green making a cameo) represents a newer generation of football alumni. And we bookend this scan with a pair of cards of another GOAT, DB Charles Woodson. I appreciate the '22 Score base plenty but I really liked being gifted his second appearance in Fleer's '98 Ultra set. The earlier card has a beautiful college action shot and serves as his RC but this first one of him with the Raiders is also a big plus.

What can I say? It was another Bob Walk the Plank mailer filled with greatness as he never misses. Thanks so much for being one of my most trusted trade partners, Matt!

Back with more trade action soon!

2021 trade package #15: Matt's Wonderful Blog Of Hobbies

In my last post I teased a trade package from a "reliable trade partner" and now you know exactly who I meant: Matt of Matt's Wonderful Blog of Hobbies! If the blog name sounds a bit unfamiliar to you that's because it had mostly been named "Sport Card Collectors" for a while. (Also, you probably know Matt's other project, Cards Over Coffee, especially if you follow him on Twitter.) I know a bit about changing up a title for various reasons, and in Matt's case I think it was part of a fairly comprehensive refresh of that blog, which is pretty cool.

Anyway, he'd recently lamented not having sent me anything yet this year in a comment on one of my posts, though I don't think he should feel particularly bad about that after the bonanza he sent me around Christmas! But either way, he managed to put together a brand new PWE for me that arrived just the other day, another Tigers/Wolverines special that hits the spot on this lovely mid-May evening:

Let's start with the Tigers, comprising three parallels and an insert. First up is Castellanos, who had a bit of at professional baseball-ruiner Rob Manfred's expense recently. It took me a bit to confirm it to be the Black Foil version of his 2019 Stadium Club issue, with the main difference between it and the base being, not surprisingly, the small amount of foil up front done in black. It's a typically nice Stadium Club look, though I'm not a huge fan of the font used for the player name. Compare that to the brand's Chrome version from last year and you'll see team/name design elements I like a bit more. Also, that happens to be an X-Fractor of C Jake Rogers, one of, I dunno, 10? backstops currently with the team. He called a nice game in a strong start by top prospect Casey Mize last night, and that connection may allow him to stick around even if his bat fails to develop.

Speaking of pitchers, moving down to the second row we go all the way back to 2014 with a Topps Chrome Gold Refractor of Anibal Sanchez (#36/50). After parts of seven seasons with the Marlins (including tossing a rookie-year no-hitter in '06) he came to Detroit and put up a pair of good-to-great seasons in 2013-14 before steadily declining. Here you can see him in gold, the color of the ring he earned with the Nats in the 2019 World Series. His former teammate from 2012-17 when they both left the club, Verlander, also knows something about no-hitters and World Series rings. But that was all in the future when his 2005 Topps Chrome auto was packed out. That 2021 Topps Through the Years insert, which is a card of a card, is not signed by JV, but I'm fortunate to have grabbed the pictured item for something like $20 years before its price exploded, and it's served as the background image for this here blog for a while, though you can't really see it since I widened most of the blog elements at some point. Trust me, it's back there! Here, it'll be easier to see this way:

Aaaahhhh, nothing like a real image instead of a mock-up to get the full effect.

Anyway, now we'll switch mascots over to the Wolverines for a pair of football cards. #1 is a Glossy parallel of former LB/DL Tim Jamison (UM 2005-08) out of 2009 SAGE HIT. I know the scan doesn't show it but this thing is super glossy, which is nice since sometimes that type of parallel can be questionable. Anyway, Jamison managed to appear in 56 career games for the Texans, which is not bad for an undrafted guy. A player with a bit better draft stock is OL Cesar Ruiz, a former top C recruit who put in three very good years for Michigan, pretty much living up to the hype. The Saints nabbed him 24th overall last year they seem to see him as a guard, which I'm sure he has the talent to play. Matt sent me my first card of his, a 2020 Donruss Optic RC that features the man in his college uni, which kicks all kinds of ass. According to my checklist I have another five first-years of his to track down, which isn't surprising since I haven't made much headway with the 2020 draft class yet. I hope to build on this initial card soon!

Just six cards to scan, plus a few of them needed images on TCDB, so here's the backs.

Matt, thanks for getting a new PWE out to me, not to mention one as exciting as this one! I have a few things set aside for you from the show I got to a few weeks ago and will be waiting until I get to one or both of the ones coming up over the next few weeks before sending them out to you, but I think you'll appreciate this fan of "go blue" sending you some "big blue".

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!

2019 trade package #18: Cards on Cards

Michigan Baseball's magical run to the College World Series ended in defeat after opening the three-game finals with a victory over Vanderbilt.  Still, it was an amazing season with some fun wins over heavily favored teams, and a terrific job by a northern team to exceed expectations.  Here's hoping that momentum carries over next year and beyond!

Speaking of baseball and Michigan, I've got lots of great stuff to show off from Kerry of Cards on Cards, focusing heavily on that sport and the state's MLB team, the Tigers.  Kerry's another of my favorites to deal with as we're fellow MLB/college collectors, so he has a great idea of what to send, and as usual he killed it with a surprise package I finally scanned to show off today:

Miggy gets his own corner here with a 2018 Pink Refractor the star of the group.  Cecil Fielder's '95 Finest insert makes for another strong corner, and his 319 career homers (245 with Detroit) make him a natural fit in a set called "Wrecking Crew".  Chipper definitely outperformed Fryman, who had a solid career of his own, so the pair looks pretty decent on Bowman's Best's '94 debut.  The Fulmer trio will make for nice additions to his collections, including the birthday Refractor.

Iglesias and McCann are hitters starring for other teams now that they don't have Lloyd "hack at everything" McClendon sabotaging their swings, and the former appears on a GQ parallel numbered /250.  Mr. Tiger is more than welcome to hitch a ride in any trade package that heads my way.  Thompson was an interesting prospect that couldn't overcome injury.  The next few youngsters could very well become stars, though:  Cameron (who came over in the Verlander trade), Lugo (J.D. Martinez), to a lesser extent, and 2016 #9 overall pick Manning, plus current LF Christin Stewart, who's certainly had his ups and downs.

Here's a few more prospect types and misc. players.  Jeimer homered twice in the game I made it to with Paul this past Saturday/Sunday (more on that later, probably).  I'd have taken the Juan Gonzalez you see above over the crabby vet any day.  I hope some of you caught Jones' terrific catch on the highlight reels a couple weeks ago.  Zimmermann started that Saturday game I just mentioned, and it went exactly the way you'd expect.

Impending former Tiger and defense-ophobic RF Nicholas Castellanos gets his own scan since Kerry hit me up with so much new stuff of him.  The Archives and Big League stuff is cool, but you can't go wrong with the bookends!  One is a 2018 Refractor (those keep popping up today!) and the other is a new jersey relic from last year's Topps flagship.  I give him plenty of crap but I know I'll miss him when he leaves, especially since he'll immediately start hitting like gangbusters for whoever acquires him.

Now that the Tigers have (mostly) been covered, let's check out the bunch of player collections Kerry hit in this huge stack of cards.  First up is Jim Abbott on a 2011 Panini Limited card (#133/299) and 2013 GQ Black Mini (#070/199).  I actually already have the autographed version of the Limited card so it'll be cool to keep them side-by-side.  By the way, Abbott is quietly marching his way to 300 cards with a new total of 269.

Maybe it's a good thing I took so long to write up this post because it's All-Star week, and who better to represent the Midsummer Classic than Griffey?  The first in this duo is a 1992 Score/Proctor & Gamble dual effort while the other is a surprisingly cool manurelic, a medallion offered in 2015 Topps factory sets (one of several you could find).  Both focus on Junior starring in the '92 AL/NL matchup, in which he was named MVP after going 3-3 with a double and solo homer, off Greg Maddux, no less!  The AL roasted the senior circuit 13-6, and now I have another reminder of Griffey's contribution to that game.

Here's another perennial All-Star and the most well represented guy in the envelope, Cal Ripken Jr.  There's lots of new stuff here for me to enjoy, especially the '95 Score Summit trio up top.  The '98 Fleer subset right down the middle and Topps Gold Label base bring back good memories of some excellent designs.  And that Donruss/Optic trio on the bottom corners looks pretty sharp too!

The pair of 2018 Topps-branded issues here are nice enough, but I absolutely love the two horizontal inserts that were made 20 years apart.  "Etch-a-Sketch" was a fun idea for an insert made up of pieces created on the iconic toy by a very talented (and/or bored) dude, inserted in 1998 flagship.  I think I may have one other card from this set in my collection (Maddux), so this was a direct hit for Kerry.  It's joined by 2018 Stadium Club's return to one of that name's best looks:  Chrome.  I thought the standalone products were amazing and think they need to come back immediately, other than the fact that Topps would continue to price collectors like me out of buying it.  That's ok, I'll enjoy what I have like this one thanks to this package.

Still here?  Great, we're almost done!  The last of the baseball portion is this sextet of this guy I used to watch pitch for the Tigers.  Intentionally or not Kerry gave me a nice split of Panini and Topps, with the former well represented by Diamond Kings and a Red flagship parallel, and the latter helmed by the other relic in this balanced and effective envelope:  a Verlander jersey from 2018 Topps Update.  Coincidentally enough, that one also celebrates the All-Star Game, which Justin will attend tomorrow for the eighth time.  Some quick math has me thinking that's Verlander hit #28 for me, which, while not too many, is a pretty nice number!

I felt like I had to use the word "balanced" to describe this generous envelope of stuff because Kerry already hit both my Tigers collection and other baseball PCs, then piled on some Michigan Football stuff as well.  Better yet, six of these eight are Michigan uniform cards!

Former #1 WR Derrick Alexander stars on a sweet Fleer insert where he appears to be outrunning Armageddon.  DB Leon Hall--who I can't believe is still hanging around the NFL--gets a Stan Lee-like four cameos thanks to Press Pass and Topps Draft, with the last card you see being a Chrome Bronze parallel found in the latter.  Fellow defensive star LaMarr Woodley also appears on a RC courtesy of the same product.  

I was excited to see current coach Jim Harbaugh on a '98 Collector's Edge Masters base because I'll happily take anything of the former gunslinger, but especially a foil-heavy numbered card (#0233/5000) from my favorite decade.  And last but certainly not least is probably my biggest surprise of the bunch:  a Braylon Edwards auto from Panini's 2011 Playbook (#87/99).  That's how you score some major brownie points with me, I'll tell you what.  His 82nd hit (and 15th that includes a signature) puts him back in a tie with Jake Long for third place in my football hits collection, and I'm definitely thrilled to boost the number of autographs in that group!

Kerry, thanks a ton for this spectacular mix of cardboard, fabric, ink, and other assorted materials--it's truly one of the best I've received this year!  Fortunately I found a couple things for you at this past Saturday's show, so maybe I'll be able to respond in kind soon.

Y'all should stay tuned for a few more trade packages (seriously, I can't keep up with them because you're all awesome, plus I'm lazy), plus show pickups and COMC loot.

2019 trade package #6: Parts of My Past

I've been wanting to post a nice summary of the results of The Packening but got bogged down with other stuff this week, including a bit of flooding in my basement that pretty much ate up my whole afternoon today (though nothing really got damaged, which is great).  Also, I'm way behind on covering a few other things, including the show a couple weeks ago, plus some outstanding trade packages.

Which is why today I'll be showing off my latest PWE from Matt of Parts of My Past (formerly Sport Card Collectors).  This is actually the second PWE he's sent me this month, and the most recent trade package I posted here was from Matt, my fellow enthusiast of Griffey and all things 90s, including inserts.

Here's the latest goods, all Tigers edition:

Platonic ideal of baseball's three true outcomes and former Tigers catcher Alex Avila leads things off with his 2012 Topps Gold Rush parallel.  I remember these fairly well but couldn't recall how they were inserted, then found that they were an HTA set.  The only other instance of this set that appears in my collection is Chris Getz's issue as he's a PC guy, and the name appears a lot more frequently thanks to it original incarnation as a Score parallel.

Formerly effective (but still fun to collect) slugger Miguel Cabera is next on three different recent Topps issues.  The bookends--2017 flagship's Walmart Holiday Snowflake and 2019 Gypsy Queen Chrome--look nice enough, but the real winner here is a Red parallel of his 2018 Gold Label Class 2 card (#41/50).  Though not as fun as its earlier iterations, Gold Label remains a winner, and the red looks quite striking here.  I'm thankful that folks like Matt keep sending me quality stuff like this!

Sticking with the letter "C", there's future former Tiger Nick Castellanos on a 2018 Topps Fire Green parallel (#184/199).  That's never been one of my favorite Topps products, but I do like numbered parallels, and Castellanos is a guy whose cards I plan on keeping even when he leaves Motown.  I'll be sorry to see him go because he's been fun to watch as a hitter, but also hope he's the last bat-only player Detroit signs for quite a while.

Finally, Matt followed up his previous PWE with a card that combines two of that package's features:  Ty Cobb and 2019 Topps' 150 Years of Pro Baseball insert.  In this case the Georgia Peach's card is actually the 150th Anniversary version and therefore one of the product's many cards numbered to 150 (#136/150 here).  Numbered Cobbs are few and far between in my collection so this was a nice throw-in for me.

Thanks again for the second envelope in just a few weeks, Matt!  I hope you enjoyed your flat-rate box of stuff and I'm looking forward to seeing your posts on it!

Stay tuned for a couple more trade posts soon among anything else I managed to get posted soon.

2018 trade package #1: Sport Card Collectors

I'm gonna take a quick break from the Sportlots stuff because the other day I received my first trade package of 2018!  It was a PWE from Matt of Sport Card Collectors and it contained plenty of Tigers goodness:

This fun quartet starts off with Miguel Cabrera's base from Panini's 2017 Donruss Optic, the chrome-ified version of the base.  As is often the case I'm a fan of the regular design and the new finish is a plus.

Next is a 2017 Topps Rainbow Foil parallel of 3B (and maybe future RF) Nick Castellanos.  His bat was good enough that I hope Detroit finds a way to keep it in the lineup this season.

The only non-2017 card was one that came out the previous year in the form of an Al Kaline 2016 Topps Allen and Ginter Baseball Legends insert.  It's always nice adding a brand new card of Mr. Tiger to my collection!

And finally, in another example that Topps can do right once in a while, there's a base card of starter Daniel Norris from 2017 Topps Gallery.  Like Stadium Club this is clearly a brand that should be available every year, and I like how the artwork here includes the "Mr. I" patch in honor of late Tigers owner Mike Illitch.

That was a nice little bunch but there were a couple more cards as well:

Wow, two autographs!  On your left is Bryan Garcia out of last year's Donruss Elite Extra Edition (a very useful brand for autograph collectors!).  I have to admit I wasn't familiar with Garcia so I looked him up and found that the pitcher was Detroit's 6th-rounder in 2016 and played at pretty much every level of Detroit's system last year.  He doesn't appear to be listed among the Tigers' top 10 prospects at this point but his quick rise in 2017 is a good sign.  Plus I'm always a sucker for an Elite auto I didn't have.

Joining him is another Tigers relief pitching prospect, Joe Jimenez, with an autograph out of Topps' 2017 Bowman Platinum.  The Puerto Rican amateur free agent had a rough go of it in his Major League debut last year but has been looked at as a potential future closer for a team that doesn't have any reason not to give him some chances to claim the job in the next couple years.  I'm hoping he succeeds where Bruce Rondon flamed out in Motown.

Matt, thanks for a fun PWE that got my year of trading started off on a high note!  I'm looking forward to sending stuff back your way once I pile up more of your favorite teams, and in the meantime I hope your Giants find a new coach that'll help turn things around.

2017 trade package #14: the Card Papoy

The Card Papoy creator Kevin is responsible for a fun first in the roughly six-and-a-half year lifetime of this here blog:  the first cards I've received from a trader outside of North America.  Kevin, of course, hails from France, and yet he was nice enough to send an envelope something like 4000 miles (or 6400+ km!) across the Atlantic.  I haven't sent cards directly his way, having opted to mooch off of Matt's generosity and include stuff in one of his mailings, an arrangement I hope I can continue.

Anyway, I'm thinking he's a French representative for NATO--the National Awesome Trader Organization.  Let's see what mon ami sent over to the États Unis:

Card #1 is a 2016 Topps Opening Day Blue Foil parallel of 3B Nicholas Castellanos.  As everyone knows, blue foil is best foil!  Topps did well to make this a horizontal card but zoomed in too much on the player.  Still, it's a fun addition to my growing pile of Castellanos, a guy I hope gets it in gear to build on his solid campaign from last year.  And it's blue!

And a relic, too!  And a nice one at that of the guy with heterochromatic eyes, former Tigers ace Max Scherzer.  This one comes from 2015 Topps Museum Collection and is a quad jersey relic numbered 91/99.  If you're gonna keep making relics, do them like this, folks (especially the ones that come with swatches of different colors).  My only criticism is the way the design cuts out most of the image of Max's hand and the ball, and I'm not sure why they didn't scoot him over to the right a bit.  Anyway, this is a great new card for me of Scherzer, who went an excellent 82-35 with almost 1100 Ks and the 2013 Cy Young Award in his five seasons in Motown.  I'll happily keep this card with the five other hits of his I own in my Tigers collection!

Kevin, merci once again for being so generous as to send a great pair of cards directly to me.  I promise to return the favor (albeit probably through Matt) as soon as I can!

2015 trade package #33: Christmas with the Planks OR Yes, West Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus

(Yeah, I've been stretching it on the titles recently, so what?)

It's the night before Christmas Eve and I'm excited to have a pre-Yule trade package to celebrate the occasion.  For the fifth time on this here blog alone this year I get to show off cards I received from my favorite West Virginian (suck it, "regular" Virginia), Matt from Bob Walk the Plank.

Matt's such a generous trader that you really never know what you're gonna get, but rest assured, if the package is light on cards, it's heavy on awesomeness.  Bob Walk's #1 fan sent me two cards this time with a promise of more to come (we're not just gonna stop trading?  Whew!) and just wanted to make sure to send me something before Christmas, which was very thoughtful of him.

Here's what he sent:

Nick Castellanos 2014 Topps Five Star Golden Graphs auto (#02/50)

See what I mean?  Dude sends you some high end stuff!  This isn't the first time Matt's sent me a Castellanos autograph this year--in fact, it's at least the third!  This time it's a Five Star issue, thick as hell with a signature in bold gold, which looks as great on a card as it does on signed memorabilia, especially thanks to the effective black background.

I now have five 'graphs of the Detroit 3B, and I'm pretty sure all but one of those have come courtesy of Matt, who somehow finds a way to score great stuff like this and send it my way, which makes me glad I put as much thought as I do into what I send down to Morgantown.

Al Kaline 2015 Panini Cooperstown Induction Signatures Red auto (#36/49)

And speaking of high-end cards, here's the highlight of the envelope, all decked out in Christmas red!  Back before September, I had exactly zero autographs of Motown great Al Kaline in my Tigers collection.  Then Matt struck with not just one, but a pair, that month.  Now he's gone back to that well and bumped up my Kaline signature count another 50%, and I'm simply floored.  What a great looking card from this year's excellent Panini Cooperstown product!  I love the integration of the Hall of Fame logo, but most of all, Kaline's outstanding signature makes this card a winner.

Matt, I don't know how you do it, but whether you send me two cards or 22, I'm surprised every time.  Thanks for another amazing year of trading, and I can't wait to see what 2016 brings.

In the likely event that I don't post anything tomorrow, I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and say thanks for making 2015 another great year of collecting.  I hope some of you are enjoying the Christmas cards I sent your way, and that all of you get some nice stuff in your stockings, if not your mailboxes, this holiday season!

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?

2015 trade package #22: Tony's Ten Tigers are Off Hiatus

About a year (and at least one banner design!) ago I received my first trade package from Milwaukee fan Tony at Off Hiatus Baseball, one that was chock full of Tigers including Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander.  That package was the result of last year's spring cleaning giveaway and I was fortunate to add him to my list of trade partners.

Recently he shot me an email letting me know to expect some cards from him, and true to his word they showed up not long after:

Page 1 once again stars Miguel Cabrera, including a super thick 2013 Topps insert, rising star (hopefully!) 3B Nick Castellanos, current star OF Yoenis Cespedes, and former star OF Magglio Ordonez, with a photo taken when his Samson-like hair was growing out.

I then devoted the second scan entirely to a pair of PC guys--the ones who happen to be namesakes of this here blog.  There's a trio representing original inspiration Curtis Granderson, including the redundantly-named Opening Day parallel from 2008 Topps Opening Day (#d /2199).  Then of course we have the New Hotness (even if his results haven't been so hot lately), Justin Verlander, highlighted by a Refractor-like '72 Topps Chrome insert from 2013 flagship.

Thanks for the great stuff, Tony, and I'm pretty close to sending you a little return envelope as well, likely next week after hitting up one more show!

2015 trade package #19: 2x3 Heroes sends 2 sports x 3 Nicks

It's been almost a month since I last posted a trade package from Jeff over at 2x3 Heroes, but in reality the amount of time between when that envelope arrived and I received another great PWE from the master of envelopes of the plain and white variety was actually much less than that.

I'll stick to my previous statement that Jeff is a classy guy because this time he sent me cards of not one but two of his teams' rivals:  the Wings and the Tigers:

First up is one of those cool Fire Die-Cuts from 2014 Bowman Chrome, and it's 3B Nick Castellanos, whose hitting has improved a bit in the last few weeks.  I'm a little confused that these look more like tidal waves in shape than fire, but the overall concept is fun.

Next up is a '93 UD card of "Top Prospect" P Rick Greene.  I avidly followed the Tigers in the 90s, awful teams and all, and I remember some of the guys who were potential blue chips like Tony Clark and Justin Thompson, but I definitely don't remember Greene, so I looked him up.  I was surprised to find that he was Detroit's first-rounder in '92 but not surprised that he appeared in literally one MLB game, with the Reds in 1999.  The Tigers took him ahead of guys like Shannon Stewart, Rick Helling, Jason Kendall, and Charles Johnson.  Oh, and some guy named Johnny Damon.  Hello, "1990s Tigers SUCKED" tag.

Lastly we have a 2010 Bowman Chrome rookie-or-not of former RP Brayan Villareal, who had a pretty solid 2012 before being flipped to Boston in the trade I mentioned again yesterday that brought Jose Iglesias to the Motor City.

Justin Verlander 2012 Triple Play (#291)

The other baseball entry today is this kid-friendly Panini Triple Play subset card of blog namesake Justin Verlander.  I believe I have his other base card from that set but I'll have to dig around to take a look.

Moving closer to the Detroit River here's the bulk of the Red Wings portion, which includes puck wizard Pavel Datsyuk, D-man Niklas Kronwall (Nick #2!), legendary Red Wing Nick Lidstrom (Nick #3!) and Jan Mursak, a Slovenian winger currently in the KHL.  Then there's a gorgeous Zenith Mozaics insert (remember the awesome baseball versions back in '96?) featuring young star Tomas Tatar, Lidstrom, and star forward Henrik Zetterberg.  I really love the design Panini used here in addition to the nostalgia factor.

Niklas Kronwall 2013-14 Black Diamond Dual Jerseys dual jersey

Oh yeah, and there was also this sweet dual jersey hit of Kronwall (too many Nicks!) to add to my Wings PC.  The thumping defenseman can now claim three entries in that group thanks to this six-piece relic and a solo autograph.  A nice surprise hit to be sure!

Once again Jeff, I thank you for your generosity and promise you that a package will be headed back your way once I find enough good stuff of the Hawks and Sox.  Until then, GO TIGERS CUBS!

2015 trade package #16: these Tigers from Bob Walk the Plank are a perfect 10!

A few weeks ago I received the latest package in an ongoing trade with TMV kindred collector Matt over at Bob Walk the Plank, and not that I want to detract from all of the other great stuff he's sent me, but boy was this envelope loaded!  I'm talking 100% hits, and some really good ones at that.

Matt noted that this time he was going in a bit of a different direction (kind of like I did with the last package I sent him), and he did so in two ways:  sending me mostly Tigers (and just one Wolverine card, on display tonight on TMM), and finding many of those from newer sets I hadn't touched yet.  The result was pretty mind-blowing:

Nick Castellanos 2014 Topps Supreme Autographs Green auto (#SANC) (#31/45)

Nick Castellanos 2015 Diamond Kings DK Signature Materials Silver dual jersey auto (#34/99)

Not terribly interesting fact:  I now have three hits of Castellanos, all of which include autographs, in my Tigers PC.  Very cool fact:  all three of them came from Matt in the form of these two plus another he sent my way back in January.  Verdict:  team trading gets a big thumbs up from me!  The Supreme card is numbered pretty low and is great to have now before his prices blow up should he become a bit more consistent at the plate.  And the Diamond Kings card gives me all the nostalgia feels of the classic Donruss subset/brand, plus it's a sweet auto/dual jersey card!  What's got two thumbs and doesn't care about the lack of MLB logos?  THIS guy.

Derek Hill 2014 Leaf Trinity auto

And now for something completely different....  Trinity is a very cool set that included some fun cards like this one which comes with an interesting inscription.  Don't get me wrong--autographs that are "just" autographs are great, but that's what makes cards like this a fun treat.  Leaf let the players have a bunch of space to sign their names and make a personal mark as well.  An outfielder, Hill was indeed Detroit's first-rounder last year (#23 overall), and while his stats so far aren't terribly exciting, he's young and filled with potential, good enough to be ranked #3 in Baseball America's pre-season organizational top 10.  Not only am I thrilled to have a card of his, I'm geeked that it's one as fun as this one is!

Brandon Inge 2007 Upper Deck Spectrum Swatches jersey (#015/199)

BInge!  My nickname for the former Tigers C/3B/wherever the hell he was useful is also a good description of my activities this weekend vis a vis Orange is the New Black.  Unlike that show, which is celebrating its third season, this card marks my first of Brandon in the Tigers collection, an oversight I somehow allowed until Matt rectified it!

Magglio Ordonez 2006 Upper Deck Star Attractions Swatches jersey

Magglio Ordonez 2008 SPx Winning Materials Team Initials 99 jersey (#52/99)

Magglio Ordonez 2009 Topps Allen and Ginter Relics jersey

Magglio?  More like Mag-THREE-o, amirite?  I now own 12 hits of Maggs, and they often seem to come in bunches like these for whatever reason.  Fine by me since I loved the guy during his Detroit tenure (2005-2011) which included the 2006 World Series appearance that resulted from his game 4, 2-out, walkoff three-run homer against the A's in the ALCS.

Ivan Rodriguez 2008 SPx Winning Materials Limited Patch SPx patch (#88/99)

Speaking of Magglio and his teammates, here's another guy that played on that 2006 pennant-winning squad, and in patch form no less!  For once the "patch" label actually applies with a lovely two-colored white/blue swatch with stitching in the middle.  This is my fourth Pudge hit, and though I haven't necessarily done this on purpose, all of them come from his time with the Tigers, which is pretty cool.

Max Scherzer 2014 Topps Supreme Supreme Styling Autographs Green auto (#26/45)

If you didn't think this was a high-end trade before, well hold onto your hats, bros.  Prof. Charles Xavier's favorite pitcher Max Scherzer is certainly styling here on a card that got a successful trim from a shark with a frickin' laser beam on its head.  The green and gold make for a nice combination, but the signature and crazy low numbering make this a winner, not to mention a card I wouldn't have expected to get in a trade in a million years.  Expect the unexpected when you trade with the proprietor of Bob Walk the Plank!

Alan Trammell 2003 Sweet Spot Classics Autographs Black Ink auto (#096/173)

You'd think he'd stop there, unless of course you've traded with him in which case at this point you're like "Yeah, there's probably still something great you haven't shown us yet."  Right you are--peep this gorgeous Sweet Spot auto of classic Tigers SS Trammell.  I've been fortunate to pick up some nice stuff of the '84 Series MVP, but all of that has some stiff competition in the form of this signature stunner.  My fourth auto (out of eight hits) has me hungry for more.  What a great way to close out an incredible bunch of cards!

Thanks again for raising the bar in our ongoing trade once again, Matt.  I'm already hard at work assembling items worthy of a response while I look forward to the next envelope of awesomeness you send my way!