2017 trade package #20: the Daily Dimwit

After going about three and a half years between a couple trade packages I only had to wait a few months this time to receive some cards from Sam, the Daily Dimwit.  The nomadic collector of Houston teams and prolific purchaser of wax put in a nice amount of effort to scan his trade bait by team recently.  A card in his Tigers/Royals post caught my eye and we quickly made a deal--boom--just like that, which sounds like a textbook Dimwit deal to me.

So I happily packaged up his cards and some other oddball stuff, and pretty soon I received my desired card, along with a couple more that "fell into the envelope":

Throw-in #1 is this sold relic of Pudge from a 2006 UD relic set called Team Pride.  '06 was Rodriguez's third of four-plus seasons in Motown, and saw his third of four straight All-Star nods (#13 of 14 in his career) and 12th of 13 Gold Glove Awards won.  Of course that's also the year Detroit surprised a lot of people in winning the AL Pennant.  "Team Pride" is apropos of Rodriguez's Tigers tenure as he helped restore some respect to the team; it's been said a lot, but it's true.  So it's nice to have my seventh hit of him in my Tigers PC.

Hey, it's the guy whose name appears in this here blog's title!  This Verlander relic from 2016 A&G was also included in Sam's trade bait post, but I didn't think to ask for it because I didn't want to get greedy after having made a deal I liked for the next card you'll see.  Sam being Sam tossed it in anyway, or was merely a spectator as it jumped into the snap case by itself, if you choose to believe his story.  JV may be with a different team (Sam's favorite team, in fact) in a faraway state, but you'll still see me rooting for him and collecting him right here.  Speaking of that, say hello to Verlander #254 and hit #20.  Milestone!

Ah, there's the showstopper, the card that made me hurry up and respond to Sam's post so I wouldn't miss out on it!  Some of you know that I collect Gehringer especially because of his Michigan Baseball connection, but I also highly respect him as a Tigers legend, and that's why this HOF triple relic, which also includes Greenberg and Goslin, was a must-have.

This group, as highlighted by Panini's 2014 Classics Classic Lineups set, played together from 1934-1937, Goslin's four seasons in Motown towards the end of his career.  Hank was still in Detroit in '41 before sacrificing three years to the war effort, come back for '45 and '46, then spend the final season of his career as a Pirate.  Meanwhile, the Mechanical Man rode out the rest of his playing career, through 1942, as a Tiger.

The team represented by this lineup won 366 games with two AL second-place finishes (the final two years), the '34 pennant (losing to St. Louis) and the '35 World Series (over the Cubs!).  A young-ish Greenberg clobbered more than 100 HR and posted 500+ RBI in those four seasons while winning the '35 AL MVP.  Goslin contributed 50 HR, 345 runs and 371 RBI to go with a .297/.376/.456 batting line.  And old Charlie hit a mere .352 with a .961 OPS, 535 runs, and 447 RBI; he was an All-Star in each campaign and claimed the '37 AL MVP award.

So yeah, you could say I'm pretty excited about getting this cool bat/jersey/bat combo featuring these three players, giving my my first relic of Gehringer and 10th hit of his overall (another milestone!).

Sam, thanks again for a great swap, and I hope we can match up for a deal again soon.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed what I sent you and I look forward to seeing what you post!

2017 trade package #7: the Daily Dimwit

It's been a couple weeks since I last posted so I'm probably one of the last to be able to say, "Hey, Dimwit's back!"  I hadn't realized that Sam was going to return to blogging, so that's an excellent positive development for 2017!  In related good news, I received a couple cards from him that I'd been waiting on since we last agreed to a deal.  It took him a bit to get them in the mail thanks to move-related things (we've all been there), but I was happy to find them in my mailbox this month and remember how excited I was to be getting them.

You'll find one of those pickups over on TMM this evening, and the other right here:

From 2015 Topps Archives Signature Series this is an encased auto of one of my favorite PC guys, Jim Abbott.  Topps had Jim sign this copy of his All-Star subset card (#406) from 1992 Topps, then numbered it to 50 copies (mine is #4, which is a bit hard to make out since encased cards are notoriously difficult to scan).

While I won't call myself a fan of every single buyback-type product, I do like the idea of being able to pick up this type of card of a guy like Abbott as it makes for one of the more interest signatures in my collection of the former USA/Michigan/Angels/others hurler.

This fun autograph marks my 119th card of Abbott, not to mention my ninth hit, all of which feature Jim's interesting signature.

Sam, thanks for not forgetting me and for sending me some great cards!  I look forward to flinging some Astros across the country to you once again in the future.

Fat Elvis has left the building

Happy trails to longtime Astro Lance Berkman, who announced today that he'll retire after 15 outstanding Major League seasons.  I'll leave it to someone like Sam at the Daily Dimwit to do a better job honoring one of this generation's better guys.

Lance, a.k.a. Fat Elvis, a.k.a. Big Puma, was Houston's first round pick in 1997, going 16th overall out of Rice.  He by far had the best career WAR of the first-rounders, with professional asshole J.D. Drew coming in second.  He debuted July 16, 1999 as a PH in a 2-1 win over the Tigers, and appeared in 34 games that year.  In 2000, his first full season, he finished 6th in Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .297 with 21 HR and 67 RBI, signs of good things to come.  Lance twice eclipsed the 40 HR mark and hit about .300 five times in his career, finishing with career totals of 366 and .293 over his 15 seasons.  A six-time All-Star who finished as high as 3rd in MVP voting (2002), he also hit very well overall in the playoffs, both in Houston's 2005 loss to the White Sox, and St. Louis' win over Texas in 2011 (after a brief layover in the Bronx).  He finished his career with an injury-plagued 2013 campaign as a member of those Rangers.

Berkman was well-loved in Houston during his 12 seasons there, forming one of the most prolific trios ever with fellow Astros legends Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio, a.k.a. "The Killer 'B's."  Sam got himself a sweet card that honors the group:

He's also renowned for his sense of humor, as you can see here:

and here:

I have to imagine many 'Stros fans were happy with the Big Puma when he finally won his ring, even if it was with a division rival.  You might recall that he took some flack for choosing the Cardinals over the Rangers that year, but who's laughing now, Rangers fans?  The 2011 Comeback Player of the Year hit .301 with 31 HR and 94 RBI for the world champs, chipping in a .423/.516/.577 line with a HR and five RBI in the World Series.  Though he's likely on the outside looking in when it comes to Hall of Fame voting, I'd argue he deserves a statue (along with his fellow "B"s) in Houston, and plenty of recognition for a great career.

In honor of one of the best of this generation--an awesome player, a great teammate, a class clown, and a an Astro for whom Topps would condescend to produce cards--here's the best Berkman in my PC one more time, a 2001 Studio Private Signings 5x7 auto:

Good luck with your next baseball endeavor, Fat Elvis!

2013 trade package #28: the JV Dimwit

A week or two ago Sam over at the Daily Dimwit posted some box break results that included a card that really intrigued me.  Because Sam's such a great guy we quickly worked out a fair deal, in which I sent him a trio of Astros wants (they still put those guys on cards?!) from eBay, among other things.  And on my end I scored the card I really wanted, which can be seen over on TMM tonight, plus this "throw-in," which wasn't a throw-in at all, but another box break pull I was happy to see join my collection!:

Justin Verlander 2013 Allen & Ginter jersey

Sweet, another Verlander relic!  It's my sixth such card of JV, and 10th hit overall (one manu-relic, two autos and a plate).  Considering what his cards (rightfully) go for, I'm always happy to pick up something like this in a trade from someone who can pull it or otherwise acquire it for much less than I can.

Thanks again, Sam, for this new Tigers addition, and especially the one that spurred the trade in the first place!  I look forward to trading again soon with one of the easiest-going guys the South has to offer.  People, if you're not already one of the Daily Dimwit's 200+ followers, get over there right now!

Happy Easter! Jesus and the MLB season come back from the dead today

Here's one for Jeff, who I know loves the Walking Dead and someecards

Happy Easter, everybody!  Whether or not you celebrate the religious aspects of it, Easter Sunday is a sure sign that spring weather and the MLB season are right around the corner.  I hope everyone had a great Sunday--I know I did, and not just because of Michigan's dominant Elite Eight win over Florida.

I have no interest in the Indians, this just always makes me think of opening day

Tonight at 8 EST the newly-American League-ized Astros take on the Rangers to open up the 2013 MLB season.  This is a game sure to interest Sam of the Daily Dimwit and Brian of Play at the Plate as much as anyone.  Now that Junkie Josh Hamilton is gone from Arlington (and has taken some not-at-all cowardly shots at the team he gave up on) I have less of a reason to root against Texas, plus I don't at all condone Houston's "Let's dump all our payroll like the Marlins and not compete for a long time!" strategy, so go Rangers!

The Tigers kick off the 2013 campaign at Minnesota tomorrow with best-pitcher-in-baseball and new $180 million man Justin Verlander taking the hill for what will hopefully be another dominant season that culminates in a deep playoff run.  This is a very talented Tigers team that shed dead weight C Gerald Laird, added Torii Hunter and gets Victor Martinez back, so the talent's all there.  Will Detroit again defy Jim Leyland's insidious plot to prevent their success?  I'll see you after 162+ games and we'll find out!  GO TIGERS!

2013 trade package #3: the Dimwit restores the roar to my mailbox

Today's trade package comes straight from the dirty South thanks to Sam of the Daily Dimwit.  Sam's blog is one you'll want to read if you ever worry you're acquiring too many cards because the dude shows off simply a MASSIVE quantity of high-quality pickups.  And that's not even easy to do when you're a fan of the Astros!

Sam also happens to be an excellent trader, which is why this is my fifth trade with him on this blog alone.  He held onto a few cards for me while I put together a package for him, then sent them anyway before I'd even be able to respond.  How great is that?  Anyway, here's the sweet quartet of Tigers he sent my way:

Joel Zumaya 2006 Upper Deck Special FX Special Endorsements auto

Joel Zumaya 2007 Artifacts Antiquity Artifacts jersey (#138/199)

Joel Zumaya 2007 Artifacts Awesome Artifacts quad jersey (#44/50)

Before this deal, I had a pair of decent Zumaya relics in my Tigers PC.  Now I have a third single relic, a great quad relic, and best of all, a purdy, shiny autograph.  "Zoom-Zoom" is a Tiger I still like to collect even though he hasn't been with the team for a while (or in the Majors, for that matter) because of arm injuries.  I guess it goes back to good memories of that amazing 2006 season that culminated in the AL pennant.  The kid threw gas and was simply a blast to watch whenever he entered the game.  That's one reason I really like the Antiquity relic--the photo really captures the two sides of Joel, gregarious youngster and fireballing pitcher.  There's definitely many other reasons to be excited about this new trio.

Drew Smyly 2012 Topps Chrome Rookie Autographs auto

I don't know when Smyly will become a permanent part of the Detroit rotation, but I do believe it'll happen, whether it takes an injury, a trade, or someone else with enough of a brain to give him the chance he deserves.  That's why I'm thrilled to pick up an autograph of him NOW.  Topps Chrome autos are maybe second only to Bowman Chrome versions when it comes to players' best rookies, and I wanted to be in on the ground floor.  Fortunately for me, Sam was generous enough to include this beaut in this very trade package.  What Tigers fan wouldn't be excited about an on-card signature of this quality on an up-and-coming player on his team?

I want to extend another very big thanks to Sam for being one of my favorite and most-generous trade partners.  I promise you'll like what I send you way whenever I have it ready, although I'll crush your hopes of another J.J. Watt auto right now.  Everybody should finish reading this post, then check out Sam's fantastic posts about the Astros, his group breaks, and the inspiring amount of cards he adds to his collection daily!

COMC haul #2: Bags of relics!

(Note:  all COMC haul posts can be accessed here)

I'm back with another COMC pickup, just like the Daily Dimwit is doing.  And what better to sincerely flatter him via imitation by also posting a card he'll probably salivate over?

Jeff Bagwell 2005 Absolute Memorabilia Tools of the Trade Swatch Five Reverse dual jersey-dual pants-bat (#021/100)

Well, that's certainly a mouthful.  This beaut of a FIVE-piece relic set me back $10, but I was more than happy to splurge on a card like this.  I've often admired the Tools of the Trade relics (and autos) but rarely had a chance to pick up a nicer one like this.  I really appreciate the variety it features, even with only three types of relic among the five pieces--the first jersey features a bit of stitching and the second's a totally different color; the pants swatches are also different; and the bat gives you something different to look at.  The only way this could have been improved is if they replaced each duplicate relic with a batting or fielding glove or something.  Me, I'll take it exactly how it is.

Bagwell's a guy I don't talk about much on this blog, mainly because he played for a National League team miles and miles away from me.  Still, I was born early enough to get to enjoy his entire career and always appreciated the way he played the game, plus his awesome beard and distinct batting stance.  He truly was one of the great players of his generation and I'd be very upset if it took him more than two years to make it into the Hall.  Baseball-Reference compares him best to Carlos Delgado and Frank Thomas--you know, the guys he's paired with here--and by their standards he looks like a shoo-in.  Time will tell, but regardless I'll continue to collect some fun stuff of him when I can find it.

Stay tuned for more COMC goodness soon, including a few cards just in time to celebrate the Tigers' 2012 run to the World Series!

Win-win contest winners!

Time to announce the winners of my latest contest, as advertised (if I didn't mention it) on

(I have now fulfilled my promise to Sam that I'd pimp that blog every time I posted about this contest in exchange for him pimping this contest on that blog.  Sam--no need to send your be-mulletted goons in wife-beaters to break my kneecaps and berate me for voting for Barack HUSSEIN Obama; we're totally even, bud.)

Prize for followers:
Here's the drawing for the main prize, awarded to a random person who participated by following a new blog he/she wasn't following before.  I took the following list, comprising each entrant in the order in which I received them:

1.  The Diamond King followed 26 Cent Summer
2.  BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffet followed Ryan's Pitch
3.  ARPSmith's Sportscard Obsession followed Drew's Cards
4.  My Cardboard Mistress followed Night Owl Cards
5.  My Sports Obsession followed Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius
6.  Fantastic Catch followed BA Benny's Pack Rip Cafe
7.  The Daily Dimwit followed Poor Old Baseball Cards
8.  $30 a Week Habit followed Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius
9.  Emerald City Diamond Gems followed Friars on Cardboard
10.  Cards on Cards followed ARPSmith's Sportscard Obsession
11.  Waxaholic followed The Snorting Bull
12.  Manupatches & Mustaches followed The Snorting Bull
13.  Canadian Cardboard followed $30 a Week Habit
14.  Tenets of Wilson followed 26 Cent Summer
15.  The Lost Collector followed Tenets of Wilson
16.  Justin's World followed Friars on Cardboard
17.  Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle followed Ryan's Pitch
18.  My 2008 Topps Set Blog followed Hello, Victory!
19.  Nomo's Sushi Platter followed Phungo
20.  Play at the Plate followed The Snorting Bull
21.  Coot Veal and the Vealtones followed Cards That Never Were
22.  DocHoloday followed Waxaholic
23.  Dime Boxes followed Vintage Cubs Cards
24.  Cornado2010 followed Play at the Plate
25.  All Trade Bait, All the Time followed 26 Cent Summer
26.  Royals and Randoms followed Texas Rangers Cards
27.  Chipp 'n Dale followed Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz
28.  The Other World followed Andrew's Baseball Cards
29.  The Snorting Bull followed All Trade Bait, All the Time
30.  A Pack to Be Named Later (Jafronius) followed Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz
31.  Reader skroeker followed Fantastic Catch

So here we go.

JUAN

TUOHY

 

THREEVE

 

And your winner of the 2010 Topps Update baseball set and much, much more is Larry from Emerald City Diamond Gems!

Congrats, Larry!  Please shoot me an email and we'll work out your additional stuff.


Prize for most-followed blog:
31 of you submitted the name of (at least) one blog you began following.  In the event you listed more than one, I grabbed the first one you listed, but if you did follow more than one, good for you because that's awesome anyway!  We ended up with 23 different nominated blogs, which I thought was pretty cool, since that should give everybody some more reading material for quite a while, myself included.

The following blogs each received one new follow:

• $30 a Week Habit
• All Trade Bait, All the Time
• Andrew's Baseball Cards
• ARPSmith's Sportscard Obession
• BA Benny's Pack Rip Café
• Cards That Never Were
• Drew's Cards
• Fantastic Catch
• Hello, Victory!
• Night Owl Cards
• Phungo
• Play at the Plate
• Poor Old Baseball Cards
• Tenets of Wilson
• Texas Rangers Cards
• Vintage Cubs Cards
• Waxaholic

The following blogs each received two new follows:

• Friars on Cardboard
• Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius
• Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz
• Ryan's Pitch

And leading the pack, we had two blogs garner a solid three new follows each:

• 26 Cent Summer
• The Snorting Bull

First of all, congrats to each of you who earned at least one new follower--you must be doing something right!  Depending on which of you I don't currently read, that number may rise pretty soon as I begin adding more of these to my daily reading.

So as you can see, we ended up with a two-way tie.  Back to random.org for the showdown:

My second congratulations of the day go out to 26 Cent Summer!  Matt is our winner here, and it looks like I may need to contact him myself because he never did enter the contest of his own volition.  Anyway, Matt, if you're reading this, you've got at least three new followers and some cool stuff coming to you, including a 2010 Topps Update Jayson Werth manu-bat barrel!

Thanks again to everyone who participated--I hope this was fun and even useful for those of you who didn't win.  Like I said, I tried to set this contest up in a way that even if you weren't chosen you might still get something out of it in the form of some fun new blogs to check out.  I can honestly say I was made aware of a bunch I hadn't even heard of but am now especially interested in following, and maybe that happened to you too.

Well, that's it for this contest, but I promise to come up with another one the next time I run out of ideas for content to post!

A trade with the Dimwit that includes a math problem

Pop quiz, hotshot:  two bloggers send one card to each other in PWEs.  Both pack them the same way and label them "DO NOT BEND" in big letters and then entrust them to the care of the USPS.  How many cards arrive in their original condition to each recipient?  Show your work.

Answer:  ONE.

Proof:  Here's what happened to the card I sent to Sam (Daily Dimwit), a situation that still has me pissed off.  Apparently I missed the memo that it was USPS Opposite Day the day I mailed out his card because the geniuses that work there interpreted "DO NOT BEND" as "HERP DERP LET'S ALL TAKE TURNS SITTING OUR STUPID FAT ASSES ALL OVER THIS ENVELOPE!  YOLO BIEBER CROCS!"

Official USPS spokeswoman Sarah Palin

Will someone PLEASE get on creating a competing service that DOESN'T fuck up 80% of the time?  Anyway, Sam was more than gracious about the whole thing, so I'll make sure to make this up to him the next time I see anything cool with an Astros logo on it.  And now, here's the card he sent me--one I saw in his trade bait list that caught my eye and started this trade in the first place:

Miguel Cabrera 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter jersey

The Allen & Ginter base set has never done anything for me and frankly I could really do without it, (though I have a feeling a bunch of you will be chasing me down with torches and pitchforks for such blasphemy) but it does result in some pretty cool hits.  Case in point, I do very much like the framed relic and auto cards, maybe because the actual card piece is small enough to justify the included relic, and the frame adds a nice touch to bring the whole thing together.

This is just my second Miggy relic featuring him as a Tiger and I'm most definitely thrilled to have it, so thanks again to Sam for making for another stupidly easy trade as usual, plus for being understanding about USPS's trademark ineptitude and total disregard for customer service.  I think we all know who the REAL Dimwit in this deal was!

Stay tuned for an even larger trade package pretty soon, as soon as I can make the effort to scan it all.  I won't say who it's from, but considering how huge I'm implying it is, I bet you can guess the source.

Happy mail Monday!

The above gives you an idea of what I just got done shipping:  two boxes, five bubble mailers and one PWE.  The cards in that picture are heading to the following bloggers (plus COMC):

• BA Benny (a bubble mailer and the largest box)
• Cardboard Collections (bubble mailer)
• COMC (the smaller box)
• The Daily Dimwit (PWE)
• My Cardboard Mistress (bubble mailer)
• My Sports Obsession (bubble mailer)
• Night Owl (bubble mailer)

Some of those are for pre-arranged trades and some are just because I'm cool and/or love seeing my name on your blogs in trade posts.  Anyway, even though I'm sure most of you who read this blog at all follow each and every one of them, but if you don't, make sure you do, and make today's $30 post office visit worth it for me!

You can call me Al: another Dimwitted trade

That's right, it's been a good while since I did a trade post, but I finally made another deal worth posting.  Everybody's favorite Dimwit, Sam, has some of the best luck on his breaks that I've ever seen.  During this break of 2012 Gypsy Queen, he pulled an absolutely ridiculous Cal Ripken Jr. auto/relic.  It's already easy enough to be happy for a guy everybody seems to get along with, but I think we all know the proceeds of that card are going straight back into collecting, which benefits the economy AND us!

Anyway, another card in the break caught my eye and I knew I needed to get it from Sam, so I sent some stuff his way, including a decent Biggio jersey I picked up at the most recent show I hit up.  Sam--I would have posted this sooner, but the US FAIL decided to wait until today to deliver this baby:

Alex Avila 2012 Gypsy Queen jersey

This is my first hit of the Tigers' awesome all-star catcher and it features a pretty solid swatch of a gray Detroit jersey.  Cards like this are exactly the reason I no longer bust boxes myself--if I wasn't a Tigers fan, I'd be pissed to get a hit like this, but as a Tigers fan I'm thrilled to have it, especially without having to take the plunge and pony up for a box myself.  Sam made this a very easy deal and now I can be happy to add a nice relic of one of my favorite Tigers to the PC.  What can I say, I haven't been this excited about an up-and-coming Tigers catcher since Matt Nokes!

Thanks again, Sam, for another excellent deal.  I hope you keep pulling some big stuff in your boxes, just make sure to save the smaller stuff for people like me.

2012 Group Break #1: Daily Dimwit

Everybody's favorite Texabama man, Sam (Daily Dimwit), held a group break over the weekend, and his expedience in shipping things out (very commendable, sir!) caused my cards to arrive to me not on Friday as expected, but this afternoon instead.  I know!  The USPS exceeded expectations!  Anyway, hit the link up there for an entertaining video that encompasses all three boxes that comprised the break:

• 2007 Upper Deck Artifacts
• 2009 Upper Deck Piece of History
• 2009 SP Authentic

As you can see from the results, most of us pretty much subsidized the Pirates and especially the Marlins, but I still had a great time, and my haul wasn't all that bad.  My two chosen teams were the Tigers (natch) and Mariners (hoping to snag a Griffey or King Felix), and randomization earned me the Brewers and LA/A/A/LALA/AALA Angels, which netted me this stuff:

All Tigers (Sheffield is #d 242/999) and a Guererro/Ortiz insert #d 154/999

Best of the Brew Crew and Ms

Weird stuff randomed to me from Piece of History

 

 

The strangest thing by far was this Mike Myers Austin Powers relic from Piece of History.  I actually laughed out loud after Sam randomed it off to me.  Also, yes, I now see there's writing on the penny sleeve, but I don't feel like scanning it again.  Anyway, that's up for grabs if anyone has any interest in it.

All in all it was a fun, if not lucrative, way to start my group-breaking year, and Sam does a bang-up job of running breaks, so I'll be more than happy to join another of his in the future.

I should also mention that he sent me a card in trade that'll be posted over on TMM shortly, in return for something coming in my soon-to-be-shipped COMC monster lot.  Thanks again, Sam!

More USPS incompetence plus another Dimwitted trade

USPS, where our motto is "You mail, we fail" or "You ship it we rip it" or "You send it we bend it" or "You pay us money to transfer it to another party and we damage it, lose it or poop on it and then damage or lose it, but hey, sometimes we deliver it!":
Some of you might remember that a couple months ago I made a brief mention of an eBay purchase I was awaiting in the mail.  You might also remember that it never arrived.  The seller was one of the better ones I've dealt with and despite the increasing frequency of scammers who pull this stunt after actually receiving the card, he refunded my money.  Good guy.


Flash forward to today, when this gem graced my mailbox:

Captain Picard, help me out here.

WTF indeed.  After being able to see a good-sized chunk of what's inside, I used my years of collecting experience to recognize what had to be the back of an '89 Donruss card.  "It couldn't be," I thought, "could it?"  It could be and it was:

These are the 2001 Donruss Rookie Reprint of Ken Griffey Jr. and its parallel version.  The scan of the parallel front doesn't really do a good job of portraying the "20th Anniversary" logo being as holographic as it is compared to the regular version, but that's the biggest difference aside from the serial numbering being exactly 1000 lower.

I bid on this auction because I'm pursing the Rookie Reprint set--there's a lot to like about it, especially the serial numbering out of the year the cards were produced, and most importantly, the fact that Donruss doesn't/didn't reprint its cards literally every single year for no rhyme or reason.  The fact that the parallel version was included was a nice bonus and it gives me another cool Griffey to add to my collection, but my main focus is on the regular set, and I hope to have it done soon because it would be awesome to show off.


I now need these:  3 5 10 11 14 17 18 20 21 23 25 28 29 32 37 40
so if you have any, please trade them to me, I'll give you something good.  And the good news is, if you mail them to me, I might even receive them!


Trade with Sam = Too Magglio Verlandersons:
Sam of the Daily Dimwit and I had kind of been working on a trade for a month or two recently before he moved, but now I'm glad to say we never finalized a deal until last week.  The reason the procrastination worked out in my favor can be found in this post.  Sam pulled a gorgeous Verlander autograph and gave me first crack at it, which was an awesome thing to do.  I'm sure he'll show off his end of the deal as soon as they arrive since I took so long to ship them while waiting to consolidate a bunch of shipments into one trip, but here's what I ended up with:

Curtis Granderson 2009 Allen & Ginter jersey:  This is my first Granderson relic, embarrassingly enough, but it's a great one.  I have no love for the baseball-phobic A&G base set or the craptastic results of their boxes, but I do like how Topps has done these framed mini relics the last few years.  A card without Granderson smiling is like Jim Leyland winning a division title--you're just not gonna see it in your lifetime.  A great start to the package and the making of a new trifecta.

Magglio Ordonez 2009 UD Piece of History Franchise History jersey:  Oddly enough this is my first Magglio relic too, but that's not as important because his name isn't part of the title of my blog.  I do have this 5x7 autograph of him but I haven't counted it as part of my Tigers hits because he's still with the White Sox there (I may relax that rule eventually).  This makes another trifecta for me since I have a ton of his RCs from 1998.


And the money card,

Justin Verlander 2007 UD Black Prodigious Autographs auto:  My second Verlander auto is this stunning number from UD black, pulled by the mojoriffic hands of the Dimwit himself.  I love that it's #d 50/50 (hurr eBay 1/1 durr!), I love that it's shiny and thick as hell, and most of all I love that it's another autograph of the AL's #1 pitcher this year.  Not only is he putting up ridiculous stats, he's the foundation of a castle that would otherwise sink into the swamp without him (several times).

So needless to say this has been one of my favorite trades this year.  Big thanks to Sam, and I hope you enjoy your haul just as much, whenever it gets to you (and may it arrive timely, unopened and unpooped-upon).