Twitter brings a new trade partner

I've probably traded with four or five new people on Twitter. I don't actively seek out new traders on this medium, but it's easy to get connected to new collectors through familiar collectors. That's exactly what happened this past week. Gavin from Breakdown Cards has a connection, @Stetsonaw, who posted about a 2015 Bowman Purple Ice Michael Pineda he was looking to unload. Gavin tagged me, and the connection was made!

Originally I thought I needed the Pineda. I have no clue what I have. Stetson was actually the one who pointed out that I have it on my "have" list on my blog. Derrrp.

Regardless, we still agreed to a blind trade, because hey, why not? Stetson sent me a great team bag full of Yanks, including my first 2016 Heritage cards. I've always been a fan of the '67 set. If I ever chase down a vintage set, I feel like '67 would be the one. Plus I already have the Mantle. That's a nice head start.

This is is also my first Starlin Castro Yankees card. Is that the first-ever photo-shopped sweatshirt?

This card also caught my eye! While it's from 2008 Topps, it's stamped with a 2008 All-Star wordmark. I did minimal searching and can't find much about it. I wonder if it was given out at All-Star fanfest or something? The back says 2 of 4, so there are three other cards in the set.

I can never have enough of Robert Refsnyder's first Bowman card.

These got little fanfare, but I think they are one of the nicest insert sets Topps has put out in the last few years.

Old school Bowman Chrome don't pop up in trade packages much!

There was a bunch of other goodies as well. Stetson, I owe you. Thanks!

First time trade with LV's Cards!

Let's start off the new year with a new trading partner.

I've been following LV's TTMs and Baseball Cards for a while, as I always love to see other collectors' TTM successes. Laurie posted some Heritage high number cards she pulled from a pack, and I set my eyes on this beauty:

Jacob Lindgren Chrome /999. I'm a huge Lindgren fan and think that while everyone is talking about Betances/Miller/Chapman being a three-headed monster, Lindgren is going to turn it into a four-headed monster. He is an exceptionally good reliever and has yet to show his potential at the MLB level. If he's healthy, that's going to change that this season.

Anyhow, I sent Laurie back a few Cubs and Royals. The trade took forever because of me, and I hope Laurie forgives me for being so aloof. Hopefully we'll trade again soon! For now, check out her blog!

Bob Bleepin' Walk

Bob Bleepin' Walk doesn't quite have the same ring to it as s Bucky Bleepin' Dent, does it? However, that didn't stop Matt of Bob Walk The Plank from sending me a few awesome cards in a recent trade...or maybe it was a swap...or maybe it was just a "here are some cards, send some back some time." The Dent was part of the swap, although it wasn't what started it. This was:

Nice! I thought at first I had this, but turns out I didn't have the diecut version. Ty Hensley doesn't have a ton of cards, so when a fellow collector finds one for me that I need, it's extra cool. It slotted into my growing Ty Hensley PC just perfectly.

The Dent came along with it. Matt is contemplating putting together this Donruss Signatures autograph set, which would be super cool. For what they are, I think they are exceptionally nice.

These gems filled out the rest of the package! Matt, it's always a pleasure trading with you.

Catching Up on some cards

Recently, Jared from Catching Up With Collecting reached out. He wanted to get rid of a few Yanks, and you know I'm always game for that. He collects Red Sox, so I'm happy to have another Boston fan to ship my unwanted Sox cards to.

Jared's package was cool because it had a lot of cards/brands that you don't see in typical trade packages. It was a lot of fun to sort through.

But first, some Chipz! I didn't have any of these.

This Jeter immediately caught my eye. Unlicensed, yeah. But awesome as hell, yeah. Anything with flames is cool in my book.

Some framed beauties!

El Duque. If you didn't catch the ESPN 30 for 30 Brothers in Exile about Orlando and Livan Hernandez, do yourself a favor and watch. It was incredible.

I really like these Munsons. It's not so much the designs as much as it is NEW IMAGES. Topps recycles so many images, and it's nice to see photos of Thurm on cards that aren't common.

How did I not have this Deion? This card is so cool.

Ted Williams! Ok, all Red Sox hate aside, these were really nice sets. Classy designs, and great checklists.

And a Ted Williams minor league Jeter. No joke, I almost bought this card the other day, and to have it show up in a trade package was fate. It's easily one of my favorite Jeter cards ever. There's so much to love about it...the uniform, the stance, young Jeter in the background. So money.

Jared, thanks for the trade! I'll get your cards out to you shortly (if I haven't already).

SkyBoxes are great for tradin'

Recently, Chris from View From The SkyBox posted some tradebait. I saw a Paul O’Neill 2012 A&G jersey with a big old pinstripe that struck my fancy, and a deal was born.

I’m still surprised with how frequently O’Neill has been included in modern sets. He was always a favorite, and adding pieces of his jersey are always something I’m interested in. If you touch the jersey, you can still feel Paulie’s heart pumping. Ok, maybe not, but that’s what I’ll tell myself.

Of the additional cards, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love the TANAKA RC the most. He’s so awesome. Beyond anything I would have imagined. I’m not only a huge fan of his pitching, but how professional he’s been in his approach and demeanor. It’s hard to believe he’s just 25. It feels like watching someone who is 33 or 34 and has been in MLB for years.

Here are the others. That Clemens Turkey Red is truly sweet. The background is amazing. And the Mo reprint! I've kind of come to terms with the fact that I may never own the real deal, so this is a nice consolation prize. 

 

Bob Walk the Planksui

Back in April, Matthew over at Bob Walk the Plank sent me a bunch of Yanks in a trade. I, in turn, dumped a few Pirates on him. Some of the most awesome cards Matt sent were Hideki Matsui cards, which is awesome because I love 'Sui and he's underrepresented in my collection. Especially relics.

Matt took care of that. Here are two Matsui relics. The first one is awesome. Check out the upper right hand corner. Do you see that that is?? YEAH, A PATCH. Now, I don't think this counts as a patch, but damn, so close. What could have been!

 

Here is another Matsui relic, and an insert #'d 18/50.

There were a bunch of other great cards, and here are my favorites of the rest. Matt, it was a pleasure. I already have some stuff pulled for you.

A tainted memory. A tainted relic.

On August 4, 2007, I was sitting in Yankee Stadium when Alex Rodriguez hit is 500^th HR. It was a hot day, but I was lucky enough to have a seat in the shade on the lower level 3^rd base side. I paid $10 for a scalped ticket which was surely in the upper deck, but I was alone that day, and snuck down to find an open seat.

I actually did that a lot. I went to games alone all the time. When I first moved to NY, I had very few responsibilities. My work schedule wasn’t bad at all. I had no girlfriend, no kid, no dog to look after. In 2007, I want to about 40 Yankee games that year, most just on a limb when I was bored after work or on a weekend. I’d take the 4-train up to the Stadium, scalp a cheap ticket (I usually paid $5 or $10), and enjoyed the game. Ahhh, simple times. It was much easier to scalp tickets back then, and I had an effective system. Many times, I paid nothing for the ticket and found someone getting rid of an extra. People get pretty desperate when the game is starting and they have a spare ticket.

Anyhow, sensing this was the day, I made my way into the old Stadium, found an unoccupied seat, and sat back as ARod blasted a 3-run shot to left. It was probably the coolest moment I had in-person at a game up to the point. The crowd went nuts as Alex became the youngest player to hit 500.

I saved my ticket stub and an NY Post from the game. It means very little to me now, but it was still cool to attend. Since then, this memory has been eclipsed by a bunch of others that I’ve witnessed in person at Yankee Stadium (2009 WS Game 6 clinching win, 2008 ALCS Game 6 clinching win, the Ibanez 2-HR game vs the Orioles in the ALDS, Johnny Damon’s 6 for 6 game, Opening Day at the new Stadium…the list goes on), but I still feel a little connection to this game.

A while back, DHoff over at Coot Veal and the Vealtones put this ARod relic up for trade. It’s (supposedly) a piece of the wall from his 500^th HR game. I have no clue how true that is, but I like non-traditional relics, and this certainly fits the bill. I expected the blue to be softer, but it's actually not soft at all. It must be just the top layer of the wall padding. The scan is bad, but there are some cool markings and indentations on it.

He also threw in a team bag of other Yanks, and here are a few personal favorites. Thanks for the trade, Dhoff!

 

 

Beautiful Pineda AG Auto from Austin

Follower and reader Austin ("Aus" to many of you) reached out offering up a Michael Pineda signed A&G card he pulled from pack. I definitely needed it. Austin was very easygoing and we worked out a deal, although admittedly I still owe him a little bit. There are too many Dodger collectors out there and I can’t keep a respectable inventory of Dodgers cards to offer up in trades.

Anyhow, the Pineda is freakin’ awesome. On card. In a Yankees uniform. I love the framed auto. I don’t know if I’ll get many Pineda autos prettier than this one. It’s definitely my favorite Pineda so far.

Austin also sent a bunch of other Yanks, including this Tino Martinez Panini Hometown Heroes, which I didn’t have. I actually don’t have any of the Tinos from this set, so if you’ve got any of them, let me know.

Austin also wrote a few little funny comments on post-it notes. I always appreciate a personal touch like that. I definitely laughed at his Jeter comment.

 

 

 

Here’s a few more cards I really enjoyed. Austin, thanks for the trade (especially the Pineda!), and I hope to deal again in the near future.

Trade with Reader Derek

A few weeks back, a reader named Derek reached out and asked if I had any extra 1996 Denny's holograms, as he was trying to complete the set. I actually had one he needed - Kevin Seitzer - so that was a lucky coincidence. I sent it along to Derek, and he was nice enough to shoot me back a few Yanks.

In particular, I love these Legends of New York newspaper cards. It's a cool design. I actually hadn't seen them before Derek sent them along, and I always appreciate being enlightened on a set I missed.

Thanks, Derek!

The Sandlot - movie and cards

I love the movie The Sandlot. I probably still watch it once per year. In fact, I was watching it a few weeks ago during some late-night channel surfing. For the record, by "late-night" it was probably like 9pm. That's late for me these days. Shit, I've gotten old.

Anyhow, I noticed something this time that I hadn't noticed before. I blame all of you for this sort of awareness. In the beginning of the movie, when Smalls is nervously asking his step-dad to play catch, there is a cereal box on the table. Notice anything on the box?

 

How about now?

Boom. Post baseball cards. Pretty cool little Easter egg, no?

Speaking of The Sandlot, I completed my first trade with Joe over at Sandlot Cards. He posted this sweet 1950 Bowman Bob Porterfield. I wanted it. I sent him a Mike Piazza relic and a few Mets, and the Porterfield was mine.

He also sent a great assortment of Yanks. I love this Chili Davis card. I don't know why, but I think it's awesome.

 

 Thanks, Joe!