Early Christmas Present from Brad at Red Sox Fan In Nebraska

I generally have a good idea of my ongoing trades, but in my stack of mail last week was an envelope from Nebraska. Now, I know I had just completed a trade with Brad from Red Sox Fan In Nebraska, but I had already received my end of the trade. Looking at the last name, I was sure that it was from Brad, and I was thinking that maybe he had found a couple more of my set needs. When I opened up the envelope, I instead found this...

Whaddya know, a 1998 Red Sox Score #15 Shane Mack! It has probably been a few years since I have been able to add any new cards to the Mack collection, so I was pretty fired up when I saw it. Thank you Brad for taking the time to look over my wantlist and surprising me with the card. Your generosity will definitely be remembered in the future!

.10 Card Show Pickups

A couple of weeks back, my standby card show got some new dime boxes in. Typically, this is just tons of early 90's junk, but these boxes were actually semi-loaded. It's always tough for me to say no to a numbered card or a tough parallel. Here's what $3 got me:

'04 Absolute Memorabilia 141 Hideki Matsui 0292/1349
'04 Absolute Memorabilia 169 Jason Schmidt 1111/1349
'04 Absolute Memorabilia Tools of the Trade TT-91 Mark Prior 005/125

'13 Bowman Chrome Refractor BCP180 Tyler Heineman - I will always have a soft spot for "Heiny", as he was affectionately known at UCLA. Does all the little things that go unnoticed. Hope he gets a chance to make it to The Show
'02 Fleer Genuine 113 JJ Putz 0587/2002
'06 Fleer Tradition Black and White 50 Scott Rolen
'12 Topps Heritage 476 Prince Fielder SP
'04 Throwback Threads Gold Century Proof 121 Nick Johnson 074/100

'85 Fleer Update U-43 Greg Gagne - I'm not sure if I already have this card, but I always appreciated Gagne's efforts as the glue of the Twins infield during their '87 and '91 World Series runs

'09 O-Pee-Chee New York New York NY15 Xavier Nady - I've never seen, much less heard of this insert set, but doing some research, this is a 30-card Yankee set seeded 1:40 packs.
'09 O-Pee-Chee Walk-Off Winners WK7 Johnny Damon
'08 Upper Deck X Xpotential X3-HM Hideki Matsui
'14 Topps Opening Day Superstar Celebrations SC-4 Freddie Freeman
'11 Topps Heritage Minor Tint 154 Jonathan Singleton 604/620
'09 Upper Deck Starquest Emerald Super Rare SQ-36 Curtis Granderson
'10 Upper Deck Celebrity Predictors CP9/CP10 Chris Martin Gwynth Paltrow
'01 Fleer Premium 204 Jaisen Randolph 1373/1999
'05 Prime Cuts 17 Tim Hudson 314/449
'15 Prime Cuts 2 Roger Clemens 397/499

'05 Zenith White Hot WH-1 Scott Rolen - pretty neat looking remake of the '95 Pinnacle inserts of the same name. Odds were 1:65 packs
'12 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini Gypsy Queen Back 332 Nick Swisher
'12 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini Gypsy Queen Back 91 Tim Hudson
'12 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini 235 Orlando Cepeda
'11 Topps Lineage Diamond Anniversary Platinum Refractor 105 Ty Cobb
'99 Just Spotlight JS10-AS Alfonso Soriano
'08 Ultimate Collection 44 Garrett Atkins 320/350
'05 Ultimate Signature 61 Carlos Delgado 278/825
'10 Upper Deck Supreme S-35 Cole Hamels

A Return and a Farewell

It's been five months since I last posted, but since it is the day before Thanksgiving, today is as good a time as any to get back in to the swing of things. A few weeks back, Marcus from All the Way to the Backstop sent over a few cards from his trade list, the most prominent being a 2014 Topps Orange parallel of Hank Conger.

I specifically requested this card because Hank was my favorite "under the radar" Angel. Sure, anyone can collect the big names like Trout and Pujols, but I have always had a soft spot for Hank. The hometown kid from Huntington Beach is a fun loving guy and seemed to be good for clubhouse chemistry. Many an Angels fan wondered why he never got a true shot at being the everyday catcher. Well, that is a moot point now, as after I inquired about this card, Hank was traded to the Astros. Baseball wise, I felt it was a good deal for the Angels. They got a cost controlled young pitcher and a potential future backup catcher, something that seemed to be Conger's destiny if he stayed with the club. Personally, I feel conflicted. On the one hand, Hank will get a clean slate with the Astros, but on the other hand, it feels that the Angels wasted another high draft pick. Regardless, I wish Hank the best with his new team.

Now, back to the main point of this post. As this is the time of year to give thanks, I would like to give a big Thank You to Marcus. He was the one who initially encouraged me to create this blog. Though the posts have been lacking, I have still managed to make numerous trades with members of the blogosphere world this year. Though we all have our own reasons for collecting, the common theme is that we share a strange affinity for cardboard. Be safe all and have a Happy Thanksgiving.    

Insert Set Completion From Tony At Off Hiatus Baseball Cards

My last post got a comment from Tony at Off Hiatus Baseball Cards, which is a great excuse to post a few cards Tony sent my way a week or so ago. Tony had busted open a case of '13 Topps Series 2, and seeing that I was under 15 cards needed for the entire Emerald parallel set, I checked to see if I could get some set help. Only 2 Emerald cards were found, but two gets me closer to completion.

In checking my want lists, Tony was also able to dig up the last card I needed to complete The Elite insert set, The Iron Horse.

While most of us seem to have issues with some of the insert sets that Topps puts out, I've only heard positive things said about The Greats and The Elites from last year, and the Before They Were Great inserts from this year. Thanks a ton Tony. The last card acquired for any set is usually the most rewarding. I have a couple of cards headed your way.

.05 Card Show Pickups

What's better than dime boxes? When you can get them for a nickel instead. That was the deal during the latest trip to the card show. If I got 100 cards, they would be .05/each. Basically, 50 free cards. I was all in, but the issue was finding enough cards as the majority were mass produced base products. I was able to find enough cards of interest, some for IP autographs, some for the personal collection, and others for trade bait. Here's what $5 got me:

'12 Donruss Elite 43 Tyler Pike
'12 Donruss Elite 90 Fernando Perez
'12 Donruss Elite 33 Ryan McNeil

'99 Fleer Tradition Update U-43 John McDonald - scary to say that this John McDonald rookie card common was my favorite pickup of the day. I've never thought much of McDonald, your typical good glove, no bat late inning defensive specialist, but he's seemingly been a great clubhouse influence for the Angels this year. I thought the 2000 Topps Traded was McDonald's rookie card, but his actual rookie is in this set.
'99 Fleer Tradition Update U-99 Jose Molina
'99 Fleer Tradition Update U-93 Clay Bellinger
'99 Fleer Tradition Update U-36 Chance Sanford
'99 Fleer Tradition Update U-52 David Newhan
'99 Fleer Tradition Update U-57 Dave Roberts
'99 Fleer Tradition Update U-57 Trent Durrington
'99 Fleer Tradition Update U-109 Jeff Weaver
'99 Fleer Tradition Update U-4 Eric Munson
'99 Fleer Tradition Update U-128 Ramon E. Martinez

'99 Fleer Tradition Update U-6 Tim Hudson - one of the A's big three from the early 2000's, Hudson has had a quietly under the radar great career. Currently leading the league in ERA. Who knew saw that coming? A great signing by the Giants
'99 Fleer Tradition Update U-123 Chad Allen
'99 Fleer Tradition Update U-40 Ben Molina
'99 Fleer Tradition Update U-101 Joe Nathan
'10 Topps 206 SP blank back Tom Seaver blank back
'12 Topps Target Red 574 Kerry Wood
'12 Topps Target Red 466 Lance Berkman
'12 Topps Target Red 465 Michael Schwimer
'12 Topps Target Red 658 Juan Pierre
'13 Topps WalMart 319 Brian Bogusevic
'13 Topps WalMart 92 Clint Barmes
'13 Topps WalMart 212 Eric Chavez 326
'13 Topps Walmart 299 Darwin Barney
'13 Topps Walmart 272 NL RBI Leaders
'12 Topps 502 Collin Cowgill
'13 Topps Opening Day Superstar Celebrations SC-18 Josh Willingham
'13 Bowman Purple BP33 Ismael Guillon
'13 Bowman Purple BP49 Patrick Leonard
'13 Bowman Purple BP13 Tanner Rahier
'13 Bowman BP13 Tanner Rahier
'13 Bowman Chrome BCP62 Socrates Brito
'13 Bowman Chrome BCP56 Tyler Heineman
'13 Bowman Chrome BCP36 Jose Peraza
'13 Bowman Chrome BCP19 Carson Kelly
'13 Bowman Chrome BCP57 Wade Hinkle
'13 Topps 346 Aaron Hicks
'03 Bowman 216 Mike Gallo
'12 Topps Golden Moments GM-24 Justin Upton
'07 SP Rookie Edition 135 Joe Smith
'12 Bowman Platinum Gold 15 Lance Berkman
'12 Bowman Platinum Refractor BPP81 Jarred Cosart
'07 Allen Ginter 342 Chad Cordero
'11 Topps 60 T60-110 Carlon Fisk
'11 Topps 60 T60-143 Lance Berkman

'13 Topps Opening Day Mascot M-2 Phillie Phanatic - one of the original mascots, and arguably the best of the bunch. By the way, what ever happened to the San Diego Chicken?
'12 Topps Opening Day Mascot M-15 Kansas City Royals
'12 Topps Opening Day Elite Skills ES-8 Felix Hernandez
'12 Topps Opening Day Fantasy Squad FS-17 Billy Butler
'13 Bowman Platinum Refractor BPCP29 Matt Barnes
'13 Bowman Flags 115 Corey Hart
'10 Topps Attax Chase Utley
'12 Topps Heritage 480 Carlos Gonzalez
'12 Topps Gold Sparkle 365 Aramis Ramirez
'12 Topps Gold Sparkle 354 Jeremy Hellickson
'12 Topps Gold Sparkle 617 Jimmy Rollins
'12 Topps Gold Sparkle 542 Jeff Samardzija
'12 Topps Gold Sparkle 376 Carlos Quentin
'12 Topps Gold Sparkle 530 Cliff Pennington
'94 Bowman 413 Scott Spiezio
'94 Bowman 252 Kevin Stocker
'94 Bowman 559 Ryan McGuire (x2)
'94 Bowman 206 Matt Whisenant (x2)
'94 Bowman 586 Richard Hidalgo
'94 Bowman 326 Jason Isringhausen
'94 Bowman 602 Don Slaught

'94 Bowman 642 Billy Wagner - I don't play fantasy baseball anymore, but when I did, Little Billy was always my closer of choice. Nothing like getting the save along with the three bonus strikeouts.
'10 Allen Ginter 310 Placido Polanco (x2)
'10 Allen Ginter 311 Chone Figgins
'10 Allen Ginter 313 Ryan Doumit
'10 Allen Ginter 317 Alex Rios
'10 Allen Ginter 323 Angel Pagan
'10 Allen Ginter 324 Randy Winn
'10 Allen Ginter 327 Vernon Wells (x2)
'10 Allen Ginter 330 Jonathan Papelbon
'10 Allen Ginter 332 Ricky Nolasco
'10 Allen Ginter 338 Francisco Liriano
'10 Allen Ginter 339 Ben Sheets
'10 Allen Ginter 341 Jon Garland
'10 Allen Ginter 342 Erik Bedard
'11 Topps Update Diamond Anniversary US185 Orlando Hudson
'11 Topps Update Diamond Anniversary US71 Jeff Francis
'11 Topps Update Diamond Anniversary US282 Brad Hand
'11 Topps Update Cognac US11 Jason Pridle
'11 Topps Update Cognac US116 Shawn Camp
'11 Topps Update Cognac US183 Carlos Peguero
'11 Topps Update Cognac US217 Elliott Johnson
'11 Topps Update Cognac US253 Scott Linebrink
'11 Topps Update Cognac US272 Jorge Cantu
'11 Topps Update Cognac US317 Craig Counsell
'11 Topps Cognac 331 Carlos Guillen
'11 Topps Cognac 377 Esmil Rogers
'11 Topps Cognac 381 Michael Gonzalez
'11 Topps Cognac 408 Denard Span
'11 Topps Cognac 453 Joe Saunders
'11 Topps Cognac 505 Tommy Hanson
'11 Topps Cognac 509 Michael Bourn
'11 Topps Cognac 540 Joakim Soria
'11 Topps Cognac 594 Jose Valverde
'11 Topps Cognac 609 Juan Francisco
'11 Topps Cognac 652 Edwin Jackson
'09 Score Future Franchise 4 Colt Brennan
'09 Score Future Franchise 16 Matt Ryan

'14 Topps Green 145 Jason Castro - hey, a 2014 card, and a Green border to boot. Rumor has it that there are Orange parallels in Topps Series 2. Oy.

A small thanks of appreciation to Jeff at 2x3 Heroes

As most can probably relate, life often times takes over and we get backlogged on completed trades and the packages start to pile up. A week or so ago, I received an unexpected package from Illinois. I basically have a good idea of what trades and online purchases are coming in, but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what this could be. When I opened up the package, there were a few cards inside and a note from Jeff at 2 by 3 Heroes apologizing for not checking my wantlist on an earlier completed trade (Sorry for being too lax for posting the results of that trade). The included cards were a couple of '14 Topps Golds and '13 Gypsy Queen Minis that I had previously listed on my wantlist.

The cards were beside the point. From my years of online trading, it's been my experience that a trade is made and that is the end of it with that trader until the next time. For Jeff to go out of his way and re-check my wantlists and send something out "just because", well I am definitely not used to that. One of the things I have realized since I have started this blog and reading other blogs is that there are really a lot of good people out there who collect cards for the pure hobby aspect of collecting and are always glad to help out other collectors without a second thought. I would like to thank Jeff and other collectors like him. You guys definitely make the hobby much more rewarding.

Jarrett Grube - Who?

I consider myself pretty well versed on minor league prospects, especially those that belong to my team, the Angels. When the club called up reliever Jarrett Grube late Friday night, I will admit that I had never heard of the name before. Typically that is the case with relievers, who generally aren't top prospects and are often former starters who have been converted to relief. I looked up the backstory on Grube and it turns out he is 32 years of age and has pitched for 3 organizations over 11 years in the minors, including two years of independent ball. As a fan, we take for granted that this was just some no-name call up that will not make a difference one way or another. If you look at it from the Grube's side, however, I'm sure those 11 years and 11,000+ innings pitched while toiling in the minors were all worth it as he took the mound for his major league debut Saturday against the A's. Sure, his stay in the bigs may just be a cup of coffee, but at least he can always say that he is part of an elite club that made The Show.

Other than minor league team sets, I was almost positive that Grube had no mainstream card issues. To my great surprise, he does make an appearance in the 2004 SP Top Prospects set. Heck, he even has an autograph card in the set. I checked my boxes this evening and lo and behold, I have the base card. A google search lookup, a dig through my boxes, and a 250 word blog post after a nearly one month layoff. Jarrett Grube, well done.