A Trade With Cards on Cards

A while back, I saw a post from Madding on Cards on Cards asking if anyone had any Ginter dupes from 2017. I did (spoiler alert: I still have plenty from Ginter and other sets like Heritage on my trade bait page that I am happy to send away!), so I put together a box to send his way.

I received a padded mailer back and was stoked to see what was inside! Included with a number of my set needs were some pretty incredible Rangers. Here's a look at some of my favorites!

I've really been falling for all the unique oddball sets I come across. I believe this Topps Bazooka set is a bit more "mainstream," but it's still an oddball to me.

Speaking of oddballs, I love these Denny's Grand Slam cards. Juan Gonzalez was a stud for the Rangers. For a while, he had a rocky relationship with the organization after he retired. That relationship seems to have thawed a bit, as the Rangers inducted him into the team's Hall of Fame (though he wasn't present - his son represented him).

These Franchise Flashbacks are a pretty cool Opening Day insert. This one features Adrian Beltre wearing the uniform of the Fort Worth Black Panthers, a team associated with the Texas Negro League of the early Twentieth century.

If not for my Sage Steele autograph from Allen & Ginter, this would have been my vote for Best Card of 2017. Though Lucroy isn't with the Rangers any longer (and though he suppposedly didn't enjoy his stay), this card is beautiful. I can assure you that this was take after a rain delay for two reasons: first, we only get clouds like this after storms; and second; the stands appear to be near empty, suggesting that everyone was taking shelter and hadn't returned to their seats yet. Either way, it's a beautiful card. Kind of shocking that I didn't have it yet.

And here was the big surprise of the package: a Fan Favorite auto of Jeff Burroughs from 2016 Topps Archives. Burroughs spent seven seasons with the organization (two of which were in Washington before the team relocated). He was the 1974 AL MVP, hitting .310 with 25 homers and 118 RBIs. Burroughs would be a two-time All Star ('74, '78) before retiring after the 1985 season. 

Madding, thank you for the cards! I love 'em!

An eBay Mailday

A few weeks ago, I posted about my luck in purchasing some 2017 Archives retail. I was fortunate enough to pull the one auto I wanted of Lenny Randle.

Naturally, I decided I wanted to try to get all of the parallels of this card. First up, the sky blue parallel numbered to 75:

You'll notice that this auto has a smiley face, as well! P-Town Tom wondered in my first post if all of his signatures have the smiley face - it appears that the overwhelming majority do. I searched and found that all listed autos except for one had it. I tried to grab the one without, but it sold for more than I wanted to pay. 

Stoked to have this in my hands! Now I just have the light pink (salmon) and red parallels to go!

I hope everyone is well!

Retail Treats Me Right

I have zero interest in Topps Archives. I think it is ridiculous that Topps has two "vintage inspired" products in Heritage and Archives, and for me, Heritage is enough. However, Archives frequently has Fan Favorite autographs of some lesser-known former players, and that I do like. 

When the checklist for 2017 Archives was released, I saw that Lenny Randle was representing the Rangers in this year's Fan Favorites autograph insert. I decided that I would grab some retail, as I did not and do not care to purchase a box for approximately $100 at my LCS.

I went to my local Wally World and grabbed three rack packs and a blaster. Nothing fun in the blaster, but in the second of the rack packs, I pulled this:

What are the odds that I would actually pull the card I was looking for? I'm not sure that has ever happened to me. I love the card, especially the smiley face Randle included over his last name!

So, I was fortunate. Retail treated me right and I have no need - or desire - to buy any more Archives this year.