All of You are Good People

First, I must say "thank you" to those that offered kind words and words of support after my last post. I was and still am in the dumps about the whole ordeal, but after your comments and watching one of my best friends defend his dissertation and becoming an "official doctor" today, I'm inspired to get back to the grind. Sometimes, people are just obstacles that need to be hurdled, so that's how I will treat my committee. (I think that sounds worse than I intended, but oh well)

Beyond the nice words, I've come to learn that cardboard bloggers/collectors are also some very, very generous people. For example, Kin Kinsley - the man behind the blog I Feel Like A Collector Again and the @beansballcards - sent me a bubble mailer full of great oddballs!

I know what you're saying, "These are scans of oddballs!" Oh, but they are! What you can't tell from the scans is that these are 5" x 7" cards! 

Clearly, the Greer falls nicely into my PC of the player. The Gonzo and Pudge are also welcomed additions!

Not seen in the scans are Topps Chipz Kin sent, along with a few other minis and PC cards that I excitedly logged into my collection on Trading Card Database and put away into their new home. All of these additions were a surprise that came at a time when I needed an awesome pick-me-up! Thanks a ton, Kin!

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!

Gavin Is A Talented Man

A while back, I commented on one of Gavin's posts over at Baseball Card Breakdown. He was sharing the contents of a Box of '17 Archives he opened, and I let him know that I was interested in a Rougned Odor parallel he pulled.

Fast forward to last week. I arrived back to my place after taking a last minute, two week journey to Omaha and South Dakota (where my Alma Mater is) to spend time with friends and visit the College World Series. I opened my mailbox and found two thick bubble mailers, the first of which was from Gavin. 

He sent me the card I requested...

These are classified as "peach" parallels, evidently. When companies get to the point that they no longer use common colors, I think we may need to have a conversation about going overboard on the parallel cruise. I would have been happy if that was all that was in the package. But there was more!

Along with several team set needs, Gavin also included some PC wants. For example, he sent this Prism Juan Gone:

Interesting side note: when these cards were released, they came in three-card packs. These were the "base" set cards; however, to protect the "prism" part of the card, inserts from a set call "Gems of the Diamond" were placed on both sides of the "base" card. This led to the insert set being larger than the base set. Weird.

Gavin also included this beautiful Rusty Greer Gold Label. I wish the current Gold Label product was as beautiful as this one. 

This Ivan Rodriguez Upper Deck Legendary Lumber relic also found its way into the package. It's my understanding that this is an actual piece from a game-used bat, but I don't understand their need to place stitching on the "ball." Regardless, it's a Pudge relic that I didn't have before, so I am grateful!

Lastly, Gavin included a couple of customs. The first hit my main PC:

Matt Harrison! How awesome is that?! My first custom for the PC!

The second was one that I had seen before on his blog, and it gave a great smile:

This sketch card was featured on BCB back in March when Gavin recapped a couple of packages from Night Owl and myself. I remember reading the post and then getting a pretty good laugh from the sketch. Now I know how Jerry Koosman feels...but I won't complain. I'm honored to be on a card with the certain first-ballot hall-of-famer. Gavin, I can't thank you enough. This may be my favorite card in my collection.

Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone has a great weekend!

An Unexpected Christmas Gift

When I got back to my apartment in Lubbock, I found a bubble mailer from Greg, the beautiful mind behind Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle. We all have "guys" for certain players or cards. Greg is my Corey Seager guy, so whenever I pull a Seager, I drop it in a PWE and send it his way. I do this so the card finds a home and doesn't sit in a box for eternity.

I open up the mailer and the first thing I see is this:

A note attached to a secured "brick" of toploaders, clearly protecting something special. Dammit Greg....usually, I would open this first. But I trust Greg and this must mean something precious is inside.

Behind that was a teambag full of goodies. For the sake of brevity, I will only post a few here.

A Nolan from 1990 Score. I loved this set as a kid. I know that puts me in a small minority, but I don't care. Still love it.

Juan Gone from Pinnacle Inside. This card cracks me up. I love the statline on the front of the card, but perhaps the designers over at Pinnacle could have included a different stat than stolen bases, which Juan had ZERO of. Just odd.

I haven't researched Allen & Ginter sets much prior to 2012. This card is the non-numbered variety. Today, we accept Topps word that these are limited to 50 copies. In 2009, however, every copy was hand-numbered to 50. 

Okay, I can't take it anymore. I have to share what was in the toploaders. First up:

This is the 2008 TriStar PROjections yellow parallel of Matt Harrison, numbered to 25! 

Next up, the 2008 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Turn of the Century auto, again of Matt Harrison! Awesome cards!

But the best was still lurking...

The 2008 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Status Gold Diecut, numbered 13 of 25!!!! This was a HUGE card for me to acquire! I've been looking for one for a while. I saw one pop up on eBay and began to watch the BIN auction. It came up for auction at a time when funds were tight, so I kept putting it off, waiting until my next paycheck to grab it.

When that next paycheck came, I jumped on eBay to grab it, only to learn that someone else had snuck in and grabbed it before I could. 

Thankfully, it was Greg! I've never been so excited to see a card in a mailer as I was for this one!

Greg, I can't thank you enough! I'll be sending some cardboard your way really soon!

What's the best surprise card you've received from another blogger? Hope to hear from you all soon!