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 Insert

I've found myself searching for oddball Ranger teamsets lately. One of the sets that I've found was printed as a promotional item (I think) by Jarvis Printing in 1984. The cards look pretty standard, if such a things exists, for promotional cards:

The front consists of a basic picture with the player and team name in a big blue box. The rear features a few stats about the player, including marital status and where he lives.

Other than that, there really isn't much to talk about with this card. However, I do want to briefly chat about what the seller included in the package:

A tri-fold brochure titled "Mickey Mantle: His Final inning." I thought that this would be a neat account of the literal final inning of his baseball career...

...But it wasn't. Instead, it's a brief account of the Mick's hard-partying lifestyle and how that lead him to an early death. Furthermore, it tells of his acceptance of Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior.

Now, I'm a believer of these things - I, too, have accepted Jesus as my savior. But, I don't know how to feel about this. I'm certainly not upset by receiving it. I guess I just feel odd receiving it from someone that I have never met. I dunno, I digress.

What's the strangest thing - if anything - an eBay seller has included in a package to you that you did not purchase or request?

I'm Starting To Fall In Love With Oddballs

When I first started collected, oddballs were just that to me: odd. I didn't know what to make of them. At some point, I decided that I didn't care for them.

However, as time has passed, I've found myself being drawn to oddballs more frequently.

For instance, I just picked this up:

I tried multiple times to get a scan of the other image on this coin (Bell's face), but evidently I'm not talented enough to do that.

This coin is form the 1984 7-11 Super Star Sports Coins set. I don't believe any other Rangers were featured in this set, unfortunately. That doesn't matter though, because I dig this one.

I think oddballs are really becoming some of my favorite pieces.