A Trip Back Through Time in a Trade

[Ed. Note: Sometimes I astound myself.  I was ready to click "Publish" for a trade post I had just written when my eyes scanned downwards on the list of past posts.  I was aghast to find the italicized word "Draft" electronically jotted next to the very post that you may venture to read below.  For a reason known only to the gods of blogging, I never published this post for others to see  As a result, I must beg Nick for forgiveness.  I don't enjoy standing up fellow bloggers who take the time and care to send me nice baseball card-like things.  So, dear reader, consider this my long-winded way of telling you the following post is well past due.  And, to that I might add, "Whoops!"]

Wellp, he's done it again.  Nick from Illinois (you know him from his terrific Dime Boxes blog) has come through with a insanely perfect trade package.  At once, it hits on a bunch of my collecting weaknesses and also transports me throughout the colorful timeline of my favorite club, the New York Mets.  I've been trading cards with Nick for a while now, and I cherish every opportunity to do so.  Thus, I'm never surprised  by his generosity and thoughtfulness, but I'm always humbled by it.

Okay, sorry about all the schmaltz, but this is a very good group of cards and, well, sometimes I can't help myself.  I'm a pretty emotional guy, what can I say?

Of course, the above Butch Huskey card is a real highlight.  Big Butch signing some baseballs and pennants on a sunshiney day in Flushing.  The hulking, iconic Shea Stadium scoreboard in the background.  You can even see the old Home Run Apple right above Butchie's extra-round fanny.  Buttocks aside, this card captures all those good feelings of baseball and springtime and growing up loving your favorite ballclub.

These two guys played with Butch on the mid-90s Mets, eventually forming the best double-play combo Queens has ever seen.  Ordonez's career was way too short, at least as a Met.  I don't know when I'll ever see another player in blue and orange who is as exciting a defender.  The Alfonzo card is brilliant because it features the very rare white alternate cap, which the Mets wore on select matinee home dates in 1997.  One of my great regrets in life (well, baseball life anyways) was not buying one of these caps when they were sold at the ballpark and Sports Authority and every other sports retailer in the NY-metro area.  Woulda been a cool collector's piece.

Fonzie and Rey Rey were a couple of vital players helping to bridge the gap from mediocrity to contention in the late '90s and early '00s.  Of course, the trade acquisitions of Piazza and Leiter during the '98 calendar year were immeasurable scores, as well.  They finally put it all together in 2000 to win the NL pennant. These 2001 Fleer Tradition cards are nifty mementos of that '00 year.  I especially dig the backdrop photo on the Rey-O card!

Many of us Mets fans will never forget where we were when news of Mike Piazza trade hit the airwaves and the AP wire.  It was the equivalent of winning the baseball lottery.  Man, to bottle and preserve a feeling like that... Meanwhile, the acquisition of Mike Hamtpon during the '99-'00 offseason was important but perhaps not met with equal fanfare of Piazza's in-season arrival.  Hampton pitched just one year as a Met, yet secured his place in Amazins history with an NLCS MVP in 2000.

Hope you had the safety belt fastened, because I kinda jerked the time machine abruptly back a dozen or so years from the start of the new millennium.  To the days when Doc was king and Jefferies was thought of as the next Mets superstar to take up the torch.  I always welcome Classic trading cards into the fold, since I didn't really have too many of them while growing up.  I kinda shunned the brand back then, actually, since they weren't Topps (my dad's influence!).  Looking back, Classic kinda epitomized the "overproduction" or "junk wax" era.  Everyone was trying to get a piece of the pie and cash in on the baseball card craze.  Nonetheless, the present-day version of me enjoys these.

Oh boy, here we go.  When you see Tom Terrific, you know the trip backwards in time is about to get very fun!  To the days when the Mets took the world by storm, rocking the baseball landscape with the most improbable World Series title in history.

The '69 Mets, I guess, can only truly be appreciated by those who lived through it.  I was born 11 years in the aftermath, so I can't be counted in that category.  Thus, reliving the time and the games through video, stories from my dad, and, of course, baseball cards is as close as I'll ever get.  And ya know what?  It's still almost too unbelievable!  The above are from a 1987 product called TCMA.  I found a couple similar cards at a show earlier this year, but Nick has filled in the blanks with some more outstanding pieces from the set.  Sure, most of us know about Seaver and Koosman and manager Hodges, but the Miracle Mets were a TEAM in the truest sense.  Thus it's extremely cool when some others get well-deserved limelight.

These three panels are from a 1993 set Upper Deck produced in conjunction with B.A.T., or the Baseball Assistance Team, which aided members of the baseball family (former players, coaches, umps, team employees) in need.  Pretty great cause.  And super cards, to boot!  I have never ever seen these elongated cards before, but man they are freakin' awesome!  The absolute stunner of the group is the Agee up top, as we see him in full-sprawl to make one of the biggest catches in Series history vs. Baltimore in 1969.

Allow me to push our time travel back to present-day, will you?  And one final -- and tremendously important -- piece of the Mets franchise fabric.

My first GQ mini of the 2013 collecting season!  The captain, David Wright.

Before we part company, I should mention that Nick's card selections weren't limited to just Mets...

I don't know if anyone has more Vlad Guerrero cards than Nick.  The upside of that as it pertains to me is that he gifts me a good number of his extras.  And I happily accept them into my growing collection of Vlad's cardboard.

And, I've saved the best for last...

Two outstanding pieces from the '73 Topps set.  Previously Nick hooked me up with a beautiful Lefty Carlton card from this set, and now this pair of legends.  The more I see of '73 Topps, the more and more I love it.

I can't thank you enough for all these wonderful additions, Nicks.  Clearly, I benefited from your flea market and card show travels of late.  Thanks for keeping me in mind!

MK

Just in Time!

A big ol' Clubhouse "thanks!" to Kyle from a Long Beach, a reader of this very blog, for a PWE that was received over the weekend.

A nice grouping of cards, headlined by the above centerpiece -- the 2013 Wal-Mart blue parallel of recently called-up mega-prospect Jurickson Profar.  Along with Mike Trout's rookie cup card, this Profar rookie was surely going to be one of the toughest pieces to lasso of the remaining '13 Series One blues.  But, I can now happily cross it off my checklist.

Coincidence that he was called up the same weekend that I received this card?  Umm...yes.  But, no less impressive, I might add.

Oh, and let me update the Blue Project counter: 240 of 330 cards.  We'll call that officially 72.7% complete!

But, that's not all...

Blue isn't the only hue on my parallel-lusting radar, as 2013 Heritage black-bordered parallels also have my collecting fancy these days.  Scutaro, the 2012 Fall Classic MVP is a nice addition.  And, if I'm not mistaken, I think I'm up to 18 of these black parallels, or two binder pages.  I'd love to complete three, if not four (or five or six or seven) black pages for my eventual 2013 Heritage binder.

While we're on the topic of Heritage and chasing sets and whatnot...

It's been a while since I added any new cards to my 2011 Heritage count, so I'm glad to receive these.  In case anyone should wonder, I need just 45 cards to knock out the base set and one-too-many SPs to put that particular quest to bed.

If you'd like to help out with any of the aforementioned sets, feel free to drop me a line.  I'm sure we can work out a trade!

Last but not least, a couple of bonus cards were in the envelope.  The five above were the principles, but Kyle was good enough to throw in a Johan Santana "Topps 60" insert (not pictured) as well as this snazzy card of one of my absolute favorites:

A silver-foil signature along the left border makes this ultra-cool card even better.  Ya gotta love Collector's Choice, amiright?  Baerga's impact may not have endured for the entire span of the '90s, but he was a freakin' wrecking ball of greatness for the Tribe in the early portion of the decade.

A nice, tidy trade.  Kyle, thanks for reading the blog and, of course, thanks for swapping cardboard with me. Let's do it again soon!

MK

Oddballs are People, Too

Even though I can't afford to buy them, I like high-end baseball cards.  Maybe if I'm lucky, I can find one or two mixed into a discount box a couple years after their release.

I also like tearing into packs, bristling with the hope of finding a Bryce Harper parallel or a chrome refractor autograph, etc.  I'm only human, after all.

But, above it all, for as long as I can recall, I've always been intrigued and especially excited for oddball issues. Give me a card set released at K-Mart from 1987 or a Wade Boggs card from a Diet Pepsi 12-pack any day of the week, and I'll be a happy collector.

To some, these things aren't as sexy as the Harper or the three-color relic, but these "oddballs", as we so affectionately refer to them, were the lifeblood of my early collecting days.  Hey, if they never put baseball cards in specially-marked boxes of cereal or granola bars, I would have never volunteered to help mom with her grocery shopping back in the day.

Thus, I've accumulated a pretty good collection of them over the years.  And, when eBay came along, I began to target those nifty mini box-sets that Fleer and Topps released via retail outlets and supermarkets.  I was able to hunt down quite a few.

With that in mind, I figured I'd pluck an oddball or two every so often and share 'em with ya.  I like to think of these little lost treasures as slump busters for when I've reached the stage of boredom with today's cards.  Sort of like a vintage fix, but with more of a Honey Boo-Boo flavor.

My seminal offering: the above Pete Rose from  Fleer's 1987 Baseball All-Stars set.  It was a 44-card compilation, featuring the stars of the day.  Typical gaudy and mismatched Fleer design on the front with the typically copious career stats on the reverse.  Lots to love.

Hopefully, I'll inspire you to dig up some of the oddballs in your collection and appreciate them all over again!

MK

Rack 'Em Up

So, I'll admit it: I've gotten lazy with mailing out cards that I should be mailing to my fellow blogger pals.  In fairness, though, it's not like I had all the padded mailers sitting about and I was just neglecting to put two and two together.  Now that would be lazy.  Instead, I was all out of those yellow sunofaguns and hadn't found the time to mosey on over to Wal-Mart recently to restock

Thus, it came to pass, I motivated myself to swing by Sam's retail giant on my way home from work Monday get a 10-pack of mailers.  And, you know, since I was at Wal-Mart and they have a sports card section, I might has well swing by and...

*GASP*

Talk about barren.  When I tell you the card section was bare-boned, I ain't exaggeratin'.  It was about 75% empty, and the remaining boxes and packs scattered about were those annoying Japanese pokey-things and Magic: The Gathering decks.  What the hell, mate?!  Yes, they did have a few random blasters of '13 Topps and Heritage, but I wasn't in a blaster kinda mood.  I wanted a rack pack of some sort.  And there wasn't a one to be seen.

Oh well, anyways, I got the mailers and I got busy over the past couple days packaging and labeling.  Basically getting my act together.  Thus, I am happy to report that packages were mailed out today to the following states:  Pennsylvania, Illinois, Texas, Oregon and California.  If you happen to live in on of those states, you might be receiving something from me by the weekend.  Oh joy!

The end.

Well, not really.  I still had that annoying itch to purchase packs and rip 'em open.  It wasn't relieved Monday, which meant Tuesday arrived and a visit to Target was in order.  On the agenda, one of my go-to products: the Heritage blister (you call it a rack?) pack.

You know the drill, three packs of 2013 Heritage plus three black-bordered cards.  The latter being the main attraction, of course.  I'm a grade-A sap for the parallels, especially when it comes to Heritage, my favorite brand.

As you already saw, the '64 World's Fair card from the "News Flashback" insert set was among the cards I received.  Pretty cool, I might say.  The year 1964 is all right by a Mets fan's account, since it's the year Shea Stadium not only opened for business, but also hosted the Midsummer Classic.  To top it off, the World's Fair was hosted that year a stone's throw away from the (formerly) big stadium in Queens.  Thus, the Unisphere has become a monolith that one associates with the neighborhood of Flushing and the Amazin' Mets.

Speaking of the Mets...

Already I have this splendid card of the New York third-sacker, but that one belongs to my Heritage set and will eventually take it's place in the 2013 Heritage binder.  For the first time, I had a Wright SP from Heritage to place among my DW collection.  Which, obviously, is terrific!

This was the lone SP from the three packs, but I also netted another of those attractive "New Age Performers" inserts.

Not the most exciting player in my books, but an important cog to the Texas ball club.  Plus, I'd like to complete a page of these NAP cards for the aforementioned binder.  So every card counts!

Finally, the centerpieces of the package:

What a great trio!  The 2012 MVPs from the respective leagues -- Messrs. Cabrera and Posey -- and exciting young Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro.  Sure, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't crossing my fingers, toes and eyes hoping that Bryce Harper would find his way into this particular blister, but I'll absolutely take these three cards all day, every day.  I now have 17 of these black beauties; just one shy of two complete pages.  My binder goal for these black parallels is at least three pages.  So far, so good!

That's all for now, friends.  Thanks for checking in!  

MK

Blue Monday

Okay, so I technically received these cards back on Friday.  But, I couldn't resist making the New Order reference.  Hey, it's my blog, I'll do as I wish!

Out of the "blue" a week or so ago, Robert M. of $30 a Week Habit emailed me that the following Wal-Mart specials were coming my way via the U.S. Postal Service...

It's been a while since I've purchased or received any of these Series 1 blues, so I was all-too-happy to get 'em in my mitts.  A couple of nice throwback jersey photos, plus an airborne Danny Murphy.  All in all, a very snazzy nine-pack.

The Wal-Mart Blue Project counter continues to click upwards, as my total has risen to 239 of the 330 Series 1 cards.  That means I'm 72% of the way home!

Thanks for lookin' out for me, Robert.  Great cards!

And good luck to your Leafs!  (Well, at least til they play the Rangers...)

MK

Back in Black

Over the weekend I received a pretty cool PWE from Zach in Colorado, better known as the Underdog Card Collector.  I totally forgot that I had sent him a bunch of 2012 Heritage cards a while back, and this special delivery was his way of saying thanks.

I'm alwas a happy camper when black-bordered parallels from Heritage are involved in any sort of exchange, and that's exactly what came my way on this occasion.  The above Granderson was joined by two other cards from the same Target-exclusive parallel set.

These are the cards you get when you buy one of those fun three-pack blister packages from the Bulls-eye retailer.  Three cards per blister pack.  I'm not cavalier enough to attempt to gather all the cards from that checklist, but I'd like to get as many of them as possible.  So, these cards were obviously great pick-ups.

And, for good measure, Zach included a 2013 GQ card of a guy who gave Nats fans quite a scare yesterday...

It seems the forearm tightness that Stras was feeling during Monday's start ain't nothin' at all, as the Washington ace has already proclaimed himself "fine" and ready for his next start this weekend.  For the good of the franchise as well as those of us who enjoy watching the guy pitch, hopefully this ins't just lip service.  And, by the way, this is a fine-looking card!

Muchos gracias for the cards, Underdog!  Looking forward to future exchanges...

MK

Swing and a Pop-Up and a Trade

A couple weeks back, Bert and I were having an argument about whose state of residence is smaller.  I, nowadays a Delaware resident, and Bert, a New Hampshire chap, had quite a back-and-forth.  Lots of name calling and mud slinging.  You know, the usual rhubarb between adults regarding such things.

I know what you're thinking?  Is this really true?  And who's Bert?

Well, in reverse order, Bert is the creator and COO of Swing And A Pop-Up, a very handsome blog featuring many a fine Boston Red Sox card.

As far as the state-size argument, a bunch of fooey, should you think otherwise.  After all, that's perhaps the least believable argument subject I can think of.  But, I was hoping to rope you in, and if you're still reading, I guess it worked.

Now, even if Bert and I were having a tinkling match over our home states, one thing we can agree on is the amount of national pride one might derive from the above Robin Ventura card.  From 1989 Topps Big, kind of a cool set, albeit with cards that are just too darn big for their own good.  This Ventura was but one of the many snazzy cards Bert recently sent me in a swap of goods.

As Rockin' Robin's card as proof, Bert did a very  nice job of hitting on many of my player collection interests.

But there was more...

Now here's a beauty; 1996 Topps Finest with protective seal and all.  One of my new favorite Edgardo Alonzo cards, to be sure!

And the man that Fonzie teamed up with for many a double play in Flushing, Rey Ordonez.  I'm not a huge fan of minor league cards in general... except if they're of guys I collect.  Then, I'm pretty thrilled.  This is the first Rey-O card I have with the man rockin' Norfolk Tides threads.

Since we're talking former Mets infielders, here's an early card of the great future-HOFer, Jeff Kent. I thought for sure I had this card already, but Bert did a nice job of scanning through my player collection lists and filling this big need.

Before he came to the Mets in 1996, Carlos Baerga was a hittin' machine for the up-and-coming Tribe teams of the early '90s.  The way he used to terrorize the Yankees was a thing of beauty!

Baerga.  Indians.  Ramirez.  Stream of consciousness blogging... Manny being Manny on the great 1996 Bowman design.  I wish Bowman's base cards were still as attractive and unique as this.  They seem so, well, mailed-in nowadays.

Boy, Flair sure did make gorgeous cards back then.  This HoJo is a glossy piece of art.  No wonder I could never afford to buy packs of this stuff back in '93 and '94.

Speaking of art, I couldn't possibly love and appreciate these two 1994 Upper Deck "The Future is Now" cards any more.  And it's crazy to think that four years later, this duo would comprise the 3-4 hitters in the Mets batting order.  Man, how I long for those days!

And, finally, perhaps I alone could find this card to be the true prize of the trade package...

Good grief, I love me some Butch Huskey cards.  And anytime someone dredges up one that I don't have and sails it may way, I'm always elated.  This has to be one of Butch's all-time best cards, without question.  Fitting pose and facial expression for a man who used to stride to the plate at Shea Stadium to strains of "Hypnotize" by the Notorious B.I.G.

Bert, a monumentally great trade package, sir -- thank you!!  Our first trade, and hopefully not our last.

And remember, should we ever really joust about our diminutive states, Delaware is The First State.

Just sayin'...

MK