Holiday Break

I decided to take a little holiday break and not post anything until after the new year. To everyone out there, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May this season be filled with warmth and good cheer surrounded by loved ones. Here's to a new year full of good health, good times, and lots of cardboard!

2000 Pacific - Ornaments #5 Nomar Garciaparra

Secret Santa 2018 Revealed!

Last year, I participated in my first blogger-community Secret Santa, which was held by Matt at Bob Walk The Plank. This year, Matt turned the reigns over to Jon at Penny Sleeves For Your Thoughts, and once again I signed up!

I received a package two weeks ago. The name and address looked familiar, and I was fairly certain it was with someone I had traded with before. Inside were some sweet cards, which I'll reveal momentarily, but otherwise the package contained no hint as to why it was in my hands. Did my Secret Santa refuse to reveal himself? Was this a random package of Christmas cheer from a former trade partner? An email to Jon confirmed that, yes, this was indeed my Secret Santa!

My Secret Santa is not a blogger, but a member of the Trading Card Database named Daniel, who goes by the handle vrooomed. Daniel is one of the more active members on the TCDB, and even runs the TCDB's fantasy baseball league. I have been on the receiving end of his generosity before. (He helped me complete a couple of sets!)

I must have been a good blogger this year, because my Secret Santa sent me some good stuff:

Starting out with some great Red Sox cards, mostly Bowman. The bottom row contains two refractors and a sweet Hanley Ramirez relic!

Daniel also provided a box of Topps Update! He picked a good one, as I needed all but 10 of the cards inside. Did I get any good hits?

Well, I was happy to get the International Affair insert for Raffy Devers, and the Julio Urias was a gold parallel serial numbered to 50. Also it wouldn't be Christmas without a rainbow foil of Jesus!

Thank you so very much Daniel!

Repack Haiku #82 (Rick Leach)

A two-way sports threat

All-state high school quarterback

Drafted by Broncos

1989 Topps #682 Rick Leach

No One Wanted a Hall of Famer's Rookie Card!

This is maybe my 4th or 5th attempt at blogging. The others have fallen at the wayside because I haven't been able to consistently create content. I think the longest I've gone has been 2 -2 1/2 years. This one right here is still only 20 months old. Maintaining a blog is hard to do, and harder to do well. When a blog can celebrate a 10 year anniversary, it's truly a remarkable feat worth celebrating.

Greg, aka Night Owl, hit that mark recently over at Night Owl Cards. To be able to keep a blog up and running for a decade requires talent and a love what you're writing about. Night Owl has both of those in abundance!

To celebrate this decade of excellence, Greg held a giveaway for his followers. 30+ cards, all of them impressive - vintage, relics, short prints. There wasn't a stinker in the whole lot. When I was assigned spot #30 on the list, I was actually relieved. There were no Red Sox in the lot, so it would have been a tough decision to begin with. Being at the bottom of the pack meant I only had to pick from 3-4 remaining cards - much more manageable! Like everyone else, I ended up with a great card:

I'll be honest, I was a little surprised that this was still around when it was my turn to pick. I know that "junk wax era" cards don't hold the appeal of the previously mentioned vintage, relics, and short prints. However, we're talking about the rookie card of an inner circle level Hall of Famer! Granted, it's not as iconic as his Upper Deck rookie, and slightly less commonplace than his Donruss or Fleer, but this is still the rookie card of one of baseball's all-time greats. That made my decision easy! I even have a nice way to display it!

Thanks Night Owl! Thank you for the card, but more so thank you for the blog, for giving us things to read, ponder, and discuss for these past 10 years. I'll be reading for as long as you keep writing!

Payday Pack - Medusa

With the holidays quickly approaching, this will probably be my last Payday Pack of the year. Chances are good this may even be the last Payday Pack until the new set comes out, unless something catches my interest. Anyway, let's take another look at some Series 2!

3rd Place

2018 Topps #556 Andrew Benintendi (ASR, FS)

Like I need an excuse to watch this catch again:

2nd Place

2018 Topps #558 Ben Gamel

I know these walls are padded, but man that looks like it hurt!

1st Place

2018 Topps #542 Pittsburgh Pirates (TC)

That hair reminds me of Medusa's head of snakes! I wish I had the photo editing skill to make it look like Jason Jaso is turning all of his teammates into stone. That would look amazing!


Other Not Appearing On Stage
#658 Tom Koehler
#605 Lucas Giolito
#660 Mitch Haniger (FS)
#376 Kyle McGrath (RC)
#653 Jorge Soler
#370 Steven Wright
#424 Matt Wieters
#404 Alex Claudio
#544 Yadier Molina
#367 Liam Hendriks
#622 Ryan Rua
#525 Johan Camargo
#659 Arizona Diamondbacks (TC)
#529 All Smiles (CL)
#692 Tony Watson
#S-48 Wil Myers (Salute insert)
#AJ-13 Aaron Judge (Aaron Judge insert)
#II-20 Buster Posey (Instant Impact insert)
#LITM-6 Addison Russell (Legends In The Making insert)
#LITM-16 Jacob deGrom (leGends In The maKing blue insert)
#351 Bryce Harper
#568 J.C. Ramirez
#664 Gregor Blanco
#483 Drew Pomeranz
#387 Julio Teheran
#687 Blake Treinen
#695 Matt Davidson
#582 Albert Pujols
#541 Dwight Smith Jr.
#496 Leury Garcia
#637 Manny Pina (ASR)
#647 Jose Urena
#484 Kenta Maeda

Repack Haiku #81 (Steve Cishek)

Now with Chicago

Holds Marlins closer record

Thirty-three straight saves

2012 Topps Update #US169 Steve Cishek

Time Travel Trading Update #24

Willie Jones saw the letter "W" everywhere he went. For obvious reasons it was the first letter he learned how to write, and he always admired the different ways that people would create it. During his career, a "W" was the goal of every game. Now here he was looking at his new cap - a white squiggly-looking "W" from a team that didn't exist the first time he was around. 

"Hey Willie, you're up!" one of the coaches bellowed. Thank the Good Lord no one called him "Puddin' Head" here. He hated that nickname. He wouldn't admit it, but that was the main reason why he turned down the chance to return to the Phillies. They wanted to embrace that moniker. They even had some endorsement lined up with the Jell-o. No thanks, he thought. People thought I was slow because of that name. 

Willie Jones stepped into the batting cage for the first time in almost 60 years. Fans lined up in Nationals gear just to watch him take practice swings. It felt good.

Willie Jones saw the letter "W" everywhere he went.

*****

Sometimes I have an idea for a story based on the cards I'm sending out. Sometimes the cards coming in serve as inspiration. That was the case with a nice vintage I got from Bo at Baseball Cards Come To Life. He offered up a small trade to keep the Time Traveling going. I sent out a 1962 Topps card, and he sent this:

A little bit of writing on a vintage adds character, don't you agree? Besides those W's ended up being my story muse. The Superbowl cards were added as protection, but they get added to the stack nonetheless. Thanks again for the trade, Bo!

Alright, I know the holiday season is a hectic time, but in order to keep this project from losing all momentum I need trade partners! Any card, any condition, as long as it's older than the card I send out. Got some 80's junk wax? I have cards newer that can be had for that! Got your eye on something older? All I need is a card from one year prior! You know what to do!

The Time Travel Trade Stack:

2008-09 O-Pee-Chee (hockey)
#128 Tim Thomas

2001 Upper Deck - e-Card (golf)
#E-TW Tiger Woods

1993-94 Fleer (basketball)
#224 Michael Jordan (LL)

1990-91 Hoops (basketball)
#168 Glen Rice (RC)

1990-91 Pro Set Super Bowl 160 (football)
#16 SB XVI Ticket - San Francisco 49ers / Cincinnati Bengals

1990 Pro Set - Theme Art (football)
#10 Super Bowl X Pittsburgh Steelers / Dallas Cowboys 

1986 Sportflics
#122 John Tudor

1986 Topps
#5 Rose Special '75-'78
#6 Rose Special '79-'82
 #401 Fernando Valenzuela (Turn Back The Clock)

1985 Topps
#694 Joe Carter

1983 Topps (football)
#219 Joe Cribbs (LL)
#280 Mike Renfro
#307 Jim Plunkett

1982 Donruss
#NNO Checklist 545-653

1982 O-Pee-Chee E.T. The Extraterrestrial (non-sport)
#15 Among Elliott's Toys

1981 Topps
#63 Steve Renko
#704 Bill Travers

1980 Topps
#143 Bruce Bochte
#157 Willie Wilson
#671 A's Future Stars

1980 Topps (football)
#280 Jack Lambert (AP)

1979 Topps
#130 Bob Watson
#465 Reggie Smith

1978 Topps (football)
#126 Rick Kane (RC)

1977 Topps
#524 Rowland Office

1977 Topps (football)
#206 Cleveland Browns (CL)
#269 Archie Griffin (RC)
#405 Joe Greene

1975 Topps
#378 Derrel Thomas
#402 Bob Tolan

1974 Topps
#38 Don Kessinger
#67 Tommy Helms

1974 Topps - Team Checklists
#NNO Montreal Expos

1973-74 O-Pee-Chee (hockey)
#53 Richard Lemieux

1973 Topps
#18 Leroy Stanton
#29 Tony Taylor
#36 Steve Barber
#79 Jim Willoughby (RC)
#98 Dick Woodson
#99 Carl Taylor

1972 Topps
#43 Rick Wise
#109 Jerry May

1971 Topps (football)
#22 Ken Avery (RC)

1970 Topps
#47 Bob Miller
#56 Phillies Rookies - Joe Lis/Scott Reid (RC)
#103 Frank Reberger

1970 Red Rose and Blue Ribbon North American Wildlife In Danger (non-sport)
#32 Polar Bear

1969 Topps
#139 Andy Kosco

1969 Topps - Deckle Edge
#13 Mel Stottlemyre

1969 Topps (football)
#73 Bennie McRae
#154 Sam Baker

1968 Topps
#4 1967 AL RBI Leaders (Yastrzemski/Killebrew/Robinson)
#348 Larry Colton/Dick Thoenen

1968 Topps - Game
#15 Steve Hargan

1968 Topps (football)
#7 Earl Gros

1966 Topps
#154 Chuck Hiller

1967 Philadelphia (football)
#109 New York Giants (TC)

1966 Philadelphia (football)
#104 Rams vs. Browns

1965 Philadelphia (football)
#193 John Paluck

1964 Philadelphia (football)
#172 Ken Gray (RC)

1964 Topps
#60 Frank Malzone
#79 Bob Heffner (RC)
#352 Eddie Bressoud

1963 Topps
#111 Al Jackson
#155 Bill Stafford
#246 Lee Strange
#343 Johnny Pesky (MGR)

1960 Topps
#95 Frank Thomas

1959 Topps (football)
#80 Joe Perry
#289 Willie Jones

1958 Topps
#371 Marty Keough (RC)

1958 Topps Zorro (non-sport)
#83 Rude Awakening

1957 Topps
#66 Brooks Lawrence
#235 Tom Poholsky
#249 Dave Pope
#371 Bob Lennon

1956 Topps
#21 Joe Collins
#103 Willie Miranda (white back)
#156 Johnny Antonelli

1956 Topps Flags of the World (non-sport)
#70 Jordan

1955 Topps
#126 Dick Hall (RC)

1954 Bowman
#73 Don Mueller

1952 Bowman
#57 Clyde Vollmer

1938 Church & Dwight Useful Birds Of America Tenth Series (J9-6) (non-sport)
#2 Black-throated Green Warbler

The Time Travel Trading Project is simple in concept. I started out with a random pack of 2018 Topps Series 1 baseball cards. My aim was to trade every card in that pack for something older. Each card I receive in turn is then made available for trade, with the goal to get the oldest card I can get.

Number of trades completed: 27
Unique trading partners: 21

Number of cards mailed out: 58
Year of oldest card mailed out: 1956

Number of cards received: 137
Year of oldest card received: 1938

My Favorite Card Of 2018

Once again, P-Town Tom from the blog Waiting 'Til Next Year is having a contest asking bloggers to showcase their favorite card of 2018.  I have to admit, this year it was tough to pick a favorite. There were so many great cards! In the end, I settled on one that I think is more than worthy:

2018 Stadium Club #9 Zach Godley

My favorite cards are almost always cards where you see the players having fun. This is no exception. Stadium Club gives us a side of baseball we had never seen before on cardboard, and it is fantastic. The photograph is almost perfect, and captures a moment few would catch watching as it unfolds. Somebody get Zach a towel!

Because I had such a hard time, I also wanted to give due to others that I considered:

2018 Stadium Club #15 Hanley Ramirez

I'm not going to lie, I'm going to miss Hanley. He was the catalyst for my pick last year, and I was tempted to go with him again.

2018 Topps #659 Arizona Diamondbacks (TC)

I love fireworks, and this is just an amazing display of pyrotechnics!

2018 Topps #379 Power Up (CL)

I'm sorry, you'll have to speak up over the yelling of the Zimmwerth!

2018 Topps #297 Kevin Kiermaier

My first Payday Pack of the 2018 set featured this card. It still amazes me how Kiermaier makes this leap and manages to look just like the Air Jordan silhouette. Bonus points for throwing up the Texas Longhorns/Aloha surfer dude sign.

So what do you think? Did I pick the right card? Do you have another one in mind? Check out the contest and submit your own favorite card!

10 Year Anniversary

 10 years ago...

...Mike Lowell was dealing with a torn hip labrum that caused him to miss most of the postseason.

2008 Bowman #121 Mike Lowell

...John Kruk was an analyst for Baseball Tonight on ESPN.

1990 Topps #469 John Kruk

...Scott Schoenweis was a successful reliever for the New York Mets.

2007 Upper Deck #828 Scott Schoenweis

... Chad Bettis was playing college baseball for Texas Tech University.

2016 Topps #149 Chad Bettis

... Jameson Taillon was a junior at The Woodlands High School (Texas).

2016 Topps Update - Wal-Mart Retail
Exclusive Rookies #W-8 Jameson Taillon

...Tyler Austin was a junior at Heritage High School in Conyers, Georgia

2017 Topps Gypsy Queen #83 Tyler Austin

10 years ago, on this day, I was in a hospital having a cancerous growth removed from my right testicle. 10 years ago today, I became a cancer survivor. In honor of my 10 year anniversary, I wanted to highlight a few players who are also testicular cancer survivors.

I was lucky. I caught it early enough to where I didn't need chemotherapy. Because of this, I encourage others to perform regular self examinations. Since most of my readership is male, that includes you. I'm providing information to help you learn what to check for. Do yourself a favor and read it. Check yourself. It doesn't take long to do, and it could save your life.

Repack Haiku #80 (Huston Street)

Question, collectors:

Has anyone ever scratched

Magic Answer Box?

2013 Topps Heritage #206 Huston Street

Obviously it was more prevalent with the original 1964 Topps cards - no one cared about keeping their cards in mint condition back then. With these Heritage cards though, I wonder - has anyone ever defiled their card to get the secret answer?

Trade Recap: This Trade Will Rule!

When I was in high school, the youth group I was in would occasionally hold free card washes as a fund raiser. Yes, I said "free" and "fund raiser" in the same sentence. The caveat was that while the car wash was in fact free, donations were accepted and appreciated. Most people would throw a few bucks our way. Every now and then we'd get someone who would put in a $20 bill. Although I believe that generosity played a big part in these instances, I also felt some people struggled with what to donate as a fair value.

This happens to me personally a lot, especially in situations where it's customary to tip. How much is enough? It's often difficult to assign a value to things, even when we know what we're receiving on our end.

Thorzul Will Rule does a series where he opens some product and allows people to trade him anything. I always thought it was a fun idea, but never participated. This time round the product was 2018 Topps Update. There was one Red Sox card in the lot, which I decided to claim. I also threw my hat in for an autographed card, because why not?

Now came the hard part. What to send him? In the past, people have sent him a variety of things, not always card or even baseball related. I knew I wanted to have some fun with this, and even had some stuff that pertained to his favorite team, the Brewers. You can read about what I sent him here. It was a decent collection of stuff, but even now I wonder if I gave fair value. For his part he seemed to appreciate the return, so I guess I did well.

So what did I get?

The Pedroia is a refractor parallel that came in a special silver pack from the box he opened. It's a great looking card in hand! Austin Meadows used to be with the Pirates, and I've had a few chances to see him play in Spring Training. That's why I claimed the auto too.

Thanks for the trade Bill!

By the way - he still has a lot of great stuff available, head to his blog and trade him anything!

Payday Pack - This Will Never Happen Again

I'm going to do something different this time. Rather than pick 3 cards as favorites, I want to highlight something that has never happened to me, and probably will never happen again. Like most collectors, when you open a pack of cards, you hope to get at least one from your favorite team. More than that, and it's a successful pack. It's also not unusual to have players from the same team show up back to back in any given pack.
I recently opened a pack of Stadium Club, and was amazed by the collation. Here what the end of this pack gave me:

Ramirez, Price, Kimbrel, and Bogaerts!

That's 4 Red Sox cards, back-to-back-to-back-to back! At the end of the pack, no less! Has anyone ever bought a random pack and had your favorite team represented in 1/3 of the cards? Has anyone had a streak of 4 cards in a row from the same team? What are odds of both occurrences happening in one pack?

I should have played the lottery after opening this pack. I'll be amazed if I ever see something like this again!


Other Contestants Not Appearing On Stage:
#265 Travis Shaw
#82 Felix Jorge (RC)
#203 Zack Cozart
#159 Trey Mancini
#227 Andrew Miller
#220 Walker Buehler (RC)
#279 Brian Anderson (RC)
#206 Cole Hamels (Sepia parallel)

Repack Haiku #79 (Mark Salas)

One of ten players

Whose name is a palindrome

Spelled same front and back

1992 Donruss #512 Mark Salas

Time Travel Trading Update #23

I've been doing these posts biweekly. Usually when I do a Time Travel Trading Post, any trades I get offered will come in within the first week. After that, and I can assume no one is going to contact me. This has worked out well for me, as it gives me time to prepare the next post. I can usually get the next post written up and scheduled well ahead of when it's due. That was the case this past week, and of course, I get an email on Thanksgiving proposing a trade! So I had to quickly revise this post, not that I'm complaining! Yes, a trade is in the works! I should have a new card (and a new story) by the next update!

Until then, I'll pimp some more cards. No one took advantage of the last two cards on the chopping block, so into my collection they go! Now, I've been pimping these cards in chronological order, meaning the ones that have been here the longest are the ones I put up. If I continue that route, the Glen Rice rookie card would be next. However, I don't collect basketball cards, so I have no motivation to put him into my collection. He'll stay in the stack until the bitter end, unless someone wants to throw some late 80's junk wax my way for him (hint, hint).

1981 Topps #63 Steve Renko

1981 Topps #704 Bill Travers

How Acquired - Received back in March from a TCDB member in exchange for  a 2018 Topps Francisco Mejia.

Time Travel Trading Update #8

Why Should You Want This Card? - For starters, they're 1981 Topps - one of the most recognizable sets outs there! Secondly, hw can anyone not love Steve's sideburns or Bill's powder blue Brewers uniform? Finally, I'm making this a two-for one special! You have both cards for any one card older than they are, in any condition! Heck, I'll even throw in the Glen Rice card if you want, making this a 3 for one deal!

The stack is shrinking! It's whittling away into nothingness! Make me an offer on any of the cards below! This project can't survive without your help!

The Time Travel Trade Stack:

2008-09 O-Pee-Chee (hockey)
#128 Tim Thomas

2001 Upper Deck - e-Card (golf)
#E-TW Tiger Woods

1993-94 Fleer (basketball)
#224 Michael Jordan (LL)

1990-91 Hoops (basketball)
#168 Glen Rice (RC)

1986 Sportflics
#122 John Tudor

1986 Topps
#5 Rose Special '75-'78
#6 Rose Special '79-'82
 #401 Fernando Valenzuela (Turn Back The Clock)

1985 Topps
#694 Joe Carter

1983 Topps (football)
#219 Joe Cribbs (LL)
#280 Mike Renfro
#307 Jim Plunkett

1982 Donruss
#NNO Checklist 545-653

1982 O-Pee-Chee E.T. The Extraterrestrial (non-sport)
#15 Among Elliott's Toys

1981 Topps
#63 Steve Renko
#704 Bill Travers

1980 Topps
#143 Bruce Bochte
#157 Willie Wilson
#671 A's Future Stars

1980 Topps (football)
#280 Jack Lambert (AP)

1979 Topps
#130 Bob Watson
#465 Reggie Smith

1978 Topps (football)
#126 Rick Kane (RC)

1977 Topps
#524 Rowland Office

1977 Topps (football)
#206 Cleveland Browns (CL)
#269 Archie Griffin (RC)
#405 Joe Greene

1975 Topps
#378 Derrel Thomas
#402 Bob Tolan

1974 Topps
#38 Don Kessinger
#67 Tommy Helms

1974 Topps - Team Checklists
#NNO Montreal Expos

1973-74 O-Pee-Chee (hockey)
#53 Richard Lemieux

1973 Topps
#18 Leroy Stanton
#29 Tony Taylor
#36 Steve Barber
#79 Jim Willoughby (RC)
#98 Dick Woodson
#99 Carl Taylor

1972 Topps
#43 Rick Wise
#109 Jerry May

1971 Topps (football)
#22 Ken Avery (RC)

1970 Topps
#47 Bob Miller
#56 Phillies Rookies - Joe Lis/Scott Reid (RC)
#103 Frank Reberger

1970 Red Rose and Blue Ribbon North American Wildlife In Danger (non-sport)
#32 Polar Bear

1969 Topps
#139 Andy Kosco

1969 Topps - Deckle Edge
#13 Mel Stottlemyre

1969 Topps (football)
#73 Bennie McRae
#154 Sam Baker

1968 Topps
#4 1967 AL RBI Leaders (Yastrzemski/Killebrew/Robinson)
#348 Larry Colton/Dick Thoenen

1968 Topps - Game
#15 Steve Hargan

1968 Topps (football)
#7 Earl Gros

1966 Topps
#154 Chuck Hiller

1967 Philadelphia (football)
#109 New York Giants (TC)

1966 Philadelphia (football)
#104 Rams vs. Browns

1965 Philadelphia (football)
#193 John Paluck

1964 Philadelphia (football)
#172 Ken Gray (RC)

1964 Topps
#60 Frank Malzone
#79 Bob Heffner (RC)
#352 Eddie Bressoud

1963 Topps
#111 Al Jackson
#155 Bill Stafford
#246 Lee Strange
#343 Johnny Pesky (MGR)

1962 Topps
#278 Ken Johnson ***PENDING***

1960 Topps
#95 Frank Thomas

1959 Topps (football)
#80 Joe Perry

1958 Topps
#371 Marty Keough (RC)

1958 Topps Zorro (non-sport)
#83 Rude Awakening

1957 Topps
#66 Brooks Lawrence
#235 Tom Poholsky
#249 Dave Pope
#371 Bob Lennon

1956 Topps
#21 Joe Collins
#103 Willie Miranda (white back)
#156 Johnny Antonelli

1956 Topps Flags of the World (non-sport)
#70 Jordan

1955 Topps
#126 Dick Hall (RC)

1954 Bowman
#73 Don Mueller

1952 Bowman
#57 Clyde Vollmer

1938 Church & Dwight Useful Birds Of America Tenth Series (J9-6) (non-sport)
#2 Black-throated Green Warbler

The Time Travel Trading Project is simple in concept. I started out with a random pack of 2018 Topps Series 1 baseball cards. My aim was to trade every card in that pack for something older. Each card I receive in turn is then made available for trade, with the goal to get the oldest card I can get.

Number of trades completed: 26 (1 pending)
Unique trading partners: 21

Number of cards mailed out: 57 (1 pending)
Year of oldest card mailed out: 1956

Number of cards received: 134 (1 pending)
Year of oldest card received: 1938

U-G-L-Y This Card Ain't Got No Alibi

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Now that it's over, it's time to focus on Christmas! I don't own any ugly Christmas sweaters. Ironically, I have a sweatshirt and two long sleeved T-shirts that mimic the ugly sweater motif. So maybe I'm not one to decide what is ugly or not. That won't stop me from trying though! Peter over at Baseball Every Night is running an "Ugly Sweater" Ugly Baseball Card contest. To enter, all you have to do is show off your favorite "ugly" baseball card.

What's considered ugly is loosely defined for the purposes of this contest. I figured I'd start out with one the all time ugliest sets, 2012 Panini Triple Play. I started scrolling through each card, and my friends, I think I found a winner!

2012 Panini Triple Play #25 Carlos Gonzalez

Where to begin? Let's start with the ears, which look like they belong on Shrek. That may be the feature that sticks out the most (play on words intended!), but definitely not the only thing that makes this card ugly.There's also the fact the neck, head, and cap are all similar in width, giving poor Carlos an almost phallic shape. Then, there is what I am going to refer as Carlos's "half-face". He has a lower lip, but no upper lip. He has nostrils, but the bridge of the nose is no where to be seen. The artist drew in the irises, but no pupils. Throw in Panini's lack of a proper MLB license, and you have one ugly card! Mr. Gonzalez deserves better.

Think you can come up with a card uglier than this? head over to Baseball Every Night and join in!

Oh, hey, this is post #300! Whoo-hoo!

Repack Haiku #78 (Alvaro Espinoza)

Once hit a baseball

In Kingdome that got stuck in

Overhead speaker

1987 Topps #529 Alvaro Espinoza (RC)

When The Red Sox Won, So Did I!

 
In case you haven't heard, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series last month. Many lucky people have benefited from this momentous occasion. Free tacos were distributed. Some guy even won the lottery. As for me, I won a contest!

Collector's Crack held the "8th Annual Almost The Easiest World Series Contest On The Web", and gave contestants the option to predict the result of the World Series. I was one of three people to correctly guess the Red Sox emerging victorious over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The first tie-breaker was the number of games played, of which I guessed 6. No one guessed it would go 5 games, so the final tie-breaker was used. I guessed that there would be 17 home runs hit during the series. The total ended up being 14, but since I was the closest, I won!

The prize was some fantastic 1979 Hostess 3-card panels:
The author of Collector's Crack, the man known as Cynical Buddha, also gifted me some Red Sox cards:

Among the beautiful cards is an autograph of the top prospect in the Red Sox system, a SN15 of a Hall of Fame pitcher, and a memorabilia card of a hopefully future Hall of Famer! These are incredible!

My utmost gratitude to CB for holding the contest and sending these great cards my way. Thanks a bunch!

Payday Pack - Short Guy Short Print

I had a tiny amount of money, so I made a brief trip to the local Wally World and wandered over to their diminutive card selection. I picked up a small 12 card pack of Series Two, and was not short-changed. Here are my three favorites from the pack:

3rd Place

2018 Topps #379 Power Up (CL)

Why hasn't this card gotten more love in the blogging community? This card is fantastic! Someone actually thought Jason Werth and Ryan Zimmerman needed the Anthony Rizzo/Kris Bryant bro-mance treatment, and came up with...Zimmwerth? Are you serious? Even better, the card is them yelling! This is the primal scream of baseball on cardboard! I don't know why they're screaming, but I want to join in and scream with them: AAAHHHHHH!!!!

2nd Place

2018 Topps - Salute #S-34 Travis Shaw

You just got to love those throwback Brewers uniforms! The Mayor of Ding Dong City is rocking the Milwaukee pinstripes!

1st Place

2018 Topps #400 Jose Altuve (SP)

A short print of one of baseball's diminutive stars! Not a bad return for a some loose change!

Other Contestants Not Appearing On Stage:
#585 Brandon Crawford
#444 Aaron Altherr
#442 Jesus Aguilar
#629 Max Scherzer
#351 Bryce Harper
#568 J.C. Ramirez
#650 Justin Verlander
#599 Justin Turner
#436 Yu Darvish

Repack Haiku #77 (Lloyd McClendon)

"Legendary Lloyd"

Homered in five straight at bats

As Little Leaguer

1989 Donruss #595 Lloyd McClendon

He accomplished the feat during the 1971 Little League World Series.

Time Travel Trading Update #22

Another 2 weeks have gone by without a trade proposal. That makes one trade in the past 9 weeks. At some point I'll have to officially end the Time Travel Trading Project, and although I don't think that time is now, it does appear to be in the near future. Maybe I'll go to the end of the year, maybe when the 2019 Topps set comes out, I don't know. For now, I'll continue to pimp cards and hopefully entice a few more trades out of this. Today I'm going to feature that last 2 cards I received in February.

1990 Topps #18 Carlos Quintana

Another Red Sox card on the block! I swear I'm not doing it on purpose, I just seem to get a lot of Red Sox cards in trades. (I wonder why....). Anyway, he'll end up in my doubles box if no one rescues him!

How Acquired - Received from a Chris from Nachos Grande along with a 2013 Topps Update Stephen Drew and 1971 Topps Hal McRae in exchange for the 2018 Topps Eric Hosmer.

Time Travel Trading Update #4

Why Should You Want These Cards? - The colorful 1990 Topps set is very underrated in my humble opinion. It's a nice looking set. Quintana was one of those types of players that arrived on the scene without much fanfare but was a steady producer once he hit the Majors. Unfortunately, he was never the same after a car accident wiped out his entire season in 1992.

1954 Bowman #16 Jim Wilson

This card officially made my project an unqualified success. I never would have dreamed I'd be able to get anything this old from the original pack. Since then I've acquired another 1954 Bowman plus two cards even older.

How Acquired - Received from a TCDB member in exchange for a 2018 Topps Derek Jeter Highlights black parallel insert.

Time Travel Trading Update #6

Why Should You Want This Card? - It's been said before: Jim Wilson is a badass! From the back of his card: "In 1945 Jim suffered a severe injury which looked like the end of his baseball career. He was pitching for the Boston Red Sox against Detroit at Briggs Stadium. Hank Greenberg was at bat and hit a line drive which struck Jim in the head. He was knocked out and carried from the field. He had a delicate brain operation and was warned by his surgeon to give up the game. He decided to try again, and he had a 12-6 record for Louisville in 1946."

I need your help to keep this project going! make me an offer!

The Time Travel Trade Stack:

2008-09 O-Pee-Chee (hockey)
#128 Tim Thomas

2001 Upper Deck - e-Card (golf)
#E-TW Tiger Woods

1993-94 Fleer (basketball)
#224 Michael Jordan (LL)

1990-91 Hoops (basketball)
#168 Glen Rice (RC)

1990 Topps
#18 Carlos Quintana ***LAST CHANCE***

1986 Sportflics
#122 John Tudor

1986 Topps
#5 Rose Special '75-'78
#6 Rose Special '79-'82
 #401 Fernando Valenzuela (Turn Back The Clock)

1985 Topps
#694 Joe Carter

1983 Topps (football)
#219 Joe Cribbs (LL)
#280 Mike Renfro
#307 Jim Plunkett

1982 Donruss
#NNO Checklist 545-653

1982 O-Pee-Chee E.T. The Extraterrestrial (non-sport)
#15 Among Elliott's Toys

1981 Topps
#63 Steve Renko
#704 Bill Travers

1980 Topps
#143 Bruce Bochte
#157 Willie Wilson
#671 A's Future Stars

1980 Topps (football)
#280 Jack Lambert (AP)

1979 Topps
#130 Bob Watson
#465 Reggie Smith

1978 Topps (football)
#126 Rick Kane (RC)

1977 Topps
#524 Rowland Office

1977 Topps (football)
#206 Cleveland Browns (CL)
#269 Archie Griffin (RC)
#405 Joe Greene

1975 Topps
#378 Derrel Thomas
#402 Bob Tolan

1974 Topps
#38 Don Kessinger
#67 Tommy Helms

1974 Topps - Team Checklists
#NNO Montreal Expos

1973-74 O-Pee-Chee (hockey)
#53 Richard Lemieux

1973 Topps
#18 Leroy Stanton
#29 Tony Taylor
#36 Steve Barber
#79 Jim Willoughby (RC)
#98 Dick Woodson
#99 Carl Taylor

1972 Topps
#43 Rick Wise
#109 Jerry May

1971 Topps (football)
#22 Ken Avery (RC)

1970 Topps
#47 Bob Miller
#56 Phillies Rookies - Joe Lis/Scott Reid (RC)
#103 Frank Reberger

1970 Red Rose and Blue Ribbon North American Wildlife In Danger (non-sport)
#32 Polar Bear

1969 Topps
#139 Andy Kosco

1969 Topps - Deckle Edge
#13 Mel Stottlemyre

1969 Topps (football)
#73 Bennie McRae
#154 Sam Baker

1968 Topps
#4 1967 AL RBI Leaders (Yastrzemski/Killebrew/Robinson)
#348 Larry Colton/Dick Thoenen

1968 Topps - Game
#15 Steve Hargan

1968 Topps (football)
#7 Earl Gros

1966 Topps
#154 Chuck Hiller

1967 Philadelphia (football)
#109 New York Giants (TC)

1966 Philadelphia (football)
#104 Rams vs. Browns

1965 Philadelphia (football)
#193 John Paluck

1964 Philadelphia (football)
#172 Ken Gray (RC)

1964 Topps
#60 Frank Malzone
#79 Bob Heffner (RC)
#352 Eddie Bressoud

1963 Topps
#111 Al Jackson
#155 Bill Stafford
#246 Lee Strange
#343 Johnny Pesky (MGR)

1962 Topps
#278 Ken Johnson

1960 Topps
#95 Frank Thomas

1959 Topps (football)
#80 Joe Perry

1958 Topps
#371 Marty Keough (RC)

1958 Topps Zorro (non-sport)
#83 Rude Awakening

1957 Topps
#66 Brooks Lawrence
#235 Tom Poholsky
#249 Dave Pope
#371 Bob Lennon

1956 Topps
#21 Joe Collins
#103 Willie Miranda (white back)
#156 Johnny Antonelli

1956 Topps Flags of the World (non-sport)
#70 Jordan

1955 Topps
#126 Dick Hall (RC)

1954 Bowman
#16 Jim Wilson ***LAST CHANCE***
#73 Don Mueller

1952 Bowman
#57 Clyde Vollmer

1938 Church & Dwight Useful Birds Of America Tenth Series (J9-6) (non-sport)
#2 Black-throated Green Warbler

The Time Travel Trading Project is simple in concept. I started out with a random pack of 2018 Topps Series 1 baseball cards. My aim was to trade every card in that pack for something older. Each card I receive in turn is then made available for trade, with the goal to get the oldest card I can get.

Number of trades completed: 26
Unique trading partners: 21

Number of cards mailed out: 57
Year of oldest card mailed out: 1956

Number of cards received: 134
Year of oldest card received: 1938