TCDB Trade Recap: Cards From Essex, MD

Happy Memorial Day! Usually when I propose a trade on the TCDB, I'll include more cards than I'm asking for. This help me clear out doubles, offers an added enticement for the other guy to accept, and eases my anxiety about not offering a fair trade. I'm not use to being the one to get the larger quantity of cards, but when Eric proposed a 5-for-1 trade, I was happy to accept. One of the few Heritage doubles I've managed to acquire this year went to Maryland, in exchange for a quintet of cards from the first year of Topps Big League:

 

 

Favorite Card: I once dressed up as a Green Monster for Halloween, so yeah the iconic left field wall wins the day!

Thanks for the cards Eric!

Payday Pack - Clearer Skies Ahead

Today's Payday Pack isn't about showing off the best cards from a pack. Rather, it's a story of hope. The hobby is a little crazy right now, has been since the pandemic began. Card flippers are dominating so much that major retail chains are pulling product from their shelves. Some days it's hard to know what will become of the hobby we all love. I'm hear to tell you, through the magic of 2021 Topps Heritage, that no matter how bad things may seem, there will be better days ahead:

 

3rd Place

2021 Topps Heritage #112 Ryan Yarbrough

 

Dark clouds always seem to last longer than they should. Long enough to postpone things we had planned in life, things we genuinely enjoy. Sometimes all you can do is wait it out.

 

2nd Place

2021 Topps Heritage #161 Dexter Fowler

 

But those clouds are never permanent. Behind them, the blue sky always forces it way through. That is when hope first appears, and we can allow ourselves to relax a little and smile.

 

1st Place

2021 Topps Heritage #66 Asdrubal Cabrera

 

There will be brighter days soon. Be ready to play.

 

Other Contestants Not Appearing On Stage:

#297 Jose Ramirez

#116 Tommy Milone

#180 Joey Gallo (IA)

#301 Blue Jays Rookie Stars (Pearson/Hatch)

#149 Ryan Mountcastle (BP)

#360 American League Rookie Stars (Houck/Huff)

#148 Spencer Howard (BP)

#474 Josh Reddick (SP)

#390 Jake Cave

#156 Justin Turner

#259 Lane Thomas

#137 Fernando Tatis Jr

#214 Chris Bassitt

#243 Tim Anderson

#82 Rafael Montero

#86 2020 AL Batting Leaders (LeMahieu/Anderson/Fletcher)

#389 Jeimer Candelario

#112 Ryan Yarbrough

Repack Haiku #206 (Dave Winfield)

Traded for dinner?

Post-strike trade never finished

Indians paid tab

 

1990 Upper Deck #745 Dave Winfield

 

After the players began their strike in 1994, general managers were cautiously optimistic that the season would eventually resume. In a "deadline deal", the Twins sent Winfield to Cleveland for a player to be named later. As we all know, the season never resumed, and Winfield became a free agent having never suited up for the Indians. (At least not until he signed with them that off-season). No player was ever named in the exchange. To complete the trade, executives from both teams went out to dinner, which was paid for by Cleveland.

First Impressions: 2021 Panini Diamond King

The good news: In wake of Target's announcement that they would stop stocking collectable cards in-store, I was able to find cards at my local Wally World. The bad news: It was Panini. Still, I bought a pack, if for nothing else to have this post to write. So let's take a look at what will likely be the only pack of Panini Diamond Kings I open this year.

 

#66 Leody Taveras (RC)

 

The honor of the first card goes to...this guy. I've generally liked the overall design of the Diamond Kings set the past few years, but this one defies logic. Panini must know that not having an MLB license is a negative, right? So why highlight that fact by devoting a quarter of your card space design to a banner to depict the City/State of these unnameable teams? The picture is squeezed by too much border, and there is just a lot of wasted  space here.

 

#24 Harmon Killebrew

 

I will say however that the color borders contrast really well with black-and-white photos. Again, rearing back those borders and letting the picture be the main focus would have made this card so much better.

 

#81 Alex Bregman

#38 Garrett Crochet (RC)

#95 Walker Buehler

#53 Ryan Jeffers (RC) 

#11 Mickey Mantle

 

Here's a look at the back. I like the marbled effect on the back, but it doesn't show up very well on some of the darker colors. Typical Panini back with more empty space that could have been utilized to make the backs more readable.

 

#34 William Contreras (RC)

#91 Christian Yelich

#49 Jesus Sanchez (RC)

#7 Pete Rose

 

Pete Rose must be ecstatic that he gets to still appear on baseball cards...

 

#142 Travis Blankenhorn (RC) (Red Frame parallel)

#49 Jesus Sanchez (RC) (Artist's Proof parallel)

#LL-17 Walter Johnson (Legacy Lithographs insert)

 

Panini's inserts and parallels are usually pretty blah, but every now and then a nice one comes out. I really like the look of these Legacy Lithographs. I've said this over and over, but Panini should focus on these older players that don't suffer from a lack of a logo or team name on the uniform.

 

#A-7 Gerrit Cole (Aficionado insert)

#149 Jake Cronenworth (RC, SP)

#DDK-MT Alex Kirilloff (Debut Diamond King insert)

 

The old Perez-Steele Diamond Kings were one of my favorite things about Donruss sets. What it's become saddens me. This card lacks personality.

 

#109 Joe Wood (SP)

My first and only Red Sox card in the set. For the third straight year, the exact same photo is used for Wood, only this time in black and white. Why Panini does this baffles me. I know they have access to other photos of him (He has a head shot in his Legacy Lithographs insert, along with this pose again). Oh, and this rehashed photo is a short print to boot! What a desirable card for people to chase!

 

#104 Yogi Berra (SP)

#DDK-KR Brady Singer (Debut Diamond King insert)

 

Diamond Kings hasn't done much to innovate and make the brand more appealing to collectors. It almost seems like Panini is content with just doing the bare minimum. It's a shame, because there is a desire for options outside of Topps. 

 

For what it's worth, I'll probably keep the Killebrew, Johnson, Wood, and Berra. If anyone is interested in trading for the others, I'm all ears...

TCDB Trade Recap: Cards From Ogden, UT

Today's batch of cards comes from TCDB member Jim. Thanks to him, I was able to knock out a few recent Red Sox cards from the ol' need list:

 

 

Big League and Update were in short supply last year, so it was good to get a few additions there. I also picked up my first two cards from this year's Bowman set.

Favorite Card: How can anyone not like a card titled "Time To Party"? Bogaerts and Devers have been doing a lot of on-field partying this year!

Thanks for the cards Jim!

Repack Haiku #205 (Benito Santiago)

Two historic bombs:

First grand slam off of Maddux

First Marlins home run

 

1990 Donruss #708 Benito Santiago (AS)

 

Greg Maddux had gone 2,174 2/3 innings without allowing a grand slam until Santiago took him deep with the bases loaded in 1996. He previously hit the very first home run in Florida (Miami) Marlins history.

Time Travel Trading Update #53

 

So far in 2021, I've completed 18 Time Travel Trades. Exactly 50% of those have come from the same 3 people. Since my last update, I've made 3 more trades. As you probably have guessed, those trades came from those same collectors! I got to say, it's good to have such consistency!

 

Trade #1 came from Brendan (The View From The Third Floor). He only claimed 2 cards, but generously gave football a boost in the trade stack's representation:

He also included this beaut of a vintage card:

Next up is the unofficial "Patron Saint of Time Travel Trading" - Bo (Baseball Cards Come To Life!) This is Bo's 15th Time Travel Trade and he never disappoints! This trade has a very distinct 1974 theme:

I had to do a double-take when I saw two Gene Washingtons in that football lot! It's not often you'll see two guys with the same name in the same set. 

Remember that autograph card I showed off in the last update? I had wondered what kind of return it would fetch, and Bo provided the answer:

I don't know anything about basketball, so I don't know if this guy is good or not. But a Christmas themed relic serial numbered to 499 copies has to be desirable to someone out there! What offer will this card bring?

 

Our final trade today is from blog reader Ken. Ken sent a wide variety of cards, covering 4 decades of baseball!

Thanks guys, you are awesome!

You don't want these three to have all the fun, do you? There's over 300 cards available, and all it takes to make the trade is a card older than what I'm sending out! Let's make some trades!

 

The Time Travel Trade Stack:

 

2017-1018 Pocket Schedule
Carolina Hurricanes

2017 Bowman
#12 Trea Turner

 

2010 Bowman - Prospects Black
#BP51 Chase D'Arnaud
#BP56 Rolando Gomez

2010 Bowman Chrome
#13 Brian Roberts
#122 Hanley Ramirez

2010 Bowman Chrome - Prospects
#BCP178 Nathan Adcock
#BCP186 Jhan Marinez

 

2009-10 Panini Season Update - Christmas Cards Materials
#22 Jeff Pendergraph (MEM, SN499)

 

2001 Topps Archives

#296 George Brett

#319 Roberto Clemente

#349 Dean Chance 

1998 Score
#68 Scott Rolen
#74 Mark McLemore

1994 Sportflics
#113 Pete Harnisch

1993 Leaf
#271 Jay Buhner

1993 Classic Draft Picks (basketball)
#33 Will Flemons
#67 Bennie Seltzer

1991 Leaf
#174 Roger Clemens (CL)

 

1991 Stadium Club

#327 Terry Pendleton

#332 Dennis Eckersley 

1991 Upper Deck
#778 Dave Righetti

 

1990 Donruss
#712 Wade Boggs (AS, COR, VAR) - Pack border, dot after INC 

1990 Fleer
#271 Roger Clemens

#629 Jose Canseco (POD)

1990 Upper Deck
#626 Frank Viola

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

 

1990 Topps (football)
#178 Greg Lloyd (VAR)

1989 Score
#495 Larry Parrish

 

1988 Score
#657 Mike Schmidt (HL) 

 

1988 Topps (football)
#189 Dolphins Team Leaders - Dan Marino (TL)
#203 Chargers Team Leaders - Kellen Winslow (TL)
#218 1987 NFL Scoring Leaders (Breech/Rice) (LL)
#220 Bills Team Leaders - Jim Kelly (TL)
#233 Eagles Team Leaders - Randall Cunningham (TL)

1987 Topps
#313 Roberto Clemente (TBTC)

 

1986 Donruss
#580 Phil Niekro 

1986 Topps
#5 Rose Special '75-'78

#5 Rose Special '75-'78
#6 Rose Special '79-'82

#159 Orel Hershiser 
#401 Fernando Valenzuela (Turn Back The Clock)

#405 Roger Maris (TBTC) 

 

1986 Topps - Glossy All-Stars

#9 Carlton Fisk

#13 Steve Garvey

#21 LaMarr Hoyt 

1986 Topps Major League Leaders Minis
#65 Tony Gwynn

 

1986 Topps (football)
#229 1985 NFL Interception Leaders (Daniel/Lewis/Walls) 

1985 Topps
#694 Joe Carter

 

1984 Donruss

#376 Charlie Lea

1984 Fleer

#482 Bill Scherrer (RC)

1983 Topps
#70 Steve Carlton

 

1983 Topps (football)

#11 1982 AFC Championship (CCG)

#82 Mark Lee

#109 George Rogers (TL)

#186 John Riggins (TL)

#337 Mark Van Eeghen

1982 Donruss
#NNO Checklist 545-653

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

1982 Topps
#125 Danny Ainge

#303 Bill Caudill
#399 Pat Zachry  
#462 Dave Chalk
#480 Steve Carlton  
#754 Joe Morgan

 

1982 Topps (football) 

#82 Craig Morton (IA) 

1981 Donruss 
#374 John Candelaria
#383 Jose Cruz

#386 Doc Medich 
#409 Carney Lansford
#420 Tommy Lasorda (MGR)
#421 Charlie Leibrandt (RC)
#427 Leon Durham (RC)
#496 Mickey Rivers
#531 Jerry Koosman
#565 Ken Landreaux

1981 Topps
#65 Scott McGregor

#82 Astros Future Stars (RC)
#98 Clint Hurdle
#121 Larry Harlow
#151 Claudell Washington
#182 Bob Grich
#194 Rod Scurry  
#250 Ron Guidry
#259 Mets Future Stars
#277 Alfredo Griffin (RC)
#350 J.R. Richard

#354 Mario Soto 
#363 Geoff Zahn
#365 Graig Nettles

#374 Tom Hutton 
#402 NL Championships
#414 John Pacella  
#465 Bill Russell
#477 Luis Gomez
#494 Bob Walk 
#569 Al Williams
#632 Alan Bannister

#645 Rick Reuschel 
#650 Buccky Dent (AS)
#695 Kent Tekulve
#726 Rick Monday

 

1980 Topps 
#90 Manny Trillo
#143 Bruce Bochte
#145 Darrell Evans
#157 Willie Wilson
#325 Dan Driessen  
#406 Paul Molitor

#516 Hector Cruz 
#572 Jerry Morales

#595 Don Money 
#642 Ken Forsch
#655 Tug McGraw

#690 Tommy John

1979 Topps
#25 Steve Carlton
#130 Bob Watson
#214 Boston Red Sox (TC)
#388 Jack Billingham
#465 Reggie Smith

1978-79 Topps (basketball)
#21 Steve Hawes

#37 Mike Gale
#46 John Shumate

#53 John Mengelt 
#55 George Johnson
#62 Anthony Roberts

#64 Leon Douglas (RC) 
#66 Lonnie Shelton
#76 Brian Winters

#118 Kevin Porter 
#129 Ray Williams (RC)

1978 Topps
#148 Andre Thorton
#373 Jim Willoughby
#385 Tito Fuentes
#424 Boston Red Sox (TC)
#482 Rick Miller
#706 Rookie 1st Baseman (Cage/Cox/Putnam/Revering)

 

1977 Topps

#607 Larry Demery

 

1976 Funky Sales Corp Funky Facts Baseball
#2 In A Trance
#3 Fans Vs Players
#5 Baseballeese

1976 Topps
#70 Roy Smalley/Roy Smalley Jr. (FS)

#101 Pete LaCock 
#196 1975 AL RBI Leaders (Scott/Mayberry/Lynn)

#567 George Stone 

1975 Topps
#66 Willie Horton
#310 '74 Victory Leaders
#378 Derrel Thomas
#402 Bob Tolan

 

1974 Topps
#38 Don Kessinger
#67 Tommy Helms 
#107 Alex Johnson
#141 Pat Bourque
#158 Jack Billingham
#158 Jack Billingham
#227 Mike Lum
#248 Tom Hall

#305 Tito Fuentes 
#349 John Vukovich

#461 John Odom
#473 World Series Game 2 (Mays)
#506 Ed Farmer

#512 Joe Lahoud
#519 Bill Sharp (RC) 
#534 Eddie Watt

#570 Ralph Garr 
#572 Enzo Hernandez

#583 Marty Pattin
#601 Rookie Outfielders 
#638 Ken Sanders
#660 Larry Dierker

1974 Topps - Team Checklists
#NNO Montreal Expos

1974 Topps - Traded
#270T Ron Santo
#458T Jim Ray
#496T Tom Murphy

 

1974 Topps (football)
#46 Gene Washington
#63 Gene Washington
#316 Thom Darden (RC, UER)
#421 Roger Wehrli
#513 Bill Lueck (RC)

 

1974 Visual Panographics US Presidents (non-sport)

#9 William Henry Harrison 

1973 Topps
#102 Rudy May

#215 Dusty Baker

1972 Topps
#22 Rob Gardner

#33 Billy Martin (MGR)

#36 Jerry Johnson (IA) 
#43 Rick Wise

#44 Rick Wise (IA)

#54 Bud Harrelson (IA)

#58 Ernie McAnally

#83 Dalton Jones

#99 Ross Grimsley (ASR, RC)

#109 Jerry May

#137 Dick Williams (MGR) 

#163 Tug McGraw

#174 Clay Kirby (IA)

#192 Chicago Cubs (TC)

#196 Mel Queen 
#197 Johnny Briggs
#225 World Series Game 3 - Manny Sanguillen
#231 Casey Cox
#239 Tom Timmermann

#262 San Diego Padres (TC)
#266 Bobby Bolin

#312 Clay Carroll (IA)

#334 Rangers Rookies - Bill Fahey / Jim Mason / Tom Ragland (RS, RC) 

#344 Dave McNally (BP)
#363 Ron Klimkowski
#373 John Mayberry
#438 Maury Wills (IA)

1971 Topps
#16 Ken Singleton (RC)
#63 AL 1970 RBI Leaders (Howard/Conigliaro/Powell)
#63 AL 1970 RBI Leaders (Howard/Conigliaro/Powell)
#69 AL 1970 Pitching Leaders (Cuellar/McNally/Perry)
#71 AL 1970 Strikeout Leaders (McDowell/Lolich/Johnson)
#80 Bill Melton
#90 Joe Pepitone
#95 Luis Tiant
#105 Tony Conigliaro
#123 2nd Series Checklist #133-263 (CL, VAR)
#146 Ralph Houk (MGR)
#195 AL Playoffs Game 1 - Powell Muscles Twins!
#328 World Series Game 2 - Buford Goes 2-4 (WS)

1970 Brooke Bond North American Wildlife In Danger (non-sport)
#32 Polar Bear

1970 Topps
#3 Darrell Chaney

#16 Charlie Metro (MGR)
#18 Carlos May
#18 Carlos May 
#38 Mack Jones

#39 Mike Nagy (ASR, RC)
#47 Bob Miller

#81 Dave May

#90 Tim McCarver

#101 Bobby Floyd

#105 Tony Gonzalez
#115 Alex Johnson 

#123 Don Gutteridge (MGR)
#206 Clete Boyer
#238 Jose Laboy (ASR)
#390 Willie Davis

#457 Rico Petrocelli (AS)

1969 Topps
#66 Orioles Rookies
#75 Luis Aparicio
#80 Norm Cash
#131 Chris Cannizarro
#139 Andy Kosco
#182 Bill Rigney (MGR)
#484 Joe Gordon (MGR)

1969 Topps - Deckle Edge
#13 Mel Stottlemyer

 

1968 Topps
#4 1967 AL RBI Leaders (Yastrzemski/Killebrew/Robinson)
#7 1967 NL ERA Leaders (Niekro/Bunning/Short)  
#44 Frank Kostro
#53 Gene Alley  
#181 Jerry Zimmerman

#202 Adolfo Phillips 
#208 Willie Davis
#257 Phil Niekro
#309 Ken Henderson
#320 Frank Howard
#449 Gene Oliver
#519 Jerry Stephenson

1967 Topps
#1 The Champs (F. Robinson/Bauer/B. Robinson)

#18 Gene Oliver

#27 Bob Saverine

#60 Luis Aparicio

#116 Herman Franks (MGR)

#192 Fred Gladding

#206 Dennis Bennett
#366 Andy Kosco

1966 Topps
#46 Howie Koplitz

#56 Sandy Valdespino 
#104 Alex Johnson
#154 Chuck Hiller

#189 John Roseboro 
#575 Earl Wilson

1965 Topps
#17 Johnny Romano
#27 Dick Bertell
#86 Les Narum
#87 Nelson Mathews
#108 Don Mincher
#111 Lee Thomas
#178 Dalton Jones
#307 Barry Latman
#352 Alex Johnson (RC)

1964 Topps
#18 Billy O'Dell
#45 Milt Pappas
#95 George Altman

 

1964 Topps - Coins
#7 Frank Malzone

 

1963 Topps
#174 Larry Burright 

1962 Topps

#19 Ray Washburn (RC, RS)

#79 Ed Hobaugh

1961 Fleer Baseball Greats
#56 Dolf Luque

1961 Topps
#38 Bob Lillis
#83 Bob Bruce
#96 Billy O'Dell
#98 2nd Series Checklist 89-176 (CL, VAR)
#111 Jack Meyer

#188 Jim Marshall

#212 Haywood Sullivan

#258 Jack Sanford
#399 Cliff Cook (RC)

 

1960 Topps

#77 Hank Foiles

#275 Curt Flood 

1959 Topps
#424 Ken Aspromonte

1958 Topps

#59 Dave Sisler

#65 Von McDaniel (RC)

#73 Pete Daley

#147 Don McMahon (RC)

#273 Hal Smith

#290 Dick Donovan 

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

1957 Topps
#68 Ray Crone

#212 Rocky Colavito (RC)
#249 Dave Pope
#406 Bob Hale

1956 Topps
#80 Cincinati Redlegs (TC, VAR)
#103 Willie Miranda (white back)
#156 Johnny Antonelli
#211 Murray Dickson
#284 Ike Delock

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

1955 Topps
#45 Hank Sauer

1954 Bowman
#73 Don Mueller

1954 Bowman Power For Peace (non-sport)
#91 USS Coral Sea (CVB43)

1953 Topps
#213 Ray Scarborough

1952 Bowman
#57 Clyde Vollmer

1947-66 Exhibits W461 

#NNO Al Evans

#NNO Ferris Fain 

 

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

1937-38  Diamond Matchbooks Tan 6 (hockey)
#NNO Glenn Brydson

1922 Church & Dwight Useful Birds Of America Third Series (J7) (non-sport)
#7 Prothonotary Warbler

1915 Church & Dwight Useful Birds Of America First Series(J5) (non-sport)
#1 Quail

 

1890 N245 Sweet Caporal Actors & Actresses (non-sport)

#NNO Frankie Raymond

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: 97
Unique trading partners: 48

Number of cards mailed out: 383
Year of oldest card mailed out: 1910-11

Number of cards received: 613
Year of oldest card received: 1890!

 

OK Then, I Guess I'm Trying To Complete These Two Sets Now...

After countless positive reviews and platitudes, I decided to give the BaseballCardStore.ca a try. I had been hesitant at first because (A) I just haven't had the opportunity to search and find individual cards I need and (B) I feared that I would fall victim to "Target Syndrome" - going in looking to spend maybe $10 and suddenly finding maybe $50 worth of cards in my shopping cart.

 

Both points were for the most part unfounded. I was able to find cards easily enough through their web site, and while I did end up with a multitude of cards I wasn't planning on adding, it still didn't break the bank.

I started out looking to add some Red Sox cards I didn't have, obviously, focusing mainly on Topps base set cards from the 90's I was missing.

 

 

While I was searching, I came across a huge listing of cards from Fleer's 1996 Red Sox team set. The complete set is only 20 cards, and I already had two of them. Could I potentially complete the set here and now? 

 

 

Close, but not quite - the two biggest names in the set, Roger Clemens and Jose Canseco, still allude me. Still, it's pretty cool that I'm close to putting this team set to bed.

 

Then I really started tumbling down the rabbit hole. My So Close page lists the sets that I'm really really close to completing (85% complete at least!) I wondered if there were any sets I have that fell just below this marker that I could potentially boost up and then add to the page. TCDB makes this easy to figure out, and surprisingly the next closest set to 85% done was the 1992 O-Pee-Chee Premier set. Surely a Canadian web site has O-Pee-Chee cards, right? This should be easy...

 

 

Alrighty then. You could say I found a few cards from this set that I was missing. I definitely wasn't expecting to add these cards when I started, and yet here we are.

So now both the 1996 Fleer Red Sox and the 1992 O-Pee-Chee Premier sets have been added to my So Close page, teasing me with near completion.

 

The Baseball Card Store's great selection and prices, along with some great customer service, ensures I'll be back again. Who knows what trouble I'll get myself into next time?