Diamond Jesters

Monday, April 19, 2021

Time Travel Trading Update #52

This is an exciting update. History has been made - not once, but twice! I've got 5 trades to show off this month, and two of them are guaranteed to make you do a double-take. Let's dive in!

Our first trade comes courtesy from a blog reader named Ken. I showed off his first Time Travel Trade last month, and it didn't take him long to come back for a second trade. Thanks to him, there's more vintage (and a couple of vintage-inspired modern cards too).

Even after all this time, it still amazes me that I am trading for cards from the 50's and 60's on a regular basis. Before this project began, I don't think I ever traded away a card older than me. Now I'm sending out old cardboard every month. Unreal.

Over the past year, Brendan (The View From The Third Floor) has become one of my most frequent trading partners. This latest package from him was one that I'll never forget:

Your eyes do not deceive you - for the first time in Time Travel Trading history, there is a certified autograph in the stack. It's even serial numbered to just 800 copies! This opens up a potential Pandora's Box of possibilities. What kind of return can I possible expect for this card? Do I hold out for another auto? Do I expect a big return even though the player isn't a big name? I really don't know. We'll see when an offer comes in I guess. The other cards are welcome additions too. That grey blotch is actually an oddball Chuck Knoblauch. Here's a better look at it:

US History enthusiasts, rejoice! Thanks to Jon (A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts), the first card of a former president has graced its way into our stack. I personally don't know much about these cards, although I remember seeing them before, a long time ago.

That sweet Robin Yount card found a new home with TCDB member Abraham, who passed along another 2021 card along with one of my favorite players:

It wouldn't be an update without a trade with Bo (Baseball Cards Come To Life!). He just keeps trading and trading - 14 Time Travel Trades so far by my count! This batch of cards includes some Bowman:

Some junk wax era goodness:

Football cards (Shout out to the original Goonie John Matuszak!):

Plus some vintage baseball of course!

I had an idea to wring some extra posts out the Time Travel Trading project. Last month I gave a detailed look at the trades that netted me the oldest card in the stack - a nice Hurricane Warning card. Shortly after, Billy (Cardboard History) commented that he could trade me an older card for it. True to his blog name, Billy made history as well in the annals of Time Travel Trading with a card that hails from the 1800's!

Billy didn't have much info on this card, and it doesn't even show up in the TCDB! Fortunately, a little research led to a graded copy on eBay, letting me know this is a 1890 Sweet Caporal Actors & Actresses card of young silent film actress Frankie Raymond. I know I've said this before, only to be proven wrong time and again, but this card will probably reign as the oldest card in the stack forever. I can't fathom seeing an older card in my mailbox ever.

Thanks again Ken, Jon, Abraham, Bo and Billy! I'm so excited to be able to offer all these new cards. As always, this project is fueled by trades, so if you see something you like, all it takes is a card older than what I'm sending out! There's over 300 cards here - something for everyone!

The Time Travel Trade Stack:

2021 Topps

#274 Freddy Galvis

2020 Topps Heritage
#36 Kenley Jansen
#176 Dinelson Lamet

2017-1018 Pocket Schedule
Carolina Hurricanes

2017 Bowman
#12 Trea Turner

2013 Topps (football)

#30 Marshawn Lynch (AP)

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

2006 SPx (football)

#39 Reggie Wayne

2004 Donruss Studio

#216 Michael Wuertz (AU, RC, SN800)

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

1992 Fleer Ultra
#594 Dave Righetti

1992 MJB Holoprism Chuck Knoblauch

#R/4 Chuck Knoblauch

1991 Donruss
#744 Dr. Dirt and Mr. Clean (VAR) - Pack border, dot after INC

1991 Leaf
#174 Roger Clemens (CL)

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

1989 Score
#495 Larry Parrish

1988 Score
#657 Mike Schmidt (HL)

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

1985 Topps
#694 Joe Carter

1985 Topps (football)

#176 James Wilder

1983 Topps
#70 Steve Carlton

1983 Topps (football)

#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 Fleer
#27 Tim McCarver

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
#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

1981 Topps (football)
#403 Cliff Branch

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

1978 Topps (football)
#439 John Matuszak

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

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

1975 Topps (football)
#450 Terry Metcalf

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
#349 John Vukovich
#534 Eddie Watt
#572 Enzo Hernandez
#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 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)
#374 Clete Boyer

1971 Topps (football)
#110 Floyd Little (AS)

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

1970 Topps
#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
#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

1969 Topps (football)
#228 Jim Butler

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
#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)

#125 Moe Drabowsky

#192 Fred Gladding

#206 Dennis Bennett
#366 Andy Kosco

1966 Topps
#46 Howie Koplitz
#104 Alex Johnson
#154 Chuck Hiller
#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

#212 Haywood Sullivan

#215 Gus Bell
#258 Jack Sanford
#399 Cliff Cook (RC)

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: 94
Unique trading partners: 48

Number of cards mailed out: 364
Year of oldest card mailed out: 1910-11

Number of cards received: 573
Year of oldest card received: 1890!

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Repack Haiku #200 (Willie Stargell)

Repack Haiku posts

Are number 1 in my book

And endorsed by Pops

1982 Fleer #499 Willie Stargell

It's the 200th Repack Haiku! Holy cow, that's a lot of 5-7-5 poetry! I wanted to do something special, and had the idea of doing a guest post. If you've ever read the comments to these haiku, then you know that one other blogger has a penchant for writing his own verse (usually better than what I came up with too!) That's right, Jim from Cards As I See Them wrote the honorary 200th post! For what it's worth, I'm totally open to other guest haikus... ;)

Thanks Jim! Pops thinks you're #1 too!

(Oh, and Jim actually submitted 5 haikus, so don't be surprised if another one of his shows up sometime!)

Monday, April 12, 2021

Breaking Good - 2003 Playoff Prestige

Last week, I showed off a group break I participated in that was hosted by Chris over at Nachos Grande. I mentioned at the end of the post I joined a second group break last September, this time for a box of 2003 Playoff Prestige. With this group break, participants were randomly assigned a second team. I ended up with the Cleveland Indians, which I was fine with. My first ever MLB game was in Cleveland, so I have a soft spot for that team.

Just as he did before, Chris had some extra packs he opened as bonus content.

Aaron Friggin' Boone, are you kidding me? At least the Ted Williams reprint is sweet.

The Prestige box was the main attraction. It's a good looking set - simple, but the dual photography is nicely done. I ended up with some good cards.

Over half of the Red Sox team set, former Sox favorite Ellis Burks, plus a couple of "Hall of Very Good" level players - not too shabby!

The Prestige box turned out to be one of the better boxes Chris has ever opened, with a bunch of relics, more than what a regular box would expect. I didn't get any of those hits, but I did come away with a serial numbered insert.

The League Leaders set is numbered to 2002. It's funny to be reminded of the fact that although he was known for his power, he led the AL in batting that year!

Favorite Card: Manny hits his way to the lead!

Thanks again, Chris!

Friday, April 9, 2021

Payday Pack - Back to First

I recently had an idea of putting a counter on my blog denoting "X days since I last found baseball cards at a retail store" . Wouldn't you know it, after having that thought I found some! My local Wally World, normally a barren wasteland of display boxes, had a few 40-card packs of Series 1 (still no sign of Heritage, sigh). Anyway, I bought two of the packs, so Payday Pack lives again! As always, I humbly present to you my 3 favorite cards from the pack:

3rd Place

2021 Topps #66 Ryan Brasier

The background caught my attention here. I realize it's probably the scoreboard or an advertisement, but the blurred out colors almost give it a sunset look. Along with the off-center position of the player, and it's just an aesthetically pleasing card.

2nd Place

2021 Topps #298 Luis Garcia (RC)

Poor Luis. All he's trying to do is make the play, and impress everyone enough to keep him in the Majors. It's not his fault his leg got stuck in those stupid parallelograms...

1st Place

2021 Topps #18 Shun Yamaguchi

Chances are I've seen this on cards before, but it's rare enough that it still catches my attention. How cool is it that Yamaguchi's stats from the Japanese League on here? He had some great years for Yokohama!

Other Contestants Not Appearing On Stage:

#196 Ryan Yarbrough

#287 Arizona Diamondbacks

#251 Pittsburgh Pirates

#24 Nolan Arenado

#229 Paul Goldschmidt

#169 Brady Singer (RC)

#214 Alex Verdugo

#16 Patrick Sandoval

#288 Miguel Rojas

#59 Milwaukee Brewers

#22 Pedro Severino

#9 Max Fried

#32 Edward Olivares (RC)

#180 Jose Abreu (LL)

#294 Leury Garcia

#56 Steven Matz (Rainbow Foil parallel)

#70YT-34 Bo Bichette (70 Years Of Topps insert)

#31 Brandon Kintzler (Royal Blue parallel)

#T52-22 Cody Bellinger (1952 Topps Redux insert)

#T52-12 J.D. Martinez (1952 Topps Redux insert)

#112 Justin Verlander

#41 Deivi Garcia (RC)

#272 John Means

#89 Lucas Giolito

#274 Freddy Galvis

#213 JaCoby Jones

#104 Kenta Maeda

#282 Omar Narvaez

#91 Orland Arcia

#281 Jesse Winker

#151 Evan White (RC)

#106 Brandon Nimmo

#113 Nate Pearson (RC)
#224 Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

#164 Jesus Aguilar

#142 Jake Odorizzi

#250 Bryce Harper

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Repack Haiku #199 (Chris Rowley)

A first lieutenant

Became the first West Point grad

To play in Majors

2018 Topps #315 Chris Rowley (RC)

Monday, April 5, 2021

Breaking Good - 2020 Panini Diamond Kings

If there's a positive that has come from the lack of cards at my local Wally World, it's that I've had a little extra money for other avenues. I've joined a few small group breaks over the past year, and the cards have started to come in.

Over the summer, I joined a group break hosted by Chris over at Nachos Grande. He opened up a box of 2020 Panini Diamond Kings. The price for the Red Sox was within my budget (cheap!) so I signed up.

Before the main event, Chris was nice enough to open a few bonus packs from various sets. Three of those packs netted me some extra Red Sox cards:

Schilling and A-Gone were the only needs from this lot, the rest I already had (If you're one of those types of collectors that loves all those 80's Donruss variations, then I guess the Cerone might qualify - it was the first of it's particular variation (pack border, no dot after the INC) that I entered into the TCDB. I doubt I'll have the energy to check all my other 1990 Donruss Rick Cerones to see which variables they really are.)

The Panini Diamond Kings set features 7 Red Sox players in the base set, and interestingly enough, none of them are active players. To be honest, that was actually a point in its favor for me and why I joined the break. The lack of a proper MLB license hurts Panini, but with those older pre-World War I era guys you really don't notice.

In the end, I ended up with ~~3 Red Sox~~ 4 Boston players:

I was surprised to see Eddie Mathews there. Yep, technically he is a player from a Boston team, but we all know that it wasn't with the Red Sox. If whoever claimed the Braves in this group break feels slighted, I'll gladly pass the card along. Otherwise, I don't mind adding another Hall of Famer to my collection.

One thing I've learned is that I have developed a bad habit when it comes to these group breaks. Normally, the cards don't automatically get shipped to you. You have to request them. That way you can participate in a bunch of breaks and have all your cards shipped for one shipping fee. That was my intent, too. I joined another of Chris's group breaks later that fall...and then forgot about them. I didn't have Chris ship my cards until last month. Whoops!

Favorite Card: What the heck, Mathews was a pleasant surprise, so why not?

Thanks for the cards Chris!

Friday, April 2, 2021

Scavenger Hunt: Where They Were

So...did you find them all? Yesterday's scavenger hunt was (hopefully) a great success, and I hope you all had fun searching for each card and reading all of the wonderful posts my fellow bloggers contributed. I know I enjoyed it! My only regret is that I didn't get the string of card images in my blogroll that I had last year (thanks, new Blogger!)

If you missed any, don't worry! I listed the entire set below, along with every participating blog. (Oh, and if I missed anyone, please let me know so I can keep this accurate!)