TCDB Trade Recap: Cards From Aurora, CO

Nothing like getting hit with another round of Covid right after one's birthday. April Fools on me! Fortunately, this was a mild one with no fever or symptoms outside of a cough. Still, it did make it so I didn't feel like doing much, including post. I'm back now, and hopefully I can finish up all the posts I had intended to have published already.

 

This is a nice small trade with a TCDB member named Chris. He's always looking to complete some sets and I was able to help him a little bit in exchange for some Red Sox needs:

 

Favorite Card: I just adore that high leg kick on Crochet! 

 

Thanks for the trade Chris! 

Repack Haiku #455 (Don August)

Two historic wins:

Olympic semi-finals

And SkyDome's first game

 

1988 Donruss #602 Don August

 

August earned the win in relief during the 1984 Summer Olympics semi-final game against Korea. That win put Team USA in the finals, where they earned the Silver Medal. August also was the winning pitcher in the first ever game at Toronto's SkyDome in 1989.

 

Source: https://stateofbaseball.substack.com/p/interview-49-don-august

Repack Haiku #454 (Sidd Finch)

Oh what could have been!

Threw ball at unheard of speeds

Chose different path

 

1986 Topps #793 Sidd Finch (RC)

Finch was a former Mets prospect who wowed coaches with his incredible fastball. The reclusive pitcher eventually decided that baseball wasn't what he wanted to do and left the game before ever throwing a Major League pitch.

 

Source: The Curious Case Of Sidd Finch 

 

 

 

It's been awhile since I did something for April Fool's Day, so I thought a haiku to one of baseball's great imaginary players was in order. This was my first attempt at using ChatGPT to create a mock-up baseball card. Not bad huh?

This Day In Baseball History

Hope springs eternal in the game of baseball. One of the best things about the sport is that you don't have to be the star player to win the game. The history of the game is filled with guys who have tried and failed, only to try again. Guys who have gotten knocked down, gotten up and persevered.

One individual spent over 40 years playing the game he loved, and more often than not found himself on the losing end. On this day in 1993, the impossible happened:

 

https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1993/03/30

 

Charlie Brown, baseball hero.

Happy Anniversary Charlie Brown! May your never-give-up attitude and love for the game be an inspiration to all!

(...and Happy birthday to me!)

A Couple Of Small Trades

Ah...it's good to have baseball again!

 

Just doing a quick post today to show off a couple of small trades I made recently. Starting off, we have a trade with TCDB member named Mike from Kirkland, WA. My trade with Mike was initially a Time Travel Trade where he requested 2 cards from 1975. It was only after I accepted that I realized one of the cards I was sending wasn't in the Time Travel Trade stack! Turns out it was a Time Travel Trading remnant card that I had retired, put into my collection, and forgot to update in the database! Not a big deal, as I put one card in the stack and kept this one:

 

 

Next, we have a trade with another TCDB member, Dave from Cotuit, MA. In exchange for a hockey card I had, he offered up two cards from my want list:

 

 

The Benintendi is a nice bonus, but that Yaz was the key card for me. I'm now down to needing just one more Red Sox card (Carlton Fisk) from the 1975 Topps set! 

 

A big thank you Mike and Dave for the trades! 

Repack Haiku #453 (Jake Fraley)

Bigger than baseball

Fraley's daughter beat cancer!

Ring that bell sweet child!

 

2023 Topps #657 Jake Fraley

 

It is downright serendipitous. I went to create this haiku a little over a week ago, and Googled Jake Fraley. Right at the top some recent news, and I couldn't be happier for Jake and his family. Congrats to little Avery on winning a big battle!

 

Source:  Former Reds Outfielder Jake Fraley’s Daughter Rings Bell After Beating Cancer

More Than Martinez - The Rest From Johnny!

You may remember the amazing generous amount of J.D. Martinez cards sent to me by Johnny (Johnny's Trading Spot). Well, Johnny didn't just send me one player. He included a bunch more cards beyond the 6-time All-Star:

 

 

The 582 Mongomery Club parallel sets are one of those parallels that I just don't see in person unless Johnny sends them to me. It sent me most of the 2024 set, and now he's done the same with 2025 edition. Hopefully someday down the line I'll fill in the missing Red Sox cards I need and have a proper complete team set. 

 

Johnny also sent a lot of other cards from this past year. The Williams and Crochet are both amazing. While I didn't like the '25 holiday set as much as the previous year's design, I'm grateful to add theses cards as well. The gold holiday light parallel does look much better than the base design! 

  

 

As far as pre-2025 cards go, there is some amazing cards here! The Zenith cards and the sapphire Ottavino particularly catch the eye! 

 

 

I hadn't realized the 2007 Topps set had a whole insert set dedicated to Ted Williams. Maybe once I finish up the set dedicated to Fred Lynn, this insert set will be next! Another Red Sox-centric set I will one day complete, the 2001 Fleer Boston Red Sox 100th Anniversary set, allows me to appreciate Joe's little brother "The Professor" Dom DiMaggio. 

 

Amazing cards all around! Johnny, your generosity is unmatched! Thank you!