Time Travel Trading Update #56

 

Another month bring 6 more trades, with a variety of cards sure to catch your eye! Enough with the teaser, let's see what we got!

 

Our first trade comes from Chris (The Collector/The 1993). Chris picked up a couple of cards, including an awesome 1967 Willie Stargell. In return, a trio of 60's cards!

Next up is blog reader Alan, who made made his first trade in June and came back again last month for his second trade. I sent some Phillies alumni his way, and he came back with a trio of Red Sox cards, a Tiger, and the first Seattle Pilot to make his way onto the trade stack!

 

Bo (Baseball Cards Come To Life) makes his monthly trade yet again. The oversized Exhibits are among the cards now in his possession. In return, he gave me the bird - not once, but twice (Or four times if you include that Blue Jay and Eagle!)

It's been less than a year since Brendan (The View From The Third Floor)  made his first Time Travel Trade, but he's become the second most prolific trader here, only behind Bo. Brendan's 8th trade saw a quartet of football cards go to him. What he sent in return was beyond generous. We now have our first die-cut, as well as 2 more serial numbered cards!

 

Stepping up to the plate is Jon (A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts/The All-Time Portland Beavers Project), who took 60's All-Star Frank Lary and graciously sent me three more cards from the 1958 Topps set. I now have 11 cards from this set in the trade stack, amazing when you consider I started out with just a 12-card pack of 2018 Topps!

Last but not least, we have a trade from Greg (Night Owl Cards). In return for a 1984 O-Pee-Chee card, he sent me two examples of the greatest manager card design Topps ever did! 

Once again, I'm overwhelmed by the returns from my trade partners. You guys are awesome! Thanks again.

See something you like? Trading for it couldn't be simpler! All I seek for in return is an older card than the one I send you. Offers can be made here or on the TCDB (Memeber ID: Kep75)

 

The Time Travel Trade Stack:

 

2020 Sage Hit - Rookie Autographs Black (football)
#A17 Harrison Bryant (AU)

 

2018 Panini Classics - Red Back (football)
#197 John Hannah (SN299) 

2017-1018 Pocket Schedule
Carolina Hurricanes

2017 Bowman
#12 Trea Turner

 

2017 Donruss Certified Cuts - Highlight Reels Silver (football)
#23 Carson Wentz (SN99) 

 

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

 

2010 Topps (football)
#341 Peyton Manning (AP)

2010 Topps - Insert (football)

#RH44-DB Drew Brees (RH) 

 

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

 

2000 Pacific Crown Royale (football)
#40 Marvin Harrison

1998 Score
#68 Scott Rolen

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)

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) 

 

1988 Topps (football)
#233 Eagles Team Leaders - Randall Cunningham (TL)

#363 Christian Okoye (RC)

1987 Topps
#313 Roberto Clemente (TBTC)

 

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)

 

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 O-Pee-Chee
#105 Ron Kittle
#176 Buddy Bell
#366 Ron Cey 

1985 Topps
#694 Joe Carter

 

1984 Donruss

#376 Charlie Lea

1984 Fleer

#482 Bill Scherrer (RC)

 

1984 O-Pee-Chee
#83 Richie Zisk
#312 Jorge Orta

 

1984 Topps
#728 Tug McGraw

1983 Topps
#70 Steve Carlton

 

1983 Topps (football)

#11 1982 AFC Championship (CCG)

#82 Mark Lee

#109 George Rogers (TL)

#186 John Riggins (TL)

#264 Rich Karlis (RC) 

#337 Mark Van Eeghen

1983 Topps The A-Team (non-sport)
#20 Pretty as a Picture!
#49 Heavy Traffic!
#50 Crashing the Gates!

1982 Donruss
#NNO Checklist 545-653

 

1982 O-Pee-Chee
#254 Jorge Bell (RC)
#275 Bob Watson 

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 

#202 Steve Carlton (RB) 
#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

 

1979 Topps (football)

#168 Super Bowl XIII 

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

#105 Jim Chones 

#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

#601 Gene Mauch (MGR)

#631 Danny Ozark (MGR) 
#706 Rookie 1st Baseman (Cage/Cox/Putnam/Revering)

 

1977 Topps

#607 Larry Demery

 

1977 Topps (football)
#350 Bill Bergey (AP) 

 

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
#41 Cesar Geronimo

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

#445 Felix Milan 

 

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
#506 Ed Farmer

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

#572 Enzo Hernandez

#583 Marty Pattin
#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)
#63 Gene Washington
#513 Bill Lueck (RC)

 

1974 Visual Panographics US Presidents (non-sport)

#9 William Henry Harrison 

1973 Topps
#102 Rudy May

#485 Norm Cash 

1972 Topps
#2 Ray Culp

#22 Rob Gardner

#33 Billy Martin (MGR)

#36 Jerry Johnson (IA) 

#54 Bud Harrelson (IA)

#58 Ernie McAnally

#83 Dalton Jones

#99 Ross Grimsley (ASR, RC)

#109 Jerry May

#113 Rogelio Moret 

#137 Dick Williams (MGR) 

#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!

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

1970 Topps
#3 Darrell Chaney

#12 John Hiller

#12 John Hiller

#16 Charlie Metro (MGR)
#18 Carlos May
#18 Carlos May

#31 Marty Pattin 
#38 Mack Jones

#39 Mike Nagy (ASR, RC)

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

#59 Dick Ellsworth 

#81 Dave May

#90 Tim McCarver

#115 Alex Johnson 

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

#324 Tony Taylor 

#390 Willie Davis  

#457 Rico Petrocelli (AS)

1969 Topps
#66 Orioles Rookies

#72 Ron Taylor 
#75 Luis Aparicio
#80 Norm Cash  
#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)
#44 Frank Kostro
#181 Jerry Zimmerman

#202 Adolfo Phillips 
#208 Willie Davis
#309 Ken Henderson
#320 Frank Howard

#434 Ricardo Joseph (RC) 
#449 Gene Oliver
#519 Jerry Stephenson

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

#7 Don McMahon 

#18 Gene Oliver

#27 Bob Saverine

#60 Luis Aparicio 

#116 Herman Franks (MGR)

#118 Bernie Allen 

#192 Fred Gladding

#206 Dennis Bennett

#227 Paul Lindblad 

#272 Dick Lines (RC)

#281 Bob Rodgers 
#366 Andy Kosco

1966 Topps
#46 Howie Koplitz

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

#189 John Roseboro 
#575 Earl Wilson

 

1966 Philadelphia (football)
#159 Bobby Joe Conrad 

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
#21 Zoilo Versalles (RC, RS, UER)

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

#212 Haywood Sullivan

#258 Jack Sanford
#399 Cliff Cook (RC)

 

1960 Topps (football)
#28 Jim Ray Smith 

1959 Topps
#424 Ken Aspromonte

1958 Topps

#59 Dave Sisler

#65 Von McDaniel (RC)

#73 Pete Daley

#124 Bobby Usher 

#147 Don McMahon (RC)

#208 Cal McLish 

#273 Hal Smith

#274 Rocky Bridges 

#290 Dick Donovan

#336 Bert Hamric 

#380 Charley Maxwell  

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

1957 Topps
#68 Ray Crone

#212 Rocky Colavito (RC)
#249 Dave Pope

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 Topps

#124 Marion Fricano  

1954 Bowman
#73 Don Mueller

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

1953 Topps

#101 Ted Wilks (VAR)

#213 Ray Scarborough

1952 Bowman
#57 Clyde Vollmer

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

 

1935 Church & Dwight Useful Birds of America Eighth Series (J9-4) (non-sport)
#10 California Jay

1933 Church & Dwight Useful Birds of America Fifth Series (J9-1) (non-sport)
#5 Indigo Bunting 

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: 114
Unique trading partners: 52

Number of cards mailed out: 430
Year of oldest card mailed out: 1910-11

Number of cards received: 689
Year of oldest card received: 1890

 

Toppled

 It's hard to be a collector and not be absolutely shocked by the news coming out yesterday. As a collector and card blogger, I couldn't imagine not writing about this, so here's a few random thoughts on this industry shake-up.

- For years we've been saying it. We wished Topps didn't have exclusive rights to MLB cards. That just bit us on the butt a little. We wanted more fully licensed options, not this. This is worse, so much worse.

- This is worse because if Topps is done, we lose the one company that has been with us since the beginning, that has connected us through generations of card collecting. This is the card collecting equivalent of a franchise move. This is the Dodgers and Giants moving to the opposite coast. This is the Expos leaving Montreal and becoming the Nationals.

- That being said, I can't imagine Topps going away. Maybe the company sells to Fanatics, or maybe they strike some sort of deal where Topps still produces the cards. Who knows? 

- There's a 3 year gap between when Topps' MLB license agreement ends and when the MLBPA agreement ends. How that going to work out? Is Fanatic going to pull a Panini for the first few years? Is Topps going to put out cards without players? I don't see MLB going that many years without a legit product, which makes me think Topps and Fanatics will end up in an unholy alliance of some sort.

- Fanatics seems to be putting together quite a monopoly, huh? I wonder how long that'll last. Maybe a certain court case from the late 70's will be revisited.

- My only hope is that Fanatics cares that most collectors aren't rookie or hit chasers/flippers. There has to be something for us that collect for the sheer joy of it. Otherwise, our money won't go to anything new. Most of us are perfectly comfortable spending our money on old cardboard.

- The industry is going to be weird these next few years. All we can do is wait and see what going to happen.

Greatest Red Sox Cards By Year: Bunt/Big League

I had so much fun listing the best Stadium Club Red Sox cards, I decided to do it again with another set. Well, two sets actually. Topps Big League has had some great cards, but it's only been around since 2018. Prior to that, Topps filled the void of "cards geared to kids" with a two year run of Bunt, which is still used as the name of their online app. Even though this year's Big League set hasn't come out yet (I think the release date is set for the 25th), I'm just going to go ahead list the best Red Sox card for each year of Topps Bunt/Big League sets!

 

2016

 

Topps Bunt had a strong opening act with this simple design featuring a huge team logo. Ted Williams in black and white provides a great color contrast.

 

Honorable Mention: David Ortiz

 

2017

 

Bunt got a lot more colorful the next year, and I personally like the use of red on the Boston cards. I gave the nod to Hanley because it's got action and I swear on first glance I thought his dreads were braided like a little school girl's hair...

 

Honorable Mention: Andrew Benintendi

 

2018

 

So long Bunt, hello Big League! This set came out to near overwhelming acclaim, I beleive because Topps had denied us borders for so long that we got excited to see them again. This set had a lot of fun subsets, including these delightful Ballpark Landmarks. The Green Monster gets its due!

 

Honorable Mention: Mookie Betts

 

2019

 

When I did my list of Greatest Red Sox Cards of 2019, Holt took the Bronze. In that post I wrote the following: "The quality of the photos has improved so much that you can see the details in each droplet. The Brock-Star's smile, along with that tensed up pose of someone who has just been exposed to something wet and cold, really brings this card to life!"

 

Honorable Mention: JD Martinez/Hank Aaron

 

2020

 

Of the top of my head, I can't recall many "close play at first" action shots on cards. This photo was taken at a beautiful moment when both players are racing to the bag, and you really can't tell what the call was.

Honorable Mention:  Michael Chavis

Once I get a chance to peruse this year's set, maybe I'll amend this post and add a card. Hopefully, there will be a few gems!

Repack Haiku #218 (Junior Felix)

 First pitch: hit home run

Hit inside the park grand slam

Caught no-no's last out

 

1989 Upper Deck #743 Junior Felix (RC)

 

He hit the first pitch he saw as a Major Leaguer for a home run, and the next month he hit a very unusual grand slam. He also caught the final out of Dave Steib's no hitter.

Greatest Red Sox Cards By Year: Stadium Club

I've been scrounging for blog content lately. I haven't purchased any new cards lately, and all of the trades I've done have been tied to my Time Travel Trading Project. I've been trying to come up with some new ideas, or at least revisit some old ones. I've also thought it might be good to use this down time to lay the foundation for some future posts I plan on publishing later in the year. Specifically, the Top 10 Red Sox Cards list I've done for the past two years. Rather than wait until the last moment (like I did last year), I can start looking at sets that have been released and see what cards might make that final cut.

 

Queue my tangent to a recent blog post that Night Owl did where he feature the glorious Mike Napoli card from Stadium Club's 2014 set. I love that card. I don't own it, I need to rectify that, and it led to me thinking of other glorious Red Sox cards I need to put on my Christmas wish list.

Queue yet another tangent to yet another recent blog post by Night Owl. This time he listed the greatest Dodgers card from each Stadium Club set. Lots of great cards featuring the awesome photos of Stadium Club!

So to recap...scrounging for blog post ideas, looking at Red Sox cards from this year's Stadium Club set, appreciating an earlier Stadium Club card, and reading about a team-specific list involving Stadium Club cards. You can say things started to converge and this post started to emerge. 

 

Yeah, I'm stealing Night Owl's idea here. Without further ado, here's my picks for the greatest Red Sox cards from the release of Stadium Club since it got relaunched!

2014

 

Like I said, this card is glorious. Obviously, you have the majestic beauty of the World Series trophy. In the foreground, you have Napoli and his perfectly sculpted beard, gazing at that trophy with a mixture of awe and pure joy. In the background, nothing but rows upon rows of people with enough camera flashes to make you think you were at a rock concert.

 

Honorable Mentions: Pedro Martinez, Koji Uehara

2015

 

This year doesn't have as much choices in outstanding photography. This unique shot of Hanley up against the Fenway scoreboard is easily the best. My apologies to any Red Sox fans triggered by the reminder of Hanley playing outfield.

Honorable Mentions: Mookie Betts, David Ortiz

2016

 

On the flip side, I had more trouble deciding on this year. I kept going back and forth between Mookie and Yaz, with Mookie winning out in the end.

Honorable Mentions: Nomar Garciaparra, Carl Yastrzemski

2017

 

Forget what I said earlier. This set had the toughest choice, with two cards I adore for completely different reasons. I couldn't decide between the larger than life Ted Williams or Porcello's candidly fun group shot, so it's a tie!

Honorable Mentions: Xander Bogaerts, Dustin Pedroia

2018

 

I was not expecting Hanley Ramirez to be the most represented player in this list, but here he is for the third time (technically second, but let's be honest here - he's the reason the Porcello card is as awesome as it is!) You can't go wrong with a mascot cameo!

Honorable Mentions: Tzu-Wei Lin, Dustin Pedroia

2019

 

If I had to pick the year that had the greatest overall quality of cards for the Red Sox, this would be it. The best card in the set was an easy pick, but I could have listed 9 cards in the honorable mentions. They're that good - fitting for that year's reigning World Series Champions!

Honorable Mentions: Andrew Benintendi, Chris Sale

2020

 

Simple, yet brilliantly captured. It reminds me of those photos you see in the first few pages of Sports Illustrated. I bet this would look amazing autographed.

 

Honorable Mentions: Xander Bogaerts, Ted Williams

2021

 

How much do I like this card? It's my computer desktop background at work. It's fitting that since I borrowed this blog post idea from Night Owl that a night card caps off the list!

Honorable Mentions: Bobby Dalbec, Rafael Devers

Repack Haiku #217 (Fred McGriff)

One of two players

To hit thirty home runs with

Five different teams

 

1991 Score Rookie & Traded
#58T Fred McGriff

 

McGriff hit the 30 home run mark with the Blue Jays, Padres, Braves, Devil Rays, and Cubs. (Gary Sheffield was the other player to accomplish this.)

Another Small Insert Set Completed

Did you miss me? I could have posted this last week while I was on "vacation" but decided to hold off so I had something right off the bat when I came back.

I try to keep pretty accurate records of the cards I have in my Time Travel Trading Project, but it's not easy. Besides the monthly updates, I keep an unpublished page that keeps track of every Time Travel trade I've made. Then, over on the TCDB, I have the cards in a separate collection from my main one (I also maintain a list of every card that has shown up in the stack as well). Every now in then, the records don't match up.

Case in point: I recently received a trade offer through the TCDB. The gentleman requested a card from the Time Travel Trade stack and offered up an older card in return. The only problem was I knew I no longer had that card. I had traded it away months ago! Unfortunately, when I did, I forgot to update my TCDB collection and remove it from the For Trade list. Red-faced, I had to message the poor guy and explain what happened. I was still interested in the card he offered, so I was at least able to offer a counter-proposal and a different card from his want list. 

It's not often I'll actively trade for a Yankee card, but he was the last one I needed to complete the insert set.

 

 

With this card, I have completed not only the base set of 1989 Fleer but also both of the insert sets that were included in packs. No, I'm not including the stickers here. (Nothing against them, just never really focused on collecting them as a kid.) If I really wanted to be a completionist, I guess I could go after the stickers, the box bottom cards, and the World Series insert set that came in factory sets, but for now I'm happy with the two primary insert sets. 

Anybody complete an entire run of product from any one set? (Modern cards are impossible with all the parallels, so I'm guessing most cases we're looking at vintage.)

Repack Haiku #216 (Dan Gladden)

The runner at third

Scored the Series-winning run

To end Game 7

 

1987 Fleer Update #U-36 Dan Gladden

 

I thought it would be fun to make this haiku a companion poem to the one I did of Gene Larkin, the man who drove Gladden home in that epic game winner.

More Random Musings

Two rambling posts in one month...I must be struggling for content....

 

Topps recently released the design for next year's base set. 

 

 

My first thing I thought of was a wrench, so I think I'm going to refer this as "the wrench set". Feel free to use that term and help it catch on. ;)

 

 

 

Other than that, it's not horrible. Borders are always good, readable names are very good, and a baseball on a baseball card is just as the sports card gods intended.  It's not the best design they've done recently, but easily the best in a few years.

 

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If you aren't signed up to the Baseball Hall Of Fame mailing list, you're missing out on some cool stuff. Recently I learned of one the most improbable individual games in history. Who else but Rickey Henderson could score 4 runs and steal 5 bases in a game, all without getting an official at-bat? 

 

 

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As someone who roots for a team named after colorful footwear, I really can't have a strong opinion about what other teams want to call themselves. I'll admit I first thought Guardians was an odd choice for Cleveland's new name, but that was before I read about the landmarks the name is based on. I'm cool with it, but I can't help but think the team almost has to be built on pitching and defense now.

 

 

I also can't help but think Disney/Marvel had a hand in this. Besides the obvious Guardians Of The Galaxy tie-in (Applause to those who have suggested Rocket and Groot as team mascots by the way), that logo reminds me of Thor's helmet. Personally, I will be disappointed if they don't play this clip on the giant scoreboard every time someone makes a leaping grab:

 

 

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Blog Bat-A-Round idea: Rename every team. It's harder than you'd think. I tried and here's what I came up with:

AL EAST

Baltimore Chops

Boston Splinters

New York Babes

Tampa Bay Beaches

Toronto Buffaloes

AL CENTRAL

Chicago Deep Dish

Cleveland Rocks

Detroit Motors

Kansas City Ribs

Minnesota Pucketts

AL WEST

Houston Bangers (couldn't resist!)

Los Angeles Trouts

Oakland Redwoods

Seattle Frappachinos

Texas Texans

NL EAST

Atlanta Hammers

Miami Sound Machine

New York Cabbies

Philadelphia Cheesesteaks

Washington Monuments

 

NL CENTRAL

Chicago Banks

Cincinati Roses

Milwaukee Fonzies

Pittsburgh Yinzers

St Louis Arches

NL WEST

Arizona Cacti

Colorado Oysters

Los Angeles Jackies

San Diego Admirals

San Francisco Trolleys

Yeah, lots of bad puns and nicknames based off of team legends. Give it a go, if nothing else it should be good for some laughs. Honestly, I think if Atlanta ever feels like they have to change the Braves name, Hammers would be an awesome choice.

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Last minute edit! - Kyle Schwarber, welcome to the Red Sox! Not sure where he's going to play, but it's a good start and I hope there will be more deals before today's deadline!

Have a good weekend everyone! Mine will be busy. I have my parents coming in for my daughter's First Communion, and then I've taken next week off from work so I can do a bunch of maintenance projects around the house.

Repack Haiku #215 (Tim Jones)

 Citadel alum

Groomed as Ozzie's replacement 

That never happened

 

 

1989 Donruss The Rookies # 28 Tim Jones

Hall of Famer Smith's reign lasted well after Jones' career ended. It couldn't have been an easy time being a shortstop in the Cardinals system back in the 80's...

Insert Madness Haul

I had an opportunity to participate in a fun group break. Bill from Death Stare Cards had purchased a lot of 1700 insert cards, and was offering up teams for $15 each. I figured most of those inserts would be from before 2016, when I really started to get back into collecting. Therefore it was likely that I wouldn't have most of those cards in my collection already. Turns out I was right - out of the 59 cards I received, only 8 were cards I already had. Not a bad ratio!

 

 

This stack contains cards from 36 different insert sets. Rather than show off every card, I picked my 10 favorite insert sets and list them here.

10. 2012 Topps - Golden Moments

Simple in design and concept, this set seems like it was designed to be autographed. Lots of open space for a signature!

9. 2009 Topps Updates & Highlights - Legends Of The Game

I was ready to have this set listed higher up on the list, but then I looked at the set as a whole - a 25 cards set featuring legends of the game, and multiple people are listed twice. You can't come up with 25 Legends? The final straw was seeing Wade Boggs listed twice, but neither as a Red Sox player! I like the look of the card, but the checklist is weak.

8. 2010 Topps - Peak Performance

I'm not a fan of the generic background, but red ribbons work well. I like the write up on the back more.

7. 2013 Topps Opening Day - Ballpark Fun

I always enjoy cards that show the fun of the game outside of the game itself. 

6. 2003 Fleer Tradition - Milestones

 Career milestones are always cool, and how could I not appreciate another Rickey with the Red Sox?

5. 2008 Topps - Dick Perez Wal-Mart

I'm pretty sure this is what Topps Gallery wishes it was. Who would have thought Dick Perez's Donruss Diamond Kings would have such a lasting impact on the hobby?

4. 2009 Topps - Ring Of Honor

Any set focused on the World Series is going to be Yankee-heavy, but this insert set at least spreads the wealth a little. It could have focused more on more than just 18 franchises, but with 15 Red Sox cards in the set, I can't complain.

3. 2006 Topps - Trading Places

This is a fun and interesting way to show players who have switched teams.

2. 2014 Topps Opening Day - Fired Up

You want your team to have guys who are passionate about the game and not afraid to display emotion on the field. This insert set thankfully doesn't overdo it on the fire graphics (although I completely missed the words in the flames upon first viewing).

1. 1991 Fleer - Pro-Visions

I've always loved these Fleer inserts, and this Greenwell card in particular is one of my all-time favorites. I have a few copies of it, and yet I don't mind at all getting one more. They are fun and artistic - basically Topps70 without the variety of artists. Nothing makes opposing left fielders run quite like the Green Monster!

Thanks for the cards, Bill!

Not To Brag, But I Also Won The Home Run Derby

The Polar Bear ain't got nothing on me!

Sure, it was an impressive display of power as Pete Alonso went on to win this year's Home Run Derby. I guess I have to tip my hat in appreciation of his back-to-back wins. I'm not saying he didn't do great things, because he did.

But could Alonso have predicted that he would win? (Probably, those athletes are a rather confident lot.)

OK, but could he have guessed the exact number of home runs he would hit during the event? (Yeah, neither could I. But I came close!)

So close in fact that I was named the winner of a small little game played over at the TCDB. One of the members, Chris (aka Speks) gave away some cards to whoever came closest to predicting the winner and number of home runs hit. I was one of a few to correctly state Alonso would win, and my guess of 65 taters was just 9 off of his actual total of 74. 

My prize was a set of cards depicting each of this year's Derby participants:

 

 

Favorite Card: Ironically, most of these cards show the player post-swing tracking a ball! It's a tough call, but I'll go with Ohtani and Stadium Club's photographic excellence.

Thanks for the cards and the fun contest Chris!

Repack Haiku #214 (Bill Madlock)

Only guy to win

Multiple batting titles

With more than one team

 

1987 Topps Traded #71T Bill Madlock

 

He led the league in batting average twice with the Cubs and another two times with the Pirates.