Trade with Plaschke Thy Sweater is Argyle

So Greg over at Plaschke Thy Sweater is Argyle hit me up in the comments field for the Trade Bait Utley patch from the 2011 Topps. While these retro logo patch cards are cool, I just have never been into collecting them. So instead of sitting in a box, I decided to throw it out as my first Trade Bait.

Taking a ride across country were some Ginter minis and a well-loved Reggie Smith.

First up, Reggie, pictured here as a Red Sox on his second year, 1968 Topps card. Greg, you were right, it's got a lot of character, but I like it. Wouldn't you like to be able to trace this card's path over the years. Think of how different life has changed in only 43 years. In 1973, Smith was limited to only 115 games, but still hit .303 with 21 home runs and 69 RBI and ended a streak of four straight years in which he had received votes in the MVP balloting.

Smith became expendable after the '73 season, as Boston had a slew of rookie outfielders coming up and needed starting pitching. Dwight Evans, Rick Miller, Fred Lynn, and Jim Rice had already reached the majors or were just on the cusp. Rise Wise and '75 World Series (game 6) hero Bernie Carbo came to Boston for Smith. It would mark the second time in 3 years that Wise had been traded.

For his 17-year career, Smith’s numbers were very impressive. He finished with a .287 batting average, 314 home runs, 1,092 RBI and 1,123 runs scored. Since retirement, Smith has served as a hitting coach. He was the hitting coach for Team USA at the 1988 Olympics and the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009.

Next in the package were a handful of Allen & Ginter minis and mini inserts. It's nice to be able to add some National Animals as I only had a few in hand. With all the minis I have landed lately, I need more tobacco sized sheets in a big way. I currently have been using these 20 pocket sheets (not UltraPro) but don't like how the don't quite cover the whole card, but they'll do for now. I also realize that with my budget, collecting the entire run of mini sets is really not feasible right now, but want more minis than what the "Frankenstein set" would limit me to at a 350 card set.

Thanks for dropping me a line Greg, I'm sure we'll trade again. With my first Trade Bait being a success, I will definitely throw another up this week. Stay tuned.