So finally got a chance to hit up the LSC for the first time since I landed that partial 1968 Topps set and boy did it pay off. The above image shows the hual; 134 cards off the want list including; thirty-eight high numbers, thirteen Red Sox, 3 checklists, and numerous Yanks and Mets cards. Most cards fall in the VG-EX to EX range but did manage to obtain a number of cards that look like they just came out of the packs.
First batch of Red Sox landed me Elston Howard's final bubble gum card appearance. After playing his entire career with the Bronx Bombers, he was traded to Boston in August of 1967 and helped Boston capture the American League pennant. The middle row of Sox are all high numbers while the Lou Brock, game #1 card finishes off my World Series subset.
Second lot of Red Sox included skipper, Dick Williams. Having finish next to last (New York was only a half game worse) in 1966, no one predicted that Boston would find itself in the 1967 World Series. Williams guided the Sox through a heart-punding, four-team pennant chase with an aggressive style that make the Sox the toasts of New England.
Favorite card is this batch has to be the Manny Sanguillen rookie card. Manny always seemed to have some cool photos on his cards. His 1969–1971 and 1974 Topps cards stand out for me for some reason.
Good to see Walt Williams never had a neck to begin with. Is it me or does his head look grossly out of place on that body. The Wills is pretty beat up, but at this stage I'll take a filler card to erase a blank hole. Note sure when the A's team photo was taken, but it's the only A's card in the 1968 series that depicts the players without airbrushed hats. This card also falls within the high number series and notes the move to Oakland on the reverse side.
Always good to find some unmarked checklist cards, including the Boyer who falls in the last series.
After flipping through my pile of '68s, had to scan these guys as you can't beat some of these names. Dooley, Adolfo, Turk and who doesn't love a Bubba. Not sure I'd be wanting the name John Edwards right now for a variety of reasons and poor Dave Ricketts. Topps was not kind to him on several of his photo selections over his cardboard career.
Next time, I'll showcase some 1975 Topps I grabbed that leaves me with just 8 cards left to finish my set. Until then, please take a moment and look my 1968 Topps set and 1975 Topps set wantlists, as I am jonesin to make some trades.
Thought I'd throw another round of trade bait up here. Hopefully I will get some more offers from other traders who may have taken a long weekend off from their computers. Please be sure to take a look at the last two posts.
First up is a 1970 Topps Scratch Off game card of Red Sox great and Baseball Hall of Famer, Carl "Yaz" Yastrzemski. This booklet card is in great shape, with all the black scratch boxes still unscratched inside. Also, the line score on the reverse is clean and unmarked as well.
And lastly for today, what inserts I garnered from three packs of 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen. I think if this set had white borders, I may have tried collecting it but the grey/pewter just didn't excite me for whatever reason. The Fister mini card is a "Straight Cut" back.
Also, if you are still trying to collect the 2011 GQ mini set, I have a bunch that I can trade away—just shoot me a wantlist.
Again, looking for trades that will help me towards completing my 1968 Topps set and my 1975 Topps set so please drop me a line and hopefully we can find a trade that helps out both of us!
So back a couple of months when I picked up the dual-patch relic of Curt Schilling via trade (see Dec. 12th post), I had an itching to find some other Sox patch relics. Two of those that I picked up, formed one of best batteries to even don a Red Sox uniform.
First up is a 2002 Donruss Leaf Certified "Fabric of the Game" Carlton Fisk #12/20.
I had never seen this card prior but what I like best—and what companies should do with their relic cards—is show where the swatch/patch/jersey came from. If you look on the backside of the card at bottom it reads "This is a photo of the actual jersey from which the swatch was taken."
I love knowing that and that unlike a generic white swatch that could have come from a White Sox uni, that this came from a Red Sox road jersey from either 1979 or 1980. Growing up as a kid, I was never fond of the blah gray road jersey with "BOSTON" in block letters. It just didn't seem as cool as other teams from the 1980s. But I also liked about this card is that the swatch also shows a little bit of patch and stitching.
Forming the other side of this Red Sox Hall of Fame tandem, El Tiante.
A 2004 DonrussThrowback Threads Century Collection #10/25.
From all accounts, this jersey patch is a number from the back of a Red Sox uniform from the mid-1970's. We was as dominant as any pitcher during that decade and many have tried making his case for induction into the Hall of Fame. I was too young to remember him pitching for the Sox, but many compare his charisma and love for the game as to that of Pedro Martinez'.
Tiant was masterful in the 1975 World Series, beating the Cincinnati Reds in a 6–0 five-hit shutout in Game 1. He won Game 4 as well (throwing 163 pitches in his second complete
game in the series) and had a no-decision in Game 6, which has been
called the greatest game ever played.
I know there's a number of other Boston collectors out there, but if you have any Red Sox relics, please email me and I'll do my best to find something to trade for it.
Colbey at Cardboard Collections was willing to let go of a child to acquire said card. Pretty good trade I guess, but have two kids of my own and cannot fathom having a third. Love my kids to death, but TWO IS PLENTY!!!
So, knowing his wife would veto a kid for a patch card, he asked if it was for sale, threw out a number and thru PayPal, the trade was complete. I in turn replaced the Tim Hudson with this:
A 2007 Upper Deck Rare Elements Dual relic with two patch pieces (3-colors in each window) numbered 27/35. Not too bad, a nice dual relic patch similar to the Edmonds that was also offered up for trade bait. I didn't have a Schilling relic and he will live forever in my mind for his gutsy performance in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS at Yankee Stadium.
So thank you Colbey, it was an easy trade and clearly a win-win for both of us!
Made another run to the Target at lunch and still no Ginter. Made a call to a LSC near work I haven't been to in quite a while (they sell mostly packs, boxes, team clothing) and they won't have Ginter till tomorrow afternoon. Looks like from reading the forums on Blowout Cards, that any retail Ginter was released in the Midwest (Illinois, Missouri) or Mid-Atlantic (NJ, Delaware) states before the rest of the country.
So in the meantime, might as well catch up on another round of cheap vintage I picked up a couple of weeks ago at my LSC. Same story, on this batch—cheap as in would you rather have these cards or a 3-pack blister of 2011 Heritage.
First on the docket, some vintage BoSox including "The Monster," Dick Radatz. This guy was absolutely dominating over the coarse of 3-4 years but sadly his career puttered out after over use. His last team was Montreal in 1969. Radatz cards always seem to be in demand in these parts of New England, he was a very personable guy and prior to his passing years ago, was a pretty good sports talk show co-host for WEEI. Love the Schilling card, such a great pose that is missing in today's cards and gotta loved the striped socks!!! Luis' last card was this 1974 Topps example. He had a couple of good years for the Sox in the early seventies and while most people remember Carlton Fisk's waived-homer, it was Bernie's bomb that tied the game up so that Fisk could reaped the praise.
Next to bat, a couple of 1964 Topps. Nellie's second to last card as he appears in the '65 set with an airbrush hat since the Colt 45's became the Astros. His 1965 Topps also carried the designation of "2B-Coach." Nice shot of Bill Freehan with the hulking old Yankee Stadium in the background. Nice clean photo. And while most people know that AL Downing gave up Hank Aaron's 715th home run, he was a pretty decent pitcher during the 1960's.
And speaking of Yankees, Elston Howard's last card in pinstripes. On August 3, 1967, he was traded by New York to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later and Pete Magrini. The Sox sent Ron Klimkowski (August 8, 1967) to the Yanks to complete the trade. That '68 Jenkins is a beautiful card. Corners are sharp as is the color but there is a tiny little wrinkle along the right edge of the card, just above the orange circle. This one only cost one buck!
And to close out this round of cheap vintage, we have three Hall of Famers: Kaline, Killebrew, and Wilhelm. Kaline's career was nearing a close as was Hoyt's while Killebrew went on to have his last big year in '71. He would league the AL in RBI and walks. And doesn't the "Toy Cannon" looked thrilled to have his mug taken in the 1974 Topps Traded.
All of these cards, now reside in my ongoing, All-Decades Team project, which I hope to start writing about later this month.
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HELP ME!!!! With the 2011 Ginter now LIVE, I will be attempting to collect the mini set and any mini inserts from this new edition. I do have a hobby box with me name on it for Wednesday, so that will get me a little bit of a head start. As for the base cards, SPs, hits, and any other cards in that come out of that box, they will be available for trade. If you can help, please, please drop me a line. For those of you still looking for 2011 Topps sparklies, I have a few from series 2, maybe I can grab a couple of minis for these???
Anyhow, drop me a line if you're not into the minis, and I'm sure I can find something to trade you.
Turns out that AJ from The Lost Collector, aside from being a Yankees fan, is a really cool trader. This trade started back a couple of months but between work and life, the trade took longer to wrap up. He saw one of my Ginter posts and had some minis and a jersey relic to offer up.
Going to the Big Apple was a bunch a Yanks cards from 80's oddballs to present day items. The key card in the batch was an 2007 UD Elements Posada dual jersey relic that had pinstripes in each jersey cut.
Coming back was this batch of Allen & Ginters ...
Now clearly the Posada dual jersey trumps the Marcus Giles relic, but I did not have a relic from the 2007 A&G edition so I didn't mind. Also in this batch of minis is a '11 Gypsy Queen hobby box variation of Johnny Mize. AJ pointed out that even though Mize is pictured in pinstripes, the back of the card carries the St. Louis Cardinals logo. Eventually need to put a GQ list together but it's kind of on the back burner for the moment.
Next up, some Red Sox favorites that I'm sure AJ was eager to part ways with ...
And to round out the trade, some vintage Red Sox and Yankees for my All-Decade teams project.
Love the '78 ALCS card with Frank White trying to evade a sliding Mickey Rivers.
Thanks again for the trade AJ and look forward to trading with you again!
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HELP ME!!!! With the 2011 Ginter release just days away, I will be attempting to collect the mini set and any mini inserts from this new edition. I do have a hobby box with me name on it for Wednesday, so that will get me a little bit of a head start. As for the base cards, SPs, hits, and any other cards in that come out of that box, they will be available for trade. If you can help, please, please drop me a line. For those of you still looking for 2011 Topps sparklies, I have a few from series 2, maybe I can grab a couple of minis for these???
Anyhow, drop me a line if you're not into the minis, and I'm sure I can find something to trade you.
for a new post that is. Man, I have been swamped at work lately, add freelancing, coaching baseball, and an hour plus commute, and by the time I sit down, I'm able to catch a couple of innings of the Sox or MLB Network and I'm cooked.
So, I made it a point to do two things today, finally get some posts up, schedule some others, and go to the LCS. LCS was a success as I managed to add 100 Allen & Ginter minis from 2006–2010 for 10 bucks and also picked up two cool vintage cards for almost nothing. Will try to get scans of this stuff up before the weekend is out.
So, first up, I gotta recap some trades I have been able to make over the last two months.
First up, a great trade with Crinkly Wrappers, a trade that stemmed from this post. CW needed the 1975 Topps Munson and had a 1975 Topps Palmer that I needed for my 1975 Topps Wantlist. The trade turned into a bigger affair and the end result was two happy bloggers.
First up, the '75 Palmer that I needed for my set.
From this Palmer, Ted hit a number of spots on my needs list. He was able to knock three cards off my 2010 Heritage set as well as knocking Chris Woodward off my All-Time Red Sox Roster collection.
Next up, a bunch of 2009 Topps Heritage, including a couple of short prints. One of these days I finish this set ... always amazed at how few of those coaches cards ever cross my path.
Next up, some Allen & Ginter minis ...
And how about that 2010 Celestial Sign of Vladi!!!! This is the second one I have obtained via trade and in both cases (the other a Longoria), I had no idea it was coming. Truly a a great surprise!!!!
Next up, some T206 minis for my "Frankenstein" T206 set as well as a couple of 2009 Goodwin minis. I still need to post my needs list for the Goodwins set, I don't think I'm too far off.
And finally, some good 'ol Red Sox cards ...
Thanks again Ted, hope to trade again!!
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On a side note before I forget, and forgive me if someone else posted as such, but I purchased a 2011 Topps Series 2 blaster box from Target and I swear that color and the photography is off compared to my Series 1 cards. As a designer, I can't get past how the blacks are not as strong and the grass doesn't seem as green. For example (and a scan would have been appropriate here) but I compared an Oakland A's card from each series and the green is off in the name arc and the same green uniform is TWO different shades. There's almost a dullness to the fronts. Anyone else come across the same issue?
Oh, and no real big hits, I think my two best cards were a Kimball Champion mini of Koufax and Musial, no complaints there.
Got two trades to recap here tonight that are overdue so I'll get right into them.
First up is a trade with Justin from Justin's World who called dibs on a Trade Bait post of 2011 Topps insert cards. He wanted the gold Hoffman and the Heyward Red Diamond card. In addition to those, I tossed him some Cubbies cards from here and there ranging from the mid 70's to some oddball 80's to I believe a couple of recent Cubs cards.
In exchange all I wanted was a 2011 Kimball Champion mini Clay Buchholz. Justin was generous enough though to load a package of some Sox cards from the 80/90's. But it was these Sox Fav's that
needed to be shown.
Justin had crossed off a card from my Red Sox All-Time Roster list with the 2005 Tony Graffanino, a card that I didn't know existed. I had seen his Heritage card of him as a Red Sox, but not this one. In any case, another card off the list. Also was another card for my Youkilis collection, a 2010 Bowman Platinum and a couple of other Sox I can find a place for in my collection.
Thanks again Justin, I appreciate the cards and maybe I can send you a whole lot more Cubs in the future!
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Second of the trade recaps is from Nachos Grande's Trade Stacks. The one card of the three I wanted was the 2010 Topps National Chicle Jon Lester. What I had going his was was a couple of 2011 Topps "60" cards and threw in some Reds I thought Nacho would like as well.
In addition to the Lester was a Nomah I could use for my player collection and some other Sox cards as well. Thanks again and I really like that Trade Stack concept. Looks like you have done well with that — I know I check back to see if there's anything I can use/like.
So one of my readers, Dan from The Other World is a transplanted Phillies fan on the left coast, and had missed out on a 2011 Topps Utley manufactured patch card that I offered up as Trade Bait. We chatted, looked at each others lists and put together a pretty good trade for one another. The key card going back his was a nice, 1971 Topps "Reynolds" Rookie Prospect card from the high series. One of the "Reynolds' on there was a Phillie and the last card he needed for a 1971 Phillies team set. In addition a bunch of Phillies cards from all years went west as well.
Coming east where ...
Nine Allen & Ginter minis!!!! I finally picked up on eBay a couple of boxes of the UltraPro 15-pocket sheets to house all these Ginter minis. I had been using another company (20 pockets) but didn't like how the minis stuck out of the pockets. So, hopefully I will have time to start putting these all into sheets today.
Next up ....
Some retro vintage Red Sox. Love the Kimball Ortiz as I need it for my Kimball Champions set.
How how some, somewhat vintage Sox ...
A couple of 1978 Topps and 1980 Topps Sox. Poor Fisk goes from an awesome action shot ('77) to a ho-hum standing around pose ('78). That 1980 Topps Fred Lynn has always been one of my favorites, I think it's because it's a "action/pose" shot you rarely see on a card.
And finally ...
Some Sox favorites' cards. I keep acquiring Pedroia cards in trades that I think I may have to add him to my list of Sox to collection. He's certainly a fan fav around here because he leaves it all out on the field. He's not the biggest guy, doesn't have the flair or grace of a Jeter, certainly is not the speedster of say HanRam but boy, he's a smart, hard working, and one hell of a ballplayer!
Thanks again Dan for the trade, hope to do it again down the road.
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So, finally caught my breath to finally get a post up. Got a number of scans ready to go and hope to schedule a bunch of posts for this weekend and next week. Work still has the buffer on any Blogger sites so I can even edit my want lists and make postings. Also went on a little bit of an eBay buying binge and picked up a bunch of nice stuff. Just need to scan and edit lists so stay tuned.
Take a crazy work week and thrown in two big freelance projects and I pretty much have worked no-stop since Friday with absolutely no time to post anything. I was lucky enough to happen to see all the 2011 Ginter posts that have gone up the last 24 hours. Very happy that Topps is bringing that back again. One card preview peaked my interest and will showcase that tomorrow. Okay, time to share two trades ...
First trade comes via Charlie over the Lifetime Topps Project. I happened to be reading one of his posts when I noticed he had a 2011 Topps sparkly card of Sox fav, Jon Lester. As a Lester collector, I offered up three 2011 Topps sparklies for the one. Charlie was also nice enough to include some other goodies too.
Here we have the best lefty in the junior circuit and a 2011 Topps Kimball Champions mini Clay Buchholz. As a retro mini collector, I think these cards are pretty sweet; too bad these weren't the '11 Ginter design. Where I am collecting this set, I'll need another mini of Clay for my player collector too. Also in the package was four 2011 Topps Red Sox I still needed for my '11 Topps set.
Lars and Scutaro actually ended up in my Red Sox All-Time Roster collection since they show their 2010 Sox stats while VMart and Paps went towards the Topps base set. Come the end of the 2011 (VMart has already left for Detroit), these guys will all be gone from the Sox organization. Paps is clearly headed for free agency, one time top prospect Lars Anderson is blocked by Theo's man-crush, Adrian Gonzelez, and Marco (Polo) Scutaro is a bridge to prospect Jose Iglesias.
Thanks again Charlie for the trade and be sure to check out his blog. It's a nice ride back in time when many of us were getting our feet wet in the baseball collecting universe.
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Next trade recap is from my buddy Chris over at The Call of Cardboard. Chris sent along another package of 2009 UD Goodwin Champion minis. I still need to put a want list together, just need to find five minutes to do so.
First three mini are of the retired legend variety. A young looking Whitey Ford, Bucky "Bleepin" Dent and World Series hero, Joe Carter. I always like Joe Carter when I was younger. Never got in trouble, seemed to always be having fun playing the game and a heck of a ballplayer to boot. I cannot tell you how many times growing up as a kid that we would hear rumors of Joe Carter coming to the Sox or the Sox trading for Carter. Seemed to happen almost every year. He would have been a nice fit at Fenway for sure.
Next up, some current day players, including another guy I wished had donned a different color of Sox, Jim Thome. He has had one heck of a career and I think evades of the "juice" and "roids" talk. From afar, Thome has always been a class act and a pretty consistent player. I was glad to see him go back to Minnesota for another year. Also in this lot, a possible (yet he's hurt again already) fantasy bounce back player in Brian Roberts and the lone face of the Rays, Evan Longoria.
And finally some Goodwin non-sport (real sport) minis. I never got into the whole MMA craze so I couldn't tell you who the two on the right are. I have heard of Evelyn Ng thanks to ESPN's poker coverage, surfer and artist (done a couple of his art puzzles), Laird Hamilton and the biker, uhm no clue but cool card (according to my six-year old). So 11 more minis closer to a set. Thanks again Chris, will have your cards in the mail this week and I'm sure we'll be wheeling and dealing soon!
As an avid baseball historian, there isn't many facts or tidbits that I come across that I find myself saying: "Wow, I didn't know that."
So imagine coming across one such record/factoid that a Boston Red Sox player actually owned the other day when the Boston Globe ran a pictorial about Ray Allen (NBA 3-point record) and other Boston athletes owning places in sports record books.
Cox was heralded as a skilled hitter with a major league swing. He spent five years in the Boston minor league system, stepping up a class every year, that was hastened by a phenomenal season in 1977 with Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox. In 95 games, he hit .334 with 14 home runs and 81 RBI, which was highligted by an All-Star selection, and helping Pawtucket to clinch the regular season championship. After the season he won both the Topps Minor League Player of the Year and the International League MVP awards, and was promoted to the big team.
Cox debuted with the Red Sox on September 18, on Brooks Robinson Night at Baltimore. Robinson had just retired, finishing a 23-year career with the Orioles, one of the longest major-league careers with one club. Spoiling Robinson's celebration, Cox went 4-for-4 in his first major league game, a 10–4 victory over Baltimore. After the game, reporters told Cox he had tied the American League record for most hits in a first game. Casey Stengel, Willie McCovey and Mack Jones also share the mark. Boston returned to Fenway Park to face the New York Yankees the next day. In his first at-bat against the Yankees, Cox hit a single to tie a record held by Cecil Travis with the Washington Senators. Travis set the record of five consecutive hits at the start of a major league career in 1933. Then, in his second at-bat Cox singled off Ed Figueroa. This assured him a place in major league history for his unique 6-for-6 hitting streak.
Cox ended 1977 with a .362 average (21-for-58), and drew considerable attention to himself. Before the 1978 season he was sent by Boston along with Bo Díaz, Mike Paxton, and Rick Wise to the Cleveland Indians in the same transaction that brought Dennis Eckersley and Fred Kendall to the Red Sox. After two years in Cleveland as a backup outfielder and playing all four infield positions, Cox joined the Seattle Mariners in 1980 and the Toronto Blue Jays in 1981, his last major league season.
In a five-season career, Cox was a .245 hitter with 10 home runs and 79 RBI in 272 games.
Currently, Cox works with the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association in raising money for worthy causes and charities.
Cox made his Topps debut with three others at #706 in the 1978 set. The feat made the back of his 1979 Topps card. His last card was in 1981's Donruss and Fleer sets.
A little while back, Johnny over at Cards from the Quarry emailed me about trading. Like myself, he had just got his blog up and running. He has been quite busy as he's had a number of trades on his site lately. Going his way was around 400 cards from various set needs along with a number of Rockies cards.
Coming back to the WALL was a first for my collection. A jersey relic/autograph card and numbered 25 of 50! This is my third jersey swatch card I have of Lester and first autograph. Lester's story is amazing one if you have never heard before. Coming into the 2011 season, many are predicting it could be a Cy Young type of year for the lefty. His last three years have been rock solid and is truly the ace of a pretty strong rotation that includes, Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, John Lackey, and if you must, Dice-K.
I think the following line sums it up best:
He beat cancer.
He beat the Rox for the World Series.
He threw a no-hitter.
What's next... Hall of Fame?
Next up are three Red Sox cards I have never seen before and still not sure what set they come from. They are pretty cool and the only other card I have found on eBay is a Johnny Damon. They are some sort of 2006 Upper Deck product. In any case, these are cool and wonder is there is a Lester or Youkilis out there that I can add to my player collections.
Next up, the card that first started off our initial trade talks was a 2009 Topps Update Short Print variation card of Bo Jackson. While I may never obtain all these SP variations, I am always on the look out for them. Others I have are a Lou Gehrig (series 1), Robin Yount (series 2), and a Honus Wagner (Update series). If you have any, I've got a 2010 Topps Rickey Henderson SP variation to trade.
Next up, a couple of cards off from No-Hitters Club collection. A 1989 Topps Tom Browning and a 1992 Mark Williamson. On September 16, 1988, Browning, pitched a perfect game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The game was delayed two-and-a-half hours, but when it finally started, Tom Browning was at his best, throwing 102 pitches, 72 of which were strikes. The small crowd that patiently waited nearly three hours for a 10 p.m. start were treated to a magnificent pitchers' duel that featured Tim Belcher taking a no-hitter into the the sixth inning and Tom Browning completing the first ever Cincinnati Reds perfect game. The following season, Browning barely missed becoming the first Major League pitcher to pitch two perfect games, taking his second bid into the ninth inning on July 4, 1989 against the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium. A lead-off single by Dickie Thon ended Browning's attempt.
On July 13, 1988, Mark Williamson was part of a combined no-hitter. Baltimore Orioles starter Bob Milacki and three relievers, Mike Flanagan, Williamson and Gregg Olson, combined for the O's first no-hitter since 1969 in a 2-0 victory at the Oakland Coliseum. Milacki pitched 6 innings and struck out three batters before giving ball to the bullpen. He was taken out of the game when he was hit by a line drive in the seventh inning. Flanagan came on to finish the seventh and them Williamson and Olson three 1-2-3 innings in the 8th and 9th innings to preserve the no-no.
And finally, we have three cards off of my other baseball feats collection, Players Have Hit for the Cycle. We've got a 1988 Topps Chris Speier, a 1989 Topps Gary Redus, and a 2010 Topps Chrome Troy Tulowitzki. On July 9, 1988 Chris Speier hit for the cycle as the Giants mauled the Cardinals, 21-2 at Candlestick Park. It marked the second time Speier had accomplished the feat and was almost 10 years to the day of his previous cycle for the Expos on July 20, 1978.
On August 25, 1989, Gary Redus' cycle came against the Reds, who were playing their first game since Pete Rose was banned from baseball for life. The Pirates racked up 17 hits and downed Cincinnati 12-3 at Riverfront Stadium.
On August 10, 2009, Tulo had five hits and drove in seven while hitting his cycle against the Cubs in a 11-5 win at Coors Field. Tulowitzki, who had a home run denied in the first video review at Coors Field, came to bat to lead off the seventh a triple shy of the franchise's fifth cycle and first in nine years.
Thanks again Johnny for the trade, I'm sure we'll trade again down the road and for those of you who haven't checked out his blog out yet, go take a look!
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.
So Joe, a fellow Red Sox Nation member at Bound for Beantown dropped me a line not too long ago about doing a trade. Joe has recently got back into collecting and was eager to help me out on a number of fronts.
First up, three cards off my All-Time Red Sox Roster collection. Nick Green (kinda looks like Bradley Cooper), Paul Byrd, and Lars Anderson. Poor Lars finally got back on track last year only to now be block by Adrian Gonzalez. I don't see Lars reaching Boston again and think he'll be elsewhere come Spring Training's end.
Next up, some YYYYOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUKKKKKKKKKKK!!!! Love this sweaty guy. Kevin has really turned himself into one of the game's top players. He was never your typical top prospect, toolsy guy. He came from University of Cincinnatti—not exactly a baseball powehouse—he's slow, and does not look the part of an athlete, but sure knows how to play the game. His swing was built for Fenway and have turned himself into a great fielder no matter which side of the corners he plays from. The "Greek God of Walks" looks good here in this batch of cards, including his 2003 Bowman rookie that I did not have.
In this batch, we have another rising Sox star in Clay Buchholz. A guy that other teams have coveted in trade talks over the years. Now along with Jon Lester, has given the Sox an excellent home-built, 1 and 1A top of the rotation for years to come. I didn't have too many of his cards, so this was a nice add, especially his All-Star jersey swatch.
Next up, some more BoSox including a Lester I didn't have in the '10 Upper Deck.
Joe also sent along a bunch of retro minis too!!! First in the lot was three, numbered to 99, T206 Cycle cards.
More Topps T206s from 2009 and 2010. As we now know, T206 is dead and will not return this year.
Next up, some Allen & Ginter minis. I have received a number of these lately and need to update my Frankenstein set wants. When I was at my local shop on Friday, he told me that he has not received any info regarding an 2011 Ginter offering. I wonder if Topps will push this later this year. Above are batches from the 2008, 2009, and 2010 sets.
And finally, we close with more retro minis from 2009 UD's Goodwin Champions. Will be building this set—love the artwork too much to not build it. A nice mix of SPs and black borders.
So thanks Joe!!! I need to put the final touches on your package and get that out to you this week. You definitely hit on all my likes with this trade.
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Coming up this week, I'll have my trade bait Utley patch recap coming on Monday, plus I'll show what I picked up at the local card store, will do another trade bait post, plus will show a card or two I designed for "Cards that Should Have Been." I won't be doing any TTM requests this Spring Training, but for those that do, good luck and this is the week to get those requests in the mail. The earlier the better as most teams don't really get their workout going till later this week.
