Five Golden Rings!

Okay, the post title is a bit of a stretch. For he fifth day of trade posts, I saved the goods from at least 4 separate packages that I received over the past few months from P-Town Tom. I honestly lost track of how many packages this awesome cardboard came out of, but the points are that I am far behind and Tom is an extremely generous trader. I tried to go big when I finally crafted a return package for him because I felt more than a bit guilty at having waited so long. I sent some decent Cubbies his way and was beginning to feel a little less in debt and sure enough a short while after he received what I sent, he hit me with another awesome package. Anyway, enough talk, let's dive right in.

There was an embarrassment of former and hopefully future Durham Bulls. With any luck at all, that Adames will be in IP auto card sometime after the season begins.

This mini is another reminder of how fun it was to watch Wil Myers play in Durham. One day, I'll write a post describing the environment at the DBAP while he was there. They had entire marketing plans centered around him, it was quite something.

There he is, my favorite former Bull and one of my favorite players in MLB today. When this arrived, I had only recently picked up this base RC so I was thrilled to see this silver parallel /149 in he trade package.

Early Josh Hamilton always makes me think of what could have been. Since he went to HS in Raleigh, most people in and around the Triangle knew about him and was anxiously awaiting his arrival in Durham. Well, as everyone now knows, it didn't quite end up that way. I am really glad that he was able to make a fairly solid career for himself despite the personal demons he has had to overcome. No matter what anyone thinks of him, I will always have a soft spot(and a spot in my collection) in my heart for Jose Canseco. He was the first player that I really loved to watch and cheer for. What's all the more awesome about this scan is the new DJ. I don't think I had ever even seen this one before I pulled it out of the envelope.

Another new Jeter and some awesome Yankees vintage highlighted the second package(I think). That Larsen/Stengel is incredible!

This package arrived shortly after National Baseball Card Day. These 6 set needs helped me get pretty close to completing the set. One of these days, I'll add this set to my set needs page.

I love everything about these Yankees. Until more recent days, I didn't have many of the E-XL cards. For those that have never seen them in person, they are like the father of the modern day GQ framed parallels. Each one has a matte finish frame with that large silver embossed stamp surrounding the shot of the player. The David Cone is another new-to-me card that commemorates his perfect game.

I dig the '80's oddballs. Get a load of that young Donnie Baseball!

Another vintage Yankee! That is great, however, even with the vintage and the Captain my favorite card of the scan is a toss up between the SF Seals Joe D. and the oddball Gehrig that talks about ALS. There is a shortage of cardboard depicting Joltin' Joe in his minor league days and I had never seen that Gehrig before. Great stuff!

Have I mentioned that I have a soft spot for Jose? I also have a soft spot for late career Wade Boggs. Oh, and hello Mr. Durham Bulls skipper!

It is always nice to add some new ink to the cardboard collection. I truthfully had no idea who Hall was. I had to look him up. Turns out he was a 2009 Yankees draft pick. He spent time with the Oakland A's Class A advanced affiliate this past season. He's still fairly young and he's a southpaw, so he may crack a major league roster yet.

The final card to highlight from these multiple packages is a really cool insert of the Captain. These employ some interesting printing technology. The 'card' seems to be some kind of pearlescent stock with the image and writing printed on a shimmery sheet. I know this because I aphid to do some delicate surgery to remove the card from the penny sleeve it was shipped in. Fortunately, I was smart enough to not just rip the card out when it stuck slightly. I dissected the penny sleeve and peeled it off carefully and the Jeter insert from 2001 is no worse for wear.

I am in awe of the generosity shown by the man from P-Town over the course of these packages. I suppose after the New Year, it'll be back to the drawing board for me trying to craft a worthy return trade package. Thanks for reading.