Don't Call it a Comeback...

...I haven't been here in a year! So just let me (re)introduce myself! 

Sorry for shamelessly borrowing from two of my favorite, old school hip hop songs(and very loosely from my pal Matt) but those lines seemed quite appropriate for this occasion. It has been exactly one year since my last post on this blog. I never intended to take break or go on a hiatus of any length. I don't have a crazy 'life happens' story about why I haven't had time to write and I wasn't even burnt out or having writer's block. In fact, I have missed writing about the hobby I love. I've thought about coming back too many times to count. So, what has kept me away? Well, the truth is, my laptop died and once Google made the significant changes to many of their offerings last year, I couldn't find a reasonable way to mange the blog using only my iPad. Apps that I had previously used no longer allowed me to post pics. The alternate option of trying to use the Blogger website from the tablet was not feasible(unless I was writing a really short post) because I couldn't scroll down to see anything beyond the text/pics that filled the top of the editing screen. Anyway, I think I finally have a solution in place that will allow me to get back to a semi-regular posting schedule. I don't know about any one that may be out there, but I'm excited to get back to it!

In my absence from the blogosphere, I've still been very active in the hobby. There have been many completed trades, trips to multiple shows, and more purchases than I can count. I've found a few ways to supplement my normal hobby budget which has allowed me to end up owning some cards that I never thought would find a home in my collection(future post planned to share some of these tips). Finally, I have slowly and organically built a decent Twitter(@CardpocalypseNC) following which has allowed me to share some hobby moments in short form. So much has changed in my hobby world over the past year. Therefore, I guess it's best to take a brief look at my collecting habits(new and old) and then talk briefly about how some parts of my collection have evolved over the last year.

To start, I am still a huge Yankee fan. I'm still picking up almost any Yankees I can for the PC, but I have really turned up the focus on acquiring Bernie Williams cards that I don't have. A few months back, I took the plunge and signed up for a Trading Card Database account(CardpocalypseNC for anyone interested). I have really enjoyed using the site to catalog some of my player collections and to keep up with checklists/needs on some of the insert sets I'm trying to complete. After entering all of my unique Bernie cards into my database collection, I stand at 374 which is my top total for any player thus far and places me in 8th place among other Bernie collections on the site. I'd like to add to that number and work my way up that list. In the interest of keeping this post on the shorter side, I'll only share a single new(to the blog) Bernie acquisition.

It's not high-end or anything, but I cartainly remember how popular, hard-to-find, and expensive these International Refractors were while navigating the 1997 collecting landscape. With that in mind, I was pretty happy to grab this for just a few bucks several months back.

I'm also a big Negro Leagues fan. I have been passively hunting for singles from the 2001 Fleer Tradition insert Stitches in Time. I still have a handful of base inserts to find, but I have decided to go after the more difficult auto and relic portions of the checklist.

Updates on this hunt to come in a future post.

From here, the remainder of the collection is very similar to how it has always been. Denver Broncos, Durham Bulls, and NC guys are still some of my favorites. In the coming days, I'll be sure that my 'Who I Collect' page is up to date. I have scrapped several of the previous unfinished set chases and added a few insert sets so updating the set needs page will also be an upcoming project.

One of the biggest differences in my collecting comes in the form of chasing some more ambitious set goals. A few of these new set goals were in their infancy stages as my blogging was grinding to a halt. First up, I am searching for all of the 1998 Skybox One For the Ages Star Rubies parallels. This 15 card subset focuses on highlights from Super Bowl XXXII. To date, I have tracked down 7/15 of these. They don't pop up very frequently and when they do, they tend to be quite pricey, but I'd love to own all of these some day.

Similarly, I'm on the hunt for all of the 1999 Ultra Platinum Medallions from the Super Bowl XXXIII subset. This is a 10 card subset that focuses on the Broncos' back to back championships. Right now, I only have 1/10 of those, but it's a big one.

There is a second Elway-only card in the subset, but at least I've got a great start to this chase!

There is so much more that I want to write about, but if I don't reign it in soon, I'll never actually publish his post. So, I'll focus on one more area that is a bit newer. I don't think I've posted about this previously. Somewhere around 15-20 years ago, one of my day job interactions led to me having the chance to meet Serge Zwikker. For the many out there who have no idea who that is, he was the center on the UNC Tar Heels teams of the mid-90's. From that first meeting up to the present day, I've had a chance to spend a good bit of time working with him in the context of my professional setting. I'm not saying that he and I are best friends, but we are certainly more than acquaintances. It didn't occur to me until about a year ago that he may have some NBA cards out there(he was drafted by Houston in 1997). I quickly found a few base RCs from that year's sets and then picked up all the parallels I could find as well.

          

These are a few of the base RCs I found. He was also in the Hoops and Fleer Tradition sets. I have multiple parallels from Fleer Tradition(not shown) and A copy of the Ultra Gold Medallion. However, I have been looking for the Skybox Star Rubies and Ultra Platinum Medallion for several months and haven't even seen any come up for sale or trade. Ultimately, those are the focus of my Serge-hunt, but I'd happily add any college cards I don't have if they're floating around out there.

I'll stay true to my word and cut this post short right here. For anyone interested, I'm planning expanded posts with more pics from these varied focal points of my collection along with several other areas that I didn't have space to write about here. I hope you've enjoyed what I'm looking at as a 'soft re-launch' of this blog. As soon as I can finish updating pages and maybe giving the design an update, I'll plan something for a Grand re-launch. Stay tuned for additional details about that coming soon. Thanks for reading.

Huge Trade with Sport Card Collectors

My quest to catch up on some (not so)recent trade packages and establish a semi-regular posting schedule begins anew today. Hopefully this time I'll be able to make it last. Though this is not chronologically the first package I need to catch up on, it did contain a huge PC addition and the scans were ready to go so this is where I start.

Several months back I was tweeting back and forth with Matt from Sport Card Collectors. He informed me that he had recently pulled a card of a guy I collected. From the moment the picture came through the message, I knew I needed to find a way to make a deal. Fortunately enough, Matt was super laid back about the deal and I was able to come up with a mixed bag of cards that hit some of his collecting interests. In fact, he sent me the centerpiece of our trade before I finished putting together his return package.

This awesome patch/auto of 'The Outlaw' was that centerpiece. This blue parallel #'d 1/3 came from his box review of Topps Triple Threads, so as is customary - thank you Topps for providing that box to him for his review! Additionally, I received two other Durham Bulls guys to round out my end of this huge deal.

I hadn't opened any Heritage Minors and was thrilled to receive these two in the package. Bauers had a really good first season in Durham last year and Schultz has been a fan favorite for the better part of the past 2 seasons. He led the league in K's the year before last. As much as I'd like to see him in Durham, I hope he sticks in Tampa this year. A short while after these arrived and I sent the return portion of this trade, I received a somewhat unexpected PWE from Matt as well.

Pure awesomeness all throughout! Three new Kiermaiers highlighted the envelope, but all were needs and very much appreciated. Hats my second different version of that Golden Grabs insert from Fire and I am slowly but surely(though inadvertently) building the rainbow on the Optic Diamond Kings(and the Optic base - more on that in another post). This one happens to be an unnumbered purple prizm parallel. Thanks for a really great swap, Matt! I've already started another stack to be sent your way in the near future. Thanks for reading.

An Incredible Secret Santa Gift

Christmas may be far behind us, but I can still get into the Holiday spirit thanks to the awesome Bob Walk the Plank Secret Santa package I received courtesy of P-Town Tom. The surprises with this package started from the moment it arrived.

While I knew I should be expecting a package from someone in the Secret Santa exchange, I wasn't expecting to find this hulking package on my doorstep(too big for the mailbox). I was thrilled when I opened it too.

Gingerbread!!! Oh yeah! To my slight disappointment, the box didn't actually contain a gingerbread house kit. It did contain a bunch of individually wrapped presents though.

It may be tough to tell from the way I arranged them for the pic, but there were 6 presents within along with a great note(which I didn't scan) that explained how all this cardboard goodness stayed within Matt's $10 limit. I briefly considered turning this into my own little advent calendar, opening one present each night, but that thought went away almost as quickly as it arrived. There was a little bit of everything in here.

First up, a blaster of a set that is about as oddball as it comes. Tom apparently won this as a door prize at a show and thought it would be a great add in to my Santa gift. I'm really appreciative that he did. It was really fun to rip into these packs!

Here are some highlights. I was thrilled to pull the Rivera and Ichiro. Take a look at how young Jayson Werth looks there! The Tino is a parallel. While it's nice to add a new Tino, it kinda hurts to see him in something other than pinstripes. The Torii is an insert and the Rios is from the rookie subset. Sadly, there wasn't a 'hit' in this box but it was definitely fun nonetheless. These kinda remind me of pogs from back in the day. Next up was a random assortments from his collection that didn't fit his PC preferences.

I didn't open much Fire so all of these are new additions for me. It's hard to pick a favorite here. I like the look of the Tanaka and it's always great to add a new DJ. I thought it was especially good timing that the Aaron Boone was in here considering he is the new Yankee skipper for 2018. The Kiermaier may win favorite of this scan though. It's a gold parallel of an insert that showcases his strong suit that has nabbed him a pair of Gold Gloves to date.

Here are some Yankees World Series heroes, old and newer. I particularly love the Jeter Classic Walk-Offs which highlights the night he became Mr. November.

I was lucky to find a few packs and a blaster of Stadium Club before it all disappeared from the shelves of my local Targets and Walmarts. I was not lucky enough to pull a base Jeter from the little I opened. The blue parallel Frazier is pretty awesome too, especially since he hasn't been traded away...yet. The pair of Didi cards represent my first experience with the rebooted a gallery product. I loved the original product and these look nice even if the card stock doesn't mimic the older product. It was pretty cool to see the base and Artist Proof parallel in this package. There was so much more than I scanned here. All in all, these were sent in a 200 count box which was a blast to flip through. As fun as this gift was up to this point, the heavy hitters were still to come!

This 1991 has been on my Cardboard Wishlist since shortly after I started this blog and remembered that I had a copy when I was younger. When I picked up my collection after a few years away, I pared it down a bit in preparation for a move to a smaller space. Shortly after I started this blog, I saw this card on Listia and was reminded how much I liked it when I was younger. I immediately went looking for it. After flipping through several monster boxes, I came to the conclusion that it must have been a casualty of my pre-move purge, along with others from the junk wax era. Once I realized I no longer had a copy, it took up residence on my Cardboard Wishlist. I'm happy to be able to cross it off that list. This gift package wouldn't stop there though.

This UD Vintage Posada comes from a time when there were so many sets available that it was really tough to see all of your team's issues and even more difficult to grab a copy of them all. I didn't know this card existed until I saw it on Dimebox Nick's blog when he was able to cross it off his Dimebox Dozen list. I immediately fell in love. The photo selection is incredible and it's a card of a member of the Core Four! Check off another card from my Cardboard Wishlist! Truth be told, I decided to add these last two cards to my first ever COMC order, but I received them in this package before my order arrived. It certainly didn't diminish my excitement at having received these. However, if there's anyone out there that would like a copy of either, I now have dupes to share. In addition to these wants, my Secret Santa package knocked out a ton of set needs. Three of the sets from my list were completed courtesy of Tom's generosity.

The last dozen needs for my 2015 Chrome set build were included.

Though I only scanned 6 of them, I received a whopping 14 of these to close out my 1993 Hostess set. Last but not least, I was able to finish off another early '90's oddball set.

I once again only scanned 6, but I unwrapped the final 8 of these 1992 Fleer 'The Performer Collection' cards that could be found at participating Citgo locations many moons ago.

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to finish writing this and get it posted, but I have to say one last 'thank you' to both Matt for organizing this Secret Santa operation and to P-Town Tom for sending an incredible gift package! Thanks to all for reading.

White Whales Exist, Don't They?

Let me start off tonight by saying Happy Veteran's Day to you all and thank you to any vets or anyone currently serving our country. Your service is definitely appreciated. Sorry my post content today isn't related in some way.

In an effort to avoid the lack of posts due to the paralysis induced by overthinking what I should write about, I'm going to explore a topic that was floating around the cardsphere several weeks(maybe it was months) back. Sure, there is a lot of stuff I have to share that has piled up during the time I was absent from posting. There will definitely be trade posts, more ripping product posts, and a few really big additions to my collection all forthcoming. However, today's topic will be the ever elusive white whale. I really enjoyed reading some of the lists I saw a while back and thought that I should work on a list of my own. I decided to keep it to 5 pieces of cardboard that haven't found their way to my collection(or maybe anyone's collection) as yet.

1982 Oneonta Yankees Team Set - John Elway

First up, a card I wrote about way back in my first week writing this blog. It is truly my current Holy Grail. In my opinion, it may be the piece of cardboard that most perfectly sums up my sports fandom. My favorite MLB team drafts a prospect that turns out to be a HOF caliber, Super Bowl winning quarterback for my favorite NFL team. This gem has eluded me for two reasons, price and authenticity. While there are not an unlimited number of these available, I can easily find it on eBay right now. It's definitely not within my hobby budget right now. I'd ultimately like to find a low grade copy in my price range just so I can be sure it's the real deal and not a counterfeit. Since I'm not one for graded cards, I'd probably have an internal struggle over freeing it from its plastic prison once I had it in hand. Oh well, let's not put the cart before the horse.

2001 Topps Chrome What Could Have Been - Josh Gibson refractor

Yes, I realize this borrowed picture is not a refractor. Though I searched high and low, I could not find an image of the parallel version of this one. I've had a few chances to spear this 'whale' over the years. However, for one reason or another, my aim was never true enough to successfully reel it in. I lost a few auctions here and there. I thought I had a deal to acquire it in trade finalized, but it fell through at the last minute. I even found an auction for the entire 10 card refractor set with a really reasonable starting bid and while waiting for the ending date to draw nearer so I could pounce on it, the seller had a change of heart and decided to keep the set(I know because I messaged him/her about my interest and that's what I was told). At this point, I haven't seen a copy in the wild for just shy of a year. It's the centerpiece of the refractor set that I am halfheartedly building. Perhaps if I can ever snag a copy of this elusive gem, I'd be more inclined to actively chase the rest of my set needs down.

2014 Topps Update - Kevin Kiermaier clear(acetate) parallel /10

I have only seen this card on e auction block one time. It was earlier this year, I believe. I was ecstatic! It had a slightly larger than I wanted to pay price tag on it, but I figured I would sell a few cards to raise the PayPal needed to pull the trigger on a really limited RC parallel of one of my favorite Former Durham Bulls. I was regularly checking in on the listing to make sure that it was still available while I waited for a few items to sell. It was there. Still available. Then I get a notification that one of my items sold(one that would get me to a point where I could click the Buy It Now button). Unfortunately, while I was waiting for the buyer's payment, someone else beat me to the punch on the Kiermaier. It was as close to heartbroken over a card as I've ever been. Oh well, maybe one day I'll have a shot at one of the nine that remain.

2007 Allen & Ginter Bruce Lee Framed Relic

This piece of awesomeness was released during a period when I was not active in our hobby. Once finding my way back to the familiarity of collecting, it took me a while to warm up to A&G. I'm still not its biggest fan, but I do love it for cards like this. I really dig some of the non-baseball items they have included on the checklist over the years. When I was a kid in Upstate NY(Orange County for anyone who cares), one of the first activities I got the chance to participate in was Tae Kwon Do classes. I was about 6 or 7 and met a pair of brothers that were 2 or three years older than me. We worked our way up the ranks, earning our more advanced belts and at some point, we began choreographing our own demonstrations that we would perform when the facility we held class in would have an open house. We bonded over Bruce Lee(and campy, Bruce Lee look-a-like) films and like many young martial artists, wanted to emulate his every move. While visiting my family in California, I even begged my cousin and brother to take me to find his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame(they did - I still have the picture). I've seen this incredible relic once or twice, but it is far outside my hobby budget. Hey, a guy has to have dreams, right?

Alright, that's four of my five white whales and the reasons are all really similar as to why I haven't added them to my collection yet. The fifth and final card on the list is an entirely different story, a 'whale' of a different color if you will(though I won't call it that ever again).

2017 Topps Pro Debut Fragments of the Farm - Durham Bulls Snorting Bull sign relic

This is the second time I've written about this card here on the blog. Earlier this year, this image was released as part of the promo materials for the Pro Debut set. I was jacked! I knew I needed a copy of this card and figured it would be pretty easy to track down once the ripping of the packs, boxes, and cases of product began. However, my searching over the week's immediately following the product release turned up no sign of this card. Right about then, some of the factors that contribute to my unplanned blog hiatus began to kick in and when I had time for cards, it was more readily attainable items and this hunt went on the back burner. I always had a saved eBay search though. A few weeks back while I was trying to compile this list, I tweeted to see if I could find a confirmed sighting of this beast or if its existence was a myth. I received several replies saying they would keep their eyes open and let me know. I also got a reply from a fellow blogger that is also in search of one of these. Yes, the card in question's namesake blog(The Snorting Bull) author replied confirming that he had seen no evidence of its existence despite actively hunting for it. All of the evidence pointed me in the direction of giving up the search for a copy. That is until Topps replied to my inquiry stating that the image used in the marketing(and copied above) was taken of the actual card prior to pack out. However, when I inquired about its potential rarity, I got no further reply. So, if I am to trust Topps, I should apparently keep hope alive that I will one day see a copy of this in real life. I suppose only time will tell. Thanks for reading.

30-Day Baseball Card Challenge - Day 4

It's been a while, but I'm back on track and tackling the day 4 topic: a rookie card of one of my favorite players. I went back and forth about which player/card to focus on. Something that happened Friday night made my decision for me though. One of my favorite former Durham Bulls, Taylor Motter hit his second grand slam of the season(and career) for the Mariners. I'd venture to say that this one was far sweeter than the first because it came against his former team, the Rays! I hate that the Rays traded him during the offseason. He became one of my favorite players during his time in Durham. I even got the chance to meet him a few times at the ballpark. He's genuinely a nice guy and I had hoped he would earn the role of super utility guy in Tampa. While that won't be happening in the foreseeable future, I am still pulling for him to have a great season.

As it relates to the cardboard, I'm kinda cheating since I'm about to highlight two different parallels of one of my favorite player's rookie cards. I've had these tucked away in my collection for a few months now so there's no better time to show them off.

As any modern-day collector knows, there are typically 20-30 different RCs to chase of any given player. However, this is one of only two official RCs featuring Motter. That makes it easier for a player collector to go parallel hunting. Though you can't tell from the scan, the card on the left is the reverse stock version. These flip the finish from a 'normal' card. The front is rough and has a flat finish to it, whereas the back is smooth and slightly glossy. On the right, we have the red back version. These aren't serial numbered, but they have a reported print run of 10 copies. For what it's worth, I'm still looking for the far more common gum-stained back. If anyone reading happens to have one, I'd love to trade for it. Thanks for reading.

Patch Card Chronicles - Vol. 1

A quick contest promo: if you're quick and like contests, Julie over at A Cracked Bat is running a contest that closes in just under an hour. Click here to see how you can enter.

I have envisioned a series that explores some awesome patch cards for quite some time. However, it's not easy to find unique and affordable relic cards. A few weeks back, I was able to do just that! I'm sure I won't be able to make this a regular theme on the blog, but I had so much fun prepping to write this one. Volume 2 will follow at some point.

There it is! I was thrilled to find this Kiermaier with such an interesting swatch(and auto) for a really affordable price. When I saw that patch, I knew I wanted to add this card to my former Durham Bulls collection. As I've previously mentioned, Kiermaier is one of my favorite players in the league right now. As I was waiting for this card to arrive, I started searching for where this piece of embroidered goodness came from.

I was able to find this pretty easily. This pic not only let me see the patch in its entirety, but it also gave me an idea of where to look for shots of it in game action.

There it is! Just like that the card became all the more awesome to me. The Rays wore that patch on their pseudo-retro faux-back jerseys. Like many of you, I dig the throwback unis and I especially love that Tampa developed their own version since they didn't actually have team history to draw from. Yes, I know that is a picture of Longo rocking the retro theme, not Kiermaier. It's one of the only pics I could find of anyone sporting the faux-back with the patch visible.

Speaking of 'the Outlaw'...

Like I said, this was a lot of fun to research/prepare. I hope I'll be able to write another post in this theme sometime soon. Thanks for reading.

Not the Post I Intended to Write Today

No, I didn't change my plan due to any bad news or anything like that. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Topps released the checklist for Pro Debut today. Check it out here if you're interested: http://www.cardboardconnection.com/2017-topps-pro-debut-baseball-cards

Historically, I haven't been too terribly thrilled by this product. I've picked up a few cards from the different sets over the years, but I've certainly never had a reason to buy a box or to consider putting a set together. This may be the year that at least one of those things changes. Assuming today is not the first time you're reading this blog, you probably know that I have an affinity for my 'local' Minor League team, the Durham Bulls. Thanks to Topps, this year I get to kick my Durham Bulls PC into a higher gear. There are not only one, but two Bulls related relics available in the Fragments of the Farm insert set this year. Earlier today, I caught a glimpse of one of them:

I must have this card! Not only is it related to my local team, but it also contains a piece of an iconic part of the park. I'll be after the second card with almost as much anticipation. It apparently contains a piece of the backstop netting from Durham Bulls Athletic Park. I'm loving the increasing instances of 'out of the ordinary' relic materials being used. Bat chips and jersey relics are nice, but they don't offer much in the way of variety. In addition to these, there are bunches of autographs, manufactured relic patches, and even a SSP variation of Mets farmhand Tim Tebow. Only time will tell if this all will lead to my first box break of this product. Release date is one week from today so I guess I need to decide quickly.

On a semi-related side note, I suppose now is as good a time as any to roll out the next bit of info regarding the blog changes I have in mind. If anyone has visited here over the past few days, you may have noticed that my Cardboard Wishlist has gone through a makeover and been split into two separate lists. I've been experimenting with color scheme/photographic changes, but haven't found the right change in that capacity yet. Last housekeeping update of the night, the blog-related Twitter account is live. Search @CardpocalypseNC if you want to check it out. If you don't, you won't be able to figure out how any of this blog news is 'semi-related' to the post content. I'd also like to take a second to thank all of you that commented your thoughts/experiences/support after I wrote about making changes to the blog. The feedback was much appreciated! I hope you all enjoy the changes(already made and still to come). Thanks for reading.

(Finally)The 12th Day of Trade Posts...

Dimebox Nick sent to me, a bit of just about everything! Today, I highlight the last of my really overdue trade packages. Moving forward, I'll be able to get to my just a bit overdue packages. Some months ago, I received a rather large, bulging bubble mailer from Nick. Side note - the mailer had a small tear in it, but fortunately none of the contents were missing. I know this because I can't imagine anything more cardboard actually fitting in it. As usual, the trade from Nick contained a little bit of everything that I collect. Let's get on to the highlights!

Among the various stuffed team bags were these. Despite the note, there were not 179 Burger King cards in that pack. There was a half dozen cards towards the Yankees set though and that was an awesome start. In the middle here is a sleeve stuffed with minis of all sorts. Perhaps most interesting in the pack was the alert to 'check the backs...' Upon flipping them over:

Wow, the Ginter #23/25(best I can read the hand numbering) and a Sabermetrics Brett Gardner variation were surprising finds.

Oddballs!!! I can't imagine receiving a trade from Nick without some form of oddball being included. The Smokey the Bear Angels were ones that I had previously eyeballed on Johnny's Trading Spot several months before this package arrived. Bill Dickey is one of my favorite old school Yankees players. It's always awesome to find a Hostess card in a trade pack and that also goes for any Kellogg's cards. I was doubly grilled with that Guidry because it was completely crack-free.

Moving on to some former Yankees that I have sentimental attachments to for one reason or another. As you can see, the oddballs continue through this scan as well. I love that Strawberry with him taking a curtain call. The Donnie Baseball is one of the sometimes tough to find box bottom cards. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned my love of those Dufex parallels before. The Topps Kids Kevin Maas actually looks really similar to the way I remember him when he was mashing HRs in his rookie season. The blue parallel, serial numbered Betances doesn't really fit since it's kinda mainstream, but it was definitely a welcome addition. Finally, a minor league issue of Hideki Irabu. I vividly remember the hype that surrounded him and the hope I had for him to be even better than Hideo Nomo. Good times, reminiscing about a time when he had all the potential in the world. Too bad he was one of the biggest busts.

Here, we've got some old and some new. I especially love the Buck Leonard and the Trea Turner, but they're all pretty great.

Next up, some Archives-y and Heritage-y inserts of former Yankees. The 1951 design is my first from that set and it only serves as a reminder that I really need to pick up one of those factory sets one of these days. In case you guys haven't gotten the idea from reading my previous posts, I am a sucker for these old school oddball-type sets.

I was blown away when I flipped to this one in one of the stacks. Now, I'm no Jayson Werth fan, but I have eyeballed these Sega Card-Gen issues since I first saw them on several other blogs. Occasionally, I've search d for these on eBay and I've never come across one that fits my collection well enough to pay the asking prices. I love this card.

I was shocked to see these. Knowing Nick's usual point of view on relic cards, I would have never thought I'd find one(let alone two) in a trade from him. These are welcome additions to my former Durham Bulls collections. If only that Souza had the Rays logo on that helmet... Usually, if I'm lucky enough to find a relic in a trade package, it is the final scan that I post. However, this particular envelope happened to contain a parallel that blew me away even more so than he truly unexpected relics...

There you have it! Maybe it's not so awesome to some of you being that this is a week or so from opening day. Though I'm embarrassed to say it, this card arrived in my collection right at the beginning of Gary's barrage of home runs last summer. I actually kinda felt bad because had Nick held onto it for another week or so(rather than throwing it into this trade package), he probably could have sold it for a pretty penny. I'm extremely thankful that he was willing to include this awesome RC parallel. Thanks for another great trade, Nick. I've got several stacks set to the side with your name on them. I'll be sure to get them in the mail to you really soon. Thanks for reading.

The 11th Day of Trade Posts - Supertrader Style

Rolling right on through to the next severely overdue thank you post. Today's trade package arrived in my mailbox courtesy of AJ, The Lost Collector. He's a fellow Yankees guy for those who don't know, but the majority of this package was of the Supertrader variety. For me, that means Rays for days! Sorry, I'm apparently still shaking the rust off and couldn't resist that cringe-worthy phrasing. Let's go to the highlights, shall we?

I had never seen those UD Power Up cards. In fact, I'm not sure what they're about exactly. I do know there is a code in the upper right corner of the card that is hard to see in the scan. The Cairo from Stadium Club just goes to show that great photography has long been a staple of the brand. Logo-less RCs of two of my favorite former Bulls happens to be hiding in the stack as well. Admittedly, the photo selection does a decent job hiding their logo-less nature. I am looking forward to getting some ink on that Adames once the Durham Bulls season begins. I'm hoping he starts the season in the Bull City, but even if he begins back in Montgomery at Double-A, he's likely to make an appearance at some point of the 2017 season. Last, but not least, the 2009 Bowling Green Hot Rods Matt Moore is an awesome addition. I was always a fan of Matty's and I was happy to see him turn hints around somewhat after he was traded to the Giants.

This is an awesome addition to my collection for a few reasons. First, Bubba was a fan-favorite(including this fan) when he played in Durham. Add to that, this is my first auto from the somewhat iconic, original Donruss Signature Series. Very cool!

I did say that the package was primarily Rays. I can only assume this nice looking Pineda relic was a dupe for AJ. I sure do appreciate that this one made its way into my trade package. Thanks for a great stack of cardboard! I've got some Yankees set to the side to send back your way. Thanks for reading.

Finally Getting to the 10th Day of Trade Posts

I have finally found a reasonable scanning solution and some time to actually get some scanning done so it's time to pick up where I left off. It's the 10th Day of Trade Posts! In this one, I focus on a PWE from John of Johnny's Trading Spot and a small bubble mailer from Chris over at Nachos Grande. I've still got all of the packaging from each trade package so I could realistically provide an accurate time frame for when each of these packages arrived. I'm not going to do that though. Not because it would take too much time, but rather because I'd be too embarrassed to divulge how long past due these 'thank you' posts really are. Let's just work with the understanding that proper thanks are months over due at this point. For that trade partners, I'm sorry. Without further delay, let's check out the PWE from John.

I love that the use of 1/3 of a nine-pocket page has become fairly standard in PWE shipping. I mean, what better way to maximize content and security?

As you could see, his was a Supertraders package. It contained Rays of all kinds. Many were of the Bowman/Bowman Chrome variety. These four stood out above the rest, each for different reasons. Look at that young David Price, brings back memories of seeing him in Durham. The Floro makes me a bit sad since he is no longer with my local Triple A team. Sonnanstine played locally during a time when I didn't catch many games, but I remember reading about him frequently while he was here on the farm. I love this Finest card highlighting his impressive 10 strikeout performance in his first MLB victory. Finally, I'll always have a soft spot for Carl Crawford. While it's true that he carved out a pretty solid career in the majors, I thought he would do so much more. Oh yeah, I picked that one because it's really shiny too! Let's move on to the contents of the bubble mailer from Chris.

I love it when trade partners include notes. This one made me laugh. I mean what else is one of the ever-present Hector Olivera RCs good for? I don't know anyone out there that actually wants to collect them, so why not use them as note paper?

Here were the contents of the team bag that was inside. Those are two stacks of 2015 Stadium Club. There were ten in all. I did, in fact, still need all 10 for my set build. I purposely selected the Big Mac and the Britton for the top cards in the stacks because they were the best photos in my opinion. I especially dig the Britton. It's just a great shot of team intros with a piece of Camden Yards signage in the background.

Thanks to John and Chris. Sorry the post was so long overdue. I'm building stacks to send to each of you soon. Thanks for reading.