A Trade Offer I Couldn't Refuse

According to my email, I received my first message from P-Town Tom back in November. That message contained an offer I couldn't refuse. Tom, who writes the great blog Waiting 'til Next Year, would send me the Nationals(and some Yankees) from his trade box in return for...my address. There was no way I could turn that down! I replied and shortly after, there was a medium flat rate box on my doorstep. It was jam packed with awesomeness, but the contents have been edited to fit in this space. Let's dive in.

Here are the highlights of the Nats. I love the top row of minor league guys. There's even a chance that two out of three of three end up signed, assuming the Stephen Perez and Matthew Skole make their way through Durham by way of Syracuse(the Nats' Triple-A club). For now, it looks like Eury Perez will end up unsigned since he is currently in the Houston system whose affiliate is in the PCL. Gotta dig getting a card of the reigning NL MVP, even if it is logo-less. At least he photo selection makes it really difficult to notice the lack of licensing. Who doesn't enjoy mascot cards, right? I chose to highlight that Heritage Ian Desmond because he is a personal favorite. While it looks highly unlikely he will be back in DC(and he must be sweating out this time on the free agent market), recent rumors suggest there is a small chance that he will end up with the Rays. That possibility already has my gears turning as I envision a potential rehab assignment with my Durham Bulls! A guy can dream...

Before I get to the Yankees portion of the package, I was thrilled that Tom was able to help me out with the following card.

This Ryno hails from the 1993 Hostess set. After pulling a small bunch of these from various repacks last year, I decided to attempt to complete the set. It has been slow going, but that makes it all the more exciting when I see one of these pop up in a trade package.

Let's keep the oddball train-a-rollin' with some Yankee minis!

I'm also half-heartedly attempting to put together the 1988 Topps UK mini set. I needed both the Winfield and the Randolph.

Man, I love oddballs! These are all great, but my favorites would have to be the not one, but two awesome cards from periodicals. I remember having a copy of that Topps Magazine Donnie Baseball when I was younger. I have no idea when or where it disappeared from my collection, but I am happy to have a copy once again. Winfield is saying what I was thinking as I flipped through this package's contents: you're the man, Tom!

There were Yankee stars for me too! I'm partial to the Opening Day Bernie with him tipping his batting helmet. I was pretty happy with four new cards of The Captain as well.

These are sentimental favorites. Like many of you, I like it when you can tell exactly when the photo on a card was taken. While it's true that these two kinda cheat because no research is needed, they're no less awesome to me. The Charlie Hayes highlights a moment that I will long remember, the out that clinched their first WS Championship since I was eight months old. My apologies to Shane and any other BoSox fans out there for posting that second card, but it definitely shows an iconic moment in Yankees-Sox post season lore.

Thanks for such a generous and awesome package Tom. I know you aid you weren't asking for or expecting anything in return, but I will definitely be putting together a return package in the near future.

A Refractor-filled Swap

As it turns out, I never really caught up with my trade posts before I got preoccupied with card show stuff, new products and a few repacks. So, I think it's about time to finally write up the last few trade packages I've received. The steady influx of packages has slowed since I haven't had much chance to stuff padded envelopes full of cardboard goodness. The good news is that I finally have the first bunch of long overdue return packages packed and ready to go to the post office today. More will follow shortly. I hope that everyone I owe cards to will find the contents worth the wait.

Today I focus on the (mostly) shiny contents of a (not so) recent package from madding over at Cards On Cards.

First up are the not-so-shiny highlights. I love those Donruss HOF Heroes, Negro League cards. It's hard to believe they've been around since 1983 and I somehow didn't have either of those. Bo's 1st Home Run card puts me one closer to completing that set. The rest of the package was quite refractor-y.

An X-Fractor, a purple, and sepias...oh my! True, the Rendon and the Desmond are not refractors, but they too are shiny and needed. These are all great additions to the various parts of my collection, but the centerpiece of this particular package was this prismatic beauty.

The scan of this one came out better than I thought it would but it looks much better in person. I've got a bunch of Cardinals packed and ready to drop at the post office to make up for this incredible trade package. Thanks for the swap, I hope we can do it again soon!