Busting Some Heritage High Numbers

I've been trying my best this past week to catch up on my trade posts. Until this past week, I had been hesitant to even post two trades on consecutive days, but my last four posts(and 5 of the last 6) have been written to highlight great trade packages. Looking at that made me realize that I needed to mix things up a bit(or perhaps I just used that as an excuse). So, while I was out at my local Target today, I grabbed 2 jumbo packs(or whatever they're calling them now).

I had previously opened two hanger boxes which I hadn't written about so this wasn't my first experience opening the product. Here are the highlights of pack number one.

Starting off is one of my favorite Rays players, Steven Souza Jr. I scanned the Sizemore because he's in a Rays uniform. He actually played alright after they signed him to a minor league deal. Who would have thought that would be the case when the Phillies designated him for assignment and released him earlier this summer? The Caleb Joseph was a random selection.

These were the three best rookies of the pack. Not much to say about them. No SP in the pack. To this point, it was a pretty weak pack.

This insert helped a bit. Two of the Mets young stars on a decent looking insert. Not bad, but this pack still needed something to make me feel like I at least got my money's worth.

There it is! A Heritage Chrome refractor of a highly touted rookie. The only drawback is that it is a Red Sox... Oh well, shiny and #/599 trumps any dislike for the team. That's the end of the pack one highlights. Let's see if pack two can be even better.

The three best veteran cards lose out in this one. I may have gotten a Yankee, but I really don't want Drew to be on the team so it doesn't beat out the Souza. Boxberger is a favorite former Bulls player and Phelps used to be a guy I liked when he was still in pinstripes. Overall, the Souza and the Sizemore/Rays combo beat out Boxberger.

The rookie card battle was won by these guys from pack two, solely on the shoulders of the Orlando RC. He hasn't been a standout, but his presence in the top three here is enough to beat the other pack's top three. The start of pack two was much like pack one, the base cards left much to be desired. Once again, no SP to be found and once again I was looking for something to salvage the pack.

This was my first Award Winners insert. I like the design and I got a pretty good player too. Still, Clayton was not enough to save the pack alone.

This Abreu bat relic sure did a good job salvaging the pack! I was bummed that there were no SP's to be found and that the base cards, both veteran and rookies left something to be desired. The inserts and 'hits' certainly made this 'retail therapy' session worthwhile though.

Fortunately, the hanger boxes turned up a few great base cards(though still no SP's).

I'm happy to have this Mahtook rookie. I've enjoyed watching him play in Durham over the past few seasons. I hope he sticks with the Rays and ends up being a fixture in their outfield for years to come.

Here's one of the many youngsters that made their Pinstripe debuts this season. I can only hope that the youth movement will be the beginning of another Core Four-type situation.

Lastly, here's one of the only big rookies from the set that didn't end up on the SP checklist.

The Return of A Cracked Bat

Recently I got a message from Julie who writes the A Cracked Bat blog. She told me she had dug out enough from the big move that she had started sending some cards out to folks and that I should expect something soon. Sure enough, a few days ago, a rather large padded envelope made an appearance in my mailbox.

This was the first item I took out of the envelope. It is a first for my collection. Even back in the more eclectic days of my youth, I never acquired any pins. This is a pretty cool set, highlighting the 2000 Subway Series. I particularly love the pin in the center that shows the World Series trophy.

In addition to this sealed collect able pin set, there was a smaller bubble mailer enclosed in the large envelope. Here is what I found inside.

Check out that early '80's Fleer Oscar Gamble! I love Topps Minis! I didn't have either of these.

Next up, a trio of Yankees pitchers. I am thrilled by the job Adam Warren has done this season. I had been keeping an eye on this Walmart Blue parallel, and now I have one. The Pettitte and the mini Andrew Miller are both golds. The Miller is #/99.

I was really happy to see this Whitey Ford as I was flipping through the stack. When the Yankee Legends set came out, I thought about putting this insert set together, but for whatever reason, I abandoned that idea. Maybe I'll have to find the others I had and finish this set off.

From a Yankee Legend to some fresh faced young talent, this package had it all.

This is an awesome, shiny, die-cut insert of a young guy that could be the Yanks' future ace. Severino has impressed since his call up. I hope he stays healthy and continues to develop.

This is my first Sevy auto. It's Prizm-y! I almost don't even realize that there are no logos. In most packages, an auto from a rising star on my favorite team would be my favorite card. However, there was one more really great card left in this envelope. A while back, before the move, Julie busted a box of Diamond Kings. I commented about one of the hits she pulled, but she wasn't sure if said card was going to be up for grabs.

Refsnyder is another up and coming Yankee. He hit a solo HR to provide a much needed insurance run in last night's wild card clinching victory(which also happened to be the franchise's 10,000th win) and he has been much improved on defense. This is a great framed jersey swatch and there's only five of them out there!

As always, it was a great time opening this trade package Julie. I'm glad the big move went well and it's good to have you back in the trading game. It was certainly worth the wait! I've got a large stack of Tigers almost ready to head your way.

An Out of the Blue Package from Bru

A few weeks back, Bru from the great blog Remember the Astrodome asked a question over the comments on my set needs page. I answered the question and said that I'd definitely be interested in setting up our first trade. I hadn't heard back and figured that things got busy and he'd be in touch when he had a moment. Then, I received a PWE from an address I didn't recognize. I didn't think anything of it because I often win auctions on Listia and I figured it was probably some of my winnings. Then I saw the note from Bru. This surprise package knocked out a bunch of my set needs.

Two more Studio and series one First HRs can now be crossed off my lists. I'm particularly happy to finally have that Altuve.

From there, Bru knocked out the remaining 12 cards I needed from the Pacific Nolan Ryan set. I figured that it would take me forever to finish this one up. I've dug through many-a-dime box and only found a few of these here and there. I've seen some of these show up on Listia, but they've mostly been ones that I already had. Well, my search is over. I picked a few highlights from those 12 to show off here. I love this tip of the cap shot.

That action shot of the final pitch of his 6th no-no is particularly cool. Just moments after this photo was taken, Willie Randolph made contact with that pitch and hit a foul ball down the right field line which was caught to end the game. It's a great piece of baseball history frozen in time. I also love the ads that are visible.

Thanks so much Bru, I appreciate the help with my set needs. I'm in the process of putting together a return package for you.

A Pair of PWE Deliveries That Didn't Come With Bubble Gum

My most recent PWEs from Jeff may not have come with bubble gum, but they were great nonetheless. Jeff has been providing me a steady influx of new Broncos cards.

These are just a few of the new additions. I chose to show these three because they've not only been a huge reason that Denver is off to a 3-0 start, but they are my first 2015 Prestige cards. I kinda like the design, but I think it would be even better if the photos didn't have that 'misty' effect towards the edges.

I can cross off one more card from the 2015 Game insert set. I already had a copy of the Miggy, but I couldn't pass up the chance to show it off anyway. I love that retail, pink refractor of Betances. It's even better that it has the rookie cup on it!

He sent a few white framed GQ Nats and an awesome early Bernie Williams. I swore I had a copy of that Bowman Bernie, but I was mistaken. I'm glad to actually have a copy now. 

Thanks for another pair of great envelopes, Jeff. I've got a bunch of Braves and Falcons to send off your way soon.

Almost Had a Breakdown Looking Through That PWE

Sorry for the lengthy post title, it's been a long day(yes, this post was supposed to go live last night)...

I had a good day out at the card show yesterday, but I've forbid myself to share anything from the show until later in the week. For the first time, I am severely behind in writing up trade posts(and putting together return packages). So, I've made a deal with myself. As motivation to get caught up, I'm not going to allow myself to share my finds from the show until after a few back to back trade posts are complete.

There has been some really good stuff being delivered to my mailbox over the past few weeks. The contents of a recent PWE from Baseball Card Breakdown was certainly a prime example of that last statement.

I'll begin with some football since the season is still pretty young. I was thrilled to see the Virgil Green pop out of the stack. With the departure of Julius Thomas, I am hoping the Virgil will get a chance to make some plays this season. It's great to see a Von Miller that I didn't already have, and I may be staring at the new starting QB in the case that Peyton doesn't stay healthy.

Speaking of Peyton, this beauty is my first modern day mini football card. Not a bad guy to start with. From here, the package took a vintage turn.

This well loved Claude Osteen Topps Game card trimmed my set completion number down to two. I'm getting so close on this one. It's going to be so satisfying to cross that last name off my list and complete my first vintage set.

My favorite gem in this package was this 1961 Golden Press George Sisler, hands down. I had actually been looking at bidding on a copy of this card on Listia, but the numbers went too high for me so I ended up missing out on that one. I love this design and now that I have one in hand, I need to track down a few others to add to the collection.

Once again, Gavin, awesome package! Thanks so much, I've got a stack started for you and I added a few more to it while at the show on Sunday. I'll send them out soon.