Old Habits are the best

I think Robert of $30 A Week Habit and I have been around the blog world for about the same amount of time.

His his first post was in July of 2011, while mine was February of that same year. So we're about the same age around here.

Robert is one of those generous guys that sends 'just because' packages. I actually need to send him some Jays soon because I think he's pulled ahead of me in the 'just because' package unofficial race. Also, those pesky Jays.

Anyhow, Robert sent me these while the Yanks were cemented in first place and the Jays had a good offense but no pitching. So, in other words, he sent these several months ago. Times change, eh?

Regardless, here are a few of the goods, including a Nova relic, and a couple of 2015 GQs, a set which I've gotten very little of.  In fact, these might be the first I've gotten. Therefore, it is most appreciated.

This Walk-Off Winners set is pretty cool. I didn't know about it. These two in particular are really great memories of Yankees walk-off HRs in my lifetime. The Jeter is from the 2001 World Series when he became "Mr. November". Funny, I really do remember Clay Bellinger (#12) going crazy with that right fist in the air.

I remember this Giambi moment well too. In the rain, int he 14th inning, with the bases loaded and the Yanks down 3. That was a sweet moment in his first season in NY.

There are a few more I wish were in the set, including Aaron Boone's 2003 ALCS walk-off. I realize it can't be a Yankees-only set (or can it????), and there are probably a few notable omissions overall. I like that Raul Ibanez is in the set from the 2012 ALDS. I was at that game, so that make it extra cool.

Thanks, Robert, and good luck in the post-season. See you in the ALCS? (probably not)

JBF Week: Small and Shiny

Jaybarkerfan had a "claim this card" promotion on his blog a while back, and I was lucky enough to reserve this Topps mini Ivan Nova jersey relic. I love the Pinstripe, and very simple design that the card entails. Being a mini card, there isn't a lot of wasted space, but this feels well done...almost like a base card with some jersey. Sometimes inserts are designed with the intent of leaving space for a relic, but this one doesn't feel that way.

But was that all he sent? Of course not! This is JBF we're talking about it. He dominated this package with refractors and other shiny cards. It might not be a great scan, but these cards were blinding all next to each other!

 Wes also included a really nice Phil Rizzuto card for my Rizzuto PC, as well as two cards from "National Trading Card Day." With JBF, it's always National Trading Card Day!

Kanye Weston

Worst post title of the year so far? Worst post title of the year so far.

Now that I got your attention the cheap way, you might as well keep reading and check out some cards from my buddy Weston at Fantastic Catch. I really enjoy trading with Weston, as he seems like a Bowman guy and always has Yanks prospects for me.

See? Like these sweet Bowman Ice goodies, which might be the nicest parallels out there.

Weston sent me two sweet autos. Phil Wetherell is from 2014 Topps Heritage Minors, a set in which I own zero cards, which is awful for a guy who likes to collect prospects. Phil pitched well in 2014 and made it to AA. It's not unreasonable to think he may make his debut in the Yanks' bullpen in 2015.

The other auto was of Ivan Nova (edit: As Zippy Zappy pointed out, this is Hector Noesi. Nice attention to detail by me)! He could be a big boost to the rotation when he returns from TJ surgery in May or June.

Here is a sweet Gary Sanchez Top Prospects card from this year's Bowman Platinum. hard to tell, but it's diecut.

Donruss Estrellas had some cool cards! They aren't very appreciated, but I've gotten many random cards from these sets that I like a lot.

Lastly, two Tinos! I really need to figure out if I'm going to include Yankee Stadium Legacy as different cards in my Tino PC. On one hand, many of them look the same, but on the other, they have different numbers. That could mean they are different cards, right? I'm just a bit torn.

 

Weston, thanks for the good stuff!

Rad Chrome from Brad

A while back, Brad from Brad's Blog broke a case of 2014 Topps Chrome. I claimed a few Yankee autos (three to be exact), and Brad sent though a large chunk of other Chrome cards and inserts, as well as a second team bag full of Yanks.

It was the first bit of Chrome base cards I've received this year, and I know have the full team set thanks to Brad.

These Sepia Refractors are so nice. I'm really impressed with them.

 

Here are the aforementioned autos. Sadly, only Murphy is still with the Yanks. I'm happy to have this certified auto, as the TTM auto I have of him is a bit light and hard to read. Anna and Solarte both made the Yanks Opening Day roster, but were not with the team by the end of the season.

Tanaka time! Up to this point, I only had one Tanaka. Brad doubled that for me.

I hope I keep receiving Jeters in future trade packages. I'll never have enough.

Lastly, I just thought this card looked really nice with the red border. It fits.

Brad, thank you sir!

What kind of socks to Pittsburgh Pirates wear? Arrrrgyle!

I'm pretty sure I've used this post title before. Or maybe fifteen other bloggers have used an iteration of it. I don't know. A while back, I sent Greg Z over at Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle] a bunch of Russell Martins I had laying around, and he sent me a bunch of cards in return, including some HOFers for my son.

This is a cool card of Lawrence Moten, who is still Syracuse's All-Time scoring leader, as well as the Big East's all-time leader too. I'm always blown away when someone pays enough attention to my ramblings to know I'm a Syracuse fan/alum.

Here's a Topps USA card of Yanks' prospect Peter O'Brien. Although not much of a prospect because he only has one tool, that one tool is power and that's pretty damn cool. He's already got more than 30 HRs on the year, trailing only Joey Gallo and Kris Bryant for the most in minor league baseball. Pretty nuts. I assume he'll get the call at some point late this year or next, but he'll probably never be more than a Shelley Duncan, all-or-nothing kind of hitter. Still, it could be very exciting to watch him.

And here is a sampling of the HOFers for my little guy. He's going to have such a cool binder of cards one day. I just hope he doesn't sell them for beer money when he's 19.

Oh yeah, Pittsburgh Pirates was in the title, right? I'll double up on trade posts and include some cards sent over from our favorite Pirate collector, Mr. Bob Walk The Plank. Matt had a few Tino relics for me, both of which are awesome, and even included an Ivan Nova autograph (sorry for the dark scan). I'm 99% sure this is my first Nova 'graph of any sort.

 

Guys, thanks for all the great cards!

Trade with Reader Derek

A few weeks back, a reader named Derek reached out and asked if I had any extra 1996 Denny's holograms, as he was trying to complete the set. I actually had one he needed - Kevin Seitzer - so that was a lucky coincidence. I sent it along to Derek, and he was nice enough to shoot me back a few Yanks.

In particular, I love these Legends of New York newspaper cards. It's a cool design. I actually hadn't seen them before Derek sent them along, and I always appreciate being enlightened on a set I missed.

Thanks, Derek!

Feeling blue and seeing red

Two different trades brought me two different colored parallels of 2013 Topps. I have never really sought out the retail-store variations, but for some reason I’m really liking these more and more of late, and appreciating each one I get.

Night Owl sent me a few cards, and included was this Ivan Nova Walmart Blue Parallel. I would have thought that the blue looked better on Yankee cards, but it’s actually a bit of a blue overdose. The Navy Blue interlocking NY + plus the royal blue sea turtle + the light blue border = a little too much blue.

Upon looking at its red brethren from Target, I found myself preferring the red version. The red made it feel a little more Yankee-esque in the absence of the usual hat/bat primary logo. Thanks to Paul of Paul's Random Baseball Stuff for sending these 

As for the rest of the loot, here is what Night Owl included:

I love the CC mini, and think I’m now close to having all the Series One Yanks. I need to take an inventory though.

Night Owl’s favorite Mark Teixeira card, plus two Reggie Jackson inserts from this year. 

Finally, this awesome Phil Rizzuto. This was a set I missed back in the fall or whenever it came out, and this is a great addition to my growing Rizzuto collection. 

Paul sent me some Yanks in exchange for some Mets. It wasn’t quite Robin Ventura for David Justice, but pretty close. In addition to those sweet red borders, he sent me three Chasing History inserts, including a shiny foily Reggie! 

Thanks, guys!

Non-crap from Arbitrary Crap

When I announced that the Lost Collector Junior had arrived, Martyn from Arbitrary Crap asked for my address and said that he’d send a card. I was blown away. Here is a blogger I had yet to build a trade rapport with yet offering to send a card.

We talked a little, and turned it into a trade, as Martyn had a cool Melky Mesa auto that caught my eye. I haven’t been able to add Mesa’s auto to my collection, so a certified one is the way to go. Mesa is a toolsy outfielder who can’t seem to put it all together yet.

The card that Martyn sent Joey was a Mark Teixeira leather nameplate. Way above and beyond anything he needed to do. Couple this with the Teixeira relic that Robert sent, and Joey all the sudden had a nice little Tex PC going on.

Martyn tossed in three other cards, including an Ivan Nova RC and a shin ARod. Martyn, thanks again!