Swing and a Pop Up pops up

It's been awhile since I've conversed with Bert from Swing and a Pop Up. I've always known him to be a very generous guy though. Out of the blue a few weeks back, Bert popped up in my inbox, offering me a full set of Yankees 1981 Topps Giant Photo Cards. He informed me that he bought a box expecting all Red Sox, and the Yankees found their way into it. I chuckled at that!

Regardless, Bert sent me all the Yankees from this fun product. Here are a few:

 

I've always like them! I want to figure out a cool way to display them.

Speaking of display, Bert also sent a wrapper from '81 Topps Giant Photos. I thought it was cool, and decided to turn it into some wall art. More to come!

Bert, thanks for your generosity!

A gator pops up in the Jersey burbs

I always love it when an unexpected animal makes an unexpected appearance in an unexpected place.

Of course, I don't want anyone to get hurt, but every so often there is a coyote in Central Park or a whale in the East River. In fact, yesterday morning I was woken up by a VERY LOUD wild turkey in my yard. Now, those aren't terribly rare around here, but I live in a very populated area, so it was quite a surprise to hear it gobbling and awkwardly making its way across my yard.

As it turns out, a gator also made it's way to NJ. However, not the dangerous kind. Unless it's one throwing a baseball with his left hand.

Ron "Gator" Guidry signed two cards that I sent to spring training. Although I hope a few others trickle in, I'll certainly be going out on a high note if none others do.

Gator has a great signature, and I'm pleased to add these to my collection.

Thanks, Mr. Guidry!

SuperTraders #1: The creator, JBF

I received my first of two #SuperTraders packages this weekend. It's only fitting that the first comes from the creator himself, Wes of Jaybarkerfan's Junk.

Wes always sends me such great Yankees cards. Often, cards I have never seen before. It's like he magically creates sets that came out 10-15 years ago, but no one saw them at the time. He is a magician like that.

Regardless, he sent a great package, and it was a perfect way to kick off #SuperTraders.

My favorite card of the package is this Jason Giambi game-used base relic. It's not my favorite just because it's a hit, but because I like relics that aren't jerseys or bats. Rubbery base relics always feel super cool. Seeing as it is called "Back 2 Back", I wondered if the flipside had another Yankee on it, like 2016 Topps. On the back was...Jason Giambi. So I guess not.

I feel that sets like Triple Threads and Tribute and Museum have a lot of nice base cards, but no one gives a damn since they aren't the "hits." I've found some of these "discards" as some of the nicer cards over the last few seasons.

Here is some solid '70s vintage, including a Ron Guidry rookie! Wow, now. I definitely have never seen that card before. It's awesome to now have Gator's RC.

A few '90s inserts to remind everyone why the '90s were an awesome time to collect, despite the perception. I've always thought that the 1998 Diamond Kings are very underrated.

 

Some Tinos! I needed that Yankee Stadium Legacy. I don't think I've properly counted the Tino YS Legacy cards as different Tinos, but why shouldn't I? They have different numbers.

This Finest Warriors card is sweet! The blue is so striking, and the die-cut is very cool. It looks like a badge of sorts. I bet this was a hot card during Tanaka's rookie year.

I don't think I bought any 2015 Archives. I said in a previous post, but I just can't tell all the Archives years apart now.

Tiger aka Chien-Ming Wang! Tiger is badass. Why didn't he keep that? Adrian Hernandez was a fairly big deal, but he never did much. He was nicknamed El Duquecito - Little El Duque - due to being Cuban and having similar arm angles, but he just wasn't that good.

I think I should end every blog post with this card.

Wes, thanks for getting this started!

TTM Success: Ron Guidry

Man, I haven't had a TTM success this big in a long time. It was super exciting and unexpected to see this one in my mailbox.

In just about 2-weeks time, former Yankee captain Ron Guidry returned my 1989 Upper Deck card signed. I had heard that Guidry was in camp helping the Yankees, so I took a shot and sent him a TTM request. I never really figured he'd answer, but he signed my card with his perfect signature in a very short amount of time.

I did not have a Gator auto in my collection, so I'm pretty pumped to add this. Not sure if I'll get a better success this spring.

A Spankee Yankee trade

I dropped the ball on this trade, but luckily Spankee didn’t. He sent me a great batch of Yanks that had a little of everything. I am just now sending out cards for him. Talk about a slacker.

The trade started by checking if a Reggie Jackson he pulled was for trade. Here’s the card. I’ve always loved these, especially with the signature.

A Joba card #/d to 699 was also included. Hard to believe I’m watching Joba’s last few weeks in pinstripes. He’ll either be traded today or walk away as a free agent next year. 

Fleer Inscribed of Derek Jeter is just a classy card. 

I have no idea what set this Roberto Kelly card comes from, but there were two different ones in the package. 

A great old Topps All Star of Donnie Baseball. 

A Topps Attax refractory card, which is surprisingly sharp looking for a Topps Attax card.

Oddball! 

Last but not least, a Floyd Little Syracuse card. I always appreciate gestures like this, as it shows Spankees knows I’m a Syracuse guy from the few times I've mentioned it. I wonder if Floyd signs TTM… 

 

Thanks again, Spankee! I SWEAR your cards are in the mail.

Real or Fake?

I have been at my mother-in-law's house all weekend. I've been sneaking away to watch some of the NBA playoffs, but mostly I've been sitting with her and my little lady in the TV room. She likes to watch the show "Two and Half Men," so I've endured a few episodes of the show tonight. I've never liked that show, and can't for the life of me realize why it has been so successful. The acting is awful and that kid is annoying as hell.

Regardless, we were watching an episode tonight, and it was all about real or fake...yes, you know what body part I'm talking about. That's not comfortable subject matter when sitting next to your mother-in-law. Anyhow, it inspired my post, because I recently picked up a signed card on Listia I don't know if it's real or fake.

The auto in question is Ron Guidry. I got it for a reasonable amount of credits, and felt it was worth the gamble. I don't have an autograph of Gator, and I've never gotten him to sign for me TTM. When I saw this, I figured I'd put in a capped bid, and if it went over, well, I would lose. It didn't.

I certainly think the signature looks legit compared to some of this others I've seen. Even if not, the card didn't cost me anything. I'm sure I'll never know, but I'm choosing to believe that I now have an autograph of one of the best Yankee lefties ever.

This Oscar is no Grouch - trading with ATBATT

Sorry for the awful title. I'm especially sorry to Oscar. He'll probably never trade with me again.

Anyhow, I recently made my first trade with Oscar of “All TradeBait, All The Time.” I had a ’58 Topps Carl Furillo he wanted. The centerpiece of the deal for me was this 1959 Topps Enos Slaughter. The card is a beaut and is in great condition:

Not far behind the Slaughter was this ’75 Topps Mickey Mantle/Maurey Wills MVP card. I have seen these cards a lot, but never pulled the trigger. I like how simple Topps celebration was for their 25^th anniversary. Could you image what they would do now? Of course you can. 

 Here are a few more sweet cards that Oscar threw in:

 

Oscar, thanks again!