P-Town Tom is not only a World Champion fan of the World Champion
Cubs, he’s also a World Champion blogger and trader. Recently it looks like he
did a little pre-holiday cleaning, and sent some Yanks my way with a most
appreciated “I don’t need anything back” note. Now, I’m sure I’ll hit him back
at some time, but I am depleted of Cubs inventory right now (and Red Sox), so I
need a while to stock back up.
First and foremost, Tom sent an awesome “moving card” for my
son, Joey. He knows that Joey loves sportflics types card, and this one is particularly cool. It’s a little more advanced than the 1980s set, and shows a bit
more animation. It was hard to scan, so I apologize.
Enough about my 4-year-old. Time to show cards for ME.
Tom sent me some great Jeters, which I’m guessing might have
come from the big estate sale haul a few months back. The Ultra Pizzazz is
especially cool. There are so many amazing Jeter cards out there, as his prime
coincided with endless amounts of base and insert sets from every brand. From
1996-2005, Jeter easily has the most cards out there, I’d assume. Maybe Griffey
has more, but Jeter is definitely up there.
Any package with a hologram wins extra points.
Also, any package with Don Mattingly tenderly holding Lou
Gehrig’s bat also wins major points.
Tom also included some nice autographs. Peter O’Brien was in
the trade that brought Martin Prado to the Yankees in 2014. I was kind of
annoyed by it because O’Brien has massive righty power, but doesn’t really have
a position. He has made it to The Show with Arizona, and has 6 HRs in limited
ABs. He’s probably always going to be a minor league mashers who doesn’t enjoy
a ton of ML success, but I would have liked to see the Yanks stick with him in
hopes of turning him into a solid DH. However, the Yankees didn’t really have
that luxury with so many veterans needing time at DH. Oh well! Here’s to
wishing O’Brien the best of luck and hope he finds success.
I’m not sure where this Jose Valdez auto might have come
from. It’s not the same Valdez that is currently a reliever with the Angels…at
least I don’t think it is.
Vintage! Just a great, great Elston Howard. Not the best choice with the yellow font, Topps, but an iconic card of an iconic player, and I'm always really thankful for cards like this that come my way.
Lastly - a Mick from Starting Lineup Baseball Greats. The action figure was not included, but I did a search and here's what it looks like.
Thanks, Tom! I hope your Christmas is filled with Cubs Championship gifts.
I'm constantly amazed at the generosity of sports card bloggers... Tom is a prime example. So many nice cards here- the O'Brien auto, the Mattingly heritage and that awesome Elston Howard. I remember those baseball greats SLUs but I cant recall if Mantle was teamed with Maris or Gehrig?
ReplyDeleteI can understand why you'd be depleted on Cubs and Red Sox -- it seems like everyone on the blogosphere collects those two teams. Doesn't anyone collect Astros or Mariners? ;)
That Bernie Williams Private Screening card was THE FIND at a recent card show. I'm always on the look out for cards for packages and knew it would be a hit with Joey.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about the Jeters... they were from the estate sale. He had the third most cards in the big lot I picked up, behind Griffey and Piazza.
Lastly, I have no idea how that Jose Valdez got into my collection. This Jose Valdez was with the Yanks from 2002-2009, but never reached the big leagues. He made his MLB debut and pitched in 24 games with the Astros, but was mostly in the minors. The Red Sox took a chance on him and then in 2015, at age 32, he pitched in the Mexican League. He did not play in organized ball in 2016.
Happy Holidays to you and yours!