Who you callin' a Squirt?

Matt from Doc Holoday is one of the best blogging dudes out there.

First off, his customs are true works of art...even when they have Red Sox players on them.

Some of my best blogging buddies are Red Sox fans, so it just goes to show what a great group of collectors we've got around these parts. Matt is no exception, and this trade package meant a lot because I know he's been dealing with a lot since late summer when Hurricane Harvey affected him and millions others in Texas and the southeastern US.

Matt sent me a message that I had 2 lbs of Yankees headed by way, and right away I was greeted with a card I had always wanted:

Squirt! I love this card. And I love squirt. Full disclosure - on New Year's Eve this past year I was shopping for food to make that night, and wandered down the soda aisle and my eyes immediately went to Squirt. The colors are so catchy! I bought a 2 liter and drank the whole thing that day. It's delicious! And I'm really happy to have this card.

He wasn't joking about the 2 lbs of cards either. Holy moly was their great stuff, including this Dellin Betances holiday relic.

And some really, really shiny Yankees. I don't know much about Topps Finest these days other than knowing the Refractors still look awesome.

Roger Clemens was represented well in this box. I really like the Double Play insert with Greg Maddux on the flip side.

Derek Jeter cards are always welcome in my collection:

At the time, this was probably a stretch. Now, even more so! Ruben Rivera sharing a card with The Big Hurt? Not a great look.

Oddballs besides the Squirt Reggie were found too. Sweet Woolworth card of Mattingly!

I keep saying it, but Severino is criminally under-priced right now.

Some nice cards of Yankees legends from some newer products - Reggie, Gehrig, and The Mick finding his way into Donruss.

I had no idea that Steve Sax's brother, Dave Sax, played in the majors!

Two trippy ARods. The old Fleer Ultra inserts really hold up today. This was a Diamond Mine insert.

Big Mike /499! Good luck in Minnesota, my friend.

Look how young Jorge looks! I collected a ton of Collector's Choice growing up, but I don't think I have this card. The base card designs were always pretty tastefully done.

Trust me, there were many, many more great cards. Matt, I really appreciate you thinking of me. Keep up the amazing work with the customs!

Sunday Holoday

I'm nearly caught up on trade packages from the last few months. Here's another, this time from Matt of Doc Holoday Cards.

Matt is one of those Red Sox fans I shouldn't get along with but do. He's a really nice guy and has sent me a few batches of great Yankees cards. Our mailings are a little different. I tend to pepper Matt with some PWEs and an occasional bubble mailer. Matt, on the other hand, usually waits until he has a flat rate box ready to go!

See?

This one was full of awesome Yanks. Below is a random sampling, but I enjoyed the whole box!

Here are a few Jeters I didn't have. Once I get organized, I am going to count my Jeters. I must have 500 or so that are different. I want to know. If the number is over 500, I may try for 1,000 different Jeters, because why not?

 

This is cool. There was a post-it note on the card that says "it's faint, but I think there's an autograph on there." Right you are, Matt!

A couple of low-numbered GQ minis!

Two very blue lefties! The CC is #'d to just 25 and is really gorgeous and sparkly.

Two Tanaka RCs, including the flagship issue! I'm pretty sure I didn't have this one.

And let's cap it with a Reggie #'d to 199.

Matt, this was an awesome assortment. Thank you!

A card-filled Holoday

I’ve been painfully slow on trade posts lately. I feel badly about it, especially when a blogger sends their cards to me first, I take forever to return my package to them, and then they post about it before I do. No excuses.

For the first time, I traded with Matt from Doc Holoday. He had a big ol pile of Yanks, so I claimed them in exchange for some Red Sox…a trade that clearly benefits both of us.

Matt wasn’t joking when he said he had a pile of Yanks. The packaged arrive in a large box. When I opened, here is what I saw:

Yep, packages within packages. In the first two team bags, there were nearly complete sets (with dupes!) of 2012 and 2013 Topps. It made me realize how bad I have been at assembling team sets of the Yanks. It is inspiring me to go after all Yankees Topps team sets from 1980 through now, then I’ll focus on the older stuff. I had always wanted to do that, but this gave me a kick in the pants. Want lists to come. I’ll also be doing this for Heritage.

I pulled out a few of my favorites from the package Matt sent, as well as some of the cards from an envelope labeled “The slightly better stuff,” which I’ll show off below.

Here is what the flat rate box looked like…three giant stacks of goodies! 

There is no excuse for me not having all of these UD Masterpieces cards here. This set…is just…beautiful. The cards are magnificent. I’ll have to look at the checklists to see what I still need, but it’s a crime if I am missing some Yanks for this set. 

This Pineda jumped out at me. I really look forward to seeing him pitch this summer. If he could come back healthy, it would be a nice mid-season acquisition. I have an unofficial Pineda collection, so this is a nice score.

 Yankee cards of Ichiro. Can’t get over that. 

I had never seen this Upper Deck release before. I believe it’s from 2006 Future Stars. The cards are a bright teal color. They are certainly different from any I have seen, almost in a refreshing way.

Here is Gehrig on a 1995 Topps. So silly.

And here is some of the “slightly better stuff”:

X-Fractors! I’m starting to like X-Fractors more than Re-fractors.

Ok, I like them equally the same.

And even more when Mason Williams is on one.

Colored parallels! Man, I am really taking to these more and more.

Ichiro…again…on a Yankees card.

Russell…you look better in green than in Pirates gold.

More shiny stuff!

And some of those sweet 2011 Topps that had the wooden/cardboard backs.

I’d take these four on my team any day.

And finally, some manufactured goodness!

Matt, the package was a blast. Looking forward to our next inter-rivalry trade.