An old Habit returns to my mailbox

It had been awhile, but I completed a small blogger to blogger trade with Judson of My Cardboard Habit. Judson and I go pretty far back swapping cards. We made out first swap back in 2014, according to my blog posts. This was the first card he sent me back then, if my blog records are to be trusted:

My how times have changed!

Judson does more Tweeting than blogging these days, and recently had the stroke of luck of pulling some Yankee relics out of 2020 A&G. He thought it was misfortune. I disagreed. So we struck up a deal and these came my way:

James Paxton and the 'stache look hilarious!

Judson also threw in a few relics from A&G past. Tex = cool. Ellsbury = fool.

Always good to make a small swap here and there, Judson. If you want to find this cat on Twitter, he's @cardboardhabit.

The Habit Returns

Out of the blue, Judson from My Cardboard Habit shot me a note on Twitter asking if I wanted the following card:

Um, yes, Judson, I do.

This is a card of 2019 Yankees first rounder Anthony Volpe, and it's numbered to /25. That is pretty awesome, and despite the hard time he likes to give me on Twitter, shows what a good dude Judson is.

Volpe is still just 18, and got off to a so-so start in his pro debut. While his average wasn't great at .215, he did get on base at a .349 clip, showing the eye was there. Volpe comes in at number 10 on the Yankees MLB Pipeline Top 30 list. A local NJ kid, if he ever makes it, the fans will love cheering for the Jersey guy.

Judson, really appreciate this card, and your friendship. Thank you, sir!

My favorite relic set

I've never been a set collector. It's just not in my blood.

But I did complete my favorite relic set of all time: 2000 Upper Deck HoloGRFX A Piece of the Series. It was an 11-card set with a game-used base relic from the 1999 World Series, a year in which the Yankees swept the Braves.

I have always loved the look of these cards. They felt tastefully done, and the base relic was large, generously sized, and fairly unique.

Obviously, the memory of the Yankees winning the World Series aided my enjoyment of the set. Im not sure I would have collected it had they lost.

There are autographed versions of these cards as well, and the Tino isn't even a white or gray whale for me. It's an invisible whale. A rainbow unicorn whale. I don't think I'll ever even have a chance at owning it.

However, for now, I'll always feel great about owning and completing this set. Apologies for a bunch of bad scans:

A special thanks to My Cardboard Habit for running this contest about relic cards!

Tanaka Time from a Rangers fan

I recently got a surprise package from Judson of My Cardboard Habit. He is a well-documented Rangers fan, so I have to assume the ALCS is a bit tough for him - the hated Yankees versus the hated Astros. From what I can tell, Rangers fans aren't particularly fond of the Astros, and some are actually rooting for the Yankees to come out of the AL.

I'm not sure where Judson falls on the issue, but that didn't stop him from sending me some great Yankees that he felt he needed to get out of the house.

The highlight of the package were a few Masahiro Tanaka cards, there hero of last night's Game 5 victory:

I think it's my first Tanaka relic, so that's cool. I also really like the diecuts, as I'm a sucker for those types of cards.

This is my first in-hand look at Inception. I really like the design. I can't believe Dellin Betances has been such a non-factor this post-season. From a four-time All-Star in the last four seasons to someone who can't even be trusted in mop-up duty. I really hope Betances is able to find peace this off-season, and fix the mechanical flaws that are causing his control issues. He's too good for this.

Judson also sent this cool DiMaggio Diamond King, as well as a Gary Sanchez coin.

Thanks for the cards, Judson!

Thanks, Jud(ge)son

I mentioned yesterday that bloggers came to the rescue when I mentioned I needed a 2017 Aaron Judge Topps RC.

Matt Prigge of Summer of '74 was the first hero, and then Judson of My Cardboard Habit came to the rescue, sending quite an Aaron Judge-centric package I was not expecting.

First, the reason for the mailer:

Lovely!

Then Judson sent even more Judge goods, starting with this 2017 Rookie of the Year Favorites insert from Bowman. I've wanted this card since I saw it! One thing I'm surprised with is how "RC" logos are appearing on insert cards. I thought non-base cards couldn't be rookie cards? Honestly, I have no clue about the rules around what is a rookie card and what isn't these days. I still sort of believe that the pre-RC is the real rookie card, which would make his 2013 Bowmans his RCs. I don't know. But I do know I like this card.

Judson must have broken a bit of Bowman, because he sent me not one, not two, but three Judge RCs from Bowman.

And if that wasn't enough, Gleyber! I will hoard any and all Gleybers I can these days, and I did not have this one yet.

Judson also gave me my first in-person look at 2017 Diamond Kings. I like these. They sort of remind me of the UD Masterpieces that had the borders around them, although the card texture is a little different. Still, I think they look great.

Lastly, just as P-Town Tom does, I love a nice, personal note. What a sweet guy!

Thanks for the cards, Judson! I'll hit you back soon whenever I get my act together.

He has a Habit of sending me Yankees

One of my best trading buddies is Judson from My Cardboard Habit. He is extremely generous in thinking of me when he comes across Yankees.

He recently busted some Gypsy Queen, and found two Yanks he thought I would like. The first he tee'd on Twitter - a no backplate Masahiro Tanaka. These fall 1:9 in hobby and 1:12 in retail.

The second card was more of a surprise - a purple Aroldis Chapman #'d to 250. These fall 1:13 in hobby and 1:17 in retail.

This was my first in-person look at GQ, and I like it a lot, at least relative to the past few years. I'll definitely try to pick up some at some point.

Judson, thank you very much for thinking of me. I'll hit you back soon.

Not all Yankee fans are bad

A few weeks back, Judson of My Cardboard Habit asked me on Twitter if I minded sticker autos. Of course not, I said. While I prefer on-card (who doesn't?), there are plenty of places for stickers in my collection.
He agreed.

That was followed up by an email that simply said "It's coming" with a collection of numbers. Those numbers, of course, were a tracking number.

Fast forward a few days, and this card showed up:

Whoa! Now, as you'll see in my most-wanted section on the right hand side of my blog, Brett Gardner is an autograph that I didn't have in my collection, and really wanted. He's been a very good Yankee since 2008, one of the few that has actually had an impact from the horrid drafts of the mid-2000s.

I'm not sure why I didn't have his auto. I guess they aren't that easy to come by, and he doesn't sign TTM. So it just sort of escaped my collection. Until now.

However, that's not all. Equal to the kind gesture of the card was a post-it note. I've only pictured a snippet, but man, how powerful is that? The truth is, I feel the same way. Some of my best trading friends have turned out to be from rival teams. Judson is a Rangers fan, the same Rangers that knocked the Yankees out of the 2010 ALCS. And it's not just the Rangers. A few of my favorite traders are fans of the Boston Red Sox. I've found guys like Matt Perry and Mark Hoyle to be some of the best card-collecting dudes out there.

On the flip side, I know Yankee fans are despised all over the country, but hopefully you've been surprised that some of us are a civil bunch, and that your experiences with me, Zippy, Drew, Tim, etc. have made you realize that not all Yankee fans are bad.

Judson, thanks for not only the awesome Gardner auto, but also for being my friend.

Bloggers with a Habit

Recently, two bloggers I tend to get along very well with sent me some great Yankee cards. Not only do these two gentlemen send awesome cards, but both of their blog names include “Habit.” I’m talking about Robert from $30A Week Habit and Judson from My Cardboard Habit.

I think I’ve gotten to a point with both of these guys where we just kind of send each other cards back and forth and know that it’ll all even out in the end, although I always feel like what I send pales in comparison to what they send.

First up, here are a few goodies from Robert. Him and I have both gone through the difficult process of moving card collections over the last few months. It’s not easy! While mine are moved, they are still very boxed up and unorganized. I don’t love the feeling. Moving also makes you realizes how many damn pieces of cardboard you have. And let me tell ya, cards are heavy!

Robert happened to stumble upon this Michael Pineda 2016 Opening Day Blue Foil and asked if I needed it. Indeed, I did! I did not have this Pineda yet. It is #147 in my Big Mike PC. Pineda had a tough 2016, although he did become the first Yankees right hander to record 200 Ks in a season since Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina both did it in 2001. That was hard to believe.

Man, last year Luis Severino cards were H-O-T. This year, not so much. He had a pretty miserable year amidst some lofty expectations. I still think he’s too young to give up on and move to the ‘pen, although his stuff did play up well there. Hopefully he comes to spring training and wins a starting job. I’d also like to note that these blue-framed 2016 Gypsy Queen parallels were some of the nicest of the year.

I gotta say, I forgot how nice these were. I really came back into collecting in 2011, so these Diamond Anniversary parallels were pretty popular. But after not really thinking of them too much over the last few years, it’s nice to be reminded how striking they are.

The last card Robert sent was a Ty Hensley. I always appreciate you guys keeping an eye out for Hensleys for me!

Moving onto the man with a cardboard habit (don’t we all have one?!), Judson reached out about wanting to send me a few Dillon Tate autos after the Yankees acquired him in the Carlos Beltran trade. I thought that was super nice of him. Take a look at these beauties from Inception!

Other than the serial numbers and some purplish/blue hues, I’m not positive what the difference is. However, I like them and was thrilled to add some Tate autos. Inception cards always look a bit trippy (as was the movie), but I always end up liking them. I love the surface of the card, which is great for autographs. Overall, I think it's just a cool set, and the auto checklist is usually quite strong.

I love the gamble the Yankees took on Tate, the 4^th overall pick in the 2015 Draft. Although the Yankees had him work exclusively out of the bullpen after the trade, he seemed to pitch better than he did prior to the trade. I look forward to seeing if he can bounce back to being a top prospect.

Another Severino! This time a nice Topps Chrome Refractor. I think 2016 Topps Chrome looked a lot better than the flagship (which I liked, for the record), and the Refractor and Refractor parallels looked terrific.

I love this Heritage Chrome Refractor of Masahiro Tanaka. That Topps All-Star Rookie Trophy is pretty rad. Tanaka is the undisputed ace of the Yankees, and still finds himself a bit underrated. He’s probably going to just miss out on the ERA title this year, unless he ends up pitching on Saturday, which I doubt he will. With the Yankees out of it, there’s really no reason to bring him back from injury. He had a Cy Young-caliber year, and although he won’t win, he sure was a rock for the Yankees. Plus, look at this smile!

This is definitely my first 65^th Anniversary buyback. And you know what, I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever even seen this Reggie Jackson 1982 Topps card – buyback or not. I just do not recognize it. It wouldn’t be that surprising, although it’s not like Jackson has a ton of Topps cards from the ‘70s and ‘80s either. Hmmm. Well, I’m happy to have it, foil stamp or not!

Thanks again, guys! I really appreciate you thinking of me, as always.

ITT Tek

My buddy Judson of My Cardboard Habit is always looking out for me. He recently busted some 2015 Topps Tek, and pulled two cards he thought I would enjoy. He sent them my way, and he was damn right. I do enjoy them.

The only Tek card I had up to this point was an Al Leiter auto I splurged on. I didn’t have any base or parallels.

The first card in the toploader was a base card. Just a little guy named Mr. October:

Very cool. But the next card. The next card was very unexpected!

That’s a Dellin Betances gold parallel numbered to just 35! I believe it’s a gold rainbow parallel. Whether or not is has other versions or backgrounds, I have no idea. What I do know is that it’s a very nice card. It’s definitely one of the nicest Dellin cards in my collection. Something about a clear cut acetate card plus gold just makes for a really classy card. Oh, and Dellin is really awesome too.

Judson, thanks my friend!

On topper the hill

This past weekend, Judson of My Cardboard Habit reached out saying that he pulled both a Tanaka box topper and action variation, and asked if I wanted them. Um, yeeeah!

That's certianly something that is reiterated time and time again around these parts. How I can just be going about a normal day, check my email for a second, and come to find that someone pulled something that I might like, and that it's basically already in the mail for me.

My Tanaka collection is coming along nicely, and I've never pulled or bought one of his cards. Just goes to show how awesome guys like Judson are.