SuperTraders #5: Off Hiatus Cardboard

I remember reading somewhere that Tony of Off Hiatus Cards is the king of oddballs. Well, this #SuperTraders package he sent really lived up to his reputation.

Honestly, check out all of these oddballs from various Dover Publications baseball books. I must preface and say that these are reprints. Were they not, I would give Tony a giant kiss. I would also sell the cards, shut down my blog, move away to a warm climate, and forget about this whole life. But the perforated edges prove that they are indeed reprints, so I will keep the blog running, keep living in my too-small house in overpriced NJ, and just enjoy them being a part of an epic #SuperTraders package.

A lot of beauties, eh? This Chesbro is pretty cool, but it belongs in someone else's collection. You know who I'm talkin' about. He'll be getting it.

I also really like these old Drake's cards. I remember having a lot of these growing up, but no clue where they are now.

Front Row! I also had a bunch of these sets growing up. Every so often, I got a catalogue from a company called Mail Order Concepts (later Mail Order Collectibles). Anyone else remember them? They sold autographs, cards, memorabilia, etc. I always remember them having some great deals. One time, I brought a grab box that was literally a $10 box stuffed with cards and odds and ends. It was a huge box! I remember an Allen Iverson auto being in my box, as well as some random sets and packs.

A whole bunch of oddball Mattinglys!

Some sweet Pacific Invincible. Man, '90s cards rock. I'm sorry to those of you who missed out on Pacific. I really am. Why these inserts each came with A and B versions I'm not sure, but I'm glad I now have 'em both for each card.

I've been seeing Panini Contenders popping up all over the place. I actually love them. Tony was nice enough to fish out the Yanks for me of guys in their college jerseys, including Aaron Judge, Robert Refsnyder, and Jeff Degano. I totally forgot Reggie went to ASU!

Oh, and this Severino guy might be pretty good.

Tony rounded out a package with some Topps minis.

Just great stuff all around, and a blast to go through. Thanks, Tony!

My first box topper

I don't buy boxes other than blasters, so I don't get to pull fun stuff like box toppers. Luckily, other bloggers do it for me.

Tony L. from Off Hiatus Baseball Cards pulled a Jacoby Ellsbury A&G box topper and was nice enough to send it along to me. It's pretty cool...cooler than I expected, anyways. The size is just a bit weird, so not sure how to store. What do you guys do for storing box toppers?

I didn't say much about Ellsbury during this past baseball season. He had a decent first year in NY. Surprisingly, he stayed healthy, playing in 149 games. He was very streaky. He started off on fire, then had a massive slump, then caught fire again and so on. His season was full of peaks and valleys.

Overall, I did enjoy his first year in Pinstripes. He can win a game in many different ways, and he did a nice job taking advantage of the short porch. He played great D, although his arm is pretty suspect. He swiped 39 bases. I was expecting more, but that's not awful.

I'm worried about the next six years of him. He won't stay healthy. He ran less this year, and that's concerning to me for a player who relies on his legs. I'll take it year by year for now, and hope he builds upon his 2014 campaign. I'd be happy with the same numbers again, and let those other slackers rebound.

Tony, thanks for this cool card!