Loving the PWEs

I think I've previously stated, but it feels like PWEs find their way to me in bunches. I could go months without getting one, then three pop up in one week. That's why it's always fun to go to the mailbox.

Last week, Adam from Cardboard Clubhouse sent an awesome PWE. It definitely struck a really nice vintage chord, and are some big-name players!

 I love it! They were all in great condition too. I definitely didn't have that Jim Hunter, and the Murcer is a really special card given what we meant to Yankee fans.

I really liked this Ken Greer card from Star. I've gotten a lot of Star cards over the years, but I don't recall seeing the purple border. I kind of like it! Very different.

Tanaka time! Being that this is his fifth Yankees season, I need to start counting how many Tanaka I have. It's gotta be in the 50 or 60 range.

Adam, this was a most appreciated and unexpected surprise. Thank you!

A new trade partner to the rescue!

In a recent post, I mentioned that I stupidly did not have a 2017 Topps Aaron Judge RC. When I got my team set during spring training, I sent each card away for a TTM signature, and never replaced the Judge. I figured I’d get the Judge back in a trade package or two, but then something happened.

He became Aaron Freakin’ Judge.

Prices went up. Not crazy, but the card routinely goes for over $5, which is obviously quite a bit for a run of the mill base card. After eBay shipping and whatnot, I was probably going to end up dropping $7 or $8 on it.

Then you guys all came to the rescue.

The first was Matt from Summer of ’74, admittedly a blog I had just found out about. If you don't follow him, you should. He was kind enough to offer up the Judge, as well as some other Yanks. I’m always down for another trading partner, so I quickly said yes.

Matt delivered! And now I have this…again. But this time it’s not going anywhere.

Accompanying the Judge was a team bag loaded with Yankees.

While their drafts have been stellar, two of the Yankees top three picks from 2015 aren’t quite working out. James Kaprielian (Round 1, 16 overall), while tremendously talented, is on the shelf after TJ surgery shortly after Spring Training. Jeff Degano (Round 2, 57 overall) is a lefty from Indiana State who had a lot of success in college, but then seemed to develop a case of the yips and couldn’t find the plate last year. As far as I know, he is still back in extended spring training this year. I really hope Kaprielian is able to come back 100%, as he is a very likeable kid with a great make up and bulldog mentality, and someone who was close to being a major part of this new youth movement. He just might have to be a part of it a little later than planned, that’s all.

This Sparky Lyle is super cool. I don’t think I’ve seen that photo.

Speaking of unseen photos, I don’t recognize this one of The Mick either. It feels really clear and high quality compared to some of this other photos. He was a total badass, that’s for sure, and looks great on an ’87 design.

As does Jeter! I‘ll always add more Jeters to the collection.

Thanks, Matt! Really appreciate the cards. I’ll hit you back momentarily.

Bing!

I get giddy every time a PWE from Mark H. arrives. I know it's always going to have something good in it.

Mark found out on another post that I was a Syracuse grad, so he said, "I'll have to send you a Dave Bing card." For those of you who might not be basketball fans, Dave Bing went to Syarcuse, was a #2 overall NBA pick, had a Hall of Fame career, and also was the mayor of Detroit. Pretty impressive stuff! He doesn't get the recognition that a lot of other legends get, but make no mistake, he was one of the best.

Mark sent me three Bing cards, including this awesome over-sized card, which I am told was from 1976-77 and Topps actually did a full set of these. Interesting.

 

And of course, Mark threw in two Yanks as well!

 

Thank you, sir!

Random Yanks from Paul's Random Baseball Stuff

A few weeks back, and awesome assortment of random Yanks showed at my door. Appropriately, they came from Paul at Paul's Random Baseball Stuff. If you don't frequent Paul's blog, you should. He shares some great baseball insights, as well as cool promotions from around the game. While the majority is Mets focused, Paul also frequents the local minor league games, such as Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Trenton, to name a few. He truly is a fan of the game.

One of the coolest things Paul sent was an assortment of pocket schedules, notably from Trenton. Two of them depict Jeter during rehab stints, while another shows Cano. The Jeter in the stars and stripes jersey is just too cool.

I've never seen this Upper Deck card of Jorge Posada. I don't own too many cards from this set. It's from a time I wasn't collecting. It's a pretty cool card. It looks like Posada slid after a ball near the wall in foul territory (and made the catch!).

A bunch of Jeters are always welcome. That Diamond Tributes card is sooo Fleer, but in a good way.

Look how young and innocent Melky looks. Then he did PEDs and still ended up making a ton of money.

Chien-Ming Wang. Stupid interleague play ruined his career. Pitchers don't belong running the bases. While this looks like a Topps base card, it's actually one of those fancy cardboard ones with the old school Topps logo.

A few Sheffs, whose time in NY with the Yanks was very underrated. He got hurt in the third year of his deal, but in the first two, he hit .290/.393/.534 in 2004 and .291/.379/.512 in 2005. In fact, the closest he ever came to winning an MVP was in '04, when he finished second to Vlad. I had no idea.

Mo just looks good on classy cards, such as Turkey Red or Masterpieces.

These Fleer Tradition All-Star cards are cool. I wish Topps would make the current All-Star cards look a little different than just slapping the game logo on them.

There was a bunch more great stuff. Paul, thanks again