The rest of the Bru-haha

A few days ago I showed off a Tino Martinez A&G mini that Bru sent in a "fancy little holder."

That card was actually a throw-in within a TCDB trade we made. TCDB is a great place to trade if you're into that sort of thing.

Bru is always down to take Astros off my hand, and thank god. That team really is hated. The Yanks just took two of the three from them, which I appreciate. But losing the last game, one pitched by Gerrit Cole, and letting that little shell of himself turd Altuve beat them with a homer leaves a sour taste despite winning the series.

The two actual cards in the trade were those two unlicensed beauties. The Cole is very cool and colorful, while the Torres has a nice, embossed glove in the background. His glove work has actually been very good the last few weeks at short. Now if he could remember how to hit for power.

Now for a few of the extras. I almost missed that this is an Artist's Proof. I can effectively say I've never opened a pack of Gallery, so I always appreciate when I get some in a trade.

Giancarlo Stanton is the hottest hitter on the planet right now, which means I refuse to check Twitter because I know the Tweet that "he's experiencing soreness" or "he's being sent for an MRI" is coming. It's sad, but you have to know it's coming. I am a big fan of his, I hate the unnecessary expectations, and he seems like a good dude. I'd love for him to stay on the field and have a massive season.

I do appreciate this relic, with a nice pinstripe.

Topps Stickers have been pretty nice lately. I have no desire to have an album and put the stickers inside. But treating them as cards, they are nice looking, albeit flimsy.

Lastly, I'm not quite sure where this comes from, and my Google search is coming too empty, but it looks like a custom set from GOAT cards using the Rookies app card templates. The Ruth artwork is pretty cool, although I hope used with permission. The painting is a neat balance of realism with almost of hint of cartoon in Ruth's face. The card is glossy as well, which was never an option when I previously used the Rookies app. Perhaps this person printed these himself.

Bru also threw in some nice Heritage cards from the last two years.

Good trade. I've already got a stack of Astros building up for you, Bru.

A Surprise from Sunrise

One of my oldest trading buddies from around here is Robert from $30 A Week Habit. He and I started blogging around the same time, and have exchanged many packages and envelopes over the years.

While the envelopes have slowed a bit - mostly on my end because I haven't been good about sending out cards - Robert was kind enough to shoot me a PWE recently.

The highlight for me was a Holo Red 2020 Donruss Gleyber Torres. This is one of the variations, as well. The holofoil looks nice, I admit.

I also think Donruss slander has gone overboard. The set is super weird, and the variations are silly. But the foils are really nice, and buying Donruss provides good value for the buck. In fact, at the beginning of the Pandemic, I found two hanger boxes of Donruss at Walgreen's and I was ecstatic, and they were fun to open.

I won't hold Donruss base set against Panini. I still think if they had a license they'd be kicking the shit out of Topps, from Optic to Prism to everything in between. And I don't think it'd be close, either.

I won't let a turd like Donruss speak for all Panini products, just like I won't let a turd like flagship speak for all of Topps.

The red foil really does stand out, and I'm happy that Robert thought of me when he came across this card.

I had seen this 2019 Topps Gallery a few times and have admired it. The shot of the Empire State Building in the background, with the stars flanked by other buildings, gives this card plenty of Big Apple flair.

I haven't been to NYC since March 9. That is unfathomable, especially after going into the city for work everyday since May of 2006.

The final card was a 2019 Topps Stadium Club of Gary Sanchez. Definitely a cool shot. Gary is such an enigma. The talent is endless. When he is hot, there is no better hitter in baseball. But the problem is when he is cold, he is basically a pitcher at the plate. There is no in-between. It does not make sense how extreme the extremes are.

Still, the pose on his card is pretty cool. A catcher making his way to the dugout, likely after a bullpen session. Gatorade towel soaking up sweat. Just a very cool card.

Robert, thanks for the surprise. Appreciate it, and glad we're still pals after all these years.

Three I needed? I'll take it

As anyone who has a large player collection knows, it's hard to get a big lot of cards and find ones you've needed. I've bought large lots on eBay just hoping for one or two I needed.

Other bloggers are always well-intentioned and include cards of one's favorite player in trade packages, although in most instances it ends up being a dupe. I just sent PK Steinberg about 1,000 Kruks, and I'm sure he had them all.

Earlier this week, John of Johnny's Trading Spot sent me two team bags of Tino Martinez cards.  I certainly appreciated the package, and John included a note hoping that I might find a few I needed, knowing most would likely be dupes.

Well, I found three! I'd call that a success.

They were all from 2003 while Tino was with the Cardinals. Admittedly my Tino collection is a bit light from 2002-2004 while he was a Cardinal and Ray. I just haven't been too diligent with those years, but always willing to add them to my collection.

John, thanks for thinking of me, and for adding three new Tinos to my collection!

SuperTraders #7: Play at the Plate

Sometimes, Twitter helps you get to know some people a little better, or overall, just be a bit friendlier with them than through typical blog comments. Brian from Play at the Plate is a guy I chat with on Twitter a good amount, especially when it comes to TTMs. I always enjoy getting a notification that Brian tagged me in a post, meaning there is likely a new TTM to go check out.

Luckily for me, he is also a SuperTrader. and sent a bunch of sweet cards my way from my heyday - the 90s and early 00s.

But first, he did a generous box break a few weeks ago, and lucky pulled this guy for me. It's a great shot of Pettitte before he delivers a pitch.

Yep, that's a pretty sweet relic #'d to 75.

I gotta say, I don't have any cards from this Topps Tek set. I did have some Tinos from 1998 and 1999, but I don't think I've ever even seen this set from 2000. Man, I love clearcuts.

This card is shiny overload, and I love it. It just reeks of the '90s, right?

I've never seen either of these Jeters either. I am currently putting all my Jeter cards in a pile to see how many I have. I'm going to guess around 500, but I literally have no clue. I can say with certainty that I did not have either of these, as I've never seen them. The Topps Gallery Masters is especially cool.

Fleer also put out a set every week in the late '90s. These are some of the nicer and less forgettable ones, called Fleer Brilliants. The blue is...um, brilliant.

Here's a John Wetteland from a year when Topps Finest decided to confuse everyone.

And a Reggie and Donnie Baseball I enjoyed. I have no clue what the Mattingly is from. Donnie must have more oddballs than any other player.

Brian, thanks my friend. I owe you some sweet Rangers in return.

I don't even needs cards from this guy

Ryan of Ryan's Pitch has become a good friend of mine. We send each other PWEs a few times per year, and we chat baseball and cards on Twitter.

Ryan always includes a really thoughtful, hand-written note when he sends cards. His handwriting is so spectacular that he could honestly not even send cards, and I'd still be happy I got mail from him. Trust me, it's that good. He must've gotten an "A" on every test/essay in college in those little blue essay books, because his beautiful script would make any answer look correct.

However, because he is the man, he also sent me two sweet cards!

I thought I had this Tino when I first saw it, but then I flipped it over and saw that it was a promo card for Topps Gallery Auctions. Does anyone remember these? I sure as heck don't. I love oddballs like this.

Ryan also sent a great Andy Pettitte minor league card. I have no idea what Pettitte is doing here. Pitch chart? Scouting report? Line up card? Lunch order?

Ryan, thanks again my friend.

Brushstrokes

Many of you may be aware that I dabble in painting and drawing. I wish I did it more, honestly. Right now, it's an issue of little time, and no proper space. One day, when I have a real man cave, I hope that some of it is a proper art studio.

If you're interested in seeing some of the art I've done, here's a link: CLICK HERE.

I don't create enough to call myself an artist. I'm not. But that doesn't stop me from knowing that deep down, there might be an artist begging to get out more frequently. Perhaps one day I'll be a retiree and take an easel and canvas to the park and sit for hours each morning, painting whatever I'd like.

Being that I paint, I've always loved art cards...Diamond Kings, National Chicle, etc. I don't want them to be overdone, but I do enjoy a good painted set.

A few times on eBay, I've come across a Tino card that really speaks to the artistic side of me:

It's always been around $10, but recently I won it for under $5 in an eBay auction. I think it's such a cool card. Tino is painted, and the bat relic sits within an easel. It's undoubtedly one of the greatest relic cards I have every seen. I'm a big fan of weaving the relic shape into the design of the card, and this is perfect. 

I love this card so much, it makes me want to paint again soon. Maybe I will...

I like white cards

I'm not talking about cards of people, you racists. Last night during the Yankees rain delay, I was sorting through a few stacks of cards, and this Tino Martinez Topps Gallery really jumped out at me:

I just thought, wow, that's a nice looking card. The border is a bit large and the photo a bit small, but aesthetically speaking, white cards with blue accents look nice. That brought me to another white set: 2011 Bowman and the prospect cards. I know it isn't a popular set, but for some reason, the cards really jump out at me, and I tend to think it's the white/blue combo again.

We all have different tastes. I think 2011 Ginter is ugly, but most like it. Just goes to show there's something for everyone and that's why all of this is fun.