I was going to make a snarky post about seagulls, and being chased by them. Then I got to the hit of the pack:


If I could pick any Oriole to get a relic from, it would be Frank Robinson, of course. But Brooksie is a close second. Even if it's a manuhit, it's still pretty sweet looking.

When I got back from my holidays, there was a package waiting in the mail for me from Richard over at Dawgbones, a Phillie Fan. He and I had been working on a trade, my first involving cards from 2011 Topps. Thankfully, I had a lot of cards that he needed for his collection, and he had more than a few to fill some gaps in my set. While these cards aren't all of them, they are a representative sample.

Richard sent about 15 of the 2011 base cards. These three were the ones that I didn't have, although there were also quite a few White Sox and Orioles for my team sets as a few cards that were upgrades from the damaged cards I pulled from my box. But thanks to the Dawg, I now have Messrs. Wright, Conger and Revere in the binder.




There were also some insert cards - once again, I'm being a fool and attempting to collect the 60 Years of Topps set, even though I haven't finished collecting last year's Cards Your Mom Threw Out (a fact shown by the Maris card from that set that I needed). Thankfully, the Diamond Duos set appears to be a much more reasonable target, even though the pairings are a bit strange. Hornsby and Holliday? Outside of the uniform, there doesn't seem to be much in common. Ramirez and Stanton are at least teammates, so they're a duo that shares a diamond.


As I was hammering out the trade details with Richard, I pulled out my 2010 Allen & Ginter binder and realised that I have a lot of work to go on this set. Thankfully, he had 13 cards from A&G to put in the binder, so I only have a great deal of work to go now.


Now for the big-ticket items. As you might remember, I had pulled a Matt Holliday manu-patch out of my 2011 blaster. I also pulled a Hank Greenburg short print so it wasn't a total loss. Thankfully, not only did Richard want my manu-patch (since he collects players who were the No. 7) but he had an Ichiro patch card from the same series to trade. In fact, I think this my have been the impetus for the trade in the first place.


Another thing that Richard collects is currency. And for the price of AUD 3.85 (approximately US$4.00), which is one of each coin (that's right, we have a dollar and a two-dollar coin, and they're lovely), he was kind enough to throw in this card. It's not a manu-hit, it's the real thing. Ichiro's 2007 Night Before the All-Star Game batting practice jersey, all cut up and preserved for posterity. I like the color.




Besides the cards, which I was expecting, were a few things that I wasn't. First up, these three Fatheads, which will find a place on the front of their respective team binders. Now I'm going to have to chase up the Orioles and the Athletics, too.

But the best thing in the package wasn't even a card, or a Fathead. Richard included a really, really nice note that let me know how much he enjoys reading my blog. It was very touching because, as I've said before, I write this for all of you. I enjoy getting to share my collection, and my opinions on the game, but it's the comments and the interaction with you guys that keep me writing.

He specifically mentioned my Travels With Raleigh series, which was abruptly cut off due to our arriving safely in Derby and not having any internet access up here for a few weeks on my arrival. By that point, it was time to start writing about cards and the new baseball season again. But I should finish the series, because there's a few more stories to tell. Richard's note is the impetus to get that finished. Please hold me to this.

Thanks for an absolutely great trade, Richard. I hope to complete another one with you in the future!

I got a big bag in the mail today. I won't call it a pleasant surprise because I was expecting it, but that doesn't make the contents any less good. It was full of cards that I had purchased off of eBay but had sent to may parents due to the fact that the shippers don't ship internationally. There were quite a few cards in the package, so here's a few of them, with many more to come later. It was a big bag!

Here's one of last year's manupatch varieties - in this case, a Tim Lincecum card commemorating their move from New York to San Francisco. It's a 50th anniversary patch, yet this card didn't appear in the 2008 Topps set (which would have been the actual 50th anniversary) but rather the 2010 set. I don't pretend to understand the logic in that. I've given up trying.

On the other hand, I think it's a great looking card. I like the blue and black border, and the patch itself is quite nice looking. It is the actual logo that appeared on the Giants' uniforms that season - so maybe that's the reason it's on the card. Does anyone know what the "theme" for 2010 Series 1 manupatches was - old commemorative logos, perhaps? I know the Series 2 theme was World Series logos and this season it's obviously old team logos.


Ah, 2008 SPx American Hero - a set that causes Ken Griffey Jr. collectors heartburn. I know there's at least 75 different cards like this, because I'm pretty sure I've seen card #KG75 on eBay. This is card #KG37, and as you'll noticed, it's serial #ed 1 of 25. Thankfully, it wasn't being sold by a douchebag, so he put a very reasonable starting bid (99 cents) and didn't artificially pump up the market by claiming it was a "1 of 1" by virtue of its serial number. Frankly, I couldn't give a flying flip what the first number of a serial number is. I do have a 1/25 (this card) and a 50/50, but that's just because they were the cards that were available at the time.

Now that I have this card, I feel no need to collect any more from the series. I'm not going to play Upper Deck's little game. I may get one of the cards from this set that show Griffey in a Reds uniform, but that's only if the price and circumstances are correct. I'll certainly consider trading for one, too.


About three times after I bought this card, a Felix Hernandez Spectrum Swatch, I panicked that I already owned it in my CheckOutMyCards account. And each time, after about 30 seconds, I remembered that the card in my account is actually the gold parallel Spectrum jersey card numbered to 99. It's actually the first King Felix relic card I bought, so you'd think I'd remember it better.

This card, on the other hand, is not serial numbered. But I do need it for the rainbow, so into the sleeve it goes.

Those are the first three cards to show. There are many more parallels, autos, sets and relics to come. Like I said, it was a big bag.

First, the good news - I will definitely reveal the contents of my patch card in this post. Sorry about the deception yesterday but hey - it was April 1st.

Now, the bad news - the patch card has already been claimed.

There weren't near as many cards in the final five packs worth posting about. In fact, there were seven. None of them were base cards, so I only added the one to my set, leaving me 20 cards short (for now). Heck, even both of the Diamond Duos cards that I pulled were duplicates!

Here's the cards I did get that I'm keeping. And I'm being generous when I say there were seven cards because one of them is a ToppsTown card. But it's Aroldis Chapman. Might as well show you that first, since the cat's now out of the bag:

Two Kimball mini cards also spilled out of the back. I could have sworn that I already had the Starlin Castro card, but it turns out I didn't. Not that it matters, I'm not collecting the set, except for PC and team purposes.


Two parallel cards: a Jose Guillen gold parallel and a Jon Jay diamond parallel. Both are available - please make me an offer!



Here's some cards that will definitely be sticking around - 60 Years cards for Roy Campanella (1953) and Reginald Martinez Jackson (1970). I never get tired of looking at young Reggie. A fresh-face youngster who probably didn't even know what aviator sunglasses looked like. He looks skinnier than a straw, never mind being the straw that stirs the drink.



Finally, the patch card. Some of you would love to have pulled this card. But you can probably understand why I wasn't too excited:


Matt Holliday on a Cardinals patch card. Oh well, at least it wasn't an Astros card.

Like I said, the card has already been claimed. After I put up my updated 2011 want list, Richard from Dawgbones - A Phillies Phan e-mailed me to let me know that he had some cards to send. He also mentioned that if the (as yet unveiled) patch card belonged to one of the teams he collected, he had a Ichiro 1969 Seattle Pilots patch card to swap for it.

Well, I was planning on making this card available for one of the four patch cards I care about - the two Ichiros ('69 Pilots and '91 Mariners), Felix Hernandez ('82 Mariners) and Tim Lincecum ('62 Giants). Now, here's Richard offering one of those very cards for it! All we need is a match.

Of course, those of you who follow Richard's blog know that, like me, he collects five teams. And they are the Phillies, Yankees, Diamondbacks, Twins and Red Sox. Not the Cardinals. Bummer.

However...he also has some, shall we say...esoteric collections as well. And one of those is players who wear #7 or #17 on their uniform. Hey - Matt Holliday wears #7!

And thus, the seeds of a trade have been sown. I hope you enjoy the picture of somebody else's card.

Pack number two, and I'm starting to feel like I'm making significant progress on the set. So much so, that I'm even starting to get some doubles. I now have at least two base cards available for trade. Here's the highlights of the pack:

Best three cards (in reverse order):

#3 – Garrett Jones (#171): It's ludicrous. Dude is getting interviewed after the game, and they snap a picture of him wearing the big broadcaster noise-stifling headphones. And Topps decides that's the picture to use. I love it.


#2 – Koji Uehara (#164): Pure joy, with a little bit of a fist pump. Although I don't think that picture could have been taken last season.


#1 – Michael Saunders (#252): Another outstanding defensive effort takes out the big prize, but, for me, it's the Mariners logo in the background that makes this card stand out. Others might disagree, and call the logo distracting. Fair enough, but it's my blog. And yes, I'm biased.


Worst card:
Ubaldo Jimenez (#270). Topps sure didn't do him any favors with this card. Not only is his comically oversized jersey number stealing focus from the rest of the card, but the photographer managed to capture him with an awful look on his face, one usually reserved for constipation. No respect for the man's accomplishments last season.


Best card back:
As soon as I saw Jamie Moyer's card (#232), I knew who the winner would be for this round. You had to see that one coming. In fact, I should just name this award after him.

Insert cards:


Mark Reynolds Topps 60


Ryan Braun/Ike Davis Diamond Duos (Jews on parade! I should have seen this one coming - scroll to the bottom of that post)


1973 Carlton Fisk 60 Years of Topps


Bob Feller 60YOT The Lost Cards


Justin Morneau Kimball Champions

Was there a hit? Is it available for trade?:
Two-for-two on the hits. This is starting to shape up like my box of 2010 Ginter, where I found the hits in packs 1, 3 and 5. In this case, it's the top two packs in the box.


I found the glove card, which is available in every jumbo box. Ryan Howard. This is my second Ryan Howard pull from a Topps box (I have a bat relic from 2009 Series 2). It is available for trade, at the right price. Preferably, for a glove relic of one of the players on my PC list (Ichiro, Lincecum or King Felix).

Any Diamond Parallel cards?:


Yes, NL Home Run Leaders (#318). As you can see from the scan, this is one of those cards that is missing a third of its sparkle because of a printing error. Will Nachos Grande take it anyway?


Card I was most happy to see: Aroldis Chapman RC (#110). The first of three straight horizontal cards featuring Reds pitchers. Sadly, it wasn't a twinkle card. Wait a second, what am I saying? The twinkle cards are silly! But I am glad to get the rookie card of The Cuban Missile so early in the box. Maybe I'll get a second one now.

Edinson Volquez (#63) and Bronson Arroyo (#98) were the other two cards in the streak, in case you're interested.

Card I was least happy to see: Josh Johnson (#166). Nothing against Johnson personally, but this was the first dupe in the box, and in the second pack. I also got a dupe of Shin-Soo Choo, but that was a card I got from a loose pack so it doesn't count, somehow. Thankfully, those were the only two. In previous jumbo packs I could usually count on a run of about three or four dupes in a row (in the same order) so maybe this is a sign of improved collation.

Overall thoughts:
I'm running out of hits, and quickly. I personally am not excited about a Ryan Howard, but at least I know there are a few people out there who would be. I am definitely open for a trade and am even willing to package it with some other Phillies hits for a super blockbuster. 

Getting back to the cards at hand, the three Reds pitchers in a row was a fun little stretch. I hadn't gotten many Reds up to that point, so that couldn't have come at a better time. So far, I am enjoying this year's set more than last year's. It doesn't seem to have a lot of the technical problems that Topps got reamed for in 2010, aside from the Diamond Parallels with the missing third. And I like the way they designed the name and team logo. Completely unnecessary for the Michael Saunders card, however.

Set Progress: 84/330 (25.5%) 
Lyle Overbay sightings: 1