Dennis Leonard

This showed up in my mailbox yesterday via a PWE trade on the TCDB.  And all it cost me was a few recent Topps cards and a stamp!

Career Stats on these guys:
Pat Darcy: 0 WAR
Hank Webb:  0 WAR
Tom Underwood: 10 WAR
Dennis Leonard:  25 WAR (and he had the best mustache, to boot!)

It was nice to add Dennis Leonard's rookie card to my Royals collection.  I don't think he is remembered much outside of Kansas City fans, but he played 12 seasons between 1974-1986, all with KC.  He is the team's all-time leader in Complete Games and is a member of the "Royals Hall of Fame".

 
He doesn't get much love in the hobby, either -- there have not been any new cards of him since a 2007 Stadium Giveaway set.  He's the perfect guy for a set like Hometown Heroes, and I hope he gets included in any future iterations of that. 

Does anyone else out there remember Dennis Leonard?

I'm Not a Super-Trader...

...but that doesn't stop me from benefitting from the concept.

2013 Topps Heritage - Mike Moustakas

P-Town Tom shot me an email in the Fall to say that he would not be "Waiting 'Til Next Year" to divest himself of all his Royals cards.  You see, there is no Royals representative in the "Super Traders" group and these pesky blue and white cards were piling up in his possession.  As a favor to him, I said I was willing to take them off his hands.  :-)  It was very generous of him to reach out to me on these and send them out, asking for nothing in return.

Shortly thereafter, a BRICK of cards show up on my doorstep.  After much sorting and cataloging, I have 90+ new cards that were not in my collection before.  Here's some pictures of my faves:

2016 Stadium Club - Alex Gordon

Is it raining or snowing on you this weekend?  You are in good company with ol' Gordo.

2013 Topps Minor League - Yordano Ventura

Are we in the maternity ward?  Because I see a baby-face.

Looking for legends?  Here's two cards I did not know existed.  Willie Wilson is so under-rated.  That guy was a BURNER.

Speaking of Royals legends...

1975 SSPC Royals

A whole page of SSPC cards?  Dang, Tom....you just have these things sitting around your house?  That's called an embarassment of riches.  :-)   These were my favorite things in the whole package, as I only had one KC SSPC card before this package arrived.

1996 Topps Chrome - Wally Joyner

Chromed-out Wally with the STREEEEEEEEETCH.......

1998 Fleer Metal Universe - Dean Palmer

Hey Guys -- It's me, Dean Palmer.  Since coming over to Kansas City, I spend most of my free time out here on a rural highway fielding grounders.  It was rough for awhile, but it's a lot better being out here now since that plane is grounded...

So THANK YOU, TOM!  Watch out for gunfire...

Bombs Away - The Grand Finale

Due to work, life, health, etc....I've been slow posting lately, so I figured I would just dump the rest of the pics from Jaybarkerfan's ridiculous PWE Bombing of me.  It's kind of like at the end of the fireworks show when they just shoot off everything that is left....

Support Your Local Minnow

Why is the above card more than just a random 1978 Topps card?  I'll let you stew on this for a moment.

All of the cards in this post came to me courtesy of Trevor, proprietor of a new blog I found last month...."Supporting the Minnow."  I saw he had made a trade with $30/Week Habit and clicked on through to Trevor's blog.  A few post comments later and we had a trade in the works.

In case you are wondering...he has access to a baseball card vending machine at his local tire shop (LTS?). 

Trevor buys miscellaneous lots of cards, mostly keeps the hockey, then has the other stuff to trade away.  So why is trading with him a good idea?  Because that card at the top is not a random Topps card.  It is a random O-PEE-CHEE card.  Trevor is Canadian.

Dear readers in New York, Michigan, and Minnesota, you may have ready access to Canadian cards, but here in SoCal, they don't show up at the garage sales I go to.  So the only way I get OPC is in trade. 

Frank White has a 2nd-BUT, just in case he loses his first one.  I am always glad to add another Voltigeur to my collection.

Amos Otis is au jeu (not au jus).  Dennis Leonard is a Lanceur (I remembered that from my Orel Hershiser OPC card). 

Additionally, he tossed in a George Brett "Pre-Production Sample" from 1994 Topps.  You can see the full story on this card here. 

Thanks again for a great trade!

Drew Brees and the Eyes of the Owl

(I am WAY behind on trade package postings and purchases...this one is two months old.  Apologies to everyone who has been sending me good stuff.  I'm working on the backlog now.)

2010 Allen and Ginter # 287 - Drew Brees

Sometimes you get something good, and then it keeps getting better.

I have had a good relationship with Night Owl.  I love his blog, and had already made a trade with him earlier.  Awhile back I posted my Dodgers Trade Bait, and he responded that he wanted the Chad Billingsley relic that I had received in Spankee's group break.  I sent that out to him along with a bunch of other stuff off his wantlist.  He fired a package back at me containing some great cards, including the Drew Brees above!  That was #1 on my Most-Wanted List!  Now I've got it -- lovin' it.

Here's a sampling of the stuff he sent me:

A Sweeney, a UL, and LOOK at that soup-strainer on Dennis Leonard.  That is STRONG.  He reminds me of my old engineering professor... 

Erik Antonsson - Not a Baseball Player

Orel Hershiser

Some cool Orel Hershisers found their way in.  The Fleer has a good texture to it.  I remember buying some packs of Topps Kids in my youth.  They were cheap and fun.  Just like Donruss Triple Play.

The sizing was all over the place here.  I was so confused.  Wilson Betemit was normal-sized, but very COGNAC-y.  Nelson Briles was a 1975 mini.  George Brett was WAY too big for his britches.  Seriously...his britches were a really odd size.

All that stuff was great.  It was a good trade -- some Dodgers were sent and some Royals received -- what more could I ask for?

A week later, I got another envelope from him...a little "something extra" to say thanks.  Oh yeah, his little extras are #'d to 50... :-)

2002 Fleer Hot Materials - Mike Sweeney relic - HM-MS - #27/50

What a guy.  Night Owl, that is.  Although Sweeney is cool, too.