What I Like About Blue

I could have titled this one, "What I Like About Night Owl," but that doesn't sound like a song-title.  At least not one that I have heard, anyway.  Maybe it's a dubstep song, but I don't know anything about that.

Night Owl sent me a PWE back in March and it was blue, through-and-through.

He sent these blue Royals:

He sent these blue Dodgers:

He even used the BLUE TAPE. 

 I can not stress enough how much better it is to get the packages with the painter's tape versus the ones with clear scotch tape 3-layers-deep over everything (that's right, Listia, I'm talking to you).  Bloggers, if you aren't using this stuff for shipping, do everyone a favor and go buy some.

So I told you this package was blue through-and-through.  That was a lie.  He included one more color.......

YELLOW!!!

1991 Fleer...can't beat it.  :-)  Thanks, Night Owl!

Shiny Stuff from Sunny SoCal

2013 Topps Spring Fever - SF-21 - Salvador Perez

Look at that card.  Shiny.  Sunny.  Palm trees.  I can almost feel the ocean breezes wafting my way.  It must be spring!  Even though this card is of a Royal, it's definitely got a "California Vibe" to it.  That must have been infused by it's previous owner, Mr. ArpSmith.  He's a resident of Orange County (aka "The OC"), and even though he is in the Angels' backyard, he's a Giants fan.  Luckily for me, that means he has no use for any of these Royals...and two recent packages yielded these goodies.

That Salvy is the prettiest card he sent over.  The next best is this Aaron Crow parallel.  As always, the Wal-Mart blue borders look awesome with the KC powder-blue uniforms.

2013 Topps - Wal-Mart Blue Parallel - #213 - Aaron Crow

These emerald ones are weird.  Don't like the green + blue + yellow + white.  Yuck.  We've got Jeremy Guthrie for the next 3 years, so hopefully he can keep up the level of play to what it was in the 2nd half of last season.

2013 Topps - Emerald Parallel - #289 - Jeremy Guthrie

The last thing he sent me was the result of his question, "Do you need a Juan Gonzalez relic card?"  I responded honestly..."Nobody needs a Juan Gone relic card...especially one of him in a Royals jersey.  However, I do not have one."

I do now.  Thanks, Arpsmith!

Alive and Kicking

1999 Omega - Jason Hanson

Very occasionally, a baseball player will spend 20 years with one team.  Less-than-never does a football player do so.  Except that's what we have with Mr. Jason Hanson.  When this 1999 Omega card was printed, he already had 6 years with the Lions.  He is STILL their kicker.  All those years haven't helped his hairline.

Cards of kickers are fun fun fun.  Punters, too.

I pulled off another great Zistle trade with Steve D. (user SDre31 - go trade with him if you can).  In exchange for a whole mess of Yankees (who wants those anyway?) I got the Hanson card and all the following sent back to me.

2005 SPx Signature - David DeJesus - #29 - #'d/225

Beautiful!  It's a sticker autograph, but the card is great.  And one of my favorite players, too. 

It would have been a great trade with just one relic card, but Steve included this one, too!

2011 Bowman Sterling Rookie Relics - #MM - Mike Moustakas

That's some good stuff.  Here's a #'ed Guillen parallel, too.

And here is an example of how Zistle rocks.  When you are a collector of lesser-known players, it is pretty rare that someone will send them to you in a regular trade.  However, when they are on your Zistle wantlist, EVERYONE there will know that you want them.  So it's easy to make a match with their automatic system.  And that is how I received a card of Iowa State alum Loren Meyer (from Ruthven, IA, FYI). 

1995-1996 Topps Loren Meyer - #213

Most Wanted: Ask And Ye Shall Receive

Pleading, imploring, inquiring, shameless begging....I'm not above any of those.

In a post in January, I figured out what was the lowest-numbered card that I didn't have a Royal for.  Turned out it was #320.  I said "gimme, gimme, gimme."  Well, not really, but asked if anyone had it.

You probably guessed how this ends.  A PWE shows up in my mailbox.  Says "GCRL" in the corner.  I slice it open and this guy pops out.

2002 Upper Deck 40-Man - #320 - Roberto Hernandez

Another generous gift from Jim!  Please go check out Garvey Cey Russell Lopes if you don't read it on a regular basis.

So that takes care of #320.  Next up on my Royals list is #388.  1992 Stadium Club - Tom Gordon, baby!!!! (or 1983 Topps George Brett All-Star.  I'm not picky! :-) ha ha)

How does it make you feel?

How does it make you feel when someone sends you something off your want-list?

Thanking the heavens!

2004 Upper Deck - Mike Sweeney

Below is one (of many cards) that I needed which Roy-Z from Plain Grey Swatch sent my way last October.

2012 Allen and Ginter - Historical Turning Points - #7 - Printing Press

This was part of my "History Want List."  I am still looking for the balance of those inserts from that set and from "Minds that Made the Future."

I Got a Cookie in the Mail

 Not this:

But this!

1971 Topps Cookie Rojas - #118

That flying Mr. Rojas (and all the cards in this post) came to me from Joe at The Sandlot.  We'd been working on a trade for awhile...he sent me the cards last fall(!!!) and I am just now posting them.

Cookie was the main thing I wanted from him, but I ended up with a bunch of other stuff I wanted, too.

The scan doesn't show it well, but this is an acetate card.

2007 Upper Deck Elements - #103 - Mark Teahen

This is a metal card

1999 Skybox Molten Metal Explosion - #126 - Jeremy Giambi

This is Jeff Montgomery shooting his arm as a gun.

1997 Metal Universe - #95 - Jeff Montgomery

And this is Keith Lockhart getting attacked by a ginormous spider and some vines.  Oh Metal Universe....how I love thee.

1997 Metal Universe - #94 - Keith Lockhart

Here's Greinke with a nice blue border.

2009 UD A Piece of History - #43 - Zack Greinke - Blue Parallel - #/299

And a couple of old guys:

2007 SP Legendary Americana - #62 - Jefferson Davis

2007 SP Legendary Americana - #68 - Samuel F.B. Morse

That Samuel F.B. Morse was quite a looker (and so many medals!)  Anybody know morse code?  I've got a hankering to go buy a telegraph machine now.  My first message will be:

"SOS - I AM A ROYALS FAN - PLEASE HELP"

Does anyone else have any "Legendary Americana"?  These are actually pretty neat.

Thanks again, Joe! 

A Bronco, A Cardinal, and a Guy Named Mike

I made another Zistle trade with the SuperDuperMan from Fantastic Catch.  He and I traded just a few months ago, so it was fun to see that we already had enough for another trade.  The three best cards (in my opinion) that I got were these:

I'm always happy to get a Sweeney, and this is a very slick, horizontal design from SP.

My favorite subset from 2011 Topps Football was the Game Day insert set.  I'm slowly collecting those and Larry Fitzgerald escaping an Eagles tackle is a great shot.  Too bad his talents were being wasted down in Arizona last season.

TEEEEEEEEEEBOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW!!!!

This is Timmy T. on a 2011 Topps Rising Rookies card.  He looked GOOD in the Orange and Blue.  I think the missing Tebow storyline was a reason why this season has interested me less than 2011 did.

Thanks, SDM!  I'd recommend you all go out there and make a trade with him if you can.

1982

Journey with me now to the past.  All the way to the year.....1982.  Reagan was President, "Physical" and "Eye of the Tiger" topped the charts, and I was 3.  I don't remember much (ok, anything) from that year, but from the look of these cards above, I was definitely missing out.

I made a small recent trade with blog-reader Paul B.  He sent me this "Tour of '82" -- Kansas City style.  Fleer, Donruss, and Topps. You can't go wrong with guys named Renie, Rance, and Quis (among many others).  Thanks again, Paul!

Butlers, Lemons, and South Park

That's pretty much the best "Certified Auto" I've ever seen.  No, it's not actually from the 1987 set (I knew you were wondering).  It was on top of the latest trade package I received from Rosenort at the Condition Sensitive blog.  He had already posted the stuff I sent him.  However, everything he sent me wasn't just "Terrance and Phillip"-style Glamour Shots (unfortunately).  He also included some real cards, and they all hit my want-lists, too.  Among everything he sent me, I had a few favorites...

Like this.  These guys are Iowa State alumni.  That initial Skybox set was OUTSTANDING.  I remember those and the "computer generated backgrounds" so well.

This guys is an old, odd-looking, Royals manager!  Everything I am looking for!

1971 Topps Bob Lemon

A few miscellaneous cards for my burgeoning Brookens collection.

And the whole reason we kicked off the trade...the Billy Butler Gypsy Queen relic card. 

2012 Gypsy Queen Relic Jersey Card - Billy Butler

Thanks so much, Rosenort!!! 

SuperDuperTrade

I am once again WAY behind on trade posts.  These things tend to come in waves, plus I've been trying to spend more time with my little son and get to sleep at a reasonable hour.  That said, if you have sent me something in a trade....I'll get to it eventually.  :-)

Today's trade is from SuperDuperMan at the blog Fantastic Catch.

This card is Super.

This card is Duper.

This card is a Man.

 And these guys are playing a Fantastic game of Catch.

What the heck are you DOING? Sketchy or Classy?

Whenever you book a hotel online in a strange city, you never really know if it is going to be a gem or if it is gonna be super-sketchy.  You might be right by the museums, shopping, and fine restaurants -- or you might be by the all-night liquor store with a view of the sewage treatment plant and the red-light district.  

It's the same with card trading.  Whenever you get a trade package, it's tough to know if it is going to be a high-class trade, or a super-sketchy trade...or both.

I just made another zistle.com trade -- this time with a user named jkgrice.  In exchange for a bunch of Tom Glavine cards and some miscellaneous Ginter, let's take a look at what I got.

1996 Pinnacle Bob Hamelin

WHY ARE YOU STARING AT ME OVER THAT SIGN, BOB HAMELIN????  Could you BE any more creepy about it?  And why do you even need a sign?  Anyone should know that that is Bob "The Hammer" Hamelin.  They should just give him a hammer to take to all photo shoots and then he could carry that around, and he wouldn't need to look up and show his chubby, bespectacled face to the rest of us.*

Maybe we can find someone else to make this a little less sketchy.  You there!  Good sir!  Ahoy!  Please let us see if you are a distinguished gentleman...

1982 Fleer Dennis Lamp

Biker 'stache......check.
Tinted Aviator sunglasses.....check.
Satin Jacket....check.
Van behind the drugstore where he offers kids free candy.....check.
 I love Dennis Lamp quite a bit....but if we're looking for "classy," he ain't it.

What about this young man?  Just a Rookie!  Surely he is not yet jaded by the world. 

1996 Score Mike Sweeney Rookie

I love the baby-face there...so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  Speaking of babies, Mike Sweeney's newest baby fits inside a baseball glove:  Nothing says highbrow like a baby in a baseball glove.

Well....we're definitely getting more classy as we go along.  Is there anything else we can add to spruce this place up?  Add a little glitz?

Yes.  ROYALTY.

2011 Allen and Ginter - Royal Wedding - Price William and Kate Middleton

All of a sudden I find myself craving crumpets, listening to the BBC, and wanting to invade the Falklands.  WE JUST GOT CLASSY UP IN HERE.  Despite Kate's recent troubles with the French media...everything around here just got fancy-fied.  I guess I have jkgrice to thank for that!  :-)

* I can say things like this because I am chubby and bespectacled.

3 Cards a Week Habit

I got an unexpected envelope this week from Robert at $30/Week Habit. We had talked about a trade awhile ago, but it somehow got put on the back-burner.  It was great getting stuff from him that I needed, and I packed up a return package with some "Insanity" cards and Jays that he has already posted.  Here's three highlights:

2012 Topps - Walmart Blue Parallel - Salvador Perez

Salvador Perez has been excellent at catcher this year for KC (once he got off the DL).  As I mentioned before, I don't have access to Walmart or their delicious blue parallels, so it was a very nice treat to see this in the package.  Looks like the two blue parallels I have for 2012 are Perez and Brayan Pena -- both catchers.  Maybe I should mix in another position on that....

2008 UD Baseball Heroes - Charcoal - Luke Hochevar - #259/399

Oddly enough, this card was for sale on COMC at some earlier time.  I know that because when I looked it up on Zistle, I came up with a picture this specific card!

2011 Allen and Ginter - Portraits of Penultimacy - Sancho Panza

I was just telling my wife last week, "I really need more squire cards.  My 'page' and 'second' binders are nearly full, but my 'squire' binder is pretty sparse."  I'm glad to add this in with my Squire Trelawney in there.

Thanks, Robert!!  It is all much-appreciated.

One Unique Trade

2009 Topps Unique - Zack Greinke - #654/1199

 I just completed a very unique trade with Nick from Dime Boxes.  (And it's not just "Unique" because of the Greinke above).

No, this trade was unique as it was a "Sweeney Swap."  He had mentioned in one of his posts that he had a Mike Sweeney collection.  What a coincidence -- so do I!!!  So a few emails later, we knew which doubles we could exchange.  I sent him a stack, and he sent these guys to me.

 Those were all new to me. 

 He also gave me this sweet Conine and a couple Gold Sparkle 2012 Topps Royals.

All of those are going into my "Keepers" collection.  Thanks so much, Nick!