Thanks for Waiting!

As the pages of the calendar turn, we get closer and closer to the new season. Tom from Waiting Til Next Year sent me a nice collection of cards recently. I'm trying to get all the trade posts written up and posted before Opening Day. Wish me luck, I'm way behind!

 It's a shame that Harmon didn't have a card in the 1969 Deckle Edge set, Topps did everyone a solid by including him in this more recent incarnation. A little late, but still appreciated by this collector! Thanks Topps.

K-Mart still has at least one location in Minneapolis, and they even have cards. Inexplicably, they are more expensive than Target's offerings, so I didn't buy any the last time they were in there. When the above beauties came out, K-Mart was king.

A little bit of prospecting going on, Bowman always has the kids before everyone else now.

I don't even know what to say about this one... "Weep-a weep-a weep-a squeak squeak scratch" ? If Dave does another signing in the area this year, I will try to get him to sign this!

A quartet of more recent favorites - Mauer is currently the last man standing on an active roster, it would be great if he can get one more shot at some playoff heroics.

Here's the guy to steer that ship back to the post season - looking back, I think Molitor was a bit underappreciated in his playing days. He's 10th all-time in hits. That's after missing nearly 300 games in his prime due to injuries, including almost his entire age 27 season. If he had played those seasons, he might be closer to 5th all-time. He averaged 200 hits per 162 games for his whole career. Hopefully his work in the dugout can yield similar results!

Tom finished the package with three on card Autos - Erickson's career stretched all the way to 2006(!) but my fondest memories came in his first few seasons as a Twin. He was traded away in his prime years to Baltimore - all the Twins got in return was Scott Klingenbeck and Kimera Bartee. Allan Anderson pitched for the team in both 1987 and 1991, but was left off the playoff roster in both cases. He was a valuable back-end / swing man on those championship teams. Tolbert was a more recent Twin - he was around for both the 2009 and 2010 beatdowns at the hands of the Yankees.

This year I'm more hopeful than I've been for years that the Twins could get to the playoffs, and I think Tom should feel similarly about the Cubs. Thanks for the cards, Tom!