Let's Get Crackin'!

Julie from A Cracked Bat sent over an envelope recently with some very cool cards! This J.D. Durbin autograph is numbered to just 75 copies.

Julie had a few cards up for grabs recently, and I was happy to claim this Eddie Murray from Archives . . .

. . . and this 2020 Nelson Cruz insert from series 1. Julie also threw in the Durbin and a couple more extras!

Kennys! He was actually in minor league camp with the Tigers this spring, not sure what his fate will be now given the circumstances in which a season will or won't be played at this point. Maybe he'll get a chance to be a 1B / DH for Gardy at some point in 2020.

Last but not least was this neat patch card of Shannon Stewart - based on the design, I bet there is a bat relic version of this card as well! I miss these designs and products, even though Panini is still trying to get some portion of the market while they wait for a chance to once again have a license for MLB logos.

Thanks very much Julie! These are great!

Julie's Extra Bases Hit!

Julie of A Cracked Bat was greatly missed during her blogging hiatus and it was a very welcome sight to see her posting again. One of the great things about Julie is her boundless generosity as a trading partner, and this most recent trade was no exception!

The 90's were something else, folks. Fleer made these bookmark sized TALL cards called Extra Bases for just one season, releasing them in 1994. Several Twins remained on the roster from their 1991 World Series victory.

Here's a couple more, and the back of that Puckett insert. Both Pucketts are new to me, as I missed out on Extra Bases the first time around, and haven't had the opportunity to pick any up in the wild.

As if that was not enough on its own, Julie included stacks and stacks of Twins from all over the years. I was pretty excited about the Topps Fire cards as I had finally exhibited a little willpower and resisted buying packs of the stuff at Target.

Joe! I think Twins fans are not going to fully appreciate Mauer until he's gone, which is a shame. He gets so much criticism for his contract, though I can't think of what Twins Fans would have done had he left Minnesota to play for someone else.

Rookies more your style? Julie has you covered there as well!

Parallels? You betcha! (That's Minnesotan for "Yes")

A Pair of Plouffe/Pinto Pint-sized Parallels! Perfect!

Framed Mini Relics? Oh Yeah.

Stadium Club signature? Sure.

Why not make it two? Park has decided to return his former team in Korea, rather than take another shot at the MLB roster in Minnesota in 2018. He was a two time league MVP and averaged 40 plus homers in Korea, but a combination of injury and adjusting to big league velocity and movement were tough to overcome. Park gave the Twins some mammoth homers, I wish him the best in 2018.

Julie, thanks so much for the trade, I was taken aback by all that you included, I look forward to returning the favor again!

Not All Who Wander Are Lost . . .

Like Wander Javier, for instance - that's just the dude's name. Also, Julie from A Cracked Bat - she had a little wander away from the blogs for a bit, but she's back and we're all very happy to see her posting again!

Julie sent over this nice mailer last week, and it had plenty of shiny new Twins for me.

Minis!

These are from 2006 - I may have purchased a couple packs of cards total that year, and none of these guys were in there.

Do not adjust your set - Fleer issued B&W and Sepia toned parallels in their Tradition set - they have an old school texture to them as well - printed on honest to goodness cardboard (probably).

Bert!! The scan is missing out on the trippy refractor-y colors on this card, it's fantastic in person.

This was probably my favorite card in the package - it's a vivid shade of blue and hopefully a future MVP on the front!

Thanks so much, Julie! This was great!

Cardboard is a Mini Splendored Thing

 Julie from A Cracked Bat sent over a Mini Twins Team Set!

 Obligatory Kennys Vargas.

 Some of my personal faves from the 2015 Set.

She even included the special mini insert!

Very cool - thanks Julie! I will be wrangling some beisbol cats to send your way!

Let's Get Crackin'

The long national nightmare is over - I'm posting about baseball cards again!

Julie from A Cracked Bat recently moved to the Midwest, and we made our first trade shortly thereafter. I'm going to be moving soon myself, and Julie left a very kind note along with a great stack of cardboard!

 A couple key cogs from the early 2000s Central Champion Twins - both sporting serious Sling Blade underbites, mhmhm . . .

 Some tiny League Leaders!

 Shiny!

 Vintage!

 Shiny AND Sign-y! Breslow is still bouncing around the league as a lefty with a pulse.

 Kennys!

 Love a good pinstripe!

Just gonna say that Joe Mauer is one of the best hitters of his generation, and it has been a real treat to see him play several times a year.

 The hits keep coming!

 BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOF.

 When I think Dynasty, I think of Lew Ford.

Ok, so maybe not - but it's a cool idea for a card!

Thanks so much Julie, these are fantastic!