Many Happy Returns

In addition to the stack of 2020 Heritage, there was another stack of cards from Nick when he sent me a mailer last week. As is his usual method, there was a great variety of eras and oddballs!

Even though MLB is continuing to hold out hope for a partial 2020 season, I can't help but think of the things we've already lost - Luis Arraez was going to start his 2nd full season in Minnesota, and Nelson Cruz was looking at the final year of his Twins contract. Will Cruz retire after the 2020 season? Does this lost season change the decision making process at all? Yadier Molina has already said he wants to play in 2021, even if the Cardinals choose to not bring him back.

Some of the lesser seen releases from Topps, including National Baseball Card Day exclusives, the Home Run Challenge insert (Max Kepler was probably not going to hit as many this year, now that Trevor Bauer is in the National League), and a couple of Topps Stickers.

I flipped over the Nelson Cruz sticker for a surprise! I have added Aquino as a player I collect, will be interesting to see what his career trajectory will be.

Nick always includes some fun odd releases - Brian Harper is part of a set of All-Stars, and the two Orlando Rays were future Twins. Sorrento was one of a long line of potential Kent Hrbek replacements.

Some sweet Harmons and a Donruss pop up All-Star insert of Manager Tom Kelly.

These manufactured patches are fun. I was hoping the player's Players' Weekend Nickname would be on the card, but the patch itself is a neat addition. John Castino was probably the Twins' best player in 1981, and he was the guy added to the mix whenever Topps was looking for even representation of the teams. The 1981 Topps Scratchoff game came in Panels. There were 108 total panels, Castino was one of 3 Twins in the checklist.

Thanks again Nick, always fun to see what you've put together! Everyone, go vote for the 2nd Dimebox Champ!

baseball's back (on the other side of the world) - pack a lunch!

Baseball is back in South Korea, as the KBO is playing games in empty stadiums. I recently received an awesome mailer from Jim of cards as i see them and gcrl fame. It arrived right as I would have been going to a monthly card show, so it was a very welcome sight indeed. Park Byung-ho has been one of the biggest stars of the KBO, and he briefly played for the Twins, but adjusting MLB pitching combined with a nagging wrist issue resulted in a short tenure for the prodigious slugger.

Jim also tossed in a Tiny Joe Mauer!

This Upper Deck Flyball set was a new one to me, it combines some of the game elements of the sets like Victory on the back and a more traditional card design on the front.

A Rat!

It's a Smalley World after all.

I didn't have this Shane Rawley O-Pee-Chee, but do I call it a Twins card, or a Red Sox card?

Fan Favorite Mickey Hatcher was well represented as well.

As I continue to work on the Topps Heritage set, these two were needs - and these two bat rack (or bat rack adjacent) cards will find a nice home in my collection.

Vintage Harmon Killebrew is always a welcome addition!

In Rod We Trust - This 1978 Gino's Disc was a new one to me!

All of these cards came packaged in a unique way - this lunchbox is branded with Target's name, but it predates Target Field. The players are all Metrodome-Era Twins stars.

Thanks very much Jim, hopefully we'll get to run into each other at a card show again sometime soon. 

Thanks for reading!

Across the Pond

Kevin from The Card Papoy sent me a Killer mailer of cards all the way from France. This 1962 Topps Killebrew is in great shape and looks even better in hand.

I still have lots of early 2000s gaps in my collection and Kevin found a sweet spot with Doug Mientkiewicz, Brad Radke, Bob Wells, and Ron Coomer.

Of course it wasn't all Twins, as you can see here Kevin added a couple Kennys Lofton and two of the most prolific running backs in NFL history.

This is a neat oddball decal from a company called High 5. I was reluctant to mess with it, but apparently when removed from the backing there is an image on the reverse as well. These were packaged in team sets with a 5x7 "poster" included in the pack. I'll be hunting for the Puckett that I am sure must be out there somewhere...

This is from Baseball Card Magazine, released just before Viola was dealt to the Mets in a trade you'd probably never see today -- in exchange for the 1988 AL Cy Young Winner, the Twins got Kevin Tapani, Rick Aguilera, David West, and Tim Drummond. Aggie became the team's closer for a decade, and Tapani and West were solid rotation pieces for the 1991 championship run.

And Kevin dropped a big hit on me as well! A Rookie Auto of Byron Buxton, who I still hold out hope for a big breakout season. a rash of unfortunate injuries have robbed him of his early years, but he's still got a good number of prime years left in the tank.

Thanks so much Kevin! Always a treat to trade with you. 

A Proud Heritage of TransAtlantic Triple Breaks

Matt Olson is fired up because it's time for another Transatlantic Triple Break! We've been doing this since November 2015 and it's still a big hit at the 'ol Arbitrary. Along with Matt from Bob Walk the Plank, and Kevin from The Card Papoy, every few months or so we take turns getting a hobby box and splitting it three ways. We roll the dice looking for autographs / relics and short prints, but more than that, it's an opportunity to keep a round-robin trade going. This time, Matt busted open a box of 2019 Topps Heritage.

The backs are all super bright compared to the 1970 Topps cards in my collection, but they retain all the design elements that marked the original set.

We divvy up the cards by division- I went out West panning for Gold(schmidt) and hooked a Trout!

We also keep our home teams, Twins for me, Pirates for Matt, and Blue Jays for Kevin.

Just like the original set, the playoffs get their own subset.

New Age Performers - Heritage has been running this insert annually, merging the Heritage style with a modern touch. Khris "Khrush" Davis was the MLB home run leader in 2018. The back makes that point and compares him to Johnny Bench, the 1970 MLB HR leader. Neat!

The 1970 Topps set had this insert as well, a scratch off game to play with your friends.

Rules on the back - play nine full innings! The rules are the same as baseball, but do they have a DH or not? Is Instant Replay allowed?

Here's a handful of my favorite base cards from the break.

Matt also tossed in some extras in trade, and per usual they were stunners. This Bonds card is numbered to 66, a 2003 Leaf card that kinda sorta resembles Exhibits.

Glen Perkins is a local hero, coming from Brooklyn Park / Park Center and attended the University of MN. He got the save in the last All-Star game hosted in MN and played his entire career for the Twins. He drops in every now and then to the Twins' booth pre-game and post-game.

Kennys Vargas checks in with a Gold Signature - Kennys is having himself a rough one across the Pacific, he was demoted to the Chiba Lotte Marines' minor league affiliate. His last appearance in the Japanese major leagues was on May 30th. It's early, he's got time to work it out.

I always save the best for last - this card, like Kennys, is also numbered to 25, and includes an autograph of Hall of Fame Twins' legend Harmon Killebrew! The scan is a little blurry as I didn't want to take the card out of the one touch holder.

Thanks again, Matt, for another successful Triple Break! I'll be on the lookout for our next box.

A Killer Card Show

Normally I save the best for last with my card show posts. This time, I couldn't wait! I haven't posted in over a week (this card show was last Saturday), and I figured I could earn back some eyeballs by leading with a big one.

Not only is the Killebrew card a Hall of Fame player from my future favorite team, but it is a high number card in a set I've been working on for over a year. This card is sharp! I've looked at several versions of this one in the last year, this one is probably the nicest one I've found in my price range.

There was also a great new dime box this time around - in addition to gems like the Parrot's Photobomb, this box had something I don't normally see at the show.

Lots of Catchers!

Plenty of cards from the late 70s and early 80s - I'll probably discover that I already had these, but at a dime apiece I wasn't too worried about doubles.

And horizontal heroes? You bet.

The oldest cards in the box were from 1976, but the cards from 1978 and later were all very sharp.

Of course there was more recent stuff, too. All told, I spent a whopping $8 to pull my favorites.

I'm still finding some fun stuff in the Basketball and and Hockey world, including this OPC insert commemorating Gordie Howe's 700th Goal.

Discounted Don Drysdale? Don't mind if I do! 

Picked up 2 more '59 All-Stars, and 2 more Yankees, which are tough to find cheaply.

Last but not least, I leave you with another 1959 Hall of Famer. This Hank Aaron card highlights the Homer he hit in the 1957 World Series that shifted the momentum into Milwaukee's favor.