Put Me in, Coach- I'm Ready to Trade

A Coach named Tom sent me this autograph by a Coach named Tom, who signed it for another Tom (from Angels in Order) through the mail. The first Coach Tom is the blogger of Waiting 'Til Next Year who sent along a big stack of cards of all sizes this weekend.

This is a 1971 Topps Super of the Super-talented Tony Oliva, I had the 1970 version, but this 1971 model is new to me!

I bombarded Tom with a stack of Rey Sanchezes (Gesundheit), and he retorted with a Trio of Smalleys.

There was a big stack from my various vintage and junk wax wantlists, covering cards throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Scioscia is my favorite from this grouping.

Even a card from the 1960s sneaks in there! Great stuff hitting all the arbitrary mile markers.

Modern Twins as well including a pair of Pucketts from 89 Donruss mini sets.

And hey, look at this! Big time vintage with 1954 Topps.

I didn't know Harvey Haddix's nickname was "kitten"! That's awesome.

This is probably my favorite Bowman's Best design - the team color scheme turned out very well.

I checked, Tom, I didn't have this Vargas card! I'm was really pumped, because I've probably passed up buying this parallel more than once for fear I already had it. But I only found dual patches, quad patches, dual bat pieces, and auto versions of this card in my collection. Is Vogelbach in this set as well? My condolences either way!

Last but definitely not least, Tom gifted me this Sandberg rookie, a key need on my junk wax wantlist. This is a really nice gesture considering Tom has one of the more extensive Sandberg PCs.

                                                         RYNO CANNOT BE CAGED!

Thanks so much Tom, awesome cards.

A Lifetime Supply

Charlie from Lifetime Topps Project sent over a salvo of junk wax that hit all the corners of my modern wantlists.

Collector's Choice was extremely well-represented, and hey, check out the DH getting some reps on the mound! Steady Eddie only threw right, though he batted lefty and righty. Not a lot of switching hitting pitcher/DH types out there.

Just a tremendous set, the 90s had some really high peaks for all the crazy stuff that came to life in the card world.

There were several Pucketts included, I've got to work my way through my want lists to check these all off.

1996 Score is another set that just seems to get better each time I look at it.

See? I go back and forth on the Kenny Rogers card - it's definitely a bold way to highlight his no-hitter.

This is just a small sample of all the greatness that Charlie sent over, I will be scouring my collection to find some good stuff to send back. Thanks again!

My Favorite Marlin

A hero by the name of Scott contacted me via the blog to tell me had some of my 80s and 90s wantlist cards. In return, Scott wanted . . . Marlins! And Rays! 

The Hawk and Sheff were both Marlins I wanted, I was more than happy to send as many Fish as I could over to Scott in return.

The cards he sent my way came from as early as 1981 and as late as 2003. Scott painstakingly assaulted my Junk Wax wantlist, pulling cards from all across the era.

He really dug deep, for instance the Randy Johnson Pinnacle All-Star Salute insert card. It's probably not particularly rare, but when do you ever come across them in the wild?

Greats of the 1990s were in full force, flying through the air with the greatest ease.

Hall of Famers, and Barry Bonds!

Thanks very much for the cards Scott, and I was very happy to find a good home for some Marlins!

New York State of Mind

Bo from Baseball Cards Come To Life! had a biiiiiiig stack of Twins to send me, but I will start with one of the 1979 Topps needs he checked off for me, from his local New York Yankees.

I somehow managed to miss out on Denard's Rookie Card until now, happy to add it to my collection!

The Cards came from the 2000s, the 90s and even a few older 80s like this Fleer Star Sticker of John Castino.

One of the best sets of all-time right here. Jack Morris is pumped.

We could be here all night showing scans, but it's safe to say that Bo knocked this one out of park. Gardy tossing B.P. and the pre-rookie Torii Hunter were certainly highlights.

Thanks again for the trade, Bo!

O Canada! (two of deux)

Mike of Not Another Baseball Card Blog is working on a couple sets and I have one shipment so far (more coming soon!) his way. These cards, including the awesome Gary Carter above, came in return.

The two Hall of Fame pitchers came from the 89 Traded set, one at the beginning of his career, and the other just starting his final ride into the sunset.

A few of these were featured recently in another trade, but that'll happen when you have cards on your want list from the late 80s and early 90s.

Last but not least was this pair of Hall of Famers that became legends for their teams, spending their entire career with the same team.

Thanks again Mike, I will be sending some more cards your way soon.

GCA Delivers Junk Wax Gems

Greg From The Collective Mind contacted me and let me know he had some cards from my want lists, so I was very happy to start up a trade with him

The cards ranged from 1982 to 1995 - can't go wrong with Teke!

All needs from 1985 - Steve Trout in particular caught my eye.

Remember when Biggio was the best hitting catcher in the NL? When Kenny Lofton played for Houston? That's a great photo for 1992 Score, too.

The Kirby card on the top right was the only Twin (well, two if you count Brian Harper getting trucked by Lonnie Smith), and that's A-OK with me! I probably have that Jim Thome somewhere, but I certainly couldn't find a copy when I was building my want list - I was happy to check that one off.

Serious question - are there many Cacti in Colorado? I suppose there are more than just snowy mountains, and I bet this photo was taken in Arizona at Spring Training, but it made me pause for a moment...

A couple all time greats - Hall of Fame talents, and then a pair of two-sport stars. Great variety, and the whole package were needed cards from my want lists.

Thanks a bunch Greg! I am putting something together to send back your way soon.

Donruss Diamond Kings WANTLIST

I finally got around to making this list - building a collection of Donruss Diamond Kings!

1984: #27 Checklist

1990: #12 Kelly Gruber, #19 Willie Randolph, #23 Ellis Burks

1992(blue backs, says copyright 1991): DK-1 Paul Molitor, DK-3 Joe Carter, DK-19 Hal Morris, DK-22 Randy Johnson, DK-26 Fred McGriff

1993 (green backs, says copyright 1992): DK-2, DK-3, DK-5, DK-7, DK-9, DK-11, DK-13, DK-16, DK-17, DK-19, DK-20, DK-22, DK-23, DK-24, DK-25, DK-26, DK-27, DK-29, DK-30, DK-31 (Checklist) 

1994 (yellow backs, copyright 1993): DK-2, DK-7, DK-9, DK-11, DK-12, DK-13, DK-16, DK-19, DK-20, DK-22, DK-23, DK-26, DK-27, DK-28

1995 (photo backs, copyright 1994): DK-1, DK-2, DK-3, DK-4, DK-5, DK-6, DK-8, DK-9, DK-10, DK-11, DK-12, DK-13, DK-15, DK-16, DK-17, DK-18, DK-19, DK-20, DK-21, DK-22, DK-23, DK-24, DK-25, DK-26, DK-27, DK-28, DK-29 (Checklist)

1996: Need All - DK-1 through DK-31 (checklist)

1997: Need All - DK-1 through DK-10 

1998: Need All but DK-5 (Paul Molitor) - DK-1 through DK-20

1999 and 2000 no Donruss set

2001: (1999 Retroactive set) - Need ALL 1-5, (2000 Retroactive Set) - Need all 1-5, (2001 All-Time DK) Need all 1-10, (2001 Diamond Kings) - Need ALL 1-20, (2001 Rookie Diamond Kings) - Need All 1-5

2002: (2002 All-Time DK) - Need All 1-10, (2002 Diamond King Originals) Need All DK-1 through DK-15, (2002 Diamond Kings Inserts) - Need All DK-1 through DK-20

2003: DK-2 Jeter, DK-3 Adam Dunn, DK-4 Maddux, DK-8 A-Rod, DK-9 Glavine, DK-12 Giambi, DK-13 Sosa, DK-14 Zito, DK-16 Magglio, DK-17 Larry Walker, DK-19 Schilling

2004: (Donruss Diamond King Inserts) DK-1 through DK-25

2005: (Donruss Diamond King Inserts) have DK-2 Vlad Guerrero and DK-6 Magglio. Need ALL Others DK-1 through DK-25

2006 - 2007 no set

2008: (Donruss Threads Diamond Kings) Need ALL DK-1 through DK-58

2009 - 2010 - 2011 no set

2012: (Donruss Elite Extra Edition Diamond Kings) Need ALL DK-1 through DK-20

2013: No Set

2014: Donruss Main Set - 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 24, 25; 204, 208, 209, 212, 215, 216, 218, 219, 220, 222, 224, 225, 226, 228

2015: Donruss Main Set - 5, 8, 11, 16, 19, 27, (all-time DK) - need all #1 - #30



 

Building the 1956 Topps Set

Working on a 1956 Topps set - It's been very slow as I usually can't afford to buy many of these at once. It's an iconic set, certainly one of my favorites.

Images posted are to give an idea of condition I'm looking for. Centering is more important than sharp corners, a little staining or creases are ok. Pen marks on the back are generally ok, as long as they don't cover up text/photos. Would like to avoid cards with paper loss. Much more forgiving for condition of cards for players like Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle vs. Commons.

Let me know if you can help me finish this set! I'm happy to trade!

I will keep the list updated as a separate page linked at the top of the blog. Here's a LINK

These can be gray back or white back, not going for all variations, so team cards can be any version.
Here are the ones I am still looking for as of this morning:

5, 8, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24, 25, 26, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 54, 58, 61, 62, 64, 66, 68, 69, 71, 74, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 87, 88, 93, 94, 96, 97, 102,

103, 105, 106, 108, 110, 114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 123, 126, 130, 135, 136, 138, 140, 143, 145, 156, 157, 159, 160, 162, 163, 167, 171, 172, 175, 177, 178, 179, 181, 182, 183, 189, 192, 196, 198,

206, 207, 213, 214, 216, 217, 219, 222, 224, 225, 227, 229, 231, 235, 236, 237, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 252, 254, 255, 258, 261, 263, 264, 267, 269, 272, 273, 276, 277, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 292, 294, 297, 298,

300, 301, 303, 305, 308, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 318, 319, 321, 323, 327, 328, 329, 332, 336, 337, 338, 339, 340

Want Lists Completed (For Now); let's make a deal!

It's Thursday February 12th!

That means (of course) Happy Birthday, Chet Lemon!

I've been working completing various want lists so that I can start making some trades with bloggers and blog readers - I read all these trade posts and it just looks like so much fun!

I've got a few player collections starting up:

Elmer Valo

Minnie Miñoso

I like vintage

And junk wax too

The main team I collect is the Twins - I have very little of any team from 1995-2005 or so.

I've added page links to the top of my blog with more details. I'll try to add some posts during the week of trade bait.