A Boatload of Boston from Tom P

Recently I was contacted by a very nice guy named Tom P, who got my contact information from Dave over at Wax Stain Rookie.  Boy was I glad that Dave put us in touch!  Tom collects everything Marty Brodeur, so I helped him out with what few Brodeur cards I could scrounge up from my collection.  In return Tom sent a fantastic haul...

I chose to start with this card because I've been looking to land a card from Jaromir Jagr's brief stint in Boston for what feels like forever now.  There just aren't a ton of them given how short his time with the B's was, and I'm psyched to have one in hand at last.

To go along with Jagr, Tom sent what I'd imagine must be close to, if not a complete, Bruins team set from 2013-14 Artifacts.

The guys looked a little flat to me in last night's season opener, but they got the win and the two points nonetheless.  We'll see how they fare tonight against a more formidable Wings team.

Here's an Artifacts card from the season prior, 2012-13.  Tyler had a breakout season with Dallas last year, it will be interesting to see what kind of point totals he can rack up on an improved Stars team.

Closing out the hockey cards is this nice Black Diamond Bobby Orr.  Orr is sort of like Ted Williams or Jackie Robinson to me, in that I can never turn down a new card of his, period.

The hockey cards were actually just a throw-in, as the meat and potatoes of the trade was a stack of Red Sox coming my way.

Even on that front Tom went above and beyond, as these two Studio cards were bonus throw-ins.  I needed both of these, and the credit card design of this Studio release took me right back to my childhood collecting days.  Great stuff.

There were actually a few Mo Vaughns tossed in as surprises, and I needed every one of them.

I had no idea Sportflix was still making sets as late as 1996.  I've heard of the UC3 set from around this time period, but I believe this one is actually just a UC3 subset card from the flagship Sportflix set.  Either way, interesting card.

Here's another set that I had not a single card from prior to the arrival of this package, 1996 Pinnacle Zenith.

This Schilling is actually from the Red Sox team set, as it's numbered BOS6.  Always check your card backs!

I didn't recognize these shiny '96 Score cards, but it looks like they're known as Dugout Collection parallels.

Another new set for me, 2005 Donruss Diamond Kings.

I'm trying to land as many 2013 Topps Red Sox cards, in all flavors and parallels, as possible since they won the World Series.  This Koji Uehara was a much appreciated need towards my Emerald Foil team set, which is picking up a little steam of late.

Here's a great parallel featuring one of my favorite photographs from recent years.  It's serial numbered to 2012 on the back.

Perhaps my favorite element of the trade involved the fact that I was able to pick up a number of cards of one of the most exciting up-and-coming Red Sox stars, Xander Bogaerts.  I'm not a player collector or a prospector, but I do think Xander has a bright future ahead of him and have been grabbing his early career cards whenever I get the chance.

Tom had a number that I needed, and was gracious enough to send them all along!

This Topps Museum Collection rookie is very thick and elegant looking.  I just checked, and hobby boxes of this stuff sell for around $230!  I certainly won't be buying any of this, so I appreciate this particular rookie card especially.

Here's a really whacky die-cut from this year's Bowman Platinum release.  I managed to get it into a penny sleeve without any damage, and I'm never taking it out again.

This package brings the total number of Bogaerts cards in my meager collection to 15, not too shabby.  Last but not least, Tom had three refractors available from the new Finest set:

These represent the only three Red Sox on the short, 100-card checklist.

Knocking out a refractor team set isn't something you do every day.

Tom, thanks for the great package!  You're a true gentleman and it was my pleasure exchanging some cards with you.  I will certainly keep a lookout for any interesting Martin Brodeur cards in my future travels, and I hope we can trade again someday.