More Red Sox from The North!

2015 has been an incredible year for me so far when it comes to trades.  I'm absolutely obliterating my previous record for trades completed in a year.  We're only in April and I've already completed close to 30 trades!  One of the absolute highlights so far was the jaw-dropping package I received a while ago from David in Alaska.  It contained all kinds of Red Sox, from autographs to game-used, to serial-numbered and more.  I even got my very first 1959 Fleer Ted Williams card in that great package.

Well, a couple of weeks ago I discovered a surprise bubble mailer from Alaska in my mailbox.  I wasn't really expecting this one, as I think I probably owe David more cards if anything after our last exchange.  I certainly wasn't expecting the delivery to be as fantastic as it turned out to be.  Check out just some of the goodies David sent my way this time around...

The Pedroia Studio insert that topped my last post came from David, and paired with it was this Ortiz.  The facial expression probably matches the one on David's face in the clubhouse Monday afternoon, after he struck out three times in the season opener.

One of the coolest things I found in this grouping of cards was a nice chunk of 1970 Topps!

I didn't have very many Red Sox from this set previously, just one or two, but David added 9 more to my collection thanks to this package!

Rookie card of the lesser known Conigliaro.

Here's the more familiar name!

Love the pre-game warm-up Yankee Stadium shots.

No idea where this photo was taken.  Spring Training facility perhaps?

David puts a lot of thought into his packages.  Last time around, I commented on how much I liked the 1989 Bazooka card he had sent along, so he went digging and included three more in this latest package.

I really love the design of these cards, and with just 22 cards on the checklist I think I am going to have to go after the rest of them.

I also mentioned to David that I casually collect Cal Ripken and Will Clark, so he threw in this strange Foldouts card from the 1993 Upper Deck Fun Packs.  As the name implies, the card unfolds to reveal a large shot of a diving Ripken:

I almost though this card was a duplicate, until I realized that this is the Fleer Glossy version.

Same with Al Nipper here...

David even managed to send me a new Will Clark card, which is much easier said than done as I have hundreds of them, mostly from the junk wax era.

This package also provided me with my very first look at last year's Heritage Minor League set.  The highlight for me was my very first Blake Swihart card!  This guy is a major prospect, and with Vasquez done for the year it's very likely that he's going to see MLB action in 2015.

Got my first look at 2014 Elite Extra Edition also.  These are unlicensed atrocities, but I do like doing some quick research on up-and-coming prospects.  According to Baseball America, Michael Kopech is a bit of a sleeper pick with a high ceiling.  Time will tell...

Played a bit in the Gulf Coast League last year.  Again, at just 18 years old it's really too difficult to try to project what he may turn into.

David must have looked over my want lists as well, because he sent me the final 3 cards I needed to complete my 2013 Topps '72 Minis Red Sox team set.

Nice to finally have this one in the bag nearly two years after the fact.

Here's a pair from 2014 Donruss, an Ortiz Diamond King...

...and a new Bogaerts rookie!  It's a shame Panini doesn't have a license because the Donruss sets would be right up my alley if they only had logos and proper team names.

Here's another one from the Upper Deck Fun Pack set.  It's actually a glow-in-the-dark sticker.

David even included some cards from the recently released 2015 Donruss set.  A nice rated rookie of the $70 Million dollar man that's currently with the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox!

I'm not sure what the idea behind these "Hot Off the Press" parallels is.  Maybe these were cards printed early in the print run like the old Stadium Club First Day Issue parallels?  Either way, it's my 29th different Bogaerts card, not too shabby!

Here's another parallel from the brand new Donruss release.  This is the "Season Stat Line" parallel, in Pedroia's case serial numbered to /278 copies to signify last year's .278 batting average.  They also have a bit of a foil effect to them.

I got a pair of inserts from the latest Donruss release as well.

It took me a couple of minutes to determine what this card even was.  Turns out it's a short-print from last year's Archives set.  Sweet!

I even got a new autograph for my Red Sox collection courtesy of this bubble mailer.  At this point prospect Jon Denney is most known for being arrested for throwing a bottle of rum into oncoming traffic.

Okay, now we're getting to my favorites of the bunch.  I'm a total sucker for the Sepia parallels in Topps Chrome, and they're not the easiest cards to come by.  This Josh Beckett from 2012 is serial numbered to /75.

I recall David mentioning that he's purchased quite a bit of last year's Tek set.  This awesome Nomar is the first one I've seen in hand, and they're certainly very nice looking cards.  If the price point were a little lower for a box I'd consider it, but for now I'm happy just to have one example in my Red Sox collection.

Last, but certainly not least, was this red mini from 2014 Allen & Ginter.  A nice looking card for sure, and red parallels are perfect for a Red Sox collector like myself.  Until I turned it over though, I had no idea how rare these are:

Limited to just /33 copies, wow!  As if that weren't generous enough, there was a second one of these in the package:

What an awesome gift!  I think this might be the nicest Will Clark card anyone has ever sent me before.

David, I can't thank you enough for your generosity and thoughtfulness.  I already felt like I owed you something from our last exchange, and now you've really put me to shame.  I've picked up a couple of cards I think you might like, and as soon as the last one arrives in my mailbox (hopefully later this week) I'll have a thank you package heading to Alaska!