I Like More Than Just Red Sox

A couple of weeks back I was the recipient of a very generous bubble mailer from Tim B of I Love the Smell of Cardboard in the Morning.  It was a great example of the fact that I collect much more than just Boston Red Sox cards. 

For example, almost anything really shiny is going to catch my eye, which is probably why I went crazy for the Chrome Update cards that Topps included in those "Holiday Mega Boxes" last year.  I'm trying to collect the entire 50-card set, and this Noah Syndergaard RC was the biggest name I had left to track down!  In fact, I had a copy in my cart on COMC and was making some offers when this package arrived.  Obviously, Tim hit the nail on the head with this one.

I actually received two others that I was missing in this package as well, shortstop Didi Gregorius of the Yankees...

...and rookie catcher Kevin Plawecki of the Mets.  This is another one I had in my COMC cart.  Thanks to this trio, and another handful I picked up online, I'm now just two cards away from putting this set to bed.

Another collecting guilty pleasure of mine are the buyback cards Topps has been inserting in various products for a few years now.  I can totally understand why the majority of collectors are turned off by these things, or consider it sacrilege to put a foil stamp on a vintage card, but I love them.  This one, from the 2015 Topps Heritage High Numbers set, will pair nicely with the standard version of this card I picked up a few years ago now.

Here's another '66 to go with it, from 2015 Topps Update.  I don't get a chance to add buybacks like these to my collection too often, so this pair is greatly appreciated.

Of course, Tim did include some great Red Sox cards in the package as well...

This Classic Best Gold is from Aaron Sele's time with the now-defunct Lynchburg Red Sox.  Hackenbush just featured a few cards from this set on his blog, and I concur that the design is dizzying to say the least.

I'm normally not much of a fan of logo-less, unlicensed cards, but Panini did a great job with the 2015 Diamond Kings set.  It seems like a lot of collectors, at least those whose blogs I read, were fans of this one and I can see why.

Yet another 2015 Topps flagship Red Sox insert that I was missing!

The 2010 Topps National Chicle set was very hit-or-miss in my personal opinion.  I'd say this Ellsbury is middle of the road, I've certainly seen much worse from this set.

This Wily Mo Pena autograph may be from before his time with Boston, but that doesn't mean I appreciate it any less.  What shocks me about this one is just how different Pena's signature looks from the other autographed card that I have of his.  I also find it interesting that I've always seen his first name spelled with just one 'L', like it is at the top of this card, yet his signature here is Willy with two?  Either way, dude could mash the ball on the rare occasion when his bat connected.

Tim knows I love parallels, and I found a handful of them in his latest group of cards.  From 2015 Topps Update I got both the Rainbow Foil...

...and Gold parallels of Rick Porcello.  With David Price as the clear ace heading into 2016, it would be nice if Porcello could settle in and become a reliable third or fourth starter in the rotation, but we'll see.

I'm grateful that Carlos Peguero made last year's Update set, because the four games he played with Boston last season will likely be the only four he ever plays with the team.  He was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals around a week ago.  For only appearing in four games he ended up with a pretty awesome card too!

Here's a much older parallel, a Silver Script from 2000 Upper Deck MVP.  I've got two of these now, both Red Sox players.

Rounding out the parallels is this fantastic Chrome Refractor rookie of catcher Blake Swihart from Heritage High Numbers.  Serial numbered to /566, this is now probably the best card I have of the young Sox backstop.

Oh yeah, and there was one more non-Red Sox card to be found, and a pretty nice one at that:

Just awesome!  Tim, thanks for another killer mailing.  I'm low on trade material at the moment, but when I do make it back to my local hobby shop I will certainly be on the lookout for some items to craft a return package with.