Catching Up with Trade Posts

Today I've got another great trade package to show the contents of, this one from Jared of Catching Up With Collecting.  This package is baseball-heavy, which is perfect with just one week to go until the first Red Sox game of 2016!

Jared sent a whole slew of Red Sox cards my way.  Some of them I had already, which is no problem as they're in a pile slated to be sent back out to other collectors.  Others were brand new to me.  For the sake of brevity (still kind of failed at this), I'm going to show only the cards that were new additions to my collection here.  Like that awesome Cardtoons Roger Clemens card you see above.  Random to say the least, but I love it.

Here's a nice Prizm rookie of pitcher Allen Webster.  He was dealt to the Diamondbacks after the 2014 season in the trade that brought Wade Miley to Boston.  Not a bad trade for the Sox in hindsight, as Miley was probably the most reliable overall starter with Boston last year and Webster is apparently going to play in Korea in 2016 after having been picked up and then subsequently dumped by the Pirates earlier this off-season.

Believe it or not, this represents my very first card from 1997 Topps Finest.  Was just starting high school at the time so baseball cards were not on my radar whatsoever.

Jared's package (which actually arrived at least a couple of weeks ago) provided my very first in-person look at 2016 Topps.

My impression of them in hand is the same as my impression of them when first seeing them on the web...not impressed.  I'll still be looking for any and all of the Red Sox cards though, so this pair is appreciated.

Jared likes catcher cards, and is a Fisk collector specifically.  You'll be seeing a couple of other cards of Carlton further down.

I also got a pair of new rookie cards from the 2015 Diamond Kings release.

I'm definitely on the side of those that think Panini should get an MLB license.  These cards look pretty nice, but being able to use team names and logos would have put them over the top.

This one definitely brought a smile to my face as I was thumbing through the stack.  I was back into full-on rabid baseball fan mode by the time Dice-K debuted and I still remember all the hoopla surrounding his supposed "gyro-ball".  He never lived up to the lofty expectations, but that's alright as it makes his cardboard cheap to scoop up after the fact.  This Triple Threads card is super thick and numbered to a ridiculous /1350.

There was a brief point in time where I tried to acquire as many cards as I could from Adrian Gonzalez's brief stint with Boston.  Guess I never managed to get my hands on this die-cut from Bowman Platinum at the time.

Like the majority of collectors at the time, I went nuts over the 2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary parallels.  Hard to believe I'm still working on tracking down all the Red Sox variations to this day.  A complete set of these would look pretty amazing in a binder, but the reality is that I don't have the time to pursue something like that.  For now I'll stick to the Red Sox mostly.

I don't have really any recollection of Jose Malave, who appeared in just 45 games in his MLB career, all with the Red Sox between 1996 and 1997.

On the other hand, here's a guy who I remember fondly.  It seems like Coco Crisp's best cards have come in his post-Red Sox days (his 2013 and 2014 Topps flagship cards are both great).

I always forget that the 2003 Upper Deck Victory cards had rounded corners.  A strange design choice, and I'm not sure it works so well, but I'm thankful for the new Manny regardless.

Here are a couple more extra Fisks from Jared, a Baseball Highlight Sketches insert from 2012 Allen & Ginter...

...and a really elegant base card from 2007 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts.  I got back into collecting early in 2007, and I still recall buying a pack of this stuff at the hobby shop at the time.  Pulled four base cards, immediately realized high end packs weren't for me, and never looked back.

Adam Hyzdu played just 29 games with the Red Sox before being dealt off to the Padres.  This is my first Red Sox card with him as the subject, so I can cross another name off of the all-time roster!

A classic Gold parallel from the 2008 flagship set, featuring some free advertising from my bottled water of choice, Poland Springs!

There was a good start towards a team set of 1998 Bowman Chrome in this delivery.  Some guys I hadn't heard of, others I had.  Pete Munro here never pitched for the Red Sox, but he did make appearances for both Toronto and Houston at the MLB level.

Here's a name I think nearly every baseball fan recognizes, Bret Saberhagen.

I've talked about Dernell Stenson, who was murdered while playing in the Arizona Fall League, numerous times before.

Jay Yennaco advanced as far as AAA Pawtucket within the Red Sox farm system.  He blew out his arm and underwent Tommy John surgery, but never reached the Majors with any organization.  Just one of the many thousands who got oh so close I guess.

Joe DePastino has two career MLB games to his credit, both during the 2003 season with the New York Mets.

Aside from featuring a relatively interesting image, this Steve Lomasney card is cool in that it's my first proper Red Sox card of Steve (I have one other, but it's a minor league release).  Steve was a local high school star (Peabody, MA) in both baseball and football.  Injuries derailed his career somewhat, but he did get to play in a single game with Boston in 1999, when he came in as a defensive substitute for Jason Varitek.

Cole Liniak appeared in 15 career MLB games, all with the Cubs, between the 1999 and 2000 seasons.  That's a wrap as far as the '98 Bowman Chrome cards go.

Second new Jose Malave of this package...

I've got a bunch of the '94 Pinnacle Museum Collection parallels, but comparatively few of the plain old base cards.

Here's a new one from one of the most busy sets of the '90s, 1995 Fleer.

Flair Showcase is one of those annoying sets with multiple different iterations of each card.  This Brian Rose, according to my crack research, is a "Row 3" version.

Jared even tossed a couple of non-licensed, certified autos into the package!  Jon Still never advanced further than AA, and was out of pro baseball after 2009.  Regardless, this one pairs nicely with the base version of the card which I had previously.

Final baseball card of the post is this bright and bold autograph of pitcher Alex Wilson.  I liked Alex out of the bullpen during his brief time with Boston.  He was sent to Detroit in the deal that brought Yoenis Cespedes to Boston before last season.  Apparently the Tigers like him as well, as he appeared in an impressive 59 games out of the pen last year.

Jared tossed in a few New England Patriots cards as well.

While football is not really my thing when it comes to collecting cards, it's not because I don't like the sport.  I've been following the Patriots religiously for more than 15 years, but baseball and hockey keep me busy enough on the card collecting front.

I do appreciate getting a few Pats cards from time to time though, and these are welcome additions to my small football/basketball/non-sports box.

Some of these guys are from the days before I really watched closely, but as a New England sports fan I still recognize names like Terry Glenn and Dave Meggett!

Cool, the Metal Universe sets existed in football too!

This one's alright, but I like the Coates above better.

I got a pair from '99 Finest as well, receiver Terry Glenn...

...and once again, TE Ben Coates.  Both of these still have the protective coating on them too, bonus for an OCD personality like myself.

We'll close out the post here with a pair from 2006 Topps Chrome, running back Corey Dillon...

...and wide-out Chad Jackson.  The Pats moved up 16 spots in the draft to get this guy, and looking back on it now he was a certified bust.  Guy could run like the wind, but injuries and an inability to learn the playbook sealed his fate.

Jared, thanks for the great package of cards!  I don't think I can reciprocate the sheer volume of cards you sent over, but I did a little shopping on COMC for you and will have a few cards headed your way as soon as the order arrives!