Dimeboxes By Proxy

Recently I was the recipient of a particularly awesome PWE from everyone's favorite dime box digger, Nick!  It was of course jam-packed with interesting new additions to my Red Sox collection, some of which came via a dime box haul.  But before we get to that, how about this great stamp?

I've never been a stamp collector or anything like that, but I am one of those people who appreciates a unique one.  So much so that I've purchased stamps on eBay in the past for my PWEs.  So, this black and white portrait of the King was definitely a hit with me.

And now on to the cards...

I still haven't bought a single pack of 2016 Topps, nor do I plan to, yet through my own card show pick-ups and a couple of trades I've really done some damage to the Red Sox portion of the checklist.  This Uehara is a Rainbow Foil parallel.  There was a Wade Miley Rainbow Foil as well, but I got a copy just days before Nick's PWE arrived.  No worries though, it is in a pile ready to be re-routed to Mark Hoyle.

Nick also included a pair of inserts from the flagship release, a David Ortiz Walk-Off Winners...

...and this Back to Back, featuring two of the best hitters in the history of the franchise.  I wouldn't have a prayer of finding cards like these in dime boxes here in New England, so they're much appreciated.

I really like the simple black and white photograph of a young Ted Williams on this 1994 Upper Deck The American Epic card.  I have a feeling Ted knew even then that he would be one of the best ever.

I wasn't familiar with this one, and had to do a little research.  Turns out it's a 1980 Cramer Baseball Legends (company would later become Pacific).  You can see a bunch more of them here.  To me, the design has sort of a summer camp feel to it.  Just a great oddball, then again I'd expect no less from Nick.

My very first 2016 Donruss card.  Believe it or not, I was actually really happy to find this one in the PWE.  I know Donruss (in its unlicensed, Panini format) isn't for everyone but I actually enjoy these cards quite a bit.  I've been trying to avoid buying retail wax this year, very successfully too, but if you walked me to the card aisle in Target today and told me I could pick any one pack, I have a feeling this is what I'd leave with.

Another nice Koji Uehara.  This is one of those throwback variation parallels that came in last year's Topps Update release.  Same design as the flagship set but each player is wearing a throwback uniform, the borders are light brown, and the Topps logo is the retro version.  I've never picked any of these up since they're way expensive still on COMC (cheapest Uehara on there right now is $5.25!), so if this was a dime box find it was a good one!

Here's a card I've seen before and have wanted for a long time, Luis Tiant from Upper Deck Legends Timeless Teams.  This is one of the nicer photos of all that have landed in my Sox collection of late.  I pretty much enjoy any baseball card featuring a player signing a baseball card.

Nick really knows how to pack a PWE, he even managed to fit some framed cardboard inside, and still ship with a single postage stamp!  I'm not normally a huge game-used guy, but the Allen & Ginter releases are one of the exceptions to my rule.  Counting Josh here I now have 15 of these Red Sox cards from the various A & G releases.

I think I like this one ever more though.  Those Masterpieces baseball and hockey sets that Upper Deck produced around 2007/2008 are still some of my favorite modern releases.  They really had some well-done artwork, this Varitek being a perfect example.  The fact that it's a black framed parallel really puts it over the top.

I've said this before, but including a new-to-me Xander Bogaerts card is a surefire way to make any package an automatic winner.  Someday soon I have to get my Bogaerts collection organized and figure out which cards I've already posted here; I've got a couple of real doozies from this past off-season waiting in the wings to be shown off once I do.

I'll close for today with a 2016 Topps Heritage card.  Not just any 2016 Heritage card though, a short print!  Nick did me a real solid by saving me from having to track this one down to complete my team set.  As those who set-collect Heritage know, these are a real pain.  Unfortunately for me I think there are still 3-4 Red Sox to go even after this one.  Yikes.

Nick, thanks for another great PWE!  I hope to find some time this weekend to craft one to send off in return.