A Pair of Gems from Douglas!

I can nearly see the light at the end of the trade package tunnel! Today I've got the most recent package from my buddy Douglas who is a well-known trader around the blogs and runs Sports Cards from the Dollar Store.  Douglas is one of those kind souls who actually goes out of his way to shop for others, which is something that he inspired me to begin doing myself these past few years.

The latest envelope he sent me was on the smaller side in terms of card count, but delivered big time with two cards in particular.  Before we get to those though, let's take a look at the half dozen other random cards that were included.  For starters, a trio of Red Sox towards my 2016 Donruss team set.

I've said it so many times it's beginning to get tiring, but I really think Panini is showing that they deserve a crack at an MLB trading card license again.  The 2016 Diamond King cards are fantastic, and this Donruss set isn't too bad either.  Would love to see these with proper team names and logos, although certain cards like the first two I've shown here actually look decent enough anyway.

On others though, like this Pedro, you really notice the lack of branding.  Just three more cards to go and I can put this team set in the books.

I also got another Opening Day need with this Mookie Betts.  While Xander Bogaerts is my favorite player on the current roster, Mookie Betts is a close second.  His five-home-runs-in-two-games performance last week was pretty awe-inspiring coming from a lead-off hitter.

Douglas tossed in a couple of newer Chara cards as well.  Will Boston try to move him in the off-season as part of their impending and inevitable rebuild of the roster?  Time will tell!

This one here represents my very first look at 2015-16 Trilogy.  What a weird design on this one, really not sure what Upper Deck is going for here.

Alright, now for the two cards that really made this package special!

This is one of those super thick, heavy Etched in History inserts from last year's Topps Update set.  Aside from the fact that Garciaparra was one of my boyhood idols, this card will pair nicely with the Clemens I got from the same insert set last year.

Storing these is kind of a pain due to their very thick nature, but thankfully Douglas was kind enough to include an appropriately-sized toploader.

And now, for my favorite card in the package hands down...

Sweet!  This hard-signed autograph of Rick Ley had been on my Zistle want list for years before Douglas finally allowed me to cross it off.  Rick Ley is one of the better known ex-Whalers around these parts, having served as team captain and also head coach.  He was associated with the franchise beginning with the inaugural season of the New England Whalers of the WHA, and was the head coach of the NHL's Hartford Whalers from 1989 through 1991.

I've got precious few cards of Ley, with this one being just my sixth card overall and just my second autograph.  What a truly awesome piece of cardboard to receive blind in a trade package.

Douglas, I really appreciate you looking out for me and my collection while on the prowl at the Expo.  I took some time this weekend to package up some cards to send in return, and tried to step up my game this time.  The package will be hitting the mail destined for Canada on my lunch break today, I hope it brings you as much enjoyment as this one brought me!