The Good Old Days

Right around the holidays I received a PWE from my buddy Mark Kaz, formerly of This Way to the Clubhouse, that took me back to our good old days of swapping three-pocket sheets of Mets and Red Sox. Years ago we were both setup on Zistle (RIP) and it seemed like we'd each fire off a couple of PWEs a month featuring cards for the other's team collection. I'm extremely grateful that, despite the fall of Zistle, and despite the fact that Mark no longer keeps a blog, we can continue this tradition.

Let's take a look at the nine cards that greeted me in this latest envelope...

We'll start off with what was my very first in-person look at 2017 Bowman Platinum.  I really didn't buy a lot of packs, blasters or boxes in 2017, so here I am getting my first look at a set from last year with the 2018 releases just around the corner.

These aren't bad looking cards at all I have to say.  Certainly more bold, colorful, and memorable than many prior years of Bowman Platinum releases that are all jumbled together in my mind.  Nice work, Topps.

I wonder exactly how many total Henry Owens cards Topps printed up between 2015 and 2017?  It's gotta be tens of thousands.  Hundreds of thousands maybe?  In any event, this refractor is serial numbered, to /499.

Here's a 2015 Prizm card of Dustin Pedroia that looks like it features a photo that may be from a few years prior.  The Prizm set worked so much better on the hockey side, where Panini actually had a license, if you ask me.

I've added just about 4,000 baseball cards to my collection on The Trading Card Database since the collapse of Zistle, and this is the very first from 1997 Bowman Chrome.

Fleer went with a full-bleed, minimalist design for their 1999 Tradition set.  The gold foil is a bit much (this was the '90s though, so not completely surprising), but I like the photograph for sure.

This one made me smile.  The Topps Total releases remain some of my favorites from the period where I was away from the hobby, and Brian Daubach here fills a hole in my 2004 team set.

Chris Smith is kind of a cool story.  He debuted with the Red Sox in 2008, pitching with the team from May through October.  He signed with the Brewers the following year, but was back in the minors by 2010.  Toiling in the minors for years, Smith worked all the way back to the Major League level and appeared in some games with the A's over the past two seasons.  He's a 36-year-old free agent now, so his career may be over, but at least he can say he made the show.

Here's the last card Mark sent in this latest delivery, not just any 2004 Bowman Heritage card but a short-print according to TCDB!  I've recently gained an appreciation for the '55 Bowman TV set design, and I'm pleased any time I can add a Red Sox card to my collection from the Heritage set that pays it tribute.

Mark, receiving your unexpected PWE brought some joy to my holidays indeed!  I've still got a small stack of Mets in your section of my trade box, and should have some time to prepare over the holiday weekend here and return fire next week!