PWE from an Old Friend

A couple/few weeks back, I arrived home from work to find a PWE in the mailbox with a return address in Delaware.  A big grin instantly came across my face, as I realized I was the recipient of another generous batch of Red Sox cards for my team collection from my good friend Mark Kaz, who used to blog at This Way to the Clubhouse.

Aside from being a generally nice guy and one of the friendlier folks you'll encounter in our hobby, Mark has been hooking me up with Sox cards for quite literally years now.  He and I don't swap PWE's as fervently as we did back during our Zistle (RIP) days, but every so often I get a reminder like this that Mark is still collecting away a few states south!

This Matsuzaka RC from Topps Triple Threads is a fun novelty card now, but imagine how big a pull this would have been for a time back in 2007?!?!

If memory serves, Mark happened upon a stack of 2016 Topps Mini Red Sox cards in a box at his local show, and he's been sending them to me in a steady stream since.  This package contained not one...

...but two 2016 minis.  Ryan Hanigan donning the tools of ignorance, and my first horizontal-layout mini from the set in Wade Miley.  I'm well on my way to a completed team set of these now, based almost solely on Mark's generosity.

Sticking with the 2016 theme for a moment, here's a really vibrant Purple Refractor from Topps Chrome, serial-numbered to /275.  I've yet to meet a colored refractor from Topps Chrome that I didn't like, and this card is no exception.

From the 2006 Topps Co-Signers set, here are two Josh Beckett parallels from the seemingly unending number of parallels in this release.  If you notice, the blue portion of the card actually features Curt Schilling.  There are two other versions that feature different players there (neither of them Josh Beckett), plus endless different color schemes.

Case in point, here's the Gold version to accompany the Blue.  Each of these were serial-numbered, one to /125 and one to /115, but I forget which is which.  Collecting sure was complicated around the mid-way point of the last decade, wasn't it?  Still is, if you ask me!

Sticking with the colored parallels theme for just a couple more cards, here's my first Blue parallel from this year's Topps Big League set.  I liked this design generally speaking and the blue looks extra sharp on a Red Sox card like this.  Very cool.

2009 Topps Unique sure was aptly named, wasn't it?  This Red parallel of Jon Lester is the first card from the set to enter my collection proper on The Trading Card Database.  This card was serial-numbered as well (so was the Big League Blue Nunez above, actually), which is a common trend among this latest envelope.

We'll close it out with what is perhaps my favorite card in the PWE, this absolutely fantastic 1987 Burger King All-Pro Roger Clemens.  For a card to feature a plain-black, unlicensed hat, yet still be my favorite in a package, it's gotta be really interesting.  This one is exactly that.

Man, did I devour quite a few Burger King meals back in the late '80s and early '90s as a kid!  Used to love the chicken nuggets especially, and would get a honey sauce to dip them in.  Good times.

Mark, thanks as always for the amazing injection of new Red Sox cardboard!  My Mets supply is running a little thin, but I'm sure I can scrounge up something to send your way here soon!