Flipping Dupes for Flair, and a Magnificent Matsuzaka

As Zistle has grown in popularity, having my collection (and more importantly my want and trade lists) on the site has really paid dividends.  I would say at least once a month now I'm contacted by someone looking to give me some cards I want in exchange for some I don't.  The latest trade to fall into my lap in this fashion was with user 'hpennington22', whom I've traded with once before.

This time around our trade involved many more cards.  I think I cleared about 80 cards from my doubles box!  In return I got a variety of things, but what I was most excited about were the 45 cards that got knocked off my 1993 Flair want list!

This set was something else back in the day.  It was so "exquisite" that each pack came in its own little box, and I can vaguely recall single packs selling for close to $10 shortly after the set hit the shelves.  When I got back into collecting in 2007 and found out I could have an entire hobby box for $25, I was sold.  I've been lazily accumulating the cards I didn't pull in my box ever since...

I still think these look pretty great, and have stood the test of time.  At the very least they're significant in the history of our hobby as one of the first "super premium" sets.  Fleer's answer to the Finest cards from Topps I guess.

With this giant stack crossed off my list I'm down to just 13 cards to complete the 300-card set.  I do have a couple of bigger names left, like Griffey and Clemens, but even those can be found easily for less than a dollar nowadays.  Finishing this one off shouldn't be too difficult now.

Another set I'm not really collecting actively but will gladly accept any new cards from is the 2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes release.  There were 9 new cards from this set in this trade package.  I guess this one was the best, but I never understood these combo cards at the end of the set.  Aside from all being really, really good players, what do these four guys have in common?

Of course there were some Red Sox included as well, like this pair that I still needed from last year's Archives set...

Here's one for the team collector only.  An unlicensed product, and a guy with exactly 9 games of Major League experience (with the Orioles mind you, not the Red Sox).

I've got the majority of these 1972 Topps Mini inserts from last year's Series 1 flagship product, but Henry managed to send me three I still needed.

I'm at 43/50 for this set now!  The problem is they continued them in Series 2.  I have exactly 0 of those.

I just got the Opening Day version of this great Youkilis card from Mark Kaz the other day, and now the standard base version can accompany it in my collection.

A pair of 2013 Heritage Sox.  I have nearly a complete team set now, just a couple more to go, all done through trading.

I was really surprised that I still needed this 2008 Allen & Ginter card, but in fact I did.  Down to just Tim Wakefield and three short prints to put this team set to bed.

The 2009 Goudey set is most well known for having images that look nothing like the players.  This is a prime example, that just does not look like Jed Lowrie in any way, shape or form.

Others, like this one, don't look half bad.

I saved my single favorite card in the entire package for last:

The 2008 Opening Day set from Topps is a thing of beauty for a Red Sox fan like myself.  The color scheme is perfect, the roster chock full of stars, and the team was just coming off of a World Series Championship in 2007.

That's all for today, another great swap courtesy of Zistle.  Thanks for the cards Henry!