Trade: Catching Up With Collecting

I've been holding onto this trade package for about a week and a half. Jared from Catching Up With Collecting sent so much great stuff that I needed to find the time to sort and scan.  Thankfully today was that day!

 I'm a documented lover of the Diamond Kings set. The older guys like Honus get around the licensing issue pretty easy.

Felix was a high draft pick by the Buccos (2nd round in 2006), but the control never came around. He didn't make it out of A ball.

 Pretty pumped to see this card. Taillon should debut at some point this year. He was drafted 2nd overall in 2010 right after Bryce Harper and before Manny Machado. Health has been an issue the last two years, but he is still young and very much part of the future for the Bucs.

 Cole Train rookie!

 A trifecta of awesomeness.

 These counterpart cards are pretty cool and sometimes comical. Caminiti was a much better player than Randa, but at least Randa had a long career. The comical one was the Jermaine Allensworth and Bernie Williams.  I don't think I would consider them a "counterpart."

 A very young Jason Kendall looking to get the out call at the plate.

 These older press proofs were pretty cool.  Digging this Cordova!

 WATCH OUT!

 Rabbit will haunt your dreams.

 I think everyone loves Ted Williams cards.  Also, the Collect-A-Books remind me of my childhood.

 Some update Buccos that had short stays to go along with a gold Vance Worley.

 early 80's Buccos.

 Jared sent an array of stickers.

 A mustard oddball of Scott Erickson and John Smiley.

 A mini and regular issue of the owner of the greatest game ever pitched.

 I've been on a Pacific kick lately. Nice to get some in a trade!

I'm a huge of all the Finest sets except for the 2015 version. That one didn't do much for me. 

 I've been trying to go back and add some of the variants from Gold Label. They are getting tough to find.

 I'm sure Dime Box Nick has talked about this Turner Ward. What a great card.

Finish up strong with the consensus best set of 2015, Topps Stadium Club. The Van Slyke was one of my favorites.

Thanks for all the great cards Jared. Sorry for the delay in getting them posted. You sent so many great cards that I wanted to be able to scan a majority of them.  I'll be hitting you back soon!

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Trade: Catching up with Collecting (Clemente Edition)

Jared and I have swapped cards several times since he started blogging. He makes for an easy trade partner as he enjoys Red Sox and quite a few catchers. This time around he hooked me up with a bunch of great cards.

Jared was nice enough to throw in an auto of Barrett Barnes and a cool bat relic of Aramis Ramirez. I've been going back lately and trying to tie up some loose ends with Ramirez autos and relics so this was a welcome edition. Aramis's time with the Pirates was fairly brief, but it coincided with the relic boom so he has a decent amount out there.

A while back I posted that I was close to finishing the Donruss Series 1 set and Jared was able to help with a couple of holes. The Diamond Kings and Rated Rookies are short prints so they are proving to be a pain in the butt. I'll probably hit just commons soon to fill most of my set holes.

I'm sucker for the Studio Buccos. Al Martin should have had another picture taken as his eyes are almost closed.

 Flair Buccos are pretty cool too.

Both Morris and Wilson have been traded in the past year. Morris went to the Marlins in exchange for a supplemental pick which turned into Connor Joe and Wilson was traded to the Yankees for Francisco Cervelli. Pirates have a pretty good track record cycling through relievers as the very rarely give out big deals to relief pitchers.

 Mad Dog, Pops and Cobra



Now for a ton of Clemente's.

Hard to pick a favorite but I love UD Masterpieces. One of my favorite sets of all time. Let's all pour one out for UD baseball :( Oh how I miss you.

Thanks for all the great cards Jared. Hope you are back to blogging soon!

Thanks for reading.

Trade: Catching Up With Collecting

I've almost caught up from my backlog of trade posts. The week before Christmas I received 10 blog packages in the mail, which is awesome. Normally I'm on top of scanning them the day I get them in the mail but my work schedule and holiday obligations caught up with me. I also didn't want to post some of the great cards I received the days leading up to Christmas as the blog view count would have been weak.  Bob Walk the Plank should be back to normal operating schedule.

Blog business time!

Jared from the great blog Catching Up With Collecting and I have already swapped cards multiple times since he started blogging. He makes for a good trade partner because his cardboard interests are very diverse. He likes to collect a wide variety of catchers to go along with his love of the Red Sox. I usually try to hook him up with Jason Kendall's.

The package Jared sent my way was very diverse and even include one awesome Mountaineer! Check it out.

Morgantown WV native and former Mountaineer Jedd Gyorko. Without putting a ton of effort I've accumulated a decent Gyorko collection. It will be interesting to see where Jedd will hit in the revamped Padres lineup. Thanks for the great auto Jared!

You don't see a ton of Triple Threads cards in the blogosphere because of the price. Boxes usually run in the 150-175 range so it is a high risk/high reward bust. I've opened one box in my life and while I did pretty well it was a little too nerve racking. My friends and I don't venture far from the $50 range. With all that being said it is nice to receive these cards in trade packages. If you haven't seen one in person the Triple Threads are thick and have a fancy look. Great stuff!

It has been a long time since I've seen these Cardtoons cards. Maybe Panini can take a few pointers on how to get around the licensing issue. Jay Bellhop!

 Nice variety of Cole cards.

 I really like the Al Martin card. I'm sure this is in Nick's Frankenset binder.

Some late 70's early 80's Pirates. Love the Grant Jackson card.

 Bowman rookies.

Let's end with a great oddball!

Thanks for another great swap Jared! I'll work on getting another package sent your way soon. If you haven't already please check out Catching Up With Collecting. You won't be disappointed. 

Trade: Catching Up With Collecting

Another new trade relationship established!  Jared from the blog Catching Up With Collecting and I struck up a deal a couple weeks back.  Jared makes for a easy trade partner as his interests are vast. I was able to send some catchers and Red Sox, while he hit me up with a nice stack of new and old Pirates.  If you haven't already go check out Jared's blog.  I've really enjoyed the face mask off series.

I love the UD Masterpiece cards.  Both the Bay and Clemente have a great look. Great additions to my collection.

 The Grimes is a parallel /499.

 Gerrit Cole!  The Bowman is a purple parallel rookie of the former UCLA Bruin.

 The Parker Tall Boy really pops out.  Great looking card.

I've been on a nice run receiving Triple Threads cards from fellow bloggers.  That is definitely a good thing!

A nice selection of a few of the million color parallels in Topps.  I think these are some of the retail exclusive.  I could be wrong.  I'm terrible about recognizing these.

 Skinny Bonds!

Thanks for all the great cards Jared.  I hope this is the first of many down the road.  I'll try and find you some more catcher cards!  

Thanks for reading!