Father's Day Walk Off

It had been a while since Marc (Remember the Astrodome) and I swapped cards.  In some ways we are probably not the greatest trading match as Marc collects a little bit of Buccos on the side.  Marc looked past those details in our latest swap.  Much like the package from Nick I showed yesterday, this one also felt like it would be a good day at the card show.  So much great variety. 

Marc brought the heat right away.  To me this is the blog trading version of the bat flip.  Check this out. 

 The legend looking in tip top shape.

 Unhittable.

 NSFW

 The prototype delivery. I'm sure this is studied today.  Pretty sure I head Max Scherzer say that he owes his top shelf stuff to Walk.

 The stache and hair were almost at perfect symmetry here.

 Rugged

 You can see Walk almost laughing on this Leaf card.  He knows no one can hit him.

 Someone made him mad.

 I've been thinking about being Bob Walk for Halloween this year.  Just don't know if I can get my hair that perfect.

 Wrigley cameo

 A few years back I tried to dissect what the best Walk card would be.  It turned out to be a fools game because they are all great.  Non official list would have this 88 near the top.

Alright, time for the "other" cards of mere mortal players

 I hadn't seen a Warning Track variant in a while.

 METAL!

 The green cards should be called "Matrix" variants.

 This is one of my favorite Hermansen cards.  Never a fan of the blurred out backgrounds though.

 It was exciting to see Don Hoad in DK as a Pirate.  I've been trying to get a few of the relic cards from the set, but they actually sell pretty well.  Think a few Pirate fans shared my excitement.

 A trifecta of cool Cooke cards.

 Al Martin is one of my favorites to collect as he was one of the few Pirates besides Kendall to be in most of the mid/late 90's sets.  Kendall can sometimes be a little pricey when trying to collect obscure parallels so I often use Martin to get my fix.

 Gotta love the Matt Morris card.

I think UD Victory might get the award for showing a guy in one uniform, but the team list is something else.

 Cordova is a fun guy to collect.  He was really good as a Pirate.  They found him much later in his career after a successful run in the Mexican league.

Elias Diaz has been a nice surprise this year.  Makes me wonder if the Pirates will try to deal Cervelli.

/tear for Cutch.

Thanks for the great cards Marc.  These were a ton of fun to go through.  Hope you are enjoying Gerrit Cole.

Thanks for reading.

Virtual Dime Box

I live in an area that is void of card shows/shops.  I'm not going to wax poetic as most of the ones in my area that closed never adapted to online pricing.  As much as I want to support local business, it is not good for my collection to drop $40 on a Jason Bay auto.  

These days I live vicariously through blogging friends that have good shops/shows/flea markets to attend on a regular basis. Of course our most notable dime box digger is Nick.  This latest installment of cards from Nick is what I would imagine a perfect dig for Pirate cards would turn up. 

Early/mid 2000's was a tough time to be collecting Pirates.  The only area team wise that was represented well was sets featuring retired players.  Team Heroes is a nice example. 

I think Fleer might get the award for most obscure sets in the 2000's.  Today these have become hard to find.  Very happy to have this Honus in my collection.

I'm a fan of any card that shows the beautiful skyline in the background.

This card has all the loveable wear I like to see on a vintage card.

Is that a faceless Chuck Tanner in the background?

I've begun the process of trying to pick up some Josh Bell cards.

A Dime Box special with a short term Bucco!

More mid 2000's legend sets.

Always an underrated set for great photos.

Legendary Cuts was very fancy pants when it came out.  The base cards are not super easy to find.

My favorite here is the Cole in the Bradenton Marauders jersey.

If I recall, Nick told me that Gorzelanny was from his neck of the woods.  Pokey Reese was always fun to watch in the field.  A shame his bat never came a long.

Two Pacific cards and a Spanky.  I bet LaValliere got all the ladies.

Mitch Keller is the Pirates biggest prospect.  He looks to be on track to join the team next year.  There was some talk that the Pirates may push him if they could stay in contention, but that doesn't look like the case.

It has been a few years since I dipped my toes in the Gypsy Queen game.  Always nice to receive some in trade.

When these Joey Bats Pirate cards started showing up in Topps sets I was pretty happy.  Kind of funny considering how bad he was with the Buccos, but I wanted them all!

Charlie Hayes son Ke'Bryan is a huge prospect in the system.  He has made his way through the system really quick.

Talking about cashing in.  This is the Dime Box equivalent of winning the Powerball in consecutive weeks. Must be nice to throw around cards like this in the mail.  You are a baller my friend. 

This was such a fun stuck to go through.  Thanks so much Nick. 

Thanks for reading! 

Delay of Game

Early on I learned that the best way for me to keep my incoming trade packages organized is by keeping them sealed until I'm ready to scan.  While this takes some restraint, it helps prevent anarchy on my desk.  Stacks can develop and before you know it Mount Cardmore erupts.

A few days back I got the dreaded did you receive my envelope email from Matt (Bubba's Bangin' Batch of Baseball Bits).  I knew right away I hadn't seen it.  Knowing that my system usually prevents this kind issue I was worried it may have been lost in the mail.  Before writing it off, I also knew that depending on the arrival date it may have shown up at peak Wes madness.  Thankfully the latter was true.

My wife did a little examination of the office area and found them hidden behind our filing cabinet. Wes sends so much mail that it caused my envelopes to collapse.  So my apologies to Matt.  Ultimately I'm just happy he mentioned something as it could have been lodged back their for the foreseeable future.

Let's take a look what was inside after the two month hibernation.

 A few extra months obviously didn't hurt this 51 Bowman.  What a great card.

 When Matt told me he sent me this card I immediately worried that I mixed his trade package up with Wes as he sent this one as well.  Thankfully it was just a coincidence. I don't have many Pens autos in my collection so even if it is a duplicate I'm very happy to add more.

 Failed prospect collecting could keep a Pirate fan busy a long time.  I have a lot of fun adding these type of cards these days.

 I'm pro diecut cards so this is right up my alley.

 Fingers crossed for some more Cervelli cards this year.  He is off to a great start and may earn an All Star birth.

A few years ago I bought a box of T206 and had a blast.  The Giles is my favorite since he has the short lived red bill Pirates hat.

Thanks for the cards Matt!  Sorry for the delay and thanks so much for reaching out.

Thanks for reading!

Canadian Addendum

Not long after Doug (Sportscards from the Dollar Store) blew me away with a fantastic trade package he contacted and said another one more envelope would be heading my way.  Once again this one featured some high end Mountaineers.

 The Tavon Austin plate below was probably the "best" card in the bunch but this Sims was my favorite. Complete with the college uniform and the "Go Mountaineers" inscription it may be my favorite Sims in my collection.

 Tavon cards seem to be moving on eBay better these after being traded to the Cowboys.  The Rams didn't do a good job utilizing his skill set so I'm hoping the Cowboys think of something.  Word is they may use him out of the backfield more.  Ultimately he just needs the ball in open space.

 I've been on a nice running adding some White cards to my collection lately.  Between great trade partners like Doug and Wes and me finding some nice lots on eBay, I've been able to double the size of my collection.

 I'm not really sure where Smallwood ends up on the depth chart next year.  The Eagles have quite a few Mountaineers on the roster so they've had my attention a lot.

The core of the Pens.  Really like the Crosby celebration shot.

Thanks for the extra envelop Doug.  Already found a few nice cards for your collection.  Still in need of a headliner and then it will hit the mail.

Thanks for reading.