Merry Christmas and a Napkin Doon Year

I started trade talks with the infamous Nap of The Adventures of Napkin Doon months ago, when it was summer, when Brycemas and Harpukkah seemed eons away. Well, it was worth the wait. Nap sent a slew of glee-instilling cards my way. Every card he sent would have been enough to make a stellar trade. 

I love the Diamond Kings sets, and this Ripken is fantastic. But not to downplay the other awesome Ripkens Nap sent: some super blurry Sportflics and a completely ridiculous Metal Universe card where a monster hand seems to be giving Cal a purple nurple.

I'm a big fan of these vintage Topps subset cards where you would love to be in on some conversation between stars. Here Nellie interrupts Harvey's chaw-chewing to show him the secret "F--k face" he's written in his glove. Years later, Harvey told Billy Nellie's secret. Billy took the less modest route. And the rest is history. I'm pretty sure that's exactly what happened.

Gotta love those floating head leader cards. This one features two all-time Tiger badasses. This card would have made the trade. Nap didn't even mention it in our initial talks, because, I found, that's just the awesomely generous trader he is.

Here's another card he didn't mention. I've been seeing everyone post these mini '75s with jealousy, and now I have one for myself, thanks to the Nap.

The hits just keep on coming. I'd never seen one of these Ovation auto cards in person, and they are really cool. Instead of the much-bemoaned sticker, the signature here seems to be cut from white paper. It really allows the ink to pop, and it just feels more intimate. Why isn't Topps doing this when they can't do on-card autos? Chris has a nice readable signature, too.

This is the card that got our trade going. I love Pudge GU cards, and I dig the older T206 sets. This card is clean, simple, and sharp, a perfect example of how to do a jersey card right.

I especially like how the jersey shows through on the back side, too. All very classy. Just like my trade with Nap. Be sure to go check out his fantastic, witty blog. Revel in his Bryce Harper-related holidays, in Cleve's auction adventures, in climactic hot dog tournaments. Oh, and be sure to find some good cards for him. This is a Napkin you want to be trading with.

As a small side note, Nap and I started our blogs right around the same time, in the first months of 2011. And it's been a good year, not just because I've entered the blogosphere, but because better bloggers, like ROY candidate Napkin Doon, entered into the fray. I look forward to seeing what all of the legendary blogs out there as well as us rookies do in 2012. Thanks for a great trade, Nap. And thanks for a great community, blogosphere. See you next year!