Vintage Pulls Me Back In: Can You Spare a '52 Kell?

I've been away from the blog for nearly a month and a half. I've never been a super frequent blogger, but slow and steady. This is the longest hiatus I've taken.

The Tigers blew it. I got sad. Leyland left. I felt complicated. We won some awards. I got happy again. But the blogging void has more to do with new-baby-bliss and being very busy with my new teaching job.

Anyway, I'm not saying I'm back to regular, but here's something that also makes me excited to talk about cards: vintage.

This 1951 Bowman gets me one card closer to my vintage Bowman Tigers team sets. A great looking card that came PWE-style from 2 by 3 Heroes. Hey, anyone got a 1952 Bowman George Kell? If so, I got an arm and a leg for you.

I have the least amount of cards from this Bowman set, which I'm not a huge fan of. Hey, oversized pictures! Whew. Meh. I prefer undersized art cards for my vintage. But, this is a Tigers card, Ned Garver, so of course I needed it. This one came in a trade from The Lost Collector.

Oh, and this one was the most exciting of all. My doppelganger trade partner Dennis at Too Many Verlanders sent this beauty. And with this card, I'm now just one card away from finishing my Tigers team set of 1952 Bowman--my favorite vintage set!! So, what's the one card I need? Remember that arm and leg? That's right. Need me a '52 Kell.

Thanks for the great trades, fellas. Hope to chat with you again soon, blogger boys and gals.

Pair of Trades: Rhubarb and a Shoebox

It's time for some very belated trade appreciation. To start off, Rhubarb Runner and I completed another trade. This was our third or fourth. He's one of my oldest and favorite trade partners. If the alliterative name doesn't sound familiar--and it should if you're reading baseball card blogs!--perhaps his difficult to pronounce blog name will, é rayhahn, rayhahn.

This was the favorite card of the trade, which was a nice and simple one. Topps Heritage usually puts together a pretty classy GU card, and 2008 might be the best with the baseball diamond design and homeplate-shaped bat chunk.

Here are some Rhubarby extras. Great Kalines and Pudges. I kept trying to figure out why Ivan would ever be on a cover that says "Best of the Worst." What the heck, ESPN.

The Runner is always a great trader. If you have some snazzy Twins, hit him up for a trade. You won't be disappointed.

Next up, was a new trader for me. Shoebox Legends and I traded some bricks of Sox and Tigers.

From '94 Score to 2007 Heritage short prints, lots of Tigers I hadn't seen before. I love the super-close-up of Sweet Lou's shiny helmet.

Here are some of my favorite Tigers inserts. I'm a big fan of framed Masterpieces, even if Mr. Shef is featured. A pair of wood-framed Pudges are no scrubs either.

I always appreciate some Verlander rookies.

Shane didn't just send a bunch of great Tigers, he also filled a bunch of player collection needs. These were a few of my favorites.

And some Ripken and Cabreras, too.

Believe me when I say these were just a few of the cards in this huge batch. If you have a Red Sox cards to trade, swing on by Shoebox Legends.

Trade Post: Pudge from The Dimwit

Long long ago, I approached the world's most articulate dimwit about a trade. He'll have to forgive my abysmally tardy posts, as anyone who trades with me must.

Anyway, it was one of those short and simple trades. Three cards for three cards. And they were good ones:

I collect all Pudges, and here we have two great cards featuring the Fisk. This Masterpieces card is one of my favorites. He's mean mugging through the eye-black. On the other side, we have a bright and sunny Fisk, who'd be happy to help an old lady cross the street. Don't ask that other Pudge, though. He'll block that other side of the street and force that old lady into a collision at the plate.

For the third card, a classy looking black border Verlander from GQ.

Great cards. Thanks a ton, Sam. Be sure to head over to The Daily Dimwit for a great blog and, if you're lucky, a stellar trade partner.

Would You Say I Have a Plethora of Trades?

It's time to recap a plethora of awesome trades I recently completed. (Hefe, what is a plethora?)

I think it was around last Christmas that 2 by 3 Heroes was giving away some cards PWE style. I picked a pair, and they promptly arrived.

Two awesome cards: a numbered Topps Heritage Cabrera and a framed card of an epic catcher. Well, you just can't do much better than that for a PWE delivery, especially when the cards came completely free.

So, months later, I finally got the chance to send some cards back in an official trade. However, despite all the White Sox I could send his way, I think the man who always has the best music videos linked at the bottom of his posts still outdid me. 

This was the card that initiated the trade. Jeff was worried I wouldn't be interested because of the crease, but that doesn't scare me. I love all Cabrera jersey swatches regardless of battle scars. In fact, I think these kind of creases are very common from Heritage GU cards, which is unfortunate, if you were buying a box and this was your one hit, anyway.

Jeff also added in some great Pudges. Ivan in gear is only bested by Ivan as a floating head.

And to wrap up the trade, a few Tigers autos from Jeff's LCS' bargain box. Dig it. Great looking cards even if Tony Giarratano never panned out (anyone know what happened to him?) and Clete Thomas is now with the Twins, where he happens to be tearing it up in AAA. I knew he had too cool of a baseball name to quietly fade away from the game.

Thanks, Jeff, for a great trade, for a great blog, and for all the great You Tube videos. A while ago you sent me on an Oingo Boingo rampage.

Next up, I completed my first trade with a blog I've long admired: Foul Bunt. I think we're all aware of William's fantastic autograph collection, great writing, and generosity.

William sent me a Pudge the second Ginter GU I needed, and he tossed in a bunch of Pudge the first extras. These were a few of my favorites that I didn't have yet. The Vealtones love Pudges of all generations. 

Speaking of Pudge, of Dr. Fisk to be exact, Oscar over at All Trade Bait, All The Time had some cards to fill this collecting need.

Those are some beautiful Pudges. Best of all is the 1973 Topps card, Fisk's second-year card, his rookie cup card, and his first solo piece of cardboard. Oscar knew I would love this one, and he was right. This is one of my favorite Pudge cards now. 

But what would a trade be without Pudge Jr.? He was feeling left out until Oscar tossed in some sweet extras.

I think the Ripken Clippings card was what started this trade, and he came with a few friends. I'm slowly creeping toward that Ultra Iron Man set. Got anything to contribute?

Last up, some random awesomeness. I always enjoy some colored 2008 Heroes. Here we have fecal brown. Then some great minis and my first card from the 1961 Fleer set. 

I loved all of these cards, from Oscar and from everyone. Thanks for the slew of awesome trades, fellas. I look forward to our next bubble mailer exchanges. 

Now, in honor of 2 by 3 Heroes and the title of this post:

Trade Trifecta: The Plain Gray, the Fantastic, and the Napkin

Trading is one of the best parts of being a blogger, and I'm way behind (as always) in showing off my trade goodies. If you trade with me, man, I will put my all into sending you great stuff, but know that I'll take twenty-two and a half years to post about it.

So, speaking of a trader who deserves thanks, I traded with Roy at Plain Gray Swatch, back when he was still getting his blogging legs. Hell, now he's a veteran. I sent Roy some stuff off my trade bait, and here's what I got in return:

A very shiny, very smiley Miggy Cabby Icons jersey. This one's a plain white swatch. What gives? I expected plain gray.

Even plainer white is this Pudge Masterpieces GU. I'm such a sucker for framed cards, and I love this one, despite the humdrum headshot. This card is classy, as is everything Masterpieces did. Now, I owe Roy extra thanks for parting with this beauty, as he's a Pudge fan himself. That's blogger generosity for you.

Here come the extras, and what fine extras. I especially love the Archives Ripken. I'm getting closer to finishing that Ultra Iron Man insert set. Sweet trades are made at Plain Gray Swatch, as well as some great writing. Be sure to check them out. And, Roy, I have a stack of cool Jays I've been holding for you when you're ready to trade again.

Next up, Fantastic Catch answered my plea for an Inge GU. I still need an Inge auto, if anyone has one.

But now I have some Inge jersey goodness. This is a great looking card.

Here are some of the sweet extras sent to finish off this trade with Fantastic Catch. Love the Kaline.


To finish off this trade trifecta, I have cards to show from everyone's favortie Napkin: Mr. Doon. We've had a few trades before, and he always sends great stuff. He's also one of my favorite blog writers--a well-yielded sense of humor goes a long ways.

Nap posted this card on his blog, and I had to have it. I love all Cabrera cards, whether in Marlins gear or the correct uniform.

Nap tossed in some shiny Cabrera extras. I wondered if I'd ever snag one of those Spring Fever cards, and I hardly even had to wait, thanks to everyone's favorite Doon, Mr. Napkin. With this grouping of shiny Cabreras, this post has reached its cyclical end.

Thanks to all these great bloggers for their trading generosity. And if any of you out there want to get a trade going, just send me a message.

Big Cards from Fuji and Baseball Dad

I'm a lucky guy, and perpetually behind. Lucky because I've traded with some very generous fellas from the blogosphere, and behind because these trades are from months ago.

Like this trade from the famous Chronicles of Fuji:

This was the centerpiece of our trade, and it becomes a centerpiece of the Pudge collection. Guillen and Sheffield (wearing the wrong jersey) are Pudge's backup for his barbershop trio. So, yeah, this card is cool, but it's also a 1 of 1. Check the bottom corner. 75/75 equals 1/1, on eBay anyway.

This trade got bigger and smaller. Fuji sent an over-sized Ripken and some mini Ripkens. I love how these look next to each other.

And big and small Team Lou-Tramm. I have no idea how to store these giant cards, but they're awesome.

Thanks, Fuji.

You have the coolest damn calling card in the biz. 

Another iconic blogger I recently traded with was everyone's favorite paternal blogger, Baseball Dad.

Hey, it's another over-sized card! I really know nothing about what this is or where it came from or, again, how to store it, but it's cool.

I was probably most excited about getting a few more cards for the only set I'm working on. These were much needed, and it had been a long while since anyone had knocked a few needs off the 2007 Bowman Heritage want list.

What would a trade be without a few sweet Ripkens?

Baseball Dad also sent some great Pudges and Cabreras and other nice random extras. I love this '80s Fleet Whitaker, and those Ripken Holiday Inn cards are always great for a laugh.

Finally, I got this sweet pack of cards in the trade. I'd never seen these before, besides in other trades from Baseball Dad. This was a pretty great pack with an insert and some stars. 

So, thanks, Baseball Dad and Fuji, for the great trades. I hope we can get some more trading going on in the future.

Turkey-Veal Trade Thanks Part Two: Too Many High-Fives

Here at the Vealtones, we've eaten multiple turkey dinners. Our guts are bulging, our buttons popped, our leftover turkey sandwiches gluttonously devoured. Yet we haven't had our fill of thanking bloggers for their awesome traders. Thanksgiving is over, but the thanking goes on, starting off with Dennis over at Too Many Verlanders.

Speaking of Verlanders, here are a few nice ones from Dennis' stash.

Too many Cabreras.

Too many more Cabreras and a few too many Pudges.

A few more golden Pudges and a very cool '64 Freehan I didn't have. This may be Freehan's coolest looking vintage card.

So, just when you think we're winding down with the too-manys...

It's too many Ripkens!

Far too many Ripkens! Dennis and I both collect Ripken, and we did a doubles swap. He had lots of cool stuff to send. This bottom row of horizontal cards were some of the coolest.

And this was the weirdest Ripken of the bunch, a PowerDeck card. I'd never seen one of these, and they're kind of neat, in a relic-of-outdated-tech kind of way. I tried to play this on my laptop, but I had to download some crap so I was done. I will simply enjoy Ripken's image on a hung of plastic with a hole in it.

And this is my favorite card of the trade. I love this set, the way they die-cut the 3000. Very glad to add this card to the player collection.

Thanks, Dennis, for a great trade. Be sure to check out Too Many Verlanders for great writing about the Tigers and Michigan athletes and lots of other witty stuff.

Another smaller, but no less great trade comes from Justin's World. The High-Five Man was interested in a card off my trade bait, and he found a mighty fine Pudge I needed:

I dig the design of this card, and the relaxed tone of this image. Pudge looks so like he's in his last year of pro-ball, ready for retirement, just having fun hanging out and wearing sweet shades.

Justin sent some other goodies, too.

A very nice bit of vintage Cobb, some sweet Pudges, and another Bonderman GU. I have a bunch of Bonderman GUs that have just kind of accidentally fallen into my collection. It looks like  he's probably going to be pitching for the Tigers next year, which I'm glad to hear. Now I'll appreciate that Bonderman jersey I've been getting close to piecing together.

Thanks, Justin, for the great trade, and for your work at Justin's World.

Turkey-Veal Trade Thanks: BA Benny and ARPSmith

I'm very thankful for a year of great trades.  And it's Turkey Day, so it's time to share a few of those great ones that have been sitting, unrecognized, for far too long.

Adam over at ARPSmith's Sportscard Obsession sent me some fantastic cards a while ago. It all started with a Smile:

Or a Smyly, that is. Adam pulled this auto and I needed it. I dig Drew's signature, and I can't wait to see what he does next season. Adam also found this '67 Cash Kaline card for me. It was one I needed, and I'm thrilled to add it to my Kaline player collection. I'm a huge fan of these vintage Topps group cards, and this is one of the cooler Kaline ones.

Here are a bunch of random extras Adam threw in. Random extras hardly defines these cards. Framed Gypsy Queens, Chrome Heritage, an SP Austin rookie, Tigers Topps Inserts, and an '84 Ripken, these are a few of my favorite things.

Now we're getting a little more random. A Triple dose of some Swell Tigers.

Adam also threw in some sweet hits. This Pudge jersey card is completely awesome. His gaze is super intense and he has donned the appropriate Tigers catcher gear. Great stuff.

And here's another big smile to wrap up this trade. This adds another jersey swatch to my Mr. Triple Crown MVP player collection. I still get plenty of enjoyment out of game-used cards, and this is a great one. Thanks, Adam, for a great trade.

 

Head over to ARPSmith's for some great writing, weekly contests, and if you have some cool Giants cards to trade.

 

Another trade I'm thankful for comes from BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffet. We've traded a few times, and I'm grateful to count BA Benny as a trading partner. As many of you know, the Buffet took a little hiatus last year, and the blogging world had a hole in it. But BA Benny is back, has been on a rampage of posting patches. We're glad to have him back.

 

So, he spotted some cards he wanted from my trade bait, and he offered up this:

 

I'm not actively collecting Austin, but I can't turn down a cool card of the only speed on my team and our killer center fielder.

 

He also sent along this very cubical Pudge jersey card. You don't see too many cards picturing Pudge running.

 

Here are a few of my favorite extras Mike tossed in the trade package.

 

Last but not least, BA Benny sent this 2008 Donruss Threads Porcello jersey card. I'm not really sure where the red jersey came from, but I love the way the red pops in this design. This is a really classy design all around, and even though I'm not a huge Porcello collector, this was my favorite card of the trade. Love it.

 

Thanks for great trade, man. Check out BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffet, an awesome blog, and if you have some cool Mets or Yankees, send him a trade offer.

 

Two great trades I am truly thankful for. I have many more to post about, and many more thanks to give. I appreciate all the blogger generosity, and I'm proud to be a part of this community. Thanks, guys, for making cardboard even more fun.