A Tale of Two Brauns Starring BA Benny

Mike from the blog BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffet and I finally got this trade complete.  We started to discuss this trade several weeks ago.  He has been busy hosting an awesome group break and has also been making some other trades.  I sent a John Maine Auto his way along with some other cards that fit his needs.  At BA Benny's there are a lot of player collections going on.  He also collects the Mets for the most part.  This makes for an easier trade partner.  Sometimes I think that I have a limited amount of player collections compared to others.  Some other bloggers must have closets full of cards.

For the cards that I sent his way, BA Benny sent me some really nice cards.  In the bubble mailer this Loney GU popped out.  I don't really have too many Loney GUs.  This may be my first or second.  I'll have to check later.  Loney is one of my least favorite current Dodgers.  I just don't get how he can be over 6 feet tall but bats like a slap hitter.  Bulk up, Loney!

Never mind my opinion of Loney the ball player.  I like the design of the hits from 2010 Heritage.  The piece of jersey in a shape of home plate is a good touch.  I should try and get the Loney GUs that are out there.  This may be his last year as a Dodger and I won't be interested in collecting his 2012 cards when he's in a Pirate uniform.

Next up, is some Shawn Green action.  I have a decent collection of Shawn Green game used cards.  The card companies made a lot of his cards which is good for a player collector.  I collect Green cards no matter what uniform he is rocking.

The card up top looks a little funny.  Green is wearing his beautiful Dodger uniform but the card has him as a D-Back and has a purple border.  This card is from 2006 Fleer Ultra when the D-Back colors were purple.  They now wear reddish colored jerseys. 

I'm thinking about buying a box of 2006 or 2007 Fleer Ultra.  The base cards are cool and the hits are nice.  Has anyone opened up any of those products?

BA Benny sent me this refractor rookie card of Ryan Braun.  Great!  I love Ryan Braun!  He is a monster big league player!  Oh wait, who is this Ryan Braun?  He is a pitcher?

I believe that BA Benny mentioned this card to me in am e-mail.  I didn't know that there were two Ryan Brauns.  This is a nice card anyways.  This set looks good chromed out and refractored. 

Thank you for the trade!  This trade took awhile to come through but it was well worth it.  We'll have to trade again real soon.

Please Join A Friend's Group Break

A friend of the Platter's, Johnny aka Hiflew aka the dude that has the blog Cards from the Quarry, is hosting his first ever group break.  The group breaks in the blog world are always run well and fairly priced.  The collectors that host blogs always pick a good selection of boxes.  Johnny also picked out some cool choices on what to break. 

He picked out some '98 Bowman.  This is a set that I do not have much of due to this being my cardboard dead zone.  He also chose to open up some boxes of 2003 and 2004 Bazooka.  The relics from this set look really cool.  I should be pulling at least one Doyer game used from this break.  So, everyone else will try there luck at getting the other ones.

So, everyone now, go over to his blog and sign up.  He just made his post on this earlier today so, there are still plenty of solid teams left.  I hope you join me in this break.

The Great Sports Name Hall Of Fame Trades Me Some Cards

Tim from the blog The Great Sports Name Hall of Fame and I have made a couple trades since his Trade Draft.  This time I sent him some modern trade bait.  In return he sent me some 70s-80s cards, a hit and a pack of 1989 Topps Minis.  It was a good mix of cards.  This was a great trade.  I helped his trade bait and he helped mine.  I will keep some of what he mailed me and try to trade some of the older cards for other older cards that I'm looking for.

I love getting random somewhat oddball cards in a trade.  This trade was pretty much blind on my side so, this card was a pleasant surprise.  I think this card was from a Starting Lineup figure.  I don't remember Starting Lineup selling packs of cards.

The first card is a 1980 Topps Rowland Office card.  This is a world class name!  1980 Topps is a pretty cool set.  Tim also sent me a 1979 Paul Reuschel card.  Not to fully drag Reuschel's name through the mud, so all I'll say is that he looks creepy.  That is as far as I'll go in describing the appearance of Paul Reuschel.  Make your own comments among yourselves.

Both of these cards are for trade for cards of the same era that may interest me.  Please check out Tim's trade bait page on his blog.  Some of the cards that I sent him should be listed.

Tim also sent along this pack of cards.  I wasn't sure what year or set that this was from.  It crossed my mind to not open the pack.  I only thought that for a few seconds though.

I wonder where Tim got this pack.  Was it just sitting in a long forgotten shoe box?  Did he buy this recently at a card show?  I am just curious how this pack lasted so long without getting opened.  I mean it looks old.  I can feel the rock solid gum protruding from the pack.

Here are some of the contents of the pack.  These are 1989 Topps Minis.  I don't have any of these so, this was a good bonus to the trade.  Wally Joyner looks really happy on his card.  Good for him.  He's a big league ball player, he should be laughing.  These three are for trade.

These two are keepers.  These two cards are staying at the Platter.  Ozzie Guillen is one of my favorite current managers.  He always has an opinion and doesn't mind ruffling some feathers.  People like Guillen keep baseball interesting off the field.  Most current players or managers give bland interviews but Guillen adds some flair when he speaks.  Good dude!

Dawson is a bad ass and a Hall of Famer.  His mustache alone makes this card a keeper.

This was a pleasant surprise of the trade.  I wasn't expecting to get a hit out of the trade.  The blog world once again proves to be very generous.  This 2002 Donruss Classics Gary Sheffield Game Used Jersey is numbered out of 500.  It is a very nice looking card.

This was another good trade between Nomo's Sushi Platter and the Great Sports Name Hall of Fame.  Please check out Tim's blog and help him out with some Senaca Wallace cards.

My Old School Binge Continues

At a card show that I attended a couple weeks ago, I was able to pick up some cool old school cards.  I have been to this card show several times.  It is a weekly show with card dealers that sell boxes, packs, vintage, and modern autos/gu.  So, there is a solid mix of everything.

I usually skip the tables with cards pre-90s.  The sets from the 70s or earlier didn't interest me much.  But, since there aren't as many new sets popping up that captivate my interest, I have to go back in time to pick up some awesomeness that is new to me.  This time at the show I picked up a box of 2007 Masterpieces that I promise I will post about real soon, and I bought some random singles.  The cards that I picked up from the 70s were the best pick ups that I got.

I was digging through a box of commons and semi-stars from the 60s-early 80s when I came across this 1973 Topps card of Willie Davis.  This photo looks to be of Davis getting a brush back pitch versus the Phils at Dodger Stadium.  I give my approval of this photo selection.

The 1973 Topps set is a set that I will probably collect someday.  After I am able to complete my want list of '81 Topps, then I will begin my 1973 Topps chase.  I'm just getting an early jump on things because the price was right and the dealer had a good selection of cards from this era.  I have always overlooked a table like this but, now I am able to appreciate the classics. 

This set offers a lot of great action shots like the Willie Davis card.  But, this set also has some photos of dudes in near empty ball parks.  I wonder how Topps picks who gets a memorable action photo on there card and who gets a dull standing still photo.  Jerry Reuss pitched 192 innings in 1972 for the Astros.  A photographer must have found him at some other point to take a better photo.

Now back to a 1973 Topps action shot.  This is a memorable card.  When photos like this show up in the set, you can see what led to sets know for photography like Topps Stadium Club.  I wasn't really sure who Mike Epstein was.  But, the card just looked cool and was cheap so I bought it. 

I looked up some stats of Mike Epstein and it turns out he had some pretty good seasons.  He had some pop and good on-base skills.  The late 60s and early 70s were his peak years.  Collecting cards and learning about baseball go well together.  Since, I started to collect again, I have been able to pick up even more knowledge about ball players than I had before.  Card collecting keeps you up on players of the past as well as a hot shot minor leaguer.

Aside from 1973 Topps, I also found some other old school treats.  This is my first Leo Durocher card.  It shows him as the manager of the Cubs.  The card isn't in great shape but, it is a card of Leo Durocher, who was a major piece of Brooklyn Dodger history.  The other card is a 1975 Topps card of Victory Leaders.  It shows some all time greats.  I am glad to see Messersmith representing Dodger blue on the card.

These two cards were picked up at the Rose Bowl Swap Meet.  They are two oddball cards featuring two hall of famers and a great comedic actor.  The Brock/Hernandez card is from a set that came with a magazine called Collectors Quarterly.  I am pretty sure that is accurate.  I am guessing on this from the info that I am reading from the back of the card.  If anyone in the blog world knows more about this card/set please let me know.

The other card is of Dodger Don Sutton.  Sutton has the 'fro oozing from under his cap.  This card is from 1975.  I believe the set is called SSPC.  Maybe that stands for something else.  Info on the Sutton card is needed at the Platter as well.  Thanks.

Godfather Night Owl Returns

Greg from the world famous blog, Night Owl, and I have made another trade.  We have made several trades over the months.  I always know that I am going to get a solid, generous trade with Night Owl.  I am also glad that he writes an awesome blog and is a Dodger fan. 

Night Owl left a note in the bubble mailer that mentioned that "Uribe better start hitting or I'm going to start to think he's a spy."  This may sound odd to some of you but I know full well what Night Owl is talking about.  Whenever a player comes from the Giants to the Dodgers and is unsuccessful, Dodger fans start to think he may be a spy sent here to sabotage the team.  My buddy and I were at a Dodgers game against the Braves and we were talking about the same thing.  What if Juan Uribe signed with the Dodgers just to make us a worse team?

Juan Uribe got on a little bit of a hot streak probably after this package was mailed out.  He then got "hurt" and decided to take a couple days off.  I have a feeling the Giants threatened him because he started to play well.  This force Uribe to get "hurt" and sit rather than play and make errors.  This may be his best decision. 

Night Owl was also nice enough to know some 1981 Topps off my list.  We have some really good Dodger players from the 70s and 80s.  Lopes is now the first base coach with the Dodgers.  Some say that Lopes is having a good influence on Matt Kemp.  Kemp is off to a scorching start.  I say that it's because Kemp isn't dating Rhiana.  I guess it doesn't matter.  Kemp is a beast and Lopes is a bad ass.

From 1981 Topps to some new school shine.  Night Owl is a Jon Link super collector.  He probably has a dozen or so 2010 Topps Chrome Jon Link Refractors lying around.  I am also a big fan of the 2011 Topps Diamond Parallel.  Many of the other bloggers are huge fans of the set also.

Kuo is currently on a rehab assignment and should be back soon.  When he returns, I hope he may get a chance to close some games. 

A couple of Dodger stars of the 90s.  Piazza and Mondesi were two of my favorites growing up.  Mondesi had a cannon of an arm with power at the plate.  He way a joy to watch in his younger days.

This Pinnacle set is awesome.  Great photography and nice glossy card stock.  The 90s had great variety of sets.  Probably too many sets back then and some have been overlooked due to the market getting flooded with cardboard.  The overflow of sets is what made me take a break from the hobby.  Now we are at the opposite extreme.  We only have one company to choose from while buying packs.  As a collector, this will give me time to go back in years and get some cards that I may have missed out on.

Thanks for the trade Night Owl.  You are always welcome at the Platter.

2009 Goudey Blaster Break:Trade Bait Edition

I have posted about my 2008 Goudey box break, a blaster break of 2009 Goodwin, I have an upcoming post about a 2007 Masterpieces box break and now we have a blaster break of 2009 Goudey.  I am kind of a retro set junkie.  I do like some of the shine of chrome sets but, I am really into the retro sets.  I love how legends are included into the set.  I do agree that some of these all timers need to be retired from baseball card sets.  I'll let Night Owl write about that.

This blaster was picked up on sale at Wal-Mart.  Wal-Mart seems to usually have some random blasters for sale.  I am going to change things up a bit at the Platter.  I am going to post a break by pack.  This system seems to work well on other blogs and makes it easier to make a trade.  This will also help set and team collectors find cards that they desire rather than only showing inserts and hits.

Cards listed in blue are for my PC.  Everything else is for trade.

PACK #1:
#112 C.C. Sabathia
#160 Edwin Encarnacion
#147 Mark Teahen
#267 Ozzie Smith Goudey Heads Up
#4 Randy Johnson

#44 Geovany Soto

#45 Gavin Floyd
#7 Chris Young

PACK #2:
#113 Ryan Braun
#35-66 Zambrano/Harden/Fukudome/Soto 4 in 1 Goudey
#136 Chein Ming Wang
#196 Alex Rios
#137 Mariano Rivera
#88 Jered Weaver
#69 Curtis Granderson
#33 J.D. Drew

PACK #3:
#148 Jack Cust
#124 Jonathon Niese RC
#197 Ryan Zimmerman
#150 Bobby Crosby Mini
#28 Jacoby Ellsbury
#76 Josh Willingham
#9 Jeff Francoeur
#101 Rafael Furcal

PACK #4:
#184 Evan Longoria
#185 Carl Crawford
#54 Jay Bruce Mini
#235 Dennis Eckersley Sports Royalty
#40 Alfonso Soriano
#52 Brandon Phillips
#1 Adam Dunn
#25 Kevin Youkilis

PACK #5:
#179 Rick Ankiel
#173 Matt Tuiasosopo RC
#35-42 Reyes/Beltran/Wright/Santana 4 in 1 Goudey
#922 Upper Deck Retrospective Nomar Garciaparra
#16 Jeremy Guthrie
#64 Cliff Lee
#73 Magglio Ordonez
#85 Alex Gordon

PACK #6:
#143 Johnny Damon
#155 Ryan Howard
#125 David Wright
#35 Clay Buchholz
#13 Chipper Jones
#61 Grady Sizemore
#100 Andre Ethier
#149 Kurt Suzuki

PACK #7:
#107 Mat Gamel RC
#167 Chris Young
#130 Derek Jeter
#161 Nate McLouth
#300 Tim Lincecum Goudey Heads Up
#95 Cory Wade
#11 Tom Glavine
#97 Russell Martin

PACK #8:

#191 Michael Young

#154 Jimmy Rollins

#118 Joe Mauer

#35-54 Jones/Francoeur/McCann/Johnson 4 in 1 Goudey

#59 Kelly Shoppach

#71 Gary Sheffield

#49 Jermain Dye

#37 Derek Lee

 

This is a very cool edition of Goudey.  I like the Goudey sets because they use a lot of bright colors on the cards.  Some retro sets use darker colors that can look boring as your opening several packs of the product.  I got some good keepers for my collection and I also got some good trade bait.  There are some solid inserts and base cards that I hope other bloggers will claim.

The biggest difference between the 2008 Goudey and the 2009 Goudey is that Jeter or Griffey's face isn't on the corner of every card.  Which, in my opinion, is a good thing.  I also wish that I was able to pull more minis.  Mini cards are a joy to pull in retro sets and I only pulled two.  Both minis are of players that I don't collect.  Oh well.  All the cards listed above that are in black ink are for trade. 

Random Pick-Ups For My PC

I felt that it was about time to show my readers some card pick ups that have found there way into my collection.  Over the past week or so, I have been buying and trading for a lot of cards.  Aside from my 2008 Goudey Break, I have also opened a box of 2007 Upper Deck Masterpieces.  The trade bait items for the Masterpieces box will be used for a future post.

I have a lot of trades going on right now.  I have a few to send out and I have some that are in the development stages.  I still have a stack of cards that I need to update on my haves list and on Excel.  With all of this recent wave of acquisitions, this post will reveal some of those cards.  I have been keeping a stack of cards next to my laptop that I want to share with you guys. 

The oldest card that I have gotten recently is a 1970 Topps Reggie Smith.  This is a very young looking Smith.  I mostly envision him as a power hitting masher with the Dodgers of the 70s.  I also have a memory of him when he was on the Dodgers coaching staff in the 90s.  This card shows a totally new image for me of Reggie Smith.  He looks young and innocent. 

I picture Smith as a grizzled, tough guy.  A man who once charged the seats at Candlestick Park in 1981.  In the incident Smith decided to beat up some Giant fans who were taunting him.  The Reggie Smith pictured in his 1970 card wouldn't get in a fight with some baseball fans.  Maybe he always had some fire to him.  Even as a youngster in the bigs.  Or did he just get grizzled over time?

This card was picked up during the trade bait draft hosted by Tim at the Great Sports Name Hall of Fame.  I wish that I picked up more older cards during the draft.  I have a trade with Tim that is being mailed out and he is sending me some 70s and 80s cards.  It should be a good mix.

Here is one of the better PC pulls from my 2007 Upper Deck Masterpieces box break.  I love getting a box and pulling a solid card for your PC.  I have a minor collection going on of Japanese baseball players.  Iwamura is a player that I don't chase but am more than willing to obtain.  This is a black framed parallel #ed/99.  This is a beautifully crafted set. 

The Masterpieces box gives you at least two game used and one autograph.  One of the hits that I got was this Dice-K game used.  2007 is also his rookie year!  This is the first Dice-K game used that I have and it was pulled from a box break.  Awesome!

The Masterpieces set has some really nice GUs.  The frame makes the card look more prestigious.  This card was probably a huge pull in 2007.  Dice-K had a lot of buzz when the Red Sox signed him.  He hasn't had the type of production that the Red Sox were hoping for when they signed him out of Japan.

This is one of my favorite pulls from my box break.  This is a picture of Jackie Robinson stealing home against the Yanks in the 1955 World Series.  Jackson totally burned them on this play.  The Dodgers would go on to win the World Series that year.  It was the first and only championship in Brooklyn.  The Dodgers kept getting beat by the Yanks until 1955.  The Dodgers came through and finally beat them.

 Some bloggers may be tired of 2011 Heritage but, not me!  This is a very cool set.  I do think that Allen and Ginter will blew this set out of the water though.  We'll see. 

Clayton Kershaw cards are fairly cheap on ebay.  I was lucky enough to snag this card at a fair price.  Usually when a set first comes out, most of the cards have a peak in sale value.  Then the price settles as new products hit the market.  There are plenty of 2011 Topps Heritage Clayton Kershaw GUs on ebay.  The market got flooded with this product so, the price was good.

There should be more Kershaw collectors out there.  I know that a lot of Dodger collectors love his cards.  But, I'm talking about non-Dodger collectors.  Kershaw is an ace on the rise in a big market.  You would think people would be jumping on board to start a Kershaw PC.  If anyone out there is thinking about starting a Kershaw PC please let me know.  I can mail you a Kershaw PC starter kit.

I will be posting more about my 2007 Masterpieces box break very soon.  I pulled some very nice trade bait that will ignite some more trades at the Platter.  

I'm Ballsy For Writing This Trade Post

I love trading with other Dodger bloggers.  All of us, Dodger bloggers have a box or binder of dupes of our favorite team.  Not many collectors of other teams collect current Dodgers so, the dupes box grows pretty quickly.  Luckily, I have been able to find many other Dodger bloggers out there to trade with.  Are No over at the blog I'm Ballsy and I got in touch to pull off a trade.  He and I are both Dodger collectors.  He also collects the A's and Yanks.

Are No is a cool dude and a great guy to trade with.  He collects a lot of the same era of Dodgers that I grew up with.  I sent him a lot of 90s and 2000s Dodger cards with some A's mixed in.  It is also cool to trade with an A's collector.  Even though the A's have had some successful eras, there still aren't many A's team collectors.  I have only found a couple thus far.  Maybe there are some more with a stack of extra Kurt Suzuki cards to send my way.

The generosity of the bloggers that I have traded with continues to impress me.  Are No sent me this awesome 2007 SPX Hong Chih Kuo game used #ed/175.  I have a couple other Kuo game used cards but this is the nicest one of the bunch. 

Kuo is currently on the DL.  He has been a force in the Dodgers bullpen when healthy.  Kuo has a long list of injury issues and I hope he gets well soon.  The Dodgers need him at the back end of the pen to dominate hitters.  In my opinion, Kuo is the second best pitcher on the Dodgers behind Clayton Kershaw.  Kuo has strikeout stuff and is tough enough to come back from several surgeries.  Kuo is a beast!

Are No was nice enough to throw in a sweet Garvey to help with my 1981 Topps Chase.  With all the turmoil surrounding the Dodgers ownership, it looks like the team may be sold soon.  Bud Selig has finally stepped in and tossed Frank McCourt out.  MLB has taken over the Dodgers for the time being.  Great news!  I read in the LA Times, that Garvey is trying to get a group of investors together to take over the team if they go on sale.  This rumor has been circulating for a little bit now.  The rumor is just being reiterated because the sale of the Dodgers seems imminent.

I'm not sure if Garvey would be a good guy to have in the Dodgers front office.  He was a great player.  Garvey was a mainstay on some great Dodger teams in the 70s-early 80s.  But, Garvey also has had some off the field issues.  He has had a messy divorce, paternity cases, money problems and just seems like kind of a sleazy dude.  He doesn't seem trustworthy.  I know some older Dodger fans may get mad at me for saying some negative things about Garvey.  It's that whoever or what group takes over the Dodgers, that they be the best group available.  The team needs someone who will make the team and stadium better.  Someone that I can trust.  It has been a long time since the Dodgers have had competent owners.  It has been far too long for such a prestigious franchise.  Please get this one right, Bud Selig.

Now back to looking at some cards and discussing events that occur on the field.  Are No sent me a nice Turkey Red Matt Kemp rookie card.  Kemp is rocking the number 65.  He must have not earned number 27 yet.

I like most of the Turkey Red sets but I'm not too big a fan of the gray border.  This card is very dark.  Most of the background is black.  Kemp's face looks shadowy. 

How do you guys pick out which cards to have a picture of in your posts?  I really like this card because it is a Kemp rookie card.  Kemp is on a tear so far this year.  He is playing top notch baseball.  This card is very dark and the grey border doesn't help add some color. 

This card has some color!  It is a 2010 Allen and Ginter Andre Ethier relic.  2010 Allen and Ginter used a bright tropical colored scheme to there hits.  It is certainly a nice set to have pictured on your blog.  It adds color which may make the Platter more appealing to look at.

Ethier like Kemp is tearing it up for the Dodgers.  He is batting well over .300 and seems focused to surpass last years numbers.  This card for me is a dupe.  If anyone out there is interested in this card please let me know.

Thanks for the trade Are No.  Sending me two game used cards was so cool.  We will have to trade again.  I have a lot more cards to send your way.

Viva Los Doyers!

Platter Trade Post with Cardboard Conundrum.

This is the first trade that Matt from Cardboard Conundrum and I have made.  He is a Cubs collector.  I had recently bought a 2011 Topps Jumbo from my local card shop and pulled a Starlin Castro Game Used Jersey.  I found Matt's blog as a potential trade partner for this card.  E-mails were exchanged and a trade was born.

Along with the Castro GU, I also sent Matt an assorted mix of Cubbies and cards for his set needs.  As part of my assorted mix were some 1981 Topps.  These cards are commemorating the NL and AL champions.  I never thought that I would see the words "Royals Sweep Yankees."  Awesome cards from an awesome set.

Matt also sent me these two, that I will also cross off my list.  Matt sent me four 1981 Topps cards to cross off my list.  One was Dodger Bob Welch.  The other was of good player/great actor Keith Hernandez.  I know that Hernandez was a really good player on a lot of really good teams but, I always think of him for his guest spot on Seinfeld.  He was so funny on that show.  His performance on Seinfeld almost tops his accomplishment of all his Gold Gloves.

An Ethier rookie card is always a welcome addition to my collection.  Ethier is current favorite Dodger.  He is one of two Dodgers that has been hitting the ball on a consistent basis.  Ethier and Kemp form a formidable 3-4 spots in the order.  Without either of them performing well the Dodgers would be out of contention already.

Now for the smash hit of the trade.  This is a 2004 Leaf Certified Materials GU Bat/Jersey #ed/250 Shawn Green.  This is my best card of my Shawn Green collection.  I am so glad that I was able to get this card.  Matt sent this Green to a good home. 

Thanks for the trade.  You will be my guy for Cubs cards.  Whenever I get something new, I will be sure to send you an e-mail. 

2008 Goudey Box Break! Come By the Platter and Make a Deal!

I got some birthday money earlier this month from my grandmother.  I was dead set on using some of the money on a box of cards.  Since I had time to contemplate what type of box I could get, I came up with a listing of criteria for my purchase. 

My list of criteria was:
1.  A set that I opened none or very few packs of.

2.  A box with at least two "hits" in it.

3.  The design of the base set was to my liking.

4.  The price was under 50 bucks.

So, 2008 Goudey fit the bill.  I was ready to make my purchase and bust open some packs.  I have acquired some cards from this set.  Most of the base set and inserts were new to me.  The "hits" that I got was really nice.  I already traded the Nick Swisher auto that I pulled.  The Swisher found a nice home with the Chronicles of Fuji.  I forgot to take a photo of it before I mailed it out.  It was a rookie mistake.  Check out Fuji's blog if you want to see it. 

Let's start with some base cards.  Most of you may know what Goudey looks like.  I just wanted to make sure so, some of these cards can be shipped out in trades.  The one gripe that I have with this set is seeing Jeter's face on almost every card.  Some have Ken Griffey Jr. on them.  I know it's a nod to the Goudey cards of the past so, my gripe isn't too big.  The art work on these cards are great even though some of the cards don't look like the players.

Eddie Murray is rockin' a nice 'fro.  The Evan Longoria is not only his rookie card it is also an error card.  Jeter is pictured on the bottom but the card states "Ken Griffey Jr. Says."

Here are a couple more rookie cards that Goudey has to offer.  One card features Jay Bruuuuuce of the Reds.  The other card is a friend of Night Owls, a Red Sox pitcher named Clay Buchholz.  He has some zombie eyes.  Buchholz has a creepy, terminator look.  Maybe Night Owl is right, Buchholz is a weird looking dude.

I may keep this Pedro.  I was a big fan of watching him pitch.  But, if a Mets fan really wants it then I'll send it there way.  There are a lot of Josh Hamilton collectors.  If any one of the many of you want his base card from this set please let me know. 

I also have many more base cards for trade.  If anyone is working on this set, send me over a want list.  This set looks fine, but I'm not really a set collector.  I am much more comfortable in my realm of player/team collector.  This also gives me a lot of trade bait for the set builders of the community.

These cards are of a subset called 1936 Goudey Black and White.  They look like cheap head shots.  Luckily, I pulled a Jeter so, I can rid this card from my collection quickly.  Cheap head shots like these fill potholes in Hollywood.  

Getting some minis was a major perk of this box.  I'm a huge fan of minis.  I kept some of them for my PC.  These cards pictured are for trade.  The Freddy Sanchez and the Ryan Church are Blue Backs.  The King Felix is a Black Back.  This card is #ed/34.  I have never made a trade with a Mariners fan.  So this could be my lucky post that makes that happen.  The Ryan Church and the Freddy Sanchez will probably sit in my trade binder for awhile.  The King Felix will probably be gone shortly.

How do you guys organize your cards for trade?  I keep the cards that I have for trade in a separate binder.  Star cards, inserts, serial numbered, and parallels of players and teams that I don't collect are kept separate for easy finding when digging up cards for a trade.



Some more Yankee Stadium Legacy cards.  This is the major downside to opening recent Upper Deck baseball products.  Do you Yankee collectors like this set?  Because I'm sure every other collector is trying to dump these cards your way.  Please someone take these cards off my hands.



Some of the short prints I have kept or traded already.  These are two that I have left to deal.  Of course any card of a player in a Giant uniform is for trade.  Giant cards don't belong in my collection.  The blog world has many Red Sox collectors so, the Yaz SP should find a good home soon.

 

Just as I am looking at this set, I am realizing that the inserts and subsets are kind of lame.  The Sports Royalty set is total week sauce.  I only got one baseball player and some other athletes that I don't follow.  Retro sets often throw in some random non-baseball related cards.  These cards usually just sit in my trade binder for awhile until I remember I have them and then I throw them into a lot for a fellow blogger. 

Besides the Nick Swisher auto, this was the other big pull of the box.  It is a very high quality jersey card of Lance Berkman with a black Astro stripe.  I predict this card will go quick.  There aren't too many Astros collectors in the blog world but, there are some Berkman collectors. 

This was a fun box break.  I got two good hits and a nice serial numbered mini.  I also got some good PC cards that I may show in a later post.  The trade bait cards that I have just shown should bring in even more cards for my PC.

The base set is what drew me into buying this box.  The base set and the hits were the best part of this break.  The box was definitely worth the price. 

The Chronicles Of A Great Trade With Fuji

Fuji is a great trade partner.  We have traded on the Sports Card Forum and through our blogs.  This trade was done in the blog world.  Fuji has already posted about the cards that I sent his way.  He seemed very pleased with the bubble mailer that I sent him.  I love seeing a trade go well.

Fuji's blog is very well organized.  It has a nice color scheme and he has what he collects clearly stated on the side bar.  Fuji is also constantly posting on his blog.  I know he has a job so, for him to squeeze in time to update his blog is commendable.  The Platter tips his cap to you, Fuji.  You run a good ship in your end of the blog world.  Now onto the trade!

Fuji must have caught wind that I'm on the hunt for '81 Topps.  He sent along this nice Dusty Baker.  This goes out to the Dodgers fans that had the privilege of watching them play in the 70s.  How well liked was Dusty?  He had some really good seasons for the team.  I mostly know him from chewing a toothpick, wearing wristbands, and wearing Giant gear. 

Fuji also threw in the sweet Pinnacle Hideo Nomo.  That is such a great photograph.  Pinnacle used to have some nice glossy cards with great photography in the 90s.  I miss the days of having a variety of sets to choose from.  It was fun as a team or player collector because it gave you so many cards to chase.  There are still cards that I get from the 90s that look completely new to me. 

Allen and Ginter is an awesome set.  The card stock is of good quality and may be the best of the retro sets.  I'm looking forward to getting some in 2011.  Oddly, Allen and Ginter, is a set that I don't often buy packs of.  It seems that a lot of other collectors open a lot of boxes of this product so it is available for trade and in common boxes at card shows frequently.  The Ichiro sketch card is a very cool card.  The sketch makes Ichiro like a little boy for some reason.  Maybe that was Ichiro's request to the artist.

The other card is a 2008 Opening Day card.  It is the second one that I have of this card.  So, if anyone is interested, let me know.

The meat of the trade were these two cards.  Fuji sent me these two for a Nick Swisher auto that I pulled.  Luc Richard Mbah a Moute was one of my favorite UCLA players when they were making Final Fours.  I am not really a NBA collector but if I see someone that has a former Bruin auto for trade then I may show interest. 

Fuji also sent in the 2009 Allen and Ginter Kosuke Fukudome GU.  The frame of the relics for this set look better than the 2010 set.  Beside UCLA basketball autos, another minor PC I have going on is of Japanese ball players. 

This was another smooth trade with Fuji.  We will have to trade again real soon.  I'm glad that you liked the stack of cards that I sent you. 

Please come back to the Platter tomorrow.  I will be posting some trade bait that I got from a 2008 Goudey box break.  Some of the cards that I will post about should go quick.