Very Random Bat Relic

The pile of bubble mailers that I have to go through is slowly dwindling.  I still have a decent amount of bubble mailers filled with cardboard gems from my fellow bloggers to write about.  The Platter won't have a content drought for some time.  People love sending me cards and I love sending them some cardboard.

I have made some trades with Matt from Cardboard Conundrum in the past.  He collects mostly Cubbies and has some other player collections building.

When I go to a card show or check out the bid board at my local card shop, I am always on the prowl for cheap trade bait.  Cards of Cubs players are cheaper in LA than Dodger cards in LA.  Sometimes I pick up some cards of star players on big market teams and am able to flip them for something that fits into my collection.

This is how the trade started with Matt.  I saw a Sammy Sosa bat relic for a good price at a card show.  I know that I can trade a Cubs card quick.  They are a big city team with a lot of fans.

That Sosa turned into a trade that netted me this Andre Ethier Heritage Chrome #ed/1963.  This card may have cost me the same price as the Sosa bat relic in LA and this card is made mostly of foil, bat relic not included.

Matt also added this Heritage Chrome Ian Kinsler in the trade.  Kinsler is a fun player to watch because of his power/speed combo.  The guy is a 30/30 player and still seems underrated.  He kind of gets overshadowed by Josh Hamilton, Michael Young and even Ron Washington.  Now, Kinsler has to compete with Yu Darvish for camera time.

Kinsler is also on my fantasy team this year.  I like watching him play but, now I have a stronger rooting interest in him.  If he plays well, this will probably also lead to my Ian Kinsler collection growing.

No, I did not mix up the Royals uniform to the Dodgers uniform when I skimmed through the trade bait page on Cardboard Conundrum.  I actually picked an Angel Berroa bat relic as the key to the trade.  Matt probably thought this would sit around in his house for years.  He had no idea that somebody out in the blog world is an Angel Berroa fan.

This is my second Berroa GU that I have in my collection.  That may surprise people.  I am also not sure what is more surprising, that two Angel Berroa relics actually exist or the I own two of them?

Berroa played briefly as a Dodger.  He played the role of veteran, scrub utility guy.  He didn't play great.  I actually wasn't sure why he was on the team, when some dude in the Pavillion at Dodger Stadium could out hit Berroa.

He looked like a goofball with a giant smile.  He knew he sucked at baseball but, somehow had a pro baseball job with a six figure salary.  He knew he was lucky and enjoyed his time as a big leaguer.  Some players that are great players look joyless but, a scrub is the happiest man on the team.  That made me root for the guy.

Thanks for the trade Matt!