That's some good stuff

I hope nobody minds that I'm moving a giant package that I received from Adam of ARPSmith's Sportscard Obsession up in the rotation.

I try to show card packages in the order that I get them, and this big ol' box just arrived the other day. My daughter brought it in while searching the mailbox for college textbooks (poor dear) and said, "this is heavy!"

But the stuff in here is so cool, I just had to get to it right away. I promise I won't forget anybody else's cards.

As you might know, Adam purchased a huge collection from a collector and it's staged a coup in his basement. He needs to rid himself of some of the cards so he can, you know, move around in his home. There was so much variety in what Adam had to offer that I was bound to find something I wanted, and I did.

Adam sent me a bunch of early '80s non-Topps needs, specifically 1981 Fleer, 1982 Donruss and 1983 Fleer. Also, since I'm always intrigued by Topps sets from when I wasn't collecting, I received a good amount of 2004 Topps.

There's the new Hall of Famer right there in the middle.

I'm going to enjoy going through these cards, reviewing forgotten players like Brendan Donnelly, Matt Lawton and Jason Phillips.

Also, although I enjoy 2005 Topps more (and if I'm going to complete a Topps set from that period, it would be that one, most likely), I've always been intrigued by one of the decisions made by 2004 Topps.

Namely, the super, teeny-tiny player images on some of the cards. I don't think any other set can compare, unless they're micro cards.

But the surprises in the package did not feature cards at all. Adam generously sent along a couple of books, some neat Dodger-related bric-a-brac and -- believe it or not -- a children's-sized Yasiel Puig uniform jersey. There's a Rice Krispies Treats logo on the sleeve so maybe some sort of giveaway? I just need to find a pint-sized Dodger fan around here, which isn't easy to do. (More likely I'll frame it).

As for the books ...

They're two coffee-table-sized books chronicling Dodgers history. The top book features much more detail and writing and goes to 2003 (Jim Tracy and the 2001-02 Dodgers are featured way too prominently). The second book has more pictures and is more recent (2009).

I wouldn't mind owning a couple of those cards.

Adam said he received the books from a family member as a "gag gift" since Adam is a known misguided Giants fan.

I can't conceive of anything Dodger-related being "gag-gift" worthy. It does not compute at all. Blue is better than orange always. Come on. But at least Adam knew the proper place to send the items.

Also in the Large Flat-Rate Box was this nifty commemorative baseball with images of Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Yasiel Puig and Hanley Ramirez. Must be from 2013 or 2014.

A few more Dodger goodies.

Even though Adam doesn't live in Southern California anymore, he still got his hand on some useful Dodger items. It really dressed up all the baseball cards that I received.

The early 1980s is when I knew the most about the players in the game. I had entire teams memorized -- even the Mariners, Cubs and Twins (they were really bad then) -- thanks to collecting cards and watching as many games as I could.

That's why it will be an incredible kick looking through these cards of players I know in poses on cards that I've never known.

The set that I have the most of already is 1981 Fleer. This selection from Adam will finally get me to put up a want list for the remaining needs from the set -- and I'll get to look for any of the many '81 Fleer errors among the dupes!

I found one already.

This is the reverse negative Kurt Bevacqua card. I spotted it instantly going through the stack.

Adding it to the corrected Bevacqua that I had in the collection already, that's some good stuff.

It's basically good stuff on top of good stuff because this box was filled with absolute awesome.