Spoiled

 

I've been writing this blog for a decade-and-a-half (another anniversary coming up soon), and I have received my share of RAKs and plain monster boxes that blow RAKs out of the stratosphere.

It's the nature of the generosity of the blogs over the years (sorry, former Twitter, you can't compete with what came before you) and, in general, the generosity of collectors.

 

But I admit I've been treated extra-special. I'm probably spoiled. When I'm looking for cards, people reach out. Recently it's been 2023 Heritage and several have responded. I've been corresponding with one Heritage trader online and I told him I'd have to wait a couple days and sort out what people are offering and he made a comment about how "Everybody loves (night owl)". Well, not everybody, but I do have connections after all this time.

 

I won't apologize for it. I'm not writing to get cards, but if people want to send me cards for writing words, hell, I will take them and I will keep writing. As I've said many times, writing is nothing for me, it just comes out, that is my gift. Fortunately, some people still appreciate that and gravitate toward my blog -- long after blogging was the cool thing to do.

 

Lately, my blogging has attracted the attention of the baseballcardstore.ca. Steven and Nancy are on the extreme generous side of generous and, for whatever reason, they've spoiled me with cards. More than once, they've contacted me with a selection of recent pick-ups, all based on my interests, and have asked me to hand-pick what I want.

Then -- when I'm ready -- I simply pay postage and wait for my curated cards to show up.

My latest spoils showed up yesterday, and it was unlike anything I've seen from the baseballcardstore before. I didn't even know they had some of this stuff in their inventory. It never even occurred to me.

But let's start in the present -- or rather last year. That's where most of the goodies traveled from.

Yeah, let's get this out of the way.

This is all 2022 Panini product. As the months progress, you'll probably see less and less of this stuff shown here. Panini is almost out of the baseball game (and now moving out of the football game) and my incentive for obtaining nonlicensed cards from those guys will wane to almost nothing.

Nothing more to say about these except that the Trea Turner Revolution card (middle row, second from right) is actually an "Astro" parallel. Because there aren't enough Chronicles cards to collect, we have to parallel all the pseudo brands in the set. Don't let the screen door hitchoo, Panini.

There were almost as many 2022 Topps cards in the stash, including a lot of stuff I never even think about, like Allen & Ginter Chrome and Gold Label. (Here's how much I don't think about Gold Label. I was trying to figure out what kind of parallel the Buehler was and could not find it on TCDB anywhere. After 5 minutes of searching, I realized I was on the Topps Gallery page -- because I confuse them all the time!)

Super happy about getting that Kershaw No-Hit Club insert though. Some of those inserts are too elusive for no good reason.

Some 2022 Bowman needs -- yes, I'm sure they're needs. Nothing more to say about these.

The next-most cards were from the 2019-21 period, that sure is a black hole in the collection, thanks covid. I didn't know those 2020 Optic Rookies even existed. Also, I've been a bit obsessed with that Danny Duffy card because he never played for the Dodgers.

 

Also, it's nice to get another Connor Wong Dodger card. He's done all right with the Red Sox. Not a surprise. The Dodgers don't make junk.

 

 

Moving into the earlier part of the century, with a few Allen & Ginter minis thrown in! A couple of these cards -- like the Lo Duca Diamond King from 2002 -- complete team sets for me. And I always appreciate non-Dodger Dodger cards like Kevin Brown and Cody Ross, those always slip under the radar (Ross is the emerald parallel).

 

Also, the Koufax Piece of History card is a short-print and, except for one of those numbered rookies-who-never-panned-out, is everything Dodger that I need from that set!

We're in the 1990s now. There's another team set completed with the 1998 E-X 2000 Mike Piazza. Also, another key Piazza pick-up with the 1993 Pacific card!

 

I guess you got to expect O-Pee-Chee from a Canadian store. Thanks to these, I am down to needing one card to finish the 1983 OPC team set (Sutton Super Veteran). Also, that extra Steve Howe can go to the general OPC chase.

OK, that, in all my previous dealings with the store, is where I was led to believe the inventory stopped, at the 1980s. I've snagged some early '80s Donruss in the past and there's been lots of '80s football, and, of course, late '80s overproduction stuff galore.

So I was super surprised when Steven let me know he had these for me:

Woof, that's a mess of 1974 Kellogg's! This gets me to half the set! I haven't done much with Kellogg's this year thanks to The Cracking Incidents. So it's very nice to get back in the cereal bowl and swim around.

As you can tell, these are very curly, as they should be, but almost all are devoid of cracking. I'll be keeping them in gentle penny sleeves, safe and sound.

But I'm not quite done going back in time. I've got a smattering of '60s to show.

Yeah, I didn't know what world I had stumbled into when these were offered up.

The McBride and Radatz have some minor issues, nothing I care about, but the Hickman is pretty sharp. And not bad for only paying shipping on this whole lot.

Added up, there were 102 cards, including a smattering that I thought I needed but were actually dupes (always happens). Paying the shipping, that comes down to around 8 cents a card -- and tell me a single seller online who sells '70s Kelloggs for 8 cents.

I'm grateful. And probably a bit spoiled. But I've received a lot of good things just because I've written this blog and kept at it. So, heck yeah, I deserve it.