I have my reasons

 

 

This morning, I sent off my "response" to the cards I received from Matt during the most recent Diamond Jesters Time Travel Trade. That means I can post what I got, guilt-free.

 

Often when I claim cards from the vast Time Travel inventory they are not related to any set I'm chasing and rarely Dodger-oriented. In fact there's seemingly no rhyme or reason to why I chose them, like I'm randomly gobbling them up. But there is always a reason. Always. 

 

Let's see what those reasons are, unveiled in beautiful backlit words for the whole world to see. I shall go chronologically:

 

 

1964 Topps Jerry Adair

 

Probably no need to justify picking up a vintage card, but 1964 has never been on my list to complete. I wanted this rough-and-ready version of the Jerry Adair card because this card is one of the ones I picked up at a card show 11 years ago that featured written updates on the fronts. My copy includes "+SS" written in pen underneath 2nd base. That sort of stuff is charming, but I prefer unaltered cards in the collection.

 

 

1970 Kellogg's Juan Marichal

 

A new arrival to the Time Travel inventory and I had to have it. I jumped on it immediately and didn't even realize it featured a number of cracks and wear. I don't know what happens to Kellogg's cards to make them look toasty on the edges, like they've been roasted on a stick at a campfire. I've never experienced that with my Kellogg's cards but I've seen plenty of examples.

 

Of course, all '70s Kellogg's sets are eventual completion quests for me, but the 1970 set is probably the lowest on my desire list.

 

 

1982 Topps Stickers Manny Trillo

 

My 1982 Topps sticker book is completely filled but it'd be nice to have all of the 1982 stickers unstuck, too, as it's my favorite sticker set -- easily. This goes to that low-key pursuit.

 

 

1982 TCMA Waterloo Indians Ed Tanner

 

A little look behind the curtain at night owl when he first opens up the blogs for the day. It's not long after I've woken up, fluttered down stairs and poured myself some cold coffee. It's probably around 10:30 or so. The brain is foggy and so that's why I thought this player was Ed Farmer, the former White Sox pitcher. This makes no sense at all. It doesn't look like Farmer. Also Farmer was in the middle of a major league career with major league cards at this time. Why would he be in a minor league set?

 

Oh well, I now have my first Ed Tanner card (who was an infielder by the way). And I still love TCMA minor league cards from this time.

 

 

1984 Fleer Update Alan Bannister and Dave Beard

 

I try not to have any hobby regrets, but one of the misses from the first period when I wasn't collecting much -- the mid-1980s -- was not ordering the 1984 Fleer Update set. I did buy packs of the 1984 Fleer main set and liked it quite a bit. But I was still in a Topps frame of mind at the time and finding an update set that wasn't Topps wasn't a priority at all. I bet I didn't even know the Fleer Update set existed at the time.

 

By the time I was back in the hobby and trying to get cards from the 1980s, the price of this thing soared out of reach. So I'm reduced to adding commons here and there when I can. Maybe by 2056 I'll have it finished.

 

 

1986 Donruss Highlights Ernie Lombardi

 

It's been a policy ever since I saw the 1986 Donruss design for the first time -- avoid all cards with that design. Most of the time that's been a good policy. I don't need those seizure-inducing things in the house. But sometimes it's made me miss stuff like this. 

 

The Highlights set is mostly current players of the time but also includes cards of the Hall of Fame class from 1986. It's weird to see cards of Bobby Doerr, Willie McCovey and Ernie Lombardi during a time period when major sets focuses on almost nothing but current players. That's why this is cool, even with the tightly packed isobars.

 

 

1987 Fleer Baseball's Game Winners Don Baylor

 

I have completed several of the 1980s Fleer box sets but this is one that I haven't chased -- not crazy about the hospital-blue borders. But this features a favorite and includes the hot stat of the time - Game-Winning RBIs. It's a must-have.

 

 

1992 Pro Set Barry Sanders

 

Early '90s football cards aren't part of my collection unless they are Buffalo Bills. The early '90s Pro Set look doesn't appeal to me. In general the only full-bleed sets I like are from Stadium Club and some Upper Deck sets. But Barry Sanders is an exception.

 

Sanders and I share a birthday. This card gets me one spot away from having a full page of Sanderses.

 

 

Those are the others, probably most -- if not all -- were sent to me by Sportscards From The Dollar Store. I haven't been very good at creating a birthday binder for the 7/16 athletes, but I should have a page of Barry Sanders at least (and probably Shoeless Joe Jackson). So that's why I added the Sanders card.

 

All of the TT cards shown were obtained during the post celebrating the 400th Time Travel Trade, which is why I added a few more cards than I usually add, to mark the occasion. It really is a great way to acquire cards you want while also ridding yourself of extras in your collection.

 

All props (does anyone say that anymore?) to Matt for running the show all these years.