One Man's Trash...

There is an old saying as many of you know, "One man's trash, is another man's treasure".  While I never would consider any cards "trash" (except maybe 1991 Fleer), there are cards that doesn't fit in everyone's collection.  That was the case back in April when Cards on Cards had a Spring Cleaning.  It was really simple- send him at least one card on his wantlist, and he'd send you a bunch from a team he doesn't collect.  The thing is this, I never sent cards to anyone yet (and I feel bad about it, as I owe some folks some cards, and I'm working on it, honest), so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I of course requested Royals cards, and then waffled a bit (about a month or so) before I sent him some cards.  I had some Cardinals cards on his wantlist and then threw in a few Trailblazers cards because I'm not really a basketball collector.  He sent me a package almost lickety-split.



When I got the package I noticed something familiar about his name- I bought a few cards off him off Listia (as of this writing, I think I'm watching a few more).  I opened the package and was quite surprised.  When he said a pile of cards he'd send, he wasn't joking!  It was close to 100 cards or so he sent.  I took a picture of all the cards, but can't find it, but it was a nice chunk of cards.  He mentioned it would have a healthy amount of doubles and I expected I'd have quite a few of the cards anyways, so I really didn't expect to add too many cards to my collection.  I did it mainly for those few cards I needed and to get my toes wet trading some cards (which I sent some cards to another person to complete a trade via Trading Card Database around the same time).  I can say it was a success.

So the photos you'll see today were all the cards that I didn't have in my collection.  There is no doubt I got the better of the deal, but let's see the cards.

Has anyone been excited to pull a Luis De Los Santos card?  I was because 1990 Score wasn't on my radar even though I have a few, so this put me one step closer to completing it.  A George Brett sticker from Panini is also pretty cool too.  I likewise had a few of these, but Brett was one I needed.

So far so good.  But there was more.

I'll start with the Tartabull sticker.  One more piece I needed, and I can't remember if I finished the set or need a couple more, but both of them really helped me out.  Next is a couple 2014 Heritage cards.  I thought I had the Gordon, but it turns out I didn't.  The Bonifacio is one I figured I didn't have.  I don't have many of him, but I have thought a few times about starting a PC of him.  I'm also slowly starting to pic up some cards of his brother who is in the Royals minor league system.  The Ventura rookie was also one I needed, and I knew it the moment I saw it.  If I ever made a most wanted list, I would have been a nominee.  So I'm glad I have one now.

The bottom row is a collection of Triple Play cards.  This set looked better than the previous year, but still a bit absurd.  I think if they had a license it would help, or at least not show the players in caps if they are all going to be blank.  I didn't have any of these because I didn't buy any packs, so all were new to me.  I just noticed the sticker is the same "photo" of Gordon as the base card, something else they could have worked on.  I still miss the old Triple Play cards from the 90's, I think they would have been more effective.

Speaking of old Triple Play... This was actually one of my least favorite designs of the early 90's set, but still leagues ahead of the current incarnation.  The design is good, and I like black borders, I just felt the '92 and '94 sets had better designs.  Next to it is a Bazooka set with Zack Greinke.  I wasn't even aware Bazooka still made cards, so this card and design was new to me.  I like it.  Besides the same numbers, Gubicza and Greinke almost has the same pitching style.  This does remind me that I should look into getting some more Greinke cards.  I don't have many of his newer cards, its a PC I would like to improve.

A Leaf Certified?  Really?  That is so cool!  It's Mike Sweeney to boot.  Another card that I had none of the set in my collection, so this is good.  Next to it is a sticker featuring a sticker of the Royals.  I'm sure I had one of these at some point, but when I restarted my collection, I had no interest in adding the stickers.  I think I've changed my mind, they make nice additions.

Moving on is a Willie Aikens early 80's Topps card.  Once I get everything cleaned and sorted, I will probably focus more on the early 80's sets.  I have a good dose, but with large sets and fewer teams, there were a lot more team cards in each set, so I still have a ways to go.  Next is Brian Bannister wish a cameo from Derek Jeter.  To be honest, I never cared for these sets, I know Jeter and Griffey I think did some, they just didn't work for me.  However, I still needed the card so its all good.

Closing up this scan with a different Topps Heritage set.  Not the best set they produced, but I did like the thickness of the cards, and the back designs are nice.  Soria is one of a few guys I totally lost interest in once he left the Royals.  I wish him the best, but I just don't follow him.

At this point, I would be happy with the trade.  Seemed like I still got the better deal since there were a ton of doubles and cards I already had, but I would have been happy with it.  Though that isn't the end.

What an odd mix of greatness.  Starting with the Heritage set that almost swore me off of the brand (none of the photos seem right), I am glad to get another piece to work towards completing the set.  Santana was good while we had him in KC, but like Soria, I stopped following him after his exit.

While I have a healthy amount of George Brett cards, he is still really understated in my collection.  I was really happy when I saw this card.  Like most sets, the Brett card is the one that is worth the most, so that will save me a lot of trouble later.

It's hard to imagine as many 2014 cards I got, that I didn't have this Aaron Crow.  What's worse is that as a former Mizzou product, I couldn't decide which collection to add him to.  In the end, the Royals won out, because it would help complete the set and I'm not out to get every Mizzou player card ever. I suppose my collection order goes like this- Royals, Mizzou, Chiefs, than whatever else I would collect.

It totally escaped my mind that Jason Kendall was a Royals.  I thought I had most of this set too, so this one caught me off guard.  I guess I need to step up my game.  Next is a couple Bowman Platinum cards.  These I figured I didn't have.  I didn't buy any packs of these, so I got these only through bloggers or Listia.  It's not a high priority to finish it just yet, but they are nice designs.

The 1987 Fleer cards I liked too. I had the complete update set once (I bought it for the Maddux rookie), but never really had many of the regular series.  I think though I am closing in on finishing it.  I could be a goal for next year if I do goals.

Now at this point I know I got a great deal.  I mean how could I not be happy?  But that wasn't it.  these last cards was worth the entire trade alone.

Never a fan of card...cards (not sure how to really say that), I am pleased to get these because there would be no way I would have chased these, especially since I have so many other sets incomplete.  I recently got an answer to a question I long wondered... why does Topps call Sluggerrr "Royals Mascot".  The answer is really simple- trademark issues.  I'm not sure which side is at fault but I would love to see it resolved soon.  HE HAS A NAME DANGIT!

Let's skip to the bottom cards real quick.  The Gordon is another one I needed and one I wouldn't chase.  A&G really confuses me.  Some designs are great, others are horrible.  This one is horrible.  I'm all for borders, but not if it takes away from the card.  Who wants a white card with 1/3 of a picture on it.  Might as well print the card on one of those autograph stickers and save the trouble.

Next to it is one of the worst Upper Deck offerings they ever made.  Maybe I expected too much of them, but maybe they lost a share of the MLB license because they phoned in their cards for so long.  I do like the jersey Teahen was wearing though.

Okay, the last two cards were new to me.  I never get Gypsy Queen cards because I'm just not the target audience for the set, plus I can never find them (more of this reason).  I place GQ above A&G, on par with Heritage, and slightly below Archives.  So they are nice, just not one of my favorite sets.

That might have changed.  Since I was not sure of these cards, I looked them up on Trading Card Database.  HOLY COW, these are 2015 cards!  Less than two months old.  In fact, these weren't even released when Card on Cards made that post!  This is worth the price of admission right there.

This is the first Alex Rios card I have of him as a Royal, so this was really nice.  I can't say if he is a better option than Nori Aoki would have been, but despite a rough beginning, I'm not mad at the signing.  I was happy to get this card.

Ok, the Brett card.  According to TCDB, it is a short print.  I never really chase SP's but I will never refuse them.  Looking at various selling site (not that I would sell it, but to see the value) it ranges anywhere from $2-$6.  This one card was likely worth more than all the cards I sent.  I really couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the card.

After this experience, I think I need to step out my comfort zone and start working some more trades.  First I need to get some cards together that people actually need.  Thanks again Kerry, and if you haven't read Cards on Cards, you really need to.

Before I wrap things up I wanted to take a moment to mention a new blog I started.  I'm not promoting it yet really, mainly because it has no content.  I am only mentioning it now because if I'm not on here for a few days its because I will be working on launching it and getting it worked out.  While the blog is live, I'll wait a few days to give a link.  Those who want to search for it (its probably in my bio now that I think about it), it is called Missouri Sports History.  It will feature as the name implies, nothing but sports history relating to the state of Missouri.  My plan is to showcase teams who have called Missouri home (from college, amateur, minor, arena, to the pros) from all sports.  I will also showcase people from Missouri and have profiles of people in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.  Like I said, its very early and its still a work in progress.  I don't want to link it yet because like when I started this blog, I will be tweaking a lot of things before I start posting true posts.  Plus as you can imagine, I will have a lot of research to do for posts.  I don't plan on daily posts, or even a routine, more of a as I feel like it/once I gather information.  This will (I hope at least) be more than just copying and pasting info from Wikipedia.  I will try to get as much information as possible before I make posts.  While it is obvious on this blog which teams I favor, I will try my best be impartial on this new blog.  My hope is that it won't just appeal to my bloggers on here, but sports fans in general, history buffs, Missouri buffs, or just people wanting something to read.  So once I get things rolling, I'll give more details.  It will be a huge undertaking, and not one I really have tons of excess time to do (I have plenty to do, just wanting to do it), but this is something I want to do and will allow me to learn things I may not know.

Anyways, thanks for reading and have a great day.