Trade with Cardboard Catastophes

Trade is only half correct. I have yet to send my end of the trade.
Jeff from Cardboard Catastrophes was in the process of 'downsizing' his baseball card collection. We all know what that is like. He contacted me saying he had some 1969 Deckle Edge would I be interested?
Yes please... Not only did 10 1969 Deckle Edge cards arrive, but a large stack of 2013 Heritage, apparently he only bought one blaster and it was tailor made for me! Plus a few more Kimball Champions, which helped to finally complete this insert set.
This is the special thing I have encountered through blogging - people are always generous. These are people, fellow collectors, who you have never met and are never likely to meet. Just happy that the cards are going to a good home.
'Hey I found these and thought I would include them.'
Thank you Jeff.
Nothing beats receiving yellow packages in the post.

Trade with Matt aka docholoday

 Another of those long overdue trade posts. This time the trade was with Matt from DocHoloday.com.  Matt lists amongst his likes, baseball, bowling shirts, fedoras and the Boston Red Sox, to name few. For a more detailed listing check out his DocHoloday website. Unfortunately listed amongst his dislikes is 'Soccer' .
In reply to this bunch of Red Sox I sent his way, was a box of complete or near-complete sets of Red Sox cards from the past few years. It is so nice to clear so many cards off the wants list in one big trade. Great stuff Matt.
He also included a fine stack of  Kimball Champion cards, a set which I am finding annoyingly difficult to complete.
Great trade Matt, Thank you. Good to see The Doctor was a welcome addition too.

Trade with Angels in Order

This is long overdue Thank you post to Tom from The Angels, in Order. When trade packages went out last month, he was he first to send cards back my way. A great stack of Red Sox that included the two game used relics shown.

Despite the revelations that 'authentic game used' relics could be anything but, some speculation about table cloths, tea towels and handkerchiefs, in the back of my mind there is hope that The Big Papi did in fact hit a homer with this tiny shard of bat.

Please keep the David Ortiz wood comments to yourself,

On a different note. There was a programme on ITV, a UK television channel, the other night about Liverpool Football Club. A section of the show was about a visit they made to Fenway Park to meet the Boston Red Sox earlier in the season. Apparently they made the trek all the way to the US to find inspiration from the Red Sox. Big Papi, Adrian Gonzalez, Cody Ross, Pedro Ciriaco and Bobby Valentine featured. Bobby Valentine and Brendan Rodgers exchanged shirts. Adrian Gonzalez spoke to a some shocked Liverpool players about the numbers of games baseball players have in a week and how few breaks they have during the season. Believe it or not his conversation was subtitled in the programme.

Trade packages ahoy

It is so good to be on holidays for a while. Its the only time I get to really sort out my card collection. There have been stacks of cards, unopened packs and Red Sox screaming out for organisation. In between watching the Olympics, seeing Australia get crushed in the swimming pool and rowing, I have posted a number of packages  to the usual suspects
Kevin -Orioles
Steve -White Sox
Tribescards-Indians
Matt- Royals
Tim- D-backs
Capewood- Astros (some Phillies too)
Tony - Giants
Simon - Bay Rays
Brian - Rangers
Tom -Angels
Ted - Blue Jays
James - Braves
Travis - Padres
Steve -Yankees
Greg - Dodgers
Paul - Cubs
 a couple of Red Sox packages to Martyn, Matt and Anthony

still to go are
Kerry - Cardinals
Michael- Pirates
Big B - football
Dayf - packs

AND (hopefully)
Jason - Reds
Ed - Brewers

The only ones missing are
Athletics
Marlins
Tigers
Rockies
Mariners
Nationals who are all still looking for homes.

Trade with Waxaholic

Another trade with my prolific trade partner and friend Waxaholic. We have similar collecting habits, football (soccer), stickers and opening packs.
This massive collection arrived the other day and he fulfilled all areas of my collecting pursuits including this Jacoby Ellsbury Topps 206 that was a welcome addition to my Jacoby collection. I know there will be a sticker album coming along soon that Waxaholic will be tempted by. One of the easiest traders I have.
He was also kind enough to include some packs, which I will crack open in the near future at my other blog Pursuit of Red Sox.
Always a pleasure Big B.

Trade with "é rayhahn, rayhahn" aka Rhubarb Runner

It has long been the staple of this particular blog -the trade post. But appear to have been remiss recently and not posted about many of the trades I have made.
Embarrassingly, I know very little of US geography so need to just pinpoint where in North America (or Canada ) people hail from.

Rhubarb_Runner, who lists amongst his interests; astronomy, baseball cards, the Minnesota Twins, and trombone, comes from St Charles in Missouri. This is the first trade made between my blog and his, the colourfully named 'é rayhahn, rayhahn'. Check out the blog for yourself to find the origins of this pseudonym.
What passed between our blogs was a selection of Twins and a mixture of Red Sox from Topps, Leaf, Kimball Champions, some informative 2008 Documentary and a 2000 Fleer Ultra 'Feel the Game' Pedro Martinez game worn Jersey. An authentic game worn patch from back in the day when there was a possibility that this piece of material may have actually been touched by the man himself.
Thanks to Rhubarb for the trade.

Trade with Padographs

A great package from Rod. who hails from Jacoby Ellsbury's home state of Oregon. A real variety of cards which included some UFC cards, a bunch of guys beating up some other guys. Plus some cards that make my 2011 wants list a little lighter.

I was surprised that Rod was able to find some Red Sox, as he is a dedicated trader with many other blogs. Check out his blog Padrographs to see what I am talking about.

Thanks for the trade Rod.

Trade with The Angels in Order

Here is trade with a blogger who I have never traded with before, Tom from The Angels in Order. The Angels were stacking up so it was great to find another collector. Here's Tom's take on the package I sent his way in January.
In the return package Tom sent a stack of cards that fit into my collecting mojo (that was a really poor time to use that expression for the first time).
My favourites sets are the Bowman sets from 1950's and the 1951 set would probably clinch the favourite title of all-time. There is very little chance of ever owning the complete set  but picking up a few here and there is always a treat.
So the 2005 Bowman Heritage set is another set I have admired for ages because of the basis of its design being 1951 Bowman. I really should add it as another set collecting pursuit. My mind was firmly made up for me when Tom included these 3 2005 Bowman Heritage Red Sox in the trade.
So thank you Tom for the trade and for adding another collecting pursuit. 

Trade with Heartbreaking Cards of a Staggering Genius

A surprise package from Matt, containing some absolute gems. Two really nice relic cards, a 2004 Flair Diamond Cuts Pedro Martinez jersey , limited to 250 (this one is #149)and  a2005 Topps Pristine piece of Edgar Renteria lumber, limited to 425 (this one is #200).
The other cards include I have seen before and thought they would make a nice addition to the collection, Topps Lazer. Matt was kind enough to include two of these cards.
Thanks Matt, a great surprise and some really lovely cards.

Getting excited about a bag of dirt.

Oh dear, to get excited about a little bag of dirt is bordering on sad.

It reminded me of an incident many years ago when a friend of mine, who supported Charlton Athletic, carefully planted a small 1 foot square of turf in his back garden that he had removed (one would think illegally) from the playing surface of Charlton's home ground 'The Valley'.
Charlton, who had been struck by a monetary crisis, had decided to stop playing at the ground they had played at for over 70 years and ground share with a close rival Crystal Palace. The rivalry between these two clubs may not be as fierce as it is at Liverpool, Glasgow or Chicago but it comes close. There was understandably a level of animosity towards the current owners of the club, so when the final whistle blew at the final game at The Valley, supporters flooded onto the pitch to say farewell to the team and the beloved ground. Suddenly people began to dig up the pitch and take various other souvenirs; corner flags, seats, fencing, roughly anything that had stopped moving. My friend  and his dad carried the section of turf home and lovingly planted it in the backyard. So proud of this small piece of grass that he placed a white picket fence around its border and tendered it more carefully than any other part of the garden. He showed the turf to anyone who visited, like a person who owned a original artwork would delight in informing visitors 'It's an original Picasso, you know!' There was, I think, a hope that it would eventually spread to the rest of the lawn and he could inform visitors -'It's the original Valley turf, you know!'

The Fenway dirt was part of a very interesting package that arrived from Jason at The Writers Journey.It contained a bonanza of ephemia relating to the Red Sox.
Red Sox schedules.

Stickers

An oddball collection of baseball cards. Including this amazing 3D 'card' that, when placed on a stand, can be set on a rocking motion so that Nomar hits a ball and make an incredible catch.

And of course the Fenway Park dirt.

What did I do when I received this package. I opened the dirt to smell it, hoping that in some way it would give me a feel of the ballpark. I poured a small pile into my hand examining it closely. No bat fragments or Red Sox DNA, just a nice pile of red grit, coarser than I thought it would be. I was expecting a more sandy feel, must really hurt to slide on.

Thank you Jason for this amazing treasure trove of Red Sox items.

Gift from Mark, the Mayor of Porthleven

Mark has been dropping in on this blog since I started back in 2008. He was draw to a post about TTM autographs when I was about to embark on a ambitious task of getting Jacoby Ellsbury to sign some Allen+Ginter cards. He offered advise from his years of experience in collecting autographs. The cards have never returned but thus begun a friendship of story swapping about his autograph hunting and general baseball.

Mark has also embarked on a number of trips across the Atlantic to see actual baseball games. I'm sure that is not the objective of his family holiday, but he has seen alot of baseball. After every trip he gifts me a number of items including books and cards. Mark knows that I like the details and photographs of where he has been, the autographs he has collected and who he saw. His son is paid-up member of Pawsox Kid's club and I am always amazed how well the baseball clubs look after the younger and future baseball fans.

Mark recently returned from a transatlantic holiday and a package arrived with some Red Sox cards. He carefully detailed exactly where he had obtained the cards. He also added that the cards might make me feel better. What could he possibly mean?

From Don's Sportscards in Portland he purchased these vintage Red Sox:

1962 Topps #368 Bob Tillman

1962 Topps #512 Mike Fornieles

1962 Topps#542 Dave Philley

1963 Topps #28 Mike Fornieles

1964 Topps #305 Jack Lamabe

1964 Topps #352 Ed Bressoud

1966 Topps #502 Lenny Green

Don also threw in a set of these 2011 Topps Prime 9 Redemption cards which were only available through hobby stores.

The third and final item from Mark was a pack of 2010 Allen and Ginter, although I am trying to collect the 2010 set of A+G, that is not what makes this pack interesting. It was in fact purchased from the Yawkey Way Store, which is directly opposite Fenway Pack. This may not seem exciting to regular attendees but for a guy sitting in Westgate-on-Sea in the UK it most definitely is.

Thank you Mark for thinking of a Red Sox fan during your holidays.

Trade with The Cardboard Junkie

One of the many quirks I have developed in collecting baseball cards is keeping the wrappers. Not just the wrappers but the boxes also. Before blogging came about I wrote the players pulled from packs and kept the wrappers along with the scrawling in a notebook.

Fast forward a few years and I still do this but in the guise of Pursuit of Red Sox. An attempt to keep an accurate record of the cards pulled from packs and an easier way of keeping track of the Red Sox pulled from packs.

To further the cause Dayf recently proposed a intriguing hostage relocation program. English football (soccer) packs for American baseball packs. Serious transatlantic negotiations began and finally winging their way to Georgia were some packs of 2010 Adrenalyn XL World Cup cards. Luckily my local newsagents still carried some stock. So I bought what was left and the hostages were released from English tyranny.

Relocating to England these former abductees were sent by Dayf:

2 packs of 2011 Gypsy Queen,

1 pack 2011 Allen & Ginter's,

1 pack 2011 Topps Opening Day,

1 pack 2011 Topps Attax,

1 pack 2011 Topps baseball Series 2,

1 pack 2008 Donruss Playoff Extra edition.

All of which I intend to open at Pursuit of Red Sox.
Wait a minute. I call foul. Two of the packs have been tampered with. Get Ban Ki-Moon on the phone quickly. Relax......Unclench.......Slow down. The hostages have been treated in accordance with United Nations guidelines.
On further inspection both packs were chock full of Gypsy Queen Red Sox and Topps Red Sox. 
Please forgive my accusations. The packs were brilliant.

Thank you Dayf. Hopefully we can negotiate additional transactions. 

Trade with Section 36

There is plenty of misery in the Red Sox camp, but the ever positive Section 36 has dissected, sew back together and then dissected again to recent failings in the Red Sox franchise. It's no choke (see what I did there), he is a real fan sitting week in, week out, in what he calls the best seats in the Fenway house-Section 36.
Who better to make a Red Sox trade with than a diehard fan and New Hampshire resident. My package of Red Sox made its way to Concord in New Hampshire and before long a Red Sox heavy package arrived in Westgate.

Ron wrote a short message on the back of a baseball score sheet. It is either of his own making or do they give these out at games?  I remember seeing Kevin Coster recording the score in Field of Dreams, at the game where Archibald Graham's statistics flash up onto the screen. I am presuming that it is quite common. Is this correct?.
Thanks to Ron at Section 36. Always nice to trade Red Sox for Red Sox.

Trade with Waxaholic

That reminds me, I need to send Waxaholic some football stickers, Premier League stickers. It is a top of my list of things to do. That and finding ways to watch Canadian Women's Soccer. Where does he find these images?

On a completely unrelated topic he sent me a bunch of Red Sox cards, including the Josh Beckett shown above. I have obtained a number of red swatches recently and it makes a change from the usual white swatches. He also sent some unopened packs of cards. A rack pack of 2008 Upper Deck and 1989 Topps BIG. Sweet. I will be cracking them open on Pursuit of Red Sox, to further my ongoing mission to locate Red Sox in packs.

Thank you Sir Waxaholic. 

Trade with Play at the Plate

A super trade with Brian at Play at the Plate. A while back he was eager to complete the Topps Diamond giveaway, which he eventually did way back in September. It was very easy on my part to e-mail the diamond codes. In exchange he sent a pile of the Kimball Champions cards, which for some explicable reason I decided to collect. My progress has been slow, but these are such lovely cards I'm not giving up just yet.

Thanks to Brian for bringing me a few steps closer. 

Friends, Romans, Countrymen-trade me your cards

The pursuit of 2009 Goodwin Champions wants list
  The pursuit of 2010 Topps Allen and Ginter wants list.

 The pursuit of 2011 Kimball Champion inserts wants list 

Trade with Waxaholic

Look here baseball stickers.
I am one of the many fans of baseball stickers, wouldn't it be nice if they reintroduced baseball stickers.
I looks as if our prayers have been answered.. Now to get a hold of some.
Thanks again to Big B for the Red Sox.

Trade with 'O' No not another Orioles Blog

Another of the boxes of cards that arrived recently. This time from a new trader Ryan from 'O' Not another Orioles Blog. 'O' it was brilliant (see what I did there) to find a home for the Orioles cards and a new state as well - Virginia. I don't think I have traded with anyone from Virginia before, but I could be wrong. A great assortment of cards from the wants list, including these very nice Carl Yastrzemski cards.
Thanks Ryan.

Trade with Martyn from Abitary Crap

I love the 1940 and 1941 PLAY BALL sets. If not just for the fact that it reminds me of 'The Natural', but also for the names of the players on the cards. Names like Blimp, Duke, Buck, Indian Bob, Gunboat Harry, Hot Potato, Vandy, Happy, Bronk, The Horse, Moe, Soupy and my favourite Stormy Weatherly. These are the names on the cards, not the back, right there on the front. One has to wonder how a player gets the nickname 'Hot Potato'. Hmmm.
The reprint above of 'Joe' Cronin, who spent a semi-glorious 11years with the Red Sox from 1935 to 1945, came in a nice stack of cards from Martyn at the brilliantly named blog Arbitary Crap.
Martyn is a fellow UK dweller adds to the growing band of UK baseball bloggers.
What a terrific selection of cards he sent my way. I scanned just a few. The Upper Deck Masterpiece relics are superb.

Big Papi looking rather pleased with himself on a 2005 Diamond Kings short print (34/40) . Don't let the smile fool you.

There was such a great variety from Martyn.
1955 Topps Hal Brown
1966 Topps Chuck Schilling
2010 Bowman blue border Dustin Pedroia 194/500
2011 Topps gold border Jed Lowrie 1175/2011
2011 Topps 60 memorabilia Daniel Bard
Just to hame a few and I could go on and on.
Thanks Martyn.

London Buses and trading with Dan

There is a interesting saying, that probably has a number of variations around the world, which explains the frustrating occurrence of waiting for something to arrive and then multiple come at the same time.
In the case of the UK, in particular London, it is the appearance of London buses. For example,

'I waited for a hour for a number 53 and then three came at the same time'.

My dad use to say something about 'chorus girls', but I'm sure it wasn't related to this particular anomaly. He also bestowed on us the saying 'Beware of people who drive in hats', which I know is totally unrelated.
So I am waiting for a trade package to arrive and six arrive at the same time. In actual fact they didn't arrive at the same but over the course of a few weeks. My eldest, my very organised and helpful son arrives home first. He took the mail and sorted it carefully including the packages, which he knew where for me and placed it in the cupboard where I keep my baseball cards. Very helpful, except for one thing- he didn't tell me.
So I have a number of packages to share, the first being this beauty from Dan in Auburn, Maine. This package was interesting for two reasons it was choc full of Red Sox cards- Dan went above and beyond in this respect. And secondly it came from Maine. I had never received a package from Maine before.
It will take me a while to sift through the amazing number of cards Dan sent. He tells me they are all from the wants list, which is also incredibly impressive.
Thanks Dan.