Koosh12 and Mjprigge Trades

I always get excited when trade envelopes arrive, but this one was extra nice.

First, the Bo 2020 Turkey Red insert from the flagship's first series, was the last of the Jays I needed to complete the team set.

A couple more 2021 Topps flagship cards has me down to just 32 remaining for completing the base set.

Katoh was the last of the five Jays I needed for the Topps Chrome Update base set to be finished off.

Oh, and the Roger parallel in the black foil is nice too.

We finish with...

Not a bad signature, very nice on card auto and...

Serial numbered too - awesome rookie card and much appreciate to pick it up in the trade!

Speaking of signatures in trades, I also picked up one in a nice little trade with mjprigge...

Talk about three unique cards. An auto of Pannone is pretty nice, actually a solid signature itself too. Though we also have a large and in charge Molitor Finest card and a one and done Toronto card from 1995 Post, which hasn't even been creased once. It's a two panel piece, meant to fold in half, but it never will be now!

Fantastic and thank you!

Revisiting The Holidays

Have seen a bit of a certain Topps Holiday baseball set in the last week or so, and if we get a couple more days like this, I might have enough to start collecting it...but not there quite yet.

Nice to see Aaron here, card one in the set. I don't mind the Padres alternative jerseys here. Actually would be able to get behind this set more if they all had alternative uniforms which were holiday colored or something like that. Make it a Christmas in July game across the league just to sell cards....

Future HOFer Clayton - really nice cards here too.

Actually, a number of solid star cards in this bunch. If the set was a bit smaller, this would have been enough to get me collecting.

Don't get me to get over the faux snow look, won't be a favourite ever, but could at least collect it.

Football Foray

A smattering of cards and sets of the football variety from the 2026 lot today, so let's see what we have for trade bait... 

Have to love to have the microvariations that seem to be fraught through the high production era of the late 80s and early 90s. The 1991 Ultra set has two different size NFLPA logos on the back apparently. Something I found out trying to log Randall in. Nice to get a card from back then that isn't 1991 Upper Deck, so I'll take that as a win anyway.

Still not a fan of Chronicles, but I'll take the variety of Panini card lines here to provide a mix of traders. I find it's not too bad finding people to trade football for baseball. Definitely don't see a football/hockey mix nearly as much.

Even a few Draft Picks cards in the bunch, and the Kittle card is a card from the 2021 Panini NFL Stickers and Cards set - an interest cross combo there I guess, rather than having them as completely different product runs I guess.

Chark Jr tries to sneak by with the Kickoff parallel pretending to be a base card, but I caught him before I scanned this time! Warren Moon wins for the group though, I did enjoy watch him play back in the day.

Snow Vladdy!

Before we get to some snow from the lot - a quick PWE trade to share with TCDB member boucher33 who sent some double sided cards my way.

1997-98 Donruss Limited had these double sided cards which highlights a picture of a player on each side with no write ups, just great picture and a graphic background/ Still need some more for the team set, and with two people on each card, does make for more real estate to include more players in the set.

Appreciate the trade, but onto the snow!

Baseball cards abound from the 2026 Lot today, and we get some tempt from summer snow.

I have a bit of a loathing for this set, just because it's such a gimmick to make a winter looking set for baseball. I guess it's to help fans keep the sport top of mind in the middle of winter, but with the World Series stretching into November and spring training being less than 150 days later, there isn't too much down time as there is.

If you are going to do a holiday/winter theme, I don't mind the years where the design is around the edge with maybe snow or snowflakes, but the snow spattered all over the card - it's too much for my liking.

That said, I'll happily take a great Vladdy card. According to TCDB, this is my 280th Vladdy card, with 174 different unique ones. This isn't unique, I did have one already, but I always laugh because if I had 280 cards of a player in 1988, I probably had close to all the cards that were ever made. Now, Vladdy has over 16,000 different unique cards, and that's just what is in TCDB, and of course growing every day. I'd guess it may be close to 50,000 if he play through his entire contract with the Jays.

A single Update series card joins the fun from 2023 before we get to some cards from a set I am collecting...

A fair enough bunch of 2024 Topps flagship base series two, and I needed more than I didn't, so solid pick ups there.

Still just starting out on the set build for 2024...only about 12% done so far, so hoping for more in the lot before starting to trade for more.

2002 Bowman Chrome Football

 Another interesting day today from the 2026 Lot as we have a new set I have never had cards in hand for before, 2002 Bowman Chrome football - I know, hard to guess given my title.

This was a few years into the Bowman Chrome football sets coming into existence, with 1998 being the first year. Not unusual that the scans come out darker than having the cards in hand, but the border is black and the background colour on the name along the side, is a dark blue. Even in hand then, these are pretty dark.

Playing the game of names I recognize, I do recognize Shannon Sharpe at least.

Kerry Collins and Kordell also. Of course I also know Jake "The Snake" Plumber as I remember, even from sports highlights, that nickname inspired by the WWF wrestler from the 1980s.

Tomlinson - nice card too.

Drew Bledsoe - alright, but fave card of the day has to be an NFL card of CFL legend, Doug Flutie!

The backs remind me very much of Bowman baseball cards - not really a surprise there I guess. Also, Ricky Williams - how are we supposed to feel about him at this point? I don't remember all the details, and will not bother looking it up, but I recall he had some troubling times during his playing career which impacted it. Either way, he has a card here at least.

A Little More

The 2026 Lot can't help but dabble just a little more of 2023-24 Upper Deck Allure my way, and most will head into the trade boxes, but I did get these...

Three more so up to six of them now I think, so that's all good.

For the rest, backs instead of fronts since we saw enough of them already...

Funny that Ovechkin was the last base I needed, but here we get four more out of it so guess it was just luck of the draw.

Guess we were filling in the middle of the base set here...but hopefully that's the last run of it...I'm all good on the pure base set now. Actually looking over the bunch now, I have 4 full sets of the pure base. Only keeping one and splitting up the others, but still pretty cool.

Flagship Help

 As per usual, as we wind through April, I find it harder to put full energy into posts as my work gets to longer days which is what happens with taxes all due for 2025, at the end of the month. I don't complain too loudly - I know the US has an earlier deadline of April 15th, and with all the extensions, US accountants can end up dealing with personal tax filings right through to the middle of December - so I am thankful not to have to deal with that.

Oh, but enough of taxes, let's go cards - and today is a bunch of baseball, and about half of it being awesome keepers for me - yay!

Ah yes, the wave design of the 2018 flagship Topps set. Seemed a bit odd at the time, but I actually like it now and looking back. The good for me - about half are great additions for me set build, and honestly, the others, I should be able to move along in trades.

Love that the set had the full photos and no border in the set as well as the team photos - really nice to have them in the set.

A few other cards in the bunch are from 2019 Opening Day which works as it's another set I am working on, and knocked a couple more base needs off the want list.

Excellent day of cards and would love to see a bunch more baseball like this!

I Can't Open It

 I did a trade recently with TCDB member EAudet77 which saw me get mostly Leaf cards from the fellow Canadian.

The Juan Guzman is the last card I am missing from the opened team set - I have an unopened set, but wanted an opened one as well. Unfortunately (or fortunately), the one sent was unopened. So I can either open it and complete the set, or leave it unopened and look for another one that is already without packaging.

Well - I can't do it. For my Toronto collecting, I'll just keep him unopened rather than decrease the unopened population of cards. I am sure I'll be able to find one out in the wild easily enough.

It was a good trade in that this did complete my 17 card 1993-94 Pinnacle Canadian set and the three card Humpty Dumpty II set, all packaged. Nice little pick ups. Also got a one and done with...

I can appreciate when the cutting job leaves plenty of border space so as not to be problematic with damaging the card.

A fantastic trade, well, just another, from EAudet77 - thank you!

Adding Some Platinum

So, I can't say I've ever really opened any of the O Pee Chee Platinum products of late. I don't mind the chrome design and look, but from a price point, it's just expensive for what it is. I guess nothing outrageous in comparison to some of the other offerings, but I just have a hard time spending a dollar a card (or more) on what you get with many new packs these days.

The 2020-21 design here is great, I like it, and the look in hand is solid too.

Full stats on the back is always a great plus, and the excellent card quality gets thumbs up too. This is where I like the different cardstock - I always put O Pee Chee with the cardboard coloured backing and the "brown" colouring and like the idea of Platinum being the different card stock with the nice clean white backs like this.

Unfortunately, not enough here I really want to start collecting this one, and no Leafs either. Can't win them all, even if the cards are pretty nice, though a bit overpriced.

Adding Some Recent Baseball

 Okay - I guess in that one title, I kind of age what I consider to be recent since these cards are really from 2018-2021, and no one need remind me that 2018 is 8 year ago now....

Didn't get these quite scanned in order as you will see, so we start with some more 2019 Donruss which will not be enticing me to start collecting that Panini concoction. I will however happily add a couple 2019 base cards for the 2019 Opening Day Topps set with Iglesias above and...

Realmuto down below.

From the base card lot I got a year or so ago, I have a lot of the prospect inserts from 2020 Bowman, but do need a Beer, and added it here - yay!

Maybe out of order, but five more flagship keepers for 2018 including the celebrating Rangers. and the rest of the bottom row.

Lot the assorted baseball days, and when we get some keepers too!

Ending Different

 The 2026 Lot starts with a single 1991 Upper Deck football card today before heading into a new for it set - 2005 Topps.

As seems to be plastered on every card, it was the 50th anniversary of Topps football cards - go figure. I get the celebration, but it sure made the logo big enough for the cards that it takes away from the design. I mean, you plastered it across the top of every card anyway, did we really need it in the logo too?

That aside, the fade edge photos is nice and a big of a Masterpiece type of look for the card otherwise which is cool.

Hard to believe this is over 20 years ago now.

A nice subset in the base with the Golden Moments and All-Pro cards. Hard to tell that is what they say with the foiling, but it is.

Nice, first 2023 Prestige card too I think, but I definitely know the last card is the first of it's kind I have seen...

2021 Metal Universe Champions brings the first lacrosse card to my traders. I presume this is a set akin to Godwin Champions and covers a plethora of sports and topics, but yeah, lacross.....who knew!