Thursday, February 28, 2013

Trade With I'm Ballsy: Chad Billingsley, Rising Star. Cam Fowler, A Black Diamond Gem.

I completed my fourth trade with my good friend Arno from I'm Ballsy. You can check out the first here, second here, and third here. It took me a while to build up my end of the deal to acquire a sweeeeet card from Arno, but thankfully he didn't mind the wait and we finished up the transaction when we met Mike Piazza.


The crux of my end of the deal is this fantastically awesome auto/relic of Chad Billingsley. I just might be the biggest Bills fan alive. I'm certainly the biggest fan of Chad in our blogging community. Numbered 05/25, it's a fantastic addition to my modest collection of the Defiance and Dodger right-hander. I had been after one of these Triple Threads cards of Chad for quite some time so it's an added bonus to finally reach that goal. I always dig red patches on Dodger cards because that means the jersey piece came from the player's number. There's a bit of stitching creeping in on the bottom 0 as well.


Arno informed me after he passed along the Bills at Dodgers' FanFest 2013 that he also had a John Hancock of an up-and-coming Ducks' defenseman, and if I was interested he'd be happy to deal it. I was interested, as you might imagine. The card's acquisition marks my second in-hand Cam Fowler autograph and third overall. I'm a big Fowler fan and had the pleasure of watching the Ducks draft him live, way back in 2010. Oh, and Upper Deck, you produce some mighty fine cards, particularly the Black Diamond Gemography autos from various years. Good, good stuff. Even with the sticker, which at least blends well with the card.


The final card I acquired was a pure throw-in on Arno's part, and a cool pickup for a lot of reasons. I don't TTM and Pat Neshek doesn't fit into my collecting interests so if not for Arno's generosity Neshek's signature would never have been mine. Pat seems like a cool dude and one of the most fan-friendly players in any professional sport, from everything I've read and seen. His "P faces" are a fantastic touch.

Thanks for another great trade Arno, I appreciate it and your patience! Enjoy the trade cards and the contest winnings!

3 comments:

  1. Some great pick-ups, man. I don't know much about Billingsley, but that is an awesome card!

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  2. Dang that Bills looks sweet scanned. ; )

    Thanks again, dood.

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  3. Matt- Thanks!

    Arno- Haha, I appreciate your willingness to part with it!

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