BWTP's Secret Santa Goodies

I participated for the second year in Bob Walk's Secret Santa shenanigans. I recently received a bubbler from Captain Kirk which hit on a number of my current collecting interests. There was more than what I scanned but, short on time, I focused on the best stuff.

Kirk knocked off the remaining two needs from the Dodgers' portion of 2001 Topps American Pie. This appealed to me back in the day because it's such a nice looking set and I'm glad I'm finally done with it after all of these years.

Four more Want List needs followed with these additions to my 1975 Fleer Pioneers of Baseball Set. It's still one of my favorite sets and is full of so many interesting players.

Captain sent along four brand new additions to my Clayton Kershaw Collection.

Somehow this Matt Kemp didn't already reside in my Bison PC, which honestly stuns me as I feel like I had numerous copies of this at various times.

Finally, three of my all-time favorite Dodgers.

Thanks and Happy New Year!

Starting A Johnny Bench PC: 1971 Topps!

I've decided to begin one more vintage player collection. It's partly because my Rosen and Campy PCs are winding down to the hard and expensive stuff while my Wheat PC can only grow so fast considering it's all pre-war stuff I need. In addition, I really like the player I'm now collecting and his cardboard is aesthetically-pleasing. So, to start off this new collection I picked up this beaut:

1971 Topps, number 250, EX to EX-MT and a steal on eBay: hello Mr. Johnny Bench! I've been a Bench fan for some time and that's fitting considering I tend to gravitate towards a number of catchers (Piazza, Russ Martin, Carlos Santana, A.J. Ellis). '71s are always tricky with that chippy black border but I was able to nab this gorgeous copy for about a third of what we sell it for at work in the same condition. I simply could not pass that up.

For this PC I'll only be targeting his 60s and 70s cards. There will probably be an oddball or two that finds its way into my hands but I have no desire for his 1980s cardboard. I'll need an auto to go along with the fantastic triple relic I traded for back in 2012 (so I guess technically that was the start of my Johnny collection).

Ooooh, You Fancy Topps: 2013 A.J. Ellis Mini Yellow Plate, Featuring Kershaw!

My modest but loved A.J. Ellis PC gets a lot more awesome today as I was able to secure the below 1/1 Mini Yellow Printing Plate from 2013 Topps Mini Baseball (an online exclusive....ooooh, you fancy Topps). It was pretty cheap -- $10.50 shipped -- considering there's not a ton of Ellis stuff out there and the plate just so happens to feature the best pitcher on the planet, Clayton Kershaw.

But hey, I'm not going to complain about adding a sweet Ellis card and a cheap Kershaw plate in one fell swoop. Everyone's loss is my fantastic gain. I absolutely adore everything about this card and the fact that they captured these two best friends, battery mates, and awesome guys mid-convo on the mound is just nails.

The Mini Magenta Plate! I'm halfway to making my own Between Two Palm Trees themed cardboard! Will I ever find the Cyan and Black Plates....stay tuned!

Finally here's the mini gold parallel I've shown before, numbered 39/62.

Trade With Chavez Ravining: A Mini A.J. Ellis and a Grip o' Ginter (2014 Edition)

I completed my third trade with my good friend Alex over at Chavez Ravining. You can check out our first foray here and second swap here. Alex has sent me a couple of card-filled packages over the last few months and I've been a bad and super-slow blogger. Apologies. Away we go....

A.J.! This brilliant mini relic was a card that caught my eye when Alex posted it and thankfully he was willing to move it even though it fits into his collection. A.J. will have a lessened role with newcomer Yasmani Grandal now wearing Blue but I think it will suit the future voice of the Dodgers well.

Let's wrap up the scanned portion of the show with some random goodness. Shiny Greinke, Kenley, and Ryu cards for those modest PCs; it was real Hanley; a pair of Gerrit Coles for my collection of the former UCLA standout; and minis of Cole Hamels and one-time Dodger draft pick Chase Utley.

Alex was also purging a ton of cards from his collection and I decided to take the plunge and go after the 2014 Allen & Ginter Base Set (including SPs) as well as a number of the inserts, all of which he was able to help me out with. And when I say help me out, I mean he sent me a tremendous amount of cards which I need to go through as I slowly put together my Want List for '14 A&G.

As always, the cards are much appreciated Alex!

Trade With The Daily Dimwit: Puig Galore, An Eventual Seager Orange Auto, and Ginter o' Plenty.

I completed my ninth trade with the great Sam from The Daily Dimwit. You can check out our first deal here, second here, third here, fourth here, fifth here, sixth here, seventh here, and eighth here. Sam has thankfully come out of blog retirement, and we recently finalized a trade that had been in the works for some time. You can see what headed Sam's way here.

I'll start off with some Yasiel Puig RC goodness! Sam sent along Puig's 2013 Ginter A&G Back Mini RC, base RC, and a Puig rookie from 2013 Topps Pro Debut. All are much appreciated and are swell additions to my modest #ManBearPuig PC.

Next up, a redemption that has been entered for a Corey Seager Orange Parallel Auto from 2013 Bowman Inception (on-card!). I can't wait to have this beaut in-hand and part of my #ManBearSeag PC!

More Corey Seager! Seriously, how can you not absolutely adore a card with a raptor on it? I can't get enough and plan on taking in some Rancho Cucamonga Quakes' games while he's still a member of the team. In-person graphing will be the desired result of those games.

A nice mix of stuff is up next. We've got a Ryu Rookie (one of 2013's best cards); a new Matt Kemp; a new Clayton Kershaw (it's the regular back mini); a Joc Pederson Minor League RC; and an AJ Ellis for my PC of the charismatic catcher. I'm working on some sort of rainbow for AJ's 2013 Ginter card, another great offering amongst 2013's slew of cardboard.

Finally, Sam knocked out a ginormous chunk of my 2013 Allen & Ginter needs in the form of:

93 Base - Complete!
17 SPs
45 Across The Years
The last 4 Martial Mastery cards I needed (!)
6 Civilizations of Ages Past
7 One Little Corner
7 Palaces & Strongholds
4 Codes, Ciphers & Cryptographs
13 Heavy Hangs The Head
5 Famous Finds
7 Inquiring Minds
3 The First Americans
3 Peacemakers

Sam, as always, thanks for another phenomenal trade!

AJ Ellis Doesn't Own This Amazing AJ Card: '13 Allen & Ginter 1/1 Printing Plate

I mentioned recently that I had come into some awesomely fantastic AJ Ellis hits that would soon be making their blog debuts. Here's another of those great scores. I was hoping this bad boy would stay within my range, and it most certainly did. One of my favorite cards of 2013 enters my PC once again, this time in 1/1 form.

From 2013 Allen & Ginter, this 1/1 Black Printing Plate is my third AJ 1/1. My scan wasn't great but your eyes also do not deceive you, as the border is off-center. I love absolutely everything about this beaut and I'm more than happy to have shelled out the dough for it in order to add it to my A.J. PC.

The 1/1 Blank Back: An Irksome Bitch.

There are certain cards I'll only go after if the price is right. It may be that I already have the card but want another copy; the card is of someone I don't really collect; or, as is the case with today's showcase, the card is of a guy I really like but it's just far too hokey for my liking.

1/1 blank backs truly suck for someone like myself who is almost exclusively a player collector. I know it was just created to make money for the company, but dammit if it exists and can be had without breaking the bank I want it. Also, I'm a bit OCD and insane, which makes this addition easier to explain.

It's beyond quirky and gimmicky, yes, but it was had for a very reasonable price and is a welcome addition to my modest but growing Ellis Collection.

A.J. Ellis: 2013 Allen & Ginter No-Number Mini

Anytime I can add an affordable A.J. Ellis hit to my PC of the talk show host, catcher, and all-around gentleman, I don't let the opportunity pass me by. He doesn't have a ton of stuff available, so letting something go isn't really an option if it can be had for a song.

I couldn't click the $4 Buy-It-Now fast enough on this 2013 A&G No-Number Mini, a card that is easily one of my favorites in 2013. The big catcher's mitt with ALL-STAR inscribed on it makes the already stoic photo that much more amazing.

I've decided to put together as much of his 2013 Allen & Ginter rainbow as I can manage to track down, and I've got a couple more pieces in-hand waiting to be scanned in and written up.

AJ Ellis and Clayton Kershaw: The Two Best Friends That Anybody Could Have.

In the last couple of months I've landed a handful of fantastic additions to my modest AJ Ellis PC. The first two to be showcased are parallels of a base card that features not just AJ, but Clayton Kershaw as well. AJ Ellis, such a mensch for sharing most of his baseball cards with teammates.

1/1 Mini Magenta Printing Plate! Seriously, give me more Between Two Palm Trees already. I miss it so very, very much. I'm sure that's what these friends and battery-mates are discussing. Also, I love absolutely EVERYTHING about this beautiful piece of cardboard.

As a nice companion to my first AJ plate, I picked up the mini gold parallel, numbered 39/62. Both were very reasonably-priced, and I was actually refunded my shipping costs on the 1/1 as the seller shipped it in a not-so-secure manner and I had to work my magic to fix the slight bend in the printing plate.

Let's Do This For Matty.

The Dodgers took down the Braves in Game 1 of their NLDS Series last night behind Clayton Kershaw, Adrian Gonzalez, A.J. Ellis, and Yasiel Puig. One guy not able to play, of course, is Matt Kemp. I'm not a huge believer in added motivation from playing for teammates, but if it exists, this would be that case.

The above fantastic auto hails from 2009 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Baseball. Numbered 03/99, it's the newest Bison to roam its way into my Mattycakes Collection. It was had for less than a blaster, and I quite like everything about it, from the design to the on-faux-baseball John Hancock to the action shot of Kemp.

The 2013 Ginter Hits Start Rolling In.

The chances of pulling a rare card of your favorite player from a product with a deep checklist are not great, but thankfully eBay exists to fill such voids. I was recently able to add No-Number Minis from 2013 Allen & Ginter of both Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw to my collection.

Though they don't show it, these bad boys all have a print-run of 50. They represent the first No # Minis in my collection, and I was fortunate to nab both for great prices (under $13 shipped combined).

Topps went with a couple of badass photos of the two best Dodgers, and my eyes are open for the Russell Martin and A.J. Ellis No #'s as well.

Trade With State of The Hobby...I'm Your Average Card Collector: Scratching My Kemp and Kershaw Itch.

I completed my third trade with Jon from State of The Hobby...I'm Your Average Card Collector. You can check out our first deal here and second swap here. Jon and I were talking trade for some time before we finally hammered out a deal, and it's a phenomenal one for both of us.

First up, a stunning on-card John Hancock of Kid K, Clayton Kershaw. Numbered 85/99, I've wanted one of these for some time but have yet to succeed going the eBay route. Now I don't have to worry about it. Let's just say Jon has a wonderful knack for securing amazing Dodgers' trade bait.

Yes, I traded for a Matt Kemp redemption, which is as risky a redemption to trade for as there is today in our cardboard world. My thinking is simple: if this card is ever actually made, it'll be a beautiful on-card auto of my favorite player on a gorgeous and high-end set. It'll also have a nice and low serial-number, being an orange parallel and all. For me, the risk is worth it.

Next up, a Kemp that actually exists. This booklet, which hails from 2012 Panini National Treasures, features a die-cut relic window which spells out "The Bison." Love, love, love it. It's numbered 25/25 and is my fourth Bison Booklet.

A simple Kemp relic, #'d 09/99, is up next. I don't foresee myself buying a box of Topps Tribute anytime soon, but I do love picking up singles of my guys via trade or on the cheap from eBay.

Three more new Kemps, including a Heritage Action SP.

Finally, some randomness. Jon sent a ton of extras, and these were my favorites. The Kemp/Kersh All-Star Vets card is fantastic; the Gypsy Matty is another new addition; and the Kemp in the bottom right is apparently some type of short-print based on the 1972 Topps Basketball set.

I now have over 250 unique Mattycakes' cards.

Thanks for yet another fantastic trade Jon!

Trade With The Daily Dimwit: A Triple Threads Treat and A Mess of 2012 Ginter.

I completed my eighth trade with Sam from the wonderful The Daily Dimwit. You can look back at our first foray here, second swap here, third trade here, fourth deal here, fifth exchange here, sixth encounter here, and seventh transaction here. Sam pulled a card many months ago that I had to have, and after a while I found something equivalent to send his way. We expanded our trade and had another great one in the books. You can see what I sent his way here.

The meat of the trade that I saw way back when and knew I had to get. Numbered 11/18, it's a sweeeeeet triple relic from 2012 Topps Triple Threads. I love that there are two blue patch pieces and they belong to the two gentlemen on this card I care about, Messrs. Kemp and Kershaw. Why Dre got center-billing, I do not know. The relics spell out "Bleeding Blue," which accurately describes the 2013 season.

Pee Wee! Wool jersey! Exclamation points!!!! Numbered 193/199, it's just the second Reese relic to call my collection home, joining a slice of bat. I told Sam to save this bad boy for our next trade but he sent it along anyways. A kind gentlemen, you are. You'll be getting something extra next time, of course.

Billy Wagner was a fantastic relief ace and I'm stoked to land his John Hancock. On-card and as an Astro, to boot. See Sam, not everyone hates Houston.

3 awesome Bisons and a pair of Kid Ks. Matty wearing 42 in mini form is NAILS.

Koufax and Verlander make a great pairing. I already have the A.J. Ellis Spring Fever auto, so the base card is a much appreciated throw-in. My first Hanley and Adrian Gonzalez cards as Dodgers were nice surprises as well.

Sam also took a big bite out of my remaining 2012 Ginter needs, sending me 4 of the World's Greatest Military Leaders, 23 of the What's In A Name? behemoth subset, and the last 3 SPs I needed to complete the Base Set (SPs included).

Thanks for yet another phenomenal trade Sam!

Blue Crew Battery in Mini Gypsy Form.

A couple of recent pickups that were acquired separately but belong together for obvious reasons. First up, Kid K in either short or super-short-print form.

I'm honestly not sure which but it's at the least rare-ish. Kersh hitting is appropriate considering how putrid the Dodgers have been with the bats in '13. I fully expect that to change, though. Anyhoo, let's move to the other half of the battery.

Numbered 152/199, it's a sweeeeeeet black parallel of A.J. Ellis. I had to bite on this bad boy the second I saw it existed. I love the picture of A.J., black parallels are awesome generally-speaking, and Ellis doesn't have a lot of solo cardboard.

Trade With DodgerBobble: Jose Bautista and Don Mattingly Sweet-Spot Autos.

I completed my third trade with DodgerBobble. You can check out our first trade here and our second here. DB has moved to collecting signed baseballs and he had his eyes on my Hyun-Jin Ryu ball that I acquired at 2013 FanFest. I really liked that ball but I was willing to consider parting with it for a couple of reasons. First, he's signed for six years and I'm confident I can track him down and get him to sweet-spot a ball at some point within the next half-decade. Second, the ball means more to DB right now, and I'm always happy to help a friend. And third, he traded me some amazing stuff.

Case in point, the jewel of the deal for me, this fantastic sweet-spot ball of masher Jose Bautista. I've got a few Joey Bats' RCs so when I saw this ball in DB's Bait I couldn't resist. eBay prices and the fact that he plays in Toronto would make it extremely difficult for me to ever acquire this piece otherwise so I jumped at the chance to add a sweet baseball to my collection of a dude who put up back-to-back seasons of 6.5 and 7.8 fWAR.

Bobble made it clear he'd be "willing to overpay" to knock Ryu off his list and not have to worry about grabbing his auto at a game or appearance. He was more than happy to go beyond the Bautista, so I requested the above Donnie Baseball ball and DB kindly obliged. Now I'm the one who doesn't have to worry about snagging Mattingly at a game, though I don't think it would have been too difficult as the Dodgers' skipper seems like a willing signer. It mostly means I don't have to go out and buy a baseball. :o

My main bobblehead amigo said he would toss in a particular signature because he remembered me posting about missing this player at FanFest each of the last two years. His generosity results in my ownership of a fantastic A.J. Ellis signed program which commemorates his winning the Roy Campanella Award in 2012. I always enjoy adding a signature of A.J. #WeWantMoreBetweenTwoPalmTrees

I was sent a slew of scans when we first started discussing the deal, and one card jumped out at me. Bobble doesn't collect much beyond autos but I had an extra Kemp/Kershaw dual relic lying around so I offered up a one-for-one swap for the above Bison patch and thankfully the deal was accepted as part of our larger sweet-spot swap. Numbered 061/199, it features three pieces of jersey from a road uniform and a sweeeeet patch piece with stitching and a seam, also hailing from a road jersey. It's my newest Mattycakes hit and I've been after one for ages so I'm stoked to be able to cross it off of my list.

A brand new Kid K made an appearance in the box of goodness DB handed to me, and it's even more killer considering it's the great blue frame parallel, numbered 533/599, from 2012 Gypsy Queen.

Finally, some random cards and in-person graphs were included as a throw-in, highlighted by a cool chrome C-Bills and an Ethier Ginter auto. Also, the Steve Yeager '78 Topps is awesome, largely due to the fact that Yeager is an awesome dude. So awesome he was even chain-smoking at a Caravan event I attended a few years back. Not that I condone smoking or do so myself, but it was just such a badass thing to see.

Thanks for an epic and awesome trade, my Bobble compadre! And good luck to the both of us in tracking down Greinke!

I Got A (Spring) Fever and The Only Prescription Is More A.J. Ellis Autos.

A.J. Ellis is massively overlooked in the cardboard game, just as he was overlooked in the post-Russell Martin era until 2012. Seriously, Rod Barajas? Get that out of this piece. I digress.

It's become apparent that if you want an A.J. Ellis card with just A.J. Ellis on it, the autographed route is the only way to go. Which is fine by me. And daaaamn, what a gorgeous thing this one is. The blue background is of course perfect with any Dodgers' card and the Spring Training atmosphere is fantastic.

I do wish the John Hancock had been on-card but such is life and I never expect on-card from Topps anyways. This beaut is numbered 051/155 and discusses A.J.'s 2012 breakout campaign. I do give Topps kudos for including Ellis' OBP in their writeup of the Blue Crew backstop. I'm a fan of clogging the bases.

More Contest Freebies To Say Gracias For: Trout, Piazza, Kate Upton....

Jeff from 2 by 3 Heroes gave away a bunch of cards to close out 2012, and did so in PWE fashion. Each participant and contest winner could select two cards. Jeff tried to bait me into one card, and as the below indicates, it easily worked.

Your real 2012 AL MVP, Mike Trout.

I also selected a Giants' card (yes yes, I know, traitorous). But hey, it's a solidly-booking rookie of one of the best catchers in baseball and 2012's NL MVP, Buster Posey. It was an easy selection as a free card.

Jeff later sent a PWE my way for no reason in particular. My favorite card of the bunch is this sweet A.J. Ellis Blue Parallel (I think?) out of 2012 Topps Update. Topps seems intent on never giving A.J. a card of his own which is both disappointing and humorous simply due to the fact that Ellis will inevitably Tweet about it and make me laugh.

Adam from Arpsmith's Sportscard Obsession holds a weekly contest, and I was lucky enough to win one week a while back. I selected this sweet Gary Sheffield jersey relic as my prize. I'd love to one day acquire a Sheff auto depicting him as a Dodger, if such a card exists. Adam also sent along some Want List cards in the form of 2 cards from my 2004 Fleer Platinum Needs List, a base need from '11 Ginter, and the ultimate base card need from '12 Ginter.

Hello there gorgeous.

I was one of many winners over at ALL TRIBE BASEBALL, and Jack was kind enough to send this Scott Olsen on-card auto as my prize. He also included a Carlos Santana Chrome RC and the last card I needed to complete the Dodgers' 1992 Upper Deck team set. Gracias Jack!

Finally, Wes from Jaybarkerfan's Junk sent over a few unexpected cards in a PWE surprise giveaway, including two of my all-time favorite Blue Crew members, Mike Piazza and Jonathan Broxton. There was also a cool 1978 Topps Terry Forster in the surprise envelope. Thanks as always Wes for your generosity!

Thanks for the contests and cards guys!