Work Perks

Working at a card shop has its perks, particularly when some guy comes in and leaves boxes and boxes of literal junk. I snagged both of the below cards from my work for free recently.

The Blake DeWitt mini was in a random box of random minis, and I am to this day a big DeWitt fan. The Mike Piazza Pinnacle Shades insert is sooooo '90s and was from the junk the guy left in our shop one day.

A Heroic Matt Kemp Rainbow + A Delightful Duke and DeWitt.

My favorite eBay seller came through again by listing a ton of Blue Crew pieces for great prices. I was able to take advantage of the free shipping offered and nabbed four new additions to my collection, including three amazing Matt Kemp pickups.

First up, a sweet Red parallel auto-relic #'d 07/50. This goes quite well with the Navy Blue /10 parallel I already have. Although red is only present on the numbers on the front of a Dodgers' uniform, it works really well on the card.

Next up, we move to the straight John Hancock portion of this post with a Beige parallel signature /25 (17/25 for my copy). I happen to be colorblind, so as much as I like '08 UD Heroes, it isn't exactly the easiest set for me to deal with.

The final Kemp is this gorgeous Blue autograph parallel, numbered 030/100. Blue is always a phenomenal choice for Dodgers' cardboard, and this is one card I'm extremely happy to add to the collection. I've built up a nice mini-rainbow of Bison cards from '08 Heroes, which I wasn't sure I'd be able to do.

Finally, a fantastic dual autograph -- numbered 31/50 -- featuring The Duke of Flatbush and Blake DeWitt. You can never have enough Snider autos, and I was a big DeWitt guy after seeing him play following his original call-up. I still feel like he never got a real chance after that 2008 debut, and I would love to see him re-signed to a minor league deal (he's currently a free agent).

Phenomenal Contest Winnings From (Last Year....) and ENOUGH ALREADY!

I won a contest over at ENOUGH ALREADY around last October. I'm just now posting my winnings. For shame on my procrastinating self. The Big Kahuna sent along a ton of great stuff, and while I couldn't scan it all I did scan a lot of it.

The hits are up first. The Peyton Hillis is already headed to a Razorback home and the Chauncey will eventually end up with Adam Smith.

The Lee is a pretty sweet card overall. Love the colorful relic.

I have the DeWitt so if any of my fellow Dodgers' collectors need/want it, let me know. The Lewis /899 is a swell addition to my UCLA PC - if only the helmet had a Bruins' logo instead of a Jags' one - and the Piazza is just flat-out awesome. The DeWitt was a throw-in because I Tweeted Kahuna's contest to Topps.

More Dodger goodness. Some new Piazzas and some nice rookies.

A slew of numbered football cards, many of them oh so colorful parallels.

Parallels and numbered beauts from the game we all love.

Football keepers for various modest PCs.

The Dionne Lasting Impressions is numbered out of 50.

Kahuna has always displayed a good sense of humor on his blog, and this package was no different, as he included this interactive toploader complete with a recap of the first two picks of the 1998 NFL Draft.

One new Kershaw found its way to my humble abode, and I appreciate it greatly (I have the Bowman Gold and Tier One but they're cool cards so they get scanned anyways). The Tier One base card is #'d 407/799.

The final card was one that did not stand out from the rest at first as I went through the box of cards, but should have had I been more observant.

Glossy 1/1 Black Edition! I love minor league cards and I kinda dig quirky 1/1s, and this Greg Reynolds' card meets the qualifications of both categories. While it is pretty sweet, I know a Rockies' fan would appreciate it more than I ever could, and it's already been dealt for some sweeeeeet and major Dodger additions.

Many, many, many thanks to The Big Kahuna for holding the contest and sending me these wicked awesome winnings! My apologies that it took forever and ever for me to post them, and again, I can't express my appreciation enough for all of this phenomenal cardboard goodness you sent my way!

Trade With All Trade Bait, All The Time: A Dirtbag On-Card Auto and Some Random PC Goodness.

I completed my first trade with Oscar from All Trade Bait, All The Time. He posted an auto I knew didn't fit into his collection, as he and I are both Dodger fans. A few e-mails later and we worked out a great deal. The gem of the swap for me:

My second Jered Weaver autograph, and it will be a most welcome addition to my Long Beach State Dirtbags PC.

Oscar also knocked off a pair of my 2011 Ginter needs, leaving me one card short - AOM 8 - of the Ascent Of Man subset. He also sent along 5 new additions to my Kemp and Martin Collections. The Martins bring me to 230 unique cards of the former Dodgers' backstop.

And finally, some Jerry Sands and other random goodness. As I mentioned recently, I am still in fact collecting the former Dodger.

Thanks for the great trade Oscar!

Trade With Pirates Treasure Room: Kershaw Reigns and Other Fun Stuff.

I completed my second swap with Brian of Pirates Treasure Room, who has the most insane Andrew McCutchen collection I've ever seen and a Gerrit Cole PC I'm massively jealous of. I sent Brian a Bryan Bullington on-card rookie auto a while back, and before our trade could be completed our blogging Brian became severely ill. Thankfully, he's all better now, and I'm happy to see him back and healthy and repping the Pirates. Here's what I got in return for that on-card John Hancock:

A sweet dual relic of the Texas Two-Stepping Kid K with former Padre Jake Peavy, and it's numbered 116/235. It makes relic number seven in my Kershaw PC, and my twenty-fourth hit overall. I have no idea what color the Peavy is due to colorblindness. But it's a nice color regardless, somewhat calming actually. That's the trade we agreed upon. But Brian didn't stop there. He sent me so, so much more, that I will be in debt for quite some time.

An awesome Shawn Green dual relic! It took me a while to deduce what the blue jersey swatch was from, since blue on a Dodgers jersey is the team name on the front, and that would make the swatch a patch. But it's as true a jersey piece as a jersey piece could be, and then it dawned on me after actually reading the front of the card: the blue is from a batting practice jersey.

Brian added a second new Kershaw to my collection with the above 4-in-1 red-bordered Goudey. Man, UD put out some beautiful stuff.

Next up, a number of awesome random Dodgers, including RCs of youngsters Jerry Sands and Rubby De La Rosa and a fantastic insert of Dee Gordon. A new Paul Konerko as a Dodger makes an appearance, as does an early Pedro Martinez card, which simultaneously brings back memories and enrages me.

Next up is the Dodgers Legends portion of this post. The Koufax is a genuine '75, which is ridiculously cool. The Jackie Lineage photo is just nails. Nails. I also really love the Heritage Flashbacks featuring Dodger Stadium. A great, great, great shot.

Three more Piazzas to add to my Mikey binder. The 1994 Donruss insert is by far my favorite of the three. Retire his number already Dodgers. Memo to the new owner: that would be a great place to start your overhauling of the team and revamping of the good image the club once had.

Finally, assorted randomness including three sweet Ducks, most prominently my main man Ryan Getzlaf. The Manny '09 OPC says "PREVIEW" on the back. Perhaps Robert (or anyone else) could shed some light?

Thanks for the great trade Brian, and welcome back! Here's to your continued good health!

Trade With I'm Ballsy: Blake DeWitt's Relic/Auto Is Pretty Damn Sweet. Oh, and Other Goodies.

I completed my third trade with Arno from the great I'm Ballsy. You can find the first one here and the second one here. In exchange for a Chin-lung Hu auto and a couple MMA signatures, plus some assorted wax from his favorite teams, I received a nice bounty, highlighted by this newest addition to my unofficial Blake DeWitt PC. I think this makes DeWitt Auto number four if I'm not mistaken.

98/99

Topps would want me to call this an octo-relic, but obviously it is one large piece of Blake's jersey. Though the bottom left portion has some different color material escaping from it. I tried to remove it thinking it was only schmutz, but it wouldn't fully budge. Oh, and it's a nice eBay one of one. Because it's the only one numbered 98/99. Now, to pick up the other 98 eBay 1/1s of this card. I kid the eBayers. Regardless, I absolutely love this card and am thrilled to have it in my grubby* little hands.

*Clean, grubby hands. Don't worry fellow traders, I handle your cards with care.*

059/299

My second Mathews relic. I expect him to have a HUGE season, provided he stays healthy and the offensive line actually blocks for him, unlike in the last few years LT was a Charger.

I met Ramon way, way back in January of 2010. Nice dude. Got an autograph and a picture with him.

300/349

Odd serial-numbering and a white guy who balls (well, balls for a white guy not named Steve Nash)? Count me in. I had no idea Arno was sending this card along - or I completely forgot he was sending it if he had mentioned he was - and it makes for an interesting piece to my modest Suns collection.

Thanks for another great swap Arno, hope the cards I sent have already reached you and are to your liking!

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Wes over at Jaybarkerfan's Junk (who just won my contest) is holding a contest of his own. Go and get in on the fun!

Autos: Blake DeWitt Ginter, Josh Lindblom Obak

Trade With Cardboard Heaven: Jay Bruce 2005 Bowman Sterling RC Auto/Relic

The first trade I completed way back when was with Cameron from Cardboard Heaven. That was a fantastic trade. Our second deal is just as amazing. Cameron already recapped what I sent his way. It took me far too long to post this, but being backlogged on posts does that to a blogger. It pained me to leave his cards sitting unopened for as long as I did, but it made the preparation for this post all that more exciting.

The main attraction, an absolutely phenomenal and beautiful card, and a HUGE addition to my PC:

My camera does not do justice; this card is spectacular in person.

I can't begin to say enough about this card and how awestruck I am by it. I love everything about it, and considering I can't come close to affording a break of Bowman Sterling from any year, it's even more special.

Cameron also sent along a number of other sweet cards, highlighted by these:

2007 Chromed Kershaw

342/399

Features Nomo on the back.

Thanks so much for another great trade Cameron! Glad you liked the cards, and I look forward to our next trade!

Trade With The Bullpen Cardboard: DeWitt, Martin, J. Upton, Marion

Cam from The Bullpen Cardboard and I swapped a number of hits in a trade that also saw some cards of guys I collect come my way and some 2010 Ginter, guys he collects, and a blue-bordered Berkman head his way. In exchange for a few Masterpieces autos and at least one Astro, Cam sent me these great cards:

052/489

Game-Worn Warm-ups from an NBA All-Star Game

I love the Ticket To Stardom auto/relics, and I've made my adoration of UD Spectrum Swatches known in multiple previous posts. Regarding DeWitt, if anyone has any unwanted DeWitt autos or relics, let me know and I'll trade for them.

There were also two additions to my Kershaw PC (Kimball Mini and a TriStar card of Kershaw on the Great Lakes Loons), as well as a new Kemp and a number of other great cards I did not previously have.

Thanks Cam, hope you like your cards!

Trade With Long Fly Ball to Because.......: Blake DeWitt

I sent David from Long Fly Ball to Because....... a Jordan Shipley Refractor jersey relic and some Bengals cards, and in return I received this dynamite Blake DeWitt bat relic from 2008 Topps Heritage Clubhouse Collection. This card just looks flat-out awesome, one of the more aesthetically pleasing cards I've seen in a long time.

David also sent along nine Dodgers from a break he was in on over at Thorzul's humble blogging abode, as well as this cool note. It's not the first note I've ever received in a trade, but it's the first that featured the Dodger logo.

On top of it all, David's last name is Wright. As someone who collects the Mets' third baseman, it was a great moment to learn of this David's last name. Made filling out the bubble mailer all the more entertaining.

Thanks David Wright (still awesome!), hope to trade again!

Trade With The Hopeful Chase: Blake DeWitt, Roy Campanella, Ginter

I sent Justin from The Hopeful Chase an e-mail after spotting a card he had available for trade. In exchange for a Nick Markakis 2009 Topps T-206 jersey relic and some random Orioles cards, he sent me ten cards I needed towards completing 2010's Ginter offering (three of them SPs), as well as this awesome hit and this sweet Roy Campanella card from 2010 National Chicle.

Thanks Justin! Enjoy the cards that are hopefully there or soon-to-arrive, and I hope to trade again.

Trade With Cardboard Heaven: Kemp, Kershaw, Ethier, Loney, Billingsley

I recently completed my first trade ever (at least my first that I can remember, considering I may have traded baseball cards when I was like seven). The trade was with Cameron from Cardboard Heaven.

I sent Cameron a 2010 Allen & Ginter Game Used Bat Card of Prince Fielder, a couple of Tony Gwynn cards, and a Clyde Drexler card. I also sent some assorted Brewers cards to Cameron, as he's a big Milwaukee fan. I received his package Saturday, and upon prying it open, could only mutter the words "holy crap" (except a little more PG-13 than that) for about five minutes. That, and "I have to hit him back with something amazing". Why was I so excited, you may ask? Well, what he sent me was truly amazing and unexpected.

I knew I was getting the following four cards in the trade, and that's all I anticipated finding in my bubble mailer. Cameron was sending me a 2005 Matt Kemp Topps Gold Rookie Card, a 2005 Matt Kemp Topps Chrome Rookie Card, a 2003 Andre Ethier Upper Deck Rookie Card (complete with his Oakland A's uniform), and a 2004 Blake DeWitt Bowman Chrome First Year Rookie Card.

I was thrilled to be getting these cards, but never would have imagined the cardboard-y goodness that I soon laid my eyes upon. Cameron was kind enough to include a slew of other cards, ranging from Clayton Kershaw to Chad Billingsley to Andrew Lambo and John Ely to my two favorite non-Dodgers, David Wright and Cole Hamels. And then, to top off an already superb grouping of wax, Cameron sent this along.

This beautiful card is a 2003 Bowman Signs Of The Future Certified Autograph Issue signed by James Loney. The autograph is even more amazing because it's on-card, not on a sticker, though I don't mind autos on stickers.

Again, I'm still in awe at what I received. Cameron, I can't thank you enough, and I will definitely be sending something nice your way in the near future. What that will be, I have no idea. But it will be nice. Check out Cardboard Heaven people. NOW!