Trade With The Daily Dimwit: MOST OF 2015 ALLEN & GINTER + Awesome Kemp, Kershaw, and Puig Hits!

I reached double-digit deals with Sam from The Daily Dimwit fame as we recently competed our tenth trade. You can see the first here, second here, third here, fourth here, fifth here, sixth here, seventh here, eighth here, and ninth here.

The bulk of the deal was a near-complete set of 2015 Allen & Ginter. Sam sent 348 of the 350 Base + SPs (or theoretical SPs this year, I suppose). I already had the Yasiel Puig base and Sam was without one other base random dude (#97) so I'm only one card short!

There were inserts galore -- 65 to be exact -- which were led by 36 Starting Points. I can't thank Sam enough for hooking me up with this beastly group of set needs!

A new Kershaw relic is always welcome.

As is a new Kemp; this happens to be the card that long ago began these talks.

Now for a couple of complete surprises that popped out of the 800 count box. This Gary Sheffield dual jersey card is just fantastic. I'm in the process of thinning my tertiary collections but this bad boy will be staying put.

The real stunner was a first, actually: my first Yasiel Puig relic! It follows my first Puig auto and I'm so happy to have it in my #ManBearPuig PC. It hails from 2015 Panini Diamond Kings (a really stellar product despite no logos), features bat and jersey, and is numbered 07/25! Sam, your generosity continues to amaze me!

Some random goodness. The Puig is /199; the Pederson is /599; the Lasorda die-cut is #'d 10/25; the Verdugo Bowman Chrome RC might be my first card of Alex (I hope he turns into something one way or the other, the organization needs more home-grown position players); the Museum Collection Kersh base is a need; and Ginter miiiiiinnnniiissss! One Yasiel has a standard back, the other an A&G reverse, and Joc is a black-bordered.

I'm highlighting a simple Kershaw base card because damn Panini, well done!

As always Sam, thanks for the phenomenally stellar trade amigo!

A Gary Sheffield Dodgers' Auto Is Mine!

I recently acquired the signature of one of the greatest Dodgers to wield a bat in franchise history. His signature had alluded me for quite some time, and unfortunately he didn't play with the club for all that long, so options were rather limited. But more important than that was my desire for the card to be hard-signed.

Thankfully, eBay came to the rescue. For $8.49 delivered I landed this sweet on-card John Hancock from 2001 Fleer Autographics of former Dodger and borderline Hall of Famer Gary Sheffield. I adore everything about the card, from the color scheme to the design to the fact that Gary was a Dodger when he signed it.

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!

A Plethora Of Contest Wins and Thanks.

I wanted to say thanks to a few bloggers who recently held contests I was fortunate enough to win. First up, I won a week or two's worth of "hey everybody, guess the serial-numbering" over at Jaybarkerfan's Junk. Wes sent along some really cool stuff, highlighted by my newest Matt Kemp hit.

I really dig these All-Star Game relics. The next card of note is my second certified James McDonald auto, and my fourth overall (one a Dodgers' note-card, the other a TTM Ginter auto).

The best of the rest is below, and I love the variety of these great new additions to my collection. The Magill is a refractor and numbered /799, while the Blake Smith is a sweet blue parallel /500. Thanks for the great stuff Wes!

Next up is Kevin from The Diamond King. Kevin held a contest to keep us readers motivated, and I was the first to meet his requirement for victory.

Kevin sent along a ton of awesome stuff, beginning with the above Shawn Green relic, numbered 226/250. It has quite the thorough COA on the back with a picture of the jersey the swatch came from. Love it, as well as the overall card design.

 
A Claude Osteen TTM? Sweet. I was without an Osteen auto, and it was a most welcome surprise. The black sharpie really pops.

He sent along so much stuff I couldn't scan it all, so here's just a taste of it above and below this here paragraph. Arno, the Nomos are headed for your pile. I love the mixture of stuff I received: former Dodger backstops, some near-vintage, shiny. The Green "Danger High Voltage" card is NAILS and I love the Piazzas. Thanks Kevin!

Finally, the last round of awesome freebies. Ross from Sports Card Info sent along this cool two-color race-used flag piece, numbered 03/50, of Darrell Waltrip which I won in one of his many contests. Thanks Ross!

Thanks to the aforementioned fine gentlemen for their hospitality and giving nature!

Trade With The Chronicles Of Fuji: A Masterful Performance From The Chargers Would Be Swell.

I completed my second trade with Fuji of The Chronicles Of Fuji. I had been setting some cards aside for him, and saw a handful of cards that interested me after looking through his trade bait. I sent some PC autos and relics his way - along with some 80s RCs - and in return added these four sweet hits to my collection.

Donnie Edwards, a man after my own heart, as he was a great Chargers linebacker, a Southern California native, and attended UCLA where he played both football and baseball. What a Renaissance Man. This is my second Edwards autograph, and this particular one is #'d 222/299. It does raise an interesting issue though; do I place this in the section of my PC box designated for Chargers cards, or for UCLA alum? I'm certain it will end up landing in the former.

Damn, it's hard to beat 2008 Masterpieces. Mr. Zimmerman here even brought a beautiful red swatch to the party, further cementing Masterpieces' epic greatness. When I saw Fuji had this card up for grabs, I knew I couldn't let it slip past me. Zim's an elite third baseman, and one of those is hard to come by. As a Dodgers fan, I can fully attest to that. The lettering UD chose to utilize for "Upper Deck" and "Masterpieces" entirely reminds me of Lord of the Rings. Moving on....

I'd be remiss if I had let the above remain with Fuji and not reside in my collection, what with Gary Sheffield being one of the greatest offensive talents to ever put on a Dodgers uniform. I find the color scheme Pacific used for this card to be oddly calming. No idea why though. Oh, and it appears there's a horse in the background between Gary and the Authentic logo, right above and slightly to the left of the bat piece. The things my mind notices....

The fourth and final card I snagged is this sweet 2005-2006 UD Bee Hive relic of former Duck and future Hall of Famer Sergei Fedorov. Again, hard to pass up a hit of a Hall of Famer, even though he only spent 85 games in Anaheim (putting up 66 points in the process). Fedorov is currently lacing them in the KHL. Looking at the old Mighty Ducks logo and colors is a nice change of pace.

Oh, and it wouldn't be a Fuji package without his calling card, a beautiful red ink on-card autograph. Thanks for another awesome trade Fuji!

Trade With "é rayhahn, rayhahn": Russell Martin and Gary Sheffield Hits

I completed my third trade with Rhubarb Runner from the "I need to look this up every damn time" "é rayhahn, rayhahn". You can find our first deal here and the second trade here. I sent David some Twins - of course - highlighted by a new Joe Mauer and a Kirby Puckett jersey relic with a sweet pinstripe. My end of the deal brought with it two new relics for my collection.

The first is a sweet Russell Martin 2008 UD SP Legendary Cuts Destination Stardom jersey swatch, which makes for a nice addition to my Martin PC. I also have the 2009 version of this card.

And finally, this cool dual relic from 2002 Fleer Platinum of one of the best offensive players in franchise history. I absolutely love Fleer Platinum from any year. I'm fairly positive this is my first Sheff hit, and it features a piece of his Dodgers road greys (even though the card lists Gary as a Brave, the back specifically states the jersey piece came from his time in LA) as well as a piece of a game-used ball. It's the first ball relic I own....

Thanks as always Rhubarb!