Trade With Dodger Penguin: Kemp Auto, Kemp Quad Relic, Seager Mini Blue, and a Rising Joc.

I completed my first trade with Matthew from Dodger Penguin. We began this deal a year ago and traded in-person this May 3rd at the card show I recapped. The wait was worth it as we each picked up great stuff for our collections.

Matt surprised me with this 2008 SP Authentic Manufactured Letter Autograph of The Bison in exchange for a Julio Urias signed photo I was able to get at a Rancho Cucamonga Quakes' minor league game. I have legitimately been after one of these signed manu-letter patches for years but have never been able to secure one. This letter "M" is numbered 61/99 and is a most welcome addition, after all of these years, to my Mattycakes' Collection.

If this just isn't the perfect card. You have a great action shot of Corey Seager, my favorite prospect; he's got his pants rolled up to the knees, and I'm a sucker for old-timey throwbacks; it's a Blue Wave parallel; it's numbered 238/250; and it's a miiiiiiinnnnniiiiiii!

I had completely forgotten about this 2009 UD SPx Quad Relic teaming Kemp up with a troika of former Blue Crew members: Rafael Furcal, Takashi Saito, and Hong-Chih Kuo. When Matt and I re-booted our trade talks it was a nice surprise, and it's of course a welcome addition to my collection of Kemp hits.

Now that's a great shot of top prospect Joc Pederson. Joc is featured on a Rising Through The Ranks mini from 2013 Bowman Chrome and it's a swell addition as I have very little of Pederson in my Dodgers' PC.

I really dig these Cream of The Crop minis from '13 Bowman Chrome and I'm happy to add the base version along with the aforementioned Blue Wave parallel.

Finally, a nice refractor of Corey out of 2013 Bowman Chrome.

Thanks for the great trade Matthew! It was a pleasure meeting you and I look forward to many more deals in the future!

Trade With Too Many Grandersons: Jay Bruce Auto, Smoak On The Manupatch, David Wright Looks So Young, Joey Bats, and SAITO!

I completed my second trade with Dennis, who runs the great and always entertaining Too Many Grandersons. This trade was begun long, long ago, in a time far far away. I think it was somewhere around April, maybe May....something like that. Anyways, I had a couple of cards Dennis liked, and set them aside for him. I eventually found some bait of his I liked, and we were close to a deal but still a bit short on my end of the proceedings. I finally found a Michigan auto that pushed the swap to completion, and we had ourselves a really great trade.

The prize for me was this sweet on-card Jay Bruce RC auto. I'm a huge Bruce fan, so this was a great get for me. And again, on-card. Can't be beat.

Next up, a pair of Justin Smoak manupatch autos. I like Smoak, and have been in search of a signature of the young first basemen for some time. Also, I've been interested in putting together a full name of manupatch autos, and Smoak has both decently affordable autos and a short last name. Dennis helped me get 40% of the way there, so hopefully I can finish this off at some point. I've added the necessary signed letters needed to my Want List. Oh, and the "O" is some sort of parallel, and #'d 19/20.

David Wright's 2001 UD XRC; Wright is my favorite non-Dodger. This acquisition means I now have both of Wright's premier RCs, as I acquired his 2002 Bowman RC a while back, which completed the David Wright Trifecta.

The first and only Dodger of this trade, Takashi Saito! It's my first Saito hit of any kind, and he was so good as a Dodger, I just felt it was appropriate to acquire this RC auto of his. It's #'d 242/999.

Penultimately, a Jose Bautista RC. Why? Why not, I ask? He's morphed into an elite offensive force, and I have two other RCs of his, so why not complete a mini Trifecta on top of acquiring a card from a great set like 2002 Bowman. Dennis informed me the card had a couple of creases (on the left side, near Bautista's right hand and right shin), but that wasn't an issue for me. If I keep all three, then it obviously makes no difference, and if I decide to part with them, I'll deal with it then.

And finally, some randomness, including a gold-bordered Carlos Santana, a pair of numbered Cole Hamels (Hamelii?), and a new Matt Kemp parallel.

I've already acquired a small stack of cards I think Dennis will absolutely love, so another trade should not be far down the line. All that remains is for me to find some of his for trade cards that pique my interest. Until then, thanks for this great trade Dennis! Your cards are on their way, and should hopefully be arriving shortly!