Massive 4th Place Contest Winnings From The Legendary Fuji!

Fuji held a massive contest earlier this year and when the dust settled I found myself in fourth place, which in this case meant a prize package would head my way. Here's a handful of the cardboard that found its way to Southern California.

The hits, highlighted by a sweet Eric Gagne relic.

A new Kemp, a new Kershaw, and a new Russ Martin. The Martin serves as the 300th unique card in my PC of the former Blue Crew backstop.

Now here's an interesting card. Night Owl has written on many an occasion about people sending him Royals' cards because they thought they were Dodgers' cards, what with the Blue and all. Well, here's a case where it falls on the shoulders of the card company to have gotten the darn thing right. I pulled this out of the bubbler and said hmmm, I don't recall there being a prospect named Salvador Perez in the L.A. system. Because, you know, there isn't. It's Sal Perez, the Kansas City backstop who's a fantastic young player. Anyways, I quite like the card even though it erroneously says Dodgers on the front while the back does say Royals.

Some randomness to end things. Love the Billingsley rookie; lots and lots of Jered Weaver which just further emphasizes that Topps reuses the same photo over and over (Topps Chrome, top middle); Kirk and Orel are welcome sights; that Piazza is nails; and so many talented arms in recent years.

Thanks as always Fuji for your generosity!

Trade With The Dutch Card Guy: The Sickest Kershaw, Joc Pederson's Auto, and I WANT YOUR GINTER.

I completed my first trade with Jeroen from The Dutch Card Guy. After winning a card in a contest he held, I took a look at his trade bait and a number of Dodger goodies jumped out at me. We worked out a great deal which allowed me to add these beauts to my collection.

Kid K! It may be hard to see, but this beautiful patch/triple bat Quad Relic from 2013 Topps Museum Collection is numbered 22/25. Yes, that would be 22 as in Clayton's uniform number. I would have wanted the card anyways because, well, look at it, but the numbering did make it a tad more appealing.

Joc! The above REF RC auto, numbered 002/500, is my first hit of the Dodgers' top outfield prospect. I still think there's a fairly good chance Pederson is dealt before ever playing in a major league game with the club, but no matter what transpires, I'm glad to finally own his John Hancock after a few failed eBay attempts.

A brand new Russell Martin is up next. It's so nice of Upper Deck to put "CATCHER" in bold print, as I never would have guessed from the picture alone.

A bunch of random Dodgers were included, and I scanned in my favorites. The Kirk Gibson is of course legendary and spectacular.

Finally, Jeroen also knocked off six Across The Years I needed for my 2013 Allen & Ginter quest. I would love to finish off all of my Ginter needs soon, so if anyone has what I need please let me know and we'll work out a trade.

Thanks for the fantastic trade amigo!

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!

I Don't Believe What I Just Won.

I recently won a contest on Twitter from Angry Albert, and the prize was the Kirk Gibson Bobblehead/Bobblearm the Dodgers gave away recently. It's a really cool concept honoring Gibson's legendary homer and trot around the bases, and I was happy to pick up a second one.

It's already on display next to my Koufax, Drysdale, Manny Bobbleslam, Manny 66ers, Kyle Blanks, Gagne, and massively racist Torii Hunter Quakes bobbleheads. The water bottle contains dirt from Dodger Stadium that I picked up last year during a Friday Night Fireworks game against Houston (the night I planked on the field). A big thanks once again to Albert for making it happen! Follow him on Twitter and check out his blog here.

Trade With The Mojo Beard: Getting Drunk On Some New Matt Kemps.

I completed my first trade with Kevin of The Mojo Beard, which helped to finish off my Trifecta of Trades with TMB. Kevin does a great job as the now sole proprietor of TMB, and he hooked me up with some new PC cards. You can see what I sent his way here.

My first Cognac parallel, and I couldn't think of a better guy for it to be of. This is where my colorblindness bites me in the tuchus, because I can't for the life of me figure out which parallel of Kemp's Bowman Platinum card the above is. I'm going to just say it's the Emerald Parallel. I'd appreciate help though. Either way, a pair of awesome additions to my Kemp Collection.

Next up, this sweet Goudey 4-in-1 from 2009. This will head straight into my Kershaw PC, and if I snag another, then my Martin PC will see a new card added to it. In time....

And finally, this manupatch of Mr. Campanella, #'d 24/50.

Thanks for the swap Kevin!