Trade with Carl Crawford Cards (My First Trade)

I received some super jersey cards from CCC (Carl Crawford Cards) a few days ago.  I sent over some Carl Crawfords he needed and he sent me some Orioles cards.

I got quite a bit compared to what I gave, so part of the deal is CCC is also due some CTBNL (Crawfords To Be Named Later).

This is my first quad jersey card and it's a beauty!  Old guard Mora and new era Markakis.  Two Orioles plus another player I have collected for years (Cabrera).

Now that Cabrera is pursuing ongoing treatment for his drinking problem, it will be a big story watching a sober (hopefully) Cabrera in 2010.  This guy has been one of the best hitters in baseball.  What can he do with a clear head?  In an era that was all about performance enhancing drugs, we have Cabrera drinking and eating like a madman.  I'll be cheering even louder for Cabrera in 2010.

 

I've wanted this card from the first day I saw it online.  Markakis is Mr. Cool in this pic.

Markakis had a disappointing 2009.  He still managed a .293 ba, with 18 hr, 45 doubles and 101 rbi.  The major dip came from getting less walks (2008:  99 bb, 2009:  56 bb).  He will be back.  He's a fantastic player.

I really like the old-school feel of the picture in the background.

Gotta love Roberts.  Any team would be lucky to have him at second base (56 doubles, 16 hr, 30 sb).  I sometimes feel sorry for Roberts.  He has been a loyal Bird.  He has waited and waited for things to turn around.  We are now on the cusp of flipping the switch.  I just hope the good days start while Roberts is still a strong player.  He deserves it.

I have very few Reimold cards and no jerseys until now.

Reimold will be exciting to watch in 2010.  A full season.  MLB Network was doing over/under predictions for 2010.  They predicted both Reimold and Weiters would hit over 20 home runs.  I think that's a safe bet (especially Reimold).  Throw in Markakis and Adam Jones and we are looking at four 20 home run players.  Adrian Gonzalez would have been a perfect bat in the middle of that power.

CCC included this wonderful quad swatch even though it wasn't part of the deal!

So it was a banner day for my Orioles collection.  Thank you CCC for making my first trade so enjoyable.  The hunt for CTBNL has already begun!

2009 Topps Updates & Highlights Jumbo Box Break (Mountains of Inserts)

2009 Topps Updates & Highlights Jumbo Box

10 packs, 44 cards per pack

1 Auto and 2 relic cards per box

Each pack contains 44 Topps Updates & Highlights Baseball cards, + (1) Gold Parallel, + (1) Ring of Honor Insert, + (1) Legends of the Game Updates Insert, + (1) Turkey Red Insert, + (1) Propaganda Poster Insert, + 1 Ticket to Toppstown.com card.
Cost:  $77.99 (Blowout Cards)

There are a lot of stars to show, and a lot of stars I won't bother showing, but there are also a handful of spectacular action shots that must be shown.

The pics showing multiple cards can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Ivan winning the war again. 

 The announcers in Seattle fell in love with Endy Chavez (he was soon injured).

Hey pal, you sliding...you gotta be able to touch second base or it's an automatic out on both ends.

Tony Gwynn Jr. hard at work.  A lot of his cards no longer have Jr. tacked on, and now that he is on the Padres, every time I pull a Gwynn Jr., my initial thought is that I am getting a retro card of his dad.  It's always a let down.  No offense to Gwynn Jr., but he has yet to hit over .270.  His dad had 19 straight seasons of .300 or better.  Tough shoes to fill.

    

This card is perfect.  We are in the dirt with everyone.  Right at the ground.  Two players down from diving.  Edgar Renteria holding up his glove to show he held onto the ball.  The umpire pointing at the bag or Edgar or something.  And in the background, behind all this essence of baseball drama, we have cartoon cars painted on the outfield wall, their goofy cartoon smiling faces giggling at the action around them.

Those cars also giggle when the left fielder dives and dislocates his shoulder, or when two players collide at full speed.  Those cars seem quite callous at times.

This set has so many visual twists that it's hard not to enjoy it.  When in the world do we see Youkilis, Wright, Jeter, and Victorino all smiling and celebrating together?  Even if you hate all these players, you can still love this card.

Pence and Braun.  Braun is again looking rather sleepy.  He has another card other bloggers have posted that shows him looking absolutely sleepy, as if someone roused him from deep slumber, took his blanky, and left him in a daze.

I wonder what Hunter is explaining.  It looks important.  "So, to reiterate, that tall pole down there, they tell me that's the foul pole.  Anything to the left of that pole is fair."

King Felix, Adam Jones, Lincecum, Pence, Tejada, Greinke, Ichiro, Cain, Michael Young.

I received about 65 cards with the All-Star logo on them.  Most depict the players in their traditional uniform as opposed to the All-Star jerseys.

Rookie cards galore.  A lot of super rookies to boot.  This Josh Reddick may not be an example of one of the better rookies, but it has to stand as one of the best looking rookie cards out there.  The bat extended right into our living room, the confident look on Reddick's face, and the infinite black behind him.  If this guy makes it big people will remember this card forever (or at least I will).

As an Orioles fan the Updates and Highlights set is a boon.  Rookie cards of David Hernandez, Chris Tillman, Brad Bergesen, and Nolan Reimold.

Netali Feliz, Tommy Hanson, Gordon Beckham, Chris Coghlan, Andrew McCutchen, Daniel Schlereth, Michael Saunders (heavily damaged), Derek Holland, Daniel Bard.

You also get a one card pack that contains a rookie chrome refractor.  Powell will be 28 at the start of the 2010 season.  An unfortunate pull.

The famous Toppstown collection (sarcasm).

Gold inserts serial numbered to 2009.

Hanley Ramirez, Cain, Holliday.  Getting a Hanley serial numbered card never gets old.

More...

Ah, Turkey Red.  I miss 'em.  Ruth in Boston.

Scherzer, Rivera, Oswalt, Sabathia, V. Martinez, Crawford (uh-oh), Haren, A. Ramirez, Cueto.

Legends of the Game.  These inserts along with the Propaganda Poster inserts are my two favorite in this set.  Reggie on the A's is always welcome.  We need more cards with Reggie in an Orioles uniform though.

Carlton and two Nolans.  Right on!

Foxx, Ruth, Cy Young, Speaker, Molitor, Boggs.  I've noticed there is a trend to show Ruth in a Red Sox uniform lately.  A refreshing change.

Another nice insert, but several of these had some damage.

Garland, Miguel Cabrera (love da Cabrera), Reese, Cy Young, Hornsby, Foxx, Walter Johnson, Mathewson, Mize.

I can't get enough of these Propaganda Poster inserts.  This was the first time I've seen them in person, I believe.  Maybe I have one somewhere.

Lincecum, Albert, Howard.  I wish there was a 400 card set of this design.  I'd put the commons in binders.  I swear by God I would.

Dunn, Miguel Cabrera, Longoria, Hamilton, Ichiro, Wright.

Short Print Nolan Ryan and Honus Wagner.  I was hoping for the Roger Maris so many of us are smitten with.  That makes two different cards of Nolan Ryan in a Mets uniform in this box.  How often does that happen?

Peter Moylan auto.  Moylan is a sharp middle reliever.  In 183.2 lifetime innings his era is just 2.45.  (Whistles).  Nice.

Even more interesting, when I looked up Moylan's career on Baseball-Reference, I found a fellow baseball card blogger, Waxaholic, sponsors Peter Moylan's page on the site.  Waxaholic writes:  'Congratulations to Peter for breaking the All Time Braves record for consecutive appearances without allowing a home run!'

How cool is it that Waxaholic sponsors a page there?  And Peter Moylan of all players!  It's super cool, that's how cool it is.

Ted Lilly black, s/n:  #38/58.

All Star Jersey.  Creative way to incorporate the jersey into the skyline.

George Sisler, Legends of the Game Team Letter Patch, s/n:  #10/50.

Although this patch is manufactured, the card is pretty striking.  I haven't seen many old school cards like this so I did audibly ooohhhhh.

There's another 40 or so star cards I didn't scan.  Mostly just moments from the season and some cards of players on new teams.  Also there's a lot more rookies I didn't scan.

At $77.99 this is not a cheap thrill.  The hits weren't great (g/u, black Lily, auto).  Quality control was a bit lacking as I received more damaged cards than I expected.  However, just look at all the loot you do get:  fantastic inserts heap plenty, interesting cards, nice photography, strong rookies.

I probably won't buy another Jumbo box unless it drops to $60 or so, but I am glad I got to open one.

It will be hard to trade some of these inserts since I may not be getting more for quite some time.  These were my first 2009 Updates and Highlights packs so I didn't own any of these cards (or almost none of them).

This box made me think opening several blasters would be fun as well.

Good times!