Trade Me Anything XVIII: #6

Trades like the one I'm about to share are actually my favorite.  A few cards sent, a few cards gained, and I get to delete a little bit from my want list.  (Don't get me wrong, I love getting books and Brewers and stickers and gadgets and everything else, but a want list trade is a fastball over the plate for me.)  This one is from Daniel. 

 

Giving:

#US49 Jared Jones, #US12 Jon Berti, #US134 Cade Smith, #US163 Clayton Andrews / Josh Maciejewski 

Getting:

1983 Topps #770 Dave Winfield

When typing out want list numbers, it's always a little disconcerting to see a Topps cards that you need that ends in a zero.  I'm glad to have Dave become a part of my still-incomplete set.

1980 Topps #110 Fred Lynn, #663 Ralph Botting / Bob Clark / Dickie Thon

Ditto on the Lynn.  I don't remember having any other Botting cards (only pitched in 18 games in his career), but Clark pops up from time to time in stacks of Brewers, and Thickie Don is a legend in his own right (and a short-time Brewer).

1987 Fleer #328 Tim Raines, 1987 Fleer All Star Team #8 Todd Worrell

I swear you could insulate a 3,000-square-foot home with 1987 cards and stickers featuring Worrell.  Decent career, but three cards in 1987 Topps was some overkill.  This insert is cool, though.

1997 Pinnacle Denny's #8 John Jaha

Jaha is kind of the face of the dark years between Yount's retirement and the emergence of Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun in the late 2000s.  He's what passed for a good player in Milwaukee.  If he was several years older or younger, he would have been a great companion piece to a pennant winner, but wasn't the guy to carry a team.

Thanks, Daniel!  I always appreciate help crossing a few cards off the list.

Trade Me Anything XVIII: #5

A little bit of background here.  This package actually arrived in mid-to-late December.  I always post these in the order in which they are received, and when this trade was up next on the docket, we were in the week between Christmas and New Year's.  During that time, first my wife, and then I, got really sick.  She was diagnosed with type A influenza.  For four days it was mostly body aches and feeling like doing absolutely nothing, even sleeping, since that was usually when I felt the worst.  She felt better by New Year's Eve and was out with the kids doing some round robin drinks and merriment with some of the neighbors.  They got home a little after midnight, and I had already been in bed for a while, feeling like garbage.  Then I woke up around 1:15 in the morning and felt great all of a sudden.  Within that hour it finally went away.  School started up again on January 2nd, and there's been a lot going on otherwise, so that's why I'm just getting to share this trade today.  In a strange way, the delay makes this one so much better.  You'll see.

This one is from Patrick (aka Zpop).

Giving:

#T89CU-60 Pedro Martinez 1989 Topps 35th Anniversary Refractor, #AT-35 Stephen Strasburg Autumn Tales

Getting:

1997 Upper Deck Collector's Choice Sealed Factory Set

Wow!  I think that's the first time something like this has ever been traded to me for TMA.  That's overly generous and greatly appreciated.

1995 Brewers Police Bob Uecker

I wish I had the words for this one.  When this card was sent and received, Bob was still with us.  I'm still going back and forth on whether I should write a tribute post.  There's not much I could say that would properly honor his legacy.  In short, the team didn't deserve his talent.  He was the best ever at what he did.  You can argue with that, but you'd be wrong.  He made a horrible,  miserly franchise fun to listen to.  He deserved better.

Thanks for the trade, Patrick!  The single card you sent was oddly prescient.  You should go do some gambling with that skill of yours.

Packs That Just Showed Up #7

Forty-three posts in 2024?

Unacceptable.

That was the lowest annual total since this blog began.  Things are going to change in 2025, and that change starts today.

This is the final pack that just showed up, and it's from the set with the earliest release date of all the packs.  Fleer released its 2007 Ultra set that July.  That's over 17 years ago, a few months after I started my card blog.  It's a small pack, only five cards, so let's try this.  I'll do a little digging and try my best to find out what each player is currently up to.  Should be interesting.

#226 Travis Buck

Assistant coach of the Loyola Marymount baseball team.  Look him up, he still has the mile-wide smile, but I'm a bit disappointed by the Key West barfly-looking haircut.

#152 Adam Wainwright

Came back for a 19th season in 2024, finishing the year with a 6-32 record, but won all five decisions against the Milwaukee Brewers.  In those games he held the Crew to a .072 batting average without giving up a single run.

Just kidding, he's a Fox Sports commentator now. 

#184 Ian Kinsler

Special Assistant to Rangers GM Chris Young.

#91 Francisco Rodriguez

Not a lot of information available, but it appears that he was named manager of Venezuela's U-15 National Baseball Team early in 2024.

#43 Bronson Arroyo

Wikipedia says that Arroyo was on season 12 of "The Masked Singer" in 2024, and that fellow pitcher Barry Zito was his "Mask Ambassador."  I don't know exactly what this means, but I assume it's what you do after baseball if you don't want to sell cars or insurance and you're not as smart as Chris Young.

So, who ya got for the best post-baseball gig from this group of five?