Trade Me Anything XVI Preamble: The Keepers

This past weekend was an exceedingly busy one.  Bucks game Friday night, followed by the last kid soccer game of the fall, a family Christmas photo session, then the neighborhood trick-or-treat extravaganza known as the Spooktacular on Saturday night.  Between each event, I was able to snake a moment here and there to open some packs of my annual box of Topps Update Series baseball cards.  It was a decent box, and I think that the cards I'm offering up for trade are going to be spread among a greater number of teams than usual.

This year there were three cards I couldn't bear to let go.  All of them are shiny.  Here's a look at what you cannot have.

#US58 Hunter Renfroe Rainbow Foil Parallel

 

A Hamburger Helper sliding mitten?  That weird batting helmet with the yellow backdrop behind the logo?  Heck yes!  This one looks better, oddly enough, when scanned than in person.  That blue really shines through.

 

#T87C-24 Ken Griffey, Jr. 1987 Topps Chrome Refractor

Griffey looks to be rounding the bases with his tongue sticking out.  I've never seen this on a card before.  No way I was letting one of you get your grubby little hands on this gem.

#DGDC-62 Eddie Mathews Diamond Greats Die Cut

After Hank Aaron, this is the local baseball player I wish I could have seen play in person.  In case you're wondering, for basketball it's Alcindor, and for the Pack I would love to have seen Ray Nitschke bury people.

Watch this space in the coming days to find out what can be claimed to trade me absolutely anything for.

Bidding Under the Influence #19

Date: October 14, 2022

Time of Bid: 7:52:09 PM

Card: 2013 Bowman #40 Aaron Rodgers

Price: $0.30 (+Free Shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

Let's face it, Aaron Rodgers has SUCKED this year.  Not being much of a football card collector, I have only a few of his cards.  Just about any Rodgers card is a novel one to me, and this one shows him during his more mobile days.  The back of this card talks more about Roger Staubach than Aaron, which is something absolutely no one wants.  The real reason I bought this card, the auction for which ended much earlier than most of my BUIs, was the interesting price structure offered by the seller.  This card was originally a one cent auction on eBay, meaning that you could potentially win the card for a penny.  While I wasn't able to do that, I did manage to submit a bid second before the close.  With a 30-cent sale price combined with free shipping, I managed to cause the seller to pay for the privilege of sending the card to me.  Since first class US postage is $0.60, the guy took a 30-cent loss on the card.  (And that's before any eBay fees.)  He actually would have been better off just throwing it in the garbage, and since he is located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, I could imagine that this would have been an act of catharsis.

After I hit "Publish," I'll be leaving the seller some positive feedback.  He deserves it.

Bidding Under the Influence #18

Date: August 28, 2022

Time of Bid: 11:32:12 PM

Cards: 1983 Topps #83 Ryne Sandberg

Price: $8.61 (+$1.05 shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

Man, late August sure is the time of year when I am at my most vulnerable, isn't it?  I'm getting pulled over for BUIs left and right.  Thankfully, Wisconsin's bidding laws are among the most lax in the nation, so all of my privileges are still intact.

Without hyperbole, this is one of the iconic cards of the 1980s.  I am too young to have already been collecting once this set was released, so I've never owned a copy.  In fact, this is the first of the Big Three of '83 Topps to find its way into my collection.  The L/R centering isn't great, but everything else is as clean as a whistle.  Throw a Boggs or Gwynn that looks like this my way, and I'll fold a 10-dollar bill into an airplane and shoot it in your direction any day of the week.  Late-night bidding certainly has its rewards.

Bidding Under the Influence #17

Date: August 28, 2022

Time of Bid: 1:45:40 AM

Cards: 1954 Topps #166 Johnny Podres

Price: $6.50 (+$1.05 shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

Well, this is up there with my two or three favorite Topps designs of all time.  Big portrait, little action shot, single-color backgrounds, and a nice clean logo.  I'm still working towards finishing my '59 set, but since I already have the Aaron rookie, this one might be another nice one to go for.  The price on this Podres was just too good not to snap up.

 

Completion! - 2020 Topps Update Series

A card arrived in the mail this week from Puerto Rico, kind of a long way away for a card to travel.  When it completes a set, though, it could come from Nepal or Napoli or Naples, Florida, for all I care.  Let's see what we got.

2020 Topps Update Series #U-251 Nico Hoerner Rookie Debut

Nico had one hell of a first MLB game, going 3-for-5 with a triple, two runs scored, and 4 RBI.  In the next two seasons, Hoerner averaged 46 appearances a season, but this year he is the Cubs' everyday shortstop.  As I write this, I am probably sitting no more than five miles away from Nico, with his team in town to face the Brewers, a far cry from the Caribbean island from where this card traveled.  And with that, my 2020 Topps Update set is complete.
 

Let's Open Some Packs: 1987 Topps Baseball Stickers

Bidding Under the Influence #16

 

Date: August 3, 2022

Time of Bid: 1:27:07 AM

Cards: 1966 Topps #192 Vic Power

Price: $0.99 (+$1.05 shipping)

What Was I Thinking?:

Vic has an all-time great baseball name.  Would he have been a more well-known player if he had spent his career with only one or two teams?  Very likely, though with 6 All-Star appearances for mediocre teams and a lifetime WAR of 15.3, well short of the Hall of Fame.  This is Power's final regular Topps card.