Trades, winnings and purchasing ... OH MY

My return to card collecting has been slow. I've bought cards at stores here or there, but never really going full bore into it. I've stopped at Goodwill and added a lot of junk wax, and ShopKo, Walmart, Target and Walgreens has really helped me pad my collection (even if it is still in disarray).

But recently, I've hit a hot streak with adding to my cards. 

Twitter is to blame for my re-entry into card collecting, and it's starting to pad my card numbers.

If you are on Twitter, you no doubt see the countless "Retweet to win this card" posts. Well, I admit I'm guilty of retweeting a lot of those.

That leads me to my first new addition.

Bong Puffer and my retirement plan

There are always fun cards out there that really don't have much value. Jay Johnstone with an umbrella hat made out of Budweiser labels comes to mind. The Menendez brothers have recently popped up on a junk wax basketball card. There are always those fun cards out there. Well, thanks to One Million Clubs (@onemillioncubs), I added two of these cards recently, having won a "Retweet to Win" contest.

Brandon Puffer and Jung Bong found themselves sharing a Future Stars card in the 2003 Topps set. Receiving one of these cards not covered in Doritos dust from the stoners who owned them is special.
Future Stars was a very big misnomer.

Bong pitched in 48 MLB games over three seasons with a 5.17 earned run average. His best season was 2003, when the lefty threw 57 innings over 44 games. He recorded one save while posting a 5.05 ERA.

Puffer wasn't much better. He pitched one more season than Bong, recording a career ERA of 5.09. He appeared in 55 games in 2002, 13 in 2003, 14 in 2004 and 1 in 2005.

The other card in my prize pack will help me by millions of cards. Search Jose Uribe on eBay, and you'll be hard-pressed to find his 1990 Fleer for less than five figures. In fact, a recent search shows one sold for $525,000. 

This card isn't going to last in my collection long, because I'm selling it to pay for my daughter's upcoming college tuition.

The real rookies

Thanks to Twitter user @NGTCollectibles, I won another retweet contest full of more rookies - the younger, hotter rookies.

The winning set included nine recent rookies. There were two Shohei Ohtani, a Rhys Hoskins, Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acuna, Walker Buehler, Rafael Devers and Gleyber Torres. I'm not big into current cards - I'm trying, but I'm still a novice - but these are a nice group.

Brewers for Dodgers

OK, I'm not the biggest Dodgers fan at the moment, I can admit that. As a lifelong Milwaukee Brewers fan, watching L.A. knocked out the Crew in the NLCS was tough. 

But it's a great team. I had the luxury of checking out Dodger Stadium this summer, and it is a gem. I even got the BP cap with the cursive D (my name being Daniel, you get it). 

In 2017, I had the chance to see Clayton Kershaw pitch in Chicago. It was the first of a four-game, five-day trip a buddy and I took that started with a White Sox game, two Brewers-Pirates games in Pittsburgh and a game in Cleveland.

All the history and glitz around the Dodgers aside, I am a Brewers fan. That is, a fan of the team with the reigning National League MVP, Christian Yelich. So, when I pulled a black parallel Clayton Kershaw 1983, I was excited - but not "I'm never trading this" excited.

I like to post occasional hits on my Twitter page, and Dennis Baker (@DennisBaker) liked what he saw. He was looking to add Dodgers, and he had two Yelich 1983, a refractor and a common. Well, the refractor was pretty, so I jumped. A one-for-one trade. I don't care if he may have gotten the better of the deal, I got what I wanted and so did he.

The sweet addition was the Dennis Baker family Christmas card. I'm stealing this idea for next Christmas.

A picture of me and the family at Miller Park this summer would make for a great card. I've long wanted to be on a baseball card (and have a bobblehead, but that's another addiction - um, hobby). I'll see what the wife says about putting this in place of our normal, holiday-centric picture card that we send out every year.

Chances are, if you're on my Christmas card list, you'll get a traditional card. The wife usually wins.

Junk Wax!

Cards from the Attic (@CardsFromTheAttic) is a well-known Twitter commodity. He and I may have angered one man the other night, but it wasn't originally meant to be anything malicious.

Long story short, a man was looking to link a collector and a seller. I mentioned Cards from the Attic as someone who may fit the role. Well, this Twitter user snapped about him and anyone associated with him. I didn't appreciate being chewed out for who I follow on Twitter and said if you want, block me. Well, he did and we may have shared some gifs and bad puns with a few other friendly Twitter users.

ANYWAY ...

Cards from the Attic is well-known for his awesome collection and generous giveaways. He had a lengthy contest to give away some cards, and my participation (and addition of an Alyssa Milano gif) helped me win two boxes of junk wax packs.

I haven't ripped anything yet - life gets in the way a lot - but I already have some complete sets from the packs. Therefore, I'll be ripping the Donruss and a couple Score - as well as the football and hockey. The others will be sent out on a Twitter contest (check out @JunkWaxDigging for that.

A rare purchase

I don't often purchase cards online. I just don't have the resources to do so often and, well, the wife frowns upon my overspending on cards. 

But having recently won a fantasy football title (one of the most dominant teams I've ever put together), and I had some extra cash. Joc's LF Hecklers (@JocsLFHecklers) was selling some card rather cheap. I saw several Brewers and a Jarred Kelenic (a Wisconsin boy) and figured what's $5? 

The biggie!

 saved my best package for last - and it also arrived last.

I won a case break spot from Blowout TV Houdini (@CheapFunBreaks), and he ripped a box of Bowman rookies for me, and it was an amazing collection. Funnily, I actually received two cards (Keston Hiura and Kelenic) that I had just purchased. But this Wisconsin boy will take it!
The hits are endless. Obviously, many of these guys won't pan out. But, I received five Brewers, another Kelenic and some bigtime names.
I could list names on and on, but that doesn't make for a fun blog. Some big hits: a green border Hunter Greene numbered to 99, a Trevor Larnach auto numbered to 499 and an Alec Bohm refractor.
Again, I could go on, but just look how big the stacks are.

        

One more on its way

I still have one more trade on its way with Al Clemente (@lamachine21). I offered up a Masahiro Tanaka 1983 reprint for that Christian Yelich I didn't get from Baker. 

I've dealt with him before (large pack of Red Sox for a large pack of Brewers), so I know he's good for it. I just got notification today that it was shipped.

It's been a fun 2019

This year is only two weeks old, but it's been fun. My collection is a lot of 1980s and early 1990s, so these additions have been fun. 

Cards from the Attic just started a sale, so I'm hoping Mickey Mantle finds his way to me soon. A big goal has been to add a '50s or '60s Mantle to the collection, and his prices seem fair and reasonable. I'll keep you guys (and girls?) posted.