Trade with Kyle of Nolan's Dugout

Here's another one of my recent trades that I was able to work out in spite of my busy schedule.  This one is from Kyle of Nolan's Dugout.  He posted some wantlists about some mid 90's parallels and I happened to have a bunch from his list.  Here's some of the highlights of the package:

Not many people remember that Ozzie Guillen played for the Orioles.  This card comes off of my Top 10 most wanted list as well as my 1998 Upper Deck O's team set list.

Kyle did a full on assault of my Top Ten Wanted list and knocked off Jeff Manto

and the 1997 Upper Deck Chris Hoiles cards that didn't scan worth a crap.  I'm too busy to re-scan them so they will be publicly shown like this for eternity.

In addition to knocking some cards off the Top 10 Wanted list He also sent a bunch of cards from my One Card of Every Oriole list.  I have reasons for each card that is on the list whether it be the only  card the player appeared on, or for the cool action shot, or just a pleasing looking card over all.  This John Pacella card makes me wonder why the heck his hat is on the ground.  Was it windy or did the hat fly off through extreme effort in delivering a pitch?

I picked this Mike Torrez because I believe that it's the only card that shows him as an Oriole.

Kyle also sent this new to me Cal Ripken card. I used to despise Pacific when I was younger, now I really like the cards they put out. Each set was different and they always seemed to have some really cool inserts.

Thanks Kyle for the awesome trade!

Trade with Matt of Once a Cub

I've been slacking on getting any posts up lately.  It's not that I've been lazy, it's just that I've been very very busy.  I've been working a lot of over time lately and on top of that I've been working outside in the yard when I get home from work.  I've had limited hobby time but I've made a few deals.  This trade is from Matt of Once a Cub.  He busted a few Opening Day blasters with his buddy Ty in a winner takes all pack wars.  He pulled this nice looking Nick Markakis shiny and I had to have it:

It scanned really well I think!

Moving along, he also included this surprise IP autograph that he got from Orioles Fanfest some years back:

Jay was my de facto favorite player right after Cal retired and then his career sort of fell off the map.  I'll always have a soft spot for the guy even though he was implicated on the Mitchell Report.

Here's the other autograph that he added in the package.  Mark Williamson was a good player for the O's for a number of years in the late 80's /early 90's.  1991 Fleer might not win many awards for design but it sure looks good autographed!

The final card I want to show off is another blue sparkle from Opening Day.  Manny is an exciting young player that I've enjoyed watching play during his short career.  He's holding his own against major league pitching as well as playing stellar defense.  Once he gets over his learning curve offensively, the rest of the league better watch out!

Thanks Matt for the awesome trade!

Trade with Bryan of Golden Rainbow Cards

I've been pretty busy lately and haven't had too much time to spend on my hobbies but I was able to complete a quick trade with Bryan of Golden Rainbow Cards.  He's working on collecting the entire Braves "rainbow" for 2013 Topps among other things.  He saw a few cards he needed from my trade list and sent these in return:

A Frank Robinson shiny insert from series 1

A Luis Ayala that my scanner didn't scan correctly.  I'm leaning toward user error though.  Also, Note to Buck Showalter:  Please do not allow Luis to enter the game with runners on base!

Last but certainly not least, this slick manu-patch of Cal!  While I'm not the biggest fan of manufactured "relics" I do appreciate a new card of Cal that will have a permanent home in my collection.

Thanks a bunch for the trade Bryan.  Good luck on your project!