One down

For the first time in quite a while, I'll have a specific agenda for next week's card show.

Pick up some Dodgers cards.

Why? Because it seems like half of the blogosphere is made up of fans who bleed Dodger blue. Which means that all of them want Dodger cards.

I need to "replenish" my stock.

The trade package I received yesterday came from the third different Dodger collector I've dealt with in the blogosphere, Jim (a.k.a "gcrl"), author of the fantastic blog "Garvey Cey Russell Lopes".

I was extremely excited when he said he had a hit to my "Dime Box Nine" needs with the above Timeless Teams Manny Trillo. (If you have any hits to my needs on my sidebar, please let me know!)

I guess that's fitting since he runs a blog dedicated to the set.

Interestingly enough, both of the hits I've received to my "Dime Box Nine" needs have been of Manny Trillo. (The other came back when the list was known as "The Fab Four".)

People must have a lot of extra Trillo cards lying around.

Before he became a Gold Glove second baseman, Trillo was a young bench player on the A's dynasty teams of the early 1970's, playing in just 38 games combined between 1973 and '74. (The Cubs got him in the deal that sent Billy Williams to Oakland in '75.)

Trillo is one of those "fan favorite" type of players that I love to collect, and as far as I know, this is the only solo card of his that features him with Oakland. (He shares his rookie card with three other players.)

One of the "Dime Box Nine" down, a lot more to go.

Speaking of "fan favorites", here's one of those guys that you don't see a whole lot in the hobby.

Ed Kranepool played for the Mets during his entire eighteen-year big league career, first appearing in 1962 at the age of 17.

Even though he's still the Mets' all-time hits leader, he doesn't get a whole lot of recognition in the hobby. (Although he is the subject of one of the greatest cards ever made.)

This is one of the dreaded short-prints from this year's Topps Archives, his first card in seven years.

The inclusion of guys like Ed Kranepool in the Archives checklist is one of the main reasons why I'm a fan of the set.

Jim also sent some early '80s Fleer and Donruss cards, an era which is still a bit under-represented in my collection.

One of my earliest recollections of the hobby is picking up a big stack of 1981 Fleer cards at a church rummage sale when I was a kid. Some of it might just be nostalgia from that memory, but I've always liked Fleer's initial offering.

The above Garvey is a new and welcome addition to my collection. His 200 hits in 1980 led the National League, as the front of the card states. (He also played in 163 games that year.)

I can't tell whether this picture was taken in front of a blue backdrop of some sort, or if the photographer managed to snap a picture in front of a freakishly clear sky.

Garvey's hat almost camouflages into the background.

Finally, we have a few new '83 Donruss additions.

I've always been partial to the designs of these cards, but I still get them confused with Donruss' '82 offering all the time.

Few cards are more of a "throwback" than that Bowa. He's choking up, he's got his hat on under his batting helmet, and he's still sporting the eyeblack.

Although Bryce Harper is doing his part to bring that last one back.

Jim was also nice enough to include a new "zero-year" card in the trade package, but you'll have to wait until the next installment of the series to see what it was. (Yes, it's a Dodger.)

Kranepool, Griffey, Trillo, and a new "zero-year" card all in the same package. Now that's one heck of a trade.

Thanks to Jim (a.k.a. "gcrl") for the great new additions to my collection!

You gave them a good home.