Life needs more PWEs

I think people are starting to catch on to the growing efficiency of PWEs.

I still mail out packages from time to time, but envelopes are my route of choice now. Obviously, I can't fit as many cards in a PWE as I could in a package, but I can send three envelopes for less than half the cost of a standard bubble mailer. 

Three PWEs with about fifteen cards a piece equates to about as much as I usually put in most packages. 

It's a no-brainer.

I guess that's why I've had so many envelopes hitting my doorstep over the past month or so. Reader Michael likes to drop cards on me every now and again, and he hit me with a nice surprise PWE recently.

He knows how big of a Jim Abbott fan I am. I'll take any and all cards I can find of his.

Especially if they're oddballs.

I really enjoyed these dueling double dips Michael sent.

It's probably right to assume that these shots were taken during the same Astros-Cubs contest at Wrigley Field. The runner on the Biggio is a Cub, and the runner on the Sandberg is an Astro.

I may have to do a little research and see if I can find the exact date of these double plays when I get a little more time.

For some reason, there seem to be a lot of card collectors named Michael.

A different reader Michael sent a PWE my way recently as well. And, for what it's worth, the reader Michael that drops blogger boxes on me from time to time is yet another Michael. (My dad's name is Michael, by the way. It's my middle name, too.)

Anyways, this reader Michael found a fantastic "autograph" shot with Mr. Pugh here.

Stadium Club is a good place to find gems like these.

The Larkin is another addition to my double play collection, and I think I spy a Pokey Reese cameo on it as well.

My Darryl Kile collection has probably tripled since I joined the blogosphere. Michael added a shiny (and very '90s) addition to it with that Flair Showcase issue.

Keep the Kiles coming, people.

In the note he included, Michael wrote that my flea market posts inspired him to hit a few of his local flea markets.

I love showing all my great finds whenever I get a chance to hit the flea market (which may happen again tomorrow), but that's the reason I started writing those posts. You might not find anything good at your local gathering, but at least you can say you tried. Plus, at the least, it's a nice way to spend an afternoon.

Michael told me he was lucky enough to find a big lot of '66 Topps for three bucks at his flea market, a batch that included a Fergie Jenkins rookie and quite a few other gems. (I'd be insanely jealous if I didn't already have a Fergie first-year in my collection.)

He was nice enough to pass on some of his luck to me with this beautiful bunting shot of Glenn Beckert.

I still haven't declared "bunting" cards as an official mini-collection quest yet, but this would definitely be a good place to start if I ever do.

I've gone a bit out of my comfort zone by straight-up asking for cards from other people lately.

I inquired about a few A&Gs from Michael (another Michael!) of the newly-christened "Orange and Black Wax", and he was nice enough to set them aside for me.

I don't think I've ever turned down a new Bob Gibson card. And, although he's been overshadowed by Jose Abreu, Adam Eaton has emerged as one of the few bright spots for the White Sox this year.

He'll be hitting leadoff on the South Side of Chicago for a long time.

Have I mentioned how much I like the look of this insert set yet?

Yes?

Oh. Well, in any case, I guess it bears repeating.

"Pastime's Pastimes" is awesome.

Sometimes, comments can wind up netting me new cards, even if I never asked for them in the first place.

I'm pretty sure I mentioned my love for these "Forever" inserts from 2004 Greats of the Game on a post on "Waiting 'til Next Year" a while back.

As it turns out, these were both doubles for Tom, the mind behind that great blog. He dropped them on me without any warning whatsoever.

I probably don't have to tell you that those are the best kind of PWEs.

This page of 2014 Topps Series 2 came courtesy of Jeff, author of the terrific blog "One Man's Junk Wax".

He put out an SOS asking for people to help clear out some of his 2014 doubles, and I was more than happy to oblige. I'm glad to get any wants people can hit for me, but the Michael Wacha was especially sweet.

I'd pulled two different parallels of that one before Jeff sent me the standard base card, thus quelling a rampant case of collector's OCD.

The cardboard gods work in mysterious ways sometimes.

You'll have to go all the way to Portugal to find the culprit behind this next envelope.

Ana Lu of the spectacular "Hobby Cards Europe" blog surprised me with a nice little batch of '90s Collector's Choice recently.

Apparently, the Pedro we all know and love today had to be identified as Pedro J. Martinez to avoid confusion back in 1995.

How times have changed.

Hoyled (verb) -- The act of receiving cards from the one and only Mark Hoyle.

I think the act of getting Hoyled (or Hoyling, if you're into the whole brevity thing) is pretty well known by now. Reader Mark Hoyle has become legendary for the generosity he's shown to so many of us in the blogosphere.

He surprised me with a surprise PWE recently, which included the Goldschmidt sticker you see above.

By and large, however, this latest Hoyling contained Studio, Studio, and more Studio.

I think I made an offhand comment about warming up to the Studio brand in a post not to long ago, and Mark apparently picked up on that. 

This page consists of a terrific batch from '93 Studio. The giant team logo in the backgrounds of these really sell the design for me. 

Studio continues to be one of those brands that I enjoy more and more with each passing viewing.

Finally, gracious and all-around good guy Douglas of the awesome blog "Sportscards from the Dollar Store" hit me with another great batch of cardboard recently.

This Canadian Greats subset was certainly new to me. Apparently, these were exclusive to Leaf in 1998 and couldn't be found in the standard Donruss checklist that year. 

I guess it's appropriate that Douglas would be the one to find something like this for me.

After all, he's the premier Canadian Great of the blogosphere.

Douglas also sent me a few random recent issues.

The Zimmerman was a much-appreciated hit to my 2014 Series 2 needs, but it's got nothing on that striking Sandberg. Because of its uber-high end status, Topps Tribute isn't a brand that shows up too often in Dime Boxedonia.

While I may have problems with the whole $150-a-pack industry, I'd be lying if I didn't say that Ryno is a beauty.

As he's done so many times in the past, Douglas also found a few hockey-themed hits to my mini-collections.

There aren't a whole lot of baseball cards with better "autograph" shots than this one.

Of course, Douglas took the time to hit a few baseball mini-collections as well.

This Jose Bautista mini from 2014 Gypsy Queen is one of the better "bat barrel" specimens you'll ever find.

I have to imagine it was a double for Douglas, because I can't see him letting go of such a sweet Jays card.

Still, my far and away favorite of this batch was the Kenny Lofton insert you see above.

Coming from the "Spirit of the Game" series from 1993 Donruss, this is a fantastic "multiple-exposure" shot of my main man Kenny Lofton.

Every once in a while, someone sends me a HOW DID I NOT ALREADY OWN THIS?! card.

This was one of said cards. I have quite a few other issues from this particular insert series, yet the Lofton somehow evaded me.

Luckily, I have people like Douglas around to help fill in the gaps.

If you're not on the PWE bandwagon yet, you're really missing out. They're the gifts that keep on giving.

Life in the blogosphere would get pretty boring without a PWE now and then.