Today I'm going to talk about a small trade I made with jomer442002 on TCDB.
He wanted two cards and I got these in exchange:
Slowly working on Pinnacle 92. While I like 93 more than 92, I had access to more 92..
I might be in the minority here, but I kind of like these uniforms. I know a lot of people hate them.. I also know that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim California have had some pretty decent looks before. I will say this was a major departure when it first came out, like the Brewers rebrand in the 90s that pretty much everyone hated..
Anyway... Tangent finished. I got this because Jason Dickson is Canadian.
Finally two Canadians from Topps Attax. I can't say I ever saw what Topps Attax was or ever learned that those numbers meant. I just like them for the photos..
Now just something non-baseball related I want to say before I end this post..
From what I'm gathering, it's both Pride Month and Men's Mental Health Month. I have nothing to say on the first part. What people do in their bedrooms affects me about as much as a gorge is affected by a teaspoon of water..
No dear reader, mine is the second part. I've mentioned it here and elsewhere before I've struggled with my mental health for years. I still struggle with it. In fact as I'm typing this post I'm feeling a loneliness that makes zero sense because I was around people and puppers most of the day..
Many carry this with them daily until it gets to the point where carrying it feels so burdensome that they crack under the weight.
I know a lot of us have issues talking about what's going on.. What's *really* going on under the surface. My issue is being able to articulate it.
Just... Check on your friends.. It could make the difference..
Yesterday was the end of May, and as a result, the card show in town. Every time I've gone in it's been more and more packed. I could hardly move around in there. It took me three passes just to see certain tables. I did have to exit the room a few times because anxiety ramped up. The next one looks to be in August.
So before the show, a couple weeks ago, actually, I got a message from one of the vendors that they weren't going to be there since they would still be in the US. This was the vendor that had the OPCs from last show. So he offered to search the 87s for my wantlist and mail them to me. So I have a stack of 87 OPC to enter.
One of the usual vendors had a few things I wanted, so I pick them up. In talking with the guy, I mentioned I got the last card a friend needs for his WHA build. Jacques Plante as an Oiler. The vendor said "Thanks for reminding me.. I've decided to build that set and I know I have one for sale here.. I have to pick out that WHA card" lol I mean if you're going to build the set it doesn't make sense to sell a card you need for it, right?
Anyway.. I hear you tapping your finger on the mouse saying "Well.... We're Waiting.... "
Donruss 85 Jimmy Key RC. I saw it and immediately was drawn to it. I was about 90% sure I didn't have it..
I just wanted to highlight a couple cards from this set.. I got the 1993 Dempsters Toronto Blue Jays set. I had 11 so far but now I have all 25.
So tell me, dear reader... Does the front remind you more of a horizontal 89 Fleer but with blue, or a stretched out 86 Donruss?
The back is definitely OPC Premier..
Otto Lopez. Yes he was born in the DR, but he was raised in Montreal and is considered Canadian..
I didn't realize this was a DK of Max with the Mets. Oh well, the card looks close enough to the current Jays light blues for it to mascarade as a Jays card
I'm not really one for gimmicky cards, but I couldn't really pass this one up. I like the silhouette of the skyline.
Cam Eden..... Uhhhh... He was a Jay for a minute I guess?? I looked up his stats.. He played 6 games for the Jays in 2023. He was then released in 2024 and signed with the Yankees.. He's now floating in the baseball ether..
I saw these Stadium Club cards and figured that this would be the only way I'd get them.. It's still odd to think both Scherzer and Biebs are Jays..
Finally, Jonah Tong. He's a Canadian born pitcher playing on the Mets (poor guy)
Now.. I don't want to go off on a rant here but....
It took me close to 45 minutes to try to find this card on TCDB.. You'd think it'd be easy. But no.. It's not a parallel set, it's not one of those numbered manufactured scarcity BS situations either. I finally found it by looking alllll the way down at the promotional set portion of the gigantic list for 2026 Topps.
Now, there may be people who like the endless parallels and funky colours and all that but for some of us it's too hard to tell what in the FiretrUCK we're holding in our hands. Oh and forget it if they stretch the inserts and parallels through multiple sets... You have a better chance of pulling your hair out one by one with tweezers than keepign your sanity trying to find the card and where it's supposed to be listed.
I have the added fun of being Red/Green colour blind. Reds and greens look exactly alike to me. So if you have multiple border parallels that are red and green, forget it.. I'm just going to torch the damned card and be done with it.
I miss the days where you had the base set and maybe one or two insert sets. One or two parallels.. Trying to sift through all the crap is part why I'm looking for vintage lately, but at the same time it means I miss out on a time when there's more Canadians in the league than ever before.
It's a tightrope that I really don't like walking. But I will because my collector brain says so...
I wanted to show some cards I received in the mail from COMC after a couple months of waiting.
It's not much, but it fills some holes..
First we have a couple 2007 Topps Ryan Braun. Now I know what you're thinking.. "When did Ryan Braun play for the Royals??" Well, dear reader, there were two Ryan Brauns in the league for a brief while. This one, Ryan Z Braun, played for the Royals and was a pitcher. He's also Canadian, so he goes into my collection. A number of the 2007 cards had the wrong Braun sig on them. I think only the flagship one was corrected.
Another Braun, this one an Upper Deck.
Now, you're probably wondering why I'd pick up a 1976 SSPC Clay Kirby.. Well, that's because he's listed as an Expo on the back of the card.. There were a few cards missing from the team set I got from Fritsch. Those were the ones like this where Kirby is shown as a Red, but listed on the back as an Expo.
That's the same story with this Rodney Scott.
Of course, Fergie goes into my Canadians collection.
Gene Mauch was also not in the team set.. I think it's because he's listed as "Montreal Expos/Minnesota Twins" So what I can tell is he was relieved of his duties in 75 from the Expos and got hired by the Twins for 76..
Oh hey... Another Ryan Braun.. This one autographed.
Now as mentioned before, there have been cards printed with the wrong fascimile auto on them.. There have also been cards with the wrong sticker auto on them..
Really I wanted to get the card that had *both* Brauns on it.. But it was too expensive at the time.
1990 Score McDonald's.. George Bell and Kelly Gruber. There's a third one, John Olerud, that seems tougher to find.
Denzel Clarke is a cousin of the Naylors. I hope his career doesn't fizzle out like so many seem to..
Finally, the MiLB Legends from Pro Debut of Jackie Robinson. I picked it up because it's a Montreal Royals card. I was going back and forth on going for Royals/Maple Leafs cards, but if I'm able to find something not too bad/expensive, why not?
I know it's been a little bit of time. I honestly had no inspiration to write anything. So rather than forcing myself to do something that I wasn't completely invested in, I decided to wait till I had something.
That something is trades from TCDB! I opened trades so one person can send something. I then get flooded by about 10 offers.. 6 ended up getting made. Three have been received.
Now, usually I'm able to separate the trades and show everything, etc. I'll be honest... My mind hasn't been all there recently. Zoning out a little more than normal and having difficulty focusing. .
The trades from TCDB are from jkrasner92, muskie027, and beano56.
A couple of these trades were a couple cards. Beano56 sent me a couple cards and the full run of OPC posters from 1985.. A topic I'll cover later.. Another was 27 cards.. All 88-90 Score. So I pulled a couple out to show rather than the whole thing.
This one was from beano56. A nice 1980 Reggie Cleveland. I feel he should have pitched for Cleveland at some point in his career..
This card is blue. Very very blue.. Very nice picture of Herm Winningham though
Some of the 90 Score. I'm kind of half-assedly completing the set
Topps Stars.. These are interesting cards in the way that it's Space meets baseball. (Spaceball?)
Is it me, or does Alfredo Griffin look like he's got an unnaturally long left arm? I know he's lunging here.. It's just a neat camera trick.
Topps Tek.. *shudder* Trying to keep these things figured out can be a nightmare.
Anyway, these are some of the cards I got in trades recently. .Again, I apologize for the layout of this post.
Today I'm going to show cards I like from the other team I really don't like.. The Atlanta Braves. I'm only using Atlanta here since the only Boston Braves cards I have are Jeff Heath and Roland Gladu.. I do have some Milwaukee Braves, but aside from Ken Mackenzie, they're all later Archives issues of the usual suspects.
So first we have CanCon... Claude Raymond. I'm not sure where the photo was taken.. It doesn't scream Fulton County Donut to me..
Rest in Peace..
Bobby was a player and a manager obviously. Not only did he manage Atlanta for many years, but he also managed the Jays into their mid 80s run that had them not have a losing season until 1994.. For some reason, I remember hearing him say his time in Toronto was the best he had.
A future Jay. I like those uniforms.. I don't know why.. They're interesting to me..
A Future Jays Manager. Cito was a roommate of Hank Aaron. I like how this photo shows the shadow he's making. Again, the stadium is driving me crazy..
There seems to be a number of cards with this positioning and that roof.. I'm guessing this was their Spring Training stadium in the 80s.. Len Barker had a perfect game against the Jays when he was a member of the Indians.
1988 Donruss Diamond Kings.. I like the big portrait and the smaller fielder.. But that background.. It reminds me of a Trapper Keeper or Saved by the Bell..
Cards like this are interesting. Especially since this is an Expo as well.. Galarraga also ended up spending time in Atlanta..
It's weird seeing Ernie Whitt in a uniform other than the Jays.
Steve Avery pitching on a high school field? I find it interesting the fields players played on even in the 70s and 80s.. Some levels basically used community fields kind of like the current Canadian Baseball League
The Oddibe Shuffle!
I always had fun saying the guy's name despite me never having heard how it's supposed to be pronounced. Is it Odd-i-Be? O-Dib-be? Oddjob?
I don't know why but I do like this Chippy..
This one always threw me off.. Giant Cubs uniform on the guy.. Team name? Braves.. There were a few like that in 92 Donruss.. Junior Noboa was another. Expo but a Met..
Anyway.. Wrigley!
This almost works perfectly. It looks like Bielecki is trying to contort himself into the frame. When I was younger I Used to be able to follow through like that.. Now I'm lucky if I could do Tim Wakefield's motion.
Slip Slidin' Deion. Just love the dirt flying up around him on the slide.
Glavine in full baseball uniform playing hockey.. For those who don't know, Tom was drafted by the Kings to play in the NHL.. I think he made the right decision to stay in Baseball. Funnily enough, he was drafted before Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille, two Hockey Hall of Famers.
Another horizontal card I like. The follow through on the swing in the playoffs..
John Smoltz hitting in Wrigley... Who wouldn't like this card?
What baseball is all about.. Signing for the fans, especially the kidlings.
Here's an aerial view of Fulton County Donut.. It wasn't a bad place.. I think it was a step up because it had grass rather than turf.
"Hey Rick.. We need a picture of you for a card.. Yes I know it's a day off.. Yes, I know you can't get into the stadium.. Meet me at the sandlot down the street.. Wear your uniform.."
Damaso when he went from the Jays to the Braves.
A couple Dale Murphy cards here. Love the DKs as usual.. The second one here is a box bottom card. It gives a better view of the roof/press box/whetever else that is..
Ahh the days where the whole system would just have the Parent team's name.. Yeah it's not great for marketing, but it probably made it easier to recycyle uniforms.
Another Fulton County Stadium pic.
The Canadian by parental-birth Freddie Freeman. Dude is awesome, though. After the World Series he did a commercial with Sick Kids here in Toronto and the kids gave him a hard time.
Andrelton Simmons either making a diving stop, or working on trying to fly... Likely the former..
Sun Trust/Truist Park.. Again, love park cards..
More CanCon.. Michael Soroka
Finally aother diving slide into a base. I find it amazing they're able to capture the chaos and the excitement of the play in a photo.. Acuna sliding in, helmet flying off, defense trying to get the ball to Third.. Is he safe? Is he Out? Who Knows?
So that's my Braves list.. I'm hoping others do this as well.. It would be nice to see
