The Wesening

Wes is the best. Here are cards he sent me the other day, some from his "going out in a blaze of glory" mega break and some not.

I dig this shiny Carlos Beltran auto enough to give it top billing. He's got a case for the Hall, as a formidable hitter and one of the best center fielders of the era. This card from 2005 actually features him from his brief stint in Houston in 2004, though I like it because it brings to mind his sunset season in 2017 when he returned to the Astros and capped off his career with a World Series championship.

Another Astros hit I can use.

Nice autos and/or patches for my Pride PC. Hope we see more openly gay active football and baseball players before long. These guys never had much impact on the field and are retired now, so not exactly a Jackie Robinson-like situation with either of them, but still important baby steps.

Sweet Maddog Maddux relic, and a one from Gavin Escobar too. Looks like Escobar joined the San Diego Fleet of the newly-formed Alliance of American Football. I'm hoping he has more success there than he did in the NFL. Topps is putting out AAF cards, so perhaps I'll have more cards of his to chase down (in addition to his millions of rookie year cards.)

Some nice Padres cards here, with numbered Trevors and a couple vintage stars.

I believe the jersey drawing card folds out to reveal Tony Gwynn (he's on the back), but it's sealed by a sticker.

Ooh, a 1/1 cut auto of an old school Hall of Famer. Between the featured Panini card and the unapologetically pruned Hall of Fame postcard, it's not the best looking "card" by any stretch, but I'm still very happy to have ended up with this Billy Herman from Wes' big box break extravaganza.

William Jennings Bryan Herman (July 7, 1909 – September 5, 1992) was an American second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) during the 1930s and 1940s. Known for his stellar defense and consistent batting, Herman still holds many National League (NL) defensive records for second basemen and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975. [wiki]

And I didn't realize it till just now, but relevant to my hometown interests, he suited up as a coach for the Padres, 1978–79, which means I should probably PC him since I've got a stated collecting focus of HOFers who suited up for San Diego ("Pads in the Hall" minicollection), and that also includes managers/coaches as well as PCL Padres.

Here are some Cubs hits available for trade. The plate is Ryan Dempster.

Here are some Astros (and sorta an A's) hits that don't really fit my collection either.

I'm not much for horror and have never watched any American Horror Story, so perhaps someone could trade me a little something for this relic?


Note: We're about to the halfway point in this epic haul, and from here on out it's 100% ladies, so if that doesn't interest you (or you have co-workers or family members around you who might not appreciate dozens of scantily clad ladies on your screen), see ya next time!

I've always liked Selma Blair alright, so this wardrobe card was a fun surprise.

Another nice relic.

I love Jaime Bergman, best known to me as "BJ Cummings" in Son of the Beach, one of my all-time favorite silly TV shows. I actually already had this auto, so that one's up for grabs. (Actually, this signature looks a bit different than my other one, so I might hang onto it as an unofficial variation) The bikini swatch is a sweet add, though that might be the tiniest relic piece in my collection now.

Pretty girls.

That top right card wasn't accidentally shown twice, but rather it's a dupe.

Some more favorites here.

I think Wes must've tripled (or more) my collection of Benchwarmer autos with this lot.

Looking good.

Why, hello.

And it goes on.

I'm pretty much out of things to say.

Looks like one of these should have gone to the Angels slot, lol.

Jessica sort of has a Kristen Bell look.

Happy Holidays!

Seems like I'm a Scarlett Keegan supercollector thanks to all the cards of hers Wes gave me. Looking her up, she's of Irish descent and was Playboy's Playmate of the Month for September 2004.

Yet more of Scarlett Keegan!

A few of these specific cards were actually pulled by me a couple years back (the Sherry Goggin 17/25 was especially familiar), then traded to Wes back when such cards were on his wantlist. As we all know, he has since drastically narrowed down his collecting focus, and must've decided to jettison the gist of his girlie cards, and I was a lucky recipient.

Many of the cards shown in the latter half of this post are available for trading, so please don't be shy to broach me about a deal if something(s) catches your eye. (I don't need every girlie card ever made.. I try to only hang onto specific ladies that strike my fancy.)

Here's one last keeper to go out on. Michelle Baena is a woman I specifically collect somewhat thanks to her and I sharing a 12/24 birthday. Seems fitting to get her auto on a Christmas-themed card!

Wes, again, thanks so much for everything. Sad to see you stepping back from the hobby/cardsphere, but gotta follow your heart. I'll continue to keep an eye out for stuff for you, and will be forever on-call for any custom card needs you may have.

Trio of HOF Traders

I know I talked a big game about doing a trade bait post today, but that'll have to wait because I've got an incoming trade roundup to get out.

First up is a great "farewell" package from JBF Wes.

Love this pair of Padre Winfields. Been wanting that 1980 Burger King card for a while now.

Very nice selection of Michael Sam cards just in time for Pride month.

Some Gavins highlighted by a blue Escobar.

A couple solid Chargers. The team is dead to me, but hey, I can still appreciate nice cards.

And some cool Padres to close out the package. Zech Lemond couldn't get it together in the Padres system, but has been pitching well in the Marlins' chain this season. Andy Ashby /150. And some sharp vintage.

Big thanks, Wes! I'll try to scrape up a decent return for you soon, and I'll be hoping this isn't our final swap.

-   -  - ---o

Next up is Zippy Zappy hitting me back for those Bowman guys I set aside for him recently.

Tatis Jr has been on fire after a slow start. Loving this Heritage Minors card from last year.

A couple RCs to bump up my little PC of hometown guy Quintin Berry.

A bunch of Bowman Padres.

Philip Rivers and Gavin LaValley.

Thanks a lot, Zippy! Always a pleasure.

-     -  - - --o

Last for today is a PWE from Sport Card Collectors.

Everybody get up for these Aaron Judge cards! Matt also collects Judge and had some dupes to share with me. Sustained!

But what really banged the gavel was this Tim Duncan jersey card. Love it.

Thanks, SCC! I'll be dropping you a return ASAP.

Tim B. brings the big guns

Tim B. of I Love the Smell of Cardboard in the Morning answered my call last month when I was trying to get a flurry of trade packages out before postage rates crept up. I had a decent little handful of cards set aside for him, but he really outdid himself with his return package. Hit a lot of bulls-eyes for my collection. I showed off a solid lot of 2011 Topps parallels yesterday, and now here's the rest of the goods.

Kirby's 1985 Topps rookie card was sorely lacking from my expanding PC of the guy, so this really hit the spot. I feel like '85 Topps has been growing on me over the past few years, and I might have to add it to my list of possible future setbuilds.

McCovey McChristmas Card!

Chicken Man Christmas Card!

A couple more cards off my Desperate Double Dozen. The Maas RC is card that I remember as one of my "best" cards for a while as a kid, but after he turned out to be a bust, I got rid of it in the purge when I moved out of state years back. So, nice to get that one back since restarting the PC.

The Denson was a need for the Pride PC. I've got the Chrome version of it, and even a couple autos of it, but the regular ol' base "paper" was elusive.

Four cards for consideration in the "We Didn't Start the Fire" binder! It'll be a tough call for me whether to swap out the vintage Beatles card currently in it for the Panini Golden Age card.

Nice Gwynn lot here.

Some Padres parallels. The Dickerson is a vintage stock parallel, and really makes the other cards feel like crap in comparison.

And let's close out with some attractive lady wrestlers. As I mention pretty much every time I feature wrestling cards on my blog, I don't follow the sport, but occasionally get smitten by a cutie and am compelled to collect her cards a little, such as with AJ Lee and Alexa Bliss here.

This 2015 Topps WWE - NXT Prospects card is apparently a "pre-rookie" card, like the equivalent of a 1st Bowman Card. So that's pretty sweet. Looks like that was before her character got developed much. Very nice to get some quality cards of hers to go with the auto I picked up a while back.

Huge thanks for the impressive trade package, Tim!