Christmas GIft From James

My buddy, James, from Instagram sent me a nice little package for Christmas recently.  In it was an assortment of Orioles cards, highlighted by the above 2013 Topps blue Nolan Reimold.

James had run out of Orioles hits, so he included some nice rookies and pre-rookie relics/autos like the above Randal Grichuk from Team USA and the below 2014 Topps Chrome Zach Walters auto.

Thank you for the Christmas gift, James!  It is always a pleasure dealing with you, and I know we will do more in the future.

Christmas Gift From James

My buddy, James, sent me a nice Christmas package that had this Moose Skowron auto that I can add to my IP/TTM album.  James told me that he picked it up from his LCS for a good price.  The auto looks legit, so I'm fine with it not having a COA.  The card is a 1979 TCMA and is definitely one I would have sent TTM if Skowron were still alive.

Skowron (b. 1930 - d. 2012) played in the majors from 1954 to 1967 for the Yankees, Dodgers, Senators, White Sox and Angels.  He had 1,566 hits, 211 home runs and a .282 batting average.  He was a 6-time All Star and finished as high as 9th in the AL MVP voting (1960).  He won the World Series with the Yankees in 1956, 1958, 1961 and 1962.  He also won with the Dodgers in 1963.  He appeared in 8 World Series in his career.

James also sent me this nice Albert Almora relic from 2013 Panini Team USA.  Almora is a great up and coming ball player, and I am glad James thought to send me this card.

Thank you so much for the awesome gifts, James!  I really appreciate it!

Care Package From James

I got a nice care package a few days ago from my buddy, James.  He was one of the first people I completed a trade with on Instagram, and has been a good friend ever since.  He surprised me with a couple nice cards that I needed for my collection.

First is this blue parallel of Orioles prospect Josh Hart from 2013 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects.  It is numbered 5/99 and turned out really nice when scanned.

The other card that James sent was this gold parallel of Kevin Gausman from 2014 Bowman Platinum.  The gold really pops once it has been scanned.  I was really happy with how this one turned out.

I haven't been able to talk to James as much lately as I would have liked, but he is busy with school and baseball.  I know we will continue to send care packages back and forth.  I was very happy to get this in the mail, and I plan on sending something his way soon.  Thanks James!

Christmas Package From James

My "to be blogged" pile is pretty huge at the moment.  So much so, it is mid-January, and I still haven't shown off all of my Christmas gifts yet.  I'm getting there, but I don't want to dump them all into one post; I want to try to give each person/package their own post and truly do the gifts justice. It is never the quantity or "value" of the gifts you receive that is important, but the thought itself that should hold meaning.

That being said, the best part of this gift might not have been the awesome cards that I scanned, but the letter that was included along with them.  You see, my good friend, James, and I have been trading for a year now.  He was the second person I made a successful deal with on Instagram, and we have been good friends ever since.  Of all of the people on Instagram that I consider friends, James writes me the best notes and includes them in each package.  Sometimes, the notes are my favorite part of the deal.

Anyway, along with another great letter, James also included some really cool cards that I wasn't expecting.  The above Delmon Young card is a fine example.  Young forever endeared himself to O's fans on October 3 when he hit the three-run double to put the O's ahead of the Tigers in ALDS Game 2.  The fact that I was there makes it all that much more special.  So, James giving me this card and adding the facts about Young, I will slab this card in a mag and will never let it go from my collection.

Another card James sent was this on-card auto of Herm Starrette from 2014 Heritage.  It was really funny that he sent me this card, because I think it was offered to me by three different guys in trades, and I never took the bait.  I wanted the card, I just never felt like I had enough to offer for it.  Thankfully, my patience (and James's generosity) paid off, and I now own the card.

Thanks so much for the Christmas package, James.  I was really happy to open it, and I'm sorry it took me so long to post it.  I hope the post has done the gift justice, because I appreciate everything you do!