TCDb Trade #2: tjhorak (or Party at Tribe Town)

My second completed trade on TCDb was with TJ.  He is a Cleveland Indians collector from Akron, OH, so naturally he requested a bunch on Cleveland Indians.

My favorite card I received from TJ is the 1998 Pacific Crown Royale Carlos Baerga.  Die-cut cards are nice, but sometimes they are a pain.  This one is nice because it doesn't have any sharp points that can easily be bent.  The curved edges is much appreciated from the handling side of collecting.  I also like the look of the 2003 Donruss Studios Prentice Redman with the Shea Stadium backdrop.

There have been 121 players to play for both the Mets and Indians.  I received cards from 4 of those players in this trade.  Carlos Baerga (above), Roberto Alomar (above), Julio Franco, and Rick Cerone.  TJ ended up getting 3 of those players.  Julio Franco, Sandy Alomar, Jr., and Matt Lawton.

The most recent Mets-Indians connection is the Mets new manager, Mickey Callaway.  He had been with the Indians system as pitching coach since 2010 and at the MLB level since 2013.  This will be his first time in the manager position.  Mickey's hiring seems to be embraced overall by Mets fans.  I think this is a great move by the Mets as it can bring in a new culture of thinking into the clubhouse.

Thanks for the trade, TJ!

Now, here is a cool performance by one of my favorite bands, The Black Keys. 

TCDb Trade #1: herkojerko (or the start of a new online home)

Now we move onto my next online home for collecting and trading.  Trading Card Database.  I recall looking into the site along with Zistle.  I found it a little confusing, especially when compared to Zistle.  I ended up here anyway, so might as well as settle in and get going.

It took a while to get my collection added.  I used an exported Excel file of my collection from Zistle, so any inaccuracies were transferred over.  I split-screened the Excel file of my collection with TCDb and just went down the list.  Eventually, I figured out shortcuts and quirks to the site, so it wasn't slow going the whole time.  After getting things entered and marked what is available for trade, I was good to go.

My first trade completed on TCDb was with herko who collects Phillies and NJ born players.  He requested a bunch of Phillies from me and offered back a nice mixture of cards from the 70's, 80's, 90's, 00's, and 10's.

Herko sent a few auto cards in the trade.  I didn't have a Lenny Dykstra auto before, so this is very much appreciated addition.

Another first was an auto card of Esix Snead.  Esix's career didn't amount to much, but he was regarded for his speed.  He broke stolen base records during his minor league career, but only managed to steal 4 bases during his brief MLB career.

The highlight of his MLB career came on September 21, 2002.  He came in as a pinch runner in the bottom of the 8th inning as the Expos were leading the Mets 3-2.  The Mets tied the game in the bottom of the 9th on as pinch-hitter Brady Clark reached on an error that allowed Edgardo Alfonzo to score.

The game reached the bottom of the 11th with two outs.  Joe McEwing (HBP) and Roger Cedeno (walk) were on base.  Esix smacked a 3-run, game-winning homer to right field.  This was his only MLB home run and the only RBIs he would accumulate in his career.  Still more than I have, though.  Check it out below in glorious VHS quality.

Finishing up this trade with some Topps Unique.  I wonder if Topps intended for this to be a one year thing or not.  It's a perfect name for how things turned out.  The cards don't look bad either.

This was a nice and smooth start to my TCDb trading.  Thanks for the trade, herko!