Trade Stack 59: The Pile Hits Nine Cards!

Here is how this works:

Every so often (i.e. whenever I feel like it), I will add a card to a "Trade Stack".  Whenever the stack becomes appealing enough to someone, that person needs to comment on the post saying they'd like to claim the stack AND tell me which card they are sending off of my want list.  That's all you have to do - trade me ONE card (or more, of course) card from my want list for the entire stack of cards that I'm offering.  Each time, it will be first come, first serve...so act quickly (unless of course you are a gambler and hope to wait it out until there are 10+ cards in the stack that you want in exchange for a single 2004 UD Vintage card that I am looking for)!

The Trade Stack:

Last update:  4/16/14

Today marks the final day of the regular semester for me - and so it's time to celebrate summer (haha, we had snow last night) with another addition to the trade stack.  Maybe this will get the trade avalanche rolling (see what I did there with the snow/avalanche theme)?  

If you want the stack, remember - all you need to do is offer up any one card from my want list.

2005 Upper Deck Past Time Pennants:
67.  Richie Ashburn - Phillies

2014 Topps Heriage:
125.  Nate Schierholtz - Cubs

2008 Topps Allen & Ginter's:
74.  Khalil Greene - Padres

1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated:
107.  Henry Rodriguez - Cubs

2012 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions:
74.  Brett Hull

2012 Marvel Avengers Assemble:
115.  Dr. Banner

1985 Topps:
526.  Dave Palmer - Expos

1991 Donruss:
699.  Stan Belinda - Pirates

2003 Donruss Estrellas:
45.  Shawn Green - Dodgers

Want the card(s) in the stack?  Act fast - tell me which card you will send me off my want list in the comments below!  You must leave a comment on the trade stack post in order to claim the card - no more claims via email!  If no one claims this card within a reasonable amount of time (a few hours up to a few days, depending) - I'll add another card to the stack and the process will start again!

Previously Claimed Trade Stacks:

Stack 01:  2 cards by dayf
Stack 02:  8 cards by Justin
Stack 03:  17 cards by Cam
Stack 04:  4 cards by Cam
Stack 05:  9 cards by Daily Dimwit
Stack 06:  4 cards by The Lost Collector
Stack 07:  1 card by Baseball Dad
Stack 08:  1 card by M. Spiegel
Stack 09:  6 cards by bwsmith25
Stack 10:  6 cards by Baseball Dad
Stack 11:  1 card by Patrick
Stack 12:  5 cards by Matt B.
Stack 13:  4 cards by Steve G.
Stack 14:  3 cards by ShaneK
Stack 15:  7 cards by Ryan G
Stack 16:  1 card by longlivethewho
Stack 17:  4 cards by hiflew
Stack 18:  4 cards by Potch
Stack 19:  2 cards by Axemanohio
Stack 20:  5 cards by by Play at the Plate
Stack 21:  5 cards by BA Benny
Stack 22:  1 card by IkesCards
Stack 23:  8 cards by Axemanohio
Stack 24:  1 card by BA Benny
Stack 25:  2 cards by Jeff P.
Stack 26:  10 cards by Axemanohio
Stack 27:  1 card by BA Benny
Stack 28:  7 cards by ThingsAreFunnerHere
Stack 29:  3 cards by TheBrooklynMet
Stack 30:  4 cards by Adam C.
Stack 31:  10 cards by Play at the Plate
Stack 32:  8 cards by Josh D.
Stack 33:  6 cards by Baseball Dad
Stack 34:  1 card by Potch
Stack 35:  9 cards by Cool Breeze
Stack 36:  11 cards by Kev 
Stack 37:  6 cards by Tunguska
Stack 38:  12 cards by Baseball Dad
Stack 39:  8 cards by Spiegel83
Stack 40:  1 card by Kyle4KC
Stack 41:  4 cards by dayf
Stack 42:  1 card by AdamE
Stack 43:  1 card by madding
Stack 44:  10 cards by Commishbob
Stack 45:  1 (almost complete) puzzle by Baseball Dad
Stack 46:  8 cards by buckstorecards
Stack 47:  5 cards by The Junior Junkie
Stack 48:  4 cards by dayf
Stack 49:  9 cards by Swing and a Pop-Up
Stack 50:  9 cards by Commishbob
Stack 51:  3 cards by Need More Cardboard
Stack 52:  1 card by Play at the Plate
Stack 53:  12 cards by buckstorecards
Stack 54:  4 cards by The Junior Junkie
Stack 55:  9 cards by Spiegel83
Stack 56:  2 cards cards by Joe Frecker
Stack 57:  4 cards by buckstorecards
Stack 58:  2 cards by Chunter
Stack 59:  ?? by ??

The Great Reorganization: Step 4: Cataloging Larkins & Sorting Stacks on Stacks of Cards!

I last updated my plan to completely overhaul my collection back on March 27.  Since I'm using my blog as a virtual diary of sorts in terms of my organizational gains, I thought it would be a good idea to post what I am up to currently.

First, the table that I'm using to sort cards by year is quickly becoming overwhelmed with cards.  It turns out that I have hundreds (if not thousands) of cards from certain years...I've already filled up a few extra empty Allen & Ginter's boxes with cards from a specific year.  The rest the cards are stacked in precarious piles still...

I don't know that I've gotten much further since the last update on the year-by-year sorting front.  Luckily, my semester ends tomorrow (besides the finals that I have to write, proctor, and then grade next week).  That means there will be plenty of time in the near future for a sorting party!

Unfortunately, I'm still nowhere near done with even the initial sorting phase.  After all, my one baseball card cupboard still looks like this:

Yeah, those are all unsorted stacks...and there's more behind what you can see!  You can also probably make out a full A&G box of 2009 cards down at the bottom of the shelf...that's one of a few boxes that I've filled with a single year's worth of cards (and there's another stack started on the table for 2009)!

While the sorting has slowed down (though not completely stopped luckily), I have made some solid progress on my Barry Larkin Collection.  Obviously if you visit my blog regularly you probably know that I've been quite busy posting various cards online.  However, my collection extends well beyond what is currently highlighted on my blog...  In fact, I still have all these Barry Larkin cards (1998-Present) to sort:

I also have another stack of cards from 1986 - 1997 to sort (not pictured), though many of those are now duplicates.

How long will the total reorganization take?  Heck, is it even possible to truly organize a baseball card collection?  I'm not sure of either answer...but you can bet that I'll continue to keep you all informed of my progress (or lack thereof) as the summer goes on!

Barry Larkin Collection 265: 1993 Studio - #43

Barry Larkin
Year:  1993
Brand:  Studio
Card number:  43

The 1993 Studio followed in the steps of the previous year's version...which isn't necessarily a good thing.  Actually, the front of the card is quite nice - even if I don't care for the faux foil signature.  I do like the team logo in the background of the card front (the logo appears to be from the front of a ball cap).  The problem with the set (much like the 1992 Studio set) is that no one wants creepy photos on their baseball cards.  Seriously, what Studio designer said "boy, I think we should blow up the player's face so large that you can see every single pore and slap half of that face on the back of each baseball card."  I like the information about the player on the back, but the half-face is too scary and it constantly distracts me from reading about Larkin's love of boating, financial advising, and facing the Padres.

The Card Chop Slices Through my Summer Resolutions!

Today was the final Monday of the semester for me...which means summer break is just around the corner.  I've already compiled a list of my Summer Resolutions so you can see that I'm probably going to be quite busy!  Although that blog post was only posted less than a week ago, I've already started to make progress on a few different goals.

For starters, I have done a bit of work on my barbecue cart that I'm building.  It's not much (basically I've rough cut the lumber for the four legs and cut the tapers for two of the legs).  However, I have to start somewhere so it's nice to have a tiny bit done before summer officially starts.

In terms of getting in shape, my wife and I actually went for a run/walk together (along with our dog) this weekend.  We have our first truly nice and warm day of the year - and so we went for a run (something we hadn't done together in about a decade)!!  It was fun - and while I was a bit sore the next day it's a baby step towards getting back into some sort of athletic shape.

All of that leads me to the final goal that I've managed to get a least a bit done on already...organize my baseball card collection.  I haven't done a lot of trading lately (almost none actually) because of the end-of-the-semester madness...but that hasn't completely stopped the flow of card packages to my house.  One such recent (out of the blue) package arrived last week courtesy of Steve over at The Card Chop.

Steve and I had completed a trade previously but the cards he sent me ended up lost in the mail (I ended up with a busted up and empty envelope thanks to the USPS).  Although I recognize that things like that will happen (one of the many risks of the PWE), I didn't hold it against Steve.  Heck, I've been on the sending side of things like that too - it's one of the risks of mailing stuff I guess.  Anyhow, Steve took it upon himself to right the post office's wrong anyhow and recently sent me a new package (that happily arrived rip and tear free)!

Inside, I was greeted with a few different goodies including a couple of Reds' base cards from this year's Topps Heritage set.

In my two blasters and four rack packs I had failed to land either of the two cards so both were much, much appreciated!

However, perhaps even more appreciated was this short print of Jose Fernandez!

I still am on the fence about whether or not I'm going to go full out trying to collect Heritage this year - but every short print that I can acquire (for now anyhow) makes me super happy!  I do think the all-star rookie trophy looks sort of ridiculous on this card though...it's much too large for such a close-up shot.

Finally, as if those three cards weren't enough, Steve also sent me a few assorted Reds - including two Allen & Ginter's minis...

...and my first 2014 Topps Opening Day card!

Thanks a bunch for the cards Steve - you certainly didn't have to do that but it is much appreciated!  As for anyone else, should you want to trade check out my want list and make an offer...school is (almost) out and that means trading will be back in full force!

Barry Larkin Collection 264: 1993 Score - #16

Barry Larkin
Year:  1993
Brand:  Score
Card number:  16

The 1993 Score set completely passed me by when I was a kid.  I had tons and tons of 1991 Score and decent amount of 1992 Score...but 1993?  Nowhere to be found.  In fact, I don't recall ever owning (or opening) a single pack of 1993 Score!  When I decided to write up a post for this particular Larkin card, I actually went back through my 1993 baseball card binders simply to see if I was forgetting the set...and no, I wasn't - this card might be the only 1993 Score card that I own.

Now, sometimes it's not a great thing if you only own one card from a set...but in the case '93 Score, it's perfectly fine.  This is an entirely forgettable set which could easily pass as the Miriam-Webster dictionary definition for the word "boring."  The front is plain, the back is plain, and nothing stands out (in either a good or bad way).  This is the baseball card equivalent of vanilla ice cream...and while that's not always a bad thing, it's also not good enough to make me crave the set (and hence why I have only one such card from 1993 Score)!