Christmas GIft From Nick S.

My buddy, Nick, sent me a nice little package for Christmas that had a few autos and a nice rookie card included.  This Ashe Russell Bowmans Best is a really pretty card.  It is numbered 21/99.  I don't know much about Russell, but the card is nice, and I plan to hold onto it.

Nick included this Panini Prizm Manny Machado RC with the package.  Manny probably won't be an Oriole for much longer, but this card will stay in the collection.

Finally, Nick included this 2016 Bowman Conner Capel IP auto.  This will be put into my album with all of my other IP and TTM autos.

Thank you so much for the Christmas gift, Nick, I really appreciate it!!

Christmas Gift From Nick S.

My buddy, Nick S., sent me a nice Christmas package a while ago.  He wrote me a note lamenting the fact that it cost too much to ship a bat that he had for me, so instead of shipping the bat, he gathered some relic and auto cards from his collection and sent those instead.  He still plans on sending me the bat, but wanted me to have something to open during Christmas.

Nick is a really great guy, and any card would have been just fine.  I don't expect him to spend his money and give up a bat that he has had in his collection.  Still, it is the thought that counts, and Nick always is thinking about me.  It is really appreciated, and it won't be forgotten.

In the package were the two MLB debut coin cards I showed, this nice Kyle Waldrop auto from 2016 Donruss and a few more relics and autos.  Nick really went above and beyond for me for Christmas.  He didn't want cards, so I sent him some money via Paypal, instead.  I think he used it to buy equipment for his upcoming baseball season.

Thank you so much for the Christmas package, Nick!

Chris Davis Pin Card From Nick

A few months ago, I did a deal with my buddy, Nick S. that landed me a sweet Mark Prior patch card (which will be going in a deal to my buddy, Max) and also this Chris Davis commemorative team logo pin card.

The design of this card is really nice and I'm glad I didn't have to give up much to get it.  I don't remember what I sent Nick, but I feel like it was a couple Bowman autos.

Thanks so much for the deal, Nick!

Birthday Gift From Nick - Prospect Autos Galore

The best part of receiving birthday packages from the card community has been the originality and thought that fellow collectors have put into what they have sent.  I oftentimes tell my friends that I would much rather receive a nicely written note instead of them spending their hard-earned money on me.  I got a package from my little buddy, Nick, on Friday and loved what he sent along.

I had cleaned him out of Orioles stuff long ago, so Nick scrambled to find some things that he gelt would suffice as a birthday gift, but he really could have just stopped at the above Topps custom card.  The card features Nick from several years ago when he met Houston Astros ace, Dallas Keuchel.  Nick signed the card and personalized it to me.  For someone so young, you can tell that Nick has practiced his autograph for quite a while.  The card is awesome.  Nick actually is a very talented ballplayer.  He messages me after each game that he plays, and they always seem to be wins.  I hope to hear his name called in a couple years during the MLB Amateur Draft.  I'll already have a pretty sweet auto!

Nick sent along some prospect cards that he had been holding onto recently.  This Patrick Leonard from 2013 Bowman Platinum is a really nice card.  It's not numbered, but the jumbo relic and auto are still nice.

Bowman Inception is probably one of the most appealing to the eye of any product you will see.  I watched my buddy Robert bust several cases of this at the National, and the cards just looked amazing.  I was really happy that Nick sent this along, this card looks great.

Not a prospect or an auto, this Masterpieces Randy Johnson relic is still a nice card.  Masterpieces was always a great offering from the last days of Upper Deck.  This is one of those products that I wish Panini or Topps would buy the rights of (can they do that?) and re-release into the market.

Finally, here is a really good prospect auto from 2016 Chrome.  I'm not a Red Sox fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I recognize that Owens is a pretty good prospect.  I know a lot of Red Sox fans who would want this, but since it was a gift from Nick, I won't let this leave my collection.  I will likely redeem it soon.

I met Nick through Instagram maybe two years ago and completed a couple trades with him.  We talked off and on after our initial dealings, but really hit it off earlier this year.  We pretty much talk every day.  He has to be one of the funniest people I have ever met; not for sheer comedy alone, but the fact that when Nick has something on his mind, he is not afraid to speak it.  Usually, that elicits some pretty candid responses from others in our Skype calls.  Nick cracks me up.  He is also amazing with my son, Chris.  Nick is always reaching out to Chris and chatting with him.  I think it is good for Chris.  Maybe one day, he will work on giving more than one-word responses.

Thank you so much for the birthday package, Nick!  I really appreciate it!

Trade and Christmas Package From Nick S.

I have been talking a lot lately to a really awesome guy in Texas named Nick.  We have traded a few times, and chatted some, but recently, we decided to talk a lot more.

What started the whole thing was when Mark Trumbo was traded to the Orioles, Nick messaged me saying he had this Trumbo signed baseball and he wanted to know if I was interested.  I wasn't too interested at the time, but told him that I would think about it.  A week or so later, Nick messaged me again saying that he really wanted the ball to go to me,   So, I asked him what it would take to get the ball and we reached a deal really quickly.

The ball is really cool, it is a game used foul ball that Nick caught, and it is a commemorative ball of the Astros 50th season.  I am getting to where I really like these commemorative baseballs.  I have been getting quite a few of them, and I think that is really where the appeal was in this one.  That, and Nick was really awesome about the trade.  So much so, we became very good friends following our discussion.

Generally, when I am sending out a trade package, I try to include some extras.  I wanted to do that with Nick, since he was so nice, and also because it is Christmas.  I told Nick that I was going to include some extras for him, and he told me that he had already gotten some together for me.

When the package came in the mail, I was blown away.  Oftentimes, I will get to chatting with someone and feel like we hit it off, and folks would promise tons of stuff, only to have everything kind of die off soon thereafter.  Nick, though, really blew me away with what he "threw in" to the package.  Not pictured was a stack of Topps gold parallels that he included, two of which were 2014 Topps mini golds of Bud Norris and Dylan Bundy.

The above signed ticket  was from a game he attended (I think he said 6/13/15, and also the day Trumbo signed the ball, I believe); the ticket is signed by Carson Smith.  I don't remember who he told me signed the bottom of the ticket.  Maybe he will read this and comment.

Nick included these IP autographs of former Oriole-now current Oriole- LJ Hoes.  Hoes was a pretty decent prospect for the Orioles, but was traded to Houston in 2013 for Bud Norris.  Now he is back and is looking to make the team out of Spring Training.

I don't know if Nick knew this or not, but this Steve Bechler auto is tough to get.  Bechler was the pitcher who passed away in Spring Training 2003.  His death is the reason why ephedrine is now banned in baseball.  I remember when it happened, and it is still a really sad story.  I really appreciate Nick including this in the care package.  I think I have one other Bechler auto, and I was hoping to add some more over time.

Finally, here is a card I really enjoyed that Nick included.  Don't laugh, I'm serious.  This "well loved" 1969 Topps Hank Aaron appears as if someone ran it over a few times, dropped it in a puddle, then kept it as a wallet card for about 10 years.  The card would probably grade lower than a 1.  Maybe a 0.5?  However, since one of my favorite blogs is POBC (Poor Old Baseball Cards), I really think this card is cool.  I have quite a few POBCs, and this one now probably takes the top of the list.  I may actually make an album sometime with the ones that I have.  Nick might have thought sending this was a bit of a joke (and trust me, the kid is so very funny), but really, I LOVE this card.

Thank you so much for a great trade, an amazing care package and beginning of a really nice friendship.  This stuff really blew me away, and I can't thank you enough, Nick!  If you are on the Instagram, you can give Nick a follow as baseballcards035.