Trade : Cracking Tigers, hidden Blue Jays

Seems like more and more people are getting back to collecting cards. It's supposed to be a 20 year cycle, so welcome to those (and I count myself in the group) who stopped collecting around 94 and who find that blogging is a great way to get back in the game and to meet great people.

Julie, from A cracked bat, has been very busy on the trading front, and it's naturally that I asked her if she'd be willing to swap cards internationally (I'm the quirky foreigner with the cute french accent in the community). Despite her busy schedule, she found time to send me a great enveloppe that hit on pretty much all my baseball collecting needs. Here's a sample of what she sent :

Vintage ! My very first 61 Fleer. Plus, since I've decided to try and get one vintage card of each Hall of famer (well, depending on the price, of course, I need to eat and pay rent first), that's one I can cross off my list.

Yup, I collect cards of Bo Jackson. I'm glad they included him in a Royals uniform for this year's Stadium Club set. The Angels one doesn't become him as well.

Some Larkins ! My first 97 Pinnalcle Inside, actually. I wonder what the tins looked like in person. What a crazy idea. Only Pinnacle could think of that...

Yup, I collect another 2 sport phenom (and his basketball skills weren't too shabby either). Ok, he bragged a lot and wasn't too impressive as far as baseball stats went, but still.

Some Juniors ! And that iconic smile. The 94 Upper Deck doesn't scan very well because of all that foil. But it still was one of my favorite cards 20 years ago. It's only eclipsed by the 94 base card, but it's still really sweet.

An oversized postcard from 93 Donruss, apparently available at Wall-marts.

For 20 years, I thought the 94 Select cards I had (only had a couple) were inserts. This just doesn't look like a base card to me. If I'm not mistaken, that picture is from his game winning World series HR. Back when the Blue Jays would make it to the post season...Those are also my first SP Championship from that year. They look great.

I've said it often : I'm not a Bowman guy. But there's something about the 94 set that strikes a chord. The Alex Gonzalez foil card is much more impressive in person.

Minor league card ! Shows that you can have a great carrier even after playing for a team called "Smokies". Obviously, they only took one pic of him and called it a day, not really caring that he's out of focus and overexposed.

Relic ! From 2013 Topps Archives, and my first of Morrow. Great card with a simple design

2014 Topps cards ! My first Chrome from this year (I was surprised by that, but then again, they all look the same). And some Topps stickers.

Finally, Julie was kind enough to include half the Blue Jays team set from this year's Stadium Club (very excited about that, can't wait for the prices to keep dropping). She even included one mini-box, as there's Griffey on it. Great idea !

Anyway, thanks a lot Julie for all the great cards, you were spot on !