From the Dime Box

 Who doesn't have a good dime box story?  For a lot of us bloggers, they can be stuff of legend.  I've heard of some pretty amazing dime box finds, and have had quite a few myself!

This is a different kind of dime box gold story.  It involves a trade I made recently with Nick of the awesome blog Dime Boxes: The Low End Baseball Card Collector's Journey.  As you know, (because Nick is rightly famous) or if you don't know, you can tell from his blog name, Nick is a dime box fan. Since I am too, we decided to throw some cards each others way.  

I honestly can't really remember what I sent to Nick.  I have sent a number of packages out recently and they are all blurring together in my head.  It was stuff off of his wantlists, hopefully stuff he could use.  I say hopefully for two reasons.  1.) I absolutely hate for a trade partner to feel bad about a trade.  And 2.) He sent me some pretty great stuff!!  

Check it out...

First up are two of the seemingly endless parade of Mark McGwire's in the recent Topps products.  Hard to believe that in 2011 only 5 McGwire cards were made (according to TCDB).  In 2012, only 8.  In 2020 a whopping 811!  Anyway, I will take them!

Then Nick started peppering me with inserts of some of today's hottest young stars:

What's that, the young star in the lower left isn't so young anymore?  Well, maybe not, but he sure is young there.  That card is from SCD Price Guide from back in 1989.  Phenomenal card!

Here's another one I wanted to spotlight.  My two favorite Angels of all time on one card?  Old guy in sepia, Rod Carew...

And new guy in full color, Mikey Trout!  Both of these guys made my list in the A-Z player challenge.

Nick just kept on going, helping my tiny collection of the current hot Rookies and young bucks.

That Tucker is pretty shiny!

And here's where things went off the rails.  I have bemoaned my lack of RCs from the 2010s several times on this blog.  I just don't buy packs, so the only 'hot' RCs I pick up are after they are no longer hot, and I find them in dime boxes. I also, in my most recent post, mentioned that I was probably too late to get in on Vlad Jr RCs!  Nick took laser aim at those problems and obliterated them!!

Check these beauties

Cool action shot on the Baez RC!  Everyone is still talking about his recent heads up baserunning play.

Here's Vladdy!!  I guess its never too late when the blogger community is involved.  Happy to have this card!

Woah!  This one knocked me off my chair, so totally unexpected.  I've liked Arenado for a while now.  I love strong defensive 3B, and his offense is not shabby either.

And the hits keep coming!  My first Acuna RC, very happy to have one.  Kids a beast.

And then the last 2 cards.  Nick had mentioned in an email that he had a Mookie Betts RC that he was sending, which I thought was EXTREMELY nice of him.  So I was expecting one with some sense of glee.  But what I did not expect was this:

Two Betts RCs!!!  Wow!  Beautiful cards of one of the games best.  I really love having RCs of all the studs that make up the history of the game.  And Betts has solidified his position as one of them.  Thanks so much Nick, these were very, very appreciated.  Go Dime Boxes!

The Impaler

 Perhaps no player represents how my collection has come together over the years better than Vladimir Guerrero.  Not Vlad Junior, but his old man.  Here's what I mean by that statement.  I don't think of Vladdy as one of the players I really go after, but when I see a card of his that is nice, I will pick it up as long as it is cheap. And for some reason, around here nobody seems to hold Vlad in high regard, so I have been able to find a lot of cool Impaler cards on the cheap over the years.  But of course, no RCs, not for cheap!

And that is how Vlad represents my collection.  I have a good number of cards of his I really enjoy, but not the key biggies.  Same for a lot of players.  Mike Piazza comes to mind.  Derek Jeter. Lots of others.

Sometimes not having the 'big money' cards bums me out a little, but then I look at what I do have.  And I really like it.  So without further rambling, check out my low end, but still awesome Vladimir Guerrero Sr. collection!

I can't believe how Expos heavy my Vlad collection is.  He spent pretty much exactly half of his career in Montreal, but almost all of my keepers are Expos cards.  I especially like the High Voltage cards here.  So much color and pop.  That's going to be a theme for this whole post!

Like I said, color and pop!

Our first Angels card, and it is #d /100.  So shiny.

More of the same...

Remember when Artists Proofs were actually desirable parallels?  

When I picked up the Bowman's Best and Donruss Preferred cards here, I was hoping at least one of them was a RC.  But nope, the 1995 Bowman and Bowman's Best are the only Vlad RCs out there.  Hopefully one day I can get my hands on one!

And now I have probably missed the window to get me some Vladdy Jr RCs too!  Oops.