My First Play At The Plate

Brian from over at Play At The Plate noticed a couple of months back that I had stumbled upon some blue Ranger parallels from Topps' Walmart offering this year.   As you all probably know by now, parallels for my Yanks or Braves have slowly grown on me but as far as the rest of 'em - it makes me happy to send them home!

SO....I procrastinated way too much and had the Rangers set off to the side for a wee bit.   I managed to find a couple more Texans for Brian and eventually sent them on their way.    Sorry it took so long, Brian!   He was certainly generous with what he sent in return - he was able to help me out with my NEEDS lists for 2012 Topps base and the few insert sets that I'm chasing.......I was worried I might never get off the ground with some of these but our blogging community has, as usual, graciously turned that frown upside-down.

Here's a little look at what Brian sent over:



I've said it before and I will undoubtedly say it again - I love these '87 minis!   They're simple, yes, but the wood-grained '87 release marked my first year in collecting.   I'm tempted to make a comparison of the special feeling towards my first set to the first girl I kissed but I think that would require me to also attend a support group.   Anyways, I'm making some decent progress with these inserts now.   Thanks for the help, Brian - and those guys are no slouches!

Some more of the Goldens from this year - Standards and Moments.   I think there's a TV radio station called Singers and Standards, yes?

Some help with the Series 1 base set.   It would be remarkable to wrap up this one before Series 2 hits the shelves.   Considering I just completed Series 1 and 2 from 2011 last month, this progress is already a shining example of the benefits to having a blog - communication is key!   I would encourage any of the readers out there to make the leap.  

Oh, gee....did I leave that Mantle on top for all of you to enjoy?   The Mick - always epic!   Nice touch, Brian.   Here are two of my favorite cards from the stack:

This guy is a beast of a ball player.   I'm playing fantasy baseball for the first time this season and Yadier fills my catcher slot for both of my teams.   Turns out, he's been one of the most productive players out there, so far in 2012.   Yes, Pujols - your former fellow Card is trampling all over your HR total through week 1.   Not hard to do when your sitting on a goose egg, Albert!   Way to go, Yadier.

 JERED MAD!

Thanks for the great trade, Brian!

Thanks for reading, guys.