no ranting, just raving.

ok, maybe just one rant

but other than that 1999 skybox thunder angel pena rant parallel, 

this post is all about me raving about cards received from dime boxes earlier this fall, and probably even some that came before that! nick is one of my favorite trading partners because of his eclectic collection, which sometimes overlaps with mine.  let's see just some of the goodness that he's sent my way in recent months.

i've long since completed my dodger team collections of 1970 and 1971 fleer laughlin world series cards, but these were needs in their own right

because they are from fleer's 1980 laughlin stickers release!  here are the backs:

i recall buying just a few of these packs and actually not thinking much of them as a 9-year old. shame on me.

more duke snider  - first with a 2008 donruss sports legends card

back when they didn't care that they weren't licensed by the teams!

and here's a 2012 topps archives matt kemp 3d insert

that features the memorial patch for snider on kemp's right sleeve.

just like that first sticker up above, here's a card that celebrates the dodgers' 1955 world series championship, and it's from a release that was much closer in time to that event:

that's a 1961 nu-cards baseball scoops johnny podres card. as al ferrara once told me in a note he sent my way "remember johnny podres!". dodger fans will never forget his name, i don't think.

another player from the boys of summer was represented in a card issued 60 years after that podres:

that's jackie robinson's 2021 panini diamond kings card. kudos for panini for not colorizing the photo and messing up the color of the number on the back like topps did in this year's stadium club.

i'm showing these two cards side by side - a 1989 woolworth kirk gibson card and a card of cody bellinger from 2019 topps heritage high numbers

because they feature dodger world champions captured swinging in the same batter's box just about 30.5 years apart.

a few more that stood out - a 1988 starting lineup pedro guerrero card

i think i would enjoy seeing some new pedro guerrero cards in archives

1995 national packtime pinnacle hideo nomo

not sure how i didn't have this card already, but happy to have it now!

2017 bowman platinum gavin lux

are we sure that is lux in the photo?

2020 topps allen & ginter shawn green

technically a short print but i don't think these are as scarce as they were in earlier ginter runs. also, when did topps give up and change the card set from "allen & ginter's" to what everyone has called it since day one - "allen & ginter"? looks like maybe 2015?

2021 topps opening day dodgers opening day insert

two of these six guys won't be dodgers on 2022's opening day, assuming that day comes. 

one of nick's many mini-collections features pitchers with a bat. he must have had a double of this 1995 score tom candiotti gold rush parallel

because it's mine now! note that candiotti's hands are not as large as johnny bench's as he looks to be only carrying three balls in his right hand.

i mentioned up top that nick's collection overlaps with mine in a couple of spots, and we've reached the overlap of the venn diagram part of the post. here are some vladimir guerrero cards

spanning from 1998 to 2008. i especially enjoy the 2002-03 upper deck superstars card there on the bottom left. that was a fun set as i was still a pretty big hockey fan at that time.

finally, it's rare that i get a package from nick that doesn't contain some double play cards, and so here we go:

1996 upper deck collector's choice john patterson

with a lurking tony gwynn!

2000 topps opening day barry larkin

with a sliding giant that is not barry bonds!

2021 topps opening day carlos correa

2021 topps stadium club gleyber torres

and i'll end this cavalcade of cards with a couple of 2010 grandstand kane county cougar minor leaguers turning two

neither one of these guys made it to the majors, but at least they have some nice cards that i am happy to add to my double play collection.

thanks nick! can't wait to see what our future trades consist of!