2011 Summer Clearance Trade with Eric

For a pile of junk wax Royals and some random cards featuring mustaches, Eric has sent me a pile of nice cards, including 62 cards that I needed for my collection. I can't possibly show them all, but here are the highlights. Thanks, Eric!

1987 Phillies 1950 TCMAThis is one of my favorite cards I've gotten in this trade event so far. It's from a 1987 9-card set commemorating the 1950 Phillies Whiz Kids, the first Phillies team to go to the World Series.

1995 Fleer #469 Greg SwindellIn the mid-1990s, the Fleer designers seem to have lost their minds. The results were cards like this. This set featured 5 different designs, each one more baffling than the last.

1995 Pinnacle #33 Luis GonzalezLuis tears a hole in the outfield padding trying to catch a ball which was probably way over his head. Pinnacle put big blobs of gold foil on their mid-1990s cards. Considering the current price of gold, they might be worth melting down.

1995 Upper Deck #25 Craig BiggioOne of my all-time favorite players, even before I moved to Texas.

1997 Metal Universe#206 Benito SantiagoHere's an even more extreme example of Fleer designer psychosis. I only bought one pack of this and didn't have any Phillies or Astros. Benny has taken his catcher's mask off so he can better see his pitcher being consumed by a nuclear fireball.

1998 Collector's Choice Star Quest Special Delivery #2 Scott RolenAnother 1998 Star Quest card I needed.

2007 Ultra #136 Jimmy Rollins
2007 Upper Deck #877 Jayson WerthI'm showing the backs of these last two cards to make a point. Upper Deck seems to have been just phoning it in for awhile, even back in 2007. The fronts of these cards both have minimal designs but can be told apart. The back designs are virtually identical.

2008 Upper Deck Documentary #203 Jimmy Rollins21 of the cards were from this set. This set is probably the poorest execution of a great idea that I know.

2010 Donruss Elite Extra Edition #5 Delino DeShields, Jr.Since I don't have a decent card shop anywhere near me, I don't see cards like this on sale too often. Eric sent me 3 Phillies and 4 Astros. This set features players in the minor leagues, some in their college uniforms. DeShields was the Astros #1 draft pick in 2010. These are the first Panini produced Donruss cards I've seen.

2010 Topps 206 Ryan HowardI bought 3-4 blaster boxes of this product and didn't get too many Phillies or Astros. Eric filled a lot of holes in this set for me, including this one, my favorite, the Ryan Howard short print.