My First Trade in Five Years

I recently completed my first trade in nearly five (!) years, this time with Dion of Dion's Autograph Collection. 

Dion reached out to me in search of some autos, and I had several I was willing to move to help me move closer to completing some sets. And he certainly helped out with that.

Dion sent over a generous hodgepodge of Dodgers from over the years, including the cards from the 70s seen above. It's a bit hidden, but that Walt Alston card is the second card of his I've acquired in the last few weeks. 

Most of my Dodgers team sets outside of this millennium are still in their infancy, with the exception of a few sets from the late-80s and early-90s. Dion managed to triple the number of 75s in my collection, while simultaneously alerting me to a few holes in my checklists. While my checklists include all of the normal player base cards from a set, they are often missing other Dodgers cards that aren't player specific, e.g those spectacular MVP cards from the 1975 set above. Where do you all find your checklists for older sets? 

I recently shared my thoughts on 2019 Heritage and quickly realized I still didn't have a 1970 Dodgers card in my 70s binder. Dion fixed this with a well-loved rookie of Jack Jenkins and Bill Buckner. One of these guys is more well-known than the other.  

More cards I needed from 1983 and 1984 sets, including a fun Ron Cey. 

Dion also included a ton of modern cards in this package, including a pair of new cards for my new Justin Turner PC. That Donruss oddly lists Turner as a 2nd baseman, even though Turner has played primarily at third for the Dodgers since arriving to LA in 2014. Hell, Turner hasn't played predominately at second since 2011. Oh well, it's still a pretty cool card. Who doesn't love a dirty jersey?

A pair of new Kershaw's also found their way into this trade. Bask in the full emotional range of Clayton Kershaw. 

An errant Shawn Green card found in a box of cereal nearly 17 years ago was one of the catalysts that led to my Dodgers fandom and, later, my baseball card obsession. I hadn't added to my Shawn Green PC in quite some time, so this fun die-cut was a welcome addition. It's a bit hard to see in the photo, but it's also #'d to 99. Cool beans. 

There were quite a few more cards included in this wonderful trade--too many to photograph in the dull light of my apartment, however. I really need to get a scanner. Thanks, Dion!

This swap with Dion was my first trade in nearly five years. How I managed to go that long without exchanging cardboard through the mail defeats me, but I do know this swap marks my forceful return to the hobby.