Heritage from 2020 but not 2020 Heritage (well, one)

This week I received a few trade packages from fellow friends and bloggers, my first of 2021. Considering it's been nearly six months since I last saw cards in the wild, finding bubble mailers and card-filled envelopes in the mail is quite exciting. I'm still looking to get my hands on my first 2021 cards of the year, but an incoming package from a recent Nachos Grande box break should scratch that itch.

I'll get to the contents of those packages soon enough, but I still have plenty of trades and purchases from 2020 I need to get posted. So that's where we'll start. 

Topps Flagship and my PCs have been the central focal points of my collection since I started collecting nearly a decade ago. I'm steadily working my way through Flagship--I have about 55% of all Dodgers at the moment--and I'm always adding new cards of my favorite dudes. Last year I decided to throw Topps Heritage in the mix, and a large portion of the new cards I picked up in 2020 helped kick off that chase. 

Shortly after posting about my decision to chase Heritage, a few trades formed and lots of new Heritage cards quickly made their way to me in New Jersey. In fact, all of the cards you see in this post come from the wonderful Mr. Haverkamp, a blogging staple. 

Mr. Haverkamp found cards I needed from 11 different years of Heritage, though considering I had next to no Heritage cards in my possession upon this announcement, I suppose it's not that surprising. Let's take a look at some of the fun stuff that came my way (in random order since Blogger is apparently dreadful to work with when it comes to formatting images). 

Lots of fun stuff here. I don't miss the old team photo cards at all. It's tough to actally make anybody out and they're not particularly fun to look at. I prefer the team card treatment we've seen in recent Topps sets. 

Card backs don't get as much play as they deserve, so let's take a look at a smattering of those as well. 

I think the Darvish back is the easiest to read, but I do enjoy the few cards with middle names on the backs. What are your favorites? 

Thanks for the cards, Mr. Haverkamp!

Trade Pile 6: Take These Dusty Cards

Well it's been a while since I last added to the trade pile--about six months--so you'll have to excuse the dust these cards gathered in between posts. For the first time in several years, my blog will feature a non-baseball card, this time of former Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck. 

Remember, if you want to claim the Trade Pile, comment on this post (and email me your address) and let me know what you plan to send my way from my want lists. I'm also always on the lookout for cards I don't own of my player collections. All you need to send is a single card I need and the entire stack is yours. 

2013 Panini Select Hot Stars Andrew Luck #9

2004 Topps Total Juan Uribe #594

1996 Topps Chrome Alex Rodriguez #3

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes #188 Rodriguez/Jeter/Cano 

RIP Tommy Lasorda

The Dodgers announced the unfortunate passing of Hall-of-Fame manager Tommy Lasorda this morning. My Dodger fandom began long after Lasorda had retired from managing, but he still played a large role with the organization and had Dodger blue running through his veins. I'm glad Tommy was able to see the Dodgers win one final championship in 2020. 

pic.twitter.com/E1qyeKtfjl

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 8, 2021

 

Catching Up on Some 2020 Things

It's been nearly six months since my last post, and quite a lot has happened since then. COVID continued to rage on (and still does), Alex Trebek passed away, and Blogger pushed a terrible new interface onto us. What a sad, strange, weird year. Emphasis on the sad. 

Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2020 World Series, their first in 32 years and their first championship during my lifetime. Some good things did happen in 2020. 

I don't have much of an excuse for my absence over the last several months. Work got super busy when August rolled around, cards were hard to find, and I simply didn't feel up to scanning, updating my checklists, and blogging. I suppose I can blame it on 2020 or just on a bunch of little things. As Hank Scorpio says, "Can't argue with the little things, it's the little things that make up life." 

With the exception of a small purchase at a card shop in Ohio and a fun Christmas gift from my dad, I haven't added any new cards since the summer. So I figured it's a good time to catch up on a few trades from 2020 I never got around to posting about. 

Before I do so, I'd encourage anyone I owe cards to to reach out either in the comments, email, or Twitter. I don't think I'm in debt to anyone, and I'll be going back through old emails etc. to double check, but I just want to be sure. Now back to our regularly scheduled program...

We'll start first with a pair of cards sent my way from Nate (The Bucs Stop Here). I believe Nate managed to get his hands on some Bowman last Summer and was kind enough to send some of the Dodgers my way, including a super shiny Dustin May rookie card. May didn't wind up winning Rookie of the Year in 2020, but he was a solid piece for the eventual champions. Plus he did this to Manny Machado. Nasty!

A shiny Tony Gonslin was also included in this package, and like Dustin May, Gonsolin played a pivotol role in the Dodgers rotation in 2020. He narrowly missed out on Rookie of the Year honors himself. 

Next up, some "old" cards from GCRL. A handful of Dodgers from 1990 Flagship has pushed me closer to completing the team set. Just five more cards will close the door on 1990, and I'm getting closer to completing the entire decade. 

I'm also inching closer to completing the team sets of the 1980s, and this deal officially completes the 1987 Flagship set--my first completed team set in the 1980s. All seven cards below hail from the Traded series, an area that has prevented me from finishing out many of my sets from the decade. In fact, I have 74% of all 1980s Flagship Dodgers, but these pesky Traded cards stand in my way of completing most of the sets. I suppose one of my goals for 2021 will be to finally finish these off. 

Thanks for the cards, guys!

I'm hoping to get back into the rhythm of things and post regularly in 2021, so stay tuned. I've still got a few trades to cover after all.