The Trading Post #20: Andrew's Baseball Cards

I have another new trading partner to blog about! This is the last of my trades from 2014, which arrived on New Year's Eve.

I reached out to Andrew at Andrew's Baseball Cards offering to fill some needs from his 2012 Bowman want list. One of the monster 5000-count boxes I got at a recent card show was loaded with them, so I had plenty to spare. I found a couple dozen cards for him (and gold parallel or two, if I recall correctly), and I got three pretty nice Rockies in return, as well as the always-appreciated handwritten note.

Todd Helton's rookie year was 1997, and this Score card from the following year documents his breakout performance in his first-ever major league game against the Pirates, where he hit a home run.

1998 Score #251 Todd Helton

That's a pretty goofy expression on Helton's face. But then again, no one ever took a picture of me mid-throw, so who am I to talk? Note that the card has a little printed tan seal in the lower right noting that it's Helton's "Official Pinnacle Rookie Card". Snazzy.

The second one that Andrew sent was a really thick serial numbered card from Topps Triple Threads. I've never purchased that product outright, but I do see it from time to time in dollar or 75-cent boxes.

2012 Topps Triple Threads Sepia #2 Carlos Gonzalez /625

Like products across Topps' whole lineup, Triple Threads has a large number of different colored parallels. The one above is the "Sepia" variety, which are numbered to 625. They continue the "triple" theme on the back with three different facts about the player, which they call the "triple take".

Finally, another thick card. But this one is thick to contain a relic, rather than just thick for the sake of feeling expensive.

2013 Topps Chasing History Relics #CHR-TT Troy Tulowitzki Series 2 (MEM)

That's my second bat relic of Tulowitzki. The first was sent to me by another blogger, Matthew at Bob Walk the Plank. Matthew's blog, by the way, is only a couple weeks younger than mine, and he is running a contest to commemorate his first anniversary. Follow that link and put your name in the hat!

But back to the card, the "Chasing History" insert set was one of my favorites of 2013, when Topps was milking the "chase" theme for all it was worth. I didn't know there were relic varieties in that insert set, but I do like the design. The back of the card mentions that Tulo is "chasing" the late Ernie Banks for the record of most 25-HR seasons by an NL shortstop. He was halfway to Banks' record of six (who did it consecutively, in fact) when this card was printed, and tacked on a fourth strong season in 2013. Tulo is quite the power hitter, but he'll need a few more healthy years to eclipse that mark.

One odd thing about this card that I haven't seen on any other relic is that the bat slice seems to be slightly misaligned. There's a tiny sliver of empty space in the lower left corner. It makes me wonder whether it was jostled in shipping somehow, or if that's just how it was manufactured.

Regardless, it will go nicely with my growing stack of Rockies relics and autographs! Thanks, Andrew, and I look forward to our next trade.