The Trading Post #68: Tribe Cards

Although Denver is billed as one of the best sports towns in America, and our teams have brought home three Lombardi Trophies and two Stanley Cups (all of which have occurred in my lifetime), the Rockies aren't the favorite team around here. Well, they're mine, but there's a lot of Bronco Orange in this state. So being a Rockies fan in a community of baseball card bloggers means I'm one of just a few people doing this, the others being Cards From The Quarry and Condition Sensitive, although Frankie at My Life in the Sportscard Hobby has become quite the fan of Nolan Arenado. And there are a few Ben Petrick collectors out there.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that it's not too tough for me to end up with the Rockies in this community when opportunities present themselves. That goes for group breaks, the Supertraders group, and David's Pack-A-Daily Circus at Tribe Cards. It's been going on for quite some time, and while it used to be a lot more player-focused (like a Fantasy roster), David simplified it quite a bit this year and just had team slots. Basically, he opens a pack of cards each day, and each team's "owner" gets the cards for that team. There's also a draft process for unclaimed or non-sports cards.

Naturally, I'm shut out of anything pre-1993, but I've still earned the "wahoo!!" next to my name on several cards so far, starting with 2016 Gypsy Queen.

2016 Topps Gypsy Queen #244 Tom Murphy (RC)

I don't like this year's GQ design nearly as much as last year's. It'll probably go into the general Gypsy Queen knowledge bank, knowing that it's a GQ card but having no idea which year it's from. The bold red lettering does stand out a bit, but they're using the same contrasty, painted, HDR whatever it's called on the photos as in past years.

Tom Murphy, a catcher, remains one of the promising players in the Rockies' farm system. He even got called up for a couple weeks at the end of 2015 when rosters expanded. He gets the Rookie Card logo on this one, and while he remains in the minors, has lots of promise and could be called up if Nick Hundley continues to have injury problems.

2016 Topps Gypsy Queen Glove Stories #GS-2 Nolan Arenado

Though the base cards rarely wow me, I do have a fondness for the inserts. Sliding Stars is always a favorite, and these Glove Stories cards are also nice, especially when they use the actual photo from the event referenced on the back.

Diving into the first row like this is always a bit dangerous, though it's sure to make the highlight reel. Derek Jeter famously did it in the 2001 playoffs, the first time I can recall it happening. Todd Frazier tried it the other day and ended up needing stitches on his lip. It's become somewhat expected for those on the left side of the infield, though somehow first and second basemen seem to have avoided this.

1993 O-Pee-Chee Premier #58 Andres Galarraga

I used to see these O-Pee-Chee cards a lot more frequently when I first started collecting. Of course, for the longest time, they just repurposed the annual Topps design until the last few years of their existence. From 1991-1993, they also released a Premier set, though it's on pretty thin card stock to have a name like that. This brand is a reminder of when Canada had more than one team, and seeing a tiny bit of French on the card is always novel.

The stats on the back are quite minimal, offering only previous-season and career stats for Average, Hits, Home Runs, and RBIs.

I have a few 1992 OPC Premier cards, but I think this is my first from 1993. This is likely from one of their first spring training games, and I think that may be Don Zimmer in the background, who was part of the Rockies' inaugural coaching staff.

2015 USA Baseball Stars and Stripes Crusade Blue #95 Trey Killian

I've been seeing quite a few of these Team USA cards lately, though I haven't heard of Trey Killian. Looks like he's at the Single-A level for now, so we're still a few years off from seeing him in the big leagues. This Crusade card is another of the countless parallels found in 2015 Stars & Stripes. Since there is no serial number, it must be the Blue variety. It looks and feels a lot like a Topps Finest card.

I have a feeling that I'll be seeing a lot of these Team USA cards and will have to look them up each time. But in five years, there could be plenty of collectors going after this set.

It remains to be seen what else my team slot earns in the Pack-A-Daily Circus, but I'm sure to land quite a few more "Wahoo!!"s before the circus leaves town.