Christmas Packages from Community Gum, Cardboard Habit, and More

My mail box was full of packages on Christmas Eve.  Since I do not expect any cards on Christmas, these were kind of like my presents:

Up first is a smaller trade that I worked out on the forums for some odds and ends:

1.  2012 Bowman Blue Kevin Youkilis.  Youkilis recently signed a contract with the Rakutan Golden Eagles of Japan.  I always liked Youk and this card has a good closeup of his unusual batting stance.

2.  2012 Bowman International David Ortiz.  What group of Red Sox cards is complete without Big Papi?  If he has another couple of good seasons in him, I think his Hall of Fame chances will increase dramatically.

3.  2013 Topps 1971 Mini Nomar Garciaparra.  It is probably not surprising that Nomar was my favorite player starting in 1997.  He was an incredible talent and could do just about anything on the field.  Unfortunately injuries decimated his career.  I still think he should be considered for the Hall of Fame, he was one of the best players in the game from 1997 to 2003.

4.  2013 Bowman Chrome Jacoby Ellsbury.  He's a Yankee now.  I still get his Red Sox cards, but I am disappointed he went to the Yankees of all teams.  I will always remember his 2011 season, his straight steal of home against the Yankees and his 70 stolen base season of 2009.

5.  2013 Bowman Chrome Sapphire Rookie Reprint Ted Williams.  Finally a Red Sox card from this ongoing insert set.  The art left something to be desired.  But hey, it's the Splendid Splinter, the greatest Redd Sox player of all time.

I have been picking up the occasional card off of Ebay lately still: 

6.  2013 Bowman Draft Picks Silver Ice Jackie Bradley Jr. RC.  Most of my Ebay buys have been Jackie Bradley Jr.

Up next is my first trade with Community Gum.  He had a tradebait post awhile back and showed off a couple of Red Sox cards from the 2012 Topps Golden Giveaway Die Cut set.  These were only available through the online Golden Giveaway codes.  I used a lot of these codes, but only ever got the stupid online coins.  I always wanted one of the cards but never managed to get one.  Now I have two.  I traded a bunch of cards for his player collections for these:

7.  2012 Topps Golden Giveaway Die Cut Jon Lester.  Boston needs to lock him up for the long term.  His postseason numbers are incredible.

8.  2012 Topps Golden Giveaway Die Cut Dustin Pedroia.  If his career keeps going the way it has, he will be a Hall of Famer as well.

Thanks Jon!  You helped me knock off one of my big wants.

Next is another Ebay item:

9.  2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Silver Wave Refractor Jackie Bradley Jr. RC.  So far, the rarest card in my mini Bradley player collection, numbered out of 25.

Next is another terrific trade I made with Cardboard Habit.  I noticed on a tradebait post a couple of cards that I really wanted and set something up.  I still owe him some cards which will be sent out very soon:

10.  2013 Topps Allen & Ginter Autograph Felix Doubront.  This is the major card I wanted.  Doubront is one of my favorite current players and this is a great-looking card.

11.  2013 Topps Manufactured Reprint Ted Williams.  This is the 1956 card, I had the 1955.  Another great-looking Williams card to add to my collection.

12.  2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Blue Refractor.  This one was unexpected, but I am thrilled that it is here.

Thanks Judson!  Your cards will be on the way soon.

Finally, another Ebay win:

13.  2013 Panini Prizm Red Pulsar Jackie Bradley Jr. RC.  I actually like the 2013 Prizm set, mostly because of the color parallels.  I still wish they had an MLB license, but this looks pretty nice.  I actually got a lot of six of these, the Bradley is the one I bought it for.

Merry Christmas everyone!