British Invasion!

A few weeks ago, I received an e-mail from John of Pursuit of Red Sox. He said he had managed to find several cards on my wantlists if I still needed them. Of course I said I’d love to have them. The transfer was arranged, and his cards crossed the pond to me. Here’s a quick sample of what he sent along.

The Chicle Victor Martinez is one of the nicer cards in that set. It’s clean, and attractive. It adds a nice little variety. The Youkilis card was especially nice to get. When I sent Youk a TTM autograph request, instead of signing the card I sent, Youk returned a signed version of this card. So, my collection included a signed 2009 Allen & Ginter, but not the regular version. Until now. The ticket to stardom is a nice little set. This card does well to highlight Wakefield in the picture. I’m not a huge fan of horizontal cards because they make my binders awkward to look at. But, this 2010 Topps Jon Lester is well composed. As is the Topps 206 card of MVP candidate Jacoby Ellsbury. His goofy grin is odd, but it’s a nice clean card. The 2011 Topps Papelbon is a wonderful action shot. You can tell that Pap just gave it his all. How could I not love a Ted Williams card? Especially from one of my favorite brands. Just a wonderful card. The same really can’t be said for the card of the second best leftfielder is Sox history. The 2007 Topps Highlight just had too much on them. The big border gets even bigger with the highlight text. It’s just too much. As for the Bowman Bates? It’s the problem with Bowman cards. I have no idea who this guy is. Judging from his position, I don’t imagine I’ll ever find out.

John was also nice enough to send over some cards that weren’t on my wantlists. Just because it’s not on a list doesn’t mean it’s unwanted. It just means I needed to draw the line somewhere when it comes to things I’m actively pursuing. But, John was safe in assuming that I’d still appreciate this beauty.

Yup. Not exactly the kind of unexpected gift you expect. It’s a fantastic card. I like jersey cards that are more than just sticking a piece of jersey into a normal card as an afterthought. Clearly, the design of the card worked around the jersey. It’s classy and elegant. Those aren’t words that you say about baseball cards very often.

So, I thank John for his extreme generosity. Hopefully the pittance that I sent his way found a good home.

Thanks again John!