Angelic Trade and a Collective Hoarding

I don't even want to know what my mail carrier thinks with every delivery. She's seen a lot of pick pocket envelopes in the last three months and twice as much incoming mail for...ME. Perhaps she thinks I'm popular? A shopaholic?  None of these goodies were addressed to 'current resident.'

Angels' man, Texas Tom, sent a fun envelope filled with sticker needs, Phillies' Dutch and Harpo and a glowing group of stars!  All but Harpo were from my wantlist, always appreciated! The Harp was part of a pack bust. I mentioned liking the card and voila!! He's a gracious fellow.

Sharply designed

Love the dirty throwback!

Those crazy 90s! Fun cards! My dilemma - put them in the fun binder, or with the 1993 Fun Pack set build which is coming along, not. Twenty seven years later, I still need a hundred cards. Glow Stars still needed:

Thanks for the help, Tom! Come back next month 'n' pick my pockets!

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If you follow Greg at The Collective Mind, perhaps you've read several of his 'Dispersing the Hoard' posts. Greg bought a collection with an amazing card assortment spanning the late 90s through 2006 or so. These were up for trade, or sale if you were unable to assist with his want list. I couldn't lend a hand there but was happy to free up some space in those boxes! I've done this three times now and am still tempted to return and pick a little more. Many of the available cards were from "current player sets" of the day. I'm drawn to the retired or deceased fellows. Pardon the dark humor but as I've said more than once, 'the only good Yankees are dead Yankees.'  For example:

From 2004 UD Yankee Classics. Upper Deck had it going on!

I received 23 cards from 2004 UD Timeless Teams, a set too large for me to tackle! I pick these cards up when I can.

Also from 2004 and Upper Deck - Sweet Spot Classics! This 60 card batch knocked a lot off my want list. I was crazy excited to see these weren't claimed!

All that remains of my list

The first dead  and old guys set I ever attempted was 2001 Upper Deck Hall of Famer. I finished the base set with one box bust back in the day. The base card design is simple, and I think - stunning! I took every card he had to divide among my player collections. You may see the extras pop up on pick pockets one day.

Subsets are also unique, perhaps a bit busy but colorful. These include Origins of the Game, Hall of Records and National Pastime.

As for the insert sets, I'm still trying to finish three:

Greg had a few for me:

I don't know too many baseball collectors who are happy to see UD gone from the hobby. 'Goodwin Champions' makes me a little sick every time I spy one in a dime box. Awfullllllllll.  Looking at the cards I chose from the Hoard, it's obvious UD was a heavy part of my early collecting history.

Not to knock Topps but I wasn't into the white borders and picket fences back then. There are a few sets  I've come across in recent years that had I still been collecting after 2002, I would've forked over the dough for them. 2003 Fan Favorites would be one - and 28 cards from Greg was enough to whet my appetite for more.

I hope Greg is able to find a home for his remaining hoard. I'm elated to add all of these to my collection. I won't share the cost but to say cheap cheap cheap. It was as good as any card show could've been. We've all missed them during the pandemic. I did pick up cards from Cracker Jack and old school Elite to share around the community. I'm not always  thinking of myself.