Finishing Off The Leprechaun

This has been one rather enjoyable "battle" that Wes, of the infamous Jaybarkerfan's Junk blog, has set me up with.  Once I was able to befriend The Leprechaun it's been all downhill and now Patty (that's what I've named him) is literally tossing cards my way.

Here's a couple of snapshots of the last box, and then we're going to fly through a flurry of pictures in a vein attempt to keep up with The Leprechaun.

Wes must have had an abundance of penny sleeves, because every card in the three boxes was protected.  Even the 1987 Topps!

Let's start with some good Kris Bryant mojo:

The dude can mash, but my pick for NL ROY is Jorge Soler.  But if Soler can't stay healthy because of his pesky hamstrings then I reserve the right to change my pick to Kris Bryant!  The Leprechaun says he'll make sure that no one objects.  Such a swell lil' fella!

Hey, look!  More colors of the rainbow!

 And some Cubs prospects, including the VOGELMONSTER!  There's a Logan Watkins card on the bottom right.  He's a personally favorite of mine and I wish him all the best during his recovery from a snapped achilles tendon.

Sweet swingin' Billy Williams and Mr. Cub...

 

Another Hall of Fame member . . . The Hawk!

A Madduxing of great proportions and a boost to my player collections of Brooks Kiescnhick, Matt Clement, and Nomah!

A couple of new Starlin Castro cards to add to the binder.  I must be getting close to the century mark by now.

 A new Kosuke Fukudome card!  And one of my favorites . . . I love those Masterpieces!

 122 unique Fukudomes!  Woo-Hoo!

Two brand new Kerry Wood cards as well!  One is from Opening Day and the other is from relic end of the spectum.

383 unique Kerry Wood cards! Woot!  The Leprechaun knows what I like!

There were plenty of Sandberg cards being tossed around, none new to me, but plenty that might wind up in the FrankenSet!

 If I had to ever start a collection featuring a collecting niche, like throwback uniforms, bunting, double dips, or plays at the plate I would go for the multi-exposure card.  In some cases they almost tell a story.

 Above is a Ryno which had a red/pinkish sleeve to protect it, which reminded me that I didn't give DefGav any love for the Chicago Cubs top loader he sent in his last package.  Stellar! Thanks, Gavin!

Now I just have to pick the perfect card to place in there.  No pressure!

If I had to pick an NL Cy Young winner for this season my vote would be Andrew Cashner.

 He pitches in a great park and he finally has some run support in that new fantasy league like lineup.  If he can get 30 starts he'll be in contention.  Mark my words!

The next card is getting some love because Kyle Farnsworth wears tight pants and my wife digs that.

 Me, I like the back of the Grace card!

Heathcliff Slocumb . . . another former Peoria Chief from my middle school days.  

 Naturally, being it a package from JBF there was some serious Cubs goodness toward the end.  I think the Leprechaun was just holding all the really sweet stuff until the end.

 Above is a diecut of Aramis Ramirez numbered to 100.  The Theriot is out of 149.

 David Kelton... another failed third base prospect.  Ugh.  . . . Darwin and Mark Prior relics!  Very nice.

 Slammin' Sammy and gray uniform swatch from Castro, who is pictured in his home whites.  Why does this bother me so?

 A double relic and auto of Marlon Byrd.  Topps Marquee?  That sounds really high end.  Yikes!

 Trevor Getzky?  He's an Angel the last time I checked and he's probably the least recognize of Wayne Getzky's clan.

 Vinatge!  Glorious Vintage!

 Many years were represent in the box and few different brands in Bowman, Post, and Topps.

Mark this down... The Leprechaun gave me my first 1954 Bowman card . . . and it's in really good shape!

Roy Smalley was the Cubs starting shortstop from 1948 through 1950.  Nice zip up jersey, Roy!

Lastly, my favorite two cards from The Leprechaun. #1 = Stan Hack!  I talked a little about Stan when JBF sent me a placemat from his restaurant in Dixon, IL, a couple of months ago.

This 1955 Topps card is from Stan's managing days.  Did you know he earned MVP votes in eight consecutive seasons while playing third for the Cubs?  Yeah, he sometimes get's buried underneath some of the bigger names like Sandberg, Dawsom, Maddux, Williams, Jenkins, Santo and this guy...

Shiny, numbered, and a jersey piece...

Simply. Awesome.

Wes, once again you outdid yourself.  The shear volume of cards alone is enough to keep me sorting for a few weeks, especially with my new system involving the Cubs FrankenSet.  Toss in cards for my player collections... a couple of Kris Bryants... the VOGELMONSTER... autos... vintage... and an Ernie Banks relic.

Wow!  Thank you so much, my friend.  A return package is in order, and it has been in the works for sometime now.  It centers around your 2015 collecting goal, but be patient for this one will be worth the wait!

Hangin' with The Leprechaun, Part III

I love boxes of random Cubs cards, because who knows what will unveil itself.

 The Leprechaun thought I might really enjoy some of the cards, especially these:

I don't know that I enjoy the color green as much as him, but I did appreciate the colorful rainbow of parallels!

Here are a few other cards which The Leprechaun thought might standout:

See what I did there.  Hehe.

There were plenty of Cubs for the player collections, including a half-dozen Kosuke Fukudome rookie cards:

 Plenty of Mr. Cub and Kid K:

 Kuji Fujikawa, fan favorite Augie Ojeda, Shawon Dunston, and Nomah!

 Even a couple of Albert Almora cards that are new to the binders!

 Woo-Hoo!  More 2015 Topps that has magically found its way to me!

 I really like the team cards this year.  Celebration shot?  Check.  Throwback uniforms?  Check.  Happy collector?  Check.

 International parallels of the two main cogs in the Cubs offense... more Cubs binder fodder! Love it!

 Some older cards with some excellent names!  This Leprechaun sure knows what he's doing!

 Ahhhh!  Random cards from insert sets and some tasty Kellogg's 3-D Super Stars!  Sweet!

 Patty, the Leprechaun, then did a little jig and then all of the Greg Maddux and Ryne Sandberg cards found themselves into two neat piles.  Man, I need to learn how to that.

Here are my two favorite Maddux cards.  The 50th anniversary Leaf is a bit surprising: I guess I over looked the fact that Leaf has been around that long.  And I remember these Black Gold cards when they were first released.  Pretty cool that I now have the Maddux after all of these years.

I really liked the subsets within early 90s sets. Tuxedos, black and white, caricatures, and recognizing those who put service above self.  They had it all.  But the high releases and inserts were the cards that got all of the attention at card shows.  The Leprechaun has given me the best of both worlds!

Here's some oddballs of Ryno...

 And more high-end...

On to random Cubs goodness that doesn't fit a certain niche in my collection:

 A framed mini of Ryan Dempster, an actual mini, and card smaller than a mini... oh my!

Some Peoria Chiefs love!

Willie Gardner hit 0.182 in 113 games across two seasons for the Chiefs.  He was a former 17th round draft pick who maxed out in A-ball.  Why Classic?  Why?

 A shiny Dwight Smith and Derrek Lee is on fire!  Excellent!

 Okay, this card is a must have for any one who collects double-dips.  Front and Back?  Pshaw.

A dancing Mickey Morandini?  It's too bad he probably doesn't have the name recognition anymore to be on Dancing with the Stars.

 Good use of horizontal space to catch the Wild Thing falling off the side of the mound.  Excellent, Upper Deck.

 And finally, a 50th Anniversary buy back of Dick Bertell.  Love me some buy backs!

I was worried about such a picture heavy post, but the Leprechaun told me that you guys like pictures.  Which is good, because there's one more 400-count box that Patty is all excited about.  Wes, thanks again for sending the little fella my way. This is turning out to be lots of fun!