A Box of Generosity from Crinkly Wrappers

Sometimes the generosity of people who inhabit this virtual card collecting world astounds me. One such case a few months ago was the plea heard from the gentleman at Crinkly Wrappers. "Take these cards...and speak no more of it." I volunteered for a box of a "random assortment" of cards.  They were wonderfully random.

2004 National Trading Card Day Nomar: The first question is "What is National Trading Card Day?" and "If it doesn't exist anymore, can we start one?"

1996 Fleer Mike Timlin: I have an unhealthy card crush on 1996 Fleer. It's just so....tactile.

1990 Donruss Baseball Best John Farrell: Different colors do not improve the state of 1990 Donruss.  Witness this set or the green of the Donruss Rookies set from that year.....they're bright.

2000 MLB Showdown Juan Guzman:   I never played showdown; is it fun?

1990 Leaf Chet Lemon:  This is one set that I've never seen a pack of.  It was always just out of my reach.  The Frank Thomas rookie has always been a personal favorite of mine.

1982 Donruss Kent Hrbek rookie: Early era Donruss and the sheer strangeness of it always has fascinated me.

2004 Diamond Kings Orlando Hudson: The real issue with sets like this is that everyone can become a diamond king.  It lost its initial luster to compared to the originals like Gerald Perry, Pete Vuckovich, and Ron Darling....on second thought, the arcane rules for Diamond King inclusion from 1982-1991 created some strange choices.

2007 Ultra Faces of the Game Mariano Rivera: Do you see the big "C" with the Yankees symbol?  That is for a jersey piece, what clever design.

1985 Leaf Carlton Fisk: I love the Canadian Donruss from the '80s.

2003 Diamond Kings Shannon Stewart: This might be the only Diamond Kings set with an image beyond a body portrait.

Hygrade Baseball Greats:  I used to have all of these as a kid, but I lost them.  This set is why I know the names of Ross Youngs and Addie Joss.

Kellogg's Jim Rice:  Who else loved to scratch their fingernails over the surface of these lenticular cards?

2007 Ultra Ryan Zimmerman:  Full bleed horizontal shots and the Fleer Ultra brand went together like fries and frosties.

1988 Sportsflics Will Clark: "The Thrill" up close and personal, shadowed by the majestic arc of the left handed swing.

1994 Donruss Triple Play Ken Griffey Jr. : This used to be a set geared towards kids.  Look how nice it was....and simple...with an independent design.  I'm not sure what I'm trying to say here....

1992 Score P&G Barry Bonds All-Star: This set spotlighted all-star starters and reminds us of a time when the Pirates had an MVP on their squad.

This was just a small sampling of what was given in the random box.  It was really a great time to sort through and continue to sort through really.  Thanks Crinkly Wrappers guy!