Making Use of the Transitive Property

Trading baseball cards is fun, but finding an exact match in interested parties' want lists is rare. Fortunately it doesn't have to work that way. This month I sold a pair of cards from my collection and used the proceeds to "trade" for something new. It's more or less a swap between three parties, just with the introduction of cash and an intermediary step to the process. 

The transitive property: If A is equal to B, and B is equal to C, A is therefore equal to C. That's how I turned a pair of junk wax Jose Canseco cards into this:

Of course, this weren't your normal Canseco cards. Both were PSA slabbed Gem Mint examples needed by a player collector. He ticked off high grade examples of the 1988 Fleer Glossy and 1986 Donruss Rookies from his set registry checklist and I ended up with exactly the right amount of funds to acquire this raw, slightly rounded 1958 Topps Mickey Mantle All-Star card. Win-Win. 

Amazingly the Mantle card was likely printed in larger quantities than either of these junk wax cards.

 1952 Topps Profiles

Three more 1952 Topps cards were looked at during August, period in which I profiled the cards of a few guys who were **briefly** Boston Red Sox. Bill Wight could have really used voicemail while Don Lenhardt was part of a headline grabbing trade dubbed "The Million Dollar Swap." Ray Boone ended his excellent career with a 34 game stint in Boston. Before that, the patriarch of the Boone baseball dynasty was an outfielder tasked with filling the shoes of a Hall of Fame shortstop.

1993 Finest Profiles 

Tom Glavine was on the mound at the first MLB game I ever attended. It was a low scoring affair while he was on the mound, showing why his plaque is in the Hall of Fame. In addition to Cooperstown accolades, he racked up a bunch of Silver Slugger Awards, prompting a look at his batting stats compared to other owners of silver baseball bats.

My introduction to premium baseball cards didn't come through the '93 Finest Howard Johnson card I picked up next, but rather his 1991 Stadium Club. I have very sharp memories of that season's Howard Johnson card, but not really because of anything on the card itself.

I was going to put the finishing touches on a write up of my Brady Anderson refractor today but, honestly, the weather is just too good for that right now. Look for that to show up next week.

 Wallet Cards

Yep, the 2025 wallet cards are still going strong. They have now reached the halfway mark of their 12-month sojourn in my back pocket and have already eclipsed the full year adventures of previous cards. I'm planning to post pictures in February. So far these Ripken cards have climbed a volcano, narrowly avoided an aviation disaster, been eyed by wildlife with really big teeth, survived dinner with a metal band, and were creased by a nun losing her balance at a rock concert. It's been insane. I can't wait to share the full year results and know several of you keep a full inventory of wallet card images on your own camera rolls. Keep those wallet card posts coming and share pictures when you're ready to recap your year.