it's been everywhere, man

yes, the travelin' box finally made an appearance in the land of 10,000 lakes.  i got skipped in the last go around, but got first dibs on this round along with my normal slot (yet to come).  for those of you who don't know - here is a primer on just what the box is all about.

and, for some perspective, the cards i sent in for my initiation into the rotation were a 1960 topps al kaline, a 1963 topps gaylord perry rookie card, a 1971 topps tom seaver, and a 1973 topps babe ruth/hank aaron/willie mays card.

now that i am trading with the box, i added a card from 1958 topps, a 2002 topps tribute hall of famer bat card, a hall of famer rookie card from 1966 topps, plus a few more cards of the vintage and relic and star variety.

here's what i traded for.

1958 topps eddie mathews all star

i undertook a project back in the early 2000's where i completed a sampler set for all topps releases from 1952 through 1969 (the years i figured i would never complete the full sets).  basically, it was (at least) one card from every team, every subset, every design variant.  i had a 1958 nellie fox all-star, but didn't yet have a national league equivalent.  now i do.

2009 topps juan pierre black parallel

serial numbered pierre.

1996 sportflix mike piazza

thanks to all who put dodgers in the box.

next up are some cards that spoke to me, since i do sort of have a soft spot for the twins.

2005 diamond kings johan santana dual jersey

1967 topps jim kaat

and more impressively, 2000 fleer greats of the game jim kaat autograph

i have given up hope regarding a 1978 topps kaat auto (i don't want to pay $25 for it) so i was happy to see this certified auto in the box.

last, but certainly not least, is this 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures card of la rams great jack youngblood

i was a huge rams fan from 1977 through 1980 (the super bowl year) and even a little bit after that.  i was upset at the time that they didn't keep vince ferragamo (he went to canada in 1981), and didn't fully get back on the bandwagon when he returned in 1982.  instead i turned my attention to the minnesota vikings.  anyway, my favorite player was jack youngblood.  it started with the name.  youngblood.  the rams also had a jim youngblood on the team, but jack was the better player by far.   plus, he played in the 1979-80 postseason with a broken leg, and even played in the meaningless pro bowl after the super bowl.  i had been looking at his autos off and on over the past few years, but never pulled the trigger.  until now.

i can't wait for the box to make its triumphant return this way.