Obviously it's been a few weeks and there's a reasonable chance neither still are, but regardless I wanted to show off some of their cards I have recently acquired, sorted, and added into my personal collections.
Inside of each of these boxes weren't actual packs. There were stuffed with team bags filled with cards. Here's a peek at the contents of those team bags after I sorted them on my office floor:
So grab your favorite beverage, sit back, and get ready for this scan heavy post that was brought to you by Reader X and John over @ Johnny's Trading Spot. When it comes to care packages, these guys don't mess around. They're heavy hitters. Their care packages aren't measured by ounces. They're measured in pounds.
I couldn't find any photo evidence of John's care packages, but they were similar in size to the one Xavier sent me in January:
John used a large flat rate box to ship his cards. Xavier's preferred method is a shoebox stuffed with baseball card boxes:
Although the shipping packages were different... each of these guys sent me hundreds of new cards for my collections and students.
Today I'm only going to focus on my two favorite baseball teams. Let's start off with the first place Athletics...
Reader X sent me a variety of stuff including this Gold Star parallel team set:
He also included almost seventy rookie cards and parallels featuring hall of famers, fan favorites, and current stars:
Not sure if Mr. Armenteros is currently playing baseball, but back in 2019 he peaked as the Oakland A's #5 prospect:
Big and low numbered!
2023 Topps Gold Stars Oakland A's Team Set
A's Hall of Famers & Legends
Former & Current A's Parallels
More Current Stars
Reader X also tossed in a pair of buybacks:
And this Lazaro Armentaros super collector starter kit:
Last, but certainly not least... Xavier sent me this oversized Matt Chapman:
2017 Bowman Prospects 5x7 #BP110 (#'d 05/10)
Let's start with the three of the A's brightest stars:
Although I was watching and playing baseball by the late 70's, my earliest memories of attending games were from the Billy Ball Era. His 1982 Donruss card captures a great shot of him having a calm discussion with Blue. Some of my favorite baseball highlights from the 80's involved watching managers arguing with umpires... especially when fingers were pointing and dirt was flying. Good times.
Brent Rooker, Nick Kurtz & Jacob Wilson
All three of these guys have had some struggles at the plate this season, but they seem to be picking up steam.
Next up is a giant batch of Big Mac and The Pizza Man:
McGwire Oddballs & Piazza Inserts
1987 Barry Colla Mark McGwire Set
1987 Barry Colla Mark McGwire #10
Like Xavier, John also included a parallel team set in his care package:
2025 Topps 582 Mongomery Oakland A's Team Set
And what better way to wrap up a post, than with a six pack of Billy Martin cards:
Billy Martin Collection
Thank you Reader X and John for these awesome additions to my A's collection. I was originally going to show off some Padres cards too. Unfortunately I've already been sitting on this stuff for over two weeks and this post is already running a little long, so stay tuned for the Brown & Gold cardboard.
Until then...
Happy Saturday and sayonara!
By the way... the A's are indeed still in 1st place. Yee haw! Billy would be proud.
