A Post-Vacation Trade with Teddy D.

I just got back from Hawaii and was happy to find a couple of trade packages waiting for me. The islands were as beautiful as described and I hope to get back there again someday. I actually found a card shop in Honolulu (the first time I had been in a hobby shop in abotu 5 years) and bought a few packs but didn't pull anything worth mentioning (a die-cut /100 from Donruss Elite was the lone highlight). Thankfully, blog reader Teddy Dzuiba, made up for my back luck with a package full of Mariners and M's prospects. Here's the loot:

2000 Bowman Chrome Rick Ankiel: Looking at Ankiel's stats on the back it's pretty evident that he was destined to be one of the best pitchers in all of baseball before the inexplicable wildness took over. His story never seizes to amaze me...who is going to play the role of Rick Ankiel when the movie gets made? Paul Walker? Matt Damon? Kevin Costner? I think we all know it's going to be Robert Redford.

2009 UD Sweet Spot Ken Griffey Jr: A sharp looking card of my favorite player but another unfortunate reminder that UD is done in baseball for the foreseeable future. I don't know about you, but I was pretty crushed by the news of the settlement.

2009 Choice Teddy Dziuba: Easily my favorite card of the trade, Teddy was a former Mets farmhand and was kind enough to personalize this card for me. Very, very cool. You can never go wrong with flattery in my book. A really unique addition to my collection.

Thanks for the great cards Teddy; they made the sting of leaving Hawaii a little less painful. I'll keep my eyes open for more Mets prospects and NY Giants in the future.

Last night on the beach.