Trade post with S.Mack Talk II

Jimmy over at S.Mack Talk wanted several of the 2014 Topps Update parallels I pulled and had agreed to trade me some of his extra Leaf Perfect Game cards of guys currently on the Cal State Fullerton baseball - but since time had passed, he ended up only really needing one of the cards when I finally saw him over at an event where the CSUF players might show up.

On my end, I got one of the extra cards he got signed of outfielder Scott Hurst and two other unsigned cards of pitcher John Gavin and infielder Tristan Hildebrandt - that I was able to get inked up on my own.

I don't really think much of Leaf cards, so it was nice to get a few cards I actually might have wanted - without having to go look for them on my own.

Featured autograph - Kurt Suzuki

Suzuki is 30 years old and now has spent parts of 10 seasons playing pro ball - it's nice to see the current Minnesota Twin start off great with the bat in 2014, though as a catcher, maybe the MLB season takes it's toll and drags his numbers down.

He's not a Buster Posey or a Yadier Molina - but I guess as long as he posts passable numbers at the plate, he'll get his opportunities to play a starring role [as opposed to someone stuck on the bench].

It seemed like just yesterday when he was a fresh faced rookie with the Oakland A's - I didn't really follow guys playing in college when Suzuki enjoyed an inspired collegiate playing career at Cal State Fullerton, but probably became aware of him, when his first-year Bowman Draft cards started to come out late in 2004.

Featured autograph - Tim Wallach

It's ironic I maybe posting this since he just did a card shop signing and I didn't actually get this autograph at that appearance - back in my first incarnation as an autograph collector at Anaheim / Angel Stadium, I ended up trading for a handful of loose 1996 Angels Mother's Cookies cards [maybe one or two signed already, but an incomplete set].

After all these years, like this Angels in Order post about a Mark Trumbo card - I really just want to complain about how the Angels uniform blends into the background of the card.

Unfortunately, all the cards in 1996 Angels Mother's Cookies set look like the Wallach - I want to say the cards look kind of cheap to begin with but it seems like the Angels were the only Mother's Cookies team set photographed in a studio setting and not outdoors.

It's kind of hard to see the autograph but I got the card signed a couple of weeks ago - just to get it out of my little stash of cards I have for the current Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach and put it away.

I did the same for a Mark Langston card I got signed last year or the year before - I don't intend to get any more signed.