The Traveling Box: Pass Two

Here's what you've been waiting for. The Traveling Box of Sports Cards has made its way through my hometown with three cards swapped out. While I can't tell you what I put in the box, I can tell you what I took out.

A fistful of Frank.

I swiped the 1990 Leaf card of Frank Thomas. It has been a card that has eluded me for almost twenty-three years. I have coveted this card since Series Two started trickling out during the summer of 1990. I never pulled the trigger on the card because of the enormously inflated price tag. Always outbid on eBay and always astronomically priced in the Chicago area, I thought this card might be a white whale for me. Albeit an extremely easy white whale, marred only by a moral sense of value. The obtaining of this card concludes the 1990 Leaf White Sox team set, and for that, I am thrilled.

The other two cards I took because of a "why not" factor. Did I need them? Not really. Could I pass them up? Probably, but something told me to take a chance.

I normally do not collect graded cards. They have their place in the hobby, I guess, but there's something alien about them that makes me back away slowly before turning around and bolting through the nearest exit. Then I thought to myself, "Self, when are you going to get another chance to get a graded Frank Thomas rookie? And a rookie card that isn't one of the typically thought ones?". The opportunity presented itself and I took it. Do I feel shameful? No, not really. This graded 1990 Score Rookie/Traded card of Frank Thomas helps balance out the other graded card I own. A 1990 Upper Deck Sammy Sosa. It balances it out a lot!

The final card is a 2005 Bazooka Moments Game-Worn Uniform card of Frank Thomas. Did I need it? Nope. But I didn't have the card either. It's cute. It's different. It's mine.

The box has only been through a handful of participants and already I see things listed that aren't in the box and things in the box that aren't listed. There was at least one listed card that I had my eye on that I could not find anywhere inside the box. I think we need to be a little more diligent on marking what's entering and exiting the box. I hope that it doesn't become too much of a problem.

I did find it interesting and funny that a card that I had made ended up in the box without my knowledge. Future possessors of the traveling box, who have been reading the various blogs for quite awhile, should recognize it when they see it. That was probably the biggest surprise I came across, at least to me. I should also note that I am very happy to see that the box has grown in size since the first pass.

As always, I think I left the box a little better than I found it. The box should be arriving at its next destination as this posts.