A Gift Box From Joe Collector

After receiving two packages in Thursday's mail that I had to hunt down information for, it's gratifying to figure out both packages. I must admit that my head was spinning when I opened the packages.

There have been so many packages from different people coming in and so many packages to different people going out, that it's hard to figure out who is who when there's a first time address or a missing return address.

This package is a giveaway box from Jeff, better known as Joe Collector. I know that Jeff left off the return address so no one would feel obligated to send something back. He must read all of our blogs. That's the way most of us operate. It may not come right away, but it usually comes. Of course, you know that this will just make some bloggers try harder to send Jeff stuff. I will abide by Jeff's wishes, unless he tells me otherwise.

So, what exactly is in this bad boy? Sure, there's a bunch of White Sox cards. But there were also a bunch of other baseball cards. That's what threw me off when I was trying to solve the mystery of the unidentified seller. I finally noticed a tiny zip code out of the many numbers on the package, none of which are trackable by the way. I saw the zip code was from Salem, Oregon. I put two and two together and came up with five. Meaning that I was almost certain, but there was a lingering doubt. With Jeff's identity a mystery no longer, let's find out something about this package.

To list every card would be an exercise in futility. So, I will instead list the year, brand and a few random names.

1987 Topps - 1 card
Richard Dotson

1988 Eight Men Out - 10 cards
Michael Rooker as Chick Gandil, The Gamblers Burns and Maharg, Nemo Leibold Outfielder

1990 Fleer - 1 card
Carlos Martinez

1991 Score - 2 cards
Scott Fletcher, Carlton Fisk

1991 Ultra - 14 cards
Carlton Fisk, Bobby Thigpen, Robin Ventura

1993 Topps - 88 cards
Roberto Hernandez, John Smoltz, Gary Carter, Matt Williams

1993 Topps Gold - 6 cards
Lance Johnson, Kirk McCaskill, Greg Hibbard

1996 Bowman's Best - 1 card
Frank Thomas

1996 Topps - 18 cards
Ron Karkovice, Ozzie Guillen, Tim Raines

1999 Topps - 4 cards
Bill Simas, Bobby Howry, Jim Parque

1999 Ultra - 7 cards
Robin Ventura, Albert Belle, Magglio Ordonez

2000 Bowman - 1 card
Jason Stumm

2000 Topps - 50 cards
Greg Norton, Cal Ripken, Wade Boggs, Juan Gonzalez

2003 Fleer Tradition - 7 cards
Tony Graffanino, Keith Foulke, Miguel Olivo

2003 Topps Opening Day - 6 cards
Carlos Lee, Paul Konerko, Frank Thomas

2003 Topps Opening Day Mini - 4 cards
Mark Buehrle, Phil Nevin, Magglio Ordonez

2004 Topps - 29 cards
Joe Crede, Billy Koch, Flash Gordon

2005 Topps Updates & Highlights - 27 cards
Pierzynski Safe After Strike Three, Sean Tracey, It's A South Side Series

2006 Topps - 4 cards
Juan Uribe, Tadahito Iguchi, Jon Garland

2006 Topps Updates & Highlights - 14 cards
Sandy Alomar, Mike MacDougal, Alex Cintron

2008 Baseball Heroes - 40 cards
Barry Zito, Frank Thomas, Chad Billingsley

2008 Bowman - 4 cards
Javier Vazquez, Nick Swisher, Lance Broadway

2008 Donruss Threads - 2 cards
Joe Jackson, Luis Aparicio

2008 Finest - 4 cards
Jim Thome, Mark Buehrle No-hitter, Donny Lucy

2008 Topps - 10 cards
Jose Contreras, Scott Podsednik, Gavin Floyd

2008 Yankee Stadium Legacy - 1 card

Tommy Henrich (1829)

Thank you, Jeff!! That is certainly a boatload of cards! I can definitely use a lot of the cards in there. I want to thank you for your generosity in sending those out. I sent out 16 packages this week and I'm exhausted from it all. None of them came close to matching the amount of cards in this box. I salute you for pulling this off at one time.