A Trade With A Prowling Collector

 A somewhat-new blogger is lurking in the shadows. He stalks our posts, waiting for that moment to strike! He's Zenus, AKA The Prowling Cat. Writing since November, he contacted me around that time to try to negotiate a trade for some of those CardGen cards I have been seeing more and more of. 

In addition to having a really cool name, he has an eclectic mix of cards that fit right into my collection. And through his blog and our correspondence, I found out he's a schedule and business card collector - how many fans collect business cards of baseball teams? I'll be able to find schedules for him out here though I'm not sure what I'll find along the lines of business cards.

 

I sent him an eclectic mix of Japanese cards, including a Justin Smoak single from CardGen.

I love that clip.

Anyway, on to the cards.

 How can I say no to vintage Nolan Ryan? Even if this card wasn't included I would have done the trade, but I'm glad to have one more Nolan Ryan card knocked off my player collection list!

 This eye black hits a ... well, you get the picture. When I made this trade a couple months ago (living in Japan puts me in a time warp) I needed this for the type collection. Then I decided to buy three boxes of the stuff. But these things are so cool, I might actually wear them to work one day.

 Ever have that moment when you want to fist-bump but there's nobody around, so you just punch the air? Neither have I. But this gold card from Update covers a type collection need!

 Hm. I'm not sure what Mr. Smith is doing in here - maybe for the awards collection. I really love these original 1987 minis though! I have a feeling that someday, when I'm back in the States, I'll come across some cheap sets of Minis and Topps Bigs and just buy them all. I appreciate them more and more each time I see them.

 Zenus has an interest in minor league games and cards, and he had some singles to send my way for the type collection! This is from the.. um, Ems? Really? Sorry, that's an ugly jersey there. But the card is cool!

 Where have I seen this design before? I've seen the Charlotte Knights play once before, but never the Corvalis Knights.

 This is another card from the same set. It seems that the Knights (a collegiate summer-league team in Portland, Oregon) issued team sets for at least seven years, but the set doesn't have a standard design - at least not the 2010 Series 7 issue seen in the above two cards.

 And one more for good measure. It seems they were inspired by other card designs and couldn't pick just one.

 The good-old crooked-photo-left-on-a-basepath design. Works every time.

I'm not sure if Zenus sent this or not. Brodie here doesn't quite fit into my collection and he's oversized at that (though that hasn't stopped me before). Like Lee, it wasn't on the trade offer and it could have been accidentally mixed in when my packages were sent from America. So this guy is for trade!

Zenus, thanks for the great cards! I'm glad I could help you out a bit for your first trade. I'll keep my eyes out for business cards and schedules this year as the baseball season gets underway - and I have a couple cards for you for another trade already!