Isiah Kiner-Falefa is a Yankee!

 Those were a weird few days. First I see that Isiah Kiner-Falefa was traded to the Twins, and I'm disappointed. I'd seen rumors of him going to the Yankees, and I was really hoping for that. I care less about the Twins than the Rangers, which is saying a lot. 

And next thing I know he's traded to the Yankees. Yes!

He looks weird without a beard.

For those who don't know why I'm so excited, I'm a big fan of Isiah because I watched him play with the Frisco Rough Riders in 2016 and 2017. As I said in a post earlier last year: 

"It seemed like every time I went to see the Rough Riders, Isiah would be playing. He was a constant, an oasis in an ever-changing roster. I have very fond memories of the P.A saying " Isiah Kiiineerrr FALEFAAAAAA!!!!!!" "

He's not a great player, but he's good. He's a very good fielder at shortstop and third base, and he's adequate at catcher. (He might be the Yankees' best option at catcher, actually.) Not much at the plate, but he's fine. 

I think that it was a good trade. I'm so glad to see Gary Sanchez go. He was a constant frustration. I'll miss Gio Urshela. He was good, and it was also nice to have someone named Giovanny. 

But it'll be good having Josh Donaldson at third, as long as he stays healthy, and I'm obviously glad to get Isiah Kiner-Falefa. 

Can't wait to get my first Yankees card of him. 

The best purchase I've ever made

 A few weeks ago I made the biggest purchase of my life. But I should back up a little.

Remember the cards I got for Christmas? The huge lot of low-mid grade cards from 1948 to 1959? They were from the same guy. I wrote him saying that I really enjoyed the cards... and did he have any more like them available?

Well, he did. He's a set collector with a lot of duplicates, and they were all available. In the end, I got over 700 cards from 1939 to 1973 for $176. I completely blew out my baseball card budget (and I may have dipped a bit into savings), but it was worth every penny and more.

I'll be spreading this out over several posts, because there's a lot that's worth showing. 

The cards were split into several groups, and the largest was the group of 1960s Topps cards -461 cards for $100, or about 22 cents per card. 

So beautiful...

There wasn't a ton from 1960, but this was my favorite. I like the 1960 manager cards, and it's cool to have the manager of the 1960 Pirates. I also like how he's wearing a helmet.

I like the cartoon too.

Here are four sluggers from 1961 Topps. (Klu!)There was a pretty good amount of 1961 Topps, a set I like. Yeah, the design's pretty boring and there are a lot of hatless pictures, but when the picture's nice they're beautiful.

Rocky Nelson didn't do much in the majors, but had some great seasons with north-of-the-border minor league teams. From 1953 to 1955, with the Montreal Royals, he had triple crown stats of .308/34/136, .311/31/94, and .364/37/130. In that last season he had more homers than strikeouts (36). He started 1956 hitting .394 with 12 homers, getting a call to the Dodgers. He hit .208, and was traded to the Cardinals. 1957 and 1958 he played with the Toronto Maple Leafs, hitting .294/28/102 in 1957 and .326/43/120 in 1958. He went to the majors in 1959, and two of his three seasons with the Pirates were very good. 

My first card of Pumpsie Green.

Always great to get cards of Mudcat Grant and Don Mossi.

I think this card is gorgeous.

I always love getting cards featured in the Great American Baseball Card book. 

These are two high numbers. I have a disproportionate amount of 1963 high and semi-high number cards. 

And here's some more cards from the Great American Baseball Card book. 

Colt. 45s, 5'5'' Albie Pearson, and the rookie card of the famous Angel Billy Cowan, seen here without his halo. 

Jim Umbricht's last card is the more subtle counterpart of Ken Hubbs'. 

I like these. A little pencil (or pen) transformed Hal Smith into Hal McRae, Woody Held into Merv Rettenmund, and Jim Duffalo into Dick Dietz. 

1966 Topps was the set with the most representation -126. Most of them are in very nice condition, too.

It's ironic how Smoky Burgess's card was trimmed thin. 

Yankees!

Wes Stock was coach for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1972, so that means his card was modified in 1972. Interesting. 

Dick Allen, the floating, disembodied head of Mickey Mantle, and two Mets. I love 1967 Topps  ( I say every time.) 

These are high numbers.

I love Vic Davalillo, but he looks like a gremlin on this card.

I was glad to finally get the semi-famous 1969 Mel Queen. 

As you can tell, I got some great cards for a great price. This is just the beginning. 

Thanks G1911 for the cards, and thanks everyone for reading!