Trading Stickers With Kids

If we’re being technical, this should probably be a “Part 2.”  In case you’re wondering, “Part 1” would be this post.  At around the same time that trade was being arranged, Mary contacted me about trading some stickers for her two boys.

Of course I was very happy to oblige.  A couple quick emails, a couple envelope exchanges later and just like that I had a few more pages in my album completed.  Mary’s two sons hopefully completed a couple of theirs as well.

Not a bad selection there, right?

I bet you can guess a few of the teams already, can’t you?  But there’s one other sticker that isn’t going into the book.

focus...

My budding Starlin Castro collection needs more attention.  I’m hoping I’ll get a few more trades for the standard issue stuff like this so I can get those percentages up.  It’s a losing battle so far with him being the go-to Cub in every set.  Rizzo might take some of the focus away in 2013.

Indians Before

Okay, on to the stickers.  I don’t follow the AL Central all that closely, but weren’t the Indians doing well in the first half before Chicago & Detroit ended up taking control?

Indians After

Oh right. The mascots are everywhere. I almost forgot.  Do kids like that mascot?  It’s hard to imagine they’d like some random blobby thing with some undiagnosed yellow pox.  Yet, they like the Phillie Phanatic, so who knows.

Tigers Before

Speaking of the Tigers, there’s the triple crown winner.  I think what bugs me the most about the Cabrera vs. Trout for MVP argument is that the pro Trout/WAR people act as if Cabrera’s season was pure crap and that it shouldn’t be a contest.  Andy knows my thoughts about WAR, but I’ll say this. I don’t care who wins and so I’m not going to argue or discuss the merits of either with anyone.

Tigers After

Two mascots?  Oops, that’s just Valverde.  How was this team not winning the division all year long?  Unless the Giants are able to come back and make it, I’ll be rooting for them in the World Series.

Braves Before

What? No Chipper background picture?

Braves After

Brian McCann was the last sticker I needed last year.  I forget who it is this year, but I’m happy to finish off the Braves and not have a repeat of those troubles.

Diamondbacks Before

Justin Upton is still good, right?  Arizona gets so little attention that it’s tough to keep track.  All I know is that they’ll have a great announcing team next year.  Sorry to see Brenly go and Baseball Tonight better up the Ravich quotient otherwise it’ll be like AZ will have ruined all my baseball shows.

Diamondbacks After

So, the mascot for a team named after a snake is a coyote?  That’s it. I’m convinced this team has an identity crises.  I mean, how many times have they changed their logo and color scheme already?  And now a wolf-thing instead of a snake?  Can a baseball team be classified as a transgendered? Trans-species-ed?

Giants Before

Timmy won’t be the cover boy next year.  Barry Zito doesn’t even get a sticker.  Talk about reversal of fortune.

Giants After

Hey look, it’s a Mays-cot!  Oh behalf of the wife, Go Giants!  Of course, by the time you read this, they very well may be eliminated.  Still, Go Giants!

Highlights Before

Ugh, what a terrible, terrible image.  Let’s cover up Molina’s stupid face with stickers ASAP!

Highlights After

This isn’t much better.  Basically Topps took the short printed cards from 2012 Topps and put them on a separate page.  You know, instead of the foil legends we got last year. To make things worse, out of the 9 stickers, we have 2 Diamondbacks and 2 Royals and 1 guy who quit American ball because he sucked at it.  No actual highlights.  No record breakers or post-season action (I guess the Feliz counts).  Just rehashed images of “hijinks.”  I really hope the 2013 album makes this right again.

I want to thank Mary and her 2 boys for making this trade right.  It was a pleasure helping them out with what little I could find.  That’s the great thing about stickers.  If my trade emails are any indication they’re bringing some kids into the hobby, because there will be a “Part 3.”