Frank Robinson, 2010 Topps History of the Game #HOTG20

This is a pretty nifty insert that I pulled during my box break of 2010 Topps, with Frank Robinson showing off his 1966 American League MVP plaque. Of course, the caption makes it seems as though he won both the National League and American League MVPs that year, which would truly be remarkable. (He won the 1961 NL MVP with the Reds, and his 1966 award with the Orioles made him the first player to get that honor in both leagues.) But enough about the nice cards that I pulled...

Who wants to trade for some crappy cards?

Okay, so salesmanship was never my strong suit. Seriously, I’ve unlocked six cards in Topps’ Million Card Giveaway and my luck seems to have run dry. Besides the excellent 1958 George Crowe card that was the subject of last week’s show and tell, I did have one other vintage hit: a 1964 Don Blasingame. I already have Don’s 1965 card and I’m not crazy about the stripped-down 1964 design, so I decided to make a deal. I only need 56 cards to complete my 1965 Topps set, so I tossed out a few reasonable trade requests on the Giveaway website. The next day, I had a shiny Jim Bouton sitting where that blah Blasingame had been.

But the four cards I’ve redeemed since have been pretty lackluster. I already owned the first two, a 1993 Jack Clark and a 2008 Tadahito Iguchi. Last night’s prize, a 2001 Roberto Hernandez, was new to me but still underwhelming. Today, another blasted 1988 Topps - Tony Gwynn. I’ve tossed out some trade requests for these and the previously-unearthed 1988 Juan Samuel, trying to at least get something of interest to myself: one of the cards I need to finish my 1982 set, or a player I enjoy on an unfamiliar team (one offer I made was Iguchi for a 2003 Rickey Henderson Red Sox card). But so far, no bites. Still, you never know what someone else might want or need.

With that in mind, I’m throwing it open to the readers of this blog. If you’re participating in the Million Card Giveaway and any of these four cards catches your fancy, make an offer on toppscards.com and there’s a good chance that I’ll say yes. The caveat is this: I already have complete sets from 1986-1991, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2005, and Series 1 2008. I had a lot of fun completing the Blasingame-Bouton trade and I’d like to wheel and deal some more! In case you didn’t already know, here are the eligible gentlemen: