Holy Smokes! A Package from P-Town Tom

I know 100% I'm preaching to the choir when I say P-Town Tom of Waiting Til Next Year is one of the most generous bloggers out there.

We've made a few trades over the years, which is both easy and really tough when you collect the same team. I just realized he sent me a box of goodies during my blogging hiatus so I'm going to have to do another post on that soon as well. But let's start with the newest stuff first.

The first day of the Cubs Convention (Friday), I happened to open Twitter on my phone, not something I actually do very often. I follow all five of the Cubs minor league affiliates and this particular tweet caught my attention:

You might be able to see it better in the original tweet, but the sign on the front of the table says Trading Cards - $8, among other things. Since making my first big Cubs trip a few years ago, I've been trying to add the minor league team sets when possible. This past year, I skipped the baseball trip because the Cubs played locally twice, a series in DC and one in Baltimore. At various times, I thought about buying the sets on eBay or directly from the team but all the extra shipping costs made me hesitant to pull the trigger.

Knowing Tom was going to the convention and that all of the affiliates would be together in one place, I debated texting him about keeping me in mind if he saw them and that I had Paypal funds ready. He was there to have fun, not do any shopping for me. But I went ahead and sent it justifying that he probably wouldn't even see it until much later or they'd be sold out. He's in a noisy convention center full of people and the cell service would be horrible.

Not one minute later, I get a text back asking if I needed all five!

And shortly after that, I received the following photo via text:

Holy smokes! He had managed to nab all five sets, plus what seems to be a smaller, supplemental set from the Tennessee Smokies (AA). I immediately sent him some Paypal because these sets can be up to $15 apiece and I hated the thought of him coming up short for something he wanted that weekend.

Awesome, 2017 team sets taken care!

I didn't think anything more about it, though I did try to follow what was happening at the convention all weekend through social media. I found about a dozen new people to follow on Twitter and saw lots of great photos.

Then on Sunday, I got another text from Tom asking me if I had a few other things. Cool, I thought, he's trying to fill out a small package. I'm all about the freebies at conventions and would have tried to do the same thing.

Fast forward to the next weekend. I had gone away and came home pretty late Sunday night. I had just driven a couple of hours, was tired and already dreading having to get up for work in the morning. But what perks you up more than a box of goodies waiting with the mail?

I had to apologize to my girlfriend because the look I had on my face as I went through the box was probably what she was expecting when I opened her Christmas presents. Whoops!

The Sunday text were about the calendar and beer cups. I didn't have either so they were welcome additions to the collection. The calendar has all of the games for the upcoming season listed so that'll be a handy reference throught the year. The top cup says 2016 Central Division Champions and the bottom two were from the World Series.

The rest of the stuff was completely unexpected!

A pair of magazines. For non-Cubs fans, Vineline is the official magazine of the Cubs. I had a subscription back in the early 90's when it was oversized, more like a newspaper printed on magazine paper. A few years back I asked if I could get a subscription without the mailing label but they said no. Now its available on newsstands, but unfortunately not in Virginia. I think Hyvee is a grocery store and this Anthony Rizzo covered magazine must be there in house one. I look forward to reading both of these!

Moving on to clothing, there's a collared throwback jersey and very colorful hat. I think these were both stadium giveaways which is pretty awesome. Granted, I haven't looked to make a comparison with other teams, but I feel like the Cubs always have great giveaways. I've been wearing the hat around the house all week, but I'm not sure it'll leave the house on my head...

There was also a nice tshirt for the Miguel & Vanessa Montero Foundation. Miguel didn't leave the Cubs on the best of terms but you can't complain a foundation that helps sick kids. I'll definitely wear this one around.

Speaking of wearing it around, this handy drawstring backpack will certainly get some use. I'll definitely bring it when I go see the Cubs in DC this year.

Another stadium giveaway was this Anthony Rizzo Gold/Platinum Glove statue. It'll go perfect with my box of Rizzo's, Rizzo Wrap, Tarp Catch Bobblehead and my Darwin Barney Gold Glove statue!

I don't know what the story behind this towel set is but they are fantastic! I couldn't find anything designating them as a stadium giveaway, but I love them. I'm not sure I'll ever use them but they'll be on display. 

In addition to the minor league team sets, Tom also threw in some other cards. The photo on the left has some sample (?) packs of 2017 Topps and some packs of World Champion Cubs. I think these were Iowa Cubs stadium giveaways? I have to look more into the set and see what I have and who I need.

On the right we have some cards that Tom was able to get autographed by some of the convention's attendees. Even though these are now in my possession, the whole experience makes me jealous! It motivates me to finish up all of my ATCRCS cards and to be ready for next year's convention.

John Baker (lower left card) was a fun follow on Twitter over that weekend. He seems very fan friendly and retweeted just about everybody who posted about him letting them try on his World Series ring.

And bringing it around full circle, last but not least are a couple of giveaways from the Eugene Emeralds, the Cubs short season Class A affiliate. They are the only Cubs minor league team I haven't visited, mainly because I'm in Virginia and they are in Oregon. I think they've got a great logo even if doesn't have anything to do with the Cubs. I imagine the air freshener is a foresty pine, but it'll have to wait until my Cubs one dies out in my car before I open it. The other thing is one of those newfangled rubber wallet/card holders that attaches to the back of your phone. This will get some use as well!

So a big thank you, thank you, thank you to Tom! Christmas in January! It helps make the last few weeks of the offseason feel like they'll fly by.