Contest booty from Bob Walk the Plank

Matt over at Bob Walk the Plank is an A+ "quality over quantity" trader that everyone should be doing their best to arrange a trade with. We were just gearing up for another trade when I was lucky enough to be a winner in his 500th Post Contest back in July. Computer issues on his end extended the excited anticipation of waiting for the prize package, but it arrived the other day and was just perfect.

This is a gorgeous Tony Gwynn auto that would be awesome in and of itself as a top PC hit, but what really makes it hit the bullseye for my collection is the numbering...

Yep, it's a Christmas Card!

Matt actually first told me about having this card over a year ago. He was nice enough to set it aside for me while I hoped to land a comparable Pirate hit to trade him for it. I haven't been lucky enough to score a Bucco in the league of the Gwynn in the subsequent months, but fortunately for me, Matt was kind enough to surprise me with this card for my prize. I'll admit I was secretly hoping he would! Thank you so much, Matt!

If that wasn't enough, a couple more cards were also included in the prize package:

A sharp-looking auto of San Diego up-and-comer Rymer Liriano and fabulous Brian Giles patch. Great stuff!

Winning this contest basically gave me a bye in this trade cycle, but I always keep an eye out for decent Pirates cards and have built up a respectable cache since our last trade, so I'll be hitting Matt back solidly our next trade to show my appreciation.