A Coronary From Too Many Verlanders

I received a box in the mail from Too Many Verlanders because we recently traded.

As I slowly opened the coffin shaped box, so as not to disturb the contents, which I assumed were baseball cards, an arm suddenly shot out at me, like the last sequence in the movie Carrie, and I screamed like a girl as I jumped back.

As fear griped my heart I thought I would die of a coronary right then and there.

ELIZABETH!!

Okay, I'm exaggerating, but you can clearly see the arm in there.

And I knew what was going to be in the box since we had discussed the trade already.

But I had to dig, dig with all my effort to free the individual that was buried under the avalanche of foam peanuts.

I knew time was running out that soon they would die the extreme death of suffocation.

My hands were bleeding from the frantic dig, fingernails torn or completely ripped off.

Yeah, yeah.

I basically blew like the Big Bad Wolf and peanuts went flying.

All in an effort to free the 1998 Kenner Starting Lineup Extended Jim Edmonds figure.

Jim looks great on a shelf at Command Central.

Ahhh, the Edmonds card I wanted so that I can check it off my Starting Lineup Want List.

Jim had just days before been freed from his plastic bubble on card stock, original packaging.

With much consternation Dennis and I discussed the idea of opening up the package in an effort to make shipping easier and more affordable, knowing full well that value of the piece would take a drastic hit.

I gave the OK since I would have opened it up when it got here anyhow.

I believe Dennis words on the attached note were, 

"OMG I opened it!  It's worthless!"

Classic.

After the ordeal rescuing the Edmonds piece, I saw that I also scored on a bunch of Tim Salmons I needed and a stack of other Angels cards going back to 1976.

All good stuff.

This 1996 Pinnacle card is way cool.

It's made on that see-thru material, not sure what you call it, 

and feature like the card says, the Team Nucleus.

But to think about that outfield of Anderson, Edmonds, and Salmon and what could have been.

Do you know who the Angels got for trading Jim Edmonds?

Kent Bottenfield and Adam Kennedy.

Bottenfield played in just 21 games and Kennedy played a key role in winning the 2002 World Series for the Angels, so maybe, given that, it was a worthwhile trade.

But Man, what could have been.

And lots of other goods.

Now I just need to go check my pants

after that terrifying experience.