Christmas Came a Month Early

I did not get very carried away with my Black Friday spending in regards to baseball cards.  I purchased a wall art card from the Topps site for about $20 delivered, and spent another $22 in a card shop on some storage boxes and 3 packs of Topps Update.  I only bought the $3.50 packs of Update to get the promotional  Bowman Holiday pack.  The Update packs yielded nothing exciting, while I will have a future post showing the 4 cards from the Bowman pack.

I did enter a contest on The Bench website that was run by member David K.  He is one of the most generous card collectors I know.  Each month he runs a give away for an autographed cards of a HOF player or superstar.  All you have to do it pick a number from 1 to 75 and hope you are right.  I was the lucky winner with the guess of #62.  Yesterday my prize arrived.

I knew I was getting this 2008 Upper Deck Heroes auto #ed to 25, but was still very excited to open the package last night.  This is my second Musial auto.  It is a sticker auto and one that was done toward the end of his lifetime when his auto was not as crisp, but it is still a beautiful card.  The red background is a nice touch for a Cardinals card.  A big thank you to David for this wonderful card.
     

Almost the Same

In yesterday's post I showed this Junior Fernandez card:

It was included in a trade package I received over the weekend.  On Monday I received this Fernandez card that I won on EBAY:

Almost the same pic except the autographed card has Mike Matheny's #22 on the uniform.  I guess Topps tried to change things up.  This 2016 Bowman Chrome auto cost me $4 delivered.  I have not seen anyone sign an auto with a very legible first name, but then an X at the beginning and end.  I guess some players need to be unique.

Continuing with the Trade Packages

My second trade package last weekend came from TCDB member brianscards.  This package contained a variety of Cardinals, not just the cardboard kind.

1991 Panini Stickers are about the size of A&G mini cards.  I think they would like better with just a full color photo on the front, but I guess Panini needed somewhere to put the stats.

Topps put out a coin series from 1987-1990.  I have a few of them floating around somewhere.  This 1990 Pedro Guerrero completed a team set.  The 1991 Classic Draft Picks card is rather bland, but showing the player in a college uniform is a different change of pace.  I guess photoshopping players into MLB uniforms was not the in thing to do back then.

Collector's Choice Silver and Gold Signature parallels are some of my favorite 1990s sets to collect.  The 1994 version had 20 different Cardinals in it.  Sutcliffe followed a long line of former Cub pitchers to come to St. Louis in the early 1990s.  Lee Smith, Jaime Moyer, Les Lancaster, and Bob Tewksbury are a few I can think of.  Big Lee had a few good seasons as the closer, but not many of the others did much.  Tewksbury was a decent starter who was an All Star in 1992.

Take a close look at this 2016 Bowman Platinum card.  You may see the same picture in another post this week.

I can now say my 2017 Topps Update team set is finished, minus the photo variations.  I like the Postseason Celebration inserts, although this one highlighting the 2006 World Series could have at least shown one of the players.  I like clydesdales as much as any Cardinals fan, but this is a baseball card.  Show me a player.

A Trade with some First and Last

I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend.  I spent my four day weekend eating, shopping, and watching the new Thor movie.  It was a lot better than the second.  I like the added humor in this one.  I received a couple of trades in over the weekend.  The first from TCDB member pezNpirates added some first and last cards to my collection.

The package included two former Cardinals first basemen.  I was never a fan of the 2008 Topps Moments & Milestones set.  I am sure it was a player collector's nightmare.  The Big Cat's time in St. Louis was just the injury filled season of 1992.  From there he went onto better things in Colorado.  He has a few baseCardinals cards like this 1992 Topps Traded, and even some autos in a Cardinals uniform.

These 2 cards were the last ones I needed to complete a couple of team sets.  The Medwick is from 1989 Pacific Legends, the Guerrero from 1989 Score Baseball's Hottest 100 Players. 

I have no way to tie in this Molina card into the first and last theme other than he plays a handful of games at first base each year.  I guess it is also my first bat card of him. 

Push for the Top 50

About a month I ago I decided to set a small end of the year card collecting goal.  The Trading Card Database site keeps track of how many trades each user has done.  With my recent increase in free time, I am slowly make my way towards the top 50.  I am guessing I need to average about 2 trades a week to get there and stay by the end of December.  My latest trade was with member Bertons doubles.  I sent him a large stack of 2016 Topps Holiday baseball in return for some nice Cardinals from my wantlist.

 

Before too long I will have to make a wantlist for my minor league sets.  I have a good stack of Classic Best cards that are organized by year, so I hope that will not be too tough of a task. 

1995 Bowman's Best is split up into blue and red cards.  These two finish my blue team set. 

This is a Class 2 2016 Gold Label card.  I believe I have the Class 1 card already, but will have to check on the difference. 

I wonder if these 2 will have 2018 Stadium Club cards pictured in Cardinals uniforms.  I highly doubt both will still be with the team even if the Cardinals do not land Stanton. 

Just like the 2014 Red Foil cards from yesterday's post, these 2017 Diamond Kings really pop with the red background.  The Reyes is the SP photo variation.  These 2 should definitely be in the Cardinals rotation next year, maybe as the #1 and #2 starters depending on how Reyes comes back from TJ surgery.

Give Some, Get Some

I have mentioned numerous times about my dislike for mini cards.  I am more than happy to trade any and all that are not part of my Cardinals collection.  They are a storage nightmare for me.  I have also managed to damage a few with my clumsy hands trying to pry them out of trade packages.  I guess that can happen to any card, but for some reason the mini cards I receive tend to be in top loaders or card savers that are not taped shut.  At least my latest trade package from TCDB member minibbcards was packaged with great care.  All the cards arrived in great shape.  Another positive from the trade was I sent about 10 mini cards his way.

This 2008 Ginter mini is the regular back.  Not sure why Topps had to make this a horizontal card.

 

I was glad to knock out the entire 2000 Private Stock PS 2000 mini set in one trade.  Not sure why Adam Kennedy was included in the set along with the other 3.  

 I also received a couple of regular cards that finished 2 team sets.  This Miller SP finished my 2014 GQ set.

2016 Archives is now finished also.  I would guess this is a photo from the earlier 1980s based on Ozzie's fro.  Most of the cards showing his home run in 1985 playoffs have him with a trim, although the beard was a lot fuller.  Any Ozzie is a good one in my book.

 

The Back and Forth Game

If you are like me, you have fellow collectors that you exchange cards with on a regular basis without formally making a trade offer.  You mail something off without warning, and a month or two later return fire arrives in your mailbox.  This is my case with Trading Bases member Ron B.  Ron is easy to trade with as he collects Pirates for himself, Yankees for his son, and puts together a few sets every year.  He always sends some great Cardinals my way from monthly card shows he attends, or the card shop he works at part time.  His latest package arrived Wendesday.

Donruss Rated Rookie cards have always been one of my favorites. Although 1984 was the first year Donruss used the Rated Rookie notation on cards, 1985 is the first year they used the classic logo that is on this Reyes card.  I remember opening 1986 and 1987 Donruss packs and thinking I struck gold if I pulled a RR card.  O to be young and naive again.

 

This 2015 Topps Original card is in better shape than my 1978 Topps version.  I need to go through my 1970s cards and decide what cards need condition upgrades.

I was playing around with my scanner last night and almost have this photo stitching thing down.  For some reason the image is blurry though.  Baby steps forward anyway

Diamond Kings are so well done that you almost can overlook the lack of logos.  This 2017 Heritage Collection insert is a prime example.

I was not sure if this was a newer Topps Tek insert until I flipped it over and discovered it is from 2000.  Although it is not 1998-2000 levels, McGwire is included in a ton of newer sets.  It is nice to see him signing a fewer more autos now.  I always wonder if I will add his auto or a Pujols auto to my collection first.

The highlight of the package for me were these 2014 Topps Update Red Hot Foil cards.  They are just beautiful in hand.  Being primary Cardinal colors does not hurt matters.

              

Another TCDB Trade

My latest TCDB trade package arrived yesterday from member hafengr.  Although it was not a huge package, he sent some hits to a team set that has been hard for me to complete.

 My 2001 Topps Heritage set has been difficult to complete.  These 3 bring my total to 11 of the 19 card team set.  Even though only 2 of my needs are SPs, you just never find these cards at shows or for trade very often.

This is my first 1986 Donruss All Star card.  There are 3 more Cardinals in the set.  Although they are oversized, I like these Donruss cards.  I will admit they are not the easiest cards to ship safely.

It is very hard to tell from the dark scan, but these 2 cards are from 1999 Bowman International set.  Maybe over my Thanksgiving break I can figure out the settings on my scanner so chrome/refractor type cards scan better.

Three TCDB Trades

Monday's mail brought 3 more trade envelopes from TCDB members.

I did a small PWE trade with member madballboy that brought a couple of nice cards.  The Edmonds is a 2004 Red Chunks parallel that is very think.  I should have scanned the back of the Jose card to show that it is a Tiffany card, but I was too lazy.  I always like to see the front of a card, and I have not mastered the photo etching feature on my scanner to show the front and back in one picture.

Member irish77 completed my 1985 Fleer Update set with the top 3 cards.  About 30 years ago the Vince Coleman was one of my holy grail cards.  The 2016 Musial and 2017 Piscotty inserts were nice additions.  Every year Topps cranks out too many insert sets in the flagship brand.  I guess it is their way of adding value to a set instead of just having base cards.  I say forget the inserts and give me a large set like Topps Total.

 Member Clueless Joe sent a nice mixture of cards.  The So Taguchi is from 2002 Ovation, while the Rasmus is a 2011blue parallel.  It is so nice to have cards numbered to the year they were produced.  The Pujols was the last 2003 Opening Day sticker I need for my team set.  Last but not least is Fredbird.  I would love to have one of the autographed versions of his cards, but cannot justify paying $25 plus for it.

Big Macs With a Side of Oz

The largest of the 5 trade packages I received on Monday came from Trading Bases member Pete P.  I traded him a stack of base cards of HOF players in exchange for a healthy stack of Mark McGwire cards along with a couple of Ozzie Smith cards.

The Ozzie part of the package included a 1998 Topps All Star Glossy send in card and a 1997 Donruss Elite base card.  These two put me at exactly 500 Smith cards in my collection. 

I love the photo on the top 2000 Upper Deck Gold Reserve card.  Judging by the duffle bag he is carrying, I would almost guarantee the photo is from spring training.  To show how overboard the card companies produced McGwire cards during his Cardinals years, I have 630 of his cards.  He played in St. Louis for 5 seasons.  Ozzie played in St. Louis for 15 seasons.

Topps had some nice looking base cards in 2001.  The HD card is very thick and glossy.  The Reserve card reminds me of Stadium Club. 

We need more clear cards like this 2000 Ultra Swing Kings inserts.  I cannot think of a clear card design that does not look good.

These cards are part of the reason McGwire has so many Caridnals cards.  The 1999 Upper Deck Challengers for 70 set featured a 25 card Mark On History insert set.

1999 SPx featured 11 different McGwire cards in the 120 card base set. 

1999 Upper Deck Ovation had a 15 card ReMarkable Moments insert set.  If these 3 sets are not enough McGwire for you, you can collect the 30 card 1999 Upper Deck Chase for 62 set, the 21 McGwire cards in the 1999 SP Authentic Homerun Chronicles set, the 38 McGwire cards in the 1998 Pacific Home Run History set, or the many other McGwire cards in 1999 Upper Deck products like Victory or Ultimate Victory.  Glad I never started a player collection of him.  I will just stick with what I can trade for.
 

Filling More Holes

My fourth trade package from Monday came from TCDB member nyygregory.  I had the honor of being his first trade on the site.  He sent a nice package of recent Cardinals that hit quite a few sets.

It was tough hearing about Carpenter's good friend Roy Halladay's death.  I remember their game 5 pitching dual in the 2011 Division Series.  One of the best games I have ever watched.

Looking at their 2017 stats, you would not guess which one of these relievers was pitching in the Independent League a year ago, and which signed a hefty free agent contract last winter.  I can only hope Cecil gets better his second time through the National League.  Another subpar year and he will get the Mike Leake treatment.

This card finished my 2015 Diamond Kings set.  Wish the card showed a picture from his back swing.  The card is just too plain with the logo.

Big Mac brought my 2017 Archives set down to just one left to go.  The OH sp card finished my 2017 Ginter set.

I may be in the minority, but I love the 2017 Topps Fire cards.  It is a nice change from plain white borders.  The crazy backgrounds remind me of some of the late 1990s Metal Universe sets.

It is always nice to receive shiny cards in a trade.  The 2015 Finest Tuivailala finished my team set, while the 2011 Finest Pujols left me one card short of that set.  The 2014 Prizm Molina is a sp card highlighting his Defensive Player of the Year Honor.  Crazy that I have the sp before the base card.

PWE x 3

About a week ago I made some tentative plans to attend a card show in St. Louis this past Sunday.  By Friday those plans had changed and I would no longer be able to make the trip.  Year to date I have made 1 card show, which was a total bust.  I did not even spend a dime there. 

Instead of spending my money on sites like EBAY, COMC, and Sportlots, I have increased my online trading.  I still have to pay postage, but at least I am getting rid of unwanted cards at the same time.  Yesterday I had 5 different packages waiting for me.  Three were of the PWE type, all from TCDB members.

Member Kaline6 sent me a three pack ranging from the 1986 Fleer Star Stickers Coleman to the 2017 Update Sierra card.  The Musial is a 1988 Leaf card.  The Coleman and Musial completed team sets. 

Member BGerhard sent a similar 3 pack that also killed 2 sets.  Henke was the last card needed for the 1995 Donruss Top of the Order set, while the Peralta finished 2016 Stadium Club.  The Gilkey knocked the 1995 SP Championship set down to 1 card. 

Member bwvjones fitted 5 cards safely into his pwe package.  I have never seen 1995 Kraft cards before.  Now I have both Cardinals from that set.  Magrane is from the 1990 Topps Big set, just need one more to finish that one.  With a few other incoming cards to go with the Birds in the Garden card, I am down to needing 2 more 2017 Update Cardinals.  The 2017 Update Postseason Celebrations card is from the  2011 World Series.  6 years almost seems like a long time ago.