Weekend in St. Louis: Bought Some Cards and Watched Some Cards

My son turned 11 earlier this month.  Part of his birthday present was tickets to watch the Astros in St. Louis this past weekend.  He got to see his favorite team and his favorite non Cardinal player (Jose Altuve).  We had tickets for Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.  We arrived in St. Louis about 10:00 in the morning.  After dropping off my wife and daughter at the science center, my son and I went to a local card shop.  I have purchased cards from RbiCru7 at card shows before, but never found the time to visit the shop.   They were packing some things to make the trip to the National later this week, but still had a ton of cards to go through.  There were dime boxes of base cards, quarter boxes full of inserts, relics and autographs for $2-$5, and a ton of higher end cards in display cases.  There was also a nice selection of packs and supplies.  Overall a great selection for any type of collector. 

We had about an hour to kill diving through the various boxes.  We managed to find a few bargains.

There must have been 7 or 8 5000 count boxes full of base cards from the last 4 or 5 years.  I picked 10 cards out for an even $1.  I will always grab premium issues like Museum and Inception for a dime.  Even better when I can find Cardinals or Altuve cards.  I will not show the last 4 cards because they are Cubs that my nephew can use.

All of these were $2.  Other than the Altuve, the other 4 are finds for trading friends.  .   The Benson is numbered to 199.   My son wanted to spend some of his birthday money for a few packs.  He settled on 3 packs of 2019 Stadium Club for $6 each.

Not the biggest name, but it is always nice to pull an autograph.  My son has pulled 3 autographs this year out of blasters and a loose packs.  I think I will have him open all my packs from now on.

The inserts featured some big names.  All of these have been traded except for the Pujols.

While we were checking out, the store owner gave my son a free pack of 2019 Finest Cardinals to remember his first trip to the store.  We needed all these except the Molina base and Dejong Blue Chips.   We will definitely visit this store again.

After a we picked up the girls and grabbed a quick lunch, we headed to the Cardinals Museum in Ball Park Village across from Busch Stadium.  Every Saturday with a home game the Museum hosts an autograph signing with a former player.  You must buy admission to the museum to obtain a ticket.  I have a family membership that is good for 1 year, thus to ticket was needed.

My son and I each got a card autographed by Tony Womack.  I have never gotten his autograph before, so it was nice to add a new one to the collection.  Womack was in town for the 15 year reunion of the 2004 NL Championship club.  The Cardinals were honoring that team all weekend with various stadium giveaways.

Saturday night's give away was a replica championship ring of 6 different players for ages 16 and over.  I guess my 14 year old daughter passes for 16 because we received 3 rings.  Our rings were 2 Jeff Suppans and 1 Mike Matheny.  I am not a big ring fan, so these will either be sold or traded.  We arrived in time to watch the Astros take batting practice.  My son brought his glove, I did not.  I should have as I had a Carlos Correa ball hit off my hands.  Correa continued his bp during the game as he hit a grand slam to help the Astros win 8-2.

Sunday's game also featured a nice give away that we ended up with 3 of.

I have never seen a triple bobblehead before.  This thing is huge.  Pujols, Rolen, and Edmonds all finished in the top 5 of the 2004 MVP race.  I should be able to trade my 2 extras for other bobbleheads I do not have.  Sunday's game did not go well for the Cardinals.  They left 10 runners on base and committed 2 errors on the way to losing 6-2.  Altuve had a nice game going 3-5 with a 3 run home run that was his 1,500 career hit.  We did not stay for the end of the game due to the Cardinals poor play and the 94 degree heat.   Still a fun weekend.        


 

Showdown Trade

I remember as a kid receiving a 1989 Cadaco All Star Baseball game for Christmas.  My brothers and I loved playing the game.  We would pick out our favorite players regardless of what the disco showed and spin away for hours.  I usually lost because the Cardinals players were not very good at that time. 

Fast forward to 2000 for a new baseball game called MLB Showdown.  This game involved trading cards and rolling dice to decide the outcome.   There were numerous sets produced from 2000-2005.  I never played the game, but do have a few of the cards in my team collection.  A recent trade with TCDB member royals added a huge stack to my collection.

These 6 cards are from the 2000 Pennant Run 1st Edition set.  Just need the Jim Edmonds card to complete the team set.  Not any big names here, just some solid starters and a few bench players.

The 2001 cards are from 2 different sets. The top row is from the Pennant Run series, the bottom 2 rows from the Unlimited set.  Not sure what the difference is as the fronts and backs look the same to me.  Maybe they are similar to Topps series 1 and 2.

The final 2 Showdown cards come from the 2002 regular set.  I like these the best.  The first 2 years are a little too red for me.  Sound weird coming from a Cardinals fan.

 I received this 2015 Opening Day blue foil card as an extra.  Always nice getting something when you do not expect it.  Sweet looking card.  

     

Second Saturday Package

Despite missing the card show on Saturday, I scored a great batch of cards.  My largest package came from good trading friend and Trading Bases member Ron B.  This time he sent a great assortment of 2019 Stadium Club and Prizm cards.

Two more 19 Stadium Club base cards off the wantlist.  Wish the Flaherty pic was more centered on the card, but it is still a great shot.

Goldschmidt is finally starting to heat up for the Cardinals.   It looks like he usually get hot after the All Star break.  The Cardinals sit 1/2 game out of first right now.  They have been on a good streak without verterans like Molina and Matt Carpenter.  Carp may be back by the end of the week, not sure when Yadi is coming back.   Matt Wieters has done a great job in his absence.

The base cards from 2019 Panini Prizm are rather bland.  Very shiny, but no logos and a dark background leave a lot to be desired.  The inserts and parallels are a different story.

These look more orange to me, but they are a Red Prizm.  If you do not like red, there are other options.

Maybe blue is more your color like these Blue Prizm cards. 

If those are too plain for you how about  Blue Mojo, Neon Orange Donut Circles, or Power Plaid variations.   Are you confused yet, because I am. 

Toning it down a little with a Green and Yellow Hyper Prizm, a Silver Prizm, and a plain old Fireworks insert.  The insert does have 3 other variations.

Here you have a regular Scorching on the right, and a Scorching Prizm on the left.  There is also a Gold Prizm and Black Finite Prizm out there.  There are more colors in Prizm than a box of Lucky Charms. 

My son came away with a new Orange  Altuve.  He had the other 2 cards.  Good thing I know another Altuve collector with doubles of his own to trade. 

Platinum Auto

Even though I did not make it to the card show this past weekend, I did receive a nice stack of cards.  Two sweet packages arrived filled with Cardinals goodies.  I will save the bigger one for tomorrow's post.  Today I will show off the cards that came from TCDB member iggywrestler2.  Not sure what his username stands for, but I give him an A+ for being original.

Andrew Knizner is the new heir apparent to Yadier Molina now that Carson Kelly is in Arizona.  He has a Bowman Chrome auto that looks much nicer than this sticker auto, but I will also welcome an autograph from a player I do not have.

 Two McGwire cards that are 19 years apart.  I believe the 2019 Stadium Club photo was taken during an opening day ceremony when Mac was still the hitting coach, but I could be wrong.  The 2000 Pacific Backyard Baseball card was included with a video game.  First time I have ever seen it.

Finishing out the package were a 1996 Fleer Tiffany, a 2019 Bowman Platinum base card, and 2018 Topps insert.  All 6 cards arrived safely in a PWE from Fishers, IN.  Ironic that I was planning to go there on Saturday for the card show.   

Platinum Joins The Club

The scorching heat that covered most of the Midwest this past weekend affected my plans.  My son and I had planned on make a trip to Indianapolis on Saturday for a card show and Indians game, but he decided it would be better to go swimming instead of dealing with the 90 plus degree temps.  Cannot say I blame him.  I spent the day going through trade envelopes and filing cards away. 

One of the envelopes was from TCDB member billwill305.  He sent a nice assortment of 2019 cards including some Bowman Platinum and Stadium Club.

Bader has not been getting on base enough to use his warp speed.  He is getting a chance to flash it as a defensive replacement in center field.  Carpenter is back on the DL again.   Tommy Edman is actually hitting better as the starting third baseman than Carp was.  Until he learns to hit to left field, Carp's average will never get close to .300 again.

The Knizner and Baker are my first 19 Bowman Platinum Top Prospect cards.  The Nolan Gorman card may be harder to track down.  The Hudson is one of 4 Cardinals in the base set.  I still need 2 more.

This Series 2 1984 Hudson insert looks a lot nicer than the Platinum card.  It is almost shocking that Topps used a different photo.

My son received a couple of nice Altuve cards.  He is inching closer to 200 different cards in his collection.  Not bad for just starting collecting him last fall.

One More From Monday

The last of my Monday mailday recaps features the largest package.  This one came courtesy of TCDB member yankeedad69.  Once again it was full of Cardinals and Altuves.

I received a colorful assortment of Topps Chrome refractors.  Pink, Sepia and a regular Carlos Martinez that I somehow already had but did not have logged on my site.  Maybe Kerry at Cards on Cards can use this one.

More shiny Cardinals, but not the refractor type this time.  The Flaherty 2018 Optic Red and Yellow is my favorite.  He had turned in 2 very nice starts but has nothing to show for them except for no decisions.  Just when he stops giving up home runs, the Cardinals stop scoring for him.  Thus is the life of an MLB pitcher.

My son scored a nice assortment of base and inserts of Altuve.  He loved the background on the Platinum Presence card.  Just like me, he was not a huge fan of the mini Fortune Teller card.  At least this one is a little bigger than the A&G cards.

That wraps up 5 of my 6 Monday packages.  The 6th just had 1 base Altuve card that I will not bore you with.  Next week should bring a few more incoming trades.  Gotta get em done while I have the spare time.

More Monday Mail Recap

Continuing with my recap from a big Monday mail day, today's cards came from TCDB member pjdionnne12.  Paul is the author of Scribbled Ink.  He has been one of my more frequent trade partners this year.  This is our fourth deal so far after doing quite a few in 2018.

This Yadi 2019 patch was the centerpiece for me.  Poor effort on Topps part getting the patch straight.  At least they got the right player pictured on the card.

Hudson is doing well in his first year as a MLB starter.  He made a few appearances last year out of the bullpen, but has been a starter all this year.  He is not a big strikeout guy like Jack Flaherty, but his sub 3.50 ERA and 8-4 record is proof you do not have to be to have success.

I added 3 2019 Altuves to my son's growing collection.  We may try for the  Bowman Platinum rainbow.   He pulled the Silver Ice card over the weekend to go along with the base and purple versions above.   

Big Mailday

I have found myself with plenty of spare time the last couple of weeks.  Both of my children do not have any sports going on until school starts later in August, so my nights are spent watching/listening to baseball games and working on trades.   Almost every night last week after dark I could be found in my office listening to a Cardinals minor league game while searching for cards to trade.  My efforts led to 6 trade envelopes arriving yesterday.  Today I will show off 3 small ones.

This single card arrived in a pwe from TCDB member Kep75, who also writes the Diamond Jesters blog.  It seem weird that a budget minded collector like myself would spend 50 cents to trade for a card that I would not pay a quarter for at a show, but I see it as helping another collector.  Plus it is always fun to receive mail.  My son and I spend 45 minutes opening and sorting all the package last night.

Speaking of my son, he scored a new Altuve that came in from TCDB member irish77.  This pwe contained 7 cards, the 3 above and 4 more for in person autographing.  I guess the 2019 Busch Stadium card will also be used for that purpose.  The stadium cards work great for minor league players who do not have any cards. 

The third package came from TCDB member AnalogKid.  This 2019 Topps Series 2 Musial is the only card that I kept from it.  The 13 other cards are heading out to 2 Trading Bases members that I owe.

Not All Cardinals

Despite what the title of my blog implies, I do show off the occasional cards that do not feature Cardinals.  It is not very often , but it does happen.  It may occur more often as my son gets more into collecting.  He is also a Cardinals fan, but loves Jose Altuve.  He knows one day my Cardinals collection will be his, but he also wants something of his own.  I have started to pick some Altuve cards and give them to him as a reward or allowance.  He recently passed the 150 mark with quite a few more coming in. 

On Saturday a trade envelope arrived from Colin M.  He is a member of TCDB, The Bench, and Trading Bases (every group that I am a member of).  We agreed to this trade on TCDB that brought something for me and my son.

Both Ozuna and Hicks are injured right now.  Ozuna may return before the end of July from a finger injury, but Hicks is out for the season due to Tommy John surgery.  The Bowman Top 100 inserts are one of my favorites every year.  It is fun to look back at the rankings to see if the player lived up to the hype.  Tragically this one did not. 

My son added four sweet Altuves to his collcetion.  The highlights are the 2015 Red Prizm and the 2017 Topps Chrome refractor.  Altuve is a player I can root for also.  He is a World Series champ who seems to play the game with hustle and heart.  You never hear anything negative about him.  He also plays in a different league than the Cardinals.  Glad my son picked him for a player collection. 

Page of McGwires

The second package I received on Saturday was a pwe with a neatly folded 9 pocket page full of Mark McGwire cards from Trading Bases member Pete P.  I have received quite a few trades that have used this type of packaging.  As long as you use a thin piece of cardboard and tape the top shut, the cards should arrive safely.  It also saves on postage as the cost is less than $1.

These are just 3 of the thousands of cards Upper Deck put out of McGwire from 1998-2000.  According to my TCDB inventory, I have 694 different cards of his.  There are over 8,000 made, but I only collect the Cardinals cards.  Not sure what that number is, but would guess at least 5000.  Glad I do not player collect him.

Bobbleheads are not just stadium give aways.  UD Choice put out a couple of sets  in 1998 and 1999.  The 2000 Ultimate Victory Starstruck inserts looks pretty sweet.  You would think there would be a star or two in the background though.

Topps and Skybox also cranked out the Big Mac inserts.  The Fines Aaron Award Contenders is my favorite.  It is hard to see from the scan, but there is a picture of Hank in the background.       

Bench Trade

It was nice to come back to work today after a long and hectic weekend.  A lot of times I may not say that on a Monday, but last week was full of family and activities.  My brother's family from Colorado stayed with us for the week.  Throw in the 4th of July and my son's birthday yesterday, and I had little quiet time.  I did manage to open a couple of trade packages from Saturday.  Today's cards are from The Bench member zlw1.

This McGwire finished my 1997 Donruss Signature team set.  Always great to put another one to bed.

Hard to tell which of these cards is the non licensed one.  Panini does a great job with Yadi cards. 

These are my first parallels from 2019 Prizm.  The Bader is a silver parallel, while the Mikolas is a Cosmic Haze.  Who ever designed these must have loved the 1970s.

That's Not Paul DeJong

I recently bought into 2 box breaks on The Bench website featuring Topps Series 2 and Stadium Club.  I figured this would be a cheap way to get a few Cardinals and maybe a nice hit.  The Series 2 was $4, Stadium Club was $6.  The seller did not charge anything for shipping.   I did end up with all 11 base Cardinals from the  Series 2 box.  Here are the inserts.

The seller posted a Youtube video of the breaks, so I thought I knew what I was getting.  I did not notice in the video that one of the Evolution inserts was the black version numbered to 299.  Nice surprise finding that.

Ponce De Leon picked up his first MLB win yesterday.  This blue silver pack card is numbered to 150.  Goldy is showing some signs of life the last few days.  I sure hope he finds another gear after the All Star break.

So for $4 I got a team set and 4 inserts.  I consider that a win.  I was not as lucky with Stadium Club.  For $6 I got 5 base cards of Molina, Gibson, Hornsby, Ozzie Smith, and Paul Dejong.  I guess you win some and lose some.  One card that caught my attention was the DeJong.

Stadium Club is known for its great photography, but that is not why I noticed this card.  I have never seen DeJong with high socks like that.  Also, a close up of his face shows a weird mark that almost looks like a photoshopped black eye.

Knowing what Cardinals players look like from trying to get autographs at minor league games, I knew that is not Paul DeJong.  It is Greg Garcia.  A quick google search of Greg Garcia Twins came up with this article .  Nice job Topps.