Clueless Trade

I have mentioned before how interesting some usernames can be.  Earlier this month there was a thread on TCDB where members could explain what their username was about.  Some were not very original like mine where you pick a favorite team or player.  Others used something based on their job or interests.  Collector CluelessJoe used his Navy callsign.  When it comes to baseball cards, he is anything but clueless.  His package of Cardinals arrived on Monday.

I was able to finish the small 5 card team set from 1997 Sports Illustrated.  I have a copy of the Lankford in my player collection already.  I did learn something new by reading the back of the Jordan card.  I did not know the Cardinals drafted him with a compensation pick when Jack Clark signed with the Yankees in 1987.  That worked out pretty well.

I have voiced my displeasure for mini cards many times, but when they are of a Cardinals legend I will gladly take them.  The 2008 Upper Deck Goudey is the red back version.. 

The last 2 cards have nothing in common, but I did not feel like make 2 scans.  I have talked about the Opening Day blue cards quite a bit lately.  Love the eye appeal of them.  The Young card is from 1997 Donruss Team Sets.  I am not sure how these were packaged, but I do not have very many of them.  It will take a while to track down the last 10 I need. 

More of the Same

Another day, another trade with the usual cards coming my way.  Yesterday's mail brought a pwe from TCDB member FSCGrad777.

This package brought another 2008 Tristar Projections card after receiving 6 last week.  Ottavino has carved out a pretty nice career as a 7th/8th inning reliever.  He only played a handful of games for the Cardinals in 2010 before the Rockies claimed him off waivers in 2012. 

I have 3 of the colored parallels of the Bader 2019 Prizm.  Now I have the base to go with them.  The Knizner completes my 2019 Bowman set.  I had a copy of this before, but I had it autographed last September.  I have tickets to the same event in August of this year, but do not see that happening.

These are the regular version cards from 2018 Topps  High Tek.  I did not realize there were 8 Cardinals in this set.  It will take a while to complete this one unless I place a Sportlots order.  I have been thinking of doing that since there are no card shows to attend for another month or two.

I have never played Honus Bonus Fantasy Baseball.  Maybe after I track down the last 5 cards I need for the 2017 team set I will have a full team to try it. 

Seems like almost every year Topps uses Gibson on a Heritage Then & Now card.  He has shared cards with Scherzer, Verlander, Wainwright, Halladay, and Jered Weaver.  Maybe he will sit out next year's set.  Hornsby has been included in a lot of more recent Topps sets.  Before it was always Musial, Gibson, Brock, and Smith that Topps used for retired Cardinal greats. 

This 2013 Altuve looks a lot better in person.  My scanner really makes the flame look dull.  My son's quest for 300 different Altuve cards sits at 287 right now.  We have set a goal to get there by his birthday in early July.       

Finishing 2 sets & Some Cool Cards

Despite the rainy and gloomy day on Saturday, my day was brighten up with a trade package from TCDB member GooseWayneX. 

I finished both the 2020 Gypsy Queen and 2020 Donruss team sets.  With the delay in new card releases,  I do not have too many 2020 base cards to track down.  3 Heritage short prints and some Topps Stickers will keep me busy for a little while.

This looks like a regular 2009 Topps base card, but it is one of those legend short print cards.  I have very few of these.  In fact this may be my first. 

I was looking forward to seeing what Carlson would have done this year after being 2019 Texas League MVP.  If Dexter Fowler was not around, I bet he would have started the year in St. Louis.  This is a Vector parallel from 2020 Donruss.  Not sure why Panini changed the name from Rated Rookie to Rated Prospect. 

My son received a nice orange Donruss parallel.  This would have looked a lot better if Jose was wearing a 1980s retro uniform. 

Friday Recap

I try not to make many posts on the weekend.  Before the virus, that was my time to catch up on household chores if my children did not have any sports activities going on.  Since mid March, my weekends have been pretty free.  This morning I had plans to do some painting, but mother nature has brought some rain.  What better way to spend a morning inside than writing about a trade recap with TCDB member Sandycoach.  This package arrived a few days ago, but I did not open until last night.

I received the last 2 non short prints for my 2020 Heritage team set.  I am not 100% sure, but I do not recall completing a Heritage team set in a long time.  I have a decent chance this year with only 3 more short prints to go.  It was nice to also add an Altuve to my son's collection.

There is not much eye appeal to last year's 150th Anniversary parallels.  No color or numbering make for a pretty boring card design, but I will still try to track down needed Cardinals. 

I love to relive my youth with the retro inserts Topps has put out the last few years.  Although I did not start collecting until 1985, I appreciate all the Topps designs from the early 1980s.  I prefer the circle photo on 1983 a little more than the square mug shot of 1984.  Still a great design though.  

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Sometimes you work out a trade that hits almost all of your collecting interests.  Mine is not tough to hit as I will take anything Cardinal related that I do not already have, but I do have my favorite types of cards.  A recent trade with TCDB member T206 hit quite a few of them. 

Keeping with a theme of my recent trades, I added some colored parallels to the collection with these 2013 Chrome Orange Refractors.  Who knew orange would look so good on a card?

I am also a fan of the retired greats.   Even unlicensed ones like the Schoendienst from 2012 Panini Golden Age.  The Brock is part of a 5 card set from the 1998 All Star Fan Fest.  This is my first from the set.  I am only going after 3 more because #1 in the set is a reprint of his rookie card in a Cubs uniform.

I love being able to file away a complete team set.  The Hill completed 2009 Bowman Draft, while the Kinney was the last card I needed from 2006 Topps '52.  Funny I had the autographed version before the base card.  The 2001 UD Vintage card knocked my set needs to 1.  I am not a fan of the floating heads.  Too much unused space on the card.

I welcome any Cardinals minor league card.  Although none of these guys had a great big league career, their cards are still pretty cool.

 
These 2008 Tristar Projections cards were not part of the deal.  The other trader surprised me with their inclusion.  A few more household names in this batch compared to the first 3.  After winning the World Series last year, maybe Nationals fans can forget about Kozma and the 2012 NLDS.

Not sure how to tie this 2 cards together in my post.  Great players with great cards I guess.

My son scored a sweet Altuve die cut from 2019 Leather & Lumber.  His quest for 300 has slowed down a bit, but I should be able to add a few 2020 cards that will get him there before too long.

Late 1990s Hits

It turned out to be a pretty nice weekend.  The weather was a bit chilly in the mornings, but the afternoons were great.  We kept busy Saturday by cutting down a couple of trees.  Sunday we went to a local ball diamond and played for a couple of hours.  It was nice to have an entire field to ourselves to have some batting practice.  My arm is a little sore today from throwing countless buckets of balls, but it was worth it. 

After a nice shower and some ice cream, I had some time to scan some cards that arrived on Saturday from TCDB member 49ants.

How awesome is this 1997 Pinnacle Museum card?  I really wish Panini would bring back the Museum cards in a set like Chronicles.  Love the cameo appearanceby #16.

I am making decent progress on my Ultra Gold Medallion want lists.  These 3 are from the 1998 set. 

I guess you could call these a card and a half of McGwire.  If I can find the other half of the Pinnacle Inside Stand Up, I will post a pic of them put together.  The 1998 Topps Stars goes well with the Brian Jordan card I received last week.  Funny how it seems some sets never get hit, but when they do it comes in multiples.

   

More Blue Cards

Last night I had a pwe arrive from TCDB member Trinitydawg22 that contained a couple more colored Topps parallels.

These are from the 2013 Update set.  Martinez look very young in this pic.  Choate spent his last 3 seasons in St. Louis as a LOOGY.  I wonder if he would have lasted 15 years in the Majors if the new 3 batter rule would have been in place while he played. 

I was able to complete my 2014 Prizm team set.  Pretty boring design.  About the only positive is the chrome finish.

Jones was one of the better Cardinals prospects around the time I really starting following the minor leagues.  He was one of those guys that had all the tools, but could never put things together.  He was a 3rd round pick in 2005 that never reached the big leagues.  Good thing I did not invest in his 2005 Bowman Chrome Draft cards.  This one is my first.

After the 1987 season, Ozzie was about the only high profile Cardinals to stick around for awhile.  Guys like Willie McGee, Tom Herr, and Jack Clark were gone soon after.  Being the only good player on some bad teams meant Smith had a ton of cards like this 1990 Score Superstars.  I have a little over 600 different Ozzie cards in my collection.  That is not even 10% of his total cards listed on TCDB.   Topps had been including him in a lot of base sets the last few years.  I won't complain.

Red and Blue

I have a love for colored parallels.  Can be from any brand or release.  It most cases they just stand out a lot more than the base card.  Of course shiny parallels are more sweet, but I will trade for any Cardinals color that I need.  A recent trade with TCDB member CoachBarry added a few more to my collection.

The blue Opening Day parallels are always sharp.  Some years are numbered like the 2013 Freese, while others like the 2018 DeJong are not.  Either way both are a huge upgrade over the regular base card.

Topps did a ton of colored parallels in 2013.  This one is the Target red version.  Goes great with the Cardinals uniform.  If red is not your color, you could also track down black, camo, emerald, gold, orange, pink, platinum, purple, or blue from the same year. 

Despite the name, 2014 Turkey Red cards are not red.  More of a maroon in my eyes.  These are just base cards from the online only release.  I have never bought any Topps online cards, packs nor singles like Topps Now.  Just not my thing.

Last but not least is just a regular 2002 Upper Deck Vintage base card, although it does score a few points for the black border.  This one completed my team set.  Morris was a very under rated pitcher for the Cardinals in the early 2000s.  He is up for election to the Cardinals Hall of Fame, but I doubt he will get in this year. 

2 EBAY Wins

My family and I spent a nice Easter Sunday at home yesterday.  Not much different than any of the most recent weekends, except a larger meal and weather not quite as nice.  After a much needed nap following lunch, I had some spare time to scan a couple of EBAY wins that arrived recently. 

Gorman autos are coming down in price now that he is signing for more products.  I was able to get this one for less than $15 delivered.  I love this card because in shows him in his Peoria Chiefs uniform.  Today was scheduled to be their home opener.  I am starting to have serious doubts whether any minor league baseball will be played this year.  The majority of them did not have any spring training.  With the season ending around Labor Day, I don't see much chance of games getting in. 

I paid more than what I wanted for the Branch Rickey bobblehead, but it does not come up for sale very often.  The Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum gave it out in 2018 as part of its family membership package.  I now have all 10 bobbleheads from the Museum.  Now I need to work on a nice display for them.

Still At It

My new normal has changed a few times since the shelter in place happened.  I have thankfully been working a regular schedule.  My evenings are spend with the family doing baseball or softball drills in my shed.  Last week the weather became a little warmer, so we started riding bikes and taking our beagle for evening walks.  Over the weekend, I signed up for Disney Plus.  Now we add a nightly movie to our routine.

In all of this, I still find time to make a trade or two a week.  Tuesday brought a nice package from TCDB member jcouvy.  It started out as a simple 2 for 2 trade, but he could not find one of the cards.  He offered another in replacement that I needed.  All was good.  His pwe arrives with another 6 cards and a nice note saying how sorry he was for not having the right card.  Another example of the great traders that are still out there.

 
The Green Hudson was one of the original 2 cards I needed.  The Dean/Gibson insert was the replacement for the missing card. 

The extra cards included 2 more 2020 Heritage for my team set.  These were a sad reminder of my failed trip to Jupiter last month.  The photos were taken at the Cardinals spring training stadium.

It has been awhile since I had a hit to my son's 2019 Topps Fire set.  Only 4 more to go now. 

I already had these 3 inserts, but still appreciate them being included.  I can always use Cardinals for trades with Kerry and other St. Louis collectors.

One From the Weekend

I hope everyone survived the weekend.  Despite not being able to go anywhere, it was a rather enjoyable weekend.  Saturday brought rain to my area, so I took my daughter driving.  She received her learner's permit in February.  She needs to complete 50 hours of driving before turning 16 in January.  That should not be a problem with all of our spare time.  In the evening we picked up a pizza from our favorite local restaurant.  Sunday brought better weather and 3 hours of being outside for baseball/softball, riding bikes, and taking our beagle for a long walk. 

I left a pwe that I received on Saturday unopened until Sunday evening.  This one was courtesy of TCDB member abide. 

There must not have been too many spring training photos of Eck to using in 1996.  It look like Topps and Leaf used the same one.  Ecksersley pitched for the Cardinals in 1996 and 1997.  He managed to save 30 games or more each year.  The Cards have a history of picking up closers toward the end of their careers like Lee Smith, Tom Henke, and Eck.  The Leaf Steele completed my team set, while I still need 1 more Topps Laser.  I love that set.

A couple of more late 1990s cards from 1998 Topps Stars and 1999 Victory.  I never understood why the Topps Stars base cards were numbered to 9799.  The Ankiel is a Class 2 card from 2000 Gold Label. 

It was nice to have a few parallels come in after added them to my TCDB wantlist.  The 2012 Topps Gold Carpenter looks more like a bronze card to me. 

Stay Home Opener

Today was scheduled to be the Cardinals home opener.  That obviously is not going to happen.  Last night I received an email from them promoting a Stay Home Opener.  They launched a web page for fans to check out highlights from past opening days, or listening to player interviews.  If you are bored you can check it out here .


With the lack of live baseball to watch, I will have time to file away a few cards that arrived yesterday from TCDB member Bertons doubles. 

I received my first 2020 Donruss cards.  The design is what you can expect from recent Donruss base sets, boring.  As always, the catcher cards look the best.

Of course there are plenty of variations to chase after.  I do like the Diamond King cards.  I only have 1 more base card to track down for my team set.

The are plenty of color variations also.  This one is Holo Blue.  I believe there is also orange, pink, purple, and red versions to chase after.  The only non Donruss in the package was a 2019 Bowman's Best refractor.  Love the design on these.

First Package In A While

With these uncertain times we are going through right now, some collectors have scaled back or completely shut down trading.  I have slowed down some what, but am always looking for Cardinals I need.  I will be a little hesitant to trade with some people based on their location.  I have not seen an definite information if the virus can be transmitted through the mail.  With that being said, I am not looking to receive anything from New York at this time.  Good thing TCDB allows traders to enter their location.

My latest package arrived Monday from member grim25 out of South Dakota.  His hometown has a population of less than 5,000, so odds are things are pretty safe.

I have never seen this 1992 Score Factory Insert Ozzie before.  Hard to believe that there are still new cards to be discovered from the junk wax era.  The Pujols is number 898 in my collection.  I am sure there are at least 100 more of his cards in a Cardinal uniform that I can need.  The last card is a boring checklist from 1994 Fleer.  I am one of these weird collectors who adds the checklist to a team set.

Just like Pujols, there are a ton of McGwires I can still chase.  I have a little over 700 of his cards.  The 1998 Collector's Choice has 2 different versions.  The back can feature a normal diamond shaped hologram, or a home plate hologram.  I was too lazy to show the home plate hologram on this one.  From what I have read, it is a little harder to find.

Out of the 4 major companies at the time, I bet Upper Deck cranked out the most McGwire cards in the late 1990s to early 2000s.  They had a ton of McGwire themed sets or subsets like the top card from 1999 Ovation Remarkable Moments set.  There were also a ton of inserts like the the 2001 Superstar Summit from the base set.  According to TCDB, from 1999-2001 there are over 2,400 different McGwire cards.  Those numbers should keep me busy for a long time.