Golden Stars

I have never bought a factory set.  If I wanted a complete set, I would much rather have the enjoyment of building it by hand.  I know that is not as economical, but it is a lot more fun.  If you go the factory set route, you do have a few options of where to buy.  Target, Walmart, and Topps website are the main options.  Up until a year or two ago they were all the same.  Now you can get different borders and/or extra rookie variations depending on where you buy your set.  I do not actively seek out these cards, but if they are available in a trade, I will gladly take them.  TCDB user Luckyday busted a set this year that produced the gold star bordered cards.  I believe this set came from Walmart.  He traded me 20 of the 21 Cardinals in the set.  He wanted to keep the Dylan Carlson card.

I will not bore you with all the cards, just a few highlights.

Wainwright won his 17th game of the year Tuesday night for the Cardinals 17th straight win.  They also clinched the second wild card.  Molina must have really been hurting to not start along side him.  Wainwright has not singed a contract yet for next year, but is should be coming shortly after the season is over.  Fingers crossed the 2 of them will be able to break the all time record for games started by battery mates.

2 big reasons for the Cardinals win streak has been the play of the outfielders.  Both of these guys have been on fire.  It is crazy to see what some of O'Neill's cards are going for right now on EBAY.  If they keep going up, I may be tempted to sell some.  

The first 2 batters in the Cardinals lineup have also produced during the last month.  I would guess they will get some days off before the end of the season in order to rest up for the wild card game on Wednesday.  

    

#500

I have hit a couple of milestones recently on TCDB.  I passed 15,000 points last week.  This was done mostly by submitting card scans or checklists.   I also reached 500 trades thanks to a pwe from member nwcardsupplies.  Since I joined in January 2017, that is about 2 trades per week.  It has been a fun ride that I hope continues.  Here is what #500 brought me.

It is a new week and my trend of Topps Gold cards continues.  These 2 are from the 2005 Update set.  

The package contained a third numbered card with this 2013 Opening Day Blue parallel.  These cards look so great in hand that you would not think Topps would put them in a low budget brand.  Glad they did.

This 2018 Rainbow Foil card almost scanned like a chrome card.  I always like a card that shows the Busch Stadium outfield wall behind it.  It will need updated now that Ted Simmons had his number retired.

Edmonds has an outside change to have his #15 added to the wall.  He is already a member of the team's Hall of Fame.  Despite the lack of a background, this 2001 Leaf Limited is pretty sweet.  The red and blue works well with the Cardinals uniform and batting helmet.

Finishing up with a nice oddball from the 1995 Bicycle Aces set.  Jefferies was the only Cardinal in this set.  Looking at the checklist I thought it was weird Barry Bonds had 2 different cards in the small 52 card set, but more popular players like Griffey Jr. and Frank Thomas only had 1.   

   

Worth the Wait

Usually when a trade package is delayed, your first thought is the post office is at fault.  The majority of times I would agree with that.  The PO is still working to find a package I have been missing since the end of March.  I get an updated email every 2 weeks that says the same thing.  We value your business, but have not been able to track down your package.  I highly doubt I will ever see it.  At least it was only 5 cards with 4 of them being base cards.

Last week I had a trade arrive 3 weeks after it was agreed upon.  This time it had nothing to do with the mail.  TCDB member yankeedad69 and I agreed to a simple 3 for 3 pwe swap.  One day after, he tested positive for that famous virus everyone is tired of hearing about.  He mailed my end as soon as he was out of quarantine.  It was good to hear he had a very mild case.  On to the goodies.

Goldschmidt has been an absolute beast during the Cardinals 16 game win streak.  He is hitting close to .400 with 7 home runs and 16 rbis.  I hope he can get 2 more rbis this week to reach 100.  Flaherty came back from his shoulder injury to pitch on Friday.  It did not go too well as he only got 1 out.  Not sure at this point if he will be active for the wild card game.  The Goldy is a 2020 Bowman Platinum Ice parallel, and the Flaherty is a 2021 Heritage Chrome numbered to 999.

My son added a nice 2021 Stadium Club Red Foil to his Altuve collection.  The Astros magic number is down to 2, so they should clinch a playoff spot before the weekend.  

      

A Riley Good Trade

Most of the cards I have traded recently have been from 2021 Topps Chrome.  You would think that was the only brand of cards I had to trade.  It is very easy to trade the latest product, but I also have plenty of other trade fodder.  Not long ago The Bench member Rabs initiated a trade with me for some Austin Riley cards.  Last year I bought an EBAY lot that contained about 50 of his cards.  I sent 19 of them away in exchange for some Cardinals and Altuve cards.

My son got some really nice cards.  A rainbow foil and Topps gold were about the most boring of the bunch that included a 2017 Heritage short print and 2 cards numbered to 150.  The 2018 Topps High Tek blue was his favorite.

My favorites included these 3 numbered Musial cards.  The 2014 Archives Gold is numbered to 199, the 2014 Stadium Club Field Access to 99, and the 2019 Topps 150th Anniversary to 150.  I love the picture on the Stadium Club insert.

I have a handful of photo variations in my collection, but not enough.  I usually do not add these to my want list, but I think I will start to.  Goldschmidt lead the Cardinals comeback yesterday by hitting 2 home runs against the Brewers.  12 wins in a row now is hard to believe.  

This trade was not without color as I added a 2017 Gypsy Queen green and a 2014 Prizm red, white and blue parallel.  As much as I love Ozzie, the Carpenter card is my choice of these two.  

After Diaz made the All Star team in 2016 in his first year, there was a lot of talk of him being the Cardinals starting shortstop for a long time.  He last only 2 years.  He as found a nice role as a part time player with the Astros.  His 2017 Tribute card is very nice.  The 2017 Update Rainbow Foil highlights his All Star appearance.  

 

Lots of Ginter

If you have read my blog for a while, you know I am not a big fan of Allen & Ginter.  It is not that I dislike the looks of the cards or the player selection.  It is more about the content.  First, I am not a huge fan of minis.  I hate storing them, and A&G has a ton of variations of them.  Second, I really dislike the gimmick cards.  When I buy a pack of baseball cards, I want a baseball card.  I do not need cards of flags, flowers, world leaders, singers, or whatever else you can think off.  Some collectors love that type of thing and I have no problem with that.  It is just not for me.  That is why I have not purchased any Ginter packs in forever.  I rely on trades like a this one with TCDB member bubbabums to get me A&G Cardinals.  

My 2021 team base set will be complete once another trade comes in.  I will still have plenty of insets and dreaded minis to track down. 

I am uncertain if Allen & Ginter X included all the gimmick cards.  Even if they did not, I doubt I would buy any as it is an online product.  I still need 2 short prints to finish the 2016 team set.

My 2020 Allen & Ginter X team set is a little farther from completion.  I still need 3 for this one, with one being a short print.  

Not everything in the package was A&G related.  I received 3 new gold cards, 2 from 2009 Bowman and 1 from 2008 Topps.  I have had a nice run lately on the Topps Gold cards.  

The last card is off former farmhand Eli Montero who is now in Colorado after being a part of the Nolen Arenado trade.  Montero had a pretty good season in Double A before bumping up to Triple A.  I am not sure who plays 3rd for  Colorado right now, but I would not doubt Montero will see time there next year.

  

3 Chrome Autos

Most of my recent posts have showed cards that I received as a result of trading away some 2021 Topps Chrome cards.  Today I will show off a trio of 2021 Topps Chrome autos that I got purchased and traded for.  First up are a couple of EBAY wins.

I doubt of either one of these guys will have much of a career, but they are both new Cardinals autographs in my collection.  I paid less than $4 delivered for each one of these.

Next up is a trade with The Bench member Steelers8873.  I sent him a couple of Chrome inserts in exchange for this Kodi Whitley auto.

Mr.  Whitley could put a little more effort into his signature.  I already had an 2021 Topps 1986 autograph of him, but I will gladly trade for Cardinals autographs I do not have.  Since returning from the disabled list, he has become an important part of the Cardinals bullpen.  It is great to see the Cardinals on a long win streak, but I am still not planning on them going far if they do make the playoffs.  It will be a tough wild card game regardless of if the opponent is the Dodgers or Giants.    

I have been Pinked

I almost forget to open my mail that came Saturday while my son and I was in St. Louis.  My wife laid it in my office that day, but put some junk mail over the card packages.  Good thing The Bench member dlackey used a bubble mailer to ship my cards from our trade.  A pwe may have ended up in the trash with the rest of the mail.  I received a colorful Cardinals lot in return for some of the Topps Chrome refractors from the blaster break.  

Who does not like a nice pink refractor.  These are from the 2015 Topps Chrome set.  Speaking of pink, it is almost October.  I sure hope Bryan continues his Saving Second Base posts.  It always brightens my day to see the lovely ladies he features.

I also scored a pink refractor from 2020 Chrome.  I really hope DeJong comes back strong next year.  He is a likeable guy who does a lot in the St. Louis community.  He also has a great autograph.

Moving away from pink into some blue and gold.  The Freese is from 2013, the Tavarez 2006.  Though not as sharp as Chrome, flagship parallels are always nice to add to the collection.  One of these days I will finish a Topps Gold team set.

My 2021 Topps Chrome set is down to needing just 1 card after receiving this Carlson.  Topps has been busy cranking out the Carlson cards this year.  I won't complain though.  Inserts like the 2021 Bowman ROY Favorites are plentiful on the trade market.    

Saturday Signings

I have been a member of the Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum for 3 years now.  I first signed up at the 2019 Winter Warm Up after attending a few presentations where the staff gave out some nice bobbleheads.  That was a big draw for me as the bobbleheads are very nice and can be hard to come by.  They are only given out to members or a few people who attended the presentations.  

Another benefit is early access to Saturday Signings.  If the Cardinals have a home Saturday game, the Museum will bring in a former player to sign autographs.  I have attended a couple of these before, but never when they had a popular player.  This past Saturday Chris Carpenter was in town as part of the 2011 World Series reunion.  Autograph prices were $40, but Museum members were able to buy them for $20.  I bought 2 tickets a few months ago.  The signing was at 2:00.  

My son and I left the house about 7:30 that morning because we wanted to hit a flea market about 20 minutes from St. Louis.  I saw a Facebook post from a vendor who would have some Cardinal items for sale.  The main one that caught my eye was a Memphis Redbirds Dylan Carlson bobblehead that was given out the night before to the first 2,000 fans at the Memphis game. 

I picked this one up for $30.  It is very well made for a minor league give away.  I saw one other vendor have them for $50.  We walked around the flea market for about an hour after buying the Carlson.  There was just about anything for sale that you could collect.  Old signs, beanie babbies, legos, you name it.  We saw a lot of other Cardinals items, but I only bought 1 other thing.

Hard to pass up a bobblehead for $4.  The packing is torn to pieces, but the bobblehead itself is in great shape.  After grabbing lunch and hitting up a couple of stores, we arrived in St. Louis about 1:15 for the Carpenter signing.  He came out promptly at 2 and starting signing away.  We had tickets 39 and 40 so we did not wait long.

Inscriptions were not allowed, otherwise I would have requested Carpenter add 1st ASG to the 2005 All Star Game ball on the left.  I also had him sign a 2006 World Series Ball.  He got the win in game 3 giving up 3 hits and no runs.  Both balls turned out great.

After leaving the Museum, we killed another 1.5 hours before attending another signing.  I found a post on Twitter detailing a small 2011 celebration in Ballpark Village.  It stated Jason Motte and a few other players would be signing autographs for free from 3:30-5.  I never found out who the other players were until the walked out on stage.

Daniel Descalso and Jake Westbrook also signed.  Autographs were limited to 1 person, so both my son and I received a card.  Pretty nice autographs for free.  

After going through the line, I meet up with another member of a Facebook bobblehead group.  I traded him a David Freese bobblehead in exchange for this nice Jack Buck.

If you press down on the binoculars, you will hear Buck's call of the 1985 Ozzie Smith home run against the Dodgers and the final out of the 1982 World Series.  

We also had 2 tickets to the Cardinals game that night.  Gates opened at 4:15 and it was another David Freese bobblehead giveaway.  My son was pretty exhausted already and decided he did not want to go.  Normally I would not be in favor of this, but he had 2 soccer games on Sunday.  I went through the gates twice to get our new Freese bobbleheads.

Not a bad depiction of Freese getting ready to cross home plate after hitting the home run in game 6 of the 2011 World Series.  These were limited to fans 16 and older, so my son did not go through the gates.  Instead he went back through the autograph line for the 3 players and received this ball.

These balls were handed out to fans who did not have anything else to get signed.  I was a little surprised there were still some left with only 20 minutes to go in the signing.  I was more shocked that my son got through the line so quickly.  All 3 players signed the ball.  I must note that local gas station chain Phillps 66 sponsored the free signings and game away the ball.  Their logo is on another panel. 

We left St. Louis shortly after 5 and got back home in time to hear Tyler O'Neill hit the go ahead home run in the 8th inning.  It would have been fun to be in the stadium that night, but I think we still had a pretty good day.

       

1 of the Larger Chrome Trades

I managed to make 2 large trades from my Chrome blasters.  One should arrive this weekend, while the other came a few days ago from The Bench member smitha1.  I sent him 17 base and 3 inserts in exchange for 12 Cardinals.

Timeless Treasure base cards are not the easiest to find.  I am not sure if it is because they are numbered, or because they are almost 20 years old.  The top cards from 2004 are numbered to 999, while the bottom 2005 card is numbered to 799.  

More numbered cards from 2004.  Unlike the retail version, Absolute Memorabilia hobby cards are numbered to 1349 and have a refractor like finish.  I like how the Schoendienst card used an older team logo.  

Chrome cards are always nice to add to the collection.  The 2005 Motte is back from his days as a catcher.  The 2003 Haren finished a team set.  The 2017 Reyes is a photo variation.

The remaining inserts really do not have anything in common, but I was too lazy to scan them individually.  The 2015 Finest Musial is pretty sure, but I am a sucker for the 2013 Emerald parallels.

  

Another Trio of Bench Trades

 Keeping up with my trade posts from the 2021 Chrome blasters, today I have 3 more small trades from The Bench members.  First up is a single card from David K.

David is a very generous member who runs  a monthly contest for an autographed card.  I have won 2 of his contests including one for a Musial auto.  When he reached out to me wanting a base card to help with his set build, I was happy to work out a 1 for 1 swap.  Arenado's head looks to small for his body, but I love the card anyway.  

Next I received 3 cards from member t.rooster.  

Nothing high dollar about this trade, but I was able to complete the 1995 Ultra team set by adding the checklist.  It is nice to knock off a couple of base cards from the 1990s.  

The third trade was the largest with 4 cards coming from member jordanrulz.  I sent him a Trout refractor in exchange for these.

The blue Goldschmidt numbered to 150 is the highlight of this group.  2 more base cards were crossed off my 2021 set needs along with a 1996 Collector's Choice Silver Signature.  That wraps up the small trades.  I have a couple of larger ones to go yet.  Hope to post about the first tomorrow.

Trio of Duos

 A lot of the trades I made from the Chrome blaster break are of the smaller variety.  Usually I do not like trades of less than 5 cards, but if what I am getting back has decent value I am ok with it.  3 such trades arrived over the weekend from The Bench members.  First up is a pair of Topps Gold Cardinals from member roger16.

Every now and then I will find Gold parallels in the dime or quarter bins at card shows, but almost never any Cardinals.  Glad to cross these 2 off the want list , especially an older one like the 2005 Sanders.

Next up is a pair of Trevor Rosenthal refractors from member pmknox.

I am not sure which of these 2013 Chrome refractors I like better.  The orange looks great, but the black is numbered to 100.  I will call it a tie.

The final pair of cards came from member bblair_2002.

The pink Flaherty is from 2020 Chrome, while the Kim is a 2021 Heritage short print.  I need to find the Bader short print to complete the team set.  Kim got the win last night in a wild extra innings game against the Mets.  If the playoffs started today, the Cardinals would be the second wild card.  Never thought I would be saying that after such a bad season.

  

Chrome for Chrome

Trades have started to roll in from the 2 2021 Topps Chrome boxes that my son and I busted a couple of weeks ago.  I still have a handful of inserts left, but all of the base have found better homes.  I worked out a trade with The Bench member bostonsox77 with a 10 base cards and a Trout insert headed his way in exchange for some shiny Cardinals.  A couple were Chrome, while others were Panini's version of Chrome, Prizm.

I need 2 more base cards to finish my team set.  One should arrive later this week.  The other I am working out a trade for on TCDB.

It was great to get a chunk of my 2021 Prizm needs in 1 envelope.  I need 4 more to finish this one off, 3 of them being rookie cards that are harder to pull.

My third Goldschmidt card of the package was a nice Fearless insert.  The Carlson insert is pretty sharp also.  I like the looks of Prizm this year.  I am tempted to buy into a group break with the hopes of getting some nice colored parallels, but I would be money ahead just to buy them.  That is not as much fun though.

Disappointing Card Show

I mentioned in Friday's post that my son and I had planned to attend a card show on Saturday.  Those plans came true as we were able to make it early Saturday afternoon.  We had somewhere to be later in the evening, so I wanted to make sure we had a couple of hours to spend flipping through cards.  If it was anything like the show in June , we would need it.

Unfortunately, this show did not live up to our expectations.  The number of tables was about the same, but the quality was not.  I can count on one hand with a closed fist how many dime boxes we found.  Yes a big fat 0.  There were a handful of quarter boxes, but some of those were filled with junk wax from 1988-1992.  We did find 1 dealer with a few quarter cards we bought.

 

Other than the Altuve Bowman's Best that my son needed, the rest of the cards are trade bait.  It may look like a strange lot, but most of them are either serial numbered, or players from popular teams.  I doubt if I have many of these left by the end of the week.

The same dealer also had a few boxes of various $1 to $5 cards.  I made picked up this game used card for $3.

Yes it is a boring 2019 Topps Heritage card, but I did not have a game used card of Mikolas.  Most current players I try to get 1 auto and 1 game used card.

We made our rounds twice before finding 1 other dealer with a handful of cards we wanted.

We spent $11 on these 4 cards.  I did not have an autograph of Perez yet.  His Bowman Chrome autos are selling for about twice as much as I want to give, so I settled for a Pro Debut sticker auto.  The Altuve jersey card is numbered to 99, while the Update card is a Rainbow foil parallel.  

Our total for the 45 minutes there was $17.  There were too many guys trying to sell the latest and greatest.  One had 2 8 foot tables full of nothing but Ohtani and Vlad Jr cards.  He had some high end graded rookies in cases, but also a lot of 2021 base cards for $5 a pop.  There were also a handful of guys selling blasters for $35 on up.  One dealer wanted to cut us a break and give us 2 Allen & Ginter blasters for $60.  My Walmart has plenty of them for $20 each.  Not sure when the next show at this location is, but we may have to think hard about making the hour drive before we attend.