2nd EBAY Auto of the Week

My second EBAY standard envelope of the week arrived last night with another Cardinals auto.  Just like the Juan Yepez, this was another new player to my collection.

This 2022 Stadium Club Chrome cost me $5.65 delivered.   A little more than the Yepez, but still a nice deal of a clean on card auto.  Pallante had a sticker auto in 2022 Update Chrome.  Between the sticker and the horrible expression on his face, glad I waited to find better looking card.

Vintage Pickups from Indy

 Last Saturday my son and I took a guys' day and headed to Indianapolis to catch an Indians game.  I will get to the game in another post.  We left early enough to hit up a local card shop.  It has been 4 or 5 years since we have been to Indy Card Exchange.  Since then they have moved to a new location on the north side of town.  The new shop is very well organized.  We spent about an hour looking through various boxes for some common cards to have autographed at the game later that night.  We did not have much luck finding any, but I was able to add a handful of vintage Cardinals to my collection.  They are not in perfect condition, but the prices were too good to pass up.

This 1959 Ken Boyer cost $5.  The corners are pretty rough, and there is a slight crease in the upper left corner.  My scanner cut off the right edge, it looks a lot better than what is shown.  

For $3, this 1966 Mike Shannon is almost perfect.  Corners are very good.  The only blemish is a slight crease in the upper left corner.  Shannon past away late last month after more than 50 years in the Cardinals organization as a player and broadcaster.  I admit he was not my favorite announcer, but he sure was original.

This 1966 Bob Gibson was the most expensive card at $10.  It has some corner wear and a slight crease but otherwise is in very good condition.  

The final card I bought was this 1969 Topps Lou Brock for $8.  Like the other cards, it has some soft corners.  It is very off-centered top to bottom, but is free of any major creases.  $28 for 2 Hall of Famers and 2 local legends is a great deal in my book.
  

   

EBAY Auto

Quick post today before I head out to what is most likely my son's last high school baseball game this season.  It is the start of regionals, and they are the last seed playing the 6th seed.  Miracles can happen, but I am not betting on it.  

 I have been searching for a Yepez auto for a while but waited until the prices came down.  Last fall his autographs were going for $15 plus.  I snagged this 2022 Stadium Club for $3.39 delivered.  Pretty good deal for an on card auto.  

Finish 1, Start 1, and a Couple Others

It has been almost a month since I have done a TCDB recap on a day other than Tuesday.  It seems like a broken recording, but the warmer weather and longer days really cut back on my trading.  I am lucky to get 2 or 3 trades a week right now.  One of my larger ones arrived earlier this week from member frankgifford.

I can finally put my 29 card team set from 2021 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary to bed.  This could be one of the last CMart cards I add.  He went from All Star starter to closer to being suspended in a span of 6 years.  

These are the start of my 2023 Bowman set.  Only 3 more veterans to go and some prospects.

2015 Rainbow foil parallels do not scan nearly as well as the 2023 card from yesterday's post.  Grichuk will always be famous for being the draft pick before Mike Trout in the 2009 draft.  Lucky for the Angels they had both picks.

I will finish with my favorite card from the trade.  This Walker Mojo refractor is from 2022 Bowman Chrome.  Walker has not done much since his demotion but should be back in St Louis before the All Star break.  He has too much potential to keep him in the minors.

  

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #43

What a difference a week makes.  The Cardinals are still in last place, but at least they are playing better, winning 7 of their last 8 games, including a weekend sweep of the Red Sox in Boston.  There is still plenty wrong with the team, but at least I can bear to watch a game now.  While I was listening to last night's 18 to 1 victory over the Brewers, I managed to scan the cards for today's post.  First trade came from member CrowsCollectibles.  

Wainwright did not win his first start last Friday, but the Cardinals did.  Maybe his presence has helped the atmosphere in the clubhouse.  Hopefully, he can get 5 more wins to reach 200 for his career.  I reached a milestone with this 2023 Topps rainbow foil card.   This makes 400 different Wainwrights in my collection.

I traded for both of these 2022 Prizm Draft cards with the hopes of getting them signed.  Scott is in Peoria right now, while Mautz is a level below at Palm Beach.  The Scott is a silver prizm.

Second trade came from member philhigh.

2 more cards I am wanting to get signed.  Hjerpe is with Scott right now in Peoria.  Scott could be promoted soon, but I would bet Hjerpe will spend most of the year as a Chief.

Mikolas finally had a quality start against the Red Sox Sunday night.  He did it without striking out a batter.  Ks are great, but they can run up a pitch count really quick.  My 2023 Big League set is now somewhat complete.  All I need is 8 of the foil short prints.  I should be able to track down 4 of them.  

  

  
  

Twitter Trade

Last week I completed my first trade on Twitter.  I have purchased a few lots here and there but never tried trading.  I happened to find another Cardinals collector a few hours from me who was looking for some Ray Lankford cards.  He was kind enough to check my wantlist and found a few Cardinals I can use. 

Carlson has taken over the starting centerfielder job for now.  His defense is excellent, but his offense has been lagging along with the rest of the team.  Not sure what will happen to his playing time when Tyler O'Neill comes off the DL and/or Jordan Walker is promoted.  

I have noticed quite more Carlson cards are available as of late.  Not sure if people are giving up on him, or just moving on to the latest and greatest.   Either way I am happy to add his cards to my collection.  

 

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #42

I am back with what seems like my only post each week.  At least I can say I am consistent.  Tuesday means a recap of 2 small trades from TCDB members.  First up is a 4 pack of Cardinals from edsekula.

This batch of 2023 Big League cards features my first foil card in Wilson Contreras.  He performed well in his return to Wrigley last night despite the recent news that he will not be catching for a few games.  Although I do not agree with it, the management is putting some blame on the Cardinals losing to his pitch calling/not being familiar with the staff.  There is some truth to the numbers, as the staff ERA is almost 2 runs lower when Andrew Knizner is behind the plate.  That still is no reason to come out in public saying he is not a good catcher.  If current manager Oliver Marmol survives until the All Star break, I will be shocked.

Second trade is from member adamhobson.  This is our second attempt at trading this year.  He sent out a package on February 1st that is still in USPS limbo.  Without me asking, he sent another envelope last week.  It is great to see collectors like him involved in this hobby.

My 2021 Finest Flashbacks set is now complete.  It makes me feel old knowing the 1994 design is almost 30 years old.  

In 2019 Topps actually released Bowman Heritage on time unlike last year.  This Luken Baker is the chrome parallel.  Baker has started the year off on fire in Triple A.  As of yesterday he has 12 home runs, 29 RBIs, and hitting over .300 .  Too bad he can only play first base and DH.
  

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #41

I managed to post 2 days in a row, and also 2 Tuesdays in a row.  Things are slowing down on the home front, with next week being the last week of regular season high school baseball.  I will miss watching my son play but not being away from home most nights until 8:00.  Onto the first trade with member Netdawg.

These are my first 2022 Cosmic Chrome cards.  They remind me of Metal Universe sets from the 1990s, just shinier.  Nice job by Topps on this set.

The other 2 cards include a nice Bowman Draft Sapphire and a Topps rainbow foil.  I am not sure when Reyes will make his debut with the Dodgers, but I hope it is a good one.  It sucks he was never healthy during his time in St. Louis other than his All Star year in 2021.

The second trade is courtesy of member philhigh.

My 2022 Bowman Platinum team set is complete thanks to adding Mr. Pujols. 

Since I finished a set, might as well start another.  These are my first 2023 Big League cards.  This is a great looking set, just 1 I will most likely never complete thanks to the tiered short print cards.  This set was great without them.  Why does Topps have to ruin a good thing?

   

  

  

Small EBAY Lot

I had a rare EBAY purchase arrive over the weekend.  I have really cut back my buying on the site since I started buying on Twitter.  Not sure 100% sure why, because it is so easy to find something on EBAY.  Some of it has to do with seeing items listed that have nothing to do with what I am searching for.  Enough ranting, here are the 2 cards I got for a little less than $5.

The Holiday relic is what caught my eye.  I love the design from the 2021 set.  The blue patch blends in well with the snowy background.  I now have 3 of the 4 Cardinals from the set.  Will be keeping my eyes open for the Goldschmidt.