From One Bad Team to Another

The Cardinals have been awful the last few days.  Last night was their first win in six games.  They are four games under .500, and in fourth place.  That is bad, but it could be worse.  The Rockies have the worst record in baseball at 4 and 18.  I feel sorry for them being in the NL West.  Every other team in that division is above .500.

Despite the bad records, there are still fans like me who collect cards of bad teams.  TCDB member mgratton is from Colorado and collects his home team.  We worked out a small trade last week for a handful of Cardinals in exchange for a small stack of Rockies.  

I doubt you'll find a Cardinals collector who doesn't want Musial cards, especially base cards from premium brands.  

Ozzie Smith is another Cardinals favorite.  This 2024 Update insert highlights his 1985 NL Championship Series home run against the Dodgers.  Topps should have used a photo of him hitting left-handed.  

 
Ponce De Leon is not a Cardinals great.  Most Cardinals fans will remember him for the line drive he took off his head while in Triple A, or his dugout argument with Yadier Molina.  He was released shortly after that.  I am just happy to cross this 2019 Finest short print off my want list.    

  
    

Two from Twitter

I still call it Twitter.  X does not sound right.  I follow a weekly post on Wednesday nights that features vintage cards for sale.  Most are the graded type, but every now and then, I find some ungraded Cardinals that fit my budget.  Last week, I bought two cards from two different sellers.  Both pwe's arrived on Monday.  

This 1965 Topps card set me back $7.  It's slightly off-center, but overall in great shape.  Good deal for a card with two Hall of Famers on it.

This 1959 Topps high number is in the same condition.  It's not as off-center as the scan shows.  I had to do a double take when I saw Hemus listed as infield-manager.  I did not realize he was still an active player for a couple of years he managed the Cardinals.   This one cost me $5.    

  
    

EBAY Auto

Two weeks ago, I received another EBAY gift card from a recent blood donation.  This time, I chose to get a certified autograph from a Cardinals player I did not have. 

I have met Scott three different times in person and was impressed each time.  It was a no brainer to add his autograph to my collection.  This 2024 Update card only cost me $2.25 after using my gift card.  

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #115

This is just a quick post today before I head out to my son's baseball game. He gets his first start on the mound for the high school varsity team. It will be a tough game against a state-ranked team, but fingers crossed, he will do okay.  First trade package came from member supergajit.

2023 A&G X looks great with the gold border and black background.  It is great to see Arenado have a nice start to the season.  

A pair of shiny cards, one base and one parallel.  The Bader color match looks great with the blue jersey.

I have 36 different cards of Fredbird.  Seems like a high number, but I am not complaining.  

The second trade package came from member mac412.

Cross off another team set from the wantlist thanks to this 2019 Pro Debut Knizner.  I had a copy once before, but used it for an in person autograph.

These are a pair of nice inserts. The Big League electric orange parallel really stands out for a non-chrome card.  The 2006 Fleer Pujols is another nice color match card.    

Card Show Recap

Even though it has only been two months, it feels like forever since I last attended a card show.  My lack of trading has only fueled my desire to walk a show floor.  This past weekend, there was a three day show in St. Louis.  With over 200 tables, I was looking forward to attending on Sunday.  

My son had a youth group activity all day, so my wife and I made the 2.5-hour drive by ourselves. We arrived shortly after the doors opened at 10:00. In the 90 minutes we were there, I only bought cards from two dealers. The first dealer had an excellent layout of cards from the 1950s and 1960s sorted by number. There were no big stars, but I did find some Cardinals I could use.        

I did not pull any cards from the 1950s because I am trying to complete my 1960s team sets first.  This 1961 card is not as off-center as my scanner made it appear to be.  There were multiples of many cards in various grades.  I chose the versions with no creases or writing.

I found two nice 1962 Topps, including a high number Broglio.

Two great condition team cards, the top from 1965 and the bottom from 1966.  Sticker price for these five cards was $24.  The dealer sold them for $20.  I always love a deal without having to ask.

I did not make my second purchase until about an hour later.  I found plenty of cards I needed, just not at the price I wanted to pay.  The second dealer was in a corner with a couple of showcases full of vintage Cardinals.  Some were graded, others not.  I spotted 2 higher-priced raw cards I needed.

This is my first vintage Mantle card.  Ken Boyer shares this 1960 card with him.  It has a small dimple on the bottom and a minor stain on the back.  The condition fits perfectly in my collection.  The 1965 Brock is a high number short print.  You have to look closely to see a small crease running from the left edge to the bill of his cap.  I did not notice it in the display case.  A card that looks this nice sells for $50-60, so I asked to take it out of the top loader.  The dealer knocked off $10 due to the crease, so I got these two for $65.  Major win in my book.

Some thoughts on this show.

1.  I was disappointed in the lack of value boxes.  I found only 2 dealers with cards for less than $1.  Those were not even a great value, as they were full of 2025 Topps base cards for 50 cents.

2.  It was nice to see only a handful of Pokemon only tables.  The show was advertised as sports cards, not trading cards.  

3. Quite a few dealers with raw vintage priced more than graded.  I stopped at one table which had the last 1968 Topps card I needed for my team set.  It is a league leaders card with Cepeda, Clemente, and Aaron.  The price was not marked on the top loader.  The dealer looked in his Beckett Vintage magazine to determine the card was worth $100.  He wanted $60 for it.  I can buy graded copies in a 3 or 4 for less than $50.    

4.  I was pleased to see that most of the dealers were still there on Sunday.  I have been to shows where some of them pack up early.

5.  I am glad I went on Sunday when admission was free.  Friday and Saturday admission was $3.  That is not much, but the dealers were almost the same as the ones who set up at the free quarterly show at the same location.

6.  Foot traffic was very strong. Given the economic situation, I was not sure what to expect.  

  

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #114

Another day, another said showing by the Cardinals' pitching staff last night.  I hoped things would change from the weekend series in Boston, but the Pirates continued the onslaught.  Tonight does not get much better, as Paul Skenes is on the mound.  The losing streak could reach 5 games.  Things have turned south for the birds since winning the season's first three games.  At least I have a few new cards to lighten the mood.  Today's first trade came from member fritz63.

I rarely make a trade for just one card at a time, but I will make an exception for a Pujols variation.  This one is from 2002 Topps 206.

The second trade package came from member bdhrbob.

My first taste of 2024 Topps Heritage High Numbers.  Lopez played five games for the Cardinals in 2023.  Very odd to see him on a new card.

Nootbaar started the season red hot but has cooled off quite a bit.  Since he bats leadoff, the Cardinals have followed his lead.

Winn started ice cold but has turned it on over the weekend.  Wouldn't it be great if everyone could hit at the same time?  This is a nice black parallel from 2024 Topps Archives.

  

     

Another Sportlots Order

A few days after receiving my first Sportlots order, I placed another.  This one was slightly larger, 50 cards for a little less than $18 total.  Once again, all of these cards came from the same seller to maximize the shipping cost.    

I snagged a few OPC stickers from 1984 and 1985.  I have fond memories of the 1980s baby blue uniform era.

I hoped to finish the 1992 Fleer Update set but am still one card short.  Maybe next order. I also added some 1996 Fleer Tiffany cards.  

A few from the 1990s included a 1999 Fleer Brillants and a 1998 Topps Chrome that completed team sets.  The 1996 Stadium Club card is a silver foil parallel.

Two more finished team sets from Pacific Revolution and Invincible.  I already have both Lankford cards in my player collection, but that does not work for my team collection.

I am glad I ordered these 2001 Private Stock cards.  I did not know there was a silver parallel.  I had to adjust my have list for the base set.  

All three of the McGwire cards finished team sets.  The 1999 Ionix card was the most expensive card, costing me 50 cents.

Some random cards from 1999 and 2000 included a 2000 Skybox photo variation with blue foil. Somehow, I already had the Ankiel Gold Label.  Maybe Kerry needs a copy.

For some reason, I need several base cards from the early 2000s.  HD and Fusion are not very easy to find, so I'm glad to add them.

2003 and 2004 team set needs.  Renteria finished my 2003 Leaf Certified team set.

I also finished my 2005 Leaf Certified team set and 2004 Upper Deck Reflections.

Finally, a couple of Topps Gold parallels.  Happy to add these for about a quarter each.