8th New Lankford of 2025

I am happy to show off another new Ray Lankford card.  I seem to be adding a new one almost weekly, although I am sure that will slow down.  I had hoped he would be included in the 2025 Donruss, but that did not happen.  I suppose I will have to save up for the older cards to appear like this one.

2024 Panini Treasures is not really an old release since it just came out a few months ago.  This card was initially listed for about twice the total I paid for the Holo Gold autograph numbered to 10.  I messaged the seller an offer for a little less than what I paid for the Holo Gold, and he accepted.  I was surprised he accepted so quickly.  Now I have to track down the Emerald numbered to 5 and the 1/1 to finish the rainbow.  

   

Bench Trade

Last week, I completed my third 2025 trade on The Bench website.  As I have mentioned before, the site has changed from a player/team collector group to more of a latest and greatest card site. There is nothing wrong with that; it is just not the way I collect or trade.  I was able to complete a deal with member RBlais.  He needed a handful of 2025 Bowman cards from my blaster box break.  In exchange, I received a very nice mix of Cardinals.

It is hard for me to pick out a favorite card from this group of Bowman cards, but if I had to choose, it would be the Scott.  It is a mini diamond refractor numbered to 150.

I did not have a Cho autograph before this trade.  There isn't much to his signature, but I'll give him a pass since he's Korean.

Hard not to love a card that shows past and present players together.  The blue sparkle 2025 Heritage Donovan is a great-looking card in person.

Two of my favorites together: Stadium Club and retired greats.  The Musial is a refractor.

Nothing fancy about these inserts, other than the fact that I did not have them.

Last but not least is a 2025 Topps Celebration Confetti parallel for my son's Altuve collection.  I am glad other collectors upload images to TCDB so I can figure out what parallel this was.

  

   

7th New Lankford of 2025

Another week, another new Lankford card to show off for the collection.  This one is quite different from recent additions, as it is 30 years old.

This is not your average 1995 Score Gold Rush card.  This one is part of a redemption for submitting a complete set of Gold Rush cards.  In return, the collector received a Platinum team set.  Some collectors also received Gold Rush cards back that had holes punched in the shape of the Pinnacle logo.  According to baseballcardpedia.com, Pinnacle was so overwhelmed with the number of redemptions that they quit punching holes in the returned cards, and did not do any Series 2 cards.  It's a great and rare oddball card that I have never seen in person before.  

EBAY Auto

Last week, I was browsing eBay for something to use a gift card on.  It has been a while since I added an autograph card of a new Cardinals player.  I settled for a recent card of a current Cardinal.

Topps has added many Gray autographs in a Cardinals uniform to its products this year.  I chose this one because of the on-card autograph and the 1989 design.  For some reason, I like junk wax era designs featuring current players.    
  

  

6th New Lankford of 2025

 My newest Lankford is not as flashy as the last one I showed, but I am thrilled to have it.

This 2023 Panini Chronicles Zenith Gold parallel was less than $3 delivered.  Hell of a bargain for a card numbered to 10, even if you do not like recent Panini products.  

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #119

It was another tough loss last night for the Cardinals and closer Ryan Helsley.  He blew his third save in a week, making it five for the season. He had four all of last year.  The Cardinals should have traded him at last year's deadline, but decided to stand pat.  Maybe he can turn things around before the end of July.

I do have tonight's game on while writing this post.  Miles Mikolas worked some of his magic and allowed a three run homer in the first to put the Cardinals in an early hole.  At least I have some nice cards to lift my spirits.  Today's first trade came from member sparkchaser41.

My 2004 Topps Total team set is complete for a second time.  I pulled this card from my collection to have it autographed last year.  

Topps Chrome Update is a set I could do without, but there are Cardinals in it, so I have to track them down.  

Nice to get the Cardinals' top two prospects in one trade.  Wetherholt will most likely join Mathews in Triple A before the end of the season.  Both could be in St. Louis next year.

I am down to needing three short prints to finish my 2025 Heritage team set.  Always nice to add a Musial to the collection.

The second trade package came from member cr74,

I was able to add a 2024 Heritage short print in this trade.  You would think Carpenter would be it, but it is Pages.  Just like the 2025 set, I still need three short prints to finish this one.

I am chipping away at my 2025 Bowman team set.  The paper set is almost complete, but I need most of the chrome prospects.

Finishing up with a great looking 2024 Topps Holiday blue metallic glitter parallel.  Scott is in a big slump right now, with one hit in close to thirty of his last at bats.  Fingers crossed he turns things around quickly, as he cannot steal bases if he does not get on.

  

What a Weekend

It was a busy weekend for my family.  My son had his first travel baseball tournament this season, about 90 minutes away.  His team played four games in three days, going 1-3.  They lost the three games by a total of four runs.  My son took the loss in one game, going six innings and giving up one earned run.  I called him Paul Skenes on the ride home.  

My son also had a soccer tournament on Saturday.  We drove two hours in the opposite direction after his baseball game on Saturday morning.  His team finished second out of four.  In between driving and watching his games, I was able to watch the Cardinals win two of three games against the Dodgers.  Fun but tiresome few days.

I managed to find some spare time last night to open the weekend's mail, including a nice trade package from TCDB member ervalad.

Starting things off with Saturday's walk-off hero.  Arenado is not the same player he was three or four years ago, but he still has his moments.  Compared to last season, he seems to be enjoying the game again.

This trade was heavy on chrome cards.  Cosmic Chrome has an old school Metal Universe feel to it.

More chrome, including Stadium Club, Logofractor, and Pro Debut.

How about some Bowman Chrome to go along with a couple of paper Draft cards.

My son also gained a chrome card for his Altuve collection and a nice 2023 Museum Collection card.

It is not chrome, but I love this 1993 Stadium Club Members Only parallel.  This is proof that great card photos have been around for a long time.  

  

      

Celebrating a Birthday with my 5th New Lankford of 2025

It is not my birthday, nor anyone else's in my family.  Cardinal legend Ray Lankford turns 58 today.  What better way to celebrate than to show off a new autographed card.  

This Holo Gold National Treasures goes well with the base card numbered to 49 that I showed off last month.  Only three more versions to track down to complete the rainbow.  

Card Show Recap

Saturday, my son and I made our quarterly trip to a card show about 40 minutes from home.  This show usually features a good variety of cards we are looking for, vintage, and bargain boxes.  This time, the bargain boxes were not much of a bargain.  Most of what we found were base cards in the dollar bins, or $5 boxes full of common inserts that should be fifty cents or less.  We found one dealer with a dime box with a few cards we could use.

I bought these along with 16 other cards for $2.  I was pleased to find a couple of premium base cards and an oddball Todd Zeile card from 1990 that I have never seen before.

The vintage side of the show was much better.  I stopped at several tables that had ungraded cards in various conditions.  It is so nice to see that not all quality vintage cards are graded.  I five cards from three different dealers.

This 1967 Maris was scattered out on a table along with some other 1960s cards.  I was hesitant to ask a price since nothing had a sticker on it, but I was surprised to hear the dealer say $5.  I could not pay him fast enough.  It does have a couple of soft corners, but the centering is good, and it does not have any creases.

I finally finished my 1968 Topps team set.  I found this card at a St. Louis card show in April, but the dealer wanted $60 for a card in similar condition.  I paid $15 for this one.  I don't know why my scanner cut off the bottom and right side.  I am not an expert at card grades, but I would guess this one would be a solid 5.  

 
My most expensive purchase of the day was this three card lot for $43.  The top two 1963 cards are not perfect, but they fit my collection standards.  The McCarver has some fuzzy corners, while the Mays/Musial has a slight crease above Mays' cap.  The 1967 Schoendienst is a high-number short print that is in excellent condition.  

The next show at this location is at the end of August.  School will start by then, but I think football and band competitions begin in September, so we should be able to attend.