Winter Warm Up Day 2 Recap

I would call day 1 of Winter Warm Up (WWU) a success for my son Alex and I.  He won some cool prizes, got to talk to Yadi Molina and Greg Garcia, and scored a couple of free autos.  I was more than happy he made it through the daywith out becoming impatient and asking is it time to go yet.

Day 2 offered more of a challenge.  Once again doors did not open until 9, but I wanted to be there early to get a free auto ticket for Luke Weaver.  Free autograph tickets were hand out 1 or 2 hours prior to a player's signing time. Weaver was signing from 10-11 free, so there were 200 line tickets to be handed out.  My son had his picture taken with Weaver at the Cardinals Caravan 2 days before.  I printed off an 8x10 to have Weaver sign for Alex.  Weaver was the Cardinals #1 draft pick in 2014, so I knew there would be some demand for him.   I arrived at the arrived at 8:15 to see a line already forming outside the hotel.  I knew then we had a slim chance of getting Weaver's auto, but we stood outside in 8 degree weather for 45 minutes anyway.  Of course when we got upstairs to the autograph line, all the Weaver tickets had been handed out in less than 5 minutes.  Free tickets are given out 1 per person, but some people had multiples that I assumed they bought.  Many people were expressing their displeasure to the volunteer workers about this, but the free autos are advertised first come first served.  One thing I cannot stand is the sense of entitlement some people have.  If you wanted the auto bad enough, you could have gotten up early to get the ticket or shell over the cash. 

Since we missed out on Weaver, we hoped over to Jason Simontacchi's free line.

Simo is the pitching coach for the Cardinals's Double A Springfield team.  He had his 15 minutes of fame in 2002 when he went 11-5.  He would only pitch 3 more seasons in the Majors before retiring in 2007.

Jacob Wilson was also signing free autos from 12-1, with tickets being handed out at 10.  After we finished with Simontachhi, we stood in line for 45 minutes to get 2 Wilson tickets.  It was a success as we got #47 and 48 in line.  From there we headed back to the autograph area for Adam Wainwright.  We had ticket #37, so we were able to get through the line very quick.

This is the other 2006 World Series logo ball that I had bought on Saturday.  Wainwright had always been a nice guy.  Last year at WWU he asked my son his name and introduced himself as Chris Carpenter.  This year he asked Alex who his favorite player was.  He likes players with his same name, so he told Wainwright he liked Alex Reyes.  Wainwright had a good laugh and mentioned how old he must be getting because none of the young crowd likes him.  The auto cost $100, but I have a soft spot for Wainwright.  He has been with the Cardinals his entire Major League career and took a good sized discount to resign with the Cardinals 2 years ago.  He also does more than his share of charitable work. 

We had about 1.5 hours to kill before Wilson started to sign, so we checked out the game room.  Alex won a Cardinals super hero tshirt, a Build a Bear teddy bear, another draw string bag, and a Wainwright replica jersey.  He had the most fun on the inflatable wall.  The kids put on a suit that allowed them to stick to a 10 foot tall wall.  With the help of a volunteer, he got about 5 feet up.

After the game room and a quick lunch, we got 2 autos from Jacob Wilson.  He might of had a chance to make the Cardinals out of spring training before they traded for Jedd Gyorko.  He plays second and third and has started to learn the outfield.  Wilson does have some power, but needs to cut down on his strikeouts.  Another nice guy who thanked us for coming.  The Springfield Cardinals 8x10 cost me $5. 

It was 12:30 by now, and we did not have another autograph ticket until 4:00.  I chose not to wait over an hour in line to get a free auto ticket for 2 minor league players I already had autos from.  We sat through a presentation by the Cardinals minor league director, then walked through the vendor area.  The card selection was very slim.  There were 2 or 2 vendors with packs and maybe another 3 or 4 with singles.  I bought zero cards because I could not justify paying 50 cents to $1 for base cards.  I knew there would be a premium for Cardinals, but not that much.  My only purchase was a Carlos Martinez lego figure for Alex and this Michael Wacha 8x10.

I hope to get this framed along with a ticket from the 2013 NLCS Game 6 that sent the Cardinals to the World Series.  Wacha was the MVP of that series.

After killing another hour in the game room and watching a small presentation by the St. Louis Science Museum, we got in line for our last auto.

My kids took this picture with Sam Tuivailala in Memphis last May.  He should be in the bullpen at some point this year.  He is a Jason Motte clone.  He started out as a position player, but was converted to a pitcher once it was discovered he could not hit but could throw close to 100 mph. 


Sunday was a long day.  We got to the WWU at 8:15 and left at 4:30.  My son did become restless about 3:30, but we managed to make it through the day.  He almost slept through the enitre 2 hour 15 minute drive home.  I hope he is up for doing it again next year, with or without the rest of the family.

Winter Warm Up Day 1 Recap

My wife and I have been going to the Cardinals Winter Warm Up since 2010.  Starting in 2013 we took our then 8 year old daughter and 4 year old son.  The WWU lasts 3 days, but we only go on Saturday and Sunday.  It can make for a long weekend when the kids have to wait in autograph lines, but we try to let them play in the game room as much as we can to let them burn off some energy.  The games are not that fun, but they can win some old promo items there like t-shirts or backpacks.  This year my daughter had a dance competition on Saturday, so it was just my son and I. 

We arrived in St. Louis about 8:30 Saturday morning.  Doors did not open until 9, but I had to stop at will call to get our admission passes and autograph tickets.  Our first auto ticket was for Jaime Garcia, who was signing from 9-11.  Auto tickets are called in order from 1-400.  We had 167 and 168.  Since we had some time to kill, off to the game room we went.  My son won a Cardinals draw string bag, Fredbird bobblehead, and a American Girl doll tshirt.  He was most thrilled about the tshirt because my daughter just got a new doll for Christmas and this will be a perfect birthday gift for her later this week.  From there we went up to the auto line.

I bought two tickets for Jaime Garcia for $20 each.  The first auto was for a bat I had made after the 2011 World Series.  I am trying to get the entire roster on the bat, but know that it will be a long term project thanks to Mr. Pujols being in California.

Not the best photo, but Garcia's auto is the big J followed by some scribbles and the #54.  Garcia makes the 13th auto on the bat.  I also had him sign a poster that features the Cardinals wearing their Strike out Cancer shirts.  I did not take a picture of it because it is over 3 feet long. 

I had not bought a ticket for Greg Garcia before we came, but he had a short line and the price was only $5.  The 8x10 was also $5.  My son is one of the biggest Garcia fans out there.  2 years ago we went to a couple of minor league games in Nashville.  Before each game Garcia came over to my son to give him a ball or high five.  I think he has a good shot to make the opening day roster as a reserve infielder now that Pete Kozma is gone.

Our next auto after Greg Garcia was Yadier Molina from 11-1.  Once again we had a number close to 200, so this time we checked out the vendor area.   I had brought along some ROMLB to get signed, but was hoping to find something a little more cool.  I thought I was in luck when I found a vendor who had unused 2006 World Series baseballs.  I bought 2 of them for $20 each.  I was disappointed once I opened the box and found out they were the logo balls, not the game balls.  I ended up keeping them anyway because I did not find anything else in my price range to have Molina sign.

Molina took his time signing the ball and even thanked my son and I for coming.  In years past Molina has not shown up for the WWU even though he was scheduled to, but this is the 3rd year in a row he was there.  I believe this is the only public auto signing he does.  You can tell he does not like signing game used equipment or larger items.  I saw 2 guys who had 3 foot bobbleheads for him to sign.  He did, but was not overly happy about it.  Molina's auto was a little steep at $125, but all money goes to the Cardinals Care charity and we did get 10 seconds of his time. 

Molina was the last paid auto we had for the day.  There were numerous alumni and minor league players signing for free, but you had to get a line ticket for them.  I passed on most of them because they sign almost every year.  I did get 2 freebies because they had little to no wait time.

Kerry Robinson is currently a scout for the Cardinals.  He played a handful of seasons in the early 2000s.

Dean Kiekhefer has a chance to be a left handed reliever for the Cardinals at some point this season.  He does not throw hard, but has an unusual delivery that allows him to hide the ball well.  He seems to be the typical quirky lefthanded reliever.  He was cutting jokes with everyone in line.  When he found out my son also played baseball, he asked him for his auto.  Wish all players connected with fans like this.

After the autos, we stayed around for the trivia session.  The 2 prizes being given out were a Build a Bear teddy bear, and a Fredbird bobble belly doll.  Both were stadium give aways last year.  My son was lucky enough to win a Fredbird.  We finished our day about 3:30.  My son did fairly well waiting in lines.  He did have a sticker book and his tablet to pass the time, but for the most part he soaked things in.  We spent our evening in the hotel eating Steak and Shake and watching the Incredibles.  Not a bad first day.


 

Warm Up Weekend in St. Louis

As I sit here at work with nothing to do this morning, it is 8 degrees outside with a windchill that makes it feel like -2.  I work in the office of a concrete company, so bitter cold days like this means very little to do.  I am lucky to have 2 bosses who do not mind my internet surfing to pass the time as long as all work is done.  An 8 hour work day like this can go by very slow, but luckily I have plenty to write about for a few days.  I hope to make more frequent posts in the upcoming months. 

The Cardinals held their version of a fanfest this past weekend in St. Louis called the Winter Warm Up (WWU).  This is the 20th anniversary of the event.  It always takes place on Martin Luther King weekend so the event can run 3 days.  My son and I attended on Saturday and Sunday, but I will leave those details for another post or two.

In association with the WWU, the Cardinals also host caravans throughout their listening area.  The caravans are set up with 5 or 6 Cardinal players: 2 current players who have not been in the majors very long, 2 minor leaguers, and 1 or 2 former players.  Some have free admission, others may charge a small fee.  I believe the largest fee this year out of the 22 cities was $10.  The program will last about 1.5-2 hours depending on the crowd.  The players are introduced, followed by a question and answer session, and then an autograph session.  The autograph session is advertised for the first 400 kids 15 and under.  In the past it was open to anyone as time permitted, but things changed after 2012.  David Freese was on the caravan in 2012, just a few months after his heroics in the 2011 World Series.  Several cities reported unruly fans trying to get his auto for free.  Fans were lining up the night before just to get him.  Those not lucky to get in resorted to pushing, shoving, etc. 

This is the 8th consecutive year my family has attended a caravan, all in Illinois.  We have been to Mt. Vernon and Carbondale, but Champaign is our favorite spot.  It is usually held on a Friday at noon, and admission is free. This stop is usually not overcrowded because of school being in session. The school district my children attend always has a half day on the Friday before MLK day, so the wife and I will take them out of school to go (does this make me a good or bad parent?)  The caravan was held at the I hotel, just across from the State Farm Center at the University of Illinois.  I would guess there were close to 300 people in attendance, with 164 of them being kids. 

This year's players included Carlos Martinez, Mitch Harris, minor leaguers Michael Ohlman and Luke Weaver, and alumini Andy Benes and Tom Lawless.  Not a bad group considering Martinez was an All Star last year, but some caravans had a little more star power.  Michael Wacha and Stephen Piscotty were on the same caravan in Memphis.  We still had a good time, and even got a few autos:

Mitch Harris has a very nice story.  He made his MLB debut last year after serving 5 years in the Navy.  He pitched in 26 games out of the bullpen in 2015, but is most likely slated for Triple A to start the year.  He was asked a question about if he would change how his career went considering he was draft in 2008, but had to fulfill his military requirement.  He stated he was a better man for serving and would not change anything.

Luke Weaver was the Cardinals #1 draft pick in 2014.  I was shocked how thin of a frame he has for someone that can throw in the mid 90s.  I would guess he is 2 or 3 years away from the Majors. Also pictured on the card is  Jack Flaherty, another #1 pick in 2014.  I had him sign this card in Peoria last year.  Always fun to get a dual card signed by both guys.

Michael Ohlman was the catcher for the Cardinals Double A team last year.  You may have seen this catch he made in the AFL this year.  He should get moved to Triple A this year, with an outside chance of seeing the Majors if someone gets hurt.  He is a big man, 6'5" tall and 240 pounds.  He gave me some slack about not having a card off him ( in good humor).

Andy Benes was the #1 overall draft pick in 1988.  He won 155 games during a 14 year career.  He now works for the Cardinals in a variety of public relations ways.  He spoke some about coaching, noting that one important thing youth coaches should do is encourage kids.

Tom Lawless is most remembered for his bat flip after hitting a home run in the 1987 World Series.  He served as the Astros manager for 2 months at the end of 2014.  He also is the only man ever to be traded for Pete Rose.

The main attraction was Carlos Martinez.  I was shocked to hear he did not start playing baseball until he was 15.  He had an interpreter with him.  He appears to understand English very well, but is a little unsure about how to say certain things to express himself.  He received the bulk of the questions and was very funny. 

A big reason I like going to Champaign is the radio station that sponsors the caravan will allow people to go through the auto line if all children are finished and time is left.  There was about 30 minutes left, so my son went back through the line with me.

Not the greatest pick, but it is a 2015 All Star game ball inscribed "1st All Star Game " by Martinez.  I was somewhat shocked he did the inscription so well. 

My son had Martinez sign a mini helmet.  Carlos was ashamed this auto did not turn out so well, but we told him it great for us.  My son's room is our display room.  We try to display all our autos there in one way or another.  We will have to find a shelf for the 3 autos we got from Martinez on Friday. 

My daughter had all the players sign a bat.  We had a Louisville Slugger bat made in 2011 with her name on it that she takes to caravans and the WWU.  She is up to 47 signatures on it, none that cost her a dime. 

 

It's always nice to get Christmas Cards

Over the last week or so many bloggers have been posting about various Christmas gifts they have received in the form of cards or other sports related items.  I did not receive a truck load of cards, but did get a nice envelope in the mail last week from fellow Cardinals collector Eric.

I met Eric on The Bench a few years ago and we have traded Cardinals duplicates numerous times.  I have 2 or 3 other Cardinals fans that provide a trading ground for my many doubles.  It is very rare to receive a flat rate box full of Cardinals that I need, but with a little work most of them find good homes.  Whether it be through trades or having my wife give them out to her students, there is always some Cardinals fan who can use a 1991 Fleer team set. 

Speaking of yellow bordered sets, Eric included these four 1991 Swell cards.  Yes that is the same Joe Garagiola that used to broadcast Saturday afternoon baseball with Vin Scully.  Hands down the best broadcast duo ever.

I cannot say I know who Milt Ramirez was, but it is nice to mark his 1971 Topps card off my wantlist.  It is off centered and has some soft corners, but is in great shape otherwise. 

I have said it before, but I have a soft spot for members of the 1985 Cardinals team.  Not much power on that team, but man could they run.  Maybe Don Dekinger can rest easier now that the Royals won a World Series without his help. 

I have expressed my dislike for mini cards before, but these 3 are not all bad.  Ronnie Belliard was the starting second baseman in the 2006 World Series.  I cannot say I remember much about him other than the long dread locks.  The Shelby Miller Bowman Chrome is a refractor.  I hope he can continue his 2015 success that he had in Atlanta in his new home of Arizona.  The Simmons is a 1978 Hostess card that I have not ever seen before.  If it was not for Jonny Bench,  Simmons would have been more of a household name during the mid to late 1970s. 

The 1998 Pacific set has some nice photography, but the busy nameplate at the bottom takes away from the full bleed photos.  It would be nice if Topps came out with a set that featured the entire team like backup catchers.  I doubt if there are too many Mike Difelice Cardinals cards out there. 

I have always like the Bowman Silver Ice cards.  They are really sharp in person and look great signed in blue sharpie.  With the signing of Mike Leake yesterday, it looks like Tim Cooney will be back in Triple A until a starting pitcher gets injured.  Bowman Xfractors are not quite as nice.  For some reason the checkered/box pattern reminds me of the Minecraft game.  Zack Cox has been one of the few recent #1 draft picks that did not pan out for the Cardinals.  He was traded to the Marlins at the 2012 trade deadline for Edward Mujica.  The Red Schoendienst is a Green Framed Gypsy Queen card.  Hard to go wrong with a Hall of Famer who still attends spring training even though he is over 90 years old. 

It took until December to get #2

Collecting a player who retired in 2004 can have its challenges.  Ray Lankford was a popular Cardinal, but not on a national level.  Topps has not continued to produce cards of him like other retired Cardinals such as Ozzie Smith and Stan Musial.  I can count on two hands the number of new cards he has appeared on since 2005, and that is including the different versions of Leaf Memories from 2012-2014. 

I also have a rather complete Lankford collection.  By my best count using Beckett Collections, I have 916 of a possible 981 Lankford cards produced including 1 of 1s.   As a result, it can be months before I see a Lankford card I need be listed for sale or offered for trade.  I do my daily check of auctions sites and see the same cards listed over and over again, but I keep going back hoping to find something I need.  My search paid off in August when I found this card on COMC:

1999 Omega Premiere Date #ed to 50

I do not think I could hit the buy it now button quick enough.  This is the 2nd card I have crossed off my Lankford wantlist this year. It fits nicely in my binder along side the other 3 versions of this card:

Base Card

 Copper #ed to 99

Gold #ed to 299

I was torn on whether on not to spend $3 to have it shipped to me right away, but I decided to wait until the Black Friday free shipping promotion.  I waited 6 months to even find a Lankford I needed, so the 3 month wait on shipping was not too bad.

COMC in Motion

I have seen several blogs post about what they bought from COMC during the Black Friday sale.  I have been waiting patiently for the free shipping promotion since I bought a card in early August.  $3 to ship one card is not that far out of line with some EBAY rates, but when you know there is a good chance you can get free shipping, it pays to wait.  So I spent the weekend looking for 19 more cards from my various Cardinals wantlist. 


I started my search by trying to find autos of Cardinals players I needed that cost less than $3.

I paid less than $2 for the Crudale, Kopp, and Rust.  Cliff Politte cost me $2.75, but it is the silver foil version.  None of these 4 pitchers had a long MLB career, although Politte was a member of the 2005 White Sox World Series team.  These four brought my total of Cardinals certified autos to 195 different players.

I have many base cards on my team wantlist dating back to 1970 that are not too hard to find.  There are a lot of common cards on that list along with some short print cards and some oddballs.  I decided to try to find cards that I do not see on trade lists very often, or when they do pop up on auction sites are over priced.  I set my spending limit at 50 cents per card.  My search led me to Sportflics.

 I bought my first pack of baseball cards in 1986.  Topps, Fleer, and Donruss were the only cards I had heard about until I attended a card show in early 1987.  I was shocked to see a dealer had Sportsflics.  My 10 year old self was fascinated by these cards that would show different images when you moved them.  Though they are not very expensive, I cannot tell you the last time I saw a dealer that had these for sale at a show.  I bought these 2 1986 cards of Vince Coleman and Tom Herr for 38 cents each.

I did not have any Cardinals from the 1988 Sportflics set.  I know these do not scan the greatest, but you may notice the Doug Decinces card in the lower right looks like an Angels card.  Doug finished his career in 1987 by playing 4 games with St. Louis.  The back of the card has a Cardinals emblem, so I guess it is considered part of the set.  All nine of these cards were also 38 cents each.

I did not realize Sportflics made a set in 1990.  I was even more surprised to find I already had 2 Cardinals from this set.  Keeping with the theme, these four cards also cost 38 cents each.  I only need the Ozzie Smith to complete the team set, but did not want to pay the $1.50 price tag for it. 

19 down, 1 more to go.  I will save the last card I bought for another post.  It is the one that I bought back in August.  I spent a total $15.10 for the 20 cards.  Not bad, but even better when I received $5 site credit from my scratch off card. 

No More Mafia In St. Louis

So the Cardinals finally made a move today, trading Jon Jay to the Padres in exchange for Jedd Gyorko and close to $7 million.  I will admit I do not know much about Gyorko other that what I read this morning, but it seems like the Cardinals should do ok with the deal.  They were needing a utility infielder who could hit left handed pitching better than Kolten Wong.  I hope Matheny plays him enough that Peralta and Wong do not wear down this next year like they did in 2015.  Gyorko also comes a lot cheaper than Ben Zobrist, although he is not the same caliber of player.  If he can hit .270 and hit 10-12 home runs, he will be a good pickup.

Jon Jay was a serviceable outfielder for the last few seasons.  He was the starting centerfielder for the 2011 World Series team after Colby Rasmus was traded in July.  He hits close to .300 and plays a decent centerfield, but has little power.  With the emergence of Randal Grichuk, Tommy Pham, and Stephen Piscotty, Jay saw very little playing time the second half of 2015.

With the trade of Jay and Tony Cruz last week, the Cardinals no longer have any members of the self proclaimed "Memphis Mafia".  David Freese, Allen Craig, Daniel Descalso, Jay, and Cruz all played together in Memphis before being promoted to St. Louis. Excluding Cruz, the other four played big roles in the 2011 World Series.  At least they all will have a World Series ring when they retire.