Quick Trade Post

While I have been busy going through the massive box Brady sent me, I have had a few other trade packages arrive.  I was able to trade the Colin Moran from my Wal-Mart Holiday box break for a nice lot of 2016 Cardinals needs.

Here it is December and I finally finish my 2016 Topps Series 2 team set.  Wish I could say the same for my Update set, but it is still lacking 3 cards.  I am somewhat surprised Matt Adams is still a member of the Cardinals.  I still have a small glimmer of hope that Jhonny Peralta will be traded so Matt Carpenter will move back to third and Adams will get a chance to start.

These 3 cards also finished my 2016 Topps Chrome team set.  Wacha was mentioned in quite a few trade rumors during the winter meeting, but I do not see the Cardinals parting ways with him.  His starting days may be over, but he may have a chance to transition into a Andrew Miller type of role.  He is too young to give up on already.

This is my first 2016 Bowman Platinum card.  Only 2 more to go.  The Grichuk completed my 2016 Opening Day set.  I see him being a feast or famine type of hitter this year.  He may hit 25-30 home runs, but might also strike out 150+ times.

There seems to be so many Bowman brands this year it is hard to keep all of them straight.  The paper version is not too bad, but there are chrome cards that came in 2 different types of packs.  I am still trying to figure all of those out.

I have mentioned before that there are a ton of Cardinals in 2016 Gypsy Queen.  These 2 along with a few others I need to show yet brings me down to needing just 331 Orlando Cepeda.  Maybe I will find it before the end of the year.

It was nice to know off 3 team sets in one package.  I still have a lot of work to get done before the 2017 cards hit the shelves.

Minor League Cards from Brady

I spent some time over the weekend putting away all the inserts from Brady's priority box.  It was nice to file away a huge stack of cards, but that was only a small dent in the pile.  I decided to tackle a smaller part of the package and highlight the minor league cards.

 I had no idea TCMA made minor league cards in 1978.  I have a few TCMA Cardinals from the late 1970s, but all of them were color shots.  I guess the minor league guys get second dibs from the card companies just like in real life.

Fast forward to 1990 and most minor league teams had some type of cards being produced.  ProCards and CMC produced massive sized sets back then.  The CMC set was 880 cards while the ProCards Triple A set was 700.  Ken Hill and Bernard Gilkey both had productive careers, but I cannot say I have ever heard of Roger Erikson.

The borders on these 1991 Classic cards are just down right horrible.  Makes me think of a piece of marble more than a baseball card.  I have heard of all these players.  Watson and Young both played a handful of seasons for some bad Cardinals teams in the early 1990s.  Brian Barber was a 1991 first round draft pick who appeared in 10 games in 1995 and 1996.  He was part of a Cardinals draft history in the 1990s that should be forgotten.  St. Louis had a thing for high school pitchers that never panned out.

Classic produced a number of minor leage sets in 1992.  Draft Picks highlighted more players who never produced for the Cardinals.  Classic Best at least had a handful of players like Young who reached the Majors.  He played 2 season in St. Louis before losing his first base job to Mark McGwire.

Classic add a 4 Sport brand in 1993.  Alan Benes is one of the few minor leaguers in the 1990s who made an impact for the Cardinals, but his career was short lived due to arm problems.  The Classic Best set reminds me of 1993 Fleer with the all gray borders. 

I like the full bleed photos of 1994 Classic Best Gold, but the player name is very hard to read.  That is Jason Hisey printed in gold over Cardinals if you could not tell.  No wonder the company did not last long with designs like this.

I am not for sure if Classic changed its name to Best in 1995, or if Best is a different company.  At least the card design is better.  Wagner was a 1994 first round pick who never reached the Majors.

Jumping ahead to 1999, Team Best produced cards.  Once again I am uncertain if this was the same company as Classic or Best, but the player still was less than uneventful.  Hutchinson appeared in 3 games for the Cardinals in 2001, 6 games less than he would start for the Cowboys in the NFL in 2002.  Just came into the minor league marker with a small 150 card set.  Most Cardinals fans know the Rick Ankiel story by now. 

SP Top Prospects chose to go back in time with its 2000 Ankiel card.  He made his MLB debut in 1999.  He is pictured as a member of the 1997 Triple A Memphis Redbirds.

MultiAd Sports created quite a few minor league team sets that were stadium give aways.  I am guessing that is what these 2004 and 2005 Jimmy Journell cards are.  He appeared in 12 games for the Cardinals in between 2003 and 2005 before he was out of baseball.

2006 Justifialbe highlighted the so called top prospects of each team.  In the early 2000s, the Cardinals changed their draft strategy from high school pitchers to players who were athletic.  Being athletic did not help Daryl Jones.  He played in the Cardinals minors for 6 seasons before being traded to the Reds in 2012.  I do not think he ever played in the Majors.

Finally in 2007 we saw some players that actually helped the Cardinals win.  Just Minors included future 2011 World Series champs Jon Jay and Jaime Garcia, both former Cardinals now but still in the big leagues.  Tristar produced 3 different minor league sets in 2007.  Overkill if you ask me. 

2008 was the first Elite Extra Edition set.  The quality of the card design has gotten a lot better since then.  Peterson is still bouncing around in the Brewers system.  His Cardinals claim to fame is being part of the Matt Holliday trade with Oakland.  Vasquez topped out in Double A.  Last I heard he was playing independent ball in nearby Marion, IL.

Elite added a little more to their design in 2009, but still lacked color other than the player's uniform.  Ryan Jackson played a handful of games for the Cardinals in 2012 before being placed on waivers in 2013.  I think he is still bouncing around Triple A with the Angels.

2010 Elite produced an insert set called School Colors that showcase minor league players in their college uniforms.  Swagerty is more famous for having a card with a Magic Johnson sticker auto on it than for playing baseball.  Cox is one of the few recent #1 picks that did not work out for the Cardinals.  He was their first round pick in 2010, but struggled to reach Triple A before he was traded to the Marlins in 2012 for Edward Mujica.

Elite did well with the 2011 Elite Series inserts.  I love the wood grain look on cards.  Tilson was traded at this year's trade deadline to the White Sox for Zack Duke.  He would make his MLB debut on August 2.  He managed to collect a hit before he tore his hamstring and miss the rest of the season.  I guess it is poetic justice that Duke will miss the 2017 season with TJ surgery.

 Last but not least is 2012 Elite.  Colored borders were added that spiced up the card somewhat.  Melchionda only played one season in the minors before retiring for reasons I do not know.  At least he was only a 12th round choice.

Hitting the Lists at the Card Show

My family took a quick weekend trip to St. Louis this past weekend to catch a Blues game on Saturday night.  Other than the Blues losing the game 17 seconds into overtime, it was a fun night.  We had seats 2 rows off the ice that included an all you can eat buffet.  My son received a pre game warm up puck, and we all received a nice Blues hooded sweatshirt.  Best part was I only had to pay for 2 tickets, as the other 2 were part of an early Christmas bonus. 

Of course I planned the quick trip knowing there was a card show on Sunday.  This was the first show I had a chance to go to since this July show.  I did not pay to get an autographs this time, but still found quite a few things for my Cardinals collection.

These are the first Topps Bunt cards in my collection.  I was rather shocked to find these in a dime box.  I know Bunt is not a premium issue, but the local mark up usually comes in to play.  Most Cardinals base cards are 25-50 cents regardless of player.

I have very few 2016 Archives yet.  These were also in the same dime box.  I like the 1979 Topps design more than the 1953 design.

There are a ton of Cardinals in the 2016 Gypsy Queen set.  I am slowly getting closer to the set, but still need 5 more.  These were more 10 cent finds.

Keeping up with the dime finds are these 2016 Diamond Kings.  I like the painted look of these cards.  The choice of photos did well to hide the lack of logos.

The last of my dime finds finish of my 2016 Topps and Topps Chrome sets, while starting my Bowman Chrome set.  It is sad that it took until December to finish my base Topps team set.

I also snagged a few 2015 set hits for a dime each.  The 3 Donruss cards are short prints.  It pains me to buy Jason Heyward cards, but to fill a team set need I will have to. 

I found a few other miscellaneous team wants in the dime box.  2003 Topps Gallery was a nice painted set.  I have very few MLB Showdown cards regardless of year.  The Bud Smith card is my second from 2003.  Look at the yellow and green on the 1982 Squirt Sutter.  It was not hard picking this card out.

The last of my dime box finds were these 1993 Panini stickers.  I will snatch up early 1990s oddball Cardinals all day for a dime even if I have them.  I will mention this is the first show I have attended with my smartphone (insert your stone age or old person joke here).  It was so easy to find cards I need with my wantlist a few clicks away. 

The same dealer also had some 25 cent bins.  I had bought a bunch of DAV cards at a previous show for a dime each, but the big names were missing.  The top three completed my 2008 DAV set, but I was unable to find the Pujols card to finish the 2009 set. 

After spending close to 2 hours going through the dime and quarter boxes, my son was ready to move.  We found a few autos and game used in a $2 box that are for other team traders, but did make one more purchase.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a table with stadium give away bobbleheads for $10 each.  Both are a few years old, but I will gladly take them.  Only problem is my two bobblehead shelves are full.  May have to put some of the older ones away. 

I am not for sure if the dealers were looking to move inventory before the end of the year, or just running some holiday deals.  Either way, it was a great show.  I will have to remember to hit up December shows in future years.

Game Used and Autos from the Brady Package

After the massive undertaking of sorting through inserts and base cards, I had a much easier time going through the game used card and 2 autos Brady sent.

It was tough hearing Jon Jay signed with the Cubs last week.  He is not a flashy player, just a solid outfielder who will hit close to .300 and play good defense.  I remember his afro and huge backside the most.  I have another copy of this 2011 Allen & Ginter bat card, but I have another Cardinals fan in mind for it.

Clayton Morten was a first round pick of the Cardinals in 2007 who played in 1 game for the Birds in 2009 before being traded to Oakland in the Matt Holliday deal.  He has since bounced around to the Rockies, Red Sox, and Royals.  I have very few certified minor league autos, so this 2007 Tristar Prospect Plus card is a welcome addition.

I thought for sure I had this 2007 Bowman's Best Ottavino autograph, but I was wrong.  I have 2 other autos of his, but I guess after seeing this card on EBAY and other sites I just assumed I had it.  Ottavino was another first round pick, this time in 2006.  He appeared in 5 games in 2010 before missing most of the 2011 season with Tommy John surgery I believe.  He has become a reliable reliever for the Rockies since 2012.

I certainly was not expecting to find anything other than base cards in the lot, buy Brady slipped in these 3 surprises.  Next post I will highlight the minor league cards.

2010-Present Inserts from Brady

Finishing up the insert highlights from the package I received from Brady with cards from 2010 to now.

Topps produced a fair amount of Rogers Hornsby inserts in 2010.  The Triple Threads Sepia numbered to 525 is my favorite.  The other 2 cards are of failed catching prospects.  Robert Stock lasted one season as a catcher before becoming a reliever.  He topped out at Low A Peoria.  Cody Stanley got a taste of the majors in 2015, but has been suspended for PEDs since then.

2011 was a good year for Topps brand inserts.  The Diamond Anniversary parallels are very sharp. The throwback uniform pic makes it even better.  Bowman featured the International parallel that was used in the late 1990s.  I have no clue who Phillip Cerreto is or care to look him up.  I doubt he made it past rookie ball since I following the minors pretty close and have not heard of him.  The Topps Heritage Flashbacks inserts reminds me of 1987 Topps with the wood grain border.  The green refractor really stands out.  Wonder who Fernando Salas is giving the eye to.

Brady included lots of 2012 Chrome goodies.  It will be odd not seeing Matt Holliday in a Cardinals uniform in 2017.  At least he signed with the Yankees so he cannot come back to hurt the Cardinals.  David Freese will always be a Cardinal legend thanks to Game 6 of the 2011 World Series.  Lance Berkman also had a key hit in that game. 

Topps decided to give Wal-Mart, Target, and Toy R Us exclusive parallel cards in 2012.  Wal-Mart was blue, Target was red, and Toys R Us was purple.  I believe the Gold Sparkle cards were including in all packs.  Very sharp looking cards.  The Gold Frame Gypsy Queen Musial is not quite as flashy, but still a nice card of the greatest Cardinal ever.  Roger Maris played for the Cardinals in 1967 and 1968 before he retired, winning the Series in 1967.  This Topps Archives is a sticker insert.

2013 Topps Chrome Xfractors do not scan well, although it is a sweet photo of Jon Jay.  I like the Panini Hometown Heroes set.  It had a good mix of current and retired players not always featured in standard sets.  The Marc R. (Scrabble) card is a state parallel.  There is also a zip code version.  I have a soft spot for Matt Adams because he has always been a nice guy in person, but his days as a Cardinal are most likely numbered just like this Topps Update Gold card.  Heritage purple parallel cards are nice, but I think I prefer the green versions.

I am a fan of the Bowman Silver Ice cards.  The colored versions look even bettter.  These 2014 draft cards feature two players who did well in the Arizona Fall League this year..  Austin Gomber was the Cardinals 2015 minor league pitcher of the year.  Carson Kelly is the hopeful answer to who will be the starting catcher after Yadi retires.  Topps Chrome parallels always look sharp.  Not sure why the 2014 Xfractor scans better than the 2013 version.

2014 Toys R Us included a numbered parallel.  Very sharp looking cards.  Topps Red Hot Foil cards are just as nice.  It is still hard to think about how good Oscar Taveras could have been. 

2015 Bowman Silver Ice looks just as nice as 2014.  Edmundo Sosa made it to High A Palm Beach this year.  He looks to be an athletic shortstop with some power.  The Diamond Kings HOF Sluggers cards is a little bland, but any Musial card is a good card.  I do not think I would call Tuivailala a future star at this point.  He has failed to stick in the bullpen the last 2 years.  Chrome went to a Prism refractor instead of the Xfractor.  Look closely and you might see the pattern in the background.

I am severely lacking in 2016 Cardinals, whether it is base or inserts.  The left two are Berger's Best.  I like any insert that has multiple Cardinal legends on it.  Topps seems to pair Musial and Schoendienst together quite a bit.

I have not counted yet, but I would guess I needed just as many of the inserts as I already had. Brady did well for sending a huge lot of cards.  I still have quite a bit more to cover including the many vintage, base, minor league, and handful of game used/autos that were included. 

2000s Inserts from Brady

Continuing my recap of the trade package Brady sent, here are the highlights of the inserts from 2000-2009.

Pacific came up with some crazy insert designs.  It is hard to see, but the 2000 Revolution Edmonds is stamped premiere date on the front.  It is i numbered to 99.  Upper Deck was still going strong with McGwire insert mania.  This Black Diamond is a little to wordy for me.  I love the looks of the gold sig parallel on the Bowman Chrome Tatis.  JD Drew somewhat passed the rookie insert rage to Rick Ankiel in 2000.  I wish the Bowman Chrome would scan better.

Donruss did not produced sets in 1999 or 2000, so they made inserts cards for each year in 2001.  Another year, another Mac UD insert.  I think Matt Morris was an underappreciated Cardinal.  He was dominant for a few years after returning from TJ surgery.  I will give UD props for including retired players like Musial in their sets.  I love the Hall of Famers and SP Legendary Cuts sets they produced.

I liked the idea of 2002 Topps Super Teams set.  It highlighted World Series teams from different franchises.  This Steve Carlton is numbered to 1967.  After his 2001 ROY season, Pujols was an obvious choice for many insert sets.  A Topps Total insert called Total Topps.  How creative.  Donruss was not to be left out of the Mac and Drew insert craze.  The Fan Club die cut is not bad, but the raised border of the Bronze Frame Diamond King card can lead to chipping issues. 

Topps loved the name so much they used Topps Total Total Topps again in 2003.  Daric Barton did not have many Cardinal cards besides this Bowman Draft gold.  He was part of the trade with Oakland that brought Mark Mulder and his injured shoulder to St. Louis.

Fleer Greats is one of my favorite sets produced, regardless of year.  These 2004 Forever inserts are numbered to each player's rookie year.  2004 must have been the year for the horizontal Scott Rolen insert.  The Playoff Prestige is about as bland as you can get.  You would think Topps would have used the star background on the All Stars inserts, not Own the Game.  Guess that would have been to logical.

 I assume Brady bought some Molina lots that yielded some doubles.  The 2005 Bowman Draft Chrome refractor and Gold cards are nice additions.  As Brady mentioned in this post, Diamond Kings have a crazy amount of parallels.  These framed red cards look more maroon to me.

2006 Bowman Heritage foil cards scan horribly.  Bowman continued its gold parallels in 2006 Draft.  It still hurts to think how far Allen Craig has fallen.  The Edmonds mug shot is actually a sticker card.  Upper Deck made lots of inserts of Bob Gibson during the mid 2000s.  This All -Time Legends inserts shows off his legendary side burns well.

I cannot say I miss base Fleer sets that much.  The bottom 3 cards are 2007 minis, just a tad bit larger than Allen & Ginter minis. 

Brady included another Molina refractor from 2008 Bowman Chrome.  Red seems to be the theme on this card with the border, shades, and catching gear.  Both the UD O-PEE-CHEE and Topps Year in Review cards are pretty boring to me.  The players do not help matters either. 

 If you cannot read the signature on the 2009 Bowman Draft card, that is Robert Stock.  His in person sig is just as bad.  For some reason Topps stopped making a Turkey Red set and made an insert instead.  I like the painted looks of the Allen & Ginter Baseball Highlights Pujols card.  It is also a great shot of the point of impact.