5 From 22

Opening Day did not go very well for the Cardinals' pitching staff.  Mikolas giving up 3 runs in the first was just a sign of things to come.  8 innings last, Ryan Helsley blew a 1 run lead in the 9th as the Cardinals ended up losing 10-9.  At least the offense had a good day.  My spirits were lifted some after opening my mail day from TCDB member bravefan1.

It sure would be nice to have a pitcher of Gibson's ability on the current team.  I did double take on this card after noticing his mustache.  I cannot recall any other cards where he has one.

Arenado had a good day with 2 hits and 3 RBIs.  Nootbaar managed 1 hit and scored a run.  I am down to 4 more cards to complete my 2022 Mosaic team set after adding these 2.  

Poor Juan Yepez.  After having a solid rookie season, he will open this year in Triple A thanks to Jordan Walker making the team.  I am sure someone will get hurt, and he will be up before the All Star Game.  I am down to the Pujols base card to complete 2022 Bowman Platinum.  Seeing the Rated Rookie logo on this Optic card brings back lots of memories of my early collecting days in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  Have you ever wondered why people do not collect these cards like they do Topps Gold Cup cards?  I know lack of logos have hurt them recently, but Rated Rookie cards are still iconic in my opinion.

   

   

Happy Opening Day!

It is finally here.  In less than an hour the Cardinals kick off the 2023 season at home against the Blue Jays.  Most eyes will be on Jordan Walker as he makes his debut.  He has some high expectations to live up to that I do not think are realistic.  Hopefully, he can contribute and stay in the majors.  

What better way to celebrate opening day than to show off a new Cardinals autograph.  I bought this one off EBAY for about the price of a blaster.

Furcal has very few autographs in a Cardinals uniform.  Always nice to grab an autograph of a World Series champion.  
   

Rare Bench Trade

Before I joined TCDB, my primary online trading site was The Bench.  I have been a member there for 20 years.  For the first few years, I would work out 15-20 trades a month.  Now I am lucky to do 1 a month.  The site has slowly turned from player and team collectors to the majority of members looking for the latest and greatest rookies.  Not my cup of tea, but there are a few collectors I still trade with.  I recently worked out my second trade of 2023 with member Scobes.  He is a Phillie collector who has a nice stash of Cardinals I need.

It is rare for me to add older Heritage short prints.  Nice to knock off 2 from the same set.  Both these are from 2018.

Hard to believe this card is 20 years old.  I have a hard enough time adding recent Topps gold cards.  

      

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #38

It is the last 2 for Tuesday in March, which means baseball season is almost here.  2 more days until Miles Mikolas throws the first pitch of the Cardinals season.  Time to celebrate by showing off a couple of trades.  First up are some cards that arrived yesterday from member Jquirp001.

 
My 2023 Series 1 team set is now complete.  Nice to finish this one before the season starts.

The remaining card is an All Star insert from 2022 Chrome Update.  I hope Goldschmidt comes close to his MVP numbers of last year.  Sooner or later father time will catch up with him.  

Second package was a very generous group of Cardinals from member rustypetty.  I sent him a single Bo Bichette card in exchange for this great Cardinals lot.

Now that my base set is complete, it is time to work on the 2023 inserts.  

I still have plenty of Topps inserts to track down from 2022.  The chase is never over.

You can never go wrong with adding Stadium Club cards of team legends like Stan and Ozzie.  

Arozarena had a great WBC.  I am not a huge fan of his showmanship, but I guess if it brings more fans to the game so be it.  

  

Second Ron B Package of 2023

Last week good trading partner Ron B from the Trading Bases group sent me his second package this year.  Unlike some others, I knew the contents of this one.  That did not take away the excitement of receiving the cards in the mail.  Ron always sends a great mix of cards.

These are the first 2022 Panini Capstone cards I have seen in person.  Not that I was looking very hard for them, but there were none to be found at the recent card show in St. Louis. It is a very simple design on thick and shiny card stock.  The base is on the left, a blue parallel on the right.  The 2022 DK Artist Proof is numbered to 99.

It will be strange not seeing these 2 together on a field this year.  Yesterday brought news of Wainwright starting the season on the DL.  I hope he finds a way to win at least 5 games this year to reach 200 for his career.

3 cards of former first baseman who all won MVP awards.  The Pujols insert is a printing error missing the foil.  I doubt it changes the value, but it is a cool card to have.  The Goldy is a 2022 Archives red parallel numbered to 75, while the Musial is a 2021 Gallery green parallel numbered to 125.

The last 3 cards featured a 2021 Mosaic blue camo parallel, a nice 2021 Chrome pink refractor, and a 2015 GQ gold mini numbered to 99.

  

Shiny Trade

Today's trade recap features a nice group of shiny Cardinals from TCDB member freddybacon.  I sent him a handful of Red Sox in return for these 5 cards.  

Mojo refractors look good regardless of what design is used.  These are my first from 2023 Topps silver packs.  I am happy to add any and all Nolan cards regardless of last name.

Another silver pack card and a rainbow foil parallel of WBC champion Lars Nootbaar.  Congrats to him and the rest of Japan on a great tournament.  I find it comical how some Cardinals fans think he can help bring Ohtani to St. Louis next year.   No way ownership is giving out that kind of money.

I like the Future Stars inserts Topps has used across its brands.  I have gotten a few of the poster sized cards autographed at the Cardinals Winter Warm Up.  

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #37

 Another short 2 for Tuesday post before I head out to my son's high school baseball game.  Yesterday was scheduled for game 1, but rain pushed it back to today. 

First up is a two pack of 1996 Fleer Tiffany cards from member 49ants.

This is the 11th trade we have done together.  All involved Giants for Cardinals.  Since he still has over 100 Cardinals I need, I always try to nab cheap Giants at card shows.

Second trade brought a few more 2023 Topps Cardinals from member pianojazzman.

I am down to 4 more cards to complete my team set, all of which are incoming.  I was happy to see Gorman get a rookie card in Series 1.  He is having a great spring and should be on the opening day roster.  Not sure how much playing time he will get, but there should be enough DH at bats to see him play 2 or 3 times a week.