Vintage Lot from TCDB

I do not buy very many cards online, not even from EBAY.  I prefer the old fashion way of seeing a card at a show before I buy it.  Don't get me wrong, I will always pay for a needed Ray Lankford card or a nice Cardinals lot/card online, but I can count on one hand how many times I do that a month.

Last week TCDB member bpaul14 mad a forum posting about buying a large Cardinals vintage lot.  After upgrading some cards and adding a few to his collection, he had quite a few for trade.  We exchanged a few messages and settled on a price of $30 for 5 Cardinals that arrived yesterday.

I will be a long time before I finish the 1959 Topps team set.  The 43 card team set includes some back variations, 2 Stan Musial cards, and Bob Gibson's rookie card.  I will settle on grabbing low dollar commons like Lee Tate for the near future.  

I am a lot closer to completing my 1960 team set after adding this white back variation Leon Wagner.  I only need one more back variation, and the Stan Musial card.

My 1961 Topps set is inching closer to completion.  Only six more to go, but four of those are from the high number series.  Good thing the most expensive one is a Ken Boyer All Star card.

The big draw for me were these two 1967 cards.  The Rickets is a high number short print from Series 7, while the McCarver is from Series 6.  Both of these are in great condition, almost mint.  I need three more cards to finish this set.  The member did have the Mike Shannon short print I need that was also in great condition, but I decided my card budget had been met for awhile.  Maybe in a month or two if he still has it you might see it on the blog.

  

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #134

Last night while I was scanning cards for today's post, I had some Youtube videos playing.  A number of them were people breaking 2026 Topps boxes.  I thought Wednesday was release day, but apparently some boxes were shipped early.  It was nice to see some of the insert designs along with the base cards.  I did notice some silver pack foil cards have sticker autographs.  Those look very bad.  As always, I will be sticking to the trading route to get my Cardinals team set.  Maybe in a one or two I will have some to show off.  Until then, you will have to enjoy some older cards.  First is a four pack of Cardinals from member JDHorns70.

Hard to believe this 1995 Panini Sticker is 31 years old.  Ozzie #829 in my collection finished this team set.

Maybe I will be able to finish 2025 Archives before starting 2026 Topps.  These three help that cause.

The second trade package came from member ShowMeYourBalboni.   Take a guess what player he collects.

Another three cards from 2025 Archives.  It is hard for me to pick out a favorite design from the set, but I will have to go with 2005 Topps.  I remember 20 years ago chasing after the Colby Rasmus rookie card from the Update set.  Glad I did not follow the hype and overspend on his cards.

Start of a Good Week

I hope everyone has recovered from Super Bowl Sunday.  I did not really care who won.  Even though the Seahawks beat my 49ers, I like the Sam Darnold story line.  I also like Drake Maye.  Tough night for him.  I did come away with a little money thanks to winning the 4th quarter of my work Super Bowl squares pool.   So glad that last touchdown was called back by a penalty.  I already spent most of it on a nice vintage lot that should arrive later this week.

Now that football is over, it is time to think about baseball.  Pitchers and catchers report later this week.  2026 Topps Series 1 is also hitting stores in a couple of days.  Even though the Cardinals are most likely in for a long season, you cannot help but feel a little optimistic this week.  

What better way to celebrate the start of baseball then to show off a nice card that arrived Saturday from TCDB member bdhrbob.

My first Saggese game used card is from 2025 Allen & Ginter.  It is nice to see the back of the card notes the piece of memorabilia was actually worn in a game.  Saggese will most likely be a bench bat who can play second and third base, with a little of shortstop and outfield if need be.  I will root for him just because he is one of the few old school type players who does not wear batting gloves.  
  

  

A Little Bit of Gold

Like much of the central US, my area experienced plenty of snow and cold temperatures since Saturday.  I believe the final total was 13 inches once the snow stopped Sunday afternoon.  That has been followed by feel like temperatures no higher than the mid teens.  It will be early next week before we might get above the freezing point.  

The bad weather has kept me inside for the most part.  That has given me a chance to get my office in order, including having all my cards filed and put away.  The last pile was a six pack of Cardinals courtesy of TCDB member albinolobster.

Any trade that includes a Topps gold Cardinals is great.  One that includes four of them is beyond awesome.  Of course I am nowhere close to completing any of the three team sets, but I will keep chipping away.  One of these days I will cross a gold set off my want list.

I forgot about this card in my post from last Thursday.  Now I can say I only need one more card to complete my 2025 A&G set.

My modest Victor Scott collection has reached 29 cards.  I really need to add to that total.  During his WWU interview, he stated he wants to steal 70 bases in 2026.  That would be fun to watch, but it all depends on his ability to get on base more.  

 

Very Generous TCDB member

Out of all my trades on TCDB, I would guess I propose at least 90% of them.  Most of the time I try to make things fair, or a little in the other trader's favor.  Once in a while I receive a counter offer.  Member mattyb87 sent a counter offer that was heavy in my favor.  I made sure it was not a mistake, then accepted the offer.  My cards arrived over the weekend.

I only need one more short print to finish my 2025 A&G team set.  Great batch of players here, including a Mize short print.

These are my first cards from 2025 Heritage High Numbers.  Glad there is only one short print to chase in this set.

This is also my first card from 2025 Bowman Chrome Prospects.  I usually wait a few months for the initial high prices to come down.

These three cards were extras.  I love the Ozzie 2022 Topps Throwback Thursday card.  Three Hall of Famers as throw ins was beyond generous.

  

2026 Cardinals Winter Warm Up Recap

As I touched on in yesterday's post, this past weekend was the Cardinals annual Winter Warm Up (WWU) fan festival.  Since 2016, this is an annual trip for my son and I.  Of course 2021 did not happen because of Covid, and 2022 did not take place because of the strike.  The set up was slightly different this year, as the event was only two days instead of three.  That did not affect us, as we have very rarely attended WWU on Monday.  WWU is all about meeting players, getting some autographs, and getting ready for the baseball season to start.  

We attended both Saturday and Sunday despite the cold temperatures.  WWU is held at Busch Stadium and across the street at Ballpark Village.  Most of the time we were indoors, but the walk in between venues and the security checks left us outside.  With wind chills in the single digits both days and some snow on Saturday, those few minutes seemed a lot longer.  Instead of doing a post for each day, I will show everything we picked up today.

Our first stop is always the Cardinals Care store.  This 3'x1' sign was from last year's photo session.  My son spotted it before I could.  It is already hanging up in my card room next to three other Lankford WWU signs.  2 years ago I paid $75, this year $50.

The Cardinals hold a 5K run each year, with a former player greeting runners at the finish line.  Lankford was the greeter in 2025.  Glad I did not pay the $50 fee to run.  I bought this medal for $5 on Saturday.  On Sunday, they were $2.50.  

The vendor area was almost non existent this year.  Most years there are 20-25 different booths.  This year I counted less than 10.  Talking with one of the dealers, he mentioned they were charged the same price despite WWU being cut back to 2 days.  I am guessing that had something to do with the low turnout.  The only thing I bought was a couple of 2025 Peoria Chiefs teams sets, which I already have filed away.  Everything else will be autographs.

I only have cards signed from players that are free.  Gilkey is at almost every WWU, while Worrell has been twice during the years I have attended.

Worrell also signed this program from the 1985 reunion weekend this past season.  Ricky Horton is also at WWU every year as a free signer.  He signed underneath Worrell.  The top signature is Andy Van Slyke, who signed this last September.

Radio announcer John Rooney was also a free signer.  I was thrilled to have him and Horton sign this bobblehead.

Ivan Herrera signed a ticket from his debut game.  Most players will add inscriptions during WWU.

I took this picture of Joshua Baez and Leonardo Bernal at a Peoria Chiefs game in 2024 after Bernal hit a home run.  Baez is the Cardinals #13 prospect, while Bernal is #4.  Both players loved the picture.

I took this picture of Bernal and # 5 prospect Quinn Mathews at the same game.  Mathews took a picture of it with his phone.  I did not think of sending it to him online.  

I took this picture of my son and Victor Scott at one of last year's Cardinals Caravans.  You can read about it here .  Scott remembered him and said he still has the CD.

This is a game used baseball from an game I attended in April where Matthew Liberatore pitched against the Phillies.  As you can tell from the inscriptions, he had a great day.

This is the first year #1 prospect JJ Wetherholt was at the WWU.  Many people are picking him to be NL ROY in 2026.  

Masyn Winn was happy to inscribe this Gold Glove ball.  2025 was hopefully the first of many for him.

As always we had a great time visiting with other Cardinals fans and just being around the stadium.  Attendance was down for the second consecutive year.  It was easy to see a lot of fans were not happy with the direction of the team despite an increase in ticket prices both years.  I will give the owners some credit for having a question and answer session with the crowd on Sunday.  They gave some general answers and talk around the increase, but for the most part expressed optimism for the upcoming season.

  

   

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #133

It has been a busy few days for me.  Saturday and Sunday my son and I attended the Cardinals WWU.  Hope to have my annual recap up tomorrow or Thursday.  Yesterday was my daughter's 21st birthday, so we spent most of the day with her since she did not have college classes due to MLK day.  Needless to say, I did not have much time to catch up on Saturday's mail, but I did manage to open a couple of small TCDB packages.  The first one had a couple of stickers from fellow Cardinals fan Cardsrule.

These two are from the 1985 Topps Sticker set.  Seems strange to see Joe Morgan in an A's uniform.  

The second package came from member cjswinko.  

Pictured on these 2023 A&G silver portrait cards may very well be the Cardinals Opening Day battery.  This will not be the last time you see either of these players this week.  I promise the next scans of them will be a little more exciting.

This is my first 2023 Bob Ross card.  The set is a little quirky, but I do remember watching Bob paint on PBS after getting home from grade school.  Look at all those happy trees in the background.

My 2025 A&G team set is coming along slowly but surely.  It should get a big boost later this week if the post office cooperates.