TCDB 2 for Tuesday #149

Things did not start well for the Cardinals in their four game series against the Cubs last night.  After a 90 minute rain delay, they forgot how to pitch and lost 7-3 and dropped to .500 for the first time since April.  I said at the beginning of the season they would do well to finish .500, but the early season success left me more optimistic.  The overuse of the bullpen is finally catching up and the top four hitters have cooled off.  Maybe they can salvage a split this series.  

At least I had some cards to scan last night while I was watching the game.  First package came from member Geoff2568.  Despite the post office's best effort, the cards arrived 6 week after they were mailed.

I would like these 2026 Donruss cards more if the images were not so zoomed in.  Give me a little background with the picture.

I was really happy the package arrived with this 2002 Elite short print.  It is rare to find these at shows.

Doyle has turned in a few good outings recently in Double A.  He might get a late season promotion to Triple A.  On the outside chance the Cardinals are still fighting for a playoff berth, he might get a call up as a reliever.

The second package came from member oodrivero.

Funny how long it takes to get the last base card to complete a set without short prints.  I can now cross 1998 SP Authentic off my wantlist.

Some of the late 1980s and early 1990s minor league cards had two versions.  One that came in packs, and another that was a stadium giveaway.  These 1989 ProCards are the latter, as they have a Field company logo on the back.   

  

Mostly Legends and Numbered

I completed one of my larger trades on TCDB last week with member PIANELLI.  Pete and I have traded many times across two different sites.  He collects Hall of Fame players and always has some extra Cardinals to send my way.  This most recent trade brought 15 cards in my direction.  I only scanned nine of them, as the rest will be used for autographs.

My 2025 Prizm team set is now complete.  I really wish Panini would change up the Prizm design more from year to year.  It is very tough to tell the base cards apart.

This 1977 Hostess Brock is in great shape.  Whoever cut it out from the package did a good job.

The numbered portion of the trade is highlighted by a 2011 Topps Tier One Mize numbered to 50.  

Not sure I would classify Goldschmidt as a legend just yet, although he is having a decent season for the Yankees.  He should hit 400 home runs before he retires.  Add that to 7 All Star games, 4 Gold Gloves, and an MVP award and he should be a Hall of Famer.

These two are not legends, nor or the cards numbered.  It is strange how a few years ago these two and Jordan Walker all played third base, but know none of them are playing the hot corner in St. Louis.  I will still add nice refractors of them regardless of where they are playing now.

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #148

It has been awhile since I was able to make consecutive 2 for Tuesday posts.  It is nice to have a flow of cards coming in again.  Today's first package came from member bdhrbob.  Bob and I have traded Cubs for Cardinals multiple times across 2 different sites.

Cardinal fans are pretty excited about Rodriguez, although he joins an already crowded catching situation.  He is only 19 year old, but could see a debut next year.  The kid can hit.  The Svanson finished my 2025 Topps Chrome Update team set.

Stadium Club looks good in almost any color.  I prefer the red background for obvious reasons, but sepia and lime green are not bad.

I am not a fan of the Topps Holiday buybacks, but it is hard to say no to a Musial card.  Do we really need buybacks of a card that is not even 5 years old?

The second package came from member Rooty10.  This was a Royals for Cardinals trade.

Chipping away at the 2025 Topps Chrome Platinum team set with 2 Hall of Famers and a Gold Glove winner.

The second Winn of the package is the only Cardinals in 2025 Bowman Chrome.  Finishing off today is a 2020 Topps Chrome Prism refractor that finishes my team set.

  

  

The Final Game and a Costly Reminder

Friday morning was my son's final baseball game, most likely ever.  He graduated high school in May, and will be moving on to college in August to pursue a degree in music education.  After not getting much playing time his senior year, it was nice to be able to look forward to his travel ball season knowing he would get a start each tournament.  In his 5 games as the starting pitcher, he was 4-1 with 3 complete games.  Good way to finish his career.

Shortly after my son started playing travel baseball as an 8 year old, anytime we would go to a tournament we would try to find a Walmart on the way home and buy a blaster box.  Being his last one, we had to stop.  We were hoping to find a box of 2025 Topps Chrome Platinum, but the Walmart only had Topps Series 2, Bowman, and Donruss.  He opted for the Bowman along with a fat pack of Series 2.  Here is what $40 got us along with a stack of base cards.

I was not expecting much from the Topps pack, but was a little disappointed with only 3 non base cards.  That was a waste of $7.00 .

The Bowman blaster was better.  We got a few of the big name rookies in the a paper portion.

The chrome portion had a couple of decent rookies.

Each pack had one insert or parallel.  Nothing outstanding here.

The final insert was the only card we will keep from the box.  My son pulled this in his first pack.  I would guess the cards we got would run us about $10-15 at a card show.  The enjoyment of opening the packs counts for something, but overall this was another example of why I do not buy packs very often.

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #147

What a great night to be a Cardinal fan last night.  Watching Jordan Walker win the home run derby was awesome.  How clutch was it to hit six home runs on his last swing while being booed loudly.  I hope it does not mess up his swing for the second half of the season.  He has came a long way since last year.  While waiting for him to hit in between rounds, I was able to scan a couple of trades for today's post.  First up is a colorful four pack from member dwunder20.

A 2011 Topps Update blue border and a 199 Fleer Warning Track parallel.  The Fleer looks great with the matching text.

A purple refractor and black border parallel of two members of the 2011 World Series team.  Besides 1985, that is my favorite Cardinals team.

The second package came from member WSFNYC.

My first cards from 2025 Topps Chrome Platinum include the derby champ.  Check out the sideburns on Torre.

Another trade, another Molina.  I am inching my way to 800 different cards in my collection.  Only 16 away.

   

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #146

I finally received a second trade package yesterday so I can make a 2 for Tuesday post.  I will start with the most recent trade that arrived yesterday from member MCMH CARDS.

My Series 2 team set is now complete.  Nice to get the last three cards in one trade.  I also received a couple other base cards that are headed to my sister who is a Dodgers fan.

The second trade package that has been sitting on my desk since June 20 came from member guags.

For a two year span, my son received the SI for Kids magazine.  Not a single Cardinal was included in any of those issues.  This Scott Rolen card is from 2007.

Both Saggese and Liberatore have underachieved this year.  I thought Saggese would be the primary utility/backup infielder, but he was sent down to Triple A a few weeks ago.  Liberatore has pitched OK, but the lack of options has kept him in the Majors.  Regardless I will still add nice parallels to my collection.
  

Quick Bench Trade

Happy early 4th of July.  Hard to believe 2026 is already half over.  The baseball season is also half completed.  Fans better enjoy the second half and the playoffs while they can.  It appears a strike is coming.  Regardless of what side you are on, it looks like the salary cap is going to be a major issue in the labor negotiations.  

At least we will always have baseball cards to get our fix.  Despite how slow the postal service seems to be recently, I did receive a nice package of Cardinals from The Bench member STLSHOEMAN.

My local Walmart is flooded with about every type of Series 2 packs you can think of including blasters, fat packs, and hanger packs.  I have resisted the urge and continue to build my team set through trades.

Picking up parallels has been a little slower, but a few are coming in.  Do collectors need all these variations?  Not in my opinion, but I will collect them anyway.

  

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #145

 It was nice to have things back to normal yesterday after the busy weekend.  I was able to sit down and watch most of the Cardinals game.  Dustin May almost threw a Maddux in his complete game shutout.  While watching, I opened a couple of packages that provided content for today's post.  The first batch of Cardinals came from user SMSiegell.

It has been hard not grabbing a blaster of 2026 Bowman at my local Walmart, but so far I have held off.  The more Cardinals I get from trades, the less tempting it will be.

I love the Top 100 insert set.  If I ever get a chance to meet the player, I try to get these autographed.  Not sure I will get that chance with Doyle.

The second package came from member Sloedog.

I was thrilled to cross off a 2011 and 2003 Topps Gold cards off my wantlist.

The 2011 Cognac Diamond Anniversary was just as nice.  Any card from the 2011 World Series year is a great add to the collection.

Bench Trade

It was a long weekend in my household.  My daughter got married on Saturday.  From the time pictures started at 10 in the morning until we finished cleaning the dance hall at 11:30, it was a long day.  Everything went great though, and I would not trade it for the world.  I spent a good portion of Sunday napping on the couch.  I had some spare time in the evening to go through Saturday's mail.  It contained my first trade from The Bench website this year.  I received a nice trio of Cardinals from member desertdogg.

It is great to see Walker finally living up to his potential.  Saturday he hit his 18th home run with an exit velo close to 117 mph.  He will most likely be the Cardinals All Star selection this year.  Nice to add a 2024 Heritage Chrome numbered to 375.

Wetherholt is also having a good year.  He should be in the top 3 Rookie of the Year voting at this point.

Victor Scott is on the opposite end of the performance spectrum.  After not hitting above .200 for the better part of the year, he was sent down to Triple A last week.  I hope he can get his swing worked out and come back as the starting centerfielder in a few weeks.  So far he has 6 hits in 4 games including 3 for extra bases.  Maybe it will be easier to add his cards to my collection for awhile. 

 
    

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #144

The first June 2 for Tuesday will be short and sweet.  Most of them are anyway.  First up is a four pack of Cardinals from member Orry04.

It has been a long time I have added any 2025 Bowman Draft cards to my collection.  Glad to know a few off.  Now I have to find the Chrome versions.

Second trade package came from member RParsons17.

It was a colorful lot of Topps cards including 3 2025 582 Montgomery Club cards, a 2026 Holiday parallel, and a 2026 Holiday Polka Dots card.

Three more various Topps brand cards.  Hard to go wrong with a red parallel of a Cardinals Hall of Famer like Hornsby.

The Panini portion of the trade features the 2 newest members of the Cardinals Hall of Fame.  Pujols and Molina will be inducted before the September 12th game.  Might have to make a trip to St. Louis for that day.

 

2026 Card Show #4 Recap

Saturday brought another opportunity to attend my local card show.  The last one was held the first Saturday in April.  This one did not have as many dealers, I was able to find a few good ones.  Due to the lack of vintage, I only spent $26 in the three hours I was there.

The first dealer I bought from had plenty of $1 boxes.  The 1959 Topps is not centered, but not as bad as my scanner cut it off.  The autograph is a refractor numbered to 499, while the Mathews is numbered to 75.

The next dealer is one that always has quarter boxes sorted by team.  It was nice to see he restocked his Cardinals section.

The third dealer also had multiple $1 boxes.  I love finding older serial numbered rookie cards and Topps gold cards I need.  

The fourth and final dealer I bought from was running a 40% off sale.  He had everything sorted by quarter, 50 cent, $1, and higher boxes.  His table was busy from the moment I walked in.  I waited two hours before I could find a spot.  It was worth the wait.  I spent $15 on a nice stack of Cardinals and trade bait.

My first 2026 bowman cards along with a nice Heritage red parallel.

2023 Topps Hall of Fame Gallery foil parallels and 2 2002 Topps Gold cards.

Some miscellaneous Cardinals.  Love the red cards.

Only 2 Altuve cards in all the boxes.  My son needed the spring training parallel, but not the Museum Collection.

Found quite a few Pirates and Yankees for my trading friend Ron B.

My colorful trade bait along with a photo variation and some numbered cards.

I was shocked to find these 2026 Bowman parallels listed for 50 cents each.  After the discount the cost me 30 cents apiece.  

Best part of this deal was talking to the dealer as I was searching.  He is buying out 2 collections close to St. Louis at the end of the month.  He took my email address and will let me know where he will be setting up after he gets them sorted.  Fingers crossed I will be free at this first show.