More 2010 Topps Game Inserts

Picked a few of these up in trades, some in random retail packs. We’re keeping the Cardinals. All others available for trade if anyone is interested. Just leave a comment. We’re still looking for the Pujols card in this set.

Group Break by Carl Crawford Cards and Sewingmachineguy

Spots still available for the monthly group break by CCC and Sewingmachineguy. They premier with 7 boxes of UD Icons.

More info here: New Monthly Group Break

Trade With Carl Crawford Cards

I offered a Juan Marichal Topps scratch off card for trade awhile back and worked out a trade for a 1968 Topps game card of Prime Time’s favorite baseball announcer.

CCC also threw in a bunch of cards for Isaac. Here are a few of Ike’s favorites.



Oh yeah. Ike got bipped… “Dad why did he send all of these Ozzie’s? Why did he write on the Carl Crawford Card? I’m not allowed to write on cards…”

Dollar Packs of Goudey, Heritage, Masterpieces...

Went to the Flea Market yesterday and picked up a few packs of 07 Goudey and Heritage from the $1 pack guy. Not too many Cardinals so most of the cards went to Isaac's team trade box. If I ever figure out (read - look up) what's a short print in these sets I'll pull them out and start a trade bait page. Not sure I can make it back today, but if anyone is interested I can try to pick up some packs for folks. He had 100's of packs of 07 Goudey, Heritage, and Masterpieces for $1 each! I was cheap and only bought five packs... If not today, he's there every month.

2010 Topps S1, S2 and Updates

Need:

Series One & Two


342, 358, 434, 479, 575, 661

Updates - Done!
For Trade:

Hundreds... literally hundreds. Let us know what you need!

Season Tickets

A few weeks back I got a call from the Cardinals Ticket Office. Apparently, they noticed that we had not renewed our modest package and wanted to know why. Frankly, I had forgotten about it and put off renewing because we really had to think long and hard about doing it considering some of the home improvement projects we have lined up - read: 1100 sq ft patio... er, "outdoor living space."

So I returned their call and spoke to a nice enough gentleman who gave me an offer I did not refuse. Without getting into the details, at the end of that call I bought the exact same package and the exact same seats as last year for over 25% (not a typo... twenty-five) LESS than what we paid last year!

Lets review:

- Sign Big Bopper Left Fielder at huge dollars to protect Albert.
- Notice Ike's Dad hasn't renewed tickets.
- Sell tickets to Ike's Dad at a sizeable discount.

At this rate, they'll be calling me to give us free tickets next February after they've signed El Hombre to a lifetime contract!

I'm posting this because we're ready. The tickets arrived yesterday and Isaac poured over them to see which visiting teams he would see this summer. We also had our first catch of the year. Good times.

Remember kids - Procrastination Pays Off!

Topps Million: 1973 Norm Cash

Topps Million: 1973 Bernie Carbo

... and finally a Cardinal!!!

Red Back / Blue Back Retros

Love the Topps 2010 Red & Blue Back retail inserts this year and have picked up a few recent retros of the same lineage… ok two. I’m looking at the 1951 checklist to see if I can put together a Cardinal team set for a reasonable sum. We’ll see….

1968 Orlando Cepeda Game Insert

2005 Albert Pujols Bowman Heritage Mini

2010 Stan Musial Wal-mart Blue Back Insert

The non-Cardinals 2010 inserts. These are up for trade for the Dizzy Dean, Rogers Hornsby, George Sisler, or Albert Pujols inserts.

Topps Million: 'Stache or Eye Black?

Knew absolutely nothing about this guy. Turns out he was a Cardinals draft pick and made his MLB debut in St. Louis. He also hit the first grand slam for the Mariners franchise.

Topps Million: 1975 Bob Watson

Woohoo - the 70's train just keeps on chugging!

Checklist Tool: Google Docs

This is a test post using Google Docs as an online checklist tool. I think this might make it easier to post needs / wants for trades and for easily referencing checklists via my web enabled phone. The only issue I see is that the headers were vertically oriented in Excel but are now horizontal... which I can live with.

Anyone else using Google Docs for this purpose?

UD Ultimate Break

I don't normally participate in box breaks but decided to take a flyer on a small 2009 Upper Deck Ultimate break. I was hoping to snag some sweet Cardinals for Ike but got the Orioles and Tigers via the randomizer. Luckily, the O's came through and I now have a nice auto of one of Isaac's favorite players... either for a 2010 Dad Pack or for his 8th Bday in May.



I probably could have gotten this for less than the $30 I paid for the break but glad I got *something* Isaac will like. I also got base cards of Miguel Cabrera and Brad Bergesen if any one is interested.

T206 Pujols Mini SP

I can’t remember who mentioned how to check for the mini SP’s by stacking them up and looking for the white card stock (probably dayf?) but we tried it and found two including this Pujols… almost like Christmas.

1970 Topps Scratch Off Game Cards

Saw these over lunch today. Not knowing much about them, I decided to pick them up as trade bait for any Cardinals in this series. Well, I just googled the set and found that there aren’t any Redbirds in the set after all. That said, these are pretty cool. The perforations are intact, as are all of the black scratch off boxes. If anyone is interested in a HOF’er oddball or a fan of the Seattle Pilots or Brewers or Indians broadcasters (Hegan is / was a broadcaster for both according to wikipedia).

March Card Show Love

I’m still not comfortable letting Isaac loose at a card show, particularly one infested by Missouri Tiger fans as yesterday’s was. Still, if I have one piece of advice for anyone going to the St. Louis monthly show, its “Bring A Kid.” This was our third show and the same guy always calls Isaac over, asks him what his favorite sport is, and hands him a freebie. The first time it was a Longoria X die cut card. This time, he reached into a stack of top loaders and handed three cards to Isaac: a ‘61 Nuxhall, a ‘63 Torre, and an 07 Goudey. Isaac’s reaction? A "Thanks!” followed by “One hall of famer and one future hall of famer!” Kids today…

Isaac also finished off his 2009 Series One set and most of Series Two. He left U & H for a later date. I picked up a few cheap mini’s while he was set building.

We made one last stop and I bought Isaac a 2009 Series 2 jumbo pack and a 2010 Series 1 jumbo to open on the ride home. His hot streak continues... he ended up pulling these:

Topps Million: 1987 Pete Rose

Pete retired in the '86 season so I'm assuming this is his last Topps base card. Yes?

1952 Red Schoendienst Redman

I've been meaning to post about this card since I won it off of ebay a while back. The post isn't really about the card though, that its in great shape despite missing the tab, that the man pictured on the card is still an active part of the Cardinal Family. No, this post is about the note attached to the card.

The seller included the following thank you note and while the top half is certainly just a form letter, albeit one I'm not used to receiving after my ebay transactions, the bottom half is what makes baseball and, by proxy, baseball card collecting great.

If you can't read the hand writing in the pic...

"Hope you enjoy your "Red" Schoendienst 1951 Redman Baseball Card. I used to live in Belleville, IL (where my family lives now) years ago before transferring to Kansas City with TWA. I have followed the St. Louis Cardinals since I was a young boy in the '50's. Good Luck. Art"

Now how cool is that? I remember placing a low bid on this card thinking we'd never get it at that price. Sure enough, the cards aligned and Red and this note arrived a few days later. With all the talk about the MLBP and UD, notes like this help Isaac see how cool the hobby can be and that we're lucky to be fans of sport and franchise with so much history and, more importantly, good will... reinforcing the importance of writing thank you notes doesn't hurt either!

Side By Side: Mitch Boggs

Mitch Boggs had been a starter in the minors and in his limited appearances in St. Louis. Sometime late last year, however, he made a relief appearance and, amazingly, had more control and more oomph on his fastball. Despite a glaring need for a fifth starter, Boggs has been gearing up for a relief role this year. Tony and Dunc are talking him up as a setup man or even more this year. Maybe the closer if Franklin or Motte falter?


Isaac got these two autographs at the Winter Warm Up this year. The signature isn't really clear in the red Sharpie while the Bowman chrome auto isn't exactly legible. Maybe I need to hit ebay... otherwise this series has about run its course.

Topps Million: 1958 Walt Dropo

... and the code card that came with the Perry auto yielded this:

Oldest card so far… Isaac, having seen the movie and currently reading the Percy Jackson series, digs the old White Sox logo.

Topps Million: 2010 Ryan Perry

So I buy a Jumbo pack over lunch with the sole reason of getting a Topps Million code card. Surprise! Can anyone tell me anything about this guy? Worth keeping or strictly trade bait?

Retro Mini’s

As Isaac builds sets, hoards Cardinals, and fills his favorite player binder, I’ve been gravitating towards vintage Cardinals and mini’s of any flavor, though lately just Cardinals. Here are a few of my latest additions from a newly discovered local shop with a huge, well sorted selection.

1975 Topps Mini's of Gibby and Brock

2003 Topps 206 Sweet Caporal

A trio of 2006 Bowman Heritage mini's including Wainwright's "rookie" in mini form.

The 2009 A&G Conor Jackson 6/10 silk card I mentioned a while back.