Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XIV

College football will be here again before we know it IS HERE, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII

You're wondering when I'll mess up these Roman numerals, aren't you?

1999 Fleer Tradition - Rookie Flashbacks #6 J.D. Drew
1999 Pacific #352a J.D. Drew (Headshot)
1999 Upper Deck #522 J.D. Drew

The great thing about collecting players from about 1997-2002 is that there are so many sets from each year, a random package is pretty likely to contain all new cards for me. The Pacific card is a Headshot variation. It's unclear to me if those were any rarer than base cards though.

2000 E-X #34 J.D. Drew
2000 Fleer Tradition #85 J.D. Drew
2000 Pacific Omega #115 J.D. Drew
2000 Topps Gold Label - Class 1 #78 J.D. Drew
2000 Upper Deck Ovation - Diamond Futures #DM1 J.D. Drew
2000 Upper Deck Victory #75 J.D. Drew
2002 Fleer Maximum #8 J.D. Drew
2002 Upper Deck Ovation #37 J.D. Drew

Lots of shiny and thick cardstock cards here. The Topps Gold Label stuck out to me, because as you can see, it's a bit narrower than the rest of the cards.

The Cardinals got a few good years out of Drew, but then traded him to the Braves in the trade that included Adam Wainwright. Drew still had success after the trade, but ultimately I think the Cardinals came out ahead in that deal.

Junior Junkie's Generosity, Part X

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX

Today's post finishes off the McGwires, and almost finishes the whole box that was sent to me.

1999 Topps #201 Mark McGwire
1999 Upper Deck #518 Mark McGwire(x2)
1999 Upper Deck - Opening Season Superstars #S2
2000 Topps #232 Mark McGwire
2000 Topps #469 Mark McGwire

The card companies were in full "post-homerun photo" mode by 1999, which I'll admit did capture Big Mac's 1998 pretty well.

2000 Topps - Own The Game #OTG6 Mark McGwire
2000 Topps Opening Day #1 Mark McGwire(x2)
2000 Upper Deck Ovation #18 Mark McGwire
2000 Upper Deck #537 Mark McGwire
2001 Fleer Genuine #54 Mark McGwire
2014 Topps - Future Stars That Never Were #FS-13 Mark McGwire
2014 Topps Archives #69 Mark McGwire

It still seems weird that McGwire only played one full season and 2 half seasons after setting the home run record at 70. Finishing off his cards from this package are two from just last year, featuring him back in his Oakland days. I'm glad to see him showing up in current products, even if it does just keep expanding my ever-growing wantlist.

I've got one more post to go in showing off this massive mailing from Junior Junkie.

All-Star Winnings, Part 12

Way back in July 2012, I won a contest at Cards On Cards. The premise was to pick the Cardinals player who would have the biggest impact on the game, determined Sabermetrically. I picked the right player, and got a pile of Cardinals for my trouble. They've been sitting in that same pile, haunting me, for quite some time, so now is the time to show them to you.
Part [ I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI ]

We'll get this done before the 2013 All-Star Game, I swear.

1998 Upper Deck Mark McGwire's Chase For 62 #16 Mark McGwire
1998 Upper Deck Mark McGwire's Chase For 62 #18 Mark McGwire
1998 Skybox Dugout Axcess - Double Header #11 Mark McGwire
1999 Bowman #6 Mark McGwire
1999 Finest #70 Mark McGwire
2000 Topps #456 Mark McGwire
2000 Upper Deck Ovation #16 Mark McGwire
2000 Upper Deck Ultimate Victory #53 Mark McGwire

Here's a nice selection of Mark McGwire cards from his record-breaking season and the next two. The first two cards are from a boxed set Upper Deck put out to commemorate his 70 Home Run season, although it was called Chase For 62. That one might be a bit of a challenge to put together; I'm sure plenty of them are still sealed in complete sets. There were so many different sets issued from 1998 to 2000, that the only cards that don't represent sets that are new to me are 1998 Skybox Dugout Axcess, and 2000 Topps. The rest are the first (or first and second) from that set in my collection.