Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XX

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 XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX


No Cardinals prize package would be complete without some Albert Pujols cards. This one still isn't complete with it though.

2002 Topps #719 Albert Pujols
2002 Topps Total - Total Topps #TT36 Albert Pujols
2004 Playoff Honors #177 Albert Pujols
2007 Topps #130 Albert Pujols
2008 Upper Deck First Edition Update - Star Quest Common #SQ-32 Albert Pujols
2009 Upper Deck Icons #5 Albert Pujols
2010 Topps - Factory Set Bonus #RS5 Albert Pujols

Almost all of these were new cards to my collection, except the Upper Deck Icons, of which I oddly enough already have 2, and I've also got 3 Ryan Ludwicks from that set. The Factory set insert is a good pickup since it's one I don't think I'd encounter much in the wild (the wild of card shows, that is), and if I did, I'd probably flip past it thinking it's just a base card.

2007 Bowman #175 Albert Pujols
2010 Upper Deck - Tape Measure Shots #TMS-11 Albert Pujols
2015 Topps Update - Highlight of the Year #H-89 Albert Pujols

That 2015 Update card offers me assurances that I can still get new Pujols Cardinals cards for the rest of his career and beyond.

A PWE of Kindness from 2 by 3 Heroes, Part 2

JediJeff of 2 by 3 Heroes is a fellow 2010 Topps Turkey Red collector, and we traded some awhile back. When he picked up a handful for his wantlist and got some duplicates, he kindly forwarded a few to me, along with some other Cardinals.

Here's the rest of the PWE, the other Cardinals.

1996 Score #430 Scott Cooper
2008 Upper Deck X #91 Albert Pujols
2009 Topps 206 #254 Johnny Mize
2009 Upper Deck #355 Ryan Ludwick
2009 Upper Deck Icons #5 Albert Pujols
2014 Panini Prizm #183 Kolten Wong
2008 Topps - 50th Anniversary All Rookie Team #AR41 Albert Pujols

Collecting cards has taken on a different feel since I started getting in-person autographs often. Of the 4 modern-era players here, I've met 2 of them in person, Scott Cooper and Kolten Wong, and had them autograph baseballs. One of these days I hope to meet Albert Pujols in person. I think the irrational anger at him for taking more money to go to the Angels has probably quieted down enough he could now do a signing in town.

Thanks to JediJeff for the Turkey Reds and Cardinals!

All-Star Winnings, Part 7

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 ]

Today's theme is "The Ghosts of Free-Agents Past".

2006 Upper Deck #807 Braden Looper

I distinctly remember being up in arms when I found out we traded Braden Looper for Edgar Renteria. But a look at the stats shows he pitched only 4 games for the cardinals before that point. 4 of his 10 outs were Strikeouts, but still, I don't know why I was so sure we needed him. We picked him back up just in time for the 2006 season, and he got to pitch in 7 playoff games including 3 in the World Series. Eventually he left for Milwaukee.

2010 Upper Deck #473 Kyle Lohse

2012 Topps #26 Kyle Lohse

Speaking of Milwaukee, Kyle Lohse turned his 16-3 2012 season into a 3-year, $33M deal with the Brewers for 2013-2015. So far it's not going quite as well at 2-6. At least that matches his jersey number, and 2012 card number.

2010 Topps Attax #121 Ryan Ludwick

I'd make a horrible GM. I'd never want to let any players go. It appears the Cardinals traded Ludwick at a good time, but in return we got Jake Westbrook, who is only recently off the DL again.

2009 Goodwin Champions #149 Ryan Ludwick
2009 Goudey #177 Ryan Ludwick
2009 Upper Deck Icons #92 Ryan Ludwick
2009 Upper Deck SP Authentic #47 Ryan Ludwick

These 4 Ludwick cards make me want the Topps monopoly to end. All 4 are Upper Deck products, and I think all 4 look really good.

182 Packs Giveaway, Part IV

When I claimed the Cardinals - and Mark McGwire and Todd Stottlemyre - in the pack-per-day giveaway held at TribeCards, I had no idea just how many cards I'd wind up with, and how many different players. So that I can tag all of the sets and Cardinal players, I've broken this up into a series of who knows how many posts. Thanks for all the cards, David.
[ I | II | III ]

2006 Opening Day #19 Scott Rolen

I'm sure I've noted this before, but I was at Rolen's first home game for the Cardinals, sitting in a friend's rich uncle's close seats. As he ran from his stretches in right field back to the dugout, someone in my section yelled out "Welcome to St. Louis, Scott!" and everyone around me cheered. A little schmaltzy, but it got a smile out of him.

2009 Upper Deck Icons #85 Rick Ankiel

I was at Ankiel's first game as an Outfielder too. I wasn't nearly as close that time, I had tickets we bought through my wife's cheap company. Luckily they were in foul ground on the third base side, so we had a clear view of RF that night. Also, now I have 3 of the 4 Cardinals in this small set.

2008 Goudey #193 Troy Glaus

Glaus was obviously supposed to be pictured as a Blue Jay in 2008 Goudey, because he's surrounded by Blue Jays in the checklist, and the Cardinals are a few cards back.

2012 Gypsy Queen
#197 David Freese
Hallmark Heroes #HH-SM Stan Musial
#237 Bob Gibson

Ah Gypsy Queen, one of my weaknesses, because I'm a bargain shopper, and they're 50 cents a card in retail packs. Yet, I feel the need to collect it. I've actually got 2 of the Musials now, after pulling the same card from a discounted blaster.

2012 Opening Day #60 Adam Wainwright

2012 Opening Day #206 David Freese

We've see these two guys together before too. More Cardinals for my trade list.

2012 Topps #559 Brandon Dickson

I can't get enough of this guy either. I was hoping he'd be our next young fireballer, but he has left for the Orix Buffaloes in Japan.

My Second Jaybarkerfan PWE

As I mentioned before, Jaybarkerfan of Jaybarkerfan's Junk has been dropping PWE bombs on anyone who gave him their address and a favorite team. I just got another one, with more great Cardinals.

2004 KC Life #29 Chris Carpenter

I'm not 100% sure, but based on the Kansas City Life Insurance Company logo on the back and the weird size, I think this is from a set given away free to kids at a Cardinals game. I have some similar sets with the same sponsor from 1993-1996 or so.

1993 Hostess #5 Ray Lankford

I love this 1993 Hostess set, so I'm happy to get this card even though I already had it. I can always find good reasons for spare Cardinals.

1990 Upper Deck #68 Vince Coleman (Team Checklist)

Checklists should always have players on them. That is all.

2011 Bowman - Prospects #BP66 Matt Carpenter

I just posted my first Matt Carpenter card, and now here's my second.

2009 Upper Deck Icons #92 Ryan Ludwick

This card showed up in the first PWE too. All the easier to trade with my fellow Cardinals fans.

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes - Charcoal #124 Ozzie Smith

Of course, any package with an Ozzie is a great one to me, even if the rest were Bip Roberts and Mario Mendoza. This card was tricky to figure out since I don't have a lot of the 2008 Baseball Heroes set. At first I thought it was a Black parallel, but those are numbered to 250. It turns out, it's a Charcoal.

Thanks to Jaybarkerfan for all the Cardinals. And go follow Jaybarkerfan's Junk; I'd do it even without the bribe.

A Random PWE, Part II

[Part I]

Surprises are always nice, and this one from Jaybarkerfan's Junk was no exception. Here's the other half of what he sent me.

2009 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH14 Yadier Molina

Now that I see this card, I must have all Cardinal All-Stars from 2009 Updates and Highlights. They look pretty good with that All Star Game logo.

2009 Upper Deck A Piece of History #141 Jason Motte

Jason Motte seems to be solidly in our closer role, and 2009's just before I started buying cards again, so this rookie card was a nice addition.

2009 Upper Deck Icons #5 Albert Pujols

2009 Upper Deck Icons #92 Ryan Ludwick

Again, more 2009s to add to my collection, although these two are both gone now. But both provided great memories and plenty of big hits while they were here, Albert more so than Ryan Ludwick of course.

Well that's it. There was only one stamp on the PWE, so you can only fit about 8 cards before getting a big Return to Sender, or even the dreaded Postage Due, not that I'd complain about that on free cards, but someone did that to me on an eBay purchase once. But that's a rant for another day; I just want to say thanks one more time, and of course provide a nice PageRank-boosting link to Jaybarkerfan's Junk. Also, it may not be too late to request your own PWE, so go check out his blog for details.