Red Cardboard's Mostly Reds Cardboard Draft, Part 2

(Part 1)

Today's cards have a lot fewer Cardinals, but I did manage one per scan.

2004 Donruss Elite Extra Edition #88 Ken Griffey, Jr.
2005 Donruss Diamond Kings - Framed Red #75 Danny Graves
2006 Topps Turkey Red - Red Parallel #355 Adam Dunn
2006 Topps Turkey Red - Red Parallel #566 Brandon Phillips
2006 Topps Turkey Red - White Parallel #355 Adam Dunn
2010 Topps 206 #233 Frank Chance
2011 Topps Update - Diamond Anniversary #US96 Ryan Hanigan
2012 Topps - Blue Border Parallel #268 Miguel Cairo
2012 Topps - Gold Sparkle #41 Devin Mesoraco

I really like Turkey Red, but I wasn't collecting when it first began, so I'm always trying to fill in gaps, and I found I actually owned no cards from the 2006 set. Also, the Cardinal I mentioned in this scan is Miguel Cairo, who was picked up by the team in August for both of his stints. Once was off waivers in 2001 and once was as a free agent after being released in 2007, so essentially the same situation. According to Baseball Reference, he's played every position except Pitcher, Catcher, and Center Field. This seems to be the first Miguel Cairo card I've ever posted.

2005 Bowman Heritage - Mini #47 Felipe Lopez
2014 Topps Mini #505 Homer Bailey
2014 Topps Mini #581 Tony Cingrani
2012 Topps Mini #135 Johnny Cueto

It's tough to tell from the scan since I didn't leave any frame of reference, but these are indeed all minis. Felipe Lopez is the Cardinal here, another guy who played for the team twice, and was picked up the first time after being released. I've only got 2 cards from the base set of Bowman Heritage, and this is my first mini.

Contest Winnings, Part II

A good friend of mine likes to say - jokingly, I think - that second place is the first loser. When Daniel of It's like having my own Card Shop, opened up a contest to help Pack War reach 100 followers, I joined in, and the Randomizer put me in 6th for 4 prizes. But, since 2 people won the top 4 prizes, he was kind enough to throw some cards to the 5th and 6th position to still have 4 people as winners. Consequently, I got some cool stuff for being the 5th loser.

Part I

The cards in this portion of my prize cover the years I wasn't collecting, which means it's quite probable any card will be a card I didn't have.

2002 Fleer Tradition
Glossy #462 Bill Ortega #057/200

Hmm. Bill Ortega. Doesn't ring a bell. According to baseball-reference he had 5 ABs in 5 games in 2001, likely as a PH, but no further MLB stats. Such is the risk with prospect cards. This one's a glossy parallel of the base set, and numbered to just 200.

2002 Fleer Ultra #251 Bud Smith

Here we have the 4th most popular Smith to play for the Cardinals, after Ozzie, Lee, and Lonnie, but probably ahead of Bryn. Bud Smith caused an uproar when the Cardinals assigned him recently-retired Willie McGee's number 51, and they actually switched him to 52 mid-season because of it. People get a little number-retirement-happy here, and there's still a movement to retire #51 for Willie.

2006 Upper Deck
Star Attractions #SA-AR Anthony Reyes

Anthony Reyes wasn't a big star at the time this set was printed, so I'm curious about the Star Attraction title. Maybe it was speculative, like Mr. Ortega up top. This one turned out a little better though, as Reyes played a few years for the Cardinals.

2007 Topps
Own The Game #OTG22 Chris Carpenter

I can't quite tell what patch is on Chris Carpenter's hat here. It could be from the 2006 All Star Game, but I think it's from game 3 the World Series, which he won 5-0.

2008 Upper Deck Documentary
All Star Game #ASG-RL Ryan Ludwick

2010 T206
Mini Old Mill Back
#150 Ryan Ludwick

Finally, for today, here are 2 Ryan Ludwick inserts. For some reason there was no controversy around him getting Lee Smith's number, likely because 7 other players had it in between. We love handing out #47 for some reason, though John Mabry may have a claim to it now that he's coaching for us after 3(!) playing stints. I can't help but root for former Cardinals like Ryan Ludwick, even though he played for division rivals Pittsburgh and now Cincinnati. And everyone loves minis, right?

Everyone Loves Talking About Themselves

Well, maybe not everyone. But what if I said there was a prize at stake? I'll cut to the chase, go to It's like having my own Card Shop and explain your blog name for a chance to win some Allen and Ginter and Topps 206 minis.

All this can be yours if the price is right

I see at least 2008 and 2010 Ginter in there. I'm pretty sure Peter Gammons is from 2011. And the Topps 206 cards appear to all be 2010. If nothing else, the Bram Stoker will go well with my Mary Shelley.

College Bowl Game Contest Win, Part 6

For the 2012-2013 College Football season, I entered the College Football Pick 'Em contest hosted by madding of Cards on Cards. I've won several of his contests over the years, and he always dumps a ton of Cardinals on me when I do. Yet, I think this time he may have outdone himself. I may have to work hard to get them all posted before the 2013-14 College Football season starts August 29, and I start posting my Power Rankings again.
[ Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 ]

2010 Heritage
#11 Adam Wainwright
#91 Colby Rasmus
#118 Yadier Molina
#127 Joel Pineiro
#139 Tony La Russa
#178 Matt Holliday
#295 Rick Ankiel
#358 Skip Schumaker

Matt Holliday is the odd man out in this heritage collection, like Jon Jay in 2012, wearing his blue hat and road grays. And, a quick note about Rick Ankiel. I don't ever remember seeing him with a beard, but as you'll see in coming posts, he shows up on multiple cards like that. Maybe that's an issue with the Topps monopoly, and they just went and photographed him on one day. Somehow he managed 45 games played by June 8 this year, despite a week off after his release by the Astros, but then got released by the Mets at that point and hasn't caught on elsewhere yet.

2010 Heritage
#47 NL Wins Leaders
#347 St. Louis Cardinals
#404 Rogers Hornsby

I didn't realize the Cardinals had the top 2 NL wins leaders in 2009. Unfortunately it didn't help in our 3 game sweep by the Dodgers in the NLDS.

2010 Topps T206 #1 Matt Holliday

When I shave my head, I like to pretend I look like Matt Holliday. Unfortunately I'm a little heavier and a lot shorter, and look a little more like post-baseball John Kruk.

2010 Topps Chrome
#99 Chris Carpenter
#161 Yadier Molina

I'm keeping these chrome cards small so you can't see how badly they scan. I owe that much to the best battery the Cardinals have had in recent years.

eBay Wins #21

Just one card this time, a random pickup of a 2010 T206 card for 6 cents.

2010 T206 #188 Rich Harden

I don't have any other cards from this set or any particular attachment to Rich Harden, I just thought it looked cool.

eBay Bargain Tracker
Total Cards Bought	1808
Total Spent	$34.06
Per Card	1.88 cents