Red Cardboard's Mostly Reds Cardboard Draft, Part 3

(Part 1)
(Part 2)

I took a little break there, but I'm back and I've got to finish this prize package.

2015 Topps Gypsy Queen
#11 Hanley Ramirez
#38 Matt Kemp
#94 Evan Longoria
#179 James Shields
#286 Ken Giles
2012 Topps Gypsy Queen - Mini #283 Mike Leake
2015 Topps Gypsy Queen - Mini #288 Wilin Rosario
2013 Panini Cooperstown - Colgan's Chip Disks #161 George Wright

I've seen these disks before, but I still somehow thought that might have been a legitimately vintage card/disk. Also, how's this for timing: I got the Mike Leake card posted on the day he was sent off to Seattle. He played for the Cardinals for all of 2016 and, obviously, 2017 up to this point.

2013 Topps - Blue Border Parallel #161 Bronson Arroyo
2015 Panini Diamond Kings
#15 Billy Butler
#66 Jacoby Ellsbury
#99 Matt Shoemaker
#130 Thurman Munson
#192 Chris Bassitt

I've been a fan of Diamond Kings since the 80s, so it was a no-brainer to choose these cards in the draft. I especially enjoy the old photo of Thurman Munson. I also think his card also looks best because they didn't have to cover over nearly as many logos due to his backwards cap and chest protector.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XXV

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 XX
XXI XXII XXIII XXIV

With Jaime Garcia getting traded today, I thought I'd play one of Deadspin's favorite games: Let's Remember Some Guys. Except I'll throw in some context about how they left.

2011 Topps Allen and Ginter #303 Jaime Garcia
2011 Topps Lineage #189 Jaime Garcia
2012 Topps Archives #34 Jaime Garcia
2012 Topps Chrome #119 Jaime Garcia
2013 Topps #54 Jaime Garcia
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter #84 Joe Kelly
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter #198 Pete Kozma
2014 Topps Archives #28 Joe Kelly
2015 Topps Heritage Minor League #2 Rob Kaminsky

Jaime Garcia went to the Braves after multiple injury plagued seasons here. I hope for his sake he can make it through a season. On the scale of Braves-Cardinals trades, I just need this one to go better than Jason Heyward, and if we're lucky, as good as Adam Wainwright. The return is all prospects, so we'll see what happens.

Joe Kelly was part of the deal to bring John Lackey to St. Louis. I'd say that trade was a success overall, especially since the Cardinals got his 2015 season very cheaply due to a quirk of his contract triggered by an injury earlier on.

Pete Kozma signed with the Yankees after becoming a free agent at the end of the 2015 season. He played all 4 infield positions and 130 games in 2016, but in AAA only.

Rob Kaminsky hasn't even made it to AAA yet, but was sent to Cleveland for Brandon Moss at the 2015 trade deadline. He lasted through the 2016, but is now a free agent. Moss wore my favorite jersey number, so I'll have to have a new default favorite player in 2016.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XVII

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

2012 Topps Archives #114 Jason Motte
2013 Topps Archives #151 Jason Motte
2013 Topps #130 Jason Motte
2013 Opening Day #202 Jason Motte
2013 Topps Blue Parallel
#96 Edward Mujica
#188 Brian Fuentes
#235 Jake Westbrook
2014 Topps #599 Jason Motte

In addition to a fine collection of Jason Motte base cards, I got a trio of 2013 blue parallels in the prize package too, including Brian Fuentes, who pitched 5 innings over 6 games with the Cardinals to end his career.

2009 Allen and Ginter #157 Jason Motte
2013 Allen and Ginter #283 Jason Motte
2013 Topps #269 St. Louis Cardinals
2013 Gypsy Queen - Mini #322 Jason Motte

Jason Motte had a great 2012, leading the NL with 42 saves, but lost all of 2013 to injury, and never quite made it back to that same level of performance. He's back on the DL in Colorado now, too, with just 20 2/3 innings pitched this year.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part VIII

College football will be here again before we know it, 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

2011 Bowman - Prospects
#BP13 Alex Castellanos
#BP40 Deryk Hooker
#BP75 Brian Broderick
2011 Bowman Platinum
#22 Daniel Descalso
Prospects #BPP87 Adron Chambers
2011 Bowman Chrome #195 Daniel Descalso
2011 Bowman Chrome - Prospects
#BCP13 Alex Castellanos
#BCP40 Deryk Hooker
#BCP90 Adron Chambers

Bowman really just vexes me, with a lot of confusion around whether certain inserts are part of Bowman flagship, Bowman Chrome, or Bowman Draft. I really like the look of the cards, it's just the organization that bugs me, because I want to get it perfect. I'm pretty sure I found the right sets for all these, and since the sets are pretty small, the three cards each nearly completes the Cardinals in the Prospects insert set for both Bowman and Bowman Chrome.

2013 Topps - Blue Parallel
#190 Daniel Descalso
#261 Trevor Rosenthal
2011 Topps #87 Daniel Descalso

I'll finish off with a few more Daniel Descalso cards, and a Trevor Rosenthal just because it's from the same blue parallel set.

Zistle Trade #26, Part II

[Part I]

This half of the trade has a lot more Ozzies.

1982 Fleer #582 Ozzie Smith
1983 Topps #24 Steve Mura
1983 Topps #74 Julio Gonzalez
1983 Topps #650 George Hendrick
1990 Donruss #663 Rick Reuschel
1990 Donruss - Bonus MVP's #BC-14 Julio Franco
1990 Score #220A Mike Aldrete
1990 Score #662 Paul Coleman
1992 Donruss #423 Ozzie Smith

I'm continuing to chip away at 1990 Donruss, and I'm down to error variations for the most part. This Rick Reuschel card is the corrected version. Donruss printed a bunch of the all star cards with All Star stats but with a header implying they were regular stats, and the corrected versions say All-Star stats. It's a subtle and mostly meaningless difference, but I figure, the cards aren't rare, so why not track them all down? Mike Aldrete's card is another error card, which says he's #25 on the back. As you can see from the photo, he was #24. Mike was the assistant hitting coach and then bench coach for the Cardinals a few years ago, so I've decided to collect his cards even though he never played for St. Louis.

The big cards from this trade are at the top of that scan, though, a nice 1982 Ozzie Smith, and 3 1983 Topps Cardinals. I collected every Ozzie Topps flagship base card many years ago, but it's good to start filling in the other brands.

Also, I was sure I've posted a Paul Coleman card before, but I don't have any post tagged with his name. He might be one of the Cardinals worst draft decisions. They chose him one pick ahead of Frank Thomas, yet he never made it to the majors.

1993 Leaf #229 Brian Jordan
1993 Leaf #297 Ray Lankford
1993 Leaf #328 Ozzie Smith
2013 Topps - 1972 Topps Mini #TM-99 Ozzie Smith

I really like these 1993 Leaf cards, so I'm not sure why I didn't have them yet. Now, I do. I was also glad to get a one of the modern Ozzie inserts, the 1972-style mini from 2013 Topps.

2013 Topps Series 2 Pack

Diving back into my pack stash, I found a pack of 2013 Topps Series 2 that I got in a repack. I know it was from a repack because there's no reason I would have bought one. I already built this set from a Jumbo Box of Series 1 and 2, so all of the base cards will be duplicates that go into my trade list. So, let's hope whatever inserts or SPs are new.

2013 Topps
#333 Santiago Casilla
#342 Matt Dominguez
#354 Casey Janssen
#366 Ervin Santana
#392 Tom Koehler
#499 Billy Butler
#571 Melky Cabrera
#612 Robinson Cano
#628 Martin Maldonado

Ervin Santana and Billy Butler should have stuck it out with the Royals a little longer. They would have found their way onto the AL All-Star team this year. Yes, I know Santana's a pitcher, but I'm sure the KC fans would have found some way to get him on the team.

2013 Topps
#451 Pedro Florimon
#507 Lance Lynn
Making Their Mark #MM-23 Todd Frazier

Here's a strong finish; A Cardinal and an insert. I could have sworn I had this Todd Frazier card, but according to my Zistle collection, and the physical box where I keep these cards, I didn't, so the pack did net me a single new card. The rest will hopefully be traded away to someone trying to complete their base set at some point.

PWE Time!

Stealing Home, from All Trade Bait, All The Time recently sent me a PWE. If you're sick of seeing Cardinals on my blog, well I'd suggest you don't read it? But this one has more than just Cardinals, have a look.

1991 Studio #235 Joe Magrane
2013 Topps - Chasing History Gold Foil #CH-87 Lance Lynn
2014 Topps - #157 Lance Lynn

OK, I tricked you. the first 3 were Cardinals, including a nice shiny Gold foil parallel I wasn't really aware existed. If not for the rainbow shininess of the card, I probably would have just filed the Lance Lynn away with my other Chasing History cards.

1998 Topps #268 Nomar Garciaparra
2000 Upper Deck MVP - Pure Grit #G9 Nomar Garciaparra
2002 Donruss #12 Nomar Garciaparra
2003 Leaf #23 Nomar Garciaparra
2003 Leaf - Certified Samples #LC-14 Nomar Garciaparra
2004 Topps #200 Nomar Garciaparra

I get lots of Cardinals in various ways, but I don't get as many Nomars, mostly because among players I collect, he's the only one that never played for St. Louis. 5 of the 6 were new cards to my collection. I inexplicably already have 3 copies of that 1998 base card, and a search of my blog doesn't show any of them arriving in the last few years, which means I probably had them all in 1998. I thought I had the 2004 card, but it turns out I have the Opening Day version. My Nomar collection isn't all that big, so these are a nice addition and gives it a relatively large boost.

Thanks for the PWE, Stealing Home!

2013 Topps Series 2 Jumbo Pack #10

I'm at the end of the box. Did I finish the set? First, let's see the Cardinals and inserts.

2013 Topps
#465 Placido Polanco
#615 Mark Ellis
Chasing History #CH-65 Gary Carter
Gold Parallel #485 Ruben Tejada #1544/2013
Making Their Mark #MM-19 Bryce Harper
1972 Topps Mini #TM-91 Stephen Strasburg

Both Polanco and Ellis were missing from my set so far, so I was glad to see them turn up. I also got a card of each of the Nationals wonder-kids, Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg.

2013 Topps
#520 Peter Bourjos
Chase It Down #CD-8 Chase Headley
Emerald Parallel #534 Alberto Cabrera
Making Their Mark Relics #MMR-WR Wilin Rosario

I also needed the Peter Bourjos card. Along with Ellis, both of those represent future Cardinals in this weird time-shifted scenario. I also found the promised relic of the box, a nice purple pinstripe jersey from Wilin Rosario.

With the relic insert, this pack had 2 less base cards than most of the rest, at only 40. I needed 38 of them to be new, and Topps' collation came through again. I've successfully completed Series 1 and 2 from their respective jumbo boxes. I may take a break before I break open my 2013 Update box, or I might get bored in an hour and start on it. After all, 2013 isn't quite complete, since Update is a de facto Series 3.

Series 1 Completion: 330/330 (100.0%)
Series 2 Completion: 330/330 (100.0%)

2013 Topps Series 2 Jumbo Pack #9

I've made it to pack 9, which means there's just one left after this one to complete Series 2.

2013 Topps
#527 Carlos Beltran
#27 Mike Trout SP
Chasing History #CH-100 Phil Niekro
Gold Parallel #479 Kelly Johnston #0811/2013
Making Their Mark #MM-25 Stephen Strasburg
World Baseball Classic #WBC-13 Joe Mauer

I didn't even blink the first time I saw the Mike Trout card above. When I open my packs, I usually flip through them face-up, separate out the inserts and Cardinals, and then look at the backs to sort them by number. 27 was a suspiciously low number for Series 2, so a quick search online showed me there is 1 SP variation of his card in Series 1, and 2 different variations inserted in Series 2. Things like that always make me paranoid that I should re-check my other Topps sets, especially since the variation doesn't stand out that much. Usually I just double check any duplicate I'm trading, and assume that I wasn't lucky enough to pull 2 or more of a given SP.

2013 Topps
Emerald Parallel #486 Jason Kubel
1972 Topps Mini #TM-75 Willie Stargell

The streak of horizontal Emerald parallels continues with this pack, and I got one more of the minis I might one day get ambitious enough to chase.

Only 7 of the 42 base cards were new this time, leaving me in danger of not completing the set without a near-perfect pack for #10. If I was betting, I'd say I won't finish the set, but maybe the collation is good and I just happened to leave a pack chock full of non-doubles for last.

Series 2 Completion: 292/330 (88.5%)

2013 Topps Series 2 Jumbo Pack #8

Here's where I'd make a terrible Crazy 8s pun if I could think of one.

2013 Topps
#480 Lance Berkman
#603 Chris Perez
#631 Chris Carpenter
Chasing History #CH-63 Jordan Zimmerman
Gold Parallel #334 Derek Norris #0272/2013
Making Their Mark #MM-1 Yoenis Cespedes

This pack yielded 3 Cardinals, 2 of them who moved on, and one who is now retired. I've long lamented the Chris Perez trade that brought us Mark DeRosa (and we even threw in a player to be named later!), though his recent slide has lessened that sting a little bit.

2013 Topps
Chase It Down #CD-12 Carlos Gonzalez
Emerald Parallel #332 Cole Hamels
1972 Topps Mini #TM-77 Fred Lynn

Can we petition Boston to bring back the red batting helmets?

2013 Topps
Chasing History Autographs #CHA-BH Brock Holt

Speaking of Boston, here's a nice shiny Brock Holt autograph. It's not the flashiest name on the checklist, but I feel like I've seen his name in the sports reports a bit more this year. That could be the alleged New York/Boston bias, or maybe he's really that impressive. One thing is for certain, though: he writes his capital B funny.

Since the big insert of the pack was the regular-thickness autograph, there were the standard 42 base cards in the pack. Of those, 38 were new, pushing me even closer to completing the set. I now need just 45 new base cards in the final 2 packs.

Series 2 Completion: 285/330 (86.4%)

2013 Topps Series 2 Jumbo Pack #7

Onward to Pack 7!

2013 Topps
#378 Joe Kelly
#562 Jason Marquis
Gold Parallel #348 Jonny Gomes #0936/2013
Making Their Mark #MM-24 Manny Machado
World Baseball Classic #WBC-9 Carlos Beltran
1972 Topps Mini #TM-86 George Brett

I'm back in the red - which is a good thing in this terrible-pun case - with this pack containing 3 current and former Cardinals. The George Brett mini isn't too shabby either. And the Making Their Mark with Manny Machado makes me want to write an M-based tongue twister, but I'm no writer, as any of my readers can attest.

2013 Topps
Emerald Parallel #456 Pablo Sandoval
Cut to the Chase #CTC-27 Ralph Kiner

All but one of the Emerald Parallels in this box have been horizontal cards. There's your useless fact of the day.

This box once again had the full complement of 42 base cards, and 38 of them were new. I'm hoping my 2 Auto's and 1 Relic are contained in packs 8, 9, and 10, because I haven't seen any in this box yet.

Series 2 Completion: 247/330 (74.8%)

2013 Topps Series 2 Jumbo Pack #6

And now we have the opening pack of the second half of the middle box of 2013 Topps. Much like discovering your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate, that means absolutely nothing of consequence.

2013 Topps
#414 Mark Buehrle
Chasing History #CH-60 Derek Jeter
Cut to the Chase #CTC-28 Al Kaline
Gold Parallel #623 Alexi Ogando #0938/2013
Making Their Mark #MM-2 Mike Trout
1972 Topps Mini #TM-97 Josh Johnson

This is my second consecutive pack with no Cardinals base cards or inserts, but I did get a Mark Buehrle, a guy I casually collect, by virtue of his attendance at a high school mere blocks from my house. Other than that there were some of the standard inserts, and the slightly more rare Cut To The Chase. I've said it before, but Al Kaline still reminds me of being a dumb kid and assuming that was a made up name someone pulled off an alkaline battery. That Jeter Chasing History mentions sort of an odd milestone, 3500 hits and 350 stolen bases. As the card mentions, going into 2013 he only needed 2 SB, but 196 hits (less than 2012's total) to reach those marks. Of course, no one ever counts on season-limiting injuries, so Jeter is still well short of the hits mark, and may not reach it before he retires at the end of 2014. 3300+ hits, however, is nothing to sneeze at.

2013 Topps
Chase It Down #CD-2 Pablo Sandoval
Emerald Parallel #396 Aroldis Chapman

The back of the Sandoval card feels like Topps thought they needed to justify featuring the big man on a set about great fielding plays. "After taking extra ground balls during an off-day for the team, Sandoval was sharp when it counted." Big guys can be quick, even if they're not as fast around the bases. We believe it happened, Topps, it's OK.

This pack had the full 42 base cards expected. Only 2 were duplicates, so I added 40 cards to my Series 2 set, which is more than the 10% I must average per pack. All in all, I'm still on track to finish the set.

Series 2 Completion: 209/330 (63.3%)

2013 Topps Series 2 Jumbo Pack #5

After this pack I'll be half done with the Series 2 box. And half-done with the 3-box combo I bought: Series 1, 2, and Update.

2013 Topps
Gold Parallel #580 Jordan Danks #0730/2013
Making Their Mark #MM-21 Jurickson Profar
The Elite #TE-7 Reggie Jackson
World Baseball Classic #WBC-4 Robinson Cano

With the World Cup in full swing, the World Baseball Classic cards seem especially cool.

2013 Topps
Chasing History #CH-79 Hank Aaron
Emerald Parallel #449 Michael Cuddyer
1972 Topps Mini #TM-67 Tim Lincecum

There were no Cardinal base cards in this pack - not even former Cardinals. The Elite insert is a bit thicker than a regular card, but not as thick as the Rookie of the Year card from the last pack, so there were 38 total base cards in the pack. Of those, 30 were new, leaving me still just above the 10%-per-pack mark.

Series 2 Completion: 169/330 (51.2%)

2013 Topps Series 2 Jumbo Pack #4

So far, I'm still resisting the urge to just open every pack at once. Here's the 4th pack of 10 in my Jumbo box.

2013 Topps
#562 Jason Marquis
Emerald Parallel #405 Hector Sanchez
Gold Parallel #473 Josh Johnson #1928/2013

I'm not a big fan of camo uniforms, but I'm glad to get another former Cardinal in Jason Marquis.

2013 Topps
Making Their Mark #MM-14 Lance Lynn
Rookie of the Year Tropy #ROY-JB Johnny Bench

I also got a current Cardinal, Lance Lynn. And this Rookie of the Year trophy card is going to cause me to have to buy a pack of extra-thick toploaders. That's a nice looking picture of Johnny Bench, though.

2013 Topps
Chasing History #CH-73 Robinson Cano
1972 Topps Mini #TM-58 James Shields

Finally here are two more of the standard inserts. I still really like those minis.

Due to the thick Johnny bench card, this pack only had 36 base cards. I also saw the first duplicates in the box, with only 18 of the 36 adding to my set. Still, I'm on pace to finish the set by pack #10, which is all I'm hoping for. All the inserts are just gravy.

Series 2 Completion: 139/330 (42.1%)

2013 Topps Series 2 Jumbo Pack #3

2013 Topps
#569 Ryan Ludwick
Chase It Down #CD-15 Giancarlo Stanton
Chasing History #CH-90 Prince Fielder
Emerald Parallel #597 Marco Scutaro

Even though Ryan Ludwick is celebrating with the division-rival Reds, I'm happy to have a Ryan Ludwick card, since he's a former Cardinal. I've heard trade rumor of Giancarlo Stanton coming to the Cardinals, but we're so heavy on outfielders, I can't really see that happening, unless Miami needs 2 OFs in return.

2013 Topps
Making Their Mark #MM-9 Tyler Skaggs
Gold Parallel #568 Steve Lombardozzi #1366/2013
1972 Topps Mini #TM-85 Matt Williams
Black Parallel #540 Michael Bourn #28/62

All you collectors who hate the number of parallels out there can blame people like me. I like them. In fact my most desired set of all time is 1992 Topps Gold, a gold-foil parallel set. I'll never complete the 2013 sets of all 990, but maybe I can track down a few Cardinals in black, and gold.

Once again, all 42 base cards were unique to my set, so I'm well on pace to complete Series 2. But we'll see what happens in the later packs. For now, it's looking good.

Series 2 Completion: 121/330 (36.7%)

2013 Topps Series 2 Jumbo Pack #2

Onward to Pack 2!

2013 Topps
#350 Albert Pujols
#658 David Freese

Both of these guys are Angels now, and it still stings a bit to see them at the same time on the same team again. But, winning cures all, so a good 2014 for the Cardinals will make it OK.

2013 Topps
#507 Lance Lynn
Chasing History #CH-57 Cal Ripken, Jr
Emerald Parallel #468 Anthony Gose

Here I have my third Cardinal base card, Lance Lynn, and 2 of the standard inserts.

2013 Topps
Gold Parallel #450 Jay Bruce #0568/2013
Making Their Mark #MM-18 Wade Miley
World Baseball Classic #WBC-7 Adrian Gonzalez

I think Mexico has some of the best baseball uniforms. They usually have really good soccer uniforms too, for that matter. I wonder why that is.

2013 Topps
Cut to the Chase #CTC-31 Matt Holliday
1972 Mini #TM-71 Reggie Jackson

I like the base cards, but a Cardinal insert is always an indicator of a successful pack for me.

All 42 base cards in this pack were new, which is great. I'm even further ahead of the 10%-per-pack pace than I was after pack 1. I'm fairly confident I'll get a full set from the box after successfully getting one for Series 1, but you never know.

Series 2 Completion: 79/330 (23.9%)

2013 Topps Series 2 Jumbo Pack #1

I've decided to jump right into my Series 2 Jumbo box, and show another 10 packs of year-old Topps. I got in ahead a little ahead of the 2014 Series 2 release. Now I just need to finish this one before Update hits the shelves.

2013 Topps
#527 Carlos Beltran
Gold Parallel #588 Jordan Zimmerman #1002/2013
Making Their Mark #MM-12 Zack Cozart
The Elite #TE-5 Sandy Koufax
World Baseball Classic #WBC-2 Anthony Rizzo
1972 Topps Mini #TM-78 R.A. Dickey

The first pack only had one Cardinal in it; the Carlos Beltran base card. The Gold Parallels and Minis are the same as Series 1, and "The Elite" is just about the same as "The Greats", but more greater? And still thick enough to make you think you've got a relic on your hands. And, maybe I'm a sucker for a good marketing ploy, but I like the World Baseball Classic. But, looking over the set checklist, I think Anthony Rizzo is probably the lowest on the totem pole among the 15 stars featured, and that's not just my anti-Cubs bias.

2013 Topps
Chasing History #CH-55 Ken Griffey, Jr.
Chasing the Dream #CD-3 Ryan Zimmerman
Emerald Parallel #523 Wandy Rodriguez

Ken Griffey always reminds me of all the Wheaties and Frosted Wheaties boxes I had saved from the late 90s. Sadly, at one point I felt bad taking up the bottom of my parents utility closet with my boxes full of cereal boxes, and recycled them.

Unlike Series 1, I began this journey fresh, owning no cards from Series 2. That does, however, mean all 37 base cards contributed to set completion, keeping me ahead of the 10% per pack pace.

Series 2 Completion: 37/330 (11.2%)

2013 Topps Jumbo Pack #10

It's the end of the road for my Jumbo Box; one last shot to get the final 36 out of 330 cards. Do I have faith in Topps' collation?

2013 Topps
#50 Adam Wainwright
#182 Randy Choate
#220 Octavio Dotel

First we have a few Cardinals base cards. The Randy Choate and Octavio Dotel were new to me in this pack, so that's 2 towards completing the set.

2013 Topps
#4 Yadier Molina
#125 Matt Holliday

And here are some horizontal Cardinals base cards, with Matt Holliday also filling a gap in the set.

2013 Topps
Calling Cards #CC-14 Pablo Sandoval
Chasing History #CH-2 Roberto Clemente
Chasing the Dream #CD-23 Jose Altuve
Emerald Parallel #224 Jon Jay
The Greats #TG-14 Stan Musial
1972 Topps Mini #TM-8 Dan Uggla

Finally there's a nice collection of inserts, except the Altuve I already got in Pack #2. I actually wound up with 3 duplicates from the Chasing the Dream set. The Jon Jay card is particularly green, I think because he takes up less space on the card in this far-away shot than the average close up you see in the base cards above. So the greening of the background got almost the whole card. The Musial card is the second one from the "The Greats" set that I got, but the other was Albert Pujols (though as an Angel). Since I'm 2 for 2 on Cardinals, I thought I'd check the checklist, and so I added 2 more to my want list: Bob Gibson, and John Smoltz just for completeness (yes, he was a Cardinal for a bit).

But the grand drama that has been building is whether or not I could complete the base set. I'm happy to say, I did, though when I first checked, my list showed I was missing Jason Isringhausen, which I knew I pulled in a previous pack. Once that was rectified, I've got all cards 1-331 (minus 7) checked off.

Series 1 Completion: 330/330 (100.0%)

2013 Topps Jumbo Pack #9

Pack 9 is here. Will I get within striking distance of finishing the set?

2013 Topps
#146 Kyle McClellan
#193 Matt Carpenter
#224 Jon Jay
#233 Edwin Jackson

This pack had 4 Cardinals in it, including my first Jon Jay and Edwin Jackson cards from this set.

2013 Topps
Chasing the Dream #CD-10 Giancarlo Stanton
Chasing History #CH-18 Ken Griffey, Jr.
Emerald Parallel #278 Christian Garcia
Gold Parallel #253 Adam Greenberg #0077/2013

Some more of the standard inserts, but with a nonstandard subject on the upper right, Ken Griffey, Jr. This card celebrates his tying of the record for most consecutive games with a Home Run, at 8. There's also a Gold Parallel of Adam Greenberg, the guy who had a 1-day contract with the Marlins after getting severely injured in his first ever at-bat, on the first pitch, with the Cubs many years ago.

2013 Topps
Cut to the Chase #CTC-4 Babe Ruth
1972 Topps Mini #TM-47 Roberto Clemente

If I got to pick 2 Hall of Famer cards (and wasn't allowed any Cardinals), these two would definitely be near the top of my list.

With only 23 new base cards in this pack, I'll now need 36 in the final pack. It won't be impossible, but it'll mean Topps needs to have very good collation, something I've heard isn't really the case these days. With 1 pack left in the box, I'll find out soon enough if I'm going to have to beg for some trades.

Series 1 Completion: 294/330 (89.1%)

2013 Topps Jumbo Pack #8

I've had quite a few Cardinals in the box so far, but this one has just one base card, and it's of a guy who only played here for a month of last season, John Axford.

2013 Topps
#59 John Axford
Chasing History #CH-26 Chipper Jones
Chasing the Dream #CD-17 Addison Reed
Emerald Parallel #65 J.P. Howell

 A few other standard inserts were in the pack as well, but nothing earth-shaking.

2013 Topps
1972 Topps Mini #TM-42 Willie Mays
Gold Parallel #298 Pablo Sandoval #1040/2013

This is the second Mays mini from this box; I also got one in Pack #2. But that's ok, because what I'm really after is the base cards, and there were 43 in this pack. 32 of them were new, meaning I'll need 29 and 30 out of the last two packs to complete the set.

Series 1 Completion: 271/330 (82.1%)