Turkey For Me, Turkey For You II: Electric Boogaloo

There are no turkeys today, but these came in the package with the Turkey Red cards, so I'm completely justified in ripping off the greatest sequel subtitle of all time.

Part I

1994 Stadium Club #63 Brian Jordan
1997 Donruss #67 Ray Lankford
2001 SP Authentic #53 Rick Ankiel

I still sometimes think I must have dreamed the game where Ankiel threw 5 wild pitches - and another that would have been called, but the catcher saved it - in an inning, but then I go look it up on YouTube, and sure enough, it happened. Then he came back and hit home runs for a while. What an odd career path for a modern player.

1996 Topps #431 Jaime Bluma, David Coggin, Steve Montgomery, Brandon Reed
2013 Topps Chrome - Refractor #119 Michael Wacha

That's a nice shiny Wacha Refractor. It looks so nice I was ready to go buy some 2013 Chrome, until I realized it wasn't a base card. Still, I may do so, just for the few refractors I'll get.

Steve Montgomery raises an interesting question for my collection, and my blog. He was drafted by the Cardinals, thus his image above wearing the STL cap. However, he stayed in the minor leagues until he was traded to Oakland for Dennis Eckersley. So, do I officially collect his cards? That would mean I would tag him in my blog posts. And if I do, do I also consider Coco Crisp a Cardinal? Since he's actually wearing the hat on this card, I think he gets a tag, as would any future card of his I get. By extension of that logic, Coco Crisp will also, from now on.

Tenet of Wilson #3: Once a Cardinal, always a Cardinal, for collecting purposes.

Contest Winnings, Part I

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.

Here's the first batch of cards, since I like to split them up to tag every set and Cardinals player.

1992 Donruss Cracker Jack II
#4 Lee Smith

Here we have the minis from before minis were cool, Cracker Jack. This set looks just like 1992 Donruss, but about 1/2 the width and height. I'm certain I've seen these cards before, and even held them in my hands, but according to Zistle, this Lee Smith is the only one I have.

1996 Upper Deck
Retail Predictor - #R33 Ron Gant

I'm kind of curious if this Ron Gant card would have been a winner. He hit 8 home runs in August 1996, and 7 in July. Does anybody have a link to home run totals by month? Even baseball-reference has failed me on this one.

1997 Topps
Season's Best #SB20 Andy Benes

This card's shiny, though not quite chrome-shiny, so it scans well. It's kind of hard to believe Andy Benes got a place in a 25-man insert set, but this was after his career-high 18-win 1996 season.

2000 Fleer Focus
Future Vision #FV8 Adam Kennedy

By the start of the 2000 season, Adam Kennedy had been traded to the Angels, though he'd be back for the 2007 season.

2000 Skybox Dominion - New Era
#16 Rick Ankiel
#18 Adam Kennedy

And finally - for this post - a Rick Ankiel and another Adam Kennedy. I hope Rick can catch on somewhere and get another year or two of playing time, but I suspect he may be finished after being released in May and June by 2 different teams last year. He's definitely a natural athlete, making major league rosters as both a pitcher and later an outfielder. He's also one of the first players to make me start feeling old, as I remember going to a game he pitched when I was 17, and realizing he was only about 3 years older than me.

College Bowl Game Contest Win, Part 10

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 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 ]

2008 Goudey
#171 Albert Pujols
#173 Lou Brock
#174 Chris Duncan
#175 Vince Coleman
#193 Troy Glaus

In his rush and/or zealous generosity (or is that generous zeal), madding sent me 2 of each of these cards. That's an easy mistake to make though, and I didn't even realize it the first time I looked through them, because there were simply so many cards. Eventually I sorted them out by set and lo and behold, my 10 Goudey cards only had 5 unique. So, I've got one each of these to keep, and one to trade.

2008 Upper Deck #70 Rick Ankiel

I'm starting to build up quite an Ankiel collection now. I wasn't collecting during either of his heydays with the Cardinals, so I never pulled one of his cards in a current pack.

2009 Upper Deck SP Authentic
#78 Matt Holliday

SP Authentic is a set that makes me want Upper Deck back in the game. It's got a very clean look that appeals to me.

2009 Upper Deck X #97 Colby Rasmus

And on the flip side, we have Upper Deck X. It's a little too busy for my taste, but I always love getting a new Cardinal card.

College Bowl Game Contest Win, Part 9

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 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 ]

2009 Heritage
#40 Ryan Ludwick
#124 Jason Motte
#327 Kyle Lohse
#368 Aaron Miles
#501 Shane Robinson
#507 John Smoltz
#518 Blake Hawksworth
#590 Jarrett Hoffpauir
#652 Tyler Greene

There are quite a few young guys in that bunch, especially Motte and Robinson who are still with the team. The oldest guy is probably Smoltz, who pitched for us late in the year and his whole stint still seems a little surreal to remember. Also, horizontal cards can actually look pretty good when the whole set matches.

2009 Heritage #220 Tony La Russa

...nevermind. At least it's a manager card. But still, this kind of chicanery prevents a set from looking nice in a binder. Maybe if we can get Topps to go all-vertical or all-horizontal by 2015, then 2064 Heritage and beyond won't suffer from this problem. I do like the old Cardinals logo up top, though.

2009 Topps 206 #159 Rick Ankiel

This card only goes with the rest of them in that it's an old-style, current player card, and I figure, that's good enough. Now if we could just get rid of that Ankiel mystery beard...

College Bowl Game Contest Win, Part 8

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 | Part 6 | Part 7 ]

We're up to part 8 and I'm still posting from 2010? At least we inch back into 2009 in this post.

2010 Topps Update
#US-259 Yadier Molina
#US-263 Randy Winn
#US-285 Jaime Garcia
#US-302 Pedro Feliz

More 2010 Update, my first set in my second phase of collecting.

2010 Topps Update #US-298 David Freese

When you're the only horizontal card of the bunch, you get your own scan. Getting one's own scan may also apply to all World Series MVPs, but I'd have to check to be sure.

2009 Allen and Ginter
National Pride #NP74 Yadier Molina

I assumed these National Pride cards were put out because of the World Baseball Classic in 2009, and it's even mentioned on the back of this card. I like these because they give me more context about players, since often you'll never hear any spoken interviews outside of your own team, except for the very biggest stars.

2009 Allen and Ginter
#70 Rick Ankiel
#99 Chris Duncan
#239 Chris Carpenter
#336 Ryan Ludwick SP

These are the first 2009 Allen and Ginter base cards in my collection. I specify "base cards" because I won a Ryan Ludwick relic in a contest awhile back. Ludwick strikes again in this bunch with a short print. And there's that Rick Ankiel beard again.

2009 Upper Deck #347 Rick Ankiel

There's the Rick Ankiel I'm used to seeing, with a soul patch and maybe a slight bit of stubble for a goatee. He was an impressive all-around athlete to be a top-drafted pitcher and return as an outfielder, and I still see plenty of Ankiel #24 shirt-jerseys, or shirseys, around town.

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.

2012 Update Hanger Pack #5

More 2012 Update!

2012 Topps Update
#US12 Jake Westbrook
#US301 Carlos Beltran

I've got a few of these Beltrans now, but the Westbrook is new.

2012 Topps Update
#US63 Gerald Laird
#US82 Ty Wigginton
#US123 Jamie Moyer/Checklist

Likewise with these former Cardinals, I had Laird and Moyer already, but Wigginton is new. As far as I know he hasn't landed with a new team yet. Maybe a deal will happen after the trading deadline.

2012 Topps Update
#US11 Rick Ankiel
Golden Moments #GM-U21 Ernie Banks
1987 Topps Minis #TM-122 Yonder Alonso

When I was attending SLU, one car in a garage near my dorm had the license plate "Mr. Cub". I always joked that it was Ernie Banks' car, and no one got it. Baseball nicknames don't really pervade pop culture too much I guess, even in a rival town.

2012 Topps Update - Walmart Blue Border
#US84 Eric Thames
#US161 Brian Dozier

I'm going to call my curse lifted, as these blue borders are on Navy teams, although the Twins could probably go either way.

2012 Topps Update
Gold Sparkle #US28 Matt Albers
Blockbusters #BB-30 Jose Bautista

Was the trade for Bautista really considered a blockbuster at the time? It definitely worked out well for him and Toronto, but I can't quite imagine big headlines when he came over.

2012 Topps Update - Gold Border
#527 Aaron Hill #1278/2012
#562 Henderson Alvarez #0583/2012
#US94 Kevin Slowey #1781/2012

And I'll finish this pack off with the Gold Borders. Kevin Slowey never actually played for Cleveland, but spend all of 2012 at AAA, and is now in Miami. And, who's that sliding into second under Aaron Hill? Why, it's Ty Wigginton again.

Finally, I Can Open My Hanger Pack

I bought a few hanger packs of 2012 Update in late 2012, because I knew Target would only carry them for so long, but I've been so behind on blogging cards, and didn't want to make a mess of my desk, that I just now opened the first one. Here's what I found.

2012 Topps Update
#US123 Jamie Moyer/Checklist
#US178 Lance Lynn
#US273 Yadier Molina

2012 Topps Update
#US11 Rick Ankiel
#US46 Jamie Moyer

I only post base cards of Cardinals, and Moyer technically was one for 8 appearances wayyyy back in 1991. That's reason enough to show his 2 base cards here. Those Lynn and Molina guys are pretty good too.

2012 Topps Update - Target Red Border
#US57 Hanley Ramirez
#US122 Logan Ondrusek

Red Parallels look good for red teams, and bad for most others. I don't think I'm saying anything new with that statement. I am rather surprised they don't look pleasing with the Dodgers jerseys, though, with that bold red jersey number on the front.

2012 Topps Update
Golden Greats #GG-92 Reggie Jackson
Blockbusters #BB-24 Steve Carlton

I'm not sure I'm a fan of all the gold in 2012 Topps, but at least something finally goes with the A's uniform. That's a good looking card of Reggie Jackson. I do, however, like the Blockbusters set, despite its reminder of the 4-time Cy Young winner Steve Carlton the Cardinals traded away.

2012 Topps Update
Gold Sparkle #US155 Franklin Morales
1987 Topps Minis #TM-148 Justin Morneau

I scanned these two this way just so the mini would look mini. Why do gimmicks like minis and sparkly gold tempt me so?

2012 Topps Update - Gold Border
#389 Alexi Casilla #0029/2012
#511 Ervin Santana #0838/2012

These 990-card parallels nearly sucker me in every year. I think one year I'll actually try to collect them all, along with all of the attainable Series 1 and Series 2 parallels. #/50s and 1/1s will probably have to be skipped over, unless I win a small lottery and feel like blowing it all on cards. Also, I love that throwback LA Angels hat on Ervin Santana. I might need to get one of those.

2012 Topps Update
Gold Border #US238 Shawn Camp #0298/2012
Golden Moments #GM-U38 Tim Lincecum

Another Gold Border parallel, but it's a Cub. I like Tim Lincecum. I don't like that the Giants beat us in the NLCS in 2012. So I give this card a B.

My non-Cardinals insert cards are generally up for trade, so if you see anything you'd like here, or in my next few hanger packs, let me know.

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.

A Trade Post is in Order, Part II

[Part I]

Thanks to my obsessive need to scan and post every insert card I receive, I got an email from The Angels, In Order about the Tyler Chatwood in this contest win post.

Here's the next part of my trade.

2008 Upper Deck Documentary
#854 Chris Duncan

 The back of this card talks about Braden Looper, and doesn't even mention Chris Duncan. This is an odd, 4000+ card set.

2008 Upper Deck First Edition
#50 Adam Wainwright
#51 Joel Pineiro
#57 Rick Ankiel

2007 Upper Deck Future Stars
#88 Chris Carpenter
#89 Chris Duncan

 I've mentioned before I'm not sure why this is called Future Stars with Carpenter well-established by 2007. And Chris Duncan? He's been in local sports radio for a few years now.

2011 Opening Day - Mascots
#M-8 Dinger

Now we're on to the wantlist stuff. In 2011 I bought a lot of Opening Day since it's cheap, and I've decided to collect the set and the inserts. Here's the Rockies' slightly-too-cute mascot.

2011 Opening Day - Superstar Celebrations
#SC-5 Ubaldo Jiminez
#SC-11 Jimmy Rollins
#SC-17 Prince Fielder
#SC-9 Nick Markakis

Seeing these cards together gets me antsy for the end-of-season pennant races and the playoffs. When these celebrations seem to happen more often due to the heightened sense of urgency to win.

There's just one more chunk of this trade to go.

March Radness Win, Part III

[Part I]
[Part II]

I "won" a prize, in that I managed to have the worst bracket of all in Cards on Cards March Radness contest. I legitimately tried to win, in fact I didn't even realize there was this consolation prize until the contest was over, because I stopped scoreboard watching about 2 rounds into the tournament because I did so poorly to start off. The good thing about winning cards from a fellow Cardinals fan is that he can't resist dumping a whole bunch of his Cardinal duplicates on me, which I'm more than happy to take.

First up in this batch of cards is the Series I 2008 Upper Deck Cardinals I needed.

2008 Upper Deck (Series I)
#61 Adam Wainwright
#62 Joel Pineiro
#63 Brad Thompson
#65 Troy Percival
#67 Albert Pujols
#68 David Eckstein
#69 Jim Edmonds
#70 Rick Ankiel

Together with the 8 cards from part II, and the 4 from a previous contest win, I have all of the Cardinals from this set, and never bought a pack.

2011 Gypsy Queen
#38 Walter Johnson
#117 Dallas Braden

That's 2 more off the wantlist, leaving me just 125 left to go for Gypsy Queen. It would seem I tend to get a little over ambitious with the wantlists sometimes, desiring a whole set after getting a few packs.

1988 Donruss Wax Pack

Ah, the mystery of an unopened pack. I'm not going to open this yet. Maybe I'll wait for the 30th anniversary in 2018. More likely, I'll break down and open it when I finally sort through my 1988 Donruss cards, because I'm a weak, weak man.