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.

eBay Wins #74

Ah, 1990. In the fall, I started 3rd grade, and still had no interest in - or knowledge of - baseball or baseball cards. Yet, 1990 is one of the biggest years by quantity in my collection, since they've been cheap and plentiful from the time I started collecting in 1992 all the way until now. Here are 40 more for 40 cents.

1990 Donruss
#163 Joe Magrane
#555 John Costello

There were 2 uniformed Cardinals out of the 26, which I guess is twice the expected value of a random assortment in 1990, when there were 26 teams. I'll call that a win.

1990 Donruss
#11 Kevin Mitchell
#47 Julio Machado
#116 Greg Minton
#122 Dwight Evans
#170 Kirk McCaskill
#189 Rob Dibble

I'm a Diamond King fan, and Rob Dibble's still around baseball, so those are good ones.

1990 Donruss
#194 Darren Daulton
#214 Mike Moore
#239 Tommy Gregg
#282 Mike Devereaux
#294 Ivan Calderon
#333 Bob Milacki

I was a bit of a bandwagoner as a kid, so when the Phillies were back to back champions I took an interest in them, making that Darren Daulton card stand out to me. [Edit: The Blue Jays beat the Phillies in 1993, but the Braves in 1992. Thanks to Mark for pointing that out.]

1990 Donruss
#345 Erik Hanson
#383 Dave Magadan
#389 Jose Alvarez
#430 Ken Howell
#538 Joey Cora
#541 Wes Gardner

It felt like Joey Cora would be such a huge star at one point, but he seemed to level off. Now, he needs to run far away from Ozzie Guillen if he wants another MLB coaching gig.

1990 Donruss
#557 Rick Dempsey
#629 Vance Law
#631 Todd Frohwirth
#651 Steve Lyons
#698 Steve Cummings
#709 Larry McWilliams

Psycho! I like cards of guys with other ties to the game, whether it's coaching or broadcasting, so maybe I should start a side collection. That would cover a big percentage of players though. Also in this bunch, Larry McWilliams is a former Cardinal too, but a group of 24 cards scans much more nicely than 23.

Alright, enough with the red borders, let's see what's next.

1990 Topps
#224 Delino DeShields
#725 Terry Pendleton

This is Delino in his pre-Cardinal days. Also, I associate Terry Pendleton so strongly with the Atlanta Braves that it always seems weird to see footage or cards of him as a Cardinal.

1990 Topps
#143 Rafael Belliard
#195 Tim Burke
#243 Barry Jones
#349 Steve Finley
#401 Kevin Mitchell
#402 Eric Davis

2 All-Stars isn't bad.

1990 Topps
#425 Bill Landrum
#524 Daryl Boston
#537 Mark Grant
#554 Jay Buhner
#593 Scott Bradley
#658 Donell Nixon

As a guy who had normally kept a shaved head (except for a brief time in college), I appreciate Jay Buhner. Also, there's this:

Of course, Frank shortchanged Jay here. He had 40 HR in 1995, the "last year" to which he was referring in this clip.

On a statistical note, I shattered the 1.8 cents/card mark with this purchase, coming down from 1.802 to 1.789.

eBay Bargain Tracker
Total Cards Bought	2390
Total Spent	$42.75
Per Card	1.789 cents

All-Star Winnings, Part 14

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 | XII | XIII ]

Guess what? This is the last post in this series. And I'll finish it off with some Ozzies, and a relic.

1993 Leaf - Heading for the Hall #10 Ozzie Smith
1993 Stadium Club #548 Ozzie Smith
1993 Triple Play - Action #3 Ozzie Smith
1995 Topps D3 #58 Ozzie Smith
1996 Fleer #556 Ozzie Smith
1997 Fleer #452 Ozzie Smith

What happened here, did my scanner give up halfway through? No, when I sorted these cards by year the bottom 3 just happened to be the less bold 1996-97 Fleer, and a 3D set called Topps D3. The Triple Play Action card actually unfolds and has a little scratchoff game inside, played much like card-based tabletop baseball games. I didn't scratch it, of course. Despite the scanned appearance, I like 1996-97 Fleer, and it presented a very different look from what was currently on the market when it came out.

1993 Fleer Ultra - Top Glove #6 Ozzie Smith
1988 UK Minis #72 Ozzie Smith
1988 King B #4 Ozzie Smith

Between a horizonal card, a mini, and a round meat snack insert, there was no good way to do this scan. The King B "card" brings a childhood memory flooding back, as I found a similar card featuring Andres Galarraga (on the Rockies, so 1993 or later) on my gradeschool playground. I kept it for a long time, but I have no idea where it is currently. I wouldn't be surprised if I still have it, though.

2007 Upper Deck - Game Materials #UD-SR Scott Rolen

Finally, we have the cornerstone of the prize, a Scott Rolen relic card. I've mentioned this before, but I was at Rolen's first game in St. Louis after we traded for him, and he was such a huge part of our offense and defense for so long, that a Rolen relic is a great addition to my collection.

I want to say thanks one more time to madding at Cards on Cards for being so generous with his contest prizes. And to everyone else, Vote Yadi for All-Star Catcher.

All-Star Winnings, Part 13

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 | XII ]

1976 Topps #478 Lynn McGlothen
1987 Donruss #604 Steve Lake
1988 Donruss #31 Lance Johnson
1990 Topps #533 Tim Jones

You can tell I'm nearing the end, with this random assortment of 1970s to 1990s cards. I admit I don't know who Lynn McGlothen is, but a 1970s card is always a welcome addition. Also, that's right White Sox and Mets fans (and Cubs and Yankees near the end), Lance Johnson was a Cardinal for a bit in 1987. We traded him and Ricky Horton for Jose DeLeon prior to 1988, though.

2001 Topps #50 Mark McGwire
2002 Upper Deck Ovation #119 Mark McGwire
2003 Upper Deck Victory #88 Mark McGwire
2003 Upper Deck Victory - Tier 1 Green #88 Mark McGwire

Here I have more McGwires that didn't fit in the last post. These are all my sole representatives in their sets, like many of the previous McGwires. My collecting really dropped off in 1999 and was almost non-existent in 2000, through late 2010, so cards from that era always feel like they're helping to bridge the gap.

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.

All-Star Winnings, Part 11

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 ]

2007 Bowman Chrome - Propects #BC68 Jarrett Hoffpauir
2010 Bowman Draft - Prospects Chrome #BDPP22 Nick Longmire
2011 Bowman Chrome - Prospects #BCP40 Deryk Hooker

Trying to navigate all the sets and subsets of Bowman, especially in 2010-2011 and probably beyond, gives me a headache. Part of the confusion is that my canonical source, Zistle, decides to treat "Bowman Chrome Draft" as a product, not as Chrome inserts in Bowman Draft. The same is also done for some Chrome inserts in Bowman, which are not found in packs of Bowman Chrome. The important thing is, I'm pretty sure I've determined the actual sets for these cards, and filed them appropriately. The Hoffpauir is the Chrome version of a card I got in a group break.

2010 Bowman Draft #BDP18 Jon Jay
2010 Topps Chrome #178 Jon Jay

More Bowman and more Chrome, just not together this time. 2 Jon Jay rookie cards would be a nice prize by themselves.

2007 Tristar Prospects Plus #75 David Kopp

Finally, while we're dealing in prospect cards, here's one who hasn't made the big leagues just yet, but might. David Kopp played at AAA Memphis in 2011, but has been at Detroit's AA team the last two years.

All-Star Winnings, Part 10

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 ]

The flurry of Cardinals continues with my second cousin, Todd Stottlemyre.

1996 Pinnacle #357 Todd Stottlemyre
1996 Collector's Choice #688 Todd Stottlemyre

1996 Pinnacle Summit #37 Todd Stottlemyre
1997 Collector's Choice #198 Todd Stottlemyre

I'm sure card companies do this to other teams too, but when it's the Cardinals, I really notice how their home uniform seems to show up very rarely. The Cardinals have never worn a red jersey (at least in modern times), so those shots in red are from spring training or pregame warmups.

1991 Topps Archives 1953 Al Schoendienst
2005 Upper Deck Classics #20 Johnny Hopp
2005 Upper Deck Classics #80 Red Schoendienst

Speaking of Red, here are two more Red Schoendiest cards, and Johnny Hopp. Johnny won 4 World Series rings in his career, 2 with the Cardinals, and 2 with the Yankees, but if you had mentioned his name to me before I saw this card, I would have no idea who he was.

A Short Break for a Contest

I've still got more All-Star Winnings to post, but first I must allow myself to be bribed into promoting a contest. You can win a few packs of 2013 Bowman or Topps, or 2012 Update, in the first contest from Chunter at Chipp 'n' Dale.

Just leave a comment on the contest post, and wait for the magic randomizer to pick you. Oh, and he's asking for something better than "I'm in", so give it some thought first.

...

...

Got something clever or funny? Ok, go!

All-Star Winnings, Part 9

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 ]

1991 Panini Canadian Top 15 #1 Willie McGee
1991 Stadium Club - Charter Member #20 Willie McGee
2005 Topps Rookie Cup #50 Willie McGee

Not only were these 3 Willie McGee cards I didn't have, but they're from 3 sets I had no cards from either. I have some 1991 Stadium Club, but nothing from the Charter Member set. That card commemorates one of the odder moments in baseball history, as Willie was traded away in late August to Oakland - in the AL - but still had enough at bats to qualify for, and win, the NL batting title.

1986 Topps #740 Ozzie Smith
1989 Donruss All-Stars #37 Ozzie Smith
1989 Upper Deck #265 Ozzie Smith
1990 Score #285 Ozzie Smith
1990 Kmart #4 Ozzie Smith
1991 Fleer Ultra #296 Ozzie Smith
1991 Stadium Club #154 Ozzie Smith
1992 Post #8 Ozzie Smith

What more can I say about Ozzie Smith I haven't said since starting this blog? As the long-reigning franchise player when I started watching the team, he was obviously one of my early favorites. I'm rather glad he played in an era of such baseball card variety, aka the overproduction era to some. It means I'll probably never get every card of his, and I'll always be adding new ones to my collection, and discovering new oddball or unlicensed sets, like the Kmart and logo-less Post card above.

All-Star Winnings, Part 8

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 ]

1989 Fleer #652 Ken Hill/Dennis Cook

1989 Score Rookie/Traded #98T Ken Hill
1995 SP #100 Ozzie Smith
1995 SP #102 Ken Hill

Ken Hill was traded for Andres Galarraga before I started paying attention to baseball, but he returned for a bit in 1995, before being traded again for David Bell among others. And since I had 2 cards from the 1995 SP set, there's a certain All-Star shortstop in the middle of that scan.

1994 Post #28 Gregg Jefferies
1994 Stadium Club #531 Gregg Jefferies
1995 Collector's Choice Special Edition #80 Gregg Jefferies

Gregg Jefferies was the player I most associated with #25 before Mark McGwire arrived, although, David Bell and 2 others each wore it for a bit in 1995.

2005 Fleer Tradition #62 John Mabry

Speaking of 1995, this card is from Mabry's third stint with the Cardinals, but the first started way back in 1995, under Joe Torre. John always seemed like a solid and reliable player, although he didn't excel in any one area. Now, he's the Cardinals' hitting coach, after a year as Mark McGwire's assistant.

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.

All-Star Winnings, Part 6

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 ]


Today we'll go all the way back to the 1990s. Come to think of it, that's where a large portion of these cards and posts go anyway.

1993 Triple Play
#62 Brian Jordan
#114 Felix Jose

2 Cardinals RFs from the same year can only mean one was going to be pushed out, and Felix Jose left after 1992. Oddly enough, Brian Jordan is only 2 years younger than him, but 1992 was his rookie season due to his time with the Atlanta Falcons.

1994 Upper Deck #223 Brian Jordan

1994 Score #201 Brian Jordan
1997 Donruss Limited #146 Brian Jordan
1999 Pacific Crown Collection #230 Brian Jordan

Jordan was one of the players victimized by my Jersey/Shirsey curse. It seems that usually, whenever I buy a jersey or one of those jersey-look t-shirts with a current player featured, he leaves shortly thereafter. I'm much more judicious these days, and only bought my Scott Rolen shirt from a thrift shop long after he left.

1992 Classic Draft Picks - Foil Bonus #BC11 Sean Lowe

I was all ready to dig into another lost prospect story, but apparently Sean Lowe pitched a few games for the Cardinals in 1997 and 1998, then for some other teams. I must have been too caught up in the McGwire-mania to notice.

1992 Pinnacle #589 Rex Hudler/Roger Staubach

Finally, this is the first Rex Hudler card on my blog, according to my tag history at least. And he's very tiny on the card. That's Roger Staubach in the background. There's very little information on the back of the card linking the two, except that Rex Hudler's favorite athlete is Roger Staubach.

All-Star Winnings, Part 5

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 ]

Today's theme, besides "The Next Few Cards I Grabbed from the Pile" is 2000s Pitchers.

2002 Donruss Originals #417 Scotty Layfield
2002 Upper Deck #509 Scotty Layfield
2003 Donruss #60 Scotty Layfield

I must admit I don't know who Scotty Layfield is, but the fact that there were multiple cards prompted me to look him up. Of course the go-to source is baseball-reference.com, which showed he climbed up a level in the minors each year from 1999 through 2003 when he was at AAA, so it makes sense that companies would try to jump on the soon-to-be MLBer. Then, 2004 and 2005 show no stats, and 2006 and 2007 show him playing in the dreaded independent leagues. Not that there's anything wrong with Independent League ball, but it's a far cry from AAA. I couldn't find any other information, but I assume a bad injury took place in 2003 and he never quite recovered.

2002 Upper Deck #652 Darryl Kile

Next we have Darryl Kile, probably batting 8th. Tony La Russa loved doing that, and Kile was one of our better hitting pitchers at that time. I still remember finding out he had died during the night before a day game at Wrigley Field, and watching Joe Girardi announce the game's cancellation to the fans. It was rather jarring at the time to see that even a pro athlete could be taken down by bad health. Just a few days prior, Jack Buck, the longtime Cardinals broadcaster, had died, but he was elderly, ill, and it was expected to happen soon. The news of Darryl Kile was much more shocking.

2002 Upper Deck #653 Jason Isringhausen
2004 Upper Deck First Pitch #164 Jason Isringhausen
2006 SP Authentic #85 Jason Isringhausen
2008 Upper Deck #64 Jason Isringhausen

And finally, listen up, MLB. Despite his gig as pitching coach for SIUE, Izzy is apparently still looking for a chance to pitch. I can think of a few bullpens that could use an extra arm in September.

All-Star Winnings, Part 4

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 ]

Today's subject is a man who managed the Cardinals too many times to count, and coached most of the time he wasn't managing, Red Schoendienst.

1972 Topps #67 Red Schoendienst
1981 Donruss #431 Red Schoendienst
1990 Topps Traded #113T Red Schoendienst
1992 Studio #262 Red Schoendienst
2006 Fleer Greats of the Game #74 Red Schoendienst
2007 SP Legendary Cuts #93 Red Schoendienst
2007 Topps - Distinguished Service #DS24 Red Schoendienst
2008 Donruss Threads #47 Red Schoendienst
2011 Topps Gypsy Queen #62 Red Schoendienst

As the cards get more recent, Red's picture seems to get younger. Of course, that's because the first few picture him past his playing prime as a manager, and the rest are throwbacks to his playing days. Upon my reentry into collecting in 2010, I was happy to see cards of guys like Red showing up, even though he's no longer manager or even a regular-season coach for the Cardinals.

As a side note, 1981 Donruss cards are paper-thin, aren't they?

All-Star Winnings, Part 3

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 ]

Today, it's wall-to-wall Ray Lankford, with a touch of Mark McGwire.

2001 Stadium Club #52 Ray Lankford

1993 Hostess #5 Ray Lankford
1993 Studio #175 Ray Lankford
1993 Topps - BlackGold #10 Ray Lankford
1993 Upper Deck Fun Pack #76 Ray Lankford
1996 Zenith #38 Ray Lankford
1998 Collector's Choice - Starquest #SQ42 Ray Lankford
1999 Stadium Club #95 Ray Lankford
1999 Upper Deck Ovation #53 Ray Lankford

Ray Lankford. Ray Lankford. Type it enough and the words lose all meaning. Ray was a starter from before the time I started watching baseball in 1992 through 2001, and early on, he was really one of the biggest stars on the team, so he's got quite a few cards in the small sets and insert sets like Hostess and BlackGold. I didn't have most of these cards, except the Hostess card, and many of them were specifically on my want list as well. Curiously, every Lankford card in this bunch pictures him with a road blue hat/helmet.

2001 Stadium Club #100 Mark McGwire
1999 Upper Deck Ovation #53 Mark McGwire

Since I sort my cards by set, here are two McGwires from two of the sets represented in the Lankford scans above. It's not often you see a running shot of Mark McGwire. Usually it's exactly how that Ovation card looks, the follow-through of the bat, implying a home run swing, or him standing at the ready on defense at first base.