Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XXVII

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 XXV XXVI


There's another randomish collection of Cardinals cards today, some draft picks, some 2000 Topps, and some Eli Marrero. To enter this year's Bowl Pick 'Em, go sign up at Cards on Cards before Saturday's bowl games begin.

1997 Bowman #409 Brent Butler
1997 Bowman #430 Adam Kennedy
1997 Bowman - Rookie of the Year Favorites #ROY12 Eli Marrero
1998 Skybox Dugout Axcess #92 Eli Marrero
1999 Upper Deck MVP #174 Eli Marrero
2000 Topps #68 Eli Marrero
2000 Topps #190 Eric Davis (x2)
2000 Topps #192 Joe McEwing
2000 Topps #212 Chance Caple/Jason Jennings

Brent Butler never played in the majors for the Cardinals, having been traded to Colorado in the deal that brought Darryl Kile to St. Louis. Adam Kennedy played for the Cardinals two different times, but he really had his best years in Anaheim.

1999 Fleer Ultra #45 Eli Marrero
1999 Upper Deck UD Choice #132 Eli Marrero

Eli Marrero arrived in 1997, and looked like he could bloom into a star catcher for the Cardinals, but in 2002 they got Mike Matheny, and tried to move Eli more often to the outfield, and infield a little. He was eventually traded to the Braves with J.D. Drew to acquire Adam Wainwright.

Junior Junkie's Generosity, Part X

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX

Today's post finishes off the McGwires, and almost finishes the whole box that was sent to me.

1999 Topps #201 Mark McGwire
1999 Upper Deck #518 Mark McGwire(x2)
1999 Upper Deck - Opening Season Superstars #S2
2000 Topps #232 Mark McGwire
2000 Topps #469 Mark McGwire

The card companies were in full "post-homerun photo" mode by 1999, which I'll admit did capture Big Mac's 1998 pretty well.

2000 Topps - Own The Game #OTG6 Mark McGwire
2000 Topps Opening Day #1 Mark McGwire(x2)
2000 Upper Deck Ovation #18 Mark McGwire
2000 Upper Deck #537 Mark McGwire
2001 Fleer Genuine #54 Mark McGwire
2014 Topps - Future Stars That Never Were #FS-13 Mark McGwire
2014 Topps Archives #69 Mark McGwire

It still seems weird that McGwire only played one full season and 2 half seasons after setting the home run record at 70. Finishing off his cards from this package are two from just last year, featuring him back in his Oakland days. I'm glad to see him showing up in current products, even if it does just keep expanding my ever-growing wantlist.

I've got one more post to go in showing off this massive mailing from Junior Junkie.

eBay Wins #75

Another day, another penny, another eBay common.

2000 Topps #402 Joey Hamilton

Joey's probably the 2nd best Hamilton in the 2000 Topps set, behind Josh but ahead of Darryl. The back of the card lists him as the answer to a trivia question, but one that's sure to eventually be untrue, if it isn't already: "Who is the only MLB pitcher to hit a home run outside the U.S. and Canada?". Joey did so in Mexico in 1996. With every 4th season since 2000 opening in Japan, the Expos playing large chunks of their last seasons in Puerto Rico, a few other scattered games in San Juan, and a 2014 opener in Australia, there have been and will continue to be plenty of opportunities

eBay Bargain Tracker
Total Cards Bought	2391
Total Spent	$42.76
Per Card	1.788 cents

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.

Spring Training Giveaway, part 1

I won another contest at Number 5 Type Collection. After ranking the 5 teams I wanted from what he had to offer, I tied another reader and so wound up with half the Tigers and Red Sox. Here's part 1 of what he sent me (because of my previously mentioned obsession with tagging the sets).

1993 Stadium Club #5 Tony Phillips

2000 Topps #60 Pedro Martinez

2001 Topps Chrome - Before There Was Topps #BT5 Ty Cobb

2004 Upper Deck #107 A.J. Hinch

2005 Topps Total #395 Jeremy Bonderman

2005 Topps Update #UH33 Placido Polanco

2007 Upper Deck Future Stars #14 Curt Schilling

2007 Upper Deck Future Stars #11 David Ortiz

2008 Allen and Ginter - Mini Black Border #204 Julio Lugo

2008 Allen and Ginter - Mini #338 Placido Polanco

2008 Allen and Ginter - Mini A&G Back #333 Coco Crisp

2008 Upper Deck #494 Joel Zumaya

eBay Wins #16

These three cards bring my eBay total to an even 1000, albeit with a 792-card set counted in there.

2001 Fleer Tradition - Warning Track #15 Gary Sheffield

I don't really know why I bid 6 cents on this card; I have no particular Sheffield collection. Maybe it's because it was an insert. You can't really tell from the scan, but the wall is embossed, as are the player and team name. I didn't have any 2001 Fleer Tradition yet, so this card will get its own slot in my boxes.

2000 Skybox - The Technique #8 Nomar Garciaparra

I do know why I bid 6 cents on this one, to add to my Nomar Collection. The photo on this card almost makes it look embossed, but it isn't.

2000 Topps - Golden Anniversary #GA42 Nomar Garciaparra

This one cost me 15 cents. I thought it was kind of odd Topps was doing their Golden Giveaway this year after celebrating their Diamond Anniversary last year, and sure enough, they had a Golden Anniversary insert set in 2000. Nevermind that apparently they lost a year somewhere along the way, celebrating 50 in 2000 but 60 in 2011.

All in all I've paid $21.29 for my first 1000 eBay cards. Not bad for just under the cost of a blaster plus tax.

eBay Bargain Tracker
Total Cards Bought	1000
Total Spent	$21.29
Per Card	2.13 cents

Number 5 Type Collection's Cardinals Giveaway, Part 3

[Part 1]
[Part 2]
Matt at Number 5 Type Collection gave me way too many Cardinals in a recent contest.  Here's part 3:

Let's start off with some former prospects now traded away.

2007 Tristar Prospects Plus #81 Joe Mather

2007 Tristar Prospects Plus #80 Colby Rasmus

 It's a little weird to see a modern Cardinal wearing Yadier Molina's #4, but this is from the minors (AA) of course.  It does make me wonder if any of the minor league players are allowed to wear the MLB Cardinals' retired numbers

1988 Fleer - 1987 World Series #5 Throw Smoke! (Todd Worrell and Tony Pena)

 These guys are a little before my time, though I vaguely recall Tony's crazy catching stance when my dad watched games and I wasn't too interested. By the time I was really paying attention in '92, Todd Worrell had been reduced to setup man for the powerful Lee Smith.

1993 Hostess #5 Ray Lankford

I actually laughed out loud when I saw this card. It brought memories flooding back to me about seeking out and eating way too many Hostess Baseballs in 1993. What can I say, I was 10. I think I even tried to convince my dad to try them, hoping he'd replace any other sugary snack he might have with a baseball, and I'd get another box with more cards sooner. I went and grabbed my pile of hostess cards and noticed something interesting. I guess I got into the game late, because they're all numbered 17 or higher of 32, which would seem to be evidence they issued the cards in two series.

2005 Topps Total #206 (STL5) Chris Carpenter

2007 Upper Deck Future Stars #88 Chris Carpenter

1990 Fleer All-Stars #5 Joe Magrane

I have a few Joe Magrane autographs, as he hung around St. Louis a few years after he retired, making the occasional appearance. He played with the Cardinals until mid 1993, so I can recall about a year and a half of his career here.

1999 Topps - Lords of the Diamond #LD5 Mark McGwire

2000 Topps - 20th Century's Best #232 Mark McGwire

Mark McGwire was a favorite player of mine long before he came to the Cardinals, so I got even more into baseball when he was traded here. Sadly he was apparently using some illegal substances during his amazing Home Run binges. I'm glad to see he's back with the Cardinals as a hitting coach, hopefully he can rebuild his legacy that was tainted by his bad choices. He's apparently a pretty smart guy when it comes to hitting, though, and the players really seem to get a lot from him. We'll need that experience and confidence with a brand new manager this year.

More to see tomorrow...