2012 Heritage Blaster #4, Almost 3 Years Later.

I bought several of these boxes from Dave and Adam's quite awhile ago, sometime after 2013 came out I'm sure. Since the last one I posted was #3 in late 2012, I guess this is #4. I'm not very good at maintaining a FIFO method of opening and posting my cards, so these were just the next most interesting ones in my box of unopened stuff. The others ones will probably be next.

2012 Topps Heritage
#22 Edwin Jackson
#172 Yadier Molina
#206 Lance Lynn
#244 Jason Motte
#265 2012 Rookie Stars
#281 Jason Marquis
#306 Star Receivers
#321 2012 Rookie Stars
#357 Allen Craig

I'm not sure why Adron Chambers showed up on multiplo different Rookie Stars cards, but I got two of them. He's on a third version I got in that third blaster. Both cards featuring Yadier Molina came in a pack together, which is nothing more than a statistical oddity, but it was with a Cardinal, so I noticed.

#390 Jason Heyward
#429 Jonny Venters
#434 Shane Victorino
Baseball Flashbacks #BF-AK Al Kaline
Blue Parallel #84 Doug Fister
New Age Performers #NAP-RC Robinson Cano
News Flashbacks #NF-UA University of Alabama
Checklist #C2
Stick-Ons #27 Ryan Howard

I got so many Cardinals they spilled into the Inserts scan, since we picked up Jason Heyward this year. That blue Doug Fister is my second copy, and those are the only two blues I have. Again, statistical anomalies are weird when they happen to you. Something about the more common insert sets in Heritage make me want to complete them all, and I'm not sure what it is. Let's see my current status:

Base: 212/425
Base SPs: 12/75
Baseball Flashbacks: 3/10
Blue Parallel: 1/30
Checklists: 3/5
Chrome Parallels: 3/100
New Age Performers: 2/16
News Flashbacks 3/15
Stick-ons: 4/46
Then and Now: 1/10

Tis The Season Winnings, Part II

Sometimes, I procrastinate posting and sorting some cards. Normally I don't pay too much attention to how long a particular item has been sitting on my desk, but given that this one was the Tis the Season contest from 2013, I've probably had it in my possession for a little over a year now. But, even with the long delay, I still want to throw Jeff at 2 by 3 Heroes some referral traffic while I show off my prize.
Part I

The prize nearly filled an 800 count box, so I've got a few more posts to write. This one's all 2012 Allen and Ginter base cards and inserts, and a pretty good start on completing the set. There were a few duplicates too, which will pad out my trade list a little bit.

2012 Allen and Ginter
#1 Albert Pujols
#4 Yu Darvish
#5 David Price
#7 Mickey Mantle
#19 Bob Knight
#20 Miguel Montero
#21 Matt Moore
#27 Ricky Nolasco
#28 Dustin Ackley

2012 Allen and Ginter came right out of the gate and poked me in the eye with card #1 featuring Albert Pujols in his new uniform. I've made peace with him leaving, though, helped greatly by the Cardinals making it to the NLCS all 3 years he's been gone, and to the World Series once.

2012 Allen and Ginter
#37 James McDonald
#43 Josh Johnson
#44 Brandon League
#51 Don Denkinger
#55 Colin Montgomerie
#56 Jordan Pacheco
#63 Zach Britton
#65 Alex Rios
#69 Kurt Suzuki

Don Denkinger is a well-known umpire in St. Louis, for making the wrong call in the 1985 World Series against Kansas City. Some like to blame that call for the loss of the series, but that was game 6, and the Royals won game 7 11-0.

2012 Allen and Ginter
#73 Joakim Soria
#73 Jordan Zimmermann
#82 Giancarlo Stanton
#86 Nyger Morgan
#89 Edwin Jackson
#92 Craig Kimbrel
#99 Sandy Koufax
#102 Huston Street
#107 C.J. Wilson

This post has been dotted with former Cardinals, including brief Cardinal Edwin Jackson. That's a nice looking Sandy Koufax card too.

2012 Allen and Ginter
#111 Wandy Rodriguez
#115 Carlos Santana
#116 Brandon Beachy
#120 Mariano Rivera
#129 Michael Phelps
#135 Michael Morse
#146 Josh Beckett
#157 Roger Federer
#165 Alex Avila

2012 Allen and Ginter
#181 Joe DiMaggio
#186 Jemile Weeks
#194 J.J. Hardy
#196 Lou Gehrig
#197 Ty Cobb
#202 Jaime Garcia
#208 Martin Prado
#214 Yunel Escobar
#216 Corey Hart

I'm not sure what Jaime's doing in this photo.

2012 Allen and Ginter
#217 Brian Wilson
#225 Roger Maris
#232 Kate Upton
#256 Brandon Morrow
#258 Doug Fister
#259 Wade Davis
#260 Alex Liddi
#264 Brian McCann
#265 Chris Parmelee

2012 Allen and Ginter
#266 Carlos Ruiz
#269 Mike Schmidt
#270 Anthony Rizzo
#271 Mark Reynolds
#279 Brett Gardner
#286 Neal Walker
#289 Brandon Phillips
#290 Derek Holland
#292 Greg Gumbel

This is my first card of Mark Reynolds since he became a Cardinal. I'm not sure how he'll work out, but hopefully they'll slot him in the right situations for success.

2012 Allen and Ginter
#299 Jeff Niemann
#303 Ivan Nova
#310 Russell Martin
#314 Michael Buffer
#330 Mike Napoli
#331 Carl Crawford
#340 Marty Hogan
#341 Colby Lewis
#342 Ryan Dempster

2012 Allen and Ginter - Worlds Tallest Buildings
#WTB2 Taipei 101
#WTB3 Petronas Towers
#WTB5 1 World Trade Center
#WTB6 Empire State Building
#WTB8 40 Wall Street
#WTB10 Metlife Building
Historical Turning Points
#HTP4 The Reformation
#HTP10 Discovery of Electricity
#HTP19 Sputnik I

Ginter always has some curious insert sets, like 2012's Tallest Buildings and Historical Turning Points. They're not exactly chase cards, but they're at least interesting. Also, a fun game to infuriate people is to insist that Russian satellite's name is pronounced "Spootnik".

2012 Allen and Ginter
#26 Hunter Pence
#29 Hanley Ramirez
#40 Jimmy Rollins
#71 Curtis Granderson
#76 Michael Bourn
#84 Andre Ethier
#104 Ian Desmond
#162 Jeff Francoeur
#215 Dan Haren

Back to the base cards, here are the horizontal ones. Dan Haren is another Cardinals in the box, though Jaime Garcia remains the only one actually wearing the Birds on the Bat in 2012.

2012 Allen and Ginter
#229 Ichiro
#231 Todd Helton
#274 Derek Jeter
#317 Jason Heyward
What's in a Name
#WIN14 Chipper Jones
#WIN37 Jason Heyward
#WIN50 Mike Schmidt
#WIN95 Ken Griffey, Jr.

Another new Cardinal for 2015 is Jason Heyward, and I got a short print and insert featuring him.

2012 Allen and Ginter
#346 Lefty Kreh
Baseball Highlight Sketches #BH-21 Willie Mays

Finally, I have the two cards that didn't fit when I scanned all the horizontal cards, and didn't fit with anything else. Why a fisherman is a Short Print, I have no idea, but the famous over-the-shoulder catch by Willie Mays makes a nice sketch.

2013 Topps Update Jumbo Pack #7

Some say 7 is lucky, but I've never really found that to be the case. Let's see how Pack #7 works out

2013 Topps Update
#US171 Nick Punto
#US201 Adam Ottavino
#US253 Shelby Miller
#US261 Skip Schumaker
#US270 Edwin Jackson
Emerald Parallel #US Dylan Axelrod
Gold Parallel #US40 Tim Collins #1277/2013
Black Parallel #US278 Jose Alvarez #61/62

Believe it or not (and why wouldn't you, really?), these are the first cards of Nick Punto and Adam Ottavino I've ever shown on my blog. I would have figured their cards would have come up before. On another note, I pulled another black parallel from this pack, numbered to 62.

2013 Topps Update
#US189 Kyle Lohse
Chasing History #CH-144 Yasiel Puig

This pack had quite the rogues' gallery of former Cardinals, with 4 in the first scan, and Kyle Lohse in the horizontal section. Along with him I have another card of this Puig fellow who seems to be showing up a lot.

2013 Topps Update
Franchise Forerunners #FF-2 Yasiel Puig/Matt Kemp
Making Their Mark #MM-39 Kevin Gausman
1971 Topps Mini #TM-2 Babe Ruth

And here I have yet another Puig along with Matt Kemp. It must be good to be a Puig collector these days, unless you're a completist. Then I'd guess it gets a little pricey.

This pack had the full 43 base cards after subtracting out the "standard" inserts. 30 of them were new, keeping me ahead of the pace to finish the set; with 70% of the packs busted, 73% of the set is complete.

Update Series Completion: 241/330 (73.0%)

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%)

Sixth 2012 Update Hanger Pack

Despite the fact that I show the inserts on my blog, I really buy these for the base cards. I figure with 5 of them, I'll get 360 cards total, but about 50 will be inserts, leaving me with 310. So 6 is a good number, in theory, to try to get enough base cards to complete 1 for 1 trades to complete the base set. In practice it doesn't really work that smoothly, and I bought quite a bit more of 2010 and 2011 Update. I've thought about getting a Hobby box, but at a current price of $57.95 for 36 packs of 10 cards, even perfect collation would leave me short after inserts. So if you're in the same boat as me, check my trade list and want list, and let's complete each other's sets.

2012 Topps Update
#US72 Carlos Beltran
#US242 Joe Kelly
#US251 Kyle McClellan

Beltran in the KC themed All-Star uniform might have been a little painful for Royals fans, who have seen many young prospects leave and become big stars.

2012 Topps Update
#US25 Joe Mather
#US60 Edwin Jackson
#US123 Jamie Moyer/Checklist
#US149 Octavio Dotel
#US227 Mark DeRosa
#US247 Ryan Ludwick

Every single former Cardinal was a duplicate this time. Anyone out there have a Joe Mather PC?

2012 Topps Update - Gold Border
#518 Jake Peavy #0284/2012
#636 Chris Heisey #1815/2012
#US249 Angel Pagan #1092/2012

Here we have 3 more golds toward my impossible but inevitable quest.

2012 Topps Update
Blockbusters #BB-15 Babe Ruth
Gold Sparkle #US317 Marco Estrada

Babe Ruth to the Yankees, that was kind of a big trade.

2012 Topps Update - WalMart Blue Border
#US170 Jerry Hairston
#US294 Sergio Santos

My curse is finally lifted for good, with a blue-bordered Dodger and Blue Jay.

2012 Topps Update
Golden Moments #GM-U11 Yu Darvish
1987 Topps Minis #TM-102 Reggie Jackson

This Reggie Jackson is another good-looking mini, with a great classic Orioles logo.

That's it for the big hanger packs. I did buy a rack pack as well, which I'll post in a few days, then it'll be time to start filling in the gaps in the set.

2012 Update Hanger Pack #3

I'm moving on to my 3rd 72-card hanger pack.

2012 Topps Update
#US242 Joe Kelly
#US251 Kyle McClellan

Here are two Cardinals I didn't have yet, Joe Kelly, and Kyle McClellan. Kyle left us for Texas this year, but Joe's made his way into the rotation. And with those glasses, he reminds me of a cross between Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn and Bill Hader recently of SNL.

2012 Topps Update
#US60 Edwin Jackson
#US227 Mark DeRosa
#US247 Ryan Ludwick

With the Red and/or Navy uniforms, I can almost pretend these guys are still Cardinals. Unfortunately all 3 are duplicates.

2012 Topps Update
#US25 Joe Mather
#US149 Octavio Dotel

Two more former Cardinals. If everyone collected like me, demand for Octavio Dotel cards would skyrocket, since he's played for 13 teams.

2012 Topps Update
Blockbusters #BB-12 Tom Seaver
Golden Greats #GG-89 Lou Brock
Gold Sparkle #US321 David Carpenter

The 70s pinstriped helmets make an appearance on the Lou Brock card. Also, it's Lou Brock! I don't have many of his playing-days cards, so I'm always glad to see him included in insert sets.

2012 Topps Update - WalMart Blue Border
#US99 Chris Johnson
#US321 David Carpenter

If you believe in Fate, Karma, or getting what's coming to you, this is my punishment for complaining about red borders for blue teams. Blue borders for red teams! This box came from Walmart, obviously, hence the blue parallels. Along with the Gold Sparkle above, I can give someone a good start on a David Carpeter rainbow. He's pitched 1/3 of an inning this year and has a 108.00 ERA. But that one out was a strikeout, so there's potential, right?

2012 Topps Update
Golden Moments #GM-U4 Josh Hamilton
1987 Topps Minis #TM-144 Mark Trumbo

Here we have 2 more Angels, one's just in Rangers clothing. I still like those 1987 Minis, and I really didn't think I would when I first saw them.

2012 Topps Update - Gold Border
#131 Ian Desmond #1812/2012
#304 Brandon Morrow #1217/2012
#US199 Nate Schierholtz #1204/2012

Three more gold parallels. I want to not want to attempt this set, but the gold is so...gold. I don't really like the Stars and Stripes program MLB runs with the red/white/blue/camouflage hats/jerseys each Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Canada Day for Toronto, but I do appreciate Topps documenting such events by getting that image of Brandon Morrow. In case you haven't seen it, and can't make it out in the scan, Toronto usually gets the red and white treatment, like the Canadian flag, so there's a red hat with a white front panel, and all-red Blue Jays logo.

As I've said before, my inserts are generally available for trade, though probably not the Lou Brock this time.

My Second 2012 Update Hanger Pack

Sometime a good pack can be determined objectively, with a big autograph, relic, rookie, or some combination of the 3. This is not one of those packs, but it is subjectively good for me.

2012 Topps Update
#US273 Yadier Molina
#US301 Carlos Beltran

2012 Topps Update #US131 Mitchell Boggs

The box had 3 current Cardinals, and if I'm going to get a duplicate, Yadi's a pretty good one to get.

2012 Topps Update
#US25 Joe Mather
#US60 Edwin Jackson
#US247 Ryan Ludwick
#US254 Jason Marquis

There were also 4 former Cardinals. In all, nearly 10% of the pack played for St. Louis at one time.

2012 Topps Update - Gold Border
#475 Chris Dickerson #1750/2012
#521 Ruben Tejada #0999/2012
#US80 Jered Weaver #1277/2012

I'm starting to like these Gold Border parallels. I fear I may be close to adding a 984-card section to my wantlist.

2012 Topps Update - Target Red Border
#US67 Jamey Carroll
#US214 Jeremy Affeldt

The red borders would grow on me too if not for orange teams like the Giants. Not that I find them repulsive, they're just not as awesome as they could be.

2012 Topps Update
Gold Sparkle #US177 Mike Napoli
Blockbusters #BB-14 Yu Darvish

Here I have 2 Rangers, although one has since changed teams, appropriately enough for an Update set post. And the Darvish deal was definitely a Blockbuster, no matter how his stats turn out.

2012 Topps Update
Golden Moments - #GM-U30 Cal Ripken, Jr.
1987 Topps Minis #TM-126 Jackie Robinson

Finally, we have 2 Hall-of-Famers. A good friend of mine since Kindergarten moved to the Baltimore area for awhile, then moved back, and so has a secondary allegiance to the Orioles. Consequently, I give him trouble relentlessly about Cal Ripken, Jr. being inferior to Ozzie Smith as a shortstop, being an old man (since he was gray rather early), and setting the MLB record for perfect attendance. It's all in good fun, of course, and I'm happy to have this card. The Robinson mini is pretty nice too, with his MLB career stats on the back. Obviously the Brooklyn Dodgers and 1987 don't exactly go together, but the retro border and retro shot just meld together nicely on this card.

All-Star Winnings, Part 2

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]

2010 Topps - Topps Attax Matt Holliday
2011 Bowman #122 Matt Holliday
2011 Lineage #9 Matt Holliday

First up in this batch is the player who won me these cards, Matt Holliday. If you can figure out what to do with it, the code from the 2010 Attax card is all yours. Matt changed jersey numbers for 2011, but Bowman apparently went with a 2009 shot in the 2011 product.

2011 Topps Update
#US114 Lance Lynn
#US260 Matt Holliday
#US294 Edwin Jackson

Here are 3 cards from 2011 Update, and right in the middle, Matt Holliday is celebrating that he had slightly more statistical impact than his 2 teammates at the All-Star Game. I don't think this pick is from the game, however, because Molina was on bereavement leave at the time.

1999 Topps #433 Adam Kennedy/Mickey Lopez/Jackie Rexrode
1998 Bowman #77 Adam Kennedy
2008 Topps #542 Adam Kennedy
2008 Topps #285 Tony La Russa

Here's a little sunrise-sunset on Adam Kennedy, since he started his first stint with the Cardinals in 1999 (drafted in 1997), and finished the second one in 2008. Also from 2008, Tony La Russa, who probably didn't want to pose for this shot.

2010 Topps
Peak Performance #PP-80 Ozzie Smith
Vintage Legends #VLC9 Ozzie Smith

And finally for today, here are 2 Ozzies from 2010. Cards like this make me appreciate Topps reaching back to the past for card subjects. They even got the logo era-appropriate on the Peak Performance card.

Christmas 2012

Do you ever get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays, and forget to do things? There's Christmas, then New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Valentine's Day, Washington's Birthday (aka Presidents Day), St. Patrick's, uh, probably a few national <insert carnival food> days...anyway, my point is, surely I have a good excuse for showing you my sports-related Christmas gifts in March. Ok, I don't, but here we go anyway.

First up, some Cardinals stuff.

A long-sleeve t-shirt, since I refuse to wear anything but t-shirts when I'm not dressed up, and both my wife and mom say I make them feel cold when the see me in short sleeves.

A new Cardinals cap. But not just any cap, this one is trimmed in gold to celebrate the 2011 World Series win.

Even the back has some unnecessary sparkle

Here we have a nice print of Busch Stadium, about 11" x 14". Don't tell my sister-in-law I haven't framed or hung it yet though.

Next up, the Rams:

These two items actually have an interesting story. My wife and I were doing some last minute shopping; I think it was Saturday night before Christmas, which was a Tuesday in 2012. Anyway, I saw this jersey, as well as a Billikens hooded sweatshirt, both pretty cheap. Even at Christmas time the writing was on the wall that Steven Jackson was probably leaving, but I still wanted the throwback jersey. I mentioned to my wife that I wish I had known both of those items were there and they would have been on my wish list. Apparently she managed to text her mom on the way to the next store without me noticing. As it turns out, by the time she got there the last SLU hoodie in my size was gone, so she decided to get the Rams sweatshirt you see above instead, which is awesome. So my wife and mother-in-law will have to split the credit on that one.

Last, but not least, we have a 2012 Topps Value Box, consisting of 2 packs of Heritage, 5 packs of Series 1, a Golden Giveaway code, and one of three Chrome cards of Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, or Ken Griffey, Jr. I'm clearly a busy man, taking 3 months to post these, so here's just the good stuff.

2012 Heritage #484 Todd Helton SP

Heritage has a hold on me, so yes, this SP counts as the good stuff.

2012 Heritage
#22 Edwin Jackson
#357 Allen Craig
#382 Joe Girardi

I'm going to miss the blue road cap - seen here on Edwin Jackson - this year, although I like the red with the road grays too.

2012 Heritage - New Age Performers #NAP-JW Jered Weaver

Every time I see Jered Weaver I think, "He was a Cardinal, right?" Wrong. That was Jeff Weaver, but it confuses me even moreso because then they both pitched for the Angels.

2012 Topps
#108 Albert Pujols
#291 David Freese

Speaking of Angels...no no, let's not get that started. Instead I'll revel in the 2011 World Series once more with these cards from games 3 and 6.

2012 Topps
#28 Placido Polanco
#154 Ty Wigginton

Here's former Cardinal Placido Polanco, and soon-to-be - at least in the regular season - Cardinal Ty Wigginton.

2012 Topps - Golden Moments #GM-29 Albert Pujols

Another Albert. I don't think I could ever stop collecting his cards.

2012 Topps - Value Box Chrome #MBC2 Willie Mays

Here's the shiny card promised on the box. It's very orange. And shiny. And the Hall of Famer on it isn't bad either.

Well, that's it for my Christmas gifts. Normally this is where I'd wish you a Happy New Year, but that ship has sailed. How about a Happy Passover, Easter, and/or April Fool's, whatever you're into? And, if the Easter Bunny brings me any cards, I'll try to get them posted before July.