I Love The 1990s Cardinals Part 60 - Delino DeShields

Delino Deshields is probably best remember as being apart of one of those Lou Brock-Ernie Broglio type trades.  At the end of the 1993 season, the Dodgers traded for DeShields who was a very good second baseman with the Expos at the time, and all it cost them was Pedro Martinez.  Not good.  

He is also the father of Diamond DeShields.  

and Delino DeShields, who has apparently dropped the Jr.. 

The Cardinals signed Delino DeShields as a free agent at the end of the 1996 season.  Coming off an appearance in the 1996 National League Championship Series, DeShields was seen as a possible upgrade at second over Luis Alicea.  He was not great with the Dodgers, but the Cardinals believed they could fix him.   In all, Delino DeShields played two seasons with the Cardinals and was a good player for the team despite the results on the field during the 1997 and 1998 seasons.  

He got on base in front of Mark McGwire, Ray Lankford, and Ron Gant.  DeShields also became the last Cardinals player to steal more than 50 bases when he swiped 55 in 1997.  

On to some cards.  While he was not a long term player on the Cardinals, I like the cards that DeShields has as a member of the Cardinals.  There are a lot of action shots in here, along with some other curious facts and figures.  

First card goes in the curiosity pile. 

This is from the 1997 Circa set.  Always a really distinct looking group of cards.  I like the action shot of the second baseman, but that quote is pretty terrible.  Hitting .220, stealing 48 bases, that's not actually sound very good.  Sorry Tony LaRussa.  Usually the quotes on the fronts of these cards are pretty flattering, even the bad players in 1997 had nice quotes on the front.  I am not sure that pasting a quote about someone coming off of a .220 season is flattering.  

Perhaps someone at Fleer did not like players who wore double ear flaps.....

which can be found on many DeShields Cardinals cards.  Up until 2016, when Brayan Pena played 9 games as the team's reserve catcher, DeShields was the last Cardinals player to wear the double ear flaps.  They were sort of a fixture on the team growing up, I believe there were at least three Cardinals starters in the 1980s who wore them, but they disappeared in the early 2000s.  

This card is from the Topps Stars set in 1998.  All of the cards were serial numbered, many of them to ridiculous amounts like 9,000 or 4,000 copies.  Lots and lots and lots of cards.  

On to a trio of action shots.

First one is from the 1997 Fleer Ultra set.  Obviously a Spring Training game with a Tigers player in the background and DeShields wearing a batting practice jersey.  Great picture, I am not sure that DeShields is actually touching the Tigers player.  I think the photographer caught him mid fall, but he looks really graceful doing it.  

Also love the high socks on this card.  DeShields almost always wore his socks up, which was not a really trendy thing in the late 1990s when baseball uniform pants got long and baggy.  

Another nice action shot with fellow infielder Edgardo Alfonzo sliding into second base in Shea Stadium.  And the last DeShields action shot....

Do players even do this anymore?  I am almost sure that this practice is in decline, players come into the dugout regardless at the end of innings.  Maybe I am wrong.  I still like the picture.  

Last Cardinals card.  

Pacific made a ton of these cards in 1998 with the Cardinals players wearing the St. Louis Stars uniforms.  The team has done numerous throwback nights, but has not touched some of the team's Negro League history in a long time.  These are sharp looking uniforms, go check out the Fernando Tatis cards from last week too, there is a road version in that post.  

DeShields played another five years after leaving the Cardinals, splitting his time with the Orioles and Cubs.  He played 13 years in all and stole more than 400 bases.  There have been Delino DeShields cards made since he retired.....

which includes an autograph in the 2013 Topps Archives set.  DeShields has worked as a manager in the Reds Minor League system the past few years.  Next year, he will be working as the Reds first base coach.  He does not do the double ear flapped helmet while coaching.  

Cardinals From COMC Part 2

A few more random Cardinals cards from my latest COMC run.  I made my first post about this batch of cards last week, which were all filling various holes in my collection, whether they be apart of a complete set, team set, or just cool card of a favorite Cardinals player.  A few more cards in this post, which is more heavy with veteran players.

The cards in this post span a decade, from 1997 through 2007, so I am going to post them in sequential order by year.  First up.....

Three Cardinals cards out of the Pinnacle Totally Certified set.  The set ran off of colored parallels, with each color having a different print run.  This is still a really popular set, a sure fire favorite of collectors from the late 1990s.  I already have the complete run of Lankford's out of this set, along with one or two different colors from the three players shown above.  I should probably try to assemble a complete set of these cards, but for the moment I am sticking with putting together the Cardinals cards.  These are three sharp looking cards.  

Next up, a card from a set that I am trying to put together.  I have a ton of 1997 Topps and Topps Chrome cards.  The base sets are both complete and I am deep on several of the insert sets.  Working on finishing out those missing cards, I actually got some non-Cardinals cards in this lot, but Andy Benes was the only Cardinals insert that I was missing.

This Eckersley is here for the same reasons as the Andy Benes card, but it's from the 1998 Topps set.  This scan really mangled his hat for some reason.  Looks like one of those old man baseball hats with the rope looking piece going between the bill and body of the hat.  Eck is old on this card, but not that old.  Plus, nobody with hair like Eckersley would ever wear a hat like that, way too cool.  

This Cliff Politte card is a spillover from the first post.  I had several of the Cardinals from the 1998 Leaf Stars & Rookie set in that post, but somehow I missed this card.  My bad.  

This is a set that I own,  Always liked the Black Diamond sets.  I have several of the parallels from the Cardinals players, just trying to finish out the team set of parallel cards.  I will have to double check my accounting, but I believe this is the last card I was missing.  

Non-Cardinal card of a former Cardinals player, Preston Wilson was on the 2006 World Series winning team.  Not specifically collecting Preston Wilson, never minded him as a player and I like him on television, but I actually really liked the Fleer Mystique set back when it came out.  I have the base set assembled, but I am missing a few of the short printed rookie cards which are all serial numbered.  

I am actually a little disappointed by the printing around the serial numbers on this card.  They looked scratched, or something happened to them.  I looked at a few other cards that I have from this set, none of them.  I am going to overlook the scratching for the moment, maybe I will go back later and get a different copy.  

I am not a big fan of the Donruss Fan Club set.  It was a pretty cheap box back in 2002 and the cards seemed somewhat repetitive from the Donruss base set.  If you cut off the words Fan Club, this feels like the runner up design for the Donruss base set.  I do like So Taguchi however, so this was sort of a necessary evil.  2002 had a lot of serial numbered rookie cards, at the time I skipped a ton of them. Slight case of fatigue from chasing down Pujols rookie cards from the previous year combined with the fact that Taguchi spent his first year with the Cardinals in Triple A.  

So turned it around and eventually became a pretty useful player for the Cardinals in the mid 2000s.  He hit an important playoff home run off of Billy Wagner in the 2006 NLCS and also was always brutally honest about the mosquito problems at Busch Stadium.  

It's a serial numbered Ray Lankford, and it's not a difficult one to find.  This is not already in my collection?  Well, it was, but child #2 somehow get her hands on this card.  I still have it, but it's in pretty poor condition at this point.  

Two more.  

I did work on the 2005 Upper Deck Reflections set back in the day, but did not touch the 2004 product.  Both were generally the standard mid 2000s Upper Deck product, but the 2005 set had some really distinctive dual signature cards.  The 2004 set was rather boring autograph wise, mainly just a few rookies, not sure any of them are really highly sought after, or worth much.  

Back to the card.  I liked Renteria a lot in the mid 2000s, but I really slowed down on collecting his cards once he left the Cardinals for the Red Sox at the end of the 2004 season.  There are quite a few serial numbered cards from his later years in St. Louis that I just never took the time to find, they are all very affordable now.  

I really like the looks of this card.  An obvious Upper Deck card.  

Last one.  I did not touch the 2007 Topps Rookie 52 set.  Seemed repetitive.  I think I have an Edward Muijica autograph, since he was on the Cardinals, but that's about it.  Did you know that it has a Jim Edmonds card in it?  I didn't either, now I own one.  

2013 Topps Archives Delino DeShields Autograph

I saw the checklist for the 2013 Topps Archives set I knew I had to pick up a Delino DeShields autograph.  He's never had a certified autograph before this card and honestly he is such an interesting person to so many different fan bases.  Why would you not want a Delino DeShields autograph?  Maybe if your a Dodgers fan you could live without the memories of Delino DeShields.  So, besides having a cool name let's look at the card and some different motivations for owning an autograph of this former Major League second baseman.

2013 Topps Archives Delino DeShields Autograph

Montreal Expos Fans- I am always surprised at how many people collect Expos cards.  It's surprising that there are several out there, but I will admit, they are really cool cards to look at.  DeShields started his career north of the border with the Expos in the early 90s when they were bringing up players like Larry Walker, Marquis Grissom, and Wil Cordero.  Throw in a few nice veterans like Dennis Martinez and you have got a good team.  Of course, the best reason for loving DeShields is the fact that the team traded him to the Dodgers for a young Pedro Martinez.

Los Angeles Dodgers Fans- Read the last sentence of the Expos paragraph.  Let that soak in.  Every team has their bad trade.  This is the Dodgers.  Batting average under .250, OBP under .330, and an OPS under .700.  Yikes!

St. Louis Cardinals Fans-My reason for getting this autograph is that he actually put on the Birds on the Bat for a game.  Of course, while DeShields played terribly for the Dodgers he had two great years for the Cardinals.  Batting average in the .290s, OBP in the .360s, and an OPS over .800.  Add in the fact that he spent a year and half of his time in St. Louis getting on base in front of Mark McGwire.  Add all of that up and this is a pretty good card for any Cardinals collector.  Although I question him having the first five seconds of an En Vogue song played as his at-bat music for two years straight.  It still ranks as the all-time worst at-bat song in Cardinals history.

Baltimore Orioles Fans- As a resident of the middle Atlantic region I run into many Orioles fans in these parts.  I am often told the tale of their terrible owner.  First, he signed free agents that did not work out.  Then he went cheap.  DeShields was a free agent that did not work out.  In three seasons with the Orioles he played well for one season where the Orioles were terrible and was injured and below average the other two seasons.  Coincidently, the Orioles were terrible the two seasons that DeShields played poorly.  Orioles fans do not like to hear that.  

Chicago Cubs Fans-How do these types of players usually work out for the Cubs?  This was not any different.  DeShields was somewhere around the player that he was on the Dodgers and Orioles.  Not good.


Summary-DeShields was a solid Major League player who is remembered by many fans for having a cool name, wearing a double flapped batting helmet, and having terrible at-bat music (I am not letting it go).  If you were an Expos fans and Cardinals fan you probably remember DeShields helping out your teams with some good solid second base play for several seasons.  Throw in decent defense, a few stolen bases, and a Pedro Martinez trade.  Cubs, Orioles, and Dodgers fans....not so much.

Besides being a former Major League Baseball player, Delino DeShields also has extremely talented children.  Even if one of them is a Tar Heel.

Two More Cards Shops In The Lou

I usually try to hit three card shops in the St. Louis area when I return home, but this spring trip has been really busy and I have only been able to hit up two different stores.  I will plug my third store this summer perhaps. 


First Stop: The Sports Card Dugout In Webster Groves, Missouri

I actually lived a few miles from this store for a number of years and kind of consider it to be my home store.  Every store has it's strengths and the best part about the Dugout to me is the selection of wax.  The owner, Randy, does have a lot of singles and will definitly help with lists and singles.  However, like most stores in St. Louis the store is extremely baseball heavy and there are premiums placed on Cardinals players.  I don't often buy single cards from the Dugout, but when I do, I focus away from the Cardinals and get some great deals. 

So, now for my wax plug.  Again, it's baseball heavy, but if you need a box of football, basketball, or hockey it's going to be there, or the owner will help you find it.  The owner does two things to make the wax shine: knowledge of product and competitive pricing.  When a known product comes out it is usually a great day to visit the Dugout.  Randy, the owner, will often bust open several boxes (or a case) and isn't shy about sharing details and opinions about the product.  He will show you some good and some ugly, but he will keep you away from bad boxes and steer you towards the great ones.  The pricing is also really good.  It's not going to beat the mega-stores on-line, but for a local store nobody can touch him. 

I walked in the other afternoon and was happy to see the store.  He had four different lines of baseball wax in stock: Topps I, Topps Heritage, Topps Tribute, and Musuem Collection.  He talked me through each box of cards and gave me the run down of pros and cons.  I eventually decided on a box of Heritage.  I was told that the boxes this year had great collation, great design, and I would get some good parallels, a jersey or autograph, and a few inserts.  I know I have pretty much put together my set, but I went ahead and got the box. 

So how did I do?  In the twenty-four packs I had zero doubles, a few inserts, and eight short prints.  My highlights are pictured below:

Top Row (L-R) 1963 Topps Craig Andeson, Recollection, Chris Ianetta Chrome, Joey Votto Chrome, and Vance Worley Chrome

Bottom Row: Matt Kemp Reverse, Jacoby Ellsbury Jersey

Second Stop: Southtown Sluggers In Saint Louis, Missouri

This is a great little card shop located in the southeast suburbs of the city.  The main thing you need with this store is time.  If you walk into the store looking for something specific you are going to be disappointed.  The store owner, Dave, is really helpful and will work hard to find what you want, but you have to give it itme.  If you go in, decide you are going to spend forty-five minutes looking and have X amount of dollars to spend you are going to be very happy.  The store literally has something for eveyone.  Like vintage?  He's got it.  Like shiny and new?  He's got it.  Cheap, expensive, and everything in between.  I use this store to find single cards that are hard to find.  I generally try to find cards to add to my Ray Lankford collection, fill in from recent Cardinals sets, and just generally good deals.  I probably looked through eight or nine five thousand card boxes, two or three large notebooks of autographs, and two eight-hundred count boxes of mateials cards.  I set my budget at $10.  You read that right.  Here's what I got:  

Three Ray Lankford Parallels: 2000 Topps Stadium Club First Day Issue, 1997 Topps Gallery Players Private Issue, and a 2000 Topps Finest Refractor.  The first two are serial numbered.  

2009 Donruss Brian Friday Autograph  

2011 Topps Heritage Dan Johnson Jersey

3 Cardinals Inserts/Parallels - 2001 Fleer Genuine Jim Edmonds High Interest, 2007 Topps Juan Encarnacion Parallel, 2011 Topps ALlen & Ginter Matt Holliday Insert

1998 SPX Delino Deshields.  I was missing this card to complete my Cardinals team seat. 

1988 Topps Danny Cox autograph