Famous Last Words

I stopped by my local card shop a few days back. The shop had moved across the parking lot to a larger storefront a few weeks back and I was excited to see the new digs. Needless to say, it did not disappoint. I probably should have taken some photos inside the shop, but my mind was on cards.  

Here are the latest pickups at Triangle Area Trading Cards.  

First up......

You see a great card from your childhood and it's cheap, it's really hard to pass up. The card is off center and there is some chipping on the edges, but this is a great card. Could not pass it up.  I need to post my first Rickey Henderson rookie on here one of these days, because it's a really good story from my childhood.  

Luken Baker has hit a ton of home runs the last two years with the Cardinals Triple A team. They've left him in the Minors most of the time, given the Cardinals track record, it's only a matter of time until Baker is a really good player on some other team.  Decent autograph, cheap card. Go team.  

I spent some time in Michigan this summer, which included watching a decent number of Tigers games. I had been meaning to pick up a Reese Olson card all summer long, but never got around to it.  He's a really impressive young pitcher, think this will be a good pickup in the long-term.  

An old Archives autograph for cheap. Yes, please.  

A newer Archives autograph for cheap. Yes, please.  

Esteban played for the Durham Bulls a few years back.  He's spent most of his career playing in Mexico, but spent time in the Minors with the Red Sox, Rays, and Phillies with a cup of coffee in the Majors with the Cubs. Lovable player, spark plug type. I am glad that someone gave him a baseball card and had him sign a few autographs.  

Zack Gelof is having a terrible year, but I still like him. I saw him play in college while he was at the University of Virginia. He was also on my fantasy baseball team last year. Let's hope for a better 2025.  

Next up, Luis Arraez. I loved the Silver Slugger cards when Topps made them back in the early 2010s, this one is not as thick, but still a really nice card. Serial numbered to just 10 copies, but it's on the back.  Sorry, no back scans today.  

A little bit quicker......

Masyn Winn, Junior Caminero Finest RC, and a cool Taj Bradley Chrome parallel.  

Cal Raleigh RC, Willy Adames RC, and another Masyn Winn.  

Shiny Big Mac, Xavier Issac should be the Durham Bulls first baseman next year, and a Jordan Walker.  

Shiny cards of Yordan Alvarez, Willson Contreras, and a Satchell Paige with the Browns.  

Last, let me tell you about the blaster box I bought. I saw the 2024 Donruss packs and boxes at the counter, decided why not. Let's try a few packs. Ninety-nine percent of the box was terrible and I am not going to waste my time scanning the cards, nor waste your time reading about the terrible cards. 

It was the last thing I said as I was checking out. "Let me get a box of 2024 Donurss"

Famous last words and it turns out that 1% of the box was pretty spectacular.  

Some Minor Cards

It's been really hard to watch the Cardinals this season.  The pitching has been a bit of a disappointment.  The offense has been a bit of a disappointment.  Yes, they are 2 games out of first, but it is just simply because all the other teams in the N.L. Central are also bad.  All the badness makes it difficult to look at Cardinals cards.

I have not touched anything in Pro Debut, so I decided to work on finding a few Cardinals cards from the set.  These are not the Cardinals players that have been disappointing me on a seemingly nightly basis.  I am looking at you Kolten Wong.

I found three new cards.  

This is the best of the three cards.  Nolan Gorman was their first round pick last year (2018) and has hit throughout his first year in the Minors.  I am not sure if he is rated as the Cardinals best prospect, but if he is not he will be soon.  His autographs been a little pricy at times, but this one is reasonable.  I have been trying to slowly add a few of his cards, but price is a bit of a factor at this point.

Not sure about Elehuris.  People are crazy about him.  He's only 20.  He's hit everywhere he has played prior to this season.  Elehuris has been injured most of this season, but he's already on the Cardinals Double A team in Springfield.  His Bowman cards have been crazy expensive, but this one was less than $10.  Seems like a good risk.

Last one.

I saw Luken Baker play for the USA Baseball College National Team.  He has a lot of power, and also has a lot of injuries.  Really cheap card, if nothing else I picked up an autograph of a player I watched in person.  If he makes it to the Majors, I will be pleasantly surprised.