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.  

47 To Go

I picked up two more cards for my 1952 Red Man Tobacco set project over the past weeks. No big names, but this is a small set, so every card helps. Plus, it's fun to learn more about the 1950s players as I go through and find their cards.  

First up, three time World Series winner Murry Dickson.  

The Missouri native (Kansas City area) actually started his career with the Cardinals and won two World Series playing along side Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst as an spot starter and long reliever early in his career, but would end up being a mainstay of the rotation by the mid 1940s. Dickson started two World Series games for the Cardinals in 1946 when they defeated the Red Sox. 

He spent the middle part of his career on the Pirates where he led the National League in losses three years in a row, but also made the All-Star team and had an ERA in the 3s. I looked around the 1952 Pirates Baseball Reference page and found the team hit .231 and had a .331 slugging percentage. If Ralph Kiner did not hit a home run, they did not score.  

Hard to win that way.

His career ended in the late 1950s with the Yankees where he won a third World Series ring.  

This card is in good condition outside of the corners, which are worn. It's hard being a 70 year-old piece of cardboard. 

 

My first American League card out of the Red Man Tobacco set is Tigers outfielder and first baseman Vic Wertz. As the card describes, Wertz was a very good hitter, lots of home runs, doubles, and RBIs. He played in a bunch of All-Star Games over his career, but is more a Hall of Very Good Player than Hall of Fame.  Wertz ended up getting traded at the end of the 1952 season to the Browns where he was on their final team in St. Louis and their first team as the Baltimore Orioles. He also played for the Indians and Red Sox before ending up back on the Tigers at the end of his career.  

I need 47 more cards.....

National League 

5. Murry Dickson 

16. Stan Musial 

19. Al Schoendienst 

23. Eddie Stanky 

American League 

22. Vic Wertz 

Friday Five: Top Five Archives Autographs

Topps Archives base set is horrible. 

What is the point of releasing a Topps Heritage set every year, which borrows the design of a previous Topps set, when Archives does the same thing? 

Maybe the question should be why is Topps releasing Archives every year? 

Both products have some positives. I like the Heritage base set better than the Archives, but I like the autograph checklist of Archives much better. With the release of a new Topps Archives set this week, I thought I would take a look back at my five favorite Topps Archives autographs. The autographs after all are the only reason to purchase this annual Topps release.  

This was actually a challenging list to create. I could easily go Top 20 here and still make a good list. Narrowing the list down to my five favorites took some work.  

T5. 2020 Topps Archives Felix Jose 

Felix Jose is a symbolic choice here. I could have picked Joe McEwing or Edgar Renteria or George Hendrick, but I thought Felix was perfect for this post. I try to collect as many certified autographs of Cardinals players as possible and I never thought Felix Jose would be on that list. If you are not familiar with Felix, he came up in the late 1980s with the Oakland Athletics, but was traded to the Cardinals for Willie McGee. That's a tough act to follow in St. Louis and all Felix did was hit .305 with 40 doubles during his first season with the Cardinals. He was eventually traded to the Royals for Gregg Jefferies, but getting this card made me take a few minutes to look back at his career numbers on Baseball Reference and appreciate the time he spent with the Cardinals. Every once in awhile Topps gets something right, Felix Jose signing cards 25 years after he retired is incredible.  

T5. 2020 Topps Archives Tom Pagnozzi 

This is another symbolic choice. I could have gone with a low-key very good player from your favorite team too. Here is a trivia question. Between 1991 and 2020 how many of the National League Gold Gloves at catcher were won by Cardinals players? The answer is 15 or half of the Gold Gloves at one position. Molina won 9, Mike Matheny won 3, and this guy Tom Pagnozzi won the other 3.  Who remembers stuff like that? Topps Archives. Tom Pagnozzi also was the Game 7 starting catcher in the 1987 World Series and also caused Uber prospect Todd Zeile (sounds funny now) to move to third base.  He's not a Hall of Famer or anything, but still a really good player and I am happy to own his autograph.  

 

4. 2001 Topps Archives Mickey Lolich Autograph 

I started collecting the current Durham Bulls players the year that I moved to North Carolina. They have had plenty of top prospects on their roster over the past two decades and there has always been an abundance of modern autographs that has made them easy to collect. I did not start collecting the old former Bulls players until I started blogging about my cards, roughly a decade ago. The autographs are a little harder to find, but I was really happy to land this 2001 Topps Archives Lolich card. I loved the 2001 Archives set, which has a little different format than the current rendition of the set and a much better autograph checklist. However, those autographs are also largely off the secondary market at this point save for a few really common cards that were signed in huge numbers. Lolich is not one of those, making this my tough to find autograph on this list. Lolich also has a better Hall of Fame argument than most realize.  

3. 2012 Topps Archives Jose Oquendo 

Nicknamed "The Secret Weapon" you never knew where Jose Oquendo was going to play for the Cardinals when you watched one of their games in the late 1980s. He eventually settled into being the second baseman next to Ozzie Smith, but for several years he played all over the infield and outfield. Topps did something incredible with Oquendo's 2012 autograph by creating 9 different variations of the card, one for each position on the field. These cards were a project a few years back, but I lost track of it and stopped trying to track them down. Topps can be creative when they try. It's all about the effort.  

2. 2016 Topps Archives Robert Wuhl Autograph 

Topps has done several pop culture insert sets over the past decade within their Archives product. The 2016 Bull Durham movie cards were obviously my favorite. I never shelled out the money for a Tim Robbins or Kevin Costner autograph, but Robert Wuhl was in my price range. The long-time actor plays the Bulls pitching coach Larry Hockett in the movie and has some of my favorite lines in the movie, including his pep talk to the team while they are on the mound airing out all the drama that is occurring in their lives.  

Candlesticks always make a nice gift, let's get two.  

In fact, I have two copies of the card.  

1. 2013 Topps Archives Ray Lankford Autograph 

Ray Lankford last played for the Cardinals in 2004. During that entire season, the only card made of him was in MLB Showdown. No Topps, Fleer, Upper Deck, or Donruss cards at all.  Nobody made a card of him in 2005 either. It took almost another decade to get a brand new Ray Lankford card, which appeared in the 2013 Topps Archives autograph set. No base card. I was still really excited to see this card and pick up a copy for the collection.  

Friday Five: My Favorite Miggy Cards

I do not write about the Tigers often on this blog, but they have long been a team on my radar. My wife is a Michigan native, so my in-laws are all big Tigers fans. My middle schooler likes the Tigers (not you Javy Baez) and will watch their games. I have been fortunate enough to attend a few Tigers games over the years. They have a great stadium if you are ever in Detroit. 

The last Tigers game I attended was two summers ago and I was fortunate enough to see Miguel Cabrera one last time in person. I knew it was likely going to be the last time, so I took a few pictures......

In the end, Miggy walked off the Twins on an odd single that landed between the centerfielder and the shortstop. The Twins had actually been really aggressive with pinch hitting and had Nick Gordon, normally a second baseman or shortstop, playing in centerfield.  

On to the cards. I think I have a sneaky good collection of Miggy cards, so I thought it would be fun to do one of my Friday posts featuring some of my favorites of the future Hall of Famer.  

5. 2013 Topps Miguel Cabrera Triple Crown Relic 

Not sure where winning the Triple Crown ranks on Miggy's list of career accomplishments, but it feels like it should be up there. I also feel like it rarely gets mentioned when people talk about his career. I watched his last few games, not sure it really got brought up. Maybe the accomplishment has lost some of its luster in recent years with the push on using sabermetric stats. Do people really talk about batting average anymore? 

I love this card. It's die-cut, has a nice action picture of Miggy with a swatch of his jersey, and is better than anything else I have seen that recognizes him as a former Triple Crown winner. These have gotten pricey and hard to find over the last decade.  

T4. 2011 Triple Threads Miguel Cabrera Patch Card 

Two relic cards in a post is my limit in the year 2023. I do not really do relic cards, but this one is too good to not post on my list. I went all in on the 2011 Triple Threads set and have some great looking cards from this product. I could easily make a few posts on some of the cards. This is one of my favorites. 

I have never really tried to figure out all the patch pieces on here, but there is a lot of blue and orange. I think it's the Detroit script off of a road Tigers uniform, as the home uniforms do not have any orange..... 

The patch piece on the LL of the card is white, orange, and then a partial piece of blue. Looks similar to the top of Ts in the word "Detroit" on the road uniforms. 

T4. 2011 Triple Threads Miguel Cabrera Autograph 

I will fudge on the five card thing a bit in this post and go ahead and share one of the Triple Threads autographs I have of Miggy from the 2011 set while we are here. Yes, it's a sticker autograph, but it's a clear sticker on a really great looking card. 

3. 2012 Topps Five Star Miguel Cabrera Autograph 

I love Five Star. I don't open any packs of it, because they cost a second mortgage on your house. I just like when people sell their autographs that do not make them a profit on their $250 box of cards. You pulled a Miguel Cabrera autograph and need to sell it? I am listening.  

I have several Miguel Cabrera autographs that are not going to be included in this list. They are all really great cards that I am sure the average sane collector would love to have in their collection. This is my favorite Miggy autograph and it's the last one on this list. This Five Star is an on-card autograph and has really thick card stock. Yes, it's got a jersey and some art work, that's kind of an afterthought here. I wish I could scan the side of the card to show off the stock, it's impressive.  

2. 2001 Bowman Heritage Miguel Cabrera 

Huge fan of the 2001 Bowman Heritage set. Have a ever told you about how much I love the Albert Pujols card in this set? I don't love Miggy that much, but it's close. Is this considered a rookie card? I treat it like it's a rookie card. It's in a magnetic one-touch and everything. This is a great looking card and aesthetically probably my favorite card of Miguel Cabrera on the Marlins. 

1. 2000 Topps Traded Miguel Cabrera 

The 2000 Topps set is trash, but the Traded set is pretty nice. You've got rookie cards of Adam Wainwright, Ben Sheets, and Miguel Cabrera. That's more checklist depth than the 1982 Topps Traded set. If I had to make a list of the most important 2000s rookie cards, this Miguel Cabrera would be really high on the list. Great card. First ballot Hall of Famer wearing a teal Marlins uni, not sure how it gets better than that.  

The Never-Ending School Year and Retail Baseball Cards

My last school year ended midday on a Thursday afternoon last month. It was my last day at the school I have worked at for the past ten years. It was time for something different and new challenges. More importantly, something a little closer to my house. 

After moving a minivan load of books over to my new school, I went home to start my summer vacation. I was really tired at the end of the day, so I think I ended up going to bed around 9. A few hours later my alarm went off. I woke up, took a shower and got dressed, and drove into work. 

It was Friday. The first day of my new school year and my new school.  

My summer vacation was measured in hours this year rather than days or weeks. My last actual vacation day was on April 14th, which is a long time ago for someone who has worked the same schedule for the past 15 years. I teach for roughly nine weeks starting at the end of July and take three weeks off at the end. Multiply the schedule times four and you've got a complete school year.  

I am about to enter my fifth straight month of teaching with no significant break, which is a lot in my world. Even if you are on a traditional calendar, it's only four months between the beginning of the first day and Thanksgiving break.  

It has been a long time.    

There are a lot of little things I have been doing to cope with the extended workload. I have been trying to get more sleep, packing some good lunches, and getting extra fresh air. In addition, I have also been trying to be intentional about setting aside time to work on my baseball cards. Some of that time has been spent sorting out cards......

I am mostly trying to organize my single cards that are not attached to a set, or find the last few cards needed to complete some of the more recent near-sets that I have assembled. I have also been working on building a few new sets, and also opening up some retail packs. My most recent goal has been to complete the Topps Series 2 set.  It feels like a throwback to childhood when I bought a few packs of cards and spent a chunk of the spring and summer trying to assemble a complete set of Topps cards. 

I have been helped out along the way by a few Target gift cards which I received at the end of last year. It also doesn't hurt that my new school is located in the middle of a large retail area. Think of a large box store and there is probably one within five to ten minutes of my classroom.  

Here are two of the retail blaster boxes that I have picked up over the past few months.  

 

I thought I would share out a few of my favorite cards I picked up along the way.  

I had originally set out to collect Topps Series 2 with retail packs slowly over the first quarter of the year. I reached the goal in half a quarter, but was greatly aided by having two students at my previous school gift me retail blasters on the way out the door.  I used my gift certificates to buy two more Series 2 retail boxes. I have purchased one Topps Series 2 Blaster with my own money.  

Five boxes of Topps Series 2, one small COMC order, and I am done.  

My favorite card out of the base set is the Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina combo card. 

They have only been playing together since 2006. Not sure why it took this long for Wainwright and Molina to appear on a baseball card together before this year. I know I am really bias, but I hate that there is a checklist on the back. 

Yes, Blake Snell is card 414, but give me some information about Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright. If nothing else, just give me a photo of the Carlos Beltran strikeout at the end of the 2006 National League Championship Series.  

Moving on.

The Topps Series 2 boxes all come with a batting helmet card. They look a lot like the 2007 Sweet Spot autograph cards, but the helmet is made out of metal rather than plastic.  I pulled two different Cubs batting helmets.  

These are actually really nice for manufactured relics. There is a Goldschmidt and Arenado card in this set, so I am going to go ahead and add those to my Ebay watch list. They will be sitting there until I can find them for a few dollars.  

I also pulled a Joey Votto Home Field Advantage card.  

I love the plate of chili in the bottom corner. I don't eat chili, but it's the sort of local food reference that Topps should have put onto the Yadier Molina card. I needed some toasted raviolis or cans of mass-produced beer.  

More cards, but only the highlights.    

I bought a few packs of Donruss. Please, do not repeat my mistake. They are terrible, but I did get a Matt Manning autograph. If Matt Manning's arm does not fall off, I think he will be a good pitcher. Unfortunately, Matt Manning's arm is half-way off already.  

That's quite the signature.  

I also bought a few packs of Topps Gallery.  

This set is not nearly as good as it was in the 1990s, but I did land an autograph of Giants catching prospect Joey Bart. Pretty good pull for a retail pack of cards.  

Next up, a box of USA Baseball cards. I do not love the regular MLB cards of Panini, but ruining the USA Baseball card set is too far.  

Athlete Development Program?

National Team Development Program?  

What happened to the College National Team?  

According to the internet, the guy on the left is a freshman in high school. Not college, high school. Pretty wild having baseball cards, but not being able to drive.  The guy on the right is a senior in high school and committed to play college baseball at Alabama. At least he can drive himself to school.  

My two relic cards.

Yes, they are both in high school as well. 

The player on the left is a sophomore in high school.  

The player on the right is a junior in high school and committed to play at UCLA in college.  

Still wild to think that Panini is making baseball cards of high school kids.  

In ten years, one of these guys is going to be working an office job and give out his Panini baseball cards rather than a business card. 

Did I mention that my new classroom has a view of a Walgreens?

It came in handy the one day. Horrible headache. I just walked across the street and picked up some Advil and a few packs of Gypsy Queen. Felt much better afterwards.  

Gypsy Queen was decent. Similar to Gallery, this product has seen better days. I pulled a Jose Devers autograph out of a pack. Any retail autograph is a win.  

That brings me to my last retail product, which is easily the best.  

This is from the 2021 Topps Chrome Anniversary set. Which was it released in the middle of 2022?  I don't know. Do we need another set that borrows the design from the 1952 Topps set? Yes, we do if this is what the cards are going to look like.  

Here are my shiny, wavy, and colored cards I pulled out of my box.  

This is where my post veers from a bunch of cards that I pulled out of retail packs and into a future project.  

I really like this set and had contemplated printing off a checklist and tracking down all the cards. However, it has 700 cards and feels like it would take a ton of time and money to assemble. Instead, I am going to track down some of the Cardinals and Durham Bulls players in the set.  

My first former Bulls player arrived in the mail a few days back...... 

The autographs are not exactly cheap, but there are only three Cardinals and three Rays autographs. Well, I am now down to two Rays autographs. I think that Dylan Carlson and Scott Rolen are the two most difficult and expensive.  

Anyway, that was a fun post on retail baseball cards. I still have a few more weeks until I get a few weeks off. Maybe there will be another retail baseball card post or two along the way.