Giant Trade

A huge box of goodies arrived in my mailbox earlier this month from ARPSmith's Sportscard Obsession. While I had promised to send him "all of the Giants" or something close to that, I think I fell a bit short on my end. I'm still hopeful he found some of the stuff useful, as it was doing me no good to hang on to it.

This was the first pure Cardinals package I'd received in quite awhile. I am always working on various sets and sometimes I get cards from said sets, but with this trade I saw nothing but dudes on my favorite team. Not bad.

I may have got an entire team set of this 2002 Donruss Fan Club "Best Of" set. I had never seen these before, and they are the exact kind of card that doesn't scan well at all.

Who knew that Pete Kozma would suddenly become the Cardinals every day shortstop? I'm sure Jeff Luhnow was thinking that was a real possibility back in 2007 when he was drafted, but Luhnow is in Houston and Kozma hasn't proven to be very effective at anything in the minors. Yet, somehow Ryan Jackson's backup in Memphis this season is starting everyday in place of Furcal even with Jackson on the big league roster. He's getting some hits, too.

I don't really go for the unlicensed MLB-ish stuff, which is why you won't see Goodwin Champions on my want list any longer in the post-licensed era of Upper Deck. However, that doesn't mean I don't like to get these in trades. I just consider them oddballs in a way.

Go crazy folks! This isn't just a garden variety Ozzie mini, it's a Gypsy Queen back. You'll, er, have to trust me on that one.

Here's a much needed varation of the Colby Rasmus Topps 206 rookie card where he tries not to look too interested in much of anything.

They didn't leave much space for a photo on this card.

I got a pair of Bowman flashback style Shelby Miller cards. Miller was called up late in the season and so far has played the role of a low leverage reliever and potential long man.

Miller had a really rough first half to his season but seemed to straighten things out later in the summer. Hopefully he will be a staple in the rotation for years to come.

I don't think I have any of these white serial numbered parallels from the 2008 Opening Day set. I couldn't have even told you what they looked like before I received this card. It's kind of weird seeing the 2008 base design without the circles.

I actually liked the Topps Unique set, which made its lone appearance in 2009. I did have a bit of luck with it in a group break once upon a time, so there's that.

Here's one of those Yer Mom cards that I didn't already have. I'm actually still missing a ton of these, which is sad for a 2010 Topps product.

Finally, there were some nice bat cards in the box. Bat cards are still worth something, right? Or has everyone lost confidence in their authenticity as well? Personally, I always found bat carts to be a bit more fun as they seem to be a little more scarce.

There was also a pair of 2004 Bazooka Blasts bat cards, this one featuring Scott Rolen. I think it's awesome that Rolen is still in the league. I just wish he didn't play for those dreaded Reds.

So Taguchi retired from professional baseball this year at the end of July at age 43. I can always say that I his first MLB game in person, even though the game itself was very forgettable and So's presence in the lineup meant that I was denied seeing Jim Edmonds on the field. (I never got to see Edmonds play unless you count minor league games that occurred before I really knew who he was.)