Airbrushed Fridays: 1976 Topps Traded #208T

Probably not a blockbuster deal if it says: "...expected to see duty as a lefthanded pinch-hitter and late inning defensive replacement..."

Who is he? Mike Lum logged more than 4000 plate appearances in a 15 year Major League career, but all but just a few of those seasons were spent as a part-timer. Lum played all three outfield positions and a little bit of first base.

How did he get here? After 9 years with the Braves, Cincinnati acquired Lum in exchange for infielder Darrel Chaney. Lum arrived just in time to win a World Series ring with the Reds, though his playing time was severely cut.

Repeat offender? No

Other versions of this card: 1976 Topps #208

Airbrushed Score: 7

Comments: It may just be the top of his cap, but it glows. Man, it glows!

No Time, Some Hope

No time for new Topps when there are trades to document.

Dennis from Too Many Verlanders sent me a bunch of cards for a bunch of other cards as these transactions usually play out. If I'm not mistaken, this may well be the last trade package I received in 2013 that I haven't written about, so it's almost like I'm sort of caught up! Maybe.

Dennis hit up a number of my player collections, and was able to find several Jim Edmonds cards that I hadn't seen before. This one is weird, however. There's probably some sort of weird post-photography digital madness going on her to make this look more like a vintage Bowman card instead of something from 2002, but this definitely does not look like Jim Edmonds. It could be Jimmy, and it probably is Jimmy, but he looks very weird here.

Speaking of weird, we travel back in time to take a look at Matt Holliday as a fresh-out-of-college kid. This is the International parallel of his Bowman rookie card, which is another nice addition to my collection. This is the time to once again point out that anyone that I have a player collection of includes their years spent in other uniforms. I think this is a fairly normal thing, but I know some people have exceptions. In other words, since I don't have Albert Pujols listed as one of my "PC" guys, that means I don't want his Angels cards. I also don't want his Yankees cards after he gets released in a cost-cutting move and New York takes on a portion of his salary.

Oh, hi there, Ozzie! I guess I didn't realize/remember that the Topps All-Star Glossy Send-Ins lasted beyond the '80s and extended into the early '90s.

Finally, about half of the package of cards was comprised of Oregon Ducks football guys, which is great. I cannot get enough of those cards. Many of them go into the pot of cards to be used in future Good Luck Ducks posts, but the crown jewel of the deal cannot be ignored. This is a great looking jersey card, and had Joey's NFL career turned out a bit differently, it might have also been an expensive one. This is probably the time to say that if you're into football cards and you have a bunch of clunker hits lying around of guys like Harrington or Kellen Clemens or A.J. Feeley, I'm the guy you need to talk to if you want to get rid of them.

Introducing the 10 Most Wanted

Well, it's more of a need, you see.

I think it was Night Owl who posted the first sidebar list of most critical wants with a catchy name (Nebulous 9?) I'm not sure he invented the wheel or anything, but any good idea is an idea worth copying. For some reason, I waited something like four or five years to do it.

I now have a list of critical "most wants" in the form of my 10 Most Wanted list on the sidebar. I can't promise a fancy scoring system or your name in ultra bright lights on this blog, but anyone who comes through with a card from my 10 Most Wanted list will forever be in my good graces. Seriously.

So I didn't come up with a catchy name. It doesn't make it any less valid!

*Actual cash reward not valid in any country beginning with a letter or any place on Earth, really. Maybe in space. If you get me into space, we'll have to talk.

Gumming Up the Works

A package from Community Gum nets me one of the largest top loader to non-top loader ratio'd hauls I've ever received.

I have a thing for serial numbers. I've admitted this before. I use this a guideline to whether or not a card gets a top loader instead of a plain old binder page slot. I've also been known to use the $5 "book price" threshold. (I know, I know. Book price is for old people with hideous boils.) Not long ago, Jon of Community Gum blasted a hole through my top loader budget by sending me a fat stack of serial numbered goodies, many of which came from the all-serial madness Moments & Milestones line. And also, Fredbird!

First things first, because these are probably the best - I was also lucky enough to receive a couple of the thick die cut giveaway cards from the 2012 Topps Golden Giveaway. I was not lucky enough to win anything from that promotion, nor did I know such a thing was really even possible.

These things are nice and shiny, but stuck underneath a protective layer that begs to be peeled off. Even '90s Finest cards are frustrated with these. I have a really hard time permanently altering any card I want to keep, however, so the crumbly peeling "protection" piece stays... for now.

I though Spectrum was a pretty lousy set, but it did produce this lovely low numbered Jim Edmonds parallel. I need more Edmonds cards like this.

I still have a ways to go before my list of Matt Holliday cards is online. After thinking long and hard about it, I think I am going to stay with Zistle to catalog my single player collections. There's really nothing I feel capable of doing as far as my team collection want lists go, though, but I've taken the step of breaking up my Cardinals list into more manageable chunks. Expect to see improvements in these areas in 2014.

There's nothing that pops quite like a black refractor Chrome card, unless it's a blue refractor Chrome card. This looks great, and no scanner is going to be able to explain that.

Finally, as mentioned, the bulk of the package was a stack of Moments & Milestones, the not surprisingly short lived Topps product where every card was numbered at least three different ways. Crazy pants.

I almost left out Mr. Pujols. Hi, Mr. Pujols.

And Scott Rolen rounds out the group. This is probably the nicest looking M&M card of the lot.

Thanks again to Community Gum. Be sure to check out the case break they have cooking up.

Airbrushed Fridays: 2013 Topps Update Series #US23

A new year of Topps cards is nearly upon us, but last year left behind a lot of clunkers.

Who is he? Mike Olt was a sandwich pick in the 2010 draft who advanced aggressively through the Rangers system after starring at University of Connecticut.

How did he get here? The Rangers needed to bolster their pitching staff to make a run at the playoffs last season, acquiring Matt Garza for a slew of prospects. Olt was one of those prospects.

Repeat offender? No

Other versions of this card: 2013 Topps #87

Airbrushed Score: 10

Comments: There is no way Topps could have pulled the wool over our eyes with this one. Olt never suited up with the Cubs, spending the remainder of the season in the minors. Since he broke camp with another organization, this card is an exercise in pure fantasy.

Guilt-Free Basketball Card Club Sign-Ups (Free!)

Sign up now for the Cards on Cards Guilt-Free Basketball Card Club! The short version is, I want to get rid of NBA cards while continuing to buy (and not feel guilty about) the occasional pack or box. You pick a team, or a player, or whatever. If I've traded with you in the past, I'll just send stuff when I feel like it. If I haven't, you'll be accepted provisionally - just send me a few Cardinals, Blazers and/or something from my want lists to get the ball rolling.

Any questions? Let me know. Want to sign up? Do it here. Don't feel like commenting publicly or want to tell me a 3 page story about how Dwight Howard ruined your life? You can email me. It's cool.

[updated - 12/1/17]

Current Teams:

• Atlanta Hawks - dayf, Jeff Jones
• Boston Celtics - Mark Kaz, Mark Hoyle
• Brooklyn Nets - Cardboard History
• Charlotte Hornets - Cardboard Collections
• Chicago Bulls - Jafronius, Jon of Community Gum
• Cleveland Cavaliers - Tim H.
• Dallas Mavericks - Play at the Plate
• Denver Nuggets
• Detroit Pistons
• Golden State Warriors - Cardboard History
• Houston Rockets- Raz
• Indiana Pacers - Card Stacks Blog
• Los Angeles Clippers
• Los Angeles Lakers - Padrographs
• Memphis Grizzlies
• Miami Heat
• Milwaukee Bucks 
• Minnesota Timberwolves
• New Orleans Pelicans - The Junior Junkie
• New York Knicks - The Lost Collector, Card Papoy
• Oklahoma City Thunder
• Orlando Magic
• Philadelphia 76ers - Twitch
• Phoenix Suns
• Portland Trail Blazers - Backstop Cards
• Sacramento Kings - Condition Sensitive
• San Antonio Spurs - Cardboard Hogs
• Toronto Raptors - buckstorecards
• Utah Jazz - Bump and Run
• Washington Wizards - CaptKirk42

Former (Relocated) Teams:

• Cincinnati Royals - Cardboard Clubhouse
• New Orleans Jazz - The Junior Junkie
• San Diego Clippers - Baseball Card Breakdown

Specific Players:

• Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant, Grant Hill - Jon of Community Gum
• LeBron James - Tim H.
• David Robinson, Mark Price, Kyle Korver, Iowa State (Jeff Hornacek, Kelvin Cato, Fred Hoiberg, Victor Alexander, Marcus Fizer, Jeff Grayer, Jamaal Tinsley, Royce White, Dedric Willoughby, Loren Meyer, Jackson Vroman, Paul Shirley, Craig Brackins, Justus Thigpen, Will Blalock, Mike Taylor, Julius Michalik, Sam Mack), Jeremy Lin - Royals and Randoms
• Lawrence Moten, John Wallace, Syracuse - Classon Ave/Adventures in 1952 Topps
• Team USA - Play at the Plate
• Deandre Jordan, Rudy Gobert, Andre Drummond, Kenneth Faried, Tyson Chandler, Joakim Noah, Serge Ibaka, Earl Boykins, Andrei Kirilienko, Ben Wallace, Eric Murdock, Theo Ratliff, Michael Cage, Kevin Willis, Manute Bol, Dikembe Mutombo, Larry Smith, Charles Oakley, Buck Williams, Dennis Rodman, Mark Eaton, Shawn Bradley, Marcus Camby, Danny Manning, Donyell Marshall, Jayson Williams, Clint Capela - KO Rob
• Elton Brand - Cardboard History
• Jamal Murray - buckstorecards
• Malachi Richardson - The Lost Collector
• Tim Duncan, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Julius Erving, Dikembe Mutombo, Manute Bol, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Dirk Nowitzki, Bill Walton, T.J. Leaf - Baseball Card Breakdown

See this post for the background story.

Crackin' Holidays

For a good cause.

Crackin' Wax does a lot of good things for charity. Around the holidays, the blog did a special version of their Take My Cards giveaway to pass out a vast quantity of cards to people for a nominal donation. I snagged a bunch of Allen & Ginter cards for set filler purposes. I'm letting the recently retired Jason Bay represent that unremarkable lot. Hey, sometimes you gotta take commons where you can get them.

I also picked up a few choice Cardinals cards for the binders. Freese had just been traded, if I recall, or was at least well on his way out the door. As far as this set goes, it's claiming it's "2012 Prizm" but has 2012 stats on the back. That's annoying. Not as annoying as a logoless baseball set, but annoying nonetheless.

Preston Wilson's appearance here is a reminder of just how many base Chrome cards I still need for my Cardinals collection. Care to guess how many? I don't. It's a lot!

Here's one that puts the rest of the package to shame: a Trevor Rosenthal Bowman International card. I don't think it's actually Bowman International anymore, but I forget what they're calling these parallels now. He should be pitching in front of his state flag if I recall. Rosie is going to open the season as the closer even if Jason Motte is healthy, which I think is less an indictment of Motte's situation as it is tacit approval of the job Rosenthal did in the role late last year.

Up For Grabs Cardinalpalooza: Ozzie Smith

Previously on the Cardinalpalooza: Jim Edmonds | Adam Wainwright | Joe Torre | Scott Rolen | Willie McGee | Red Schoendienst | Enos Slaughter | Bruce Sutter | Albert Pujols | Ray Lankford | Mark McGwire | J.D. Drew | Colby Rasmus | Yadier Molina | Allen Craig | Stan Musial | Rick Ankiel

At long last, here's one last list of Cardinals cards that I need to get rid of. Said list follows at the end of this post, so get your scroll wheel warmed up.

It's no secret that Ozzie Smith is my all-time favorite player. This is one of those things that is harder to explain with each passing year, as he became my favorite sometime during my childhood for reasons that I can't exactly put my finger on.

I was originally a Yankees fan when I was still learning about the game of baseball, and an American League fan by default. My dad (and his dad) had a heavy hand in that. No matter how many times I tell this story, it comes out differently, so sometime around when the Royals and Cardinals were meeting in the World Series, I decided the following things: 1) The world isn't fair. 2) Those exciting guys in red are sure fun to watch. Ozzie just happened to be the most exciting of them, and he played shortstop -- that was my position.

When you're 7 to 12 years old, there's something to be said for a guy that does a backflip before he takes his position.

I don't want say that time has diminished my enthusiasm for the Wizard or that I'm reassessing my feelings about him. He was a great player who was a surefire Hall of Famer on defensive skills alone. This is no insignificant feat in an era where defensive metrics were largely unknown/underappreciated. (They still are.) I will always collect Ozzie Smith cards as long as I collect cards. He was my first player collection before I ever even considered collecting Cardinals cards as a whole.

The list:

1984 O-Pee-Chee #130 [2 available, 1 is lightly creased]
1984 Topps (All-Star) #389
1984 Topps All-Star Glossy #16
1985 O-Pee-Chee #191 [dinged corner]
1985 Topps #605
1985 Topps (All-Star) #715 [2 available]
1986 Donruss #59
1986 Donruss Pop-Ups [2 available]
1986 Leaf/Donruss #47
1986 Sportflics #121
1986 Topps #730 [5 available]
1986 Topps (All-Star) #704 [6 available]
1986 Topps All-Star Glossy #16
1987 Donruss (Diamond Kings) #5
1987 Fleer Award Winner #38
1987 Fleer Baseball All Stars #41
1987 Fleer Star Stickers #112
1987 Sportflics #142
1987 Sportflics (Tri-Stars w/ Hubie Brooks and Shawon Dunston) #79
1987 Topps #749 [7 available]
1987 Topps (All-Star) #598 [5 available]
1988 Donruss #263 [4 available]
1988 Donruss MVP #BC-22 [5 available]
1988 Donruss All-Stars #37
1988 Donruss All-Stars (Top Vote Getter) #63
1988 Donruss Pop-Ups
1988 Fleer #47 [2 available]
1988 Fleer Baseball All-Stars #39 [2 available]
1988 Fleer Star Stickers #120
1988 Score #12 [2 available]
1988 Topps #460 [7 available]
1988 Topps (All-Star) #400 [7 available]
1988 Topps All-Star Glossy #16 [2 available]
1988 Topps Kmart #28
1988 Topps Mini League Leaders #72
1988 Topps UK Minis #72
1989 Donruss #63 [10 available]
1989 Donruss MVP #BC-14 [12 available]
1989 Donruss All-Stars (Top Vote Getter) #62
1989 Fleer #463 [6 available]
1989 Score #80 [3 available]
1989 Topps #230 [13 available]
1989 Topps (All-Star) #389 [11 available]
1989 Topps All-Star Glossy #16 [4 available]
1989 Upper Deck #265 [2 available]
1989 Upper Deck (Team Checklist) #674
1990 Bowman #195 [2 available]
1990 CMC Collect-A-Books #5
1990 Donruss #201 [13 available]
1990 Donruss (All-Star ERR "Recent Game Performance") #710 [2 available]
1990 Donruss (All-Star COR "All-Star Game Performance") #710 [23 available]
1990 Fleer #260 [11 available]
1990 Leaf #142
1990 Post #6
1990 Score #285 [2 available]
1990 Topps #590 [5 available]
1990 Topps (All-Star) #400 [3 available]
1990 Topps Kmart #4 [6 available]
1990 Upper Deck #225 [6 available]
1990 U.S. Playing Card Co
1991 Donruss #240 [20 available]
1991 Donruss (All-Star) #437 [6 available]
1991 Fleer #646
1991 Fleer Ultra #296
1991 Leaf #80 [3 available]
1991 Score #825 [4 available]
1991 Studio #238
1991 Topps #130 [3 available]
1991 Upper Deck #162 [5 available]
1992 Classic II #T26
1992 Confex The Baseball Enquirer #29
1992 Donruss #432
1992 Donruss (All-Star) #423
1992 Donruss McDonald's #26
1992 Donruss Triple Play #244 [2 available]
1992 Fleer #592 [3 available]
1992 Fleer Ultra #271 [4 available]
1992 Leaf #400
1992 Leaf Black Gold #400
1992 O-Pee-Chee Premier #84 [2 available]
1992 Pinnacle #6 [2 available]
1992 Score #590
1992 Topps #760 [4 available]
1992 Topps Stadium Club #680 [3 available]
1992 Upper Deck #177 [6 available]
1992 Upper Deck (Diamond Skills) #716 [2 available]
1993 Bowman #460
1993 Donruss #520
1993 Fleer Diamond Tribute #8
1993 Fleer Flair #128
1993 Fleer Ultra #113
1993 Leaf #328
1993 Score (Dream Team) #532
1993 Score Select #15 [4 available]
1993 Studio #217
1993 Topps #40 [2 available]
1993 Topps Black Gold #20
1993 Triple Play Nicknames #9
1993 Upper Deck #146 [5 available]
1993 Upper Deck Iooss Collection #WI7
1994 Donruss Triple Play #66 [2 available]
1994 Fleer #646
1994 Pacific #604
1994 Pinnacle #389 [2 available]
1994 Score #384
1994 Topps #320 [2 available]
1994 Topps Stadium Club #417 [2 available]
1994 Topps Stadium Club (Career Leaders) #541 [2 available]
1994 Upper Deck Collector's Choice #545 [2 available]
1994 Upper Deck Collector's Choice (Team Checklist) #334
1995 Emotion #183
1995 Leaf Great Gloves #13
1995 Sportflix #108
1995 Topps #347 [4 available]
1995 Topps D3 #58
1995 Topps Stadium Club #65
1995 Upper Deck Collector's Choice Special Edition #75 [2 available]
1996 Metal Universe #229
1996 Pinnacle Denny's #20
1996 Pinnacle Zenith #2
1996 Topps #301
1996 Upper Deck (Best of a Generation) #386
1996 Upper Deck SP #155
1997 Donruss #231 [2 available]
1997 Donruss Elite #125 [2 available]
1997 Fleer Ultra #276
1997 Leaf #152
1997 Upper Deck Collector's Choice Stick Um's #1
1999 Upper Deck Retro #95
2002 Topps Archives ('87) #153
2002 Upper Deck World Series Heroes #23 [3 available]
2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites #10
2003 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Classic #65
2004 Fleer Greats #143
2005 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts #59
2007 Upper Deck Masterpieces #19
2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes #124
2008 Upper Deck Masterpiecs #83 [5 available]
2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Mini #56
2010 Topps Cards Your Mom Threw Out #CMT100
2010 Topps Peak Performance #PP-80
2010 Topps Vintage Legends #VLC9 [3 available]
2011 Topps 60 Years of Topps #60YOT-95
2011 Topps Gypsy Queen #99 [3 available]
2011 Topps Lineage #141
2012 Topps Archives #142
2013 Topps Archives #70 [3 available]

Plain White E's

I received a few letters in the mail. The letters contained sports cards. These are their stories.

Newish blog View from the SkyBox put out a call for mailing addresses around the holidays, and I was happy to provide one. I received a nice little Forever stamp's worth of Cardinals cards, my favorite of which is this Smilin' Sonny Siebert card. I had the mini version, but I am not sure if I had the regular version. And now I certainly do. Worth noting: View from the SkyBox is putting on a huge charity group break to help benefit victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. My budget is unfortunately very tiny at the moment, but it sounds like a great cause and is worth checking out.

Friend of the blog The Junior Junkie recently celebrated, who else, but Junior himself by sending out some cards to those who were paying attention. I snagged this slick Stan Musial insert along with a couple of cards that will go into the trade bait vaults.

Finally, I got a pair of Making Their Mark inserts from Thorzul Will Rule as part of his annual Trade Me Anything feature.

Interestingly enough, even though I participate every year, I kind of forgot that one of the points of the whole thing is to trade off some of that excess Topps Update set. If anyone out there is still working on 2013 Topps Update (especially the base set), drop me a line or whatever the electronic equivalent of that phrase is.

Phungo Pack Break 2013

The (not-so) new year's first pack break.

I haven't been bustin' packs and crackin' wax so much lately, so it was nice to see a well-constructed pack arrived to me by snail mail. Phungo packs always seem to be suspiciously tailored towards my collecting habits, but I'm not one to complain. That company called Topps likes to stack my packs full of guys like Alex Rodriguez and Rickie Weeks, so I was bound to catch a break. The new design for 2014 is already out, by the way.

3 - Jaime Garcia (2012 Topps Gold Sparkle) - I unfortunately scanned this one too close to the pack wrapper, so it came out all blurry because lasers or something.

150 - Ryan Ludwick (2010 Topps 206 Piedmont Mini) - I wonder if there will be a new retro set this year from Topps. They did 206 for 2 years, National Chicle for 1 and Gypsy Queen has had a 3 year run. I'm not huge fans of any of those, but I'd have to say that the 2010 Topps 206 set had the cleanest design.

US93 - Adam Wainwright (2013 Topps Update) - I'm still mad about this game. The NL team played like absolute garbage as the offense was virtually shut down. The game was boring. And Wainwright didn't even pitch, because he had started just a couple of days before the game. A certain team I like could have used the home field advantage.

510 - Ryan Ludwick (2009 Topps Gold 0043/2009) - Lots of gold in this pack!

536 - Khalil Greene (2009 Topps Gold 1646/2009) - I wasn't able to find out much about whatever became of Khalil Greene, who reportedly struggled with Social Anxiety Disorder. I saw him play with the Portland Beavers and was excited when the Cardinals brought him aboard, but it wasn't meant to be.

429 - Skip Schumaker (2011 Topps Gold 1586/2011) - Cardinals legend Mike Shannon recently re-upped to continue on as the radio voice of the Cards. I miss him talking about the "Schu Man", even though Schumaker's performance on the field is fairly replaceable.

212 - Jim Edmonds (2006 Topps Allen & Ginter's) - Yeah! Great player in the modern debut of a great set.

19 - Carlos Beltran - Here we get into the meat of the Phungo cards.

41 - Scott Rolen - I don't think Rolen has retired yet, but it seems like the announcement is looming.

62 - Jose Molina - Ahh! I feel like I narrowly missed out on a Molina brother that I collect.

Halladay vs. Holliday - Here's one of those special black framed inserts that the kids are always talking about. I wonder if Phungo got any shots of Roy in what proved to be the final season of his career. I guess I'll have to wait until I get to open a 2014 Phungo pack.

43 - Adam Wainwright (2013 Topps Chrome Orange Refractor) - Well, this is glorious.

477 - Yadier Molina (2013 Topps Heritage Black Retail) - Let's just pretend that's not a piece of hair that got stuck to the scanner tray.

54 - Jaime Garcia (2013 Topps Target Red) - I'm crossing my fingers that Jaime will be able to bounce back this season from some more bad luck with injuries.
 

21 - Yadier Molina - I didn't miss out on Yadi after all!