The Night Owl Express

Another smooth @nightowlcards delivery. 

 

Hall of Fame blogger Night Owl Cards has sent me many, many envelopes of things over the years. The cards we're looking at today came over here back in November, as I slowly but surely catch up on a few stacks of cards that have been sitting around somewhat neglected.

The number of Topps Sapphire cards in my collection is very low, since I don't usually go after fancy versions of base cards that tend to cost more than a pack itself. I do seriously appreciate getting these in trades, though, since they're not something I'm typically going to find in a quarter box at a card show.

A whole Cardinals set with pink borders would be an interesting looking thing. The team would need to be decked out in red to really make it pop, of course.

This sure is vibrant! I am willing to bet that I have more Dylan Carlson cards with an RC logo on them than cards of many of the team's stars from the '80s. Of course, I still probably need hundreds more of them.

Noooooooooooooot! That is all.

There were a couple of cards of the retired Cardinals legend. I've always had a weird affinity towards the 2002 Victory set. I wouldn't mind opening a box someday, if that's even possible. It feels like most older unopened stuff either ended up some hoarder's basement or was opened during the pandemic.

The rainbow foil effect gives this All-Star flashback card from 2020 Topps Update a bit of a shine.

Night Owl also sent a pile of Allen & Ginter needs, as is customary. Here's a couple of non-baseball athletes on the mini black border design from way back in 2010.

The bulk of the rest of the cards came from the 2021 Ginter set. I've relied heavily on others to put together this set as well as the 2022 set. For some reason, when it's not released in summer, my enthusiasm for opening A&G blasters really tends to wane. Will this be the year that the manufacturing delays finally start to subside?

Like most baseball fans, my first recollection of Edgar Renteria was his heroic performance in the Florida Marlins first championship season. He'd later, of course, become a key player for the Cardinals.

Thanks again to the Night Owl!

All the Minis

Jeff from 2x3 Heroes has a little "Take My Minis" section of his blog, devoted to a bunch of extra Allen & Ginter minis that he acquired. Well, leave it to someone with a blog called 2x3 Heroes to discard all of these 1 15/32 x 2 11/16 (seriously, that's a size) cards. A&G master sets are difficult to put together because of all of the various minis, both of the insert and parallel variety, so the extra help was definitely appreciated. I may even have to go back when I have more trade bait to pick out some more.

Aside from the elusive D.B. Cooper, all of the minis I snagged were from the 2010 set, including the seafaring explorers. If Columbus thinks he saw a seacreature as big as depicted on this card, I guess I can forgive him for thinking he'd found some "Indies".

I didn't have many of the World's Wordsmiths cards, so it was nice to pick up this trio.

So many Lords! I'm just missing 3 of these guys.

The dinosaur cards are some of my favorites that have ever made it into the Allen & Ginter line. I still need 5 out of this 25 card set.

Finally, here's a dozen of the National Animals set. With 50 cards to collect, this one is a beast (literally! ha!) but I am getting there. Check out my Allen & Ginter want lists if you have any non-baseball Ginter cards you'd like to get rid of.

Animals and Benes Bros.

St. Louis is sitting comfortably in first place after just 10 games this season with a 7-3 record. Considering that quite a few of their big pieces are dealing with or likely will deal with injuries, I consider this a big plus. I am not going to read too far into it and go out and extrapolate that record after 10 games into something like a 112-50 season, especially considering that the other NL division leaders at this point are the Nats and the Dodgers. I can't see either one of those teams in the postseason. I am, however, pleased with what has happened so far and I do expect the Cards to continue to do well.

Apropos of nothing, here are some pictures of animals (and a couple of Redbirds of the past) courtesy of Jason at Hobbs' Knights.

I may not live in Madagascar where the lemurs apparently grow on (or are at least raised in) trees, but I do know that my humble city of Portland could use a few more lemurs. Or a lot of them. Like this guy.

I'm not sure that reptiles lie in the direct path of human evolution, but they're pretty great nonetheless. It would be cool to have scales, though.

Hmm... do you think Pinnacle is trying to tell me something here? What do I do with this card?

Here's Benes the Elder. This is just a frightening mess of '90s awesomeness/horribility.

Thanks again to Hobbs' Knights for the assorted Cardinals cards and Allen & Ginter set needs. Trades should start perking up around here again soon. Perhaps I should do some sort of spring cleaning type of thing, since it's actually spring now.

Ginter Winter

Even though summer is officially Allen & Ginter season, it feels like I acquired a lot more A&G cards this past winter than I did when you could easily find the stuff on the shelf. Reader Steve from IL was one of the many who sent packages my way containing Ginter cards that I needed for my various sets. He's a big reason why I am finally, yes, FINALLY done with a set that I started collecting through the blog. The 2010 set is more or less in the books, though I am still seeking inserts, minis and the like. Just check the link(s) on the sidebar if you have something you feel like getting rid of.

I'm not in much of a baseball mood tonight, so Buster Posey is the only baseball guy you're going to see. Instead, you get Carl Linnaeus, classification enthusiast.

The first modern battleship! Chock full of teak, apparently!

Spanish for "little cow", the vaquita is considered the world's most endangered marine mammal.

From cute, rare little porpoises to murder homes. Axe murder homes!

Thanks again to Steve for the trade.

Trade In The Ballpark

I recently completed a trade with The Gooch of In The Ballpark, which consisted mostly of some 1993 Upper Deck (remember those?) cards as well as some other fun things. I already have the only card worth anything (Jeter), so I really don't know what my excuse is for not having this junk wax era set wrapped up by now.

I don't use this word often, but this is just a badass card.

Also included in the trade were some Allen & Ginter minis, which are always welcome around Cards on Cards Central. I have to say that the Monsters of the Mesozoic mini set is among my favorite insert sets ever. Dinosaurs!

Falcon! It's funny, because I remember thinking that animal themed cards were incredibly lame when I was growing up. I remember having some sort of set of wildlife safari cards and not being terribly thrilled by them.

A few Cardinals were thrown in the lot for fun. This is an insert from the 1999 Fleer Tradition set, honoring the two grand slams that Fernando Tatis hit in the same inning. The most surprising thing about that whole affair is that both slams were hit off the same pitcher - Chan Ho Park.

Crinkly Bubble Mailers

I always feel bad when I'm really behind on trade posts because I always know I'll find one or two packages that I haven't reciprocated for. Such is the case, I believe, for this particular package of want list fodder from Crinkly Wrappers.

Minis were on the menu, specifically those of the 2010 Allen & Ginter variety. Protarchaeopteryx must be the Marc Rzepczynski of Mesozoic era.

Who would win in a... oh, forget it... clearly, the Komodo dragon because it's a DRAGON. I don't care if it can't breathe fire (or can it...?)

This is the second straight post where I've been able to feature 2010 Turkey Red. I love Turkey Red. I need to buy some more. I wonder how much I'd have to shell out for a box of 2005 or 2006 Turkey Red. Heck, I'd even take a blaster or a few packs.

You know the deal here. Crummy set, but fun little insert. I only wish these were on a Heritage quality card stock.

Ahh... I don't see the connection at all. Prince isn't even a switch hitter! Flipping over the card, it's revealed that both players led the majors in walks in the previous seasons (1962 & 2010.)

Thanks again to Crinkly Wrappers. I'll have to get some Blue Jays headed back in your direction soon.

Collation Assistance

I'm not quite sure who initiated what, but I got a chance to exchange baseball cards with Hand Collated, which is always a worthy effort. I've been known to do some collation of my own. In fact, the set that really brought me back to the idea of collecting a set or two was probably the 2008 Allen & Ginter set. I love the 2008 Heritage set and its original design and still do, but let's face it: the set is very intimidating. I'm still collecting it for what it's worth, along with many other sets, but I think at this point it's probably best to focus on finishing something... anything... before the next Allen & Ginter set hits the streets in mere weeks.

Oh, hello, it's my old friend Ryan Rowland-Smith.

So here's the story. I'm down to needing just 6 cards (all SPs) from the base 2008 A&G set, 12 cards (not all SPs) from the base 2009 A&G set and 6 cards (only one SP) from the base 2010 A&G set. I would like to finish them all ASAP. If anyone can knock any of those 24 cards off of my want lists, please contact me. If I can get them in my grubby mitts before I have to look at the hoards of 2011 A&G posts, that will be worth a ton to me and I will make sure to figure out a way to reward you several times over for it. Any inserts sent my way will be a welcome bonus, of course, but my goal is to knock out the 1-through-350s first.

We now take you back to your regularly scheduled trade post - already in progress.

Here is personal fantasy hero Gaby Sanchez. After a very strong rookie season, Sanchez is among the NL batting leaders and is on pace to improve upon his HR and RBI totals from last season.

Sure, I collect other things besides Allen & Ginter, which is what got me into this mess in the first place. I've been picking up a pack or two of 2011 Heritage when I can, but like every year before it, it's such an unending mess. A lovable mess, mind you.

I can't believe some people don't like 1985 Fleer. I really can't. This is the ultimate color-coded set for me. I really need to buy a rack pack of this stuff one of these days just for kicks. I found some on eBay recently, but I let them slip through my fingers.

Night Owl Trade #48

I probably haven't actually received 44 separate packages from Night Owl Cards, but I may as well have. Meanwhile, I've used just about every cheesy post title I could come up with. I've referenced Harry Potter, even. Most recently, I name-checked something slightly owl-related that was popularized in an Outkast song. Somehow Night Owl has managed to keep tabs on how many packages I've sent his way, while I can't even figure out how to get Blogger's search box to work in any sort of useful way.

It's a shiny, bedazzled wounded warrior. I believe this is from a wrapper redemption of some sort. It makes me wonder if Night Owl received this in his own redemption or if he stumbled onto it in one of those group breaks I rarely get the chance to participate in. In either case, I almost never get redemption goodies (let alone hobby packs.) I think the last time I successfully redeemed anything aside from the virtual code things Topps does was when I got a Shaquille O'Neal Upper Deck rookie card in the mail, only to find out that the card that was returned to me with a hole punch in it (and eventually discarded) would have probably made a pretty fun conversation piece if I ever started a blog someday.

I think Heritage 3-pack blisters have disappeared from the shelves for good, which is too bad. I really do want to collect the entire Black parallel set because I really like the way it looks. It's far more interesting than those black back variations from the 2008 Heritage set.

Ladies and gentlemen, here's your new #3 hitter - at least through the All-Star Break. Someday I may be able to resume posting about the Cardinals first baseman, but I don't think I can do it until he's back on the field. Thanks, Wilson Betemit, for ruining the back of a perfect baseball card. (Actually, I don't really blame any singular person or event for what happened yesterday. It was a perfect storm of crappiness.)

Not everything sent was full of Birds. I've been hearing the name Eduardo Nunez quite a bit lately as he's been filling in for some guy who claims he's the Yankees captain. I still have to double take, because for some reason I instantly mistake his name for Eduardo Perez, the former Cardinal turned ESPN studio analyst turned Marlins hitting coach.

Yes, junk wax hoarders, there is still a very affordable set out there from the mid-'80s that someone on the internet is trying to collect. Actually, the fundamental problem for me in collecting this set will be that eventually I will have to spend actual money on a Roger Clemens rookie card. That will make me sad.

These cards are terrible looking! I'm sorry, because I know I cannot even draw a stick figure to save my life and I know someone spent a lot of painstaking moments on these. They're just really uncomfortable to look at. Thankfully, Night Owl put me three steps closer to never having to think about these guys again.

And finally, because I always like to go out with a bang, here's an honest-to-goodness vintage Bill White card. I love it! Sure, I'm a huge sucker for Topps Heritage, but there's no substitution for the real thing.

Thanks again to Night Owl, who will be receiving Eric Gagne cards from me for several years to come.

Hootie Hoo

The baseball season is off and running, and along with it goes my nightly routine of updating the blog and watching Cardinals baseball. With a change in my work schedule this year, I'll actually be able to catch the majority of west coast weeknight games live for once, but most other games will be committed to VHS cassette tape for later viewing. Yes, my VCR still works like a charm after 15 years of service, and I'm officially the guy everyone gives strange looks to when I carry a package of blank tapes with me through the checkout line. (Those things are expensive now!) Someday I'll get the DVR - remember, I didn't even have a scanner when I started this thing - but for now it's just going to be this way.

Anyway, I'm not sure where I was going with this rambling nonsense, so I'll discard the awkward segue way and let you know that Night Owl Cards has once again delivered a fun trade package containing many Cards on Cards-inspired favorites.

One of the big shames (okay, maybe not so big) of Adam Wainwright's season being wrecked is all of the great looking cards he's featured on in 2011. This photo was from the 2010 Civil Rights game, which was unfortunately lost to the hated Cincinnati Reds.

Many trade packages of late have included a DK card or two, and this one was no exception. It also makes me feel guilty that I don't have my player collection list up for virtually anyone. I got pretty far with my Edmonds list by using the Zistle site, but I never found that the site was able to do what I wanted it to, which was to store several individual player collections that are easily distinguishable from each other so that it was clear to potential traders what cards I already had. Maybe I'm just not doing it right?

There's no light at the end of the tunnel for the seemingly endless groups of minis that I could collect, but that does not discourage me at all from taking them in.

Finally, here's a card with a local connection. Remember all of those Dan and Dave commercials? No? That's okay. You shouldn't watch television anyway (unless it's Cardinals baseball.) Dan O'Brien was a World and Olympic Decathalon Champion. I used to play Bruce Jenner's Olympic Decathalon on the Apple ][e. See? We're not so dissimilar.