5 on the 5: 2014 Topps Series 1 (Target)

Just 5 packs, like the old days.

For the 7th consecutive year (and 11th out of the past 12th), Topps has issued a white bordered glossy design for its flagship set. I can't say that I will be collecting this set, but like many others, I will probably buy my fair share of packs to look at things that are shiny and new. In the process, I'll work towards finding things for my Cardinals binders and acquiring bits of trade bait. Here are the first five packs that I picked up, all from Target.

Pack 1:

99 - Melky Cabrera - Here's my first card of 2014. I scanned it crooked, just like Melky.

15 - Paul Goldschmidt - So the big change to the still-sideways card backs this year is that Topps has gone and added WAR to the stat line. I'm a fan of the stat and am always interested in advanced stats, but I have to say that it's a bit of a curious step for them. Whose WAR is it, anyway? There is still no uniform formula for it, and while there are some popular ones out there (the one Baseball-Reference.com uses, Fangraphs, etc) it's not clear to me what formula Topps is using. The first player I looked up (Mike Minor) seemed to match B-Ref's numbers, but Goldie has a 7.0 WAR for 2013 on the back of his card. The website says 7.1. Hmm. At any rate, it's still fun because you can see just how terrible of a player Ryan Howard really is, juxtaposed with all of the allocades he (used to) gets.
116 - Hiroki Kuroda
261 - Michael Brantley
192 - Pedro Alvarez

UC-22 - Matt Cain Upper Class - Classy. This is a good time to remind you that pretty much everything in this post is up for grabs aside from the Cardinals cards.

101 - Chris Nelson Target Red - Exclusive Target red parallels are back! Exclusive Target... okay, yeah, not so exciting.
238 - Alberto Callaspo
216 - Ubaldo Jimenez
26 - Josh Phegley - I expect the players I've never heard of to come with RC logos, but this isn't always the case.

181 - Jim Henderson - First Rookie Cup of the year. This is one of those unis that should only be brought out once or twice a year.
30 - Mark Buehrle

Pack 2:
235 - Jason Kipnis

25 - Troy Tulowitzki - This is one of Erin's guys.

157 - Matt Adams - First Cardinal! Nice! Adams had a nice year last year as the Rookie Cup shows, but I'm not quite convinced he's an everyday player. Yet.
104 - Kurt Suzuki
38 - NL Home Run Leaders Alvarez, Goldschmidt, Bruce

FN-5 - Jurickson Profar The Future Is Now - Jurk for short? His card made me think I actually won something for a second.
260 - Zoilo Almonte
3 - Jarrod Dyson
310 - Neftali Feliz
81 - Anibal Sanchez
280 - Everth Cabrera - Time to scan the back of the card to see if there's any mention of his drug suspension last year... nope. Good job, only and only licensee of the MLB!

171 - Trevor Rosenthal - Bad things seem to happen to anointed Cardinals closers, so let's cross our fingers for Rosie here.

Pack 3:
208 - Dayan Viciedo
324 - Elvis Andrus
142 - Zack Greinke
274 - Jonny Gomes
42 - Mariano Rivera

TM-32 - Chris Davis '89 Mini - This one is creased all the way through the middle, just like a lot of crappy '80s cards. Seriously, who was the genius that decided to pay tribute to the design of one of the crappiest sets that ever crapped?
151 - Bruce Chen
1 - Mike Trout
176 - Alex Cobb
275 - Nolan Arenado
303 - Andres Torres

169 - Nick Franklin - Night Owl had a nice write-up about the history of Topps Future Stars today.

Pack 4:
51 - Kyle Lohse
105 - Ryan Howard
320 - Hector Santiago
98 - Edwin Encarnacion
253 - Todd Helton Highlights Checklist
193 - Ricky Nolasco

SV-7 - Carlos Beltran Super Veteran - This is my (admittedly early) favorite insert. It's a throwback to 1983 Topps among others.

 

273 - Mark DeRosa - And then sometimes you get Mark DeRosa catching a football.
87 - Tyson Ross
40 - Hyun-Jin Ryu
144 - Joakim Soria
311 - Chris Young

Pack 5:
300 - Yu Darvish
70 - Marcell Ozuna
239 - Jeff Samardzija
47 - Chris Davis Highlights Checklist
218 - Matt Dominguez

SV-13 - CC Sabathia Super Veteran
296 - Domonic Brown
243 - Ryan Cook
69 - Jhoulys Chacin
167 - Jeremy Guthrie
11 - Mike Carp
137 - Boone Logan

My Cardinals wants for 2014 should be up to date by the time you read this. Now excuse me while I go look for stupid sparkles on my baseball cards.

5 on the 5: 2002 Upper Deck World Series Heroes, Redux

It seems like I've done this before. Ah yes, I have. One of the area card shops usually has these packs at $1 a pop. They definitely beat most of what is at Target these days. I don't really know why I keep buying them, though, since the set is small and I probably don't need any of the Cardinals in the set anymore. These are all up for grabs if anyone sees something they like.

Pack 1:

8 - Roberto Alomar - How did this guy manage to sneak into the Hall under the wire, before we started glaring at everyone who dare got near its hallowed doors?

68 - Barry Larkin - Repeat what I said above.
45 - Livan Hernandez
1 - Catfish Hunter
88 - Andy Pettitte - Active player!

Pack 2:
65 - Ken Griffey Sr.
41 - Omar Vizquel

13 - Chipper Jones

33 - Steve Garvey - Garvey probably had sex with at least half of the wives of the voting members of the BBWAA, so he's out.
6 - Joe Carter

Pack 3:

48 - Tom Seaver
70 - Ty Cobb
32 - Kirk Gibson

5 - Rickey Henderson - Rickey's not going to be stopped if you give Rickey heavy metal shoes.
90 - Jorge Posada

Pack 4:
48 - Tom Seaver

19 - John Smoltz
32 - Kirk Gibson
5 - Rickey Henderson
90 - Jorge Posada (Lots of repeat offenders in this pack.)

Pack 5:
89 - David Wells
63 - Wade Boggs

39 - Jim Thome - Active player!
52 - Robin Ventura

23 - Ozzie Smith - Nice way to end things. Too bad I've already got this one.

Some of these cards are earmarked for a few trade stacks I have going, but if you see anything you like, feel free to drop me a note.

5 on the 5: 2004 Bowman Heritage

I've been sort of "stealth collecting" Bowman Heritage cards from various years for awhile while being very hesitant to add another set or three to my want lists. I've already put a good dent into the annoyingly complicated 2007 Bowman Heritage set, but I haven't really accumulated enough cards from any of the other releases. One of my favorites of those less attainable sets is the 2004 set, which is an homage to the classic TV set designs that Bowman used. I really like these cards, even though they're a little quirky. I picked up 5 packs recently for $2 a piece.

Pack 1:

126 - Melvin Mora - There he is, in glorious extra-color.
140 - Brian Giles
136 - Paul Lo Duca

210 - Ray Liotta - Yes, this guy's name is actually Ray Liotta. This is also a short print, apparently. There were at least a couple of different kinds of short prints in this set. The actor Ray Liotta is famous for, among other things, portraying the infamous White Sox player Shoeless Joe Jackson. This guy got to pose in a White Sox cap on a baseball card once. He was actually a 2nd round draft pick in 2004 and reached the AAA level at one point before calling it a career.

98 - Andy Pettitte B&W - Bowman Heritage always has a one-per-pack parallel card, and for this ode to TVs past they made the thick parallels to be black & white televisions. Fun.
14 - Brad Radke - Before the Cardinals acquired him, I always got Kyle Lohse mixed up with Brad Radke.
275 - Tom Mastny

63 - Javier Vazquez - Some TVs are dark and other are a lighter wood panel.

Pack 2:
339 - Logan Kensing

221 - Chris Lambert - Lambert was traded by the Cardinals to the Tigers for Mike Maroth in 2007 in a desperation move. Maroth may have been the single worst player in Cardinals history. I guess it was Detroit's revenge for the previous World Series. Lambert wasn't able to hang around the game long, as he fell off the map after 2009.

332 - Lastings Milledge - Former super prospect.
237 - Zack Jackson
127 - Miguel Tejada B&W

247 - Jerry Crawford - In another strange twist, there are umpires in this set. Umpires! Just imagine what people might do with NFL referee cards if they produced them this season.
85 - A.J. Burnett

153 - Jamie Moyer - The erstwhile Jamie Moyer.

Pack 3:
105 - Zack Day
281 - Mike Reilly - Another ump.

48 - Pedro Martinez

Wait a second, Victor... Martinez? This is the more rare "error" version of Pedro's card in which his bio was mostly switched with Victor Martinez. There's a similar Victor Martinez "error" card with Pedro's info, apparently. This is supposedly another homage to the original set it emulates.

100 - Roger Clemens - This is a short print and one of the more expensive cards in the set. I couldn't show Roger's stupid face on this blog, though.
289 - Marland Williams B&W - Yeah, I don't know him either.

171 - Robin Roberts - There's also a smattering of retired greats in this set, which is a nice touch.
27 - Jack Wilson
131 - Aramis Ramirez

Pack 4:
126 - Melvin Mora
140 - Brian Giles
136 - Paul Lo Duca
210 - Ray Liotta

113 - Rich Aurilia B&W - So this is essentially the same pack as pack 1 aside from having a different B&W parallel. Needless to say, those dupes are up for grabs.
14 - Brad Radke
275 - Tom Mastny
63 - Javier Vazquez

Pack 5:
258 - Billy Buckner - Not the guy who had a "special" moment at first base.
230 - Taylor Tankersley

226 - Philip Hughes - There are some nice rookies in this set, include Phil Hughes.
254 - K.C. Herren
192 - Alex Gonzalez B&W

143 - Don Newcombe - I must say that I really like the player selection for the retired players, since they aren't the same dozen or so players you always see in the current Topps sets.
202 - Reed Johnson

41 - Bobby Abreu - Bobby Abreu... signing off.

5 on the 5: 2012 Topps Update Series

I hit the Target card aisle yesterday in search of the new stuff. You know the drill. I seem to buy more of the Update set than Series 1 and 2 every year because I always get irrationally excited about baseball again this time of year for some crazy reason. Most of these cards will be up for grabs as I usually don't put together sets of this stuff.

Pack 1:

US92 - Chone Figgins - Figgy is my first Update card of the year. Figgy wants to "update" his team (and Twitter status?) soon so he can put the pieces of his career back together again.

US115 - Jason Grilli - YAHHHHH!
US121 - Johnny Damon

US95 - Edward Mujica - My first Mujica Cardinals card! And it's a great photo from the 1982 World Series anniversary weekend. I honestly wasn't expecting him to have any cards. The Mujica trade ended up being an unexpectedly great move.
US322 - Jordan Danks - The younger brother of John Danks.

BB-19 - Ryne Sandberg Blockbusters - I'm not sure that this trade would have been considered a blockbuster at the time. Ryno was just a prospect getting poached from another team.

GG-89 - Lou Brock Golden Greats - These are back. I'm not too fond of these. I'm fond of Lou, though.
US17 - Joe Smith
US197 - Cody Ransom
US268 - Craig Kimbrel All-Star - Braves cards are banned from the blog for awhile until their fans can start being a little more rational again. Blame Bud Selig for creating this madness, in any case.
US143 - Jose Veras
US135 - Clay Hensley - Former Portland Beaver!

Pack 2:
US25 - Joe Mather - Former Cardinal! His full major and minor league stats are included on the back, even though there's like 65 lines of them. It's probably because they couldn't think of anything interesting to say about Mather.
US13 - Matt Lindstrom
US41 - Juan Francisco

US288 - Maicer Izturis
US180 - Roy Oswalt - Now With Rangers
US53 - Omar Infante

US15 - Justin Verlander All-Star Golden Sparkly Nonsense
US83 - Carlos Lee

US87 - Andrew McCutchen All-Star - It'll take more than McCutchen's brilliance to save this doomed franchise.
US327 - Chris Sale All-Star
US148 - Paul Konerko All-Star - A couple of White Sox stars.
US325 - Joel Hanrahan All-Star

Pack 3:
US94 - Kevin Slowey
US43 - Michael Bowden - Bowden was the Cubs return for Marlon Byrd.
US310 - Kelly Shoppach
US254 - Jason Marquis - The Padres won the Where Will Marquis Land? contest this year, I guess.
US136 - Reed Johnson

US244 - Matt Downs Gold 0796/2012 - Gold parallels make their return for this set. I honestly didn't even know they were missing from Series 1 and 2, and I even like these. They no longer say 61 Years of Collecting (or however many years that it's been) on it, so that's a break with tradition. They are pulling a "cognac" from last season and golding up all of the cards from Series 1 and 2 as well. They are still using the cheap and ugly black serial numbering, this time obscuring them in top of the card above the player name on the back, which can be difficult to read with some of the darker team colors.

BB-6 - Jay Buhner Blockbusters - Jay Buhner? Wow! Topps really dug into the vaults for this one.
- Topps Pennant ad card

US237 - Prince Fielder Home Run Derby - That is a large mammal.
US195 - Chad Qualls
US274 - Jeff Gray
US166 - Chipper Jones All-Star Game - I have a feeling some will find this card iconic. Chipper Jones has always struck me as the same kind of smug - sort of an Atlanta version of Derek Jeter.

US129 - Giancarlo Stanton All-Star

Pack 4:
US296 - Henry Rodriguez
US19 - Jonathan Broxton - Who would win in a fight, Prince Fielder or Jonathan Broxton?
US31 - Esmil Rogers
US171 - Rhiner Cruz - I think Topps is just making up names now.
US232 - Andrelton Simmons

588 - Mark Ellis Gold 1688/2012 - Here's a Gold card from Series 2.

BB-28 - Johan Santana Blockbusters
US126 - John McDonald

US262 - Matt Kemp Home Run Derby - In this increasingly annoying contest, Matt Kemp was on the disabled list and participated... like a guy who was on the disabled list.
US194 - Brad Lincoln
US312 - Craig Stammen

US168 - Yu Darvish Rookie Debut - I'm not sure what to make of Darvish yet.

Pack 5:
US240 - Ronny Paulino
US193 - Henry Blanco
US122 - Logan Ondrusek
US4 - Matt Treanor - According to the back of the card, Treanor helped Chris Capuano to return to All-Star form. Those are two names I certainly didn't expect to still be around in 2012. Also, the fact that Capuano was once an All-Star was something I had totally forgotten about. His Brewers teammates? Derrick Turnbow (!) and Carlos Lee.
US317 - Marco Estrada
US160 - Marco Scutaro

US28 - Matt Albers Target Red - Just another parallel. Nothing to see here, folks.

GM-U2 - Mike Trout Golden Moments - Golden Boy Trout is certainly a hot commodity these days.

GGC-27 - Trevor Bauer Golden Giveaway Code - Trevor Bauer has his own code card? I don't even know who he is! Let's see if he's lucky... Ty Cobb coin. Probably not.
US206 - Cole Hamels All-Star
US256 - Joe Nathan All-Star
US37 - Billy Butler All-Star - Nice run of All-Stars.

US72 - Carlos Beltran Home Run Derby - Great way to end it! Beltran was up to his usual postseason tricks today, knocking two out of the park in a rout of the Nats.