A Thursday Night PWE Round-Up

Some extra-stuffed white envelopes leads off with some @BoRosny miscellany. 

 

Tonight we have an envelope from October, one from November and one from December. I'm finally starting to get through the backlog of stuff I have to post about, which means I'll probably get itchy and start up a bunch of trades again.

First up is some more good stuff from Bo of Baseball Cards Come to Life! I always think that I finished off 2003 Topps ages ago, but I do still need a few more. The Nomar card put me a little bit closer.

Here's a nice color-appropriate Eagles card from the 1999 Topps set. In some years Topps used the baseball design in their football set, but in other years -- not so much.

Hey, it's a Portland Beavers card! You don't see those every day. I believe this is from the 1989 AAA All-Stars set. I don't know if these sold as well as the team sets, but I remember seeing them once or twice at the Beavers games back when I used to go.

Here's a few more minor league guys. These are all Cardinals-affiliated, if you hadn't already guessed. 

Bo also set some vintage Cardinals cards, which are always appreciated, like this trio from 1968.

There's been more Curt Flood cards on the blog of late, and that's definitely a good thing.

I'm not sure a card from a Tigers victory in the 1968 World Series belongs in my collection, let alone one where the Cards were walloped 13-1. However, I'm not in the habit of tossing out cards from the '60s, so my binders might have to give this one a chance.

Next up is another batch of the good stuff from gcrl (cards as i see them). Along with a new Waino from 2021 Topps Update, there was another healthy grouping of set needs.

It had been so long since I added another card to the 2012 Topps Archives 3D collection that I had almost totally forgotten about it. For a few years there, Topps was putting out little batches of lenticular cards in one fashion or another, but it seems like they've dropped that for the most part. I'm sure they're not cheap to make.

The rest of the envelope was dedicated to 2012 Allen & Ginter. At some point, I need to make it a priority to finish off all of these A&G insert sets, but I've been more focused on Heritage inserts of late.

This is easily the dumbest and less essential insert set in the whole Allen & Ginter line, but for whatever reason I still decided to make a list and keep them. I suppose it's telling that Topps hasn't really tried anything this elaborate in the years since.

I really have no idea what happened here. I'm sorry about that.

Last up is a big batch of Philadelphia Eagles cards from Elliptical Man. Graham has spent his whole career (12 years and counting) with the Birds and has already played for four different head coaches (interims not withstanding.)

Brian Westbrook was a favorite of mine back in the day, when the Eagles had the triple threat ground attack of Westbrook, Staley and Buckhalter.

More Westbrook! This was right after Panini took over the Donruss brand.

The aforementioned Duce Staley checks in with this overly busy metallic version of Upper Deck's Victory brand.

I should become a Jeff Feagles supercollector. I wonder how many cards he actually has. He was the Eagles punter in Tecmo Super Bowl, which automatically makes him a legend. Plus, his name was  Eagles with an F in the front.

A couple of cards in this Eagles stashed were actually numbered, which is really cool. Donovan McNabb was QB1 for the bulk of the Andy Reid era, and while that never led to the ultimate prize, they were a fun team to watch.

The other numbered card is this Zach Ertz Longevity parallel from the 2017 Panini Rookies & Stars set. It's really nice and makes me wish that Ertz had been able to stick around.

Three PWEs and a Song

Some folks like @dvdgao stuck a stamp on an envelope and sent cards my way. 

It's a Monday night and I just watched live sports I have a rooting interest in for the first time in four months. (Portland Timbers, and yes, if it was up to me there wouldn't be any of this sports stuff happening for the rest of 2020.) Let's check out some plain white envelopes.

First up is Ryan from "O" No!!! Another Orioles Blog, who sent over some set fillers from the most recent Allen & Ginter set. I haven't seen (or don't remember?) what the 2020 design looks like, so I'm hoping that it was cancelled. Considering the current state of baseball cards right now, it's probably coming out next week and all boxes will sell out after 20 seconds. Things are nuts right now.

We're about to head into year 15 of the Allen & Ginter line. Topps continues to design really excellent cards here. This doesn't really track with what they do with some of their other brands, but it's nice to see that they know how to do something right.

Cardinals fan David sent along some more non-Cardinals stuff, hitting a few needs from some earlier Topps Heritage sets.

Mookie Betts cards, let alone insert cards, don't exactly grow on trees. I was happy to add this New Age Performers card from the 2018 set to my collection.

Lastly from David, it's a couple of New York team cards from the 2016 set.

Our third featured player is gcrl from cards as i see them. Someone remembered that I like the Cardinals, sending some cards of star players and obscurities like Anthony Garcia. Generally speaking, I like both equally.

Fleer Legacy was a short lived set (maybe one and done), but there are some interesting cards in it.

I know there were a lot of Topps Bunt (non-digital edition) defenders out there, but I was absolutely not a fan. Blue tint filter? Great. Still, the team collection needs what it needs.

In addition to the needed Cardinals cards was a healthy stack of 2003 Topps set needs. I picked just two of those cards to scan today -- both Mariners! -- including Garciaparra the lesser.

If you haven't checked out the YouTube series Dorktown on the history of the Seattle Mariners, you're missing out. It's fascinating. I've been watching it during my work-from-home lunches. I don't think Shin-Soo Choo (or Michael Garciaparra for that matter) ever get a mention, but there's a lot of interesting nuggets that are discussed.



This is the brand new music video from one of my favorite bands out there. It even features a notorious clown. Enjoy the rest of your week!

When Topps Had Blue Borders

The 2003 Topps Traded set is down to fifteen needs, thanks to @cardboardjones and a huge brick of blue bordered cards.

I felt like I could have done a lot better in working on sets in 2019, but Cardboard Jones was a huge contributor. Fairly early on in my return to collecting, I took an interest in the 2003 Topps flagship set, and completed the Series 2 set with around a dozen cards still needed from Series 1. The Traded set needed a lot of help, which isn't surprising considering that it was released in a strange format. I looked into buying boxes on numerous occasions, but the steep prices and inclusion of Chrome cards in each pack made completing the set sound like a really difficult task. Amazingly enough, many years after starting this endeavor, someone I've traded with in the past was kind enough to get me really close to the finish line.

I believe I have all of the key rookies now aside from Robinson Cano, who despite the resurgent market for Topps flagship rookie cards, has probably seen his card prices permanently retreat from their peak. Hanley Ramirez was in the package as seen here, and I fortunately already owned a copy of Miguel Cabrera's card prior to this trade package.

I don't want to bore anyone with scores of blue bordered cards from 17 years ago, but I thought I'd scan a few just the same. The Crime Dog looks weird in Dodger blue, although I feel like the early '00s contain an endless supply of star players in weird uniforms.

Jeff Reboulet was a guy with a cool name that played for the AAA Portland Beavers back when I was in high school, so he gets a mention here. It's extremely doubtful that I had any idea he went on to a big league career that spanned a decade until getting back into this whole collecting side gig.

Eek, a Cub! Wellemeyer went on to log a few seasons with the La Russa/Duncan Cardinals, including a weird season where he was a starter. This set is chock full of "1st Year Card" logos, a distinction that would be later reserved for Bowman cards under the revamped rookie card rules of 2006 or whatever.

There were actually a couple of cards in the package that I'm going to be seeking a second copy of, including this 1st Year Danny Haren that's headed to my Cardinals binders. I don't know that it's a sane position to take to own more than one copy of anything at this point, but this is what I'm doing.

Similarly, I have to file this Adam Wainwright "Prospect" card in my Waino collection, which means I need another copy of it as well. I didn't make up these rules! At least, that's what I try to tell myself.

Big thanks again to Cardboard Jones. Please feel free to send help (in the form of cards) here if you are so inclined.

Trading with Swing and a Pop-Up

Trades, trades, what do they mean?

We just recently celebrated the 8 year anniversary of Lidge vs. Pujols (somewhere Andy Pettitte is still saying "oh my God!") I've seen highlights of Albert's big blast off of the Astros reliever in the 2005 NLCS so many times, and it's been made into countless GIFs, but it wasn't until recently that I had gotten a full look at the HD version of that moment captured in time. One of the best things about that shot is that Brad Ausmus is looking back at the umpire, calling for another baseball. That one isn't coming back.

My Brad Ausmus moment in time comes courtesy of Swing and a Pop-Up, who sent me some cards to fill a few want list needs awhile back. (I've been seriously deliquent on my end of the deal, but that package was mailed out last Friday, I swear!) There will probably come a time where I will need to hit up some website like sportlots to fill out the rest of some of these cheaper sets, but for now I'm still enjoying the cards that trickle in.

I received some Cardinals, too. This card had eluded me for a long time. I was having a hard time keeping track of which 1983 Topps Super Veteran cards that I needed, but now I think I finally have them all. Maybe.

I have pretty much no recollection of Tracy Woodson as a baseball player, which is troubling because he played for the Cardinals when I was still in high school (and therefore, still collecting cards.) The Joe Torre years were just that forgettable, I guess.

Four Guys Named Brian Walk Into a Bar...

Featuring a man affectionately known as "Walking Underwear".

When four guys with the same first name send me cards in the span of a few weeks, something is bound to get hosed up. One of the Brians sent me a small stack of cards last month that got a bit lost in the shuffle, and it was only when I went to write up this post that I realized that the cards I owed him were still sitting on my desk. Since I've barely bought any cards this summer, my desk is starting to finally get some clear spots on it, so hopefully embarrassments like this will be few and far between in the future.

The Gooch sent over a pack of Cardinals cards, including many of my needs from the 1982 Donruss set. Nice!

I don't say this very often, but this is a pretty badass Turkey Red card. I doubt any of the original Turkey Red cards had any swagger poses like this.

The Gooch also tossed a few 2003 Topps cards my way. I'm still chipping away at the set, and most of my needs are now concentrated in the Traded set side of things.

Falling Behind is Imminent

I'm behind in trade posts (and definitely a couple of trades) once again, but that doesn't mean I won't get around to it eventually. You know I'll get around to it... eventually. To tide you over, I still have that giveaway going on. With thirty participants so far, I have added 6 free cards to the pot!

Meanwhile, Josh from Royals and Randoms is literally waiting by the mailbox this very moment for his Royals (and randoms) from yours truly. He was foolish enough to send me some cards that I needed, and here are some of them.

There are many things going on with this new-to-me Jim Edmonds card, not the least of which is that it looks like garbage when you scan it. This seems to be the case for a lot of cards from 1995 to 2004.

Someone wasn't overly impressed by all of the boring pitcher close-ups in this year's Topps Series 2 product, but things could always be worse. John Martin's '82 'Russ card is proof of that. (Does anyone else call Donruss "'Russ"?)

On to the Erin portion of the package, here's a pinstripe card of Larry Walker and his Cool Guy shades. Remember when only Cool Guys wore shades?

Here's Larry, sans shades, on a round card. There should be more round cards. Today's cards have too many sharp, pointy edges, consarn it!

Sometimes you get a stack of 2003 Topps cards. And sometimes you gotta scan Jeff Suppan.