Not Quite Junk

No junk here. 

It's pretty amusing that Jaybarkerfan's Junk is named the way it is, because I'm pretty sure that no one who has ever received a package from him has ever found anything resembling junk. The SuperTrader founder who has, apparently, temporarily given up on the Atlanta squadron sent along a package that was basically 90% serial-numbered, shiny, gold-plated, etc. Quality.

Before I knew that 2002 Upper Deck Plus was ever a set, I discovered that there are both hobby and retail versions, each serial numbered to a baffling 1125 total. Did Upper Deck decide that there are exactly 2250 baseball card fans out in the world?

David Freese has a lot of baseball cards commensurate to the grand total of his contributions on the field in his MLB career, but he earned them. He really did. For a period of time where things really count the most, he was a monster on the field.

HELLO, I AM RANDAL WITH ONE L! I AM ON A BASEBALL CARD! HOW ARE YOU?!

This is our second Mullinax appearance in as many months on this blog, which is exciting business!

Stephen Piscotty, professional hitter.

I received a trio of these fancy blue 2005 Donruss Craftsmen Rolen cards, all numbered to 2000. As I've mentioned a few times, serial numbered cards are something I'll never consider a true duplicate, so... basically I'm a Cardinals hoarder.

As I'm edging closer to my return to Safeco Field to watch the Cardinals, here's another So Taguchi card from his MLB rookie season. It'll be the first time since So's debut that I've seen the Cardinals in person on the west coast.

Finally, here's a Yadi card that will be added to Erin's collection. It's a ghostly card. It's a card of dubious distinction. Panini is trying to call this a "test proof", but I'm pretty sure they weren't testing anything other than their gold plated stamp machine when they decided to crank out 49 of these.

Tempted by '75

Collecting anything this old is rather intimidating.

I've been pondering the idea of collecting the set that came out the year I was born - 1975 - for some time now. I have no connection to the cards or most of the players, since I never opened a pack of 1975 Topps as a kid or even witnessed someone open one. It's not the best design of all-time, but it's not the worst. Unlike a lot of the sets of the '70s and early '80s, I've been able to pick this one out of a lineup for a long time. It helps that it doesn't have white borders, like most sets. It could be really fun, though! I don't think I've ever put together a set that was entirely based on trades and single card acquisitions, so this could actually be the first. I'm going to give it some thought.

In the meantime, strictly for the Cardinals collection comes this Lou Brock card that's in really nice shape aside from the divot that was taken out (and replaced) from the left border. The corners are almost... sharp. That's not very '75 to me. This was another Listia pickup that I spent a fair chunk of credits on.

I also threw down a ton of credits on this Matt Holliday jersey card from the newest Allen & Ginter set. I prefer the framed mini relics, personally, but this is okay. I know that the memorabilia card as we know it has been seriously devalued in recent years, but I still can't keep away from them.

Finally, at this month's card show, there was a table that had nothing but an arrangement of $1 autographed cards in screwdown cases. I don't know if I even have any cards in screwdown cases. I will free this Bo Hart card from it's plastic tomb (and hilarious overpriced price tag) soon, but for now you get this quick and blurry scan of the guy who was famous for a month or two over a decade ago. Well, that's more famous than I'll ever be!

Some Cards Show Finds Found for Me

"Are you sure card collecting is your thing?" he asks.

I just have a quick post for you tonight as I'm in the middle of another sorting project as well as pulling cards from all of the darkest corners of my home for a Mets collector and an Astros collector. Dennis of the always excellent Too Many Verlanders / Too Many Manninghams sent me an all killer/no filler package back in April that I've been hoarding for too long.

Much consternation was made among the Cardinal faithful over the Mark Mulder trade which almost seems like a lifetime ago. The Cards gave up a pitcher who would prove to have a lengthy and serviceable career in Dan Haren for a productive season of Mulder before he started crumbling to dust. I always liked Mulder, however, and he kept running back out there no matter how much the odds were stacked against him, so I was never personally that upset about the trade. Daric Barton was also included in the trade and stuck around with the A's as a converted first baseman for years. Aside from one season where he held down the job full time and led the league in bases on balls, he didn't really measure up. His early autographed-on-foil-tape 2003 Upper Deck card shows a confident looking young player, though.

Bo Hart was a late round draft pick who wasn't expected to amount to much. He was a midseason callup during the desperate Three Night in August year after Fernando Vina went down with an injury and became an overnight sensation (well, in St. Louis, at least.) One month into the 2004 season, however, he would be demoted and relegated to a footnote in team history.

This Sweet Spot signature card is actually really nice looking, unlike some later years' cards that suffered from ink fading. However, my scanner can't really do it justice as it's extremely thick. It might even be thicker than my Pujols 1/1, which would make it the chunkiest in my collection.

Finally, here's a nifty little Mike Tyson buyback from the recent Topps 75th Anniversary bonanza. Beckett has done such a lousy job (i.e. no job) documenting these buybacks, so I actually have no idea what set they come from as I've seen examples of the same cards with different 75th anniversary stamps in different locations. This card comes complete with wax residue on the front for additional authenticity. Waxtastic!

I would be remiss to not mention that Dennis also sent some amazing Ducks stuff my way, but I am going to hold these back for the upcoming football season. This is going to be a season of amazing cards to show off for my Good Luck Ducks posts, even if the season itself isn't so stellar. We'll see.