Nine from the Card Show

Look at me, posting stuff I actually bought. 

I managed to spend a little time at the monthly card show this past weekend, and I even managed to save some cards to set aside for scanning. I usually end up focusing more here on what other people send me, so I suppose it's nice to once in awhile show off a few things I picked out for myself. If I recall, these all ended up costing me around $1, except where noted.

This was probably my best pickup of the day. It's true that Panini's baseball cards are not very attractive, especially the prospect sets they've put together. Still, $2 for an on card autograph of one of the Cardinals top prospects sounds pretty good to me.

This ended up being a mistake, as I am pretty sure I already have one of these Daric Barton autographs already. Oh well.

I spent the bulk of my time at the show in front of a particular quarter box, and this "crystal" parallel of a very generic looking David Freese insert ended up going home with me. It's numbered to 299.

If I recall, this set was Upper Deck's first stab at an MLB set after they lost their license. I think it might have been a test run for their sneaky attempt at the 2010 MLB set that ultimately got them into a lot of trouble.

Royal Rookies seems to have been some sort of hideous disaster. To get a certified auto for a quarter is pretty much an automatic deal to me, though.

There were also a pair of serial numbered Waino cards, which is always good in my book.

Framed cards are the best, folks.

Finally, here's a cheap jersey card pickup of a really stoned looking Luke Ridnour, the former Oregon star point guard.

If only there was a card show every weekend.

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.