Seasons Greetings from Oren

A timely big bundle of cards that is finally revealed a few months later. 

 

'Tis the season (*checks calendar*)... oops, it's March! Well, as the sun breaks are starting to increase and daylight savings is in full effect, let's check out a fantastic batch of stuff from super generous trader Oren.

For one reason or another, Dylan Carlson seems to have settled into a role as fourth outfielder after arriving in the dreaded 2020 season with much hype. Assuming some semblance of health, Gold Glove-winning infielder Tommy Edman is the anointed starting center fielder (?), but I felt like the outfield had the best overall balance with Carlson in center over the last couple of seasons. That's not to knock what Edman has done in the outfield, as I feel like he could probably capably hold down any position on the field. I'd just prefer Carlson in center for now, at least since Harrison Bader was sold off.

I had never seen one of these white bordered 2020 Topps Heritage cards. In fact, I had completely forgotten that they existed. I think my scanner gave the red printing more of a pinkish glow than it really has, but this is still pretty striking.

I'm a sucker for a black bordered refractor. I also really like the rare black bordered flagship cards a lot, especially during the days when they shared a bit of sparkly magic with the much more attainable gold parallels.

Matty Mo is looking pretty formidable on this busy Donruss Leather & Lumber design. I feel like this brand is one that Panini has unleashed rather sparingly since acquiring the DLP portfolio (though how they didn't retain the L part of that conglomerate is a story I've long forgotten about.)

Here's a young, beardless Jason Motte who was still trying to be a catcher, in a weird photo that makes it look like he was trying to look like he wasn't just caught doing something weird in the locker room. Is that even a locker room? What's going on in the background?

It felt like it took Rob Kaminsky forever to make it to the Cardinals major league team since he was drafted in 2013, and it really did. It was only in his second stint with the club in 2020 when they were keeping an active stable of, I don't know, like 45 pitchers because at any given time a third of them were getting sick. This was all in an attempt to salvage what ended up being a 60 game season. Let's just pretend none of this ever happened, at least in baseball.

I wish this was still a time when a Hall of Fame election meant a serious boost to card values, but if you take even a slight glance at any Scott Rolen cards on the market you'll see that is sadly not the case. Of course, that means all the more for me. People would still rather throw money at some young prospects who may or may not pay off big someday. (They won't.)

Next up is a pair of Cards cards from the much delayed 2021 Topps Chrome Platinum... something, something. I kind of nodded off before I could complete my thought here.

These cards look nice, but yet another variation on the first full scale Topps baseball card set was not perhaps the most original thing that they could have thought of. I do prefer these (and their parallels) to the 2022 set, which likewise happened to be released a year late. The 2022 set looks very off, like most of the photos were AI generated or enhanced.

It's not all just Cardinals here, although that would certainly be nice enough. Thanks to Oren, I was fortunate to add another numbered card to one of my very favorite player collections.

CJ Elleby was a solid Pac-12 (RIP) player, but it didn't seem like he was cut out for the NBA. He's still just 23, but it doesn't seem like he's up to much at the moment.

The Blazers have been a sad mess for the past few seasons. Elleby probably won't evoke many feelings of nostalgia for this specific era, unfortunately.

I will get nostalgic about the Jusuf Nurkic days, however. Like many a Blazers center before him, he eventually became a scapegoat for fans' negative feelings about the direction of the whole team, but this is a guy who went out and did his often thankless job night in and night out in an NBA era that isn't really built around big men like him anymore. He's doing fine in Phoenix.

Noah Vonleh was a lottery pick who played for a lot of NBA teams in his near-decade long career. He's with the Shanghai Sharks these days which is basically a meme, even though he's still just 28.

There were even football cards on offer. Today was apparently some sort of NFL free agency day as my phone kept blowing up with Eagles notifications. They were busy! 

This is just a good looking card. It's probably the green. Blount is an Eagle here but a Duck first, so he goes into the Ducks collection.

I wanted to like Nelson Agholor, especially after the Eagles wisely moved him to the slot and started taking advantage of his speed more than his pass catching ability, but... I don't know, never trust a guy from USC, I guess.

Well, we've reached the end of the scans, but there is so much more. What all can you spot in this photo? There is some amazing stuff!

Torsos and Such

Catching up on trade recaps with some @breakdowncards Cardinals. 

 

I haven't been keeping up with the card blogs all that well lately, and trade package exchanges have been a bit sparse. Still, I've found some time to send some stuff out and have seen some things trickle in. It hasn't just been all box breaks around here, folks. That can get expensive. Let's check out some Redbirds from fellow Portland resident Gavin of Baseball Card Breakdown.

Alex Reyes has one of those pitcher's curses that so many are afflicted with. He has tons of talent and physical ability, but he can't seem to stay healthy. After an All-Star season where he lost his grip on the closer's job by season's end due to lack of control, he is back on the shelf in '22. (Where is this so-called shelf, by the way, and where did it come from?)

Continuing with the Reyes theme, along with the low numbered 1990-ish Topps On-Demand card at the top of the post and a Bowman Platinum insert from 2016, this one might be my favorite. Reyes is wearing a throwback uniform, and one of my favorite recent Stadium Club designs gets the Chrome treatment.

There isn't an easy way to segue from three shiny modern cards to a beat up 1960 card. Here it is: beat up George Crowe! The scanner even gave up hope on this card before it finished.

I'm pretty sure I've expressed my disdain for disembodied torso cards, but that seems to be a pretty common feature of on-card autographs.

Rob Kaminsky was a Cardinals first round pick at one point, but spent most of his career in the Cleveland system before finally making it to the big leagues with the Cardinals in the 2020 pseudo-season. He hasn't been back since his 5 appearance stint. It looks like he's bounced around a bit and dealt with injuries.

Oscar Mercado is another former Cardinal pick (2nd round, 2013) that ended up with Cleveland, but he has stayed there as a regular outfielder since 2019. It's another torso auto!

Well, I don't even need to talk about who this guy is or what he has accomplished. It looks like Yadi's final season will consist of less playing time than he's used to, but the hope is that he'll be healthy for any pivotal games down the stretch as well as the playoffs. I've always loved the Allen & Ginter framed minis and am glad they are still making them, even though they've reduced in number over the years.

From P-Town to "P-Town"

Some cards for your perusement on a Saturday.

After some recent unpleasantness, Cubs cards are officially banned from the blog indefinitely. That doesn't mean I won't make room for some cards from a Cubs fan, however. P-Town Tom was kind enough to send along a mailbox stuffer, containing all sorts of goodies from various years and sets. Portland (where I reside), incidentally, is sometimes called "P-Town" by people who clearly aren't locals. It's second on the list only to "PDX" in those terms.

Anthony Garcia was lower round draft pick in 2009, but he has steadily ascended the ranks of the minor leagues, finally reaching AAA last season. He's on the 40-man roster, which protected him from this week's Rule V Draft, so it would appear that the organization has some sort of plan for him.

I was just thinking the other day that Broxton's appearance on a baseball card in a Cardinals uniform would be somewhat of a forgettable surprise in retrospect, but the Cards went ahead and gave him a two-year contract. It looks like Broxton will be staying awhile after all. I guess this is a Camo parallel (numbered 08/99!) but this year's style makes it look a bit more marbled than camouflage. I suppose it could blend in sneakily with other card designs, but I doubt that's what they were going for.

Rob Kaminsky was the price the Cardinals paid for their midseason acquisition of Brandon Moss. It may be awhile yet before we see Kaminsky at the big league level (he's only 20), and Moss will be back with the Cards next season for what it's worth.

There's just something... off... about this card. It's cropped weirdly, and Panini's need to remove all evidence of team logos pushes them towards using some pretty underwhelming shots.

Tom sent over 3 of the rarer cards from the 2012 Triple Play set that Erin is still working on. For a product that came with such a cheap price point, some of the higher numbered cards are getting to be really hard to find!

There's also something off about this Gooch card. He needs another player on the right to keep him company or something.

I was also the proud recipient of a Lou Brock Front Row set from 1993 that I'd never seen before. I'm not sure if it's how Tom acquired this, but one of my favorite things about going to card shows is finding stuff like this. It's great.

I miiiiiight have to break that factory seal, though.