Another quickie card show pit stop #2

I stumbled upon a real high brow monster box of cards and went to work for about the 10 minutes I had left at a card show - I was kind of on the clock where I had to wrap things up sooner than never, so I was trying to make the most out of my rummage.

I've ended up with two or three of these Bowman Jordan Walker prospect cards over the past few years, but was in a hurry to pile up cards - so I just threw one new copy found into my pile.

I made keepers out of mini collection material such as - Greg Maddux hitting on the back of one of his cards, an awesome outfield action card picturing Kevin Pillar, a Tampa Bay Rays mascot card, a Benito Santiago catcher card and a random Dave Righetti oddball, I made a keeper because of the bald guy in sunglasses making a cameo.

Team USA cards - I tried to look for the guys that were kind of familiar now [even though they were either on college or even on U-18 teams when depicted on the cards].

I was able to find a couple of cards of Reid Detmers - I think I sent similar copies and got them back signed TTM during the pandemic season.

Even though I ended up grabbing at least a few guys who might not be in the big leagues yet or may not get there - I found cards of Anthony Volpe, Bryson Stott, Riley Greene and Corbin Carroll.

Finally some random cheap-o Hall of Famer cards - even though they didn't start their careers in the junk wax era, I might be content to ignore cards of guys Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, Gary Carter and Alan Trammell because they had their glut of cards printed during those 1986-92 years.

Depending on what I may find at the bulk level, I might be compelled to pick up two or three cards of the HOFers whose cards from the junk wax era I'll usually skip over - if the cards end up being a little different like oddballs or cards with a unique image used that stand out.

Another quickie card show pit stop #1

I stumbled upon a real high brow monster box of caards and went to work for about the 10 minutes I had left at a card show - I was kind of on the clock where I had to wrap things up sooner than never, so I was trying to make the most out of my rummage.

I found a pair of Will Clark boxed set oddball and vowed to be committed to this dig - I've rubber stamped Clark as one of the guys from the junk wax era onward as a collecting fan favorite, even though I've found 'The Thrill' to be a little too grating these days when he does his podcasts with Eric Byrnes.

Random current guys - I think I've made Brandon Marsh's Angels rookies keepers, even though he is obviously no longer an Angel.

Through his rookie year, maybe his development as a young big leaguer had stalled with the Angels - he gets traded to the Philadelphia Phillies finish out the 2022 season, but after a solid year in 2023, there might be some potential left for Marsh to be an even better player that he could have ever have been with the Angels.

He has become a fan favorite, where he is fun to watch with all his fair flying around - in the highlights I've seen of him with the Phillies, he's always fired up, gesturing to his dugout after hits and seems like a real 'rah-rah' guy.

I pass on most Gerrit Cole cards just because he seems too 'corporate,' even for MLB players who get millions to play a game - however I want to make it where most Panini Donruss Pink Fireworks parallels are keepers.

More Pink Fireworks parallels teasing a pair of questionable guys - I hesitated to make these keepers because of the players shown, but it's like a reward finding the parallels themselves, so into my pile they went.

I didn't know if there was space in my pile for a 1987 Topps Domingo Ramos #641 or a 1991 Fleer Brady Anderson #466 - but I added them on with others I assume are stadium project cards.

I would term these guys as 'fan favorite' types - Gooden and Murphy had runs of superstar greatness, while the ageless Franco was always an all-star talent, even though may have been considered a notch below a true superstar.

I could never get into the junk wax era Conlon card sets because the images were black and white and pictured old timers before my time - but made a keeper out of a card of Johnny Vander Meer, who threw two consecutive no-hitters as a big league pitcher.

I made this Mark Gubicza card a keeper after not claiming a copy I'd seen in a sale online recently - I classify his cards as mostly junk wax commons, but he's had ties with the Angels as a broadcaster for at least the past 15 years, so maybe his oddballs are worth a second look.

Another Brady Anderson card makes the pile and it is a 1988 Topps Traded 'XRC,' so it is more unique card - I remember him as a junk wax guy who barely had any pop and was a fringe big leaguer through his mid 20s.

At the age of 28 however, he broke out as a late bloomer for the Baltimore Orioles - where he became a solid top of the lineup presence for the bulk of his career through the 1990s, with a peculiar 1996 season where hit 50 home runs.

40 card St. Louis Cardinals repack break

I spent $5 on 20 assorted MLB team repacks at the end of 2019 and while I've put the cards away the best as I could and/or count certain ones for my collecting topics subsets - I figure to share the results one team at a time, whenever I'm up for an evergreen post.

St. Louis Cardinals - 40 cards
1998 Fleer Tradition Update J.D. Drew #U100
1993 Topps Luis Alicea #257 - men at work
1989 Donruss Cris Carpenter #39
1983 Topps Ken Oberkfell #206

1992 Donruss Geronimo Pena #533 - in the air
1992 Upper Deck Cris Carpenter #686
1991 Topps Archives 1953 Harvey Haddix #273 - players smiling
1991 Donruss Pedro Guerrero #25 - hats-off
1993 Fleer Todd Zeile - dirt
1996 Upper Deck Collector’s Choice Alan Benes #695 - inking it up; have it
1993 Pinnacle Bien Figueroa #263 - nations / D.R. / Santo Domingo
1992 Upper Deck Todd Zeile #40
1996 Upper Deck Collector’s Choice John Frascatore #692
1988 Donruss Jack Clark #15
1992 Topps Gerald Perry #498 - horizontal
1996 Fleer Mark Sweeney #557
1993 Topps Felix Jose #67
1994 Topps Jose Oquendo #406 - facial hair
1996 Leaf Brian Jordan #142 - baserunning
1991 Topps Tim Jones #262 - dirt
1993 Fleer Bryn Smith #515 - facial hair
1996 Pinnacle John Mabry #26
1988 Donruss Jack Clark #15
1992 Topps Geronimo Pena - players smiling

1996 Upper Deck Tom Pagnozzi #439 - tools of ignorance; on the reverse; play at the plate.
1994 Topps Luis Alicea #416 - shades; on the reverse image
1993 Topps Bob Tewksbury #285 - grips
1992 Upper Deck Brian Jordan #3 - facial hair
1992 Topps Tom Pagnozzi #448 - Topps sampler run
1994 Topps Rheal Cormier #594 - Topps sampler run
1998 Donruss Royce Clayton #261 - players smiling on the reverse
1992 Donruss Rex Hudler #438

1992 Topps Bernard Gilkey #746 - hats-off
1993 Score Ozzie Smith #532 - posed
1992 Fleer Bryn Smith #590 - facial hair
1994 Leaf Ray Lankford #384 - players smiling on the reverse image
1997 Topps Gallery Alan Benes #26
1992 Donruss Luis Alicea #560
1994 Topps Rheal Cormier #594
1983 Topps Super Veterans Jim Kaat #673

Card show rummage - tools of ignorance

I assume collecting catcher cards is a more of common 'thing' where I have seen at least a few other collectors post their pickups or display their cards - to me the cards are fun to look at because catchers stand out with their equipment, whether stationary or involved in some game action.

It wasn't the plan, but I ended up with 50 tools of ignorance cards during a card show run - I'm never going to get every card that applies to a collecting topic subset, but it's nice to build up a quantity 'adds' for one particular theme and actually take them home.

1982 Fleer Gary Allenson #287
1982 Fleer Marty Castillo #265
1982 Fleer Rich Gedman #294

1982 Fleer John Ellis #316
1982 Fleer Jim Sundberg #332
1982 Fleer Bruce Benedict #429
1987 Fleer Record Setters Rich Gedman #11 of 44
1988 Fleer Mike Heath #56

1988 Fleer Chris Bando #601
1991 Topps Stadium Club Mike Fitzgerald #128
1992 Bowman Brian Harper #149
1992 Bowman B.J. Surhoff #481

1992 Topps Stadium Club Junior Ortiz #727
1993 Score Select Joe Oliver #235

1993 Score Select Matt Nokes #368
1993 Topps Greg Olson #708
1993 Topps Stadium Club B.J. Surhoff #711
1993 Upper Deck Pat Borders #149
1993 Upper Deck Joe Kmak #782
1993 Upper Deck SP Tom Pagnozzi #77

1994 Donruss Dan Wilson #388 - I stumbled upon this card showing the Seattle Mariners catching great wearing the tools of ignorance; I might have left the card for another time, but I wouldn't ever think back of looking for this random catcher, especially with the picture on the reverse showing where the real 'action' is.
1994 Fleer Tony Pena #37
1994 Topps Darren Daulton #380
1995 Donruss Top of the Order Matt Walbeck #NNO
1995 Topps Pat Borders #424
1996 Donruss Mike MacFarlane #119
1996 Fleer Darren Daulton #494
1996 Pinnacle Ivan Rodriguez #59

1996 Pinnacle Terry Steinbach #284
1996 Skybox Metal Tony Eusebio #177
1996 Topps Ron Karkovice #52
1996 Topps Stadium Club Chris Hoiles #219

1997 Topps Stadium Club Mike MacFarlane #281
1997 Topps Stadium Club Sandy Martinez #371
1997 Upper Deck Scott Servais #33

1997 Upper Deck John Flaherty #491
1997 Upper Deck Charlie O'Brien #517
1998 Fleer Tradition Eddie Taubensee #493

1998 Upper Deck Collector’s Choice Brian Johnson #229
1999 Fleer Tradition Brad Ausmus #324
1999 Fleer Tradition Scott Servais #492
1999 Topps Javier Valentin #104
2000 Skybox Brad Ausmus #103
2000 Skybox Dominion Brad Ausmus #129
2000 Skybox Impact Dan Wilson #72
2002 Topps Jason Kendall #555
2004 Upper Deck Toby Hall #57
2005 Fleer Ultra Jason Varitek #136

2005 Topps Ramon Hernandez #424
2008 Upper Deck Gerald Laird #216

Enjoying a quaint card show rummage

My buddy took me to a card show and the last time I was there was when Albert Pujols hit his first Angels home run in 2012 - I also remember looking at a showcase that afternoon where I saw a BGS 9.5 2009 Bowman Sterling Mike Trout autograph for $100; I wouldn't have $100 to spend at any one time, but I'll wait and see if the hype falls down to earth; Trout is going to be a good player, a great player for the Angels but even the top prospects are going to be up-and-down; Harper is still the guy that is going to be a once in a generation superstar.

The place has never been anything big time, but I was glad it’s still around with 5-10 dedicated tables and some curious foot traffic - I didn't actually get to walk around much, but when I first tagged along with my friend to make trips there starting in the mid 2000s, the atmosphere was like a morgue.

Not knowing where to start, I immersed in working through the six or seven 5,000 count monster boxes from a familiar seller - I don't know if I ever bought anything from his booth, which has been set up for the longest time, but back in the day, maybe my mindset was to find loose cards I'd try to get inked up in-person or through the mail, but no junk wax era drivel.

With the emphasis on mini-collection adds however - I'm more game about trying to see if I can round up a good number of cards for cheap [maybe 25 for $1], particularly cards I wouldn't look to buy online outright.

1988 Fleer Ken Dayley #30

1995 Upper Deck SP Championship Series Ken Caminiti #89

I obviously couldn’t go through the boxes card-by-card, but I still tried to add many cards that caught my eye - I worry about going nuts over cards, because I don't want to overvalue cards that are virtually commons.

Maybe in-person is where I give myself license to freelance within reason, where I shouldn't worry about being picky - I probably wouldn’t remember the cards I pass up if I didn’t set them aside as a probable pick up; I needed to live a little, be daring in snapping up those collecting topics subset cards with some sort of quality that wasn’t obvious i.e. maybe what makes the card unique is an image on the back or the card features a player who I've never heard of.

Despite a few stragglers from other sports, I stuck to baseball otherwise - my afternoon would never end if I actually went through the football and basketball cards, knowing I'd be poring over them as well.

1996 Topps Stadium Club Chris Zorich #184 - picturing him *trying* to tackle some random running back with the last name Sanders while two other teammates close in.

1995-96 Topps Stadium Club Predrag Danilovic #313

The seller gave me a 800-900 count box to fill and maybe that’s the challenge for next time - my buddy was lurking on standby mode and I had him count out the loose piles of cards in multiples of 25.

He counted out 325 cards and after looking at what I had, the seller charged me $10, which seemed reasonable enough - the majority should be collecting topics subset adds, though there might some cards designated to go to other projects or maybe dupes I probably had.

I was able to cross off 11 cards from my wantlist - giving me a little bit of satisfaction, even I didn't really look for them outright.

1994 Upper Deck Collector's Choice Jeff Blauser #53 - Will Clark

1997 Topps Stadium Club Sandy Martinez #371

1997 Upper Deck Andy Benes #465

1993 Topps Stadium Club B.J. Surhoff #711.

1995 Upper Deck SP Steve Finley #108 - ended up being the Silver parallel

1997 Upper Deck Collector's Choice Fernando Vina #148 - Tim Salmon

1997 Upper Deck Charlie O'Brien #517 - the blurb on the back of the cards tells the entire story.

1996 Topps Stadium Club Robby Thompson #359

Some finds off a card show appearance #2

So I went to this random card show earlier in the month and besides what I'd picked up, I stumbled upon a table with a bin of loose junk packs for $0.50 - I tried to look for some premium UV coated era baseball packs from the mid 1990s, though any particular one might be brick city, so I had to think twice.

The same booth had a bin of repacks sorted by team - maybe 25 or 30 cards for a quarter.

The guy manning the booth probably thought I was nuts going through his junk cards, trying to look at the top / bottom cards like I was picking fruit - he said I could go and open them up, which seemed odd but I got the sense that he didn't really care.

I didn't bother doing that since I didn't have time, feeling like I was in either my element or just a hoarder - trying to make a stack out all these bagged up cards, setting aside the ones I'm planning to grab.

I didn’t particularly care which teams I got, though interesting, if worthless cards were a lure - the guy at the table wasn't saying much otherwise but said go ahead and make a mess, since cards were supposed to be fun.

Maybe he thought I was a straight up lunatic who was seeing trading cards for the first time - I spent $5 on 20 assorted 'packs' and while the seller didn't have a spare bag handy to hold my hauls, he ended up handing me a bag of more cards just to hold what I'd bought.

Just because I'm probably going to 'show off' the contents of my team repack breaks - one post at a time until I get through them all.

Chicago Cubs - 40 cards 1998 Fleer Tradition Update Gary Gaetti #U54 1992 Topps Jerome Walton #543 1993 Topps Jessie Hollins #487 1988 Donruss Andre Dawson #9 - players smiling 1993 Donruss Mike Morgan #394 - grips 1996 Upper Deck Collector’s Choice Frank Castillo #494 1992 Upper Deck Rey Sanchez #562 1993 Topps Mark Grace #630 1993 Donruss Shawon Dunston #268 - dirt 1993 Topps Stadium Club Jim Bullinger #118 1993 Fleer Ultra Frank Castillo #16 - grips 1993 Topps Butch Hobson / Jim Lefebvre #502 1993 Topps Aaron Taylor #786 - he’s the Cub among the quad of one-time prospects pictured. 1994 Topps Kevin Orie #762 1994 Topps Randy Myers #575 - Topps sampler run 1993 Upper Deck Fun Pack Mark Grace #17

1998 Fleer Update Kerry Wood U5 - Season Highlights insert 1993 Fleer Ultra Dwight Smith #23 - players smiling on the reverse image 1989 Fleer Mike Harkey #427 1993 Topps Derek Wallace #459

1989 Donruss Mark Grace #255 - players smiling 1993 Fleer Dwight Smith #384 1992 Donruss Rick Sutcliffe #642 - facial hair 1993 Upper Deck Shawon Dunston #101 - dirt 1992 Upper Deck Hector Villanueva #102 - angles 1996 Fleer Todd Zeile #333 1993 Fleer Doug Dascenzo #376 - dirt 1993 Upper Deck Sammy Sosa #819 1998 Skybox Dugout Access Henry Rodriguez #8 - facial hair 1993 Fleer Shawn Boskie #373 1993 Topps Gold Jose Vizcaino #237 1991 Fleer Bill Long #425 1991 Topps Dave Smith #110T 1992 Donruss Chico Walker #439 - dirt 1993 Fleer Dwight Smith #384 1992 Topps Mike Harkey #98 1993 Fleer Ultra Willie Wilson #324 1996 Pacific Mark Grace #31 1989 Donruss Manny Trillo #608

1994 Topps Chuck McElroy #613 - inking it up on the reverse image

1990 NBA Hoops Mark Jackson #205

I was bored when I grabbed this card on a random search - I wouldn’t have paid a nickel for this junk wax era basketball card before learning about a cameo by the infamous Menendez brothers, who are pictured sitting courtside off the to left.

Who really cares about the people in the crowd in a random trading card but someone noticed the pair of brothers who teamed up to kill their parents in 1989 - to satisfy a little morbid curiosity, I added it to my collection for about $3 and change.

1992 Score Kirk McCaskill #79

For whatever reason, I picked up a 1992 Score complete set for $6 and found this card to add to my frankenset - ideally, for the particular card number, the card I planned to pick up was a 1987 Fleer Chuck Finley rookie, though I figured to make use of the card (s) I end up with rather than being too picky.

Featured autographs - Kurt Stillwell

I threw away an unsigned 1989 Fleer because it had some paper loss on the card before having Stillwell sign these cards - he sighed when he saw them, but he was accommodating otherwise.