A Trip Into Big D's Part 2- Cardinals (Mizzou too)

In the first part of my A Trip Into Big D's I highlighted the Rays cards that I picked up at my favorite local card shop.  Besides picking up a handful of sweet Rays cards I also picked up some really nice Cardinals pieces too.  Again, the card shop owner Jimmy found all of these cards for me.  Always awesome to have an extra set of eyes looking out for cool cards.  Let's start simple:

This is a game jersey card out of this year's Gypsy Queen set.  Nice looking card of the Cardinals young first baseman.  I am not quite done with completing the Cardinals autographs and relics from this set, but I am close.  Adams was a need.  Along with the Adams card I picked up a copy of an autograph from a former Mizzou player Martin Rucker.  

Mizzou had a bunch of good tight ends starting somewhere in the mid 2000s.  Rucker was an All-American and was one of the primary offensive weapons on the 2007 team that was a Big 12 Championship game away from the BCS Championship Game.  They still beat KU.  

More good stuff.  Back to baseball.  

Topps puts out a ton of parallels.  I swear collectors could go crazy trying to put all of these things together, or at least I would.  I know people who love these.  I really slowed down on parallels a few years back when Topps went wild with camo, pink, sparkles, pies in the face, etc.  Overwhelmed.  I think I have a pink card or two, but none of them are Cardinals and they are whatever I happened to wander into out of the box or packs I opened.  This Freese is numbered out of 50.  

Yes, he's no longer a Cardinal, but Game 6 of the 2011 World Series means I collect him.  He probably does not pay for many of his own beverages around St. Louis.  

I have not done a lot with Rob Kaminsky yet, but he's 19, was a first round pick, and has some really good minor league numbers in A ball.  I've heard good things.  His cards are inexpensive.  Why not?  Two more really good Cardinals.  

Love this card with the green background and the red on the Cardinals jersey.  Not a commonly seen combination, but it works here.  Throw in a nice autograph from the Cardinals top prospect and this a beautiful card.  It's a high number for an Oscar autograph, but it's also an on card autograph.  Last, but not least.....

  

One of the other customers at Big D's pulled this card and already had a Piscotty autograph from his appearance at the Triple A All-Star game from earlier this summer.  Jimmy picked it up for me and I was happy to give this card a new home.  The Cardinals have a crowded outfield, so who knows what the team will do with Piscotty, but this card is a keeper.  Well done Topps.