Pujols appreciation thread

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by NYBBFAN

Thank you! There really wasn’t much outside of basic Topps RCs. I walked by the Elite auto with my son, and I said ahh we gotta go back, we’re making a deal here.

LOVE IT!

[ThoseBackPages]

Here was my big Pujols pickup

[Chris P]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

Here was my big Pujols pickup

That is AMAZING

[hatchd]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

Here was my big Pujols pickup

LOVE IT!


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[NYBBFAN]

Wow Eric!! That’s a stunner. The 52 Topps Mantle last year, the 01 BC Pujols this year. LOOK OUT next year.

[NYBBFAN]

Almost forgot to post this eBay grab.

[Jeter1020]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

Here was my big Pujols pickup

Geez that’s beautiful


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[Bcr]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

Here was my big Pujols pickup

Incredible pickup sir

[HeritageKing]

Anyone know how many topps chromes there are numbered some sort of 5/XXX 005/XXX etc?

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by HeritageKing

Anyone know how many topps chromes there are numbered some sort of 5/XXX 005/XXX etc?

probably a couple hundred

[Wade Mulroy]

Bumping this thread with my newest addition. I have a couple side income streams that help fund the collection and the PayPal balance was burning a proverbial hole in my pocket recently.

I was hoping to find a “big” Pujols card to go after and I stumbled upon this one last week. Normally, I stay away from ultra-modern Pujols stuff and stick to his 2001-2011 era stuff; however, I sometimes make an exception.

Quick backstory: I grew up outside the St Louis area and was 11 years old when Albert entered the league. His early years were the golden era of my collecting days, and those Cardinals teams from that era were still my favorite.

As a preteen the 2002 season sticks out in my mind, since that was when Jack Buck and Daryl Kile both passed. The Kile death was obviously more jarring, particularly as a pre-teen. Pro athletes were still mythical figures to me at that time, and I still have vivid memories of the shock that it brought when I heard one of our pitchers had just died all of a sudden.

That same season, my best friend and I attended a game and we contributed a hat and a t-shirt to the Kile memorial that was set up outside the stadium. We have a picture together from that day and we are still best friends (and collect cards) just as we did back then. It was a fun day of baseball, autographs, cards, and video games and was the epitome of a perfect day as a kid in St Louis.

Back to today, I have dozens of saved searches on eBay that I periodically check and one late night after putting my son down to sleep, this one popped on my results and only had a short time left in auction. I immediately recognized the patch and knew I had to make a run at it. For those that don’t know, after Kile and Jack Buck died in 2002, the Cardinals wore a black patch on each sleeve, JFB for Buck and DK57 for Kile. This Card has roughly half of a DK57 patch from a road gray Cardinals uniform from Pujols’ sophomore season.

In a world of thousands of redundant 1/1’s, this one felt truly “unique.” I was shocked this patch showed up in a card 22 years after the fact, but I’m guessing there are probably only a handful of Pujols jerseys from that season that had the DK57 patch, as they only wore them for a very limited time. I’d love to find the other half of the patch in a card someday. I can’t imagine many more of these will be popping up over the years. It’s a really cool throwback to those golden years as a kid and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have this in my collection.

The only negative is the silver paint pen Topps used for the players to sign these cards. Why Topps insists on giving these guys fat, blobby, paint pens when a standard Blue fine point pen would be perfect is beyond me. Nevertheless, I love this card and is definitely my new favorite. Enjoy!





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[msink28]

Truly an exceptional 1/1. Nice pickup.

[NYBBFAN]

Happy to get this Dodgers legend in.

[NYRE2PECT]

Originally Posted by Wade Mulroy

Bumping this thread with my newest addition. I have a couple side income streams that help fund the collection and the PayPal balance was burning a proverbial hole in my pocket recently.

I was hoping to find a “big” Pujols card to go after and I stumbled upon this one last week. Normally, I stay away from ultra-modern Pujols stuff and stick to his 2001-2011 era stuff; however, I sometimes make an exception.

Quick backstory: I grew up outside the St Louis area and was 11 years old when Albert entered the league. His early years were the golden era of my collecting days, and those Cardinals teams from that era were still my favorite.

As a preteen the 2002 season sticks out in my mind, since that was when Jack Buck and Daryl Kile both passed. The Kile death was obviously more jarring, particularly as a pre-teen. Pro athletes were still mythical figures to me at that time, and I still have vivid memories of the shock that it brought when I heard one of our pitchers had just died all of a sudden.

That same season, my best friend and I attended a game and we contributed a hat and a t-shirt to the Kile memorial that was set up outside the stadium. We have a picture together from that day and we are still best friends (and collect cards) just as we did back then. It was a fun day of baseball, autographs, cards, and video games and was the epitome of a perfect day as a kid in St Louis.

Back to today, I have dozens of saved searches on eBay that I periodically check and one late night after putting my son down to sleep, this one popped on my results and only had a short time left in auction. I immediately recognized the patch and knew I had to make a run at it. For those that don’t know, after Kile and Jack Buck died in 2002, the Cardinals wore a black patch on each sleeve, JFB for Buck and DK57 for Kile. This Card has roughly half of a DK57 patch from a road gray Cardinals uniform from Pujols’ sophomore season.

In a world of thousands of redundant 1/1’s, this one felt truly “unique.” I was shocked this patch showed up in a card 22 years after the fact, but I’m guessing there are probably only a handful of Pujols jerseys from that season that had the DK57 patch, as they only wore them for a very limited time. I’d love to find the other half of the patch in a card someday. I can’t imagine many more of these will be popping up over the years. It’s a really cool throwback to those golden years as a kid and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have this in my collection.

The only negative is the silver paint pen Topps used for the players to sign these cards. Why Topps insists on giving these guys fat, blobby, paint pens when a standard Blue fine point pen would be perfect is beyond me. Nevertheless, I love this card and is definitely my new favorite. Enjoy!





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Love the story - thank you!


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[bblair_2002]

Attended a small show over the weekend and one of the dealers is a transplant from Missouri who moved up here recently. I was able to buy/trade for these. The last pic I'm especially happy about since it checks off another RC I needed:

Untitled by Brett Blair, on Flickr
Untitled by Brett Blair, on Flickr
Untitled by Brett Blair, on Flickr
Untitled by Brett Blair, on Flickr
Untitled by Brett Blair, on Flickr

Hard to tell but the Bowman Chrome Reprint is the refractor and the 2002 Fleer is the Glossy /202.

[NYBBFAN]

I wish Topps was a little more structured with their refractors in the 2000s. Copper refractors and red X-Fractors just don't do it for me. I've been putting together a bit from his Angels days. I'm keeping my eyes out for Cardinals black refractors.

[ThoseBackPages]

yea, the inconsistent numbering (some years not even numbering them) of Topps Chrome makes me an unhappy collector of them. i do have some, but mainly Real Golds

[NYBBFAN]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

yea, the inconsistent numbering (some years not even numbering them) of Topps Chrome makes me an unhappy collector of them. i do have some, but mainly Real Golds

Real golds will always be collectible. It does pain me to see what people pay for the 2002s. I don’t think many realize that the "gold" is actually just the base refractor (since the base border is a golden color). 2003s golds are sharp too, I need to find a good copy of some of my favorite players from that era.

[Tere1071]

This isn't bright and shiny, but for those collecting a master set of 2009 Topps Heritage Baseball, this card is highly desireable:

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by NYBBFAN

Real golds will always be collectible. It does pain me to see what people pay for the 2002s. I don’t think many realize that the "gold" is actually just the base refractor (since the base border is a golden color). 2003s golds are sharp too, I need to find a good copy of some of my favorite players from that era.

well said!

2001: Not Numbered, and for Pujols is Gold Foil anyway (and TOUGH)
2002: not numbered (or a Gold Refractor as you mentioned)
2003: /449
2004: Not Numbered
2005: Does not exist
2006: Does not exist
2007: Does not exist
2008: Does not exist

not sure why it took them until 2009 to get on board with them being /50 since they started doing just that with the BC Golds in 2005

[NYBBFAN]

Something fishy with the 2001 SP Authentic Limited Pujols #'d 17/50 on eBay. Listed by Propstein, of course. This 17/50 used to be a BGS 9.5. Apparently not anymore? I guess it could be a very bad attempt at a regrade.

Old BGS cert: https://www.beckett.com/grading/card...&item_type=BGS

New BGS cert: https://www.beckett.com/grading/card...&item_type=BGS

Before:


Now:

[NYBBFAN]

Here is my very incomplete list of these 2001 SP Authentic Limited Pujols cards. If you have info, please share and I will update this post.

1
2
3
4
5 - SGC 9.5 Goldin https://goldinauctions.com/2001_UD_S...-LOT93520.aspx
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13 - PSA 10 https://goldinauctions.com/2001_SP_A...-LOT68526.aspx
14
15 - BGS 9.5 PWCC https://sales-history.pwccmarketplac...monthly1657535, Goldin: https://goldin.co/item/2001-upper-de...e-card-15zujun
16
17 - Originally a BGS 9.5 PWCC https://sales-history.pwccmarketplac...weekly3628392; pic being reused for scams on Mercari; Old BGS cert: https://www.beckett.com/grading/card...&item_type=BGS New BGS cert: https://www.beckett.com/grading/card...&item_type=BGS Sold as a BGS 9 for $4801 via Probstein on eBay 1/15/2025
18
19
20 - BGS 9.5 https://www.ebay.com/itm/144720393452
21 - Raw? https://vintagecardprices.com/card/b...Limited/852027
22 - BGS 9.5 https://www.pwccmarketplace.com/vaul...etplace/302037
23
24
25
26
27 - Was a PSA 9 in 2018, now a PSA 10 in 2021. https://www.psacard.com/auctionprice.../values/386927
28
29
30
31
32
33 - SGC 96 PWCC https://sales-history.pwccmarketplac.../weekly3468044
34
35
36
37 - BGS 9.5 PWCC https://sales-history.pwccmarketplac...monthly2780328
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46 - Trimmed! Sold on eBay for $1929 in Q1 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taWHjpJhilY. I attempted to purchase for $3000 on Jan 8 2024 this but was cb'd by eBay Authenticity. Seller: pratzon123
47
48
49
50

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Sounds like job for BODA!

My uneducated guess? Someone bought it, thought for some wild reason, they would roll the dice for a BGS 10, and ended up with a 9.

Also, maybe… just maybe… the card was damaged in the slab (look at the corners grade) and the owner wanted do the right thing and have the appropriate grade listed.

Just guesses.

[hatchd]

My guess would be someone bought it, tried to cross it to PSA, it came back an 8 for some reason and they tried to get their 9.5 back. Purely guessing obviously. With BGS 10s being so hard to get I can't imagine cracking a 9.5 on a card like this to try for a bump at BGS.


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[bounty37h]

I bought a box of Bowman in 2001 and was surprised when I opened it that there was a box topper card, packed on top of all the sealed packs was a top loader with a signed rookie of Albert Pujols. The card store owner told me that's probably a good one, but I had no idea how good. I never took it out of the top loader all these years and finally sent it in to PSA the 1st week of September. I finally got it back last week, was disappointed in the card grade but pleased with the auto grade. I showed it to a few people at a show last weekend and no one can believe it only got an 8, everyone said 9 easy minimum.
20250103_215429 by Scott Dreyer, on Flickr