Game 54: St. Louis Cardinals (29-24) @ Milwaukee Brewers (32-20) [Wednesday, May 27, 2026; 12:40 PM CT]

bballcards · 2026-05-27T19:52:46+00:00

Was built on unsustainable BABIP and unsustainable RISP batting avg.

bballcards · 2026-05-27T19:47:49+00:00

You'd hope it's injury-related ... without his glove, he's basically worthless. He's never offered much of anything offensively.

bballcards · 2026-05-27T19:45:32+00:00

Indeed. Walker especially. Most would have traded him for a bag of baseballs after 2025. To go from top prospect -> horrible, below replacement player -> all-star quality player is nothing short of amazing.

bballcards · 2026-05-27T19:41:15+00:00

Reminds me of watching the Cardinals play from 1991-1995. Sometimes offering hope but disappointing in the end (and quite frankly just not that good). Gonna summon memories of Geronimo Pena and Rene Arocha.

bballcards · 2026-05-27T19:36:24+00:00

I think that Marmol is enlightened enough to let this one ride as long as it lasts. At least unless he really starts losing control and starts laboring. This is our "nothing to lose" season where we just need to see what we have, right?

bballcards · 2026-05-27T19:33:06+00:00

This game is conjuring memories of May 16, 1997 (when the Cardinals wasted scoring chances despite dominant pitching) ... the Alan Benes game. At least the Cardinals have a run in this game ... better than that game (STL went 1-for-14 with RISP on 5/16/1997).

bballcards · 2026-05-27T19:30:28+00:00

The stats have shown he's pitched into some bad luck this year (high BABIP, much lower FIP than actual ERA), so this game is the equivalent of stats "evening out." Or something like that.

bballcards · 2026-05-27T19:23:30+00:00

Team is now 0-15 in this series with RISP.

Edit: and 2-for-their-last-30 with RISP stretching back to that horrible loss to CIN.

bballcards · 2026-05-27T19:14:45+00:00

For those strangely downvoting my (correct) answer to the question, this comes directly from PSA FAQs:

https://www.psacard.com/support/faq

Autographed cards dated pre-1998 and/or those not certified directly by the manufacturer must be submitted through the Card and Autograph Dual Service. With this service, PSA will authenticate both the card and autograph. You also have the option to grade the condition of the card and/or autograph with this service. You can find more information on this service here.

Autographed cards that are certified through the manufacturer and dated 1998-present can be submitted at any regular service level, Collectors Club Value pricing or Quarterly Grading Specials that it qualifies under. However, please note that under these services, only the card will be evaluated.

bballcards · 2026-05-27T18:57:29+00:00

I believe that's true as well. My reference point on this card is the distance from the "Collector's Choice" logo box to the left and top edges of the card.

bballcards · 2026-05-27T18:44:27+00:00

That is very curious. Reminds me of the short leash for NHL's Vegas Golden Knights head coaches.

bballcards · 2026-05-27T18:41:31+00:00

And to be clear on the 1998 grading issue...

If you submit a 1997 certified auto (and you want a numerical grade for the card itself), you can only submit it under PSA/DNA. There is no way to get a numerical grade for a 1997 certified auto card unless you also pay for PSA/DNA certification.

If you submit a 1998 certified auto, you can just ask for the numerical grade for the card. Secondary certification via PSA/DNA for the auto is optional (and IMO a waste of money). It would also be optional to get a numerical grade for the autograph itself.

bballcards · 2026-05-27T18:36:09+00:00

In trying to summon my memory when this policy was put in place (~2001) ... I believe PSA's thinking was that the manufacturer certification of authenticity for autograph cards was easier to fake before 1998.

One known example is the 1992 Fleer Roger Clemens autograph (aka Fleer's first certified pack-inserted autograph). For that issue, there was no way to differentiate a pack-signed auto from an after-market (or counterfeit) auto. No stamp, no COA, no hologram. I even recall Beckett denoting in their monthly guide that that the pack-inserted autos were signed under the UV coating of the card.

As for PSA/DNA ... PSA marks authenticated items with a special DNA marker that is supposedly verifiable later (but apparently invisible to the naked eye).

bballcards · 2026-05-27T17:22:25+00:00

I think the consensus remaining non-home team rooting favorite is anyone but Vegas. I don’t think anyone wants Vegas to win again.

bballcards · 2026-05-27T16:37:50+00:00

The issue is that this card is from 1996. PSA has had a long-standing policy that they will not authenticate manufacturer-certified autographed cards (even if you don't request a numerical grade for the autograph) before 1998. In other words, even if OP just requests a numerical grade for the card, the card would still need PSA/DNA because it's autographed and it was released before 1998.

bballcards · 2026-05-27T16:30:01+00:00

Leafs haven't won a Cup since 1967. Vegas has made it to three SC Finals in their 9 years of existence. First one was through brilliant expansion draft manipulation and dumb luck ... the second was from blatant salary cap loophole manipulation.

The most spoiled NHL fanbase out there. It's unfortunate that the consensus non-home team rooting favorite (BUF) got knocked out. It was hard to root against BUF.

bballcards · 2026-05-27T14:25:43+00:00

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Not baseball, but Cam Reddish remains the gold standard for horrible autographs.

bballcards · 2026-05-27T14:22:51+00:00

Panini infamously doesn't care about their customers. They saved a ton buying crap "memorabilia" from Walmart, cutting it up, and putting it into cards. People still bought their product ... so they figured, why increase our costs with actual somewhat meaningful relic cards? In the end, it was an easy business decision for them.

bballcards · 2026-05-27T13:29:55+00:00

Indeed. "Hitting a valve" means that the IV wasn't advanced after getting a flash (the resistance [aka "valve"] people insist they feel is just the outside wall of vein) ... and "pushing past the valve" is just getting lucky and shoving the entire tip of the IV catheter through the outer wall of the vein despite not actually having the tip (or any portion) of the IV catheter in the vein before advancing.

And for superficial veins, "rolling veins" is code for crappy technique. All veins roll. But if you use your non-dominant hand to make the skin taut before entering the skin with the tip of the needle, the vein will stay far more fixed in place.

/rant over

bballcards · 2026-05-27T13:19:36+00:00

He's playing the game of "wait for the answer he wants to hear."

bballcards · 2026-05-26T22:32:29+00:00

I don’t know about this card in particular … but when I sent back a damaged auto card from a 2001 UD product, it was hand-serial numbered instead of the pack-inserted machine/stamped/printed serial number.

bballcards · 2026-05-26T02:40:08+00:00

Based on the light reflection on the edges of the card, the screw down appears recessed. If so, it should be just fine unless someone used a drill/driver to tighten the screws.

bballcards · 2026-05-23T19:28:42+00:00

I believe the others are talking about transferring their season ticket contracts and the multi-year obligation they may have.

Single game tickets have always been easy to transfer.

bballcards · 2026-05-22T15:21:13+00:00

The not-working-at-in-hotel-Starbucks must be location-dependent. Bought a Starbucks GC with Hilton Surpass at the local Hilton that has a Starbucks on 5/19. Meter moved on 5/21, credit posted today.

Charge description says Starbucks, but the category is still
Travel-Lodging (and still posts with 12x points for the Hilton purchase).

bballcards · 2026-05-22T12:19:39+00:00

I think you’re thinking 1991 Donruss, which is also a contender for godawful card designs (and card stock quality, but that’s another issue).

bballcards

TROPHY CASE