A Pack A Day

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Hobby

2011-12-10T09:43:00.000-05:00

I picked up this pack at the card show from two weekends ago. It came from the table of "Overpriced Wax Guy." I always feel a little bad, since he's at every show and all I do is look and run. As it turned out, he had a bunch of 2011 Topps singles I needed, so I added this old hobby pack to round out the lot.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
121 Fausto Carmona

82 Andy Sonnanstine
43 Buddy Carlyle
4 Justin Speier
281 Mark Buehrle
86 B.J. Upton
(Did you ever get a look at the back of this card? Everyone else's name on the back of their cards is written with colored print on top of a white drop shadow. On Upton's, the color starts to crap out at the period. I'll have to run a check to see if anyone else's is like that.)

203 Shane Youman
89 Josh Wilson (Future Brewer.)
11 Roy Oswalt
162 Mike Bacsik
84 Al Reyes
42 Chuck James

81 James Shields
159 Damion Easley
369 Jake Peavy (I've probably pulled this card eight times. and I've opened maybe seven packs.)
306 Jerry Blevins
387 Fred Lewis Season Highlights
324 Joe Koshansky
360 Eric Byrnes

OPC-ER Edgar Renteria O-Pee-Chee

Not an amazing pack, by any means, but still the best photography of any set since I've gotten back into the hobby.

1996 Upper Deck Johnny Quest

2011-11-27T19:03:00.001-05:00

The date of my birth puts me in just about the perfect wheelhouse NOT to be a fan of Johnny Quest. The original series aired in 1964-65, and probably lived on through the 1970s through reruns. This was followed decades later by The New Adventures of Johnny Quest, which theoretically should have been on my radar, but wasn't, probably because the series lasted only 13 episodes. The the time the series on which this pack of cards was based, The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest, was on television, I was nearly finished with high school, and the only cartoons I watched were The Simpsons and Space Ghost Coast to Coast. This pack of cards is as problematic as the final TV series. I'm familiar with the broad outline of the show, but none of its intricacies. Adult Swim meta-cartoons have provided much of my knowledge of Hanna-Barbera staples, namely the simmering undercurrent of homosexual tension between Benton Quest and Race Bannon.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
26 Dr. Jeremiah Surd
Good God, these cards are a mess! I cannot tell you how difficult it was for me to identify the subject of each card. With no fewer than seven separate places for text on the front of the card, the design seemed to combine early Geocities elements with a seventh grader's myspace page circa 2005. I don't know where to look, and I feel defeated.

35 Dr. Jeremiah Surd (???) Again?
I'm not sure if this card is part of the base set or not. It doesn't seem to be one of the listed inserts, but the card numbering is of a different style than the first one. Surd's profile is on the back, but we have this URL group shot on the front. I want to track down a laserdisc of this show so I can unscramble my brain.

22 Hadji
Back to the base design, I see. Hadji is a familiar main character, albeit with a rebooted wardrobe. The post-1993 WTC bombing environment most likely dictated a turban-free cartoon. Also clearly a Power Rangers derived look.

HC2 Hadji's Clues - Courage Overcomes Fear
If I rub off a portion of the back of this card, I'll get a clue that will help me while I play the Johnny Quest CD-ROM Adventure. I'm not falling for that one. (Turns out I was wrong on the turban thing, too.) Odds on this insert were 1:5.

47 Villain ^2 -- Ezekiel Rage / Dr. Jeremiah Surd
All Surd, all the time baby!

44 Tools of the Trade - Surd's High-Tech Wheelchair
Seriously, I cannot get away from this guy. And another design shift. Can anyone tell me what the base design even is? I give up. Just watch Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law. At least that has more Race Bannon than this pack.

Repack Resurrection: 2007 Upper Deck Series 2

2011-05-22T05:09:00.000-04:00

The long, arduous journey comes to a close today with the only pack worthy of the closing ceremonies: 2007 Upper Deck Series 2.
After all, for a blog whose purpose is to open and showcase packs of trading cards, it is certainly fitting that the final pack would be one that serves no other purpose other than to be opened for others to see. Which brings up the philosophical question: Does this blog exist because of this pack, or does this pack exist because of this blog?

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
747 Emil Brown

571 Danys Baez
921 Barry Zito

799 Kevin Mench

654 Joe Borowski

Isn't it great to see the Toxic Avenger signing autographs for the kids?

Repack Resurrection: 2007 Topps Series 2

2011-05-21T15:36:00.000-04:00

This is a product I have opened very little of since I bought a complete set of Series 2 at a card show shortly after it came out. I don't know what prompted me to do so. Perhaps it was a side effect of being in the middle of building the '07 Heritage set, my first experience with chasing down a buttload of short prints, and didn't need any other set-building distractions. Or maybe the price was just right. In any case, I probably already have every card in this pack, but let's tear in anyway.

Top to Bottom:
567 Chris Stweart (RC)
520 Adam Dunn

546 Orlando Cabrera
MMS29 Mickey Mantle Story

412 Gerald Laird
384 Alex Gonzalez

Yep, got 'em all, including the Mickey Mantle Story card. I finished that insert a long time ago. Not sure why. It's not like I snuggle up near the fireplace on a cold January evening reading the backs of those cards like a novel.

One pack to go and Repack Resurrection is over!

Repack Resurrection: 2007 Topps Opening Day

2011-05-21T06:31:00.000-04:00

This is the pack I was least excited to find in the repack thingy. I liked this set enough to collect the whole thing along with all of the inserts, so unless something amazing emerges, there is literally nothing new I can get from this pack.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
217 Andre Ethier
146 Alex Rios
6 Adrian Gonzalez
31 Chad Tracy
25 Chipper Jones
136 Chris Capuano

What a miserable pack of junk.

Repack Resurrection: 2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions

2011-05-20T17:34:00.000-04:00

With a four-card pack, there's not a whole heckuva lot to write about. To keep things interesting, I will share my favorite thing about each card.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
75 Carlton Fisk
Favorite Thing: The funky design element behind those red red socks

102 Curtis Granderson
Fave: Flip-ups

66 Buffalo Bill Cody Mini
Fave: The push-broom 'stache/wily Van Dyke combo and the 5"x7" picture frame belt buckle (tie)

62 Yogi Berra
Yogi's disproportionately small head.

Four cards per pack? No wonder I didn't buy this stuff.

Repack Resurrection: 2006 Topps '52 Rookies

2011-05-19T21:55:00.001-04:00

As with any five-year-old pack of a rookie-centric set, it's probably a good idea to track down each of the players in order to gauge the success of that pack. We shall do the same tonight.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
212 Paul Hoover
Since his old Marlins days (and his really old Devil Rays days in '01 and '02), Hoover got picked up by the Phillies for a few games in both 2009 and 2010. He is currently in the Red Sox minor league system.

24 Matt Smith
Matt last played in MLB with the Phillies in 2007 and was released by the Cubs organization after spring training '09.

184 Nick Masset
Masset is currently a reliever for the Cincinnati Reds.

DD14 Dynamic Duos Melky Cabrera/Jeff Karstens
Karstens is a starting pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cabrera is enjoying a .267 batting average with the Royals. There was a rumor following the 2008 season that the Brewers were going to try to deal Mike Cameron to the Yankees for Melky, but it never materialized.

93 Ty Taubenheim
Taubenheim last played in the bigs with Pittsburgh in 2008, and was released just before the start of the season by the Rangers. The back of Ty's card alerts readers to a "staph injury" suffered in 2006. Not staph infection, staph injury. Weird.

137 Wil Nieves
Wil is a backup catcher with my Brewers this season. He is splitting time with George Kottaras and isn't seeing a lot of action because starter Jonathan Lucroy is tearing it up.

Good pack, nothing to write home about. I'm giving it a B-.

Repack Resurrection: 2007 Fleer

2011-05-19T00:23:00.000-04:00

2007 Fleer... its last year as a baseball brand. You tend to find a lot of '07 Ultra in repack boxes and as discounted loosies, but regular Fleer not so much. How will this pack turn out?

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
307 Marcus Giles

223 Carlos Guillen
181 Juan Rivera
141 Justin Morneau
218 Joel Zumaya Mini Die-Cut

358 Fred Lewis (RC)
336 Alexi Casilla (RC)
RS-FL Francisco Liriano Rookie Sensations

7 Ryan Zimmerman
YR-AP Albert Pujols Year in Review

This pack gets an A-. The only thing holding it back was no Brewers. Plus, you have to leave a little wiggle room at the top of the grading scale for possible relic cards or autographs. I'd say that two inserts and a parallel make this a very nice pack, with Pujols to boot. And the Liriano insert makes this even better than it would have been a couple of weeks ago. Both of these inserts highlight Fleer's dominance over Topps when it came to inserts in 2007:
Rookie Sensations > Generation Next
Year in Review > Any one of the endless Mantle mirrors

Repack Resurrection: 2009 Upper Deck SP Authentic

2011-05-17T22:20:00.005-04:00

All y'all thought Thorzul had quit this project and wasn't going to post again until Guy Fawkes Day, didn't you?
Y'alls were wrong.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
48 Joakin Soria

20 Carlos Quentin

158 Mat Gamel
YES!

29 Adrian Beltre

85 Brad Hawpe

That Gamel rookie makes the pack for me. On eBay you will have trouble getting one of these for less than four bucks shipped. I looked at the checklist, and it seems as if base cards #130-170 are all rookies. I don't know the first thing about SP Authentic, but would I be wrong in assuming the high-numbered rookies are SP's? Just a hypothesis. Feel free to correct me if it makes you feel like a big man.

Repack Resurrection: 2008 Topps Opening Day

2011-05-16T08:55:00.001-04:00

Here's the first of the non-visible packs from the repack pack, 2008 Topps Opening Day. Is it the most famously red design since 1990 Donruss? We'll let history be the judge.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:

220 Nyjer Morgan
"Tony Plush" is now a Brewer. A hurt Brewer. I guess he has more of a chance to use his gentleman's name at the Water Street bars.

3 Jeff Suppan
Pictured as a Brewer, but a Brewer no more.

133 Carlos Delgado
No connection to the Brewers whatsoever.

83 J.J. Hardy
Brewer. Then, not now.

194 Troy Tulowitzki
Finished a close second to Brewer Ryan Braun in the 200l NL Rookie of the Year voting.

146 Fausto Carmona
Again, no Brewer connection.

All in all, I have to say I liked it. This pack has aged well.

Repack Resurrection: 2009 Upper Deck X

2011-05-15T09:46:00.003-04:00

Up next, the visible pack that partially made up my mind to take this beast home: 2009 Upper Deck X.

Really?

Oh yeah. X is still one of the sets I'm trying to complete, and I figured I had at least an outside chance of snagging one of the die-cut parallels I still need. Let's see how this goes.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:

90 Ian Kinsler

10 Jonathan Papelbon

39 Carlos Lee Die-Cut
Rats, already have that one! But at least I fulfilled Night Owl's unspoken axiom that at least one out of every three packs contains a Carlos Lee parallel or insert. I'm 2 for 2 so far.

X-LB Lance Berkman Xponential
This is a good one. I'm not officially collecting the Xponentials, but this will go in the '09 X binder with the others for aesthetic reasons.

8 Kevin Youkilis

59 Mark Teixeira

Well, I didn't get the die-cut I wanted, but at least I raised awareness about my quest to stamp out empty spots in my binder. As of this moment, I still need these:
3 4 5 6 8 9 10 13 14 17 21 23 24 27 30 31 34 38 40 42 43 44 48 51 52 56 57 58 59 60 63 65 72 73 75 79 80 81 84 86 90 93 96 97

If you have any of these to trade, hit me up. I'll be passing out the lapel ribbons late next week.

Repack Resurrection: 2009 Upper Deck Icons

2011-05-14T22:53:00.003-04:00

I won't bore you with another retelling of the circumstances surrounding the purchase of this repack pack, but I did allow a reader to choose the first pack I would open.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
53 Jim Thome

26 Cole Hamels

15 Carlos Lee Silver Board Parallel

16 Carlos Quentin

79 Michael Young

Silver board...
Silver board...
This Icons pack's kinda shitty.

Actually, not that bad a pack. Just none of my favorites here.
Nine more to go.

2001-02 Vanguard Hockey

2011-02-23T16:11:00.000-05:00

Well, well, A Pack A Day is still alive, look at that....

Today we bust a pack of 2001-02 Vanguard hockey from Pacific. At the time, it was a high end set, selling for, as you can see, $6.49 a pack. Today? .50 cents. We'll blame it on the economy.

3 cards per pack...
Jeremy Roenick. These cards are super thick and very glossy. Kind of like a paint job on a '49 Merc.... 30 layers of candy apple red and clear coat...

Marc Savard when he was a Flame, and not concussed...

and an insert! V-Team member Teemu Selanne! Too bad he's not in a Jets jersey....

There you have it. I'd have hated to try and put this set together at $6.49 a pack. 100 card base set and 50 SP rookies. Ouch.

2007-08 In The Game Between the Pipes (Arena Version)

2011-02-05T13:40:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Thorzul for providing some motivation to start posting here again. The NHL season is heating up, so what better time to post a hockey pack. Today we have a pack of 2007-08 Between the Pipes hockey, produced by In The Game. This is the "Arena Version", which I'm pretty sure means the "you won't be pulling any hits" version. Hey, for 99 cents what can you expect? 2007 was the year I got back into collecting, but I purchased Upper Deck hockey only that season, so I am interested in seeing how these look. In case you couldn't tell by the name, the Between the Pipes sets are dedicated to goaltenders. 5 cards per pack, here's what I got:

#75 - Terry Sawchuk - Greats of the Game

The 100-card base set is actually broken up into a few different subsets. At least in terms of what I pulled in this pack, the Greats of the Game subset is the one I like least. Nearly half the card is occupied by the gigantic border and it's just not very flattering. In the Game isn't licensed to produce NHL cards, so the photo of Sawchuk is cropped oddly to avoid showing the Red Wings logo on his sweater.

Sawchuk is a great start to the pack though. A fitting choice for the Greats of the Game subset. Unfortunately, he suffered a bizarre fate, passing away from internal injuries resulting from a drunken scuffle with a teammate over living expenses. He died just weeks after what would be his final NHL season.

#100 - Ed Mio - The Rival League

We go from the subset I like least, to the one I enjoy the most. The Rival League subset pays tribute to the World Hockey Association, a competitor to the NHL who would eventually fold, with the NHL absorbing a handful of its teams. This subset has everything going for it, former legends, great team logos and a nice retro design. I mean just look at that Indianapolis Racers logo. If The Rival League were an entirely separate set, I'd be buying it up by the box.

#65 - Kari Lehtonen - Stars of the Game

Lehtonen was taken second overall in the 2002 Entry Draft by the Thrashers. Doesn't seem like the greatest pick, but that wasn't a very strong draft in all fairness. Nonetheless, Carolina took Cam Ward 23 picks after Atlanta... After a few solid seasons, and some injuries, he's now with the Dallas Stars. He didn't look that great last Thursday when the Bruins scored 5 times against him.

#90 - Gerry Cheevers - The Rival League

Best card in the pack, hands down. In fact, without seeing a checklist, I doubt there's a card in the entire set I'd rather have. Gerry's sporting his classic "stitches" mask. Another cool WHA jersey, this one belonging to the Cleveland Crusaders, who Cheevers played 4 seasons with before returning to the NHL.

#4 - Antoine Lafleur - Future Stars

The final card comes from the Future Stars subset, containing the game's top prospects. I think there's a Cary Price to be had in this subset, but I was unfortunate enough to pull an Antoine Lafleur. I knew it was bad when I searched his name on Google and the first result that came back was a thread from a hockey forum entitled "Is Antoine Lafleur Still Playing Hockey?". As far as I can tell he's never seen action in a single NHL game.

My one complaint about this product is the backs. Even though the set is comprised of a few different subsets, I wish the backs would've been just a bit more standardized. Each subset has a completely different back. Here are the first 3 cards from the pack:

If you stumbled across these 3 cards in a box you wouldn't even know they're from the same set. The numbers are in completely different spots on each card even.

All in all that's a pretty small gripe, and as 99 cent packs go I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I would buy more of these at that price, and would love to build The Rival League subset.

2011 Topps Baseball

2011-02-03T15:36:00.006-05:00

Yes, the time has come. After being cooped up in the house for the better part of two days, I needed to break free. Finally the alley got plowed, and at last I could drive somewhere, anywhere. Driving down the alley now feels like the trench run to the Death Star, but instead of finding an exhaust port measuring two meters wide, I made my way to Target, coming home with a few packs of 2011 Topps, the first product of the year. As of right now, I have only opened one pack, and every card in it so far has been a first for the year.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
First Card of the Year
140 Brett Anderson
Whenever foil comes into play on the front of a card, particularly the name, there's reason to worry. Allay your fears, readers, for the player names are almost instantly legible, from nearly every angle. A slight drop shadow prevents the foil from overpowering the eye. I also love the baseball behind the tea logo in the corner. This is a clean, classy design that has instantly become my favorite since 2007. (Yes, I will proudly defend 2007 Topps. It gets a bad rap.)

The backs of the cards contain the requisite stats. The arc motif is continued from the front. Unfortunately, the inset photo is recycled from the front. This should never, ever happen. Minus one point for laziness. However, the extra-large checklist number more than makes up for the repeat photo, so plus two. Set-builders such as myself will appreciate this feature.

First Card of a Dude of Whom I Am a Supercollector (If He Appears As a Brewer)
102 CC Sabathia

First Card of a Player Whose First Name Ends With the Same Consecutive Vowel
255 Torii Hunter

First Topps Rookie Cup
198 Buster Posey

First MVP Award Card
29 Josh Hamilton

First Horizontal Card
329 Brett Wallace

First Diamond Giveaway
TDG-1
I'm not sure how excited I should be about this. One thing's for sure, I'm not hopping on that website the first day it's operational.

First Mini Insert
KC-16 Aroldis Chapman Champions of Games and Sports
A Target-only insert, perhaps? I don't know enough about this set yet to make that judgment. The 50-card checklist is on the back, and it looks like the type of insert set I'd like to complete. No actual champions of games, though, unless Andrew McCutchen dominates at Hi-Ho Cherry-O in a way of which I have not yet been made aware.

First Toppstown to Probably Go In the Garbage
TT-44 Ubaldo Jimenez
Actually, these feel more like inserts than last year's. Very shiny.

First Guy Whose Last Name, When Pronounced, Includes a Phantom Syllable
180 Paul Maholm
How the eff does he get Muh-hol-lum out of that? Veteran character actor Ian Holm's last name has just one syllable. All Paul does is put a Ma in front of it: Ma-holm. Right? Now I'm starting to sound like George Costanza explaining how manure is just Ma and nure.

First Closer
13 Billy Wagner

First Card to Contain the Phrase "Double-Digit Dinger"
276 Miguel Olivo

There you have it folks, my first pack of 2011 baseball cards. Good luck on putting this set together.

2004 Fleer Greats of the Game

2010-09-12T17:12:00.003-04:00

Today, we're going to take a look at this pack of cards in a rather grim way. Since most of these players will likely be dead, I will fill you in on the circumstances of each man's death. This ought to be a doozy.

Let's tear in, and tear this pack from the Death's cold, firm grasp.

Top to Bottom:
84 Preacher Roe
11/9/08: Beheaded after bringing up the taboo subject of his boss's Chinese and American heritage.

141 Bob Lemon
1/11/00: Abdominally skewered by a length of pipe which entered the industrial boiler behind him. Told to "let off some steam" by adversary, Matrix.

98 Cecil Travis
12/16/06: Exited Bolivian lean-to with partner with guns blazing, ending in a freeze frame. Presumed shot.

136 Rod Carew
10/15/30: Not yet deceased. Will most likely be hung through back on meathook in remote Texas farmhouse.

103 Willie Stargell
4/9/01: Flayed alive by a wealthy cult looking to find the secrets of the afterlife.

On a serious note, some of those old-timers lived to a very old age. Travis was 93, Roe 92, Lemon 79. Well-lived lives.

2003 Fleer Authentix

2010-08-21T14:57:00.004-04:00

A lot can happen in the span of seven years. Coincidentally, that's how long ago this pack of cards came out. In case you didn't know, I freed it from a cheap-o box of cards I got at K-Mart.

Since this pack was produced somewhere before the dawn of television, and thus, before mixed martial arts pay-per-view, I'll give you an update as to what each player is now doing. Fun stuff!

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
23 Jacque Jones
Update: Changed last name to Mauer, currently lapping up all of the accoutrements therein and therein contained.

93 Darin Erstad
Update: In the running for Disneyland's Goofy, summer 2011. Will settle for Thumper.

109 Victor Martinez
Update: Splitting time between Boston Red Sox and his home-operated "Bring Back Surge Soda" website.

18 Jose Vidro
Update: Spearheading the now-thriving Puerto Rican bullfighting movement.

98 Bartolo Colon
Update: Free agent starting pitcher.

By the way, the backs of the cards all show the exact same stadium seating diagram. How hard would it have been to show the diagram specific to that player's team?

2008 Topps Stadium Club

2010-08-09T12:51:00.003-04:00

Yet another Target cheapie.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
20 Jorge Posada

8 Mark Teixeira

19 Jason Bay

2 Tim Lincecum

144 Justin Ruggiano First Day Issue

It still hurts with regard to the way this set was constructed. The design and photography is just about the best Topps has done in a long time. However, even after reading several explanations surrounding the hypothetical building of this set, I still cannot fully comprehend its madness. Oh well.

2010 Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back 3D

2010-08-03T17:42:00.004-04:00

Topps Widevision.
The ultimate in non-sports cards.

They're back.

In 3D.

And there isn't any half-thought-out garbage to junk it all up. These hearken back to a time before we referred to these as "episodes."

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
46 "Plans for His Son"
With a Darth Vader-centric card, this pack is already a win.

31 "Magnificent Cloud City"
No crime, great schools, and an unbeatable public transportation system put Cloud City at fifth place on Forbes' annual "Most Livable Cities" list.

8 "Back From the Brink"
The Bacta, the weird underwear, the uncomfortable jostling... it's all as I remembered it.

Speaking of which, why don't we have Bacta available to cure our illnesses? Sure, there's Bactine, but that's the light version. We still need something for more than minor scrapes and burns. Why is the scientific community keeping this from us?

Overall, these are great cards. They don't quite work as 3D, since they use the old lenticular technology. It's more like a very subtle Sportflic with less movement. Images in the foreground are kept more or less in place, but the backgrounds move from side to side. The effect does create some illusion of depth, but it's not perfect. I might consider picking up the entire set on eBay at some point in the future, but who knows.

Han shot first.

2010-07-22T22:19:00.001-04:00

Asked one of my recent graduates where his friend was. "He's dropping the Browns off in the Super Bowl."

2008 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects

2010-07-12T21:05:00.004-04:00

These cards are the latest in my discounted Target finds.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
BDP43 Clayton Richard

BDP15 Blake DeWitt

BDPP89 Elvis Andrus

BDPP102 Clayton Richard (Ummmm... how can he be in both? The answer: Clayton Richard Hot Pack. Odds - 1:20,000)

BDPP66 Carlos Carrasco Chrome

BDPP75 Dexter Fowler Chrome

BDP40 Michael Hollimon Gold

Like that annoying girl we all knew in high school, this pack is crying out for you to give it a grade.
My assessment: C-
It was a fairly average pack with a few guys who are starting big leaguers by now, but the Clayton Richard onslaught knocks it down a peg or two for all but the most die-hard of White Sox fans.

2005 Upper Deck All Star Classics

2010-07-02T12:58:00.004-04:00

So a bunch of these discounted packs have started showing up at my local Target, and for $1.59, I can't resist.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
36 Nomar Garciaparra
22 Jason Varitek

20 Ivan Rodriguez
1 Albert Pujols Gold Parallel (250/499)

71 Oliver Perez

79 Bob Gibson
65 Joe Mauer
86 Jim Palmer

Not sure if all packs are like this one, but it seems like the front half is all then-current players, and the back half alternates between All-Star Futures and Legendary All-Stars. Great looking cards, a little hit-or-miss on the checklist given the time period, but a fun pack to open. The Pujols alone makes up the cost of the entire pack. Not bad.

2009 UD Signature Stars

2010-06-29T20:34:00.000-04:00

*Pfff* *Pfff* Whoa, what is up with all the dust around here? This is a pack a *DAY* right? Man, we need to step up, fellow bloggers!

The 2009 Upper Deck Signature Stars cards come in a box that lets you know in BIG, BOLD PRINT that these cards are NOT AUTHORIZED by the MLB. I'm sure if I look hard enough, I will find a little logo of a guy sticking his tongue out on there somewhere.

Each Signature Stars box comes with an autographed card. What that really means is that of the whole six packs you get, one of the packs has an autographed card in it. Though I opened all six packs, I will only show the one with the "hit" in it.

First up, Jason Kubel - Twins. I actually like the looks of these cards a lot. The picture is center and large enough that the starred border does not take away from the player. The player's name, city name and position are shown at the top along with the UD logo. The "SignatureStars" script is centered at the bottom.

Next up, Brian Roberts - Orioles. The backs of the cards mimic the name/city at the top, then some biographical info is provided along with a paragraph about the player. At the bottom of the back are stats from the last four years or so. They are very clean without a lot of distraction (though the back does have the same starred design altered slightly from the front)

Third, we have the signature card. This is the "hit" of the box. This is the reason this box retailed for $30 when first sold. Who is the reason? Jason Anderson - Royals. I don't follow KC, so I don't know if I struck gold or struck out. Given my genral history with such things, I'm guessing the latter.

Fourth, batting clean-up is Andruw Jones - Rangers. Oh sure, I couldn't get HIS auto...

And rounding out the pack, we find Pablo Sandoval - Giants.

1992 ProSport Peanuts Classics Series 2

2010-05-31T17:37:00.001-04:00

I received this pack as part of a recent non-sport purchase. As it turned out, there were some sport-related packs of cards in the mix after all! I had never heard of these before, and when I saw there was a chance of pulling a "Stan Musial Hologram," well, I jumped at the chance to open it.

The cards feature a gold or silver border on the front with the "Peanuts" logo. In the center, a single comic panel related to baseball appears. While this is a very cool thing to behold, it was not until I flipped the card over that I gazed upon the true coolness of the card:

On the back of each card, a full comic strip depicts the scene on the front plus the rest of the story for context! Also on the back, the card number and a tiny Snoopy "Classics" logo. There is no copyright information, so I had to poke around online to find the date of production. Turns out, these were made over the course of several years. I just picked the 'middle' one for good measure.

Because there are 10 cards in the pack, I will show some of the backs on here, but will mainly focus on the fronts for this post. You can find the backs of all the cards in another post on "A Pack To Be Named Later" (link below).

This is a cross-blog post. Related articles appear on the following blogs:

A Pack To Be Named Later
A Pack A Day
Things Done To Cards

2008 Topps Stadium Club Retail

2010-05-16T10:36:00.006-04:00

So... Target hit the secret number in my head that would get me to buy any more of this garbage. It's still overpriced by about a buck-and-a-half.

The fronts of the wrappers make a clear promise: "ONE ROOKIE CARD INSIDE!" I got four. Well, which one is it guys? With all these youngsters, let's check and see how many on the same team's roster for 2010.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
127 Blake DeWitt
Status: Starting second baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers

46 Fausto Carmona
Status: Starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, currently 4-1

148 Chris Perez
Status: Relief pitcher for the Cleveland Indians

103 Nick Adenhart
Status: Sadly, deceased

117 Hernan Iribarren
Status: Playing for AAA Oklahoma City RedHawks (Texas)

Well, two out of five ain't bad.

Now, off to file these away in my impossible-to-complete drawer. Sigh.

2007 Schmeer Schmultra

2010-05-13T18:28:00.006-04:00

Sometimes it's fun to transpose the initial consonant sounds of two word, like in a name. I am told that my wife's relatives make a habit of this, especially when masking light profanity, such as doing something for "gits and shiggles." Let's try it out as we open this pack of 2007 Fleer Ultra Baseball.

20 Schurt Cilling

68 Wontrelle Dillis

172 Jenji Kohima (surprisingly close to Weeds creator Jenji Kohan's name)

124 Donny Jhamon

136 Rimmy Jollins Gold Foil

Alright, that last one turned my stomach a little bit, sounding more like someone who starred alongside a Jamie Gillis or a Harry Reems than a National League MVP.

But wasn't that fun?

1998 Upper Deck Series 3 Baseball

2010-04-12T20:52:00.001-04:00

Reading Night Owl's post earlier today made me think that the decline in activity on A Pack a Day has been kind of sad. This was one of the blogs that really influenced me when I got back into collecting, so the least I can do is post a pack. I came home from work and found this one in the card closet, a hobby pack of 1998 Upper Deck Series 3 Baseball. I actually bought this about 2 years ago and have never really felt like opening it. Price was $2.99, 10 cards per pack, here are all 10 for your viewing pleasure...

#546 - Mike Kinkade - Star Rookie - One thing this pack taught me is that I desperately need to clean my scanner.

#DS28 - Derek Jeter - Destined for Stardom - See what I mean? This is one of those cards that actually looks nice in person, but just doesn't scan well. Too bad the entire right border of the card is bent slightly backwards. I seem to have a knack for pulling Jeters, which is unfortunate...

#594 - Sidney Ponson - Star Rookie - Sidney's MLB career would appear to be over, as far as I know he's not signed with any team for the 2010 season.

#678 - Joe Randa - Here's where the pack takes a downturn. Apparently someone got to Randa's wikipedia page and snuck in an update. Here's the quote: "Randa will be joining the Bonner Springs MasterBatters for the 2010 season." I know it's pretty juvenile but it made me chuckle. Don't believe me? Go look it up yourself (at the very bottom of the Pro Career section)

#740 - Mark McLemore

#739 - Roberto Kelly

#545 - Gary Matthews Jr. - Star Rookie - Gary is 2/14 to start the year for the Mets. I'm not sure anyone out there knows what the Mets saw in him...

#665 - Dmitri Young - Did you know Dmitri collects baseball cards?

#654 - Dennis Eckersley - Now the pack is picking up steam. I always appreciate an Eckersley card!

#730 - Fred McGriff - Eck followed by the Crime Dog, very strong finish. Well for 3 bucks I got some sweet cards and learned why it's a bad idea to ever use Wikipedia as a reference. I think I might have to post here more often.

1991 UD Comic Cards 2

2010-03-22T22:08:00.000-04:00

I've been away from APAD for longer than I care to admit. And, with that, let us delve into a pack of cards I received as part of a "Non-Sport" purchase. Evidently, cartoonized cards featuring Reggie Jackson and Nolan Ryan are not "baseball" enough to be considered a sport. After reading this, you make your own conclusion.

Taz gives Reggie a high-five. Each card features a title ("Seventh Inning Stretch" here), the Looney Tunes and UD logos and some kind of picture. Sometimes, the pictures are of actual people. Other times, well, it's just looney.

Every card ties the Looney Tunes cast into a baseball-related scenario. The backs of the cards feature trivia questions with answers. Name the first Bugs Bunny cartoon to be nominated for an Academy Award. No, really, without Google. Go ahead. Okay, fine, it was in 1940 and it was "A Wild Hare." Happy now?

I'm not sure if you put the cards in order they would tell a story. Judging by the dialogue, I would have to guess yes.

This appears to be the title card. I have no idea what chicken wings have to do with it, but how do you have chicken wings without Foghorn Leghorn!?

Do you see that!? Dupes. In a single pack, I get dupes. Yeesh.

"So, Nolan, you're one of the greatest pitchers ever, right? Well, we'd like to take some pictures of you pretending to talk to Bugs Bunny. Yes, I said Bugs Bunny. Hello? Hello, Mr. Ryan?"

*This post appears in a three-way cross-posting between "APAD," "A Pack To Be Named Later," and "Things Done to Cards."

2009 Bowman Chrome

2010-03-21T19:41:00.007-04:00

I guess I just refuse to let this blog die. (Should the words "with dignity" end that last sentence?)

First of all, let me state that this pack of cards has been sitting, opened, on my shelf, for probably at least six months, if not more. At the present, these cards are now curled up like a bag of Fritos Scoops. You know, the big ones that enable America's plumpening in the ass and mid-section regions. And the thighs of you womenfolk.

Secondly, I can state with authority that I remember some of the circumstances surrounding my purchase of this pack of cards. Only when I looked at my receipt did I realize that I had bought a JUMBO pack, not the regular pack. I cry foul on this one. Since when does a JUMBO pack contain five cards? Mother fuck. I'm still having flashbacks, and soon the state is going to have to pick up the tab for some serious PTSD medication.

What I need right now is someone roughly the height, build, and hairiness of Robin Williams to firmly embrace me while repeatedly assuring me, "It's not your fault. It's not your fault." Then I'm going to turn on the shower and sit there for an hour while the blood slowly leaks out of my violated asshole, which is now the size of a pickle jar. Then a cab driver will ridicule me about the "back door delivery" I wasn't expecting. (If you can identify both film references in this paragraph, flaunt your prowess in the comments. Now.)

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
122 Alexi Casilla

13 Cliff Lee

BCW48 Some WBC guy from Japan (God, this stupid WBC crap showed up in too many products last year. It created a climate in which I refused to buy a single pack of 2009 Topps Chrome, and I loved 2008 Topps Chrome. When there are four cards in a pack, it is inexcusable to get a WBC card. I am on alert for 2013 already, where the field may be expanded to 24 teams. Expect 50 percent more of this crap should that occur.)

BCP185 Jack McGeary

123 Scott Kazmir

Kick me in the nuts, swiftly.

2003 Topps HTA Jumbo

2010-01-22T02:29:00.004-05:00

Anytime you get a chance to buy a Topps hobby jumbo pack for $2, you have to pounce on it. I don't care what year it is. It also doesn't hurt that I am trying to collect this set.

187 - Ismael Valdes

191 - Ramon Hernandez

216 - Todd Hundley

218 - Derek Lowe

220 - Jorge Posada (Posada is the last of five consecutive horizontal cards to lead off the pack. These things seem to always come in groups.)

130 - Gary Sheffield (Here's Sheff back when he was slightly less obnoxious.)

195 - Tony Batista

234 - Matt Lawton

239 - Eric Milton

153 - Mike Stanton (Mariano Rivera gets all the credit, but Stanton was tossed out into the fire in some pretty key situations during the Yankees late '90s period of dominance.)

260 - Vicente Padilla

78 - Jimmy Anderson (Anderson gets the dubious honor of being the first gut in the pack that I've never heard of.)

203 - Kip Wells

192 - Adam Kennedy (Kennedy had a surprisingly good year with Oakland yet can't land a job for 2010 for some reason.)

173 - Johnny Damon (Pre-Caveman Damon.)

339 - Alex Rodriguez / Jim Thome / Rafael Palmeiro AL HR League Leaders

361 - Bernie Williams All-Stars

337 - Manny Ramirez / Mike Sweeney / Bernie Williams AL Batting Average League Leaders

RB-JM - Juan Marichal Record Breakers

HM7 - Chipper Jones Hobby Masters (Wow, look at all of those MLB logos!)

154 - David Justice

254 - Glendon Rusch

10 - Mark Prior

163 - Carl Everett (I wonder if Carl Everett watched Jurassic Park back with his buddies in college and freaked out.)

212 - Robert Fick

132 - Brian Daubach

99 - Jose Rijo (Rijo has five consecutive years of stats on the back which read "INJURED - DID NOT PLAY")

16 - Kerry Wood

243 - Sean Burroughs (What happened to this guy? He was the typical Can't Miss Kid.)

263 - Bobby Cox

25 - Nick Neugebauer (No idea who this guy is.)

204 - Ron Coomer (Him neither.)

102 - Hideki Irabu

23 - Aubrey Huff

157 - Brian Lawrence

2009 Donruss Americana: The Worst Pack of All-Time

2010-01-16T13:05:00.005-05:00

The pack that finally made me swear off this stuff once and for all. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT buy Donruss Americana unless it is a first series hobby box.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
49 Denzel Whitaker (I have no idea who you are. Thus, you are the result of Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker having a baby.)

7 Sofia Milos (I have no idea who you are. Thus, you are a cross between a TV chef on a show nobody watches and Carnie Wilson. Or you are the third sister of non-sisters Dana Delany and Kim Delaney, Sofia Delaeney.)

15 Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (I have no idea who you are. Thus, I apologize for not watching Welcome Back, Kotter. A little before my time.)

72 Anson Williams (I know who you are, you're Potsie! Yay!)

29 Ty Hardin (I have no idea who you are. Thus, you are a cigarette spokesman from the 1950s. Knowing what you know now, how can you live with yourself?)

Even the wrapper sucks for this product.

What is this, a record crate? If so, what is it doing in the middle of the desert?

I apologize.

1995 Topps Stadium Club High Series

2010-01-05T03:33:00.004-05:00

Hello, A Pack A Day. It's been a little while. The boss is back, so I figured I'd better look busy. I received a box of 1995 Stadium Club High Series as a gift awhile back and I thought I'd show off the first pack. At least, I think it was the first pack. I'm just going to go with that.

526 - Alex Gonzalez (Of all the Alex Gonzalezes that played professional baseball over the years, this is the one that played for the Blue Jays in 1995.)

569 - Jim Abbott (Enough said.)

540 - Mickey Tettleton

593 - Mark McLemore (Nice shot of McLemore making the turn. This is what we all come to Stadium Club for.

546 - Pat Borders

625 - Gregg Jefferies Trans-Action (As noted on the wrapper, each pack promises four "Extreme Corps" or "Trans-Action" theme cards per pack with rainbow and silver foil stamping. If you replace the word "rainbow" with "red" then it makes sense.)

625 - Gregg Jefferies Trans-Action (Again? Arrrgh. This is a nice photo, at least. Unfortunately, it commemorates when the underrated Jefferies made his exit from St. Louis.)

501 - Jeff Bagwell Extreme Corps (First off, what does "Extreme Corps" actually mean? Secondly... did they really need to go with the ransom note font?)

510 - Cal Ripken Extreme Corps

581 - Mark Kiefer (Just a few cards left... can I get a fist pump?)

536 - Joey Cora (Hell yeah!)

529 - Jason Bates

558 - Mike Perez

2009 Upper Deck 1st Edition Basketball

2009-12-24T01:18:00.001-05:00

2009 Upper Deck 1st Edition Basketball

108 David West
143 Brandon Roy
155 Manu Ginobili
198 Ty Lawson
BA-11 Troy Murphy - Behind the Arc insert
1007 Michael Jordan Legacy
189 Jeff Teague
88 Jermaine O' Neal
74 Sasha Vujacic
#27 Delonte West

2009 Upper Deck First Edition Football

2009-12-24T01:14:00.001-05:00

2009 Upper Deck 1st Edition Football

50 Calvin Johnson
28 Lance Briggs
177 Shonn Greene
102 Domenik Hixon
89 Wes Welker - silver parallel
CT-5 Ed Reed - Crunch Time insert
72 Rashean Mathis
56 Greg Jennings - Lambeau Leap
199 Josh Freeman
129 Frank Gore

2009 Score Football

2009-12-24T01:09:00.000-05:00

Being a baseball guy, I actively ignore other sports cards, because it is more simpler to focus on one sport - impulsively, I guess I'd grab cheap base cards of stars from other sports as well as a few of the most cheapest packs [maybe a dollar each] of football and basketball, just so I can casually keep up with the names of the game.

2009 Score Football

177 Ted Bruschi
232 Troy Polamalu
138 Maurice-Jones Drew
280 Barrett Ruud
153 Chad Pennington
387 Ramses Barden
281 Albert Haynesworth - glossy

2009 Topps T-206

2009-12-12T20:52:00.006-05:00

Last night I picked up a retail pack of Topps 206. I've been having a great weekend, which is following a horrible week, the low point of which was a near-snow day. Almost every school in the state was closed on Wednesday, but Milwaukee was caught in a narrow band of rain that just made the three inches of snow heavier to remove from what ultimately is city property. Baseball cards make me happy, and I'll let you know what percentage out of 100 each card makes me smile.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
62 Dan Haren (2%: Nobody receiving this card is happy. Haren is a collecting black hole. Even when his mom opens packs and gets one of his cards, she checks it against her want list and then shakes her head in disgust if she already has it.)

108 Alex Rios (71%: I like his chain, and I like that he's playing a game somewhere in hell, judging from the background.)

293 Troy Tulowitzki (49%: Troy has a goofy, constipated look on his face. I enjoyed the comeback he had in 2009.)

13 Bobby Parnell Mini - Piedmont back (3%: Common ad back, plus a guy I've never heard of. I wish it was a card of Chris Parnell. A state of disillusionment persists.)

159 Rick Ankiel Gold (1%: Not a big fan of the guy.)

46 Cliff Lee (50%: Love the guy, just wish he was still on the Indians.)

OK, so I guess that pack didn't make me that happy after all. But it the proper perspective, a bad day opening a pack of cards beats the hell out of a good day at work. Or shoveling. And having wet feet all day.

1983 Mother's Cookies Giants

2009-11-20T02:57:00.011-05:00

Ok.... Here's how this worked. Fans who attended the August 7, 1983 Giants versus Astros game received a small box containing 15 Mother's Cookies San Francisco Giants cards. Unfortunately, a complete set consists of 20 cards. Not to fear, though, 'cause each box contained a redemption card that could be mailed away, and a few weeks later, five more cards would arrive at your very doorstep.

Problem solved, right?

Well, not quite.

You see, each Mother's box was missing five random cards. And when you mailed in your redemption card, you received five more random cards. What are the odds that you'd get the five cards you actually needed to complete the set? (any math geeks out there?) Why the heck was such a scheme tolerated by masses of poor, already-suffering Giants fans?

Who knows.

I've heard that the point of all this was to encourage good old-fashioned trading amongst card collectors, which makes sense I guess. But in reality, it sounds to me like a royal pain in the ass. Regardless, I was strolling through the local monthly flea market in Medford, Oregon this past weekend and noticed a box of these very cards. One minute (and one dollar) later, I was walking out the door with my new prize. Here are the 15 cards I got out of the possible 20:

1. Frank Robinson (Manager). Woo-hoo, the biggest name in the set!

2. Jack Clark. Wow, another bigger name from the team... Looking good so far!

3. Chili Davis. Fans of '80s baseball remember Chili. Dollar well spent!

4. Johnnie LeMaster.
5. Greg Minton (the pitcher who took the 2-1 loss that day against Nolan Ryan).
6. Bob Brenly. Hey, we all know this guy!

7. Fred Breining.
8. Jeff Leonard.

9. Darrell Evans. Great player in the 70s and 80s. Glad to have 'em.
10. Tom O'Malley.
12. Mike Krukow.
17. Joel Youngblood. The only player in history to get hits for two different teams in two different cities on the same day.

18. Dave Bergman.
19. Mike Vail.
20. Andy McGaffigan.

As any Giants fan will tell you, I'm missing Duane Kuiper, Atlee Hammaker, Gary Lavelle, Bill Laskey and Max Venable to complete this sucka. Until one day, when computers across the globe connect to virtual auctions in far-away places (like San Francisco), I vow to complete this set. Let's just hope that prices stay reasonable and Atlee Hammaker doesn't have the awesome Hall of Fame career I think he will.

2005 Upper Deck

2009-11-11T03:47:00.003-05:00

Here's my first 2005 Upper Deck pack, purchased as part of a repack box sometime in the past couple of months. Some of the less interesting stuff that I open tends to sit around for awhile, and I'd probably say that this fits. The design is full-bleed like many Upper Deck sets, but is also fairly forgettable at the same time.

354 - Angel Berroa

315 - David Ortiz (It's hard for me to totally hate David Ortiz, even though he plays for the Red Sox and was a PED user. I'm not sure why that is. It's so much easier to hate Manny Ramirez for whatever reason.)

376 - Jaret Wright

337 - Jake Westbrook

- Upper Deck Rewards ad

344 - Carlos Pena (Pena has turned into a premier slugger.)

493 - Jake Peavy Team Checklist (I have a strange feeling that Peavy will struggle with the White Sox in the long run.)

480 - Todd Helton Team Checklist

450 - Tony Blanco Star Rookies (According to the back of the card, this guy was the heir apparent at 3B to Vinny Castilla. I had no idea Castilla was still around in 2005.)

2009 Topps Ticket to Stardom 14-card pack

2009-11-03T05:57:00.001-05:00

2009 Topps Ticket to Stardom 14-card pack [$4.99 each / one pack]
182 Gordon Beckham
114 Bronson Arroyo
153 Troy Glaus
170 Russell Martin
81 Joey Votto
29 Francisco Liriano
193 Robinson Cano
37 Kenji Johjima - deckle edges
116 Jorge Posada
147 Hanley Ramirez
35 Felix Hernandez
99 Paul Maholm
80 Scott Rolen
8 Justin Morneau

I wouldn't normally touch this stuff, but was looking for a card fix at a local Target and through the somewhat see-through cello wrapper - I could make out the letters of Chicago White Sox star rookie Gordon Beckham's name, so I bought the pack.

2008 Topps Opening Day

2009-11-02T20:44:00.011-05:00

Keeping this blog alive with another freebie insert I got with a trade. Can't complain about the star content of this pack. Gold foil lettering scans as black. These are very red....

Wrapped in this...

First up, Mr. No-Hitter...

Then Dice K. The red works OK for this one...

Next up, Johan Santana. Three horizontals in a row!..

Now Michael Young. He seems to be the guy I get in every couple packs...

Home town hero Brian Roberts...

And last, former Yankee, now Angel watching from home, Bobby Abreu...

Not a bad lineup even if this set is just the big names. They could package M&Ms on the team letters, like poke through pill packaging.

These are still very red....

2009-10 Upper Deck Basketball

2009-10-27T03:22:00.003-04:00

Actual counting NBA games begin later tonight, including a Blazers/Rockets game that I'll be attending in Portland. Here's my first pack from the new season, which also happens to be from the last licensed NBA Upper Deck base set.

97 - Udonis Haslem (Key cog in the Miami Heat's championship run.)

165 - Greg Oden (Look out! Oden is threatening to have a huge year this year.)

35 - Josh Howard

85 - Sasha Vujavic (Ugh, Lakers.)

62 - Yao Ming (Sorry... not this year.)

48 - Richard Hamilton

128 - Chris Duhon (Duhon had the best season of his career last year with a dreadful team.)

134 - Russell Westbrook (I don't like UCLA and I don't like what they did to the Sonics.)

220 - B.J. Mullens Star Rookies (The third consecutive one-and-done Ohio State center, following Kosta Koufos and Oden.)

263 - Dominique Wilkins Immortals (As you can see here, Dominique played way back in the day before color TVs or cameras. He was known as the Human Reel-to-Reel.)

5 - Marvin Williams

171 - Rashad McCants

139 - Earl Watson (Bleh, another ex-Sonic. I can't blame it on the players, though.)

143 - Jameer Nelson (Nelson also had a career year last year.)

126 - James Posey (Posey was not the difference maker that the Hornets hoped he would be as they fell off a bit last year. I always thought he was pretty overrated when he played for Boston.)

94 - Mario Chalmers

70 - Troy Murphy

124 - Tyson Chandler

1992 Skybox Garfield Premier Edition

2009-10-18T23:44:00.000-04:00

While checking out a card shop in Skokie, Illinois, I found a huge bin of picked over packs of junk wax for fifty cents apiece. I struggled to find something to pick up. I finally chose a pack of baseball cards and this pack of Garfield cards.

I'm a sucker for most things Garfield. I was a collector of anything I could get my hands on, Garfield-wise, when I was younger. If it was in some way connected with the comic strip, I had to have it! I still appreciate Garfield, but my collecting lust for all things Garfield has waned.

At fifty cents, I couldn't pass this pack up! Let's see what I found in the pack.

#5 - Pooky
First appearance: 10-23-78
I love the fact that there are facts on the back of the card. This was not a set that phoned it in. Garfield found Pooky in a dresser drawer.

#90 - "I'll rise, but I won't shine"
I'm sure this made it on to a poster or at least a coffee mug at some point.
The back features a full color lounging Garfield and the caption, "Some say, 'Go for it!' I say, 'Make it come to you!'"

#47 - Garfield: The Cliffhanger Scene 2
"It's a swarm of killer gerbils!"
Apparently, there is a story somewhere among the card set.

#21 - Jon's Grandma
We've seen Jon's grandma in "A Garfield Christmas", where Garfield presented letters from her deceased husband as a present and in "A Garfield Thanksgiving", where she whipped up a Thanksgiving meal for Jon to impress Liz. I figured this would be a good opportunity to showcase the back of the card. It's very eye pleasing and chock full of information.

Bonus Tattoo
Moisten hand slightly. Apply "tattoo" color side down, pat gently. Peel off carefully. Now you are tattooed!

#71 - Virgo
Even horoscopes made it into this set!
August 23 - September 22
You are quick-witted... and you'll be the first to admit it. Industrious and meticulous, you always do a good job-- and look good doing it. But don't overdo it. Remember to take time to stop and eat the flowers.

#6 - Nermal
First appearance: 9-3-79
"The World's Cutest Kitten" was originally a kitten belonging to Jon's parents, but now he just wanders into Garfield's house from time to time.

#91 - Likes/Dislikes
Front - Favorite TV Show: Bowling For Donuts
Back - Least Favorite TV Show: Lassie's All-Night Theater

#48 - Garfield: The Cliffhanger Scene 3
A continuation of the storyline from earlier in the pack. The town was struck by an earthquake and the gerbil horde plunged into the bowels of the Earth, along with Garfield.

I am a huge Garfield fan and I had no clue that this set existed! There is some great artwork on display, some thorough information and new drawings. Good stuff!

I think sometime in the future, I may track down the complete set. I didn't get any of the randomly inserted holograms, but this was not a big, fat, hairy deal of a pack. It was a treat.

2009 Topps Chrome Baseball

2009-10-17T17:14:00.004-04:00

One of the things that made Topps' 2009 flagship product such a critical success this year, but has gone mostly unheralded because of its position on the back of the card, is the bevy of interesting stats Topps included in an arching graphic on the back of each card. I'd like to share something interesting from each card in this pack of 2009 Topps Chrome (retail).

207 Mike Hinckley (RC) - According to this card, the Nationals lost no fewer than 11 games in 2008 due to a cause labeled as "league-wide indifference."

26 David DeJesus - In the off-season, David's family plays a variation of the game known as "Australian Rules Baseball," depicted in the photo here.

W65 Greg Halman - "Did You Know... that Greg is third in line of succession to take the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands?" As it turns out, the only citizens standing in his way are Johann Cruyff and Paul Verhoeven.

55 Daniel Murphy - Oddly enough, the Six Degrees of Mantle factoid is replaced on this card with the original Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Daniel Murphy plays with David Wright who once rented Zoolander starring Owen Wilson who tried to kill himself on the same day a home run was hit by Jason Bay who once fantasized about Denise Richards who was in Wild Things with Kevin Bacon.

2009 O-Pee-Chee Blaster Pack

2009-09-10T18:59:00.001-04:00

The last one in the box. Such sweet sorrow.

Alex Rodriguez - For some reason, a very captivating shot. His throwing hand is slightly blurry; his face shows determination, even though he is just warming up; the first base line is fresh; the stands are filling up. It's almost time to play ball.

Manny Ramirez (Midsummer Memories) - At first glance I wondered why they airbrushed out the team logo on the helmet. Then I remembered that his helmet stayed nasty all the time.

Brandon Inge (Black Border) - Not often do you see a card with the position listed as catcher and the picture showing a play by an infielder. Inge is playing 3B this year, so I guess OPC wanted to reflect that?

Jesse Chavez - Can someone tell me what the "250" patch is about?

Russ Springer - Just a boring card.

Mark Loretta - Not a boring card. Little bits of dirt flying is not quite as good as dirtsmoke, but it's still good.

So that was a blaster of OPC. Plenty of really nice cards, plenty of boring studio shots. A black border parallel in every pack. One mini black border in the box. A few inserts. Ninety cards for twenty bucks.

2009 O-Pee-Chee Blaster Pack

2009-09-09T18:55:00.000-04:00

The penultimate experience.

Chone Figgins - This card could only be better if I could see the ball in flight. It looks like the shortstop is making a play.

Matt Cain - Bama Boy! If it weren't for some pipsqueak named Timmy, Cain would be finishing up his third season as a staff ace, and he's only 24.

Dan Wheeler (Black Border) - Trivia question: What do Wheeler, Konerko, Iannetta, and Baldelli have in common?

NL Strikeout Leaders--Lincecum/Haren/Santana - This Timmy kid might be a heckuva pitcher when he grows up.

Nelson Cruz - Might be the best fielding outfielder in the game right now.

Jason Michaels - Looks like a nice day for a game at Osceola County Stadium, the Spring Training home of the Astros.

2005 Fleer Showcase

2009-09-09T13:38:00.005-04:00

Last month I picked up a repack product at Target, four packs for $4.99. Unless some 1991 Donruss got slipped in there behind the front packs, I thought this was a good enough deal. The first pack, 2005 Fleer Showcase, is the one that turned this purchase from a maybe into a yes. Never opened one before, so this will be fun.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
12 Barry Zito (His A's cards always look cooler than the Giants ones. One of the good guys in baseball.)

34 Bret Boone (Bad head and shoulders picture. Looks like he is a character in a juvenile poop-and-fart comedy film, has to poop, is in a social setting where pooping is not possible, and is straining to keep it on the inside.)

1 Albert Pujols (Great player, I'm hoping Prince can hold him off for the RBI lead to offer some solace for a disappointing, though not unexpected, Brewers season.)

45 Austin Kearns

64 Matt Holliday (Thrust the dagger into my boys last night. I watched the based loaded with one out eighth inning, thought we were home free, and turned to last night's recording of "Big Brother." Did I make a good choice? And for anyone who watches, who's going to win this year? Kevin? Natalie? Jordan? Is this sad, or what?)

Grade: B
Nice design, good assortment of players.

2009 O-Pee-Chee Blaster Pack

2009-09-08T19:50:00.000-04:00

Lucky thirteen.

Mike Cameron - In May of 2002, Cameron and Shawn Green both hit four homeruns in a game. Carlos Delgado equaled the feat in September the next year. That's three of the 15 times it has ever happened, right there in the span of two seasons. No one has done it since.

Matt Capps - Why do all pitchers pose with the four-seamer grip?

Carlos Quentin (Face of the Franchise) - Woah! An insert? This set has inserts? Wonders never cease. Also: Really? Quentin is the face of the White Sox? Didn't they trade for him less than two years ago? Why not Konerko? Buehrle?

Mike Napoli (Black Border) - The pose is a little too phallic for my tastes.

Milwaukee Brewers Checklist - Name That Game (tm) would be a little too easy on this card, what with the entire scoreboard showing.

Hanley Ramirez - Pay attention, kids: the glove is down, the bare hand is above the ball, ready to smother and grab.

2009 O-Pee-Chee Blaster Pack

2009-09-07T19:32:00.000-04:00

The dozenth pack in the blaster.

Brian Schneider - I don't think I've ever seen a baseball card of a catcher practicing.

Chase Headley (Black Border) - If I were a Padres fan, I would certainly have a camo binder.

Tiger Woods (20th Anniversary) - 1) What a bad picture of Tigerian triumph. 2) I hate cards from other sports. The first person to say they want them can have all three of my 20th anniversary cards. The other two are Magic Johnson and the International Space Station.

Grady Sizemore (Moments) - The more I see of these Moments cards, the sillier I think they are. Grady had a nice game this day. A homer, a stolen base, four RBI. Someone has a game like that every single day. Why make a card of this one?

Braden Looper - I tried to think of something nice to say about this card. I failed. My scanner seemed to get tired of the card quickly as well.

Tim Redding - Dramatic lighting FTW.

2009 O-Pee-Chee Blaster Pack

2009-09-05T18:58:00.000-04:00

Time for elevenses.
John Danks - Oh wow. Just--wow. Look at that pose. And his facial expression. He is clearly not eager to have this photo appear on a baseball card.

Jeremy Hermida - It never fails--if I watch a baseball game with a non-fan, at some point I will have to explain why the shin guard on the batter is facing the wrong way.

Ryan Church - Woah, a little close with that bat, Buddy.

Micheal Young - I'm not a photography expert by any stretch, but shouldn't a professional studio lighting setup eliminate the shadows in the frame? Also: Young looks like someone just insulted his sister.

Chipper Jones--Moments - Chipperrrrr! How is it possible that Larry Wayne has made only six all-star teams? That's only one more than Edgar Renteria. This is boggling my mind right now. Someone explain it to me.

Jered Weaver - What a nice shot. Here comes the four-seamer. John Danks wants to know what he has to do to get a real picture on his card.

2009 O-Pee-Chee Blaster Pack

2009-09-04T21:12:00.004-04:00

Here's the tenth pack of the blaster.

Edwar Ramirez - Not an intimidating looking fellow, what with the peach fuzz and the turtleneck and the accountant spectacles. Is this how J.A. Prufrock would have looked in uniform? Are baseball trousers still made of flannel?

Pedro Feliz - Peter Happy is looking smooooth.

Travis Ishikawa (Black Border) - He played in only 33 games last year.

Baltimore Orioles Checklist - Beautiful shot of the warehouse. Why are there lights on that thing? Does that really help illuminate the field at night? Click the photo to see the high-res pic, and you'll see a bit of the home scoreboard and all of the out-of-town scoreboard. You know what that means: it's time to play Name That Game (TM). First one to tell me what player is currently at bat gets a prize package from yours truly.

J.P. Howell - You know you've made it when your glove has your name on it. And not in Sharpie on the inside of the wrist, either. White script, carved into the leather = You have arrived, young man.

Josh Bard - This is way too tight a shot for a card. Yes, we should be able to tell what the player looks like. No, we should not be able to count his ear hairs.

2009 O-Pee-Chee Blaster Pack

2009-09-03T19:01:00.000-04:00

Pack nine!
Juan Pierre - Bama Boy!
Jose Valverde - Closer!
Ryan Dempster - Canadian!
Cliff Lee--AL Cy Young - Cheesy!

Mark Hendrickson (Black Border) - Four-seamer!

Ricky Romero - Mugshot!

2009 O-Pee-Chee Blaster Pack

2009-09-02T19:44:00.000-04:00

Pack eight gets us past the halfway point for this blaster. For those of you still paying attention:

Kyle Kendrick - Posing in front of a Monet. I like it.

Kazuo Matsui - We now have a green background. What a terrible picture.

Alfredo Simon (Black Border) - He pitched 13 terrible innings last year as a 27-yr-old, so by all means let's put him on a big-league card.

Joey Gathright (Black Border Mini) - I do love minis. I like the fact that the backs contain all of the same information as the full-size cards, and without looking cramped or squished. Of course, since this pic is the same size as the other pics, you can't really tell this is a mini at all. Well, trust me. It's teeny tiny. And I love it.

NL RBI Leaders - I like leaders cards. Okay, someone explain to me why some teams' names have the TM sign and some just have the circled r?

Conor Jackson - Wow, long time no DBack. CoJack missed most of this season with Valley Fever. Yes, Valley Fever. It has been that kind of year for the Snakes. They just lost their closer for the rest of the season to a line drive that dislocated a kneecap. I hope I never have to write that phrase again. It's nowhere near as cringe-inducing as the fractured testicle that Chris Snyder endured last year, to be sure, but it's still not something I'd hop out of bed in the morning hoping to have happen to me. I like my kneecaps to remain located, thanks.

Pack the ninth tomorrow night.

2009 O-Pee-Chee Blaster Pack

2009-09-01T21:27:00.004-04:00

Pack seven will get you to heaven.

Chris Tall Young - This is a brown background. It is better than gray, but it is no white. Some text on the back: "On 9/7/08, Young not only nearly became the first Padres pitcher ever to throw a no-hitter, he also almost tossed a perfect game." Way to be one of hundreds who have retired the first 23. It's good enough to get praise from the O-Pee-Chee writer, if nothing else.

Livan Hernandez - He's halfway to 300 wins, folks. I'm just saying. Stranger things have happened.

Joe Inglett (Black Border) - Normally if I have no idea who the guy is, there's an emblem on the front that says "Rookie Card." Not the case with the pensive-looking Inglett here. He played in 109 games last year, and I'm clueless. That's what I get for taking a year off from Roto.

Jonathan Papelbon--Moments - You simply must be joking. The card pretends to honor Pap's 7th straight save to start the season, as if that is a rare accomplishment. Really it's just an excuse to print another card of a big market team. Can I nominate this as the Worst Card of the Year?

Glen Perkins - Beholding the baseball, is what he be doing. He looks a little confused. New binder: players looking befuddled.

Mark DeRosa - This must have been taken on Shadow Day at the O-Pee-Chee studio photography workshop. Still, I like it. If it were of a good player or a DBack, I might really like it. I should try to make a baseball card of myself looking so dramatic. That would surely turn out well.

These are the cards, folks. Pack number eight tomorrow, and we'll be halfway home. Although to be honest, I'm kind of enjoying these cards. Well, most of them.

2009 O-Pee-Chee Blaster Pack

2009-08-31T22:10:00.004-04:00

Y'all didn't think I could let you go two whole days without another OPC blaster pack, did you? The best part is that this is just pack number six. We're not even halfway done with this bad boy.

Andy Laroche - I like this card a lot. New project: assemble a panorama of cards that show players in their fielding positions moments before the pitch. Preferably all taken from the same angle--looks like a little bit down the first base line. I think I can use the Tejada from the last pack.

Brian Buscher - He may be a baseball player, or he may just be some guy in uniform that found a ball.

Jon Rauch - Erstwhile DBack. At one point in his DBacks tenure I would have been glad to see him go, as he generally stunk up the joint when he pitched. But he's done much better the past few months, so it's a bit bittersweet. Also, he's the tallest player in MLB history. At 6'11", he was one half of the legendary DBack frontcourt last year with power forward Randy Johnson.

Chris Getz (Black Border) - For a dark-gray-background posed studio shot, this one isn't terrible.

Rick Porcello - Looks like a high school senior, but he's much older than that. In fact, he will be old enough to buy alcohol right after Christmas this year. He's also already started 24 games in the big leagues, with an ERA+ of 107. What were you doing the summer before you turned 21?

Joey Gathright - Lighter background = better studio shot. Am I repeating repeating myself?

You know I'll be back tomorrow. You know you can't wait.

2009 O-Pee-Chee Blaster Pack

2009-08-29T18:17:00.000-04:00

This blaster pack pleads the fifth.
Miguel Tejada - 1) I like the card; Miggy looks all intense, ready for the pitch. 2) There's enough scoreboard showing that we should be able to play What Game Is This From. Who is up for it? First one with the correct answer gets a few cards from my collection.

Adam Wainwright - About to throw a breaking ball. Pujols squats in the background.

Randy Wolf (Black Border) - I admit, I like getting one black-bordered card per pack. I have no rational explanation. Apparently the contrived parallels approach can work even on someone as stony and stubborn as me.

Cincinnati Reds Team Checklist - Good lord what a beautiful view.

Francisco Liriano - Conspicuously not showing a slider grip.

Endy Chavez - How is this guy still playing in the big leagues? He's a terrible hitter, and his defense isn't great. He did make one of the all-time best postseason catches in the 2006 NLCS.

2009 O-Pee-Chee Blaster Pack

2009-08-28T21:17:00.004-04:00

Blaster pack number four.
Vernon Wells - It's official: I like the lighter colored background on the studio poses, though I think they pop more with a black-bordered card.

David Weathers - Pitching in his 19th season this year, with an ERA+ of 103 in 1350 IP.

Clint Barmes - This card has a dark gray background, therefore I don't like it.

Atlanta Braves Team Checklist (Black Border) - I hate Turner Field. It's one big advertisement delivery vehicle. Count the number of ads you see here. Eight big ones, plus Mitsubishi gets their name and logo on the bottom of the big screen. I'd rather go to a high school game where I can just watch baseball. And save $100.

Kevin Jepsen - I think this is a rookie card, but it's hard to be sure.

Nomar Garciaparra - Married a world-class soccer player, so he pretty much wins, even if he's not all that great at baseball anymore. Look, he doesn't even remember the right way to hold a bat.

I need to have a talk with my scanner about how to discover the bottom edge of a card.

If anyone cares about these codes, leave a comment. Otherwise, I'll stop scanning them.

2009 O-Pee-Chee Blaster Pack

2009-08-27T21:09:00.004-04:00

This is pack the third from a blaster. My scanner had difficulties finding the bottom of the first two cards. Dunno why. Any scanner experts out there can clue me in?

Matt Diaz - For a backup catcher, you could do far worse.
Grady Sizemore - Young, handsome, talented, and wealthy. I hate him. His early career doesn't look quite HOF-caliber, but if he can turn in a stellar 5-year run and have a long and gentle decline phase, he can get there.

Derrek Lee (Black Border) - I normally don't like studio shots on a card, but for some reason this one clicks for me. Maybe it's the white background and the no-nonsense stare. This just looks like an old-school card.
David Patton - Yeah, it's the gray background I don't like.

Geovany Soto - Three straight Cubbies. There's nothing quite as exciting as a catcher with zero career SBs on the basepaths, wreaking havoc.
Andy Pettitte - Such a shame--if you photoshop the cameraman out of this shot, you have a really nice card. He's looking at the viewer and about to tip his cap. A nice moment to see on a card.

2008 Bowman

2009-08-26T21:42:00.004-04:00

This is the last pack from the veryverybad repack.

Ryan Howard - This is my favorite card I've opened this year. What is the big fella doing? My best guess is he is telling the runner coming home to slide. But that's not why this card is awesome. Check out the guy in the first row:

It's a freaking ZZ Top leprechaun. Can this be real, or did some photo artist at Topps have a little fun with this one? Help me out, Phillies fans. Is this guy behind the home dugout a lot?

Melvin Mora
Bartolo Colon
Dontrelle Willis - Looks like he's warming up in a dugout somewhere.
Adrian Gonzalez - Is having a career peak year right now. I'm surprised the Pads didn't deal him at the deadline.
Angel Reyes (Prospect) - A baseball nobody with about zero chance of playing in the majors.

Bobby Parnell (Prospect) - An actual big leaguer, but not a very good one.

Wesley Wright (Chrome Prospect) - Shoot yes, a Bama Boy! Not a very good big leaguer, but he's from Montgomery, so he goes in the Bama binder.

Jonah Nickerson (Chrome Prospect) - A 24yr-old doing poorly in AA.

Jason Varitek (Gold) - I like the way the gold signature looks. The scan did not pick it up well. I probably wouldn't mind getting the DBacks set of these.

That's about what I expected from Bowman. I never buy packs of Bowman because I don't want cards of unknown career minor leaguers. That said, I do tend to like the designs and will pick up the DBack vets in trades when I can. I think the golds look rather nice.

That wraps up the repack. I won't buy one from Champion again, but I will buy others, if for no other reason than to have material for APAD. First I have an OPC blaster to make all of you sick of. Stay tuned tomorrow.

2009 O-Pee-Chee

2009-08-25T12:30:00.008-04:00

The second pack from a blaster.

Mike Gonzalez - Sweet, another closer. And I like this shot. Can someone identify the Phillie in the background, please?
Jeff Clement - Is he posing for a sculptor?
Carlos Delgado--2008 Highlights and Milestones - So a guy goes off for nine RBI in a game, including a slam and a 3-run jack, and you have a picture of him seated on the dirt, with his glove up? In game in which he did not play in the field?
Alex Gordon--Black Border - Pointing the cannon at you.
The back says Alex is "primed to have a breakout year in 2009." I think it's fair to say they missed the mark on that one. He has an OPS+ of 64 in 110 PA. Granted, he missed three months with a hip injury, but still--that is not a breakout. He ain't no fortunate one, no.

Angels Checklist - The stadium view on the front is nice. The checklist on the back shows card number, player, and position. There's no 1B listed. Did they not expect Kendry Morales to show up this year? Or did they just have to have six outfielders make the set? They couldn't do without Reggie Willits?
Rich Aurilia - I'm always impressed by folks who pinpoint a particular game from the photo on a card. This one seems like a challenge.
I'll give mega-double-super sleuthing points to someone who can name the game. Looks like a day game in San Fran in 2008, with Aurilia playing 1B, and making a play in the field that involved an underhand toss. Meanwhile, and this is key, the league scoreboard shows a score of 1 to 1 in the bottom of the 1st inning (I think) for the game in the bottom righthand side of the list. Someone amaze me, and I'll send you a prize package. Perhaps similar to this one that got sent to Zach.

Last but not least, there's this:

2009 OPC Blaster Pack - When Pitchers Attack!

2009-08-24T12:57:00.005-04:00

This is the first pack from a blaster.
Chad Qualls - Oh heck yes! First card out of the gate is the DBacks closer. Getting him plus Chris Burke and Juan Gutierrez for Jose Valverde two seasons ago was a pure steal. Burke was a throwaway, but Gutierrez has value as an average bullpen arm, and even Qualls for Valverde straight up is still a win.
Jorge Campillo - Is he trying to look intimidating there? Because that's Randy Johnson's shtick.
Bobby Jenks--Black Border - That's two closers in three cards. I like to keep a stack of all current MLB closers on my desk. This will update them somewhat.
Brian Duensing - Showing us how to grip the four-seamer. It's all about the fingertips, kids.
Jon Lester - The card back says Jon "appears to be emerging into a frontline starter." I hope not, because that would be painful for both Lester and the frontline starter in question.
Rich Hill - Gives us a more complete view of the four-seamer grip. Quite an instructional pack, this one.

Have fun, kids. More of these to come, so keep hitting F5. But not till tomorrow.

2007 Ultra

2009-08-22T19:23:00.005-04:00

I was saving this pack from the repack for next to last, because I like Ultra and I did not open a lot of it when it was out.
Brandon Webb - Ordinarily this would be a great pull for me, but look at the ding along the top of this card. The scan doesn't quite capture the gnarliness.
A ding like that on a full bleed card is a killer. I'll have to think of a good use for this card, since that ding will stick out in a binder like a leftfielder with dreadlocks.
J.D. Drew
Trevor Hoffman - Somehow I didn't know that he started his career with the Marlins.
Alex Rios - Anyone who completed the A&G State Flags set last year will know that Rios is a Bama Boy. I still can't believe that Topps chose Rios as the Bama representative. Jake Peavy wasn't available? Matt Cain? Delmon Young? Josh Willingham?
Elijah Dukes--Lucky 13 - If I understand this subset correctly, it's a 13-card SP rookie subset. Meh. Seems contrived.

A ding, a Drew, the future HOFer Hoffman, a Bama Boy, and a Lucky Elijah. I have to call that a successful pack.

2007 Topps Updates and Highlights

2009-08-21T19:58:00.000-04:00

Another 6-card pack from the infamous repack.Shaun Marcum
Eric Hinske
Cliff Floyd - Don't call him Cornelius. Even if he signs his contracts that way.
Papelbon--Generation Now - Worst insert set ever.
Jesse Litsch
Alex Rodriguez--2007 AL All-Star - As time goes on, I find it harder and harder to believe that one of the greatest players of all time is one of the most under-appreciated.
I actually kind of like '07 Topps. It's a relative highlight in a recent string of uninteresting designs.

2009 UD Spectrum - Talk about your purple cow!

2009-08-21T16:52:00.003-04:00

Hello. My Name is David, also known as Tribecards. I have a problem. I'm addicted to wax. Not the candle kind, or the kind they used to use to make those goofy teeth or mini bottle of juice, but the kind that are not-quite-square pieces of cardboard.

I know the addiction is strong because I continue to buy re-pack boxes, knowing full well there will be very little worth buying it for. But, you see, there will be wax. Oh, yes, there will be.

And so it is that in a recent repack box, I came across a pack of 2009 UD Spectrum cards. I did a quick search on here and found no related posts. First of all, I found that very odd. Secondly, I can understand why.

These cards are purple. Shiny and purple. These cards are Jimi Hendrix and Prince wrapped up in the guise of baseball collecting. The scan caused the light to do weird things, so the purpleness of these things doesn't come across. But, trust me, only Barney has more purple on him... Well, maybe that Tinkle-winkle thing or whatever it was called - tubertellies or something? I dunno.

First up, we have Carlos Beltran (Mets) and Carlos Zambrano (Cubs):

The front of the cards are, well, purple. They look like they wanted to be UD "X" cards, but missed. They have a "Hollywood lights" style effect, but it gets lost in all the purple. There is a bit of white also. The UD logo is in the top corner, the player is 'cutout' in the center. At the bottom, the word "SPECTRUM" along with the player's position, team logo, and uni number. The player's name appears in a semi-italic font at the bottom.

BJ Upton (Rays) and Dan Haren (Diamondbacks, though wearing an A's uni) rounds out the four Spectrum cards in the pack:

But, wait! There's more! This pack also features a UD 20th Anniversary card. On it, Griffey Sr and Jr are shown together. The subtitle: Griffey Sr retires after 19 seasons:"

How cool would it be to be playing baseball right along side your Dad (or favorite male relative)? I think it would have been awesome.

I also scanned the backs of the 20th Ann card and the Beltran:

I don't ever remember seeing these cards on the rack at Wal-Mart or Target at all. Then again, I may have been subconsciously avoiding the purple packaging...

2006 Upper Deck Update

2009-08-20T21:22:00.003-04:00

Brandon League
Javy Lopez - Certainly not just another ho-hum pic of a catcher.
Emiliano Fruto
B.J. Upton - Following through with an attitude.
Jeffrey Karstens
Aubrey Huff - Recently traded to the Tigers. Here he is rocking the throwbacks for the 'Stros.
Cory Morris
Ichiro--Mariners Checklist - I seem to pull Ichiro cards way more often than cards of other superstars. Not that I mind. He is one of my favorite players to watch. Simply a magician.
What an enormous set. The M's checklist is card number 1245. I don't care much for the design, but I like the photos. I will certainly miss the full bleed photo next year if Upper Deck decides not to go the logo-less route.

2007 Topps

2009-08-19T22:08:00.005-04:00

Here's the next one from the evil repack box. At least now we've left the absolute dregs and are into the stuff I kind of expected. Still, I expected more than a 6-card pack.

Jeremy Brown - Bama Boy! Jeremy is from Birmingham, and went to Hueytown high school and then played for the Crimson Tide. He received the Johnny Bench award as the best college catcher. He is most famous for being drafted by the A's in the first round of the Moneyball draft.
Kip Wells
Erik Bedard - Captured the split second before footplant and hip rotation. Effort incarnate.
Jason Kendall - Still merits a scan IMHO. He's a mere shadow of what he once was: one of the best-hitting young catchers ever. He's also 6th all-time in times hit by a pitch.
Bobby Jenks - Birmingham on the Back. Notice the tiny size of the picture on the back (which is cropped from the picture on the front). And notice all the space around it. Why not expand it a bit, and make it a worthwhile element in the design?
Raul Ibanez - I need a newer Ibanez for my Sunday Best series. This one will at least add some variety until I snag another one off of Sportlots or in a random pack.

2009 Topps Magic Football

2009-08-16T21:33:00.007-04:00

When opening this pack, I felt a few too many "Who?" moments. This is a combination of not being extremely knowledgeable about football personnel and not being able to see a player in his NFL uniform. For the sake of the readers, I've included the college team of each player (which the backs of the cards do state) as well as his professional team(s) (which is nowhere to be found on the cards themselves).

235 Kenny Britt (Rutgers/Titans) *Drafted 30th in 2009 first round

AD-BE Alumni Tom Brady/Braylon Edwards (Michigan/Patriots, Browns)

191 John Carlson Mini (Notre Dame/Seahawks)

198 Joey Galloway (Ohio State/Seahawks, Cowboys, Buccaneers, Partiots)

49 David Anderson (Colorado State/Texans)

152 Drew Henson (Michigan/Cowboys, Vikings, Lions, current free agent)

The Big Ten (11) was well-represented in this pack. Interesting idea for a set, but hard to take seriously when you get a QB with only 20 all-time NFL passing ATTEMPTS in a pack. I understand the focus is on collegiate performance in this set, but greater emphasis needed to be placed on professional achievements when choosing players.

Oh, and in the interest of synergy, I've chosen what I think should have been the official song of 2009 Topps Magic Football. Others have had their say, but as anyone who watched a lot of daytime syndicated TV in the mid-1990s ( hourlong blocks of Wonder Years reruns, if I was lucky enough), a better song choice for this brand has to be something from the ubiquitous 1970s disco/pop compilation CD commericals that played at nearly every break. With further ado...

Oh, and if you want to get in on a great contest with a pretty nice payoff...

2009 Upper Deck Series 2 Fat Pack

2009-08-16T19:21:00.005-04:00

Vladdie - Did you see him get a hit off a pitch that bounced Friday night? You may think I'm joking, but I'm not.
Alex Rios - Tied for 6th in the AL Power-Speed Number race.
Ryan Rowland-Smith
Cole Hamels
Brandon Inge - This is a great shot. Framed by the catcher, the wall, the ump, the fair pole. Crowd in the background. Full extension on the swing.
Brian Roberts
John Danks - Mini-binder idea: Players Blowing Bubbles.
Matt Joyce
Koji Uehara
Josh Hamilton--Starquest Turqoiuse Common - I like the StarQuest cards a lot more when I like the player.
Mike Hampton--Astros Team Checklist - Really? Hampton gets the checklist card for the 'stros? Not Berkman or Oswalt? Ridiculous. This is Hampton's first season in Houston.
Daniel Cabrera
Cha Sung Baek - Was the 10th South Korean to play in the bigs. There have been three more since. He is back in the minors this year.
Sean Marshall
Ty Wiggington
Brad Ziegler
Aaron Laffey - Rocking the throwbacks. Can anyone tell me in what years Cleveland wore this uni?
Jo-Jo Reyes
Chris Ianetta
Alexi Casilla
Carlos Zambrano - I normally don't like a card of a pitcher hitting, but for Z, I make an exception. The big guy can rake. Still, you'd think they'd use a different pic on the back. You can barely see his face.
Carlos Ruiz - On the all time PA list for players from Panama, Carlos ranks 16th with 1153. Carlos Lee is in 2nd with 6689, and the all-time Panamanian leader is none other than Rod Carew with 10550 in his HOF career.
Neal Cotts
David Purcey
Kerry Wood--Indians Team Checklist - This is just as bad as Hampton on the checklist card for the Astros.
Ryan Perry
Cliff Lee--Starquest Turquoise Common - A year after his breakout Cy Young campaign he's still one of the ten best pitchers in the AL.
Ryan Hanigan
Chris Waters - "Hang on!" he says. "I can't pitch both of these."
Kyle McClellan
Joey Devine - His 0.59 ERA in 45.2 IP last season was the lowest in MLB history among pitchers with a minimum of 40 innings since ERA became an official statistic in 1912; however, his record is not officially recognized because the MLB minimum is 50 innings. He's missing this season for arm surgery. (source)
Radhames Liz
Joba Chamberlain - Yankees fans have absurd expectations for this guy, based upon the success he had in his first very short stint in 2007 and in 100.1 IP in 2008. He's a decent arm, but he doesn't look to me like a long-term dominant force.
Andre Ethier
Jorge Cantu

I will miss the Upper Deck base set if they decide not to go through the hassle of a large set without the ability to use team logos. Full bleed, tight design, and crisp photos have made this a solid set for years.

2008 Upper Deck Sweet Spot

2009-08-15T10:33:00.002-04:00

It has been way too long since I posted last to this blog regarding a pack of cards which called out to me in the checkout line of our local mega-giant retailer. The time has come.

For your viewing pleasure, I spent more on a single pack of cards than I recall ever spending for a single pack of cards. I know, many people have no problem dropping a 20-spot or more on a single pack, but I usually have an issue with that. But, I got paid, and had a little 'extra' in my check this time, so I figured, "What the hey."

The first card in the pack is BJ Upton (Rays):

The cards are a little thicker than "regular" cards, but not by much. And, maybe they aren't thicker so much as it is a nicer stock than usual. There is a gold foil "Sweet Spot" logo in the upper corner, a full-card image (no borders here!), and the player's name, team and position are stamped in silver foil at the bottom.

The edges of the card feature a team-related airbrushing effect inside an embossed baseball stitching pattern (like the seams of a baseball, much like the Ovation series had).

The second card in the pack is Felix Hernandez (Mariners):

The backs of the cards feature the card number at the top with the team logo under that. The player's bio info is next, followed by a paragraph with info about the player's previous season or some outstanding accomplishment. The sides of the card have the backside of the embossment and feature a photo of a baseball with the red stitching. At the bottom of the card, the player's stats for the past few years (depending on how many years fit below the paragraph. The very bottom of the card features all the official logos, copyrights, disclaimers, etc.

Justin Verlander (Tigers) bats third in the pack:

The cards come in a cardboard box, which contains one silver-foil pack. Eight cards in each pack with the "promise" of a game-used or Auto card in every pack. Well, it's not really a promise. It's more like "on average."

The "hit" of the pack (since there were no Tribers in the pack), is the Sweet Swatch Dual Memorabilia card featuring Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau (Twins):

Morneau is described on the back as the "homer-happy first baseman." Just sayin'. Of course, the back congratulates you on getting a G-U memorabilia card without telling you what KIND of game-used item you actually have. Man, card companies have gotten so lazy.

Next up, batting 6th in our line-up (since the previous card had two batters on it), is Adam Dunn (Diamondbacks):

Batting seventh, Atlanta Braves pitcher Tom Glavine. Say what you will, I have always been a Glavine fan:

Coming in to bat in the 8th spot, our only horizontal card, Dan Haren (Diamondbacks):

Really? Eight cards and two of them are from the same team? Bummer.

Batting in the ninth and final spot, card #8 in the pack, yes, it is Yet Another Yankee Stadium Legacy Card. This one is of Red Ruffing. Never heard of him. But, "his 36 career home runs rank third all time among pitchers," according to the stats on the back:

Not a bad selection of players on some nice-looking cards.

I am posting an 'extended remix' version of this post over on APTBNL. Join me, won't you?

1991 O-Pee-Chee Premier

2009-08-13T17:40:00.006-04:00

I'm going through the repack packs one at a time. 1991 O-Pee-Chee Premier was not one of my favorite sets at the time, but I've grown to like it more and more as the years have passed. Clean design, good photos, no gimmicks.

Delino DeShields
Ron Gant - The back of these sacrifice statistical thoroughness in favor of a second full-color photo, normally a studio smile or an outside closeup.
Kelly Gruber
Doc Gooden - Oh, what could have been. Doc had 119 victories before his 26th birthday.
Darryl Strawberry - Back to back heartbreakers. Darryl had 252 HR before he turned 29.
Denis Boucher - Here's a studio smile on the back.
Rene Gonzales

I really do like this set. The layout works well--white borders, gold header, team color around the other sides of the photo. Good photos. It's only 132 cards long, too. I might try to pick up a box and put the set together.

1987 Topps

2009-08-12T19:09:00.005-04:00

The contest may be over, but I still have repack wax to rip.
1987 Topps is my favorite set from the Overproduction Era, perhaps because it was the first year I started collecting in earnest. I no longer have my original collection, but I'm certain I bought at least 2000 cards of 1987 topps, one wax pack at a time. I never did finish the set; Steve Ontiveros eluded me.

Cardinals Leaders - Mike LaValliere and some pitcher. The Wizard of Oz in the background, toeing the dirt.
Todd Worrell--Record Breaker - This was one of my favorite cards at the time. Something about the drama of the photo, and the fact that Worrell was like the best rookie closer ever.
Mike Birkbeck
Mike Woodard
Roy Smalley
Willie Hernandez
A's Leaders - Tony Larussa, Mickey Tettleton, Carney Lansford and a random coach discussing what to buy for a wedding gift.
Frank Williams
Joe Orsulak
Dave Collins
George Brett - This is one for the HOF binder. Fun game: find the Topps cards with the most stats italicized. I will probably turn this into a contest to run on EX-MT, so keep your best finds secret. This Brett card has fourteen italicized entries. Easy to top, I believe.

Rich Gossage - Back-to-back HOFers, although this one can also go in the Smile binder.
Doug Drabek
Jose Uribe
Gene Mauch
Denny Walling - I'm thinking of starting a donut binder. Just because.
Dan Pasqua

The scanner cut off the top of most of these. The perfectionist in me says to redo them. Or at least he would if I hadn't strangled him years ago.

Cali vs World contest - Pack 10! The Winner is...

2009-08-11T18:28:00.001-04:00

Here's the finale. Let's see who takes home the goods.

Pete Rose
Dick Williams
Vince Coleman - So. Much. Speed.
Barry Lyons - This is what passes for an action shot in '88 Topps.
Chris James
Ed Hearn - Return of Chalksmoke
Dale Sveum (Richmond, CA)
Ryne Sandberg - Only the best 2B ever. Okay, maybe not quite, but still in the Hall.
Steve Bedrosian - Bedrock was the foundation of my roto relief corps back in the day. He won a Cy Young in '87--a rare feat for a reliever.
Rick Aguilera (San Gabriel, CA)
Jeff Hamilton
Jimy Williams
Frank Williams
Bobby Valentine - Fourth manager in the pack.
Mike Dunne - Rookie Cup = scan.
Checklist #4
Mike Pagliarulo
Chuck Jackson
Bob Boone (San Diego)
Albert Hall (B'ham, AL) - Bama Boy! And a Birmingham native to boot. Yahtzee! Hall was a big league scrub for nine seasons with the Braves. He cracked 100 OPS+ just once, and finished with a career mark of 81 in 910 PA. Fun fact: On September 23, 1987, he became the first Atlanta Brave to hit for the cycle.
Jay Aldrich
Dennis Eckersley (Oakland) - It's kind of like his rookie card, since it's the first card after he converted to a reliever.
Rick Rhoden
Rafael Ramirez (D.R.) - Yes! Raffy was my fave Brave back then. I've never forgiven Andres Thomas for taking his position.
Rob Ducey (Toronto)
John Smiley - More like John Scowley.
Rick Reuschel
Dave Anderson

Results:

Cali - 4
World - 2
The final score of the contest is Cali 56, World 33. Cali wins by 23. The closest guess was submitted by Zach Mills, who had Cali winning by 14. Zach, you have an email from me asking for you to name your team so that I can put your prize package together. I'll post the package to EX-MT in the next couple days so that the rest of you can see what you missed out on.

Cali vs World contest - Pack 9

2009-08-10T18:41:00.000-04:00

Bret Saberhagen - This is a much better pic of him than the one from Studio '91.Bob Kipper
Bobby Meacham (L.A.)
Fernando Venezuela (Mexico) - Throwing the ol' scroogie.
Kirk McCaskill (Canada) - The first Canuck we've pulled.
Jimmy Key (Huntsville, AL) - Bama Boy! My 7th grade Social Studies teacher claimed that he was a former student of hers. She was a little nuts, though, so who knows. Key had a decent career. Four-time All-Star, twice was a Cy Young runner-up.
Jim Presley
Ken Landreaux (L.A.)
Luis Aguayo (P.R.)
Jim Clancy
Phil Bradley
Mickey Tettleton
Jerry Don Gleaton
Mike Greenwell - The Sons of Sam Horn exult.
Rangers Leaders - They look like they are having a great time.
Blue Jays Leaders
Joe Hesketh
Willie Randolph - All-Star
Luis Salazar (Venezuela)
Cardinals Leaders
Steve Lombardozzi
Duane Ward
Jeff Stone
Shawon Dunston - Looking every bit of those 175 lbs.
Dave Henderson (Mercedes, CA) - Hendu lights up the card with a toothy smile.
Jeff Musselman - Rookie Cup = scan. Jeff here graduated from Harvard in '85.
Red Sox Leaders - That's four Leaders cards in the pack. This one has Wade Boggs and someone who is not Wade Boggs.
Bert Blyleven (Holland) - Should be in the Hall.
Results:

World - 5Cali - 3
The World goes global, adding Mexico, Canada, and the Netherlands to their roster, but they can only put a dent in Cali's lead. Cali 52, World 31. Bama Boys: 2.

Cali vs World contest - Pack 8

2009-08-09T18:20:00.000-04:00

Mike Schmidt - Only the best 3B ever.
Moose Haas - One of the best names ever.
Tim Teufel
Joey Cora (P.R.) - Older brother of Alex. They were born ten years apart. Joey played in the bigs from '87 to '98; Alex took over in '98 and is still active.
Ed Lynch
Ellis Burks - The Sons of Sam Horn rejoice.
Johnny Grubb - A good name for a villain, methinks.
Billy Bean (Santa Ana, CA) - Not Billy Beane, or I would have my second card in as many packs of a GM as a player. Instead, I have a card of the second player to come out to his team while in the big leagues.
Lenn Sakata
Chuck Crim (Van Nuys, CA)
Chet Lemon
Terry Kennedy
Jody Davis - Trying his hardest in front of nearly empty stands.
Greg Harris (Lynwood, CA)
Don Aase (Orange, CA)
Eddie Williams - A smile card scan for the ladies.
Bob Melvin (Palo Alto, CA) - Future DBacks manager. He was scapegoated for the Snakes' miserable performance this year. Also: Birmingham on the Back.
Dennis Rasmussen (L.A.)
Joe Boever
Jose Uribe (D.R.)
Fred Toliver
Scott Fletcher - Baby Dirtsmoke.
Brad Arnsberg
George Frazier
Alfredo Griffin (D.R.)
Brian Fisher
Dave Lopes - Stole 47 bases for the Cubs in 1985, sill the MLB record for most by a player age 40 or over.
Tim Crews

Results:

Cali - 6
World - 3
The score stands at Cail 49, World 26, with one Bama Boy. Two packs left before we find out who wins the fabulous prizes.

Cali vs World contest - Pack 7

2009-08-08T20:26:00.000-04:00

Wally Joyner - Run Wally!
Ed Hearn - Chalksmoke > Dirtsmoke.
Ed Olwine
Reid Nichols
Tim Teufel
Jamie Quirk (Whittier, CA)
Mike Stanley
Cecil Cooper
Bob Forsch (Sacramento)
Fred Manrique (Venezuela)
Todd Worrell (Arcadia, CA)
Joel Skinner (La Jolla, CA) - This pack is so bad that Joel appears to be attempting to smash his way out of the card so as to avoid being a part of it.
Floyd Rayford
Dale Sveum (Richmond, CA)
Jeff Russell - Jeff is LOL at how bad this pack is.
Larry Herndon
Wes Gardner
Ron Robinson (Exeter, CA)
Frank Viola - Finally, some Sweet Music.
Paul Noce (San Fran)
Mike Easler
Wally Ritchie (Glendale, CA)
Ken Williams (Berkeley, CA) - This is the very first card I have of a future MLB GM as a player. In fact, I don't think I've seen one of another GM. Also: Birmingham on the Back.
Mark Ciardi
Ken Phelps
Nolan Ryan - Only the Ryan Express could save this pack from utter decrepitude.
Dave Dravecky - The whole hat looks like an airbrush job. I think it's a metaphor for how lousy this pack is.
Larry Sheets

Results:

Cali - 9
World - 1
Cali erases any doubt of their eventual victory. The only question is what the final margin will be. We currently stand at Cali 43, World 23, with one Bama Boy.

Cali vs World contest - Pack 6

2009-08-07T19:06:00.007-04:00

Oops. Looks like one of these ten cello packs of 1988 Topps is actually a cello pack of 1989 Topps.

Mark Grace - If you haven't heard Gracie and Sutton calling a DBacks game, you've missed out on some fun. I liked Grace as a player. I love him as a color analyst.
Ruben Sierra (P.R.) - He hit 30 HR as a 21-yr old. He never could get his OBP up enough to dominate.
Bill Wegman
Steve Balboni
Chris Sabo - Rookie Cup = scan. I would have loved this pack in '89. Gracie plus Sabo already.
John Cerutti
Jose DeLeon (D.R.)
Dave Dravecky
Atlee Hammaker (Carmel, CA)
Keith Hernandez (San Fran) - Obilgatory Seinfeld link.
Pete Smith
Tim Burke
Ozzie Smith - Woohoo, a Bama Boy! Just another HOFer from Mobile, Alabama. So what if his family moved to L.A. when he was six? He's still from Mobile. So are Hank Aaron, Billy Williams, Willie McCovey, and Satchel Paige. Maybe you've heard of them, too.
Mike Moore - Does this guy look like a baseball player, or like an extra from a movie about itinerant miners?
Oswald Peraza (Venezuela)
Mario Diaz (P.R.)
Donn Pall - Birmingham on the Back
Gary Carter (Culver City, CA) - HOF = scan.
Jeff Montgomery
Tony Oliva - Turn Back the Clock - I should start a petition to bring this subset back. If it worked for Stadium Club, it can work for...wait, no, Topps would find a way to mess it up. It's best to let it live unmarred in the realm of nostalgia.
German Gonzalez (Venezuela)
Luis Rivera (P.R.)
Expos Leaders - I like these so much more than two boring pictures of a hitter and a pitcher side by side.
Checklist #3
Luis Aquino (P.R.)
Gene Walter
Darnell Coles (San Bernardino, CA)
Sid Fernandez
Mets Leaders - Strawberry/ McReynods / Hernandez - Challenge: Find the game that this photo is from.
Results:

World - 7
Cali - 4

The World closes the gap a bit, but they have a lot of ground still to make up in the last four packs. The score is now Cali 34, World 22. The Bama Boys finally get on the board, and in style, with the Wizard of Oz.

Edited: Added scan of Birmingham on the Back for Don Pall