2005 Fleer Showcase

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.

The 20 for $40 re-wrap: The Final Pack. 2000 Fleer Showcase

All good things must come to and end, and so this experiment in baseball card gonzo journalism does as well. Was it successful? Was it a failure? More experimentation is needed.

We finish up The 20 for $40 Re-Wrap with a really bad pack from a really, really, bad product: 2000 Fleer Showcase. With this set, Fleer took the one thing that made Flair Showcase unique -- the multi-tiered, multi-fractured base set -- and disposed of it with a formulaic 140-card set with 40 short-printed "rookies."

Yawn.

On the other hand, there are autographs to be had. You get a 1:24 chance of pulling an on-card "Fresh Ink," and a 1:250 of hitting an on-leather "Sweet Sigs."

And now, for the final time, here's the video.




Base
Fernando Tatis
Did you know? Fernando Tatis was the first player in Major League history to hit two grand slams in the same inning?

Preston Wilson
Did you know? Preston Wilson's step-father AND uncle are Mookie Wilson. (Mookie's brother is Preston's father, but then Mookie married Preston's mother.)

Greg Maddux
Did you know? Greg Maddux shares the same birthday (April 14th) with his one-time teammates David Justice and Steve Avery.

Mike Piazza
Did you know? Mike is the godfather to Zakk Wylde's youngest son Hendrix. His full name is Hendrix Halen Michael Rhoads Wylde.

Autogamer
Fresh Ink (1:24) Kip Wells
Alright! An autograph of a career 64-91 pitcher!

Well, there it is; 20 packs o'junk. I did pull a pair of autographs and a few inserts, but I didn't get any RCs. All-in-all, these were cards I did not have a need for. Hopefully, Mr. Andrew Schmidt of Brighton, Michigan (the winner of my contest) will have a better use for them.