1992 Skybox Garfield Premier Edition

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.

2005 Skybox Autographics

I got a pack of 2005 Skybox Autographics from an incredibly dusty Fairfield repack box sitting on a shelf at Target this past weekend. The particular Target that I have been going to lately just underwent a remodel, and it seems like they unearthed some stuff for their trading cards section that had been hiding in a backroom somewhere for awhile. This unnecessarily large box contained 4 packs that were permanently glued some cardboard for display purposes, plus a flimsy cardboard box containing 100 random cards and a "surprise". I'll probably end up giving away the "surprise" at some point. The main reason I bought the box was because of a 2006 Bowman Heritage pack on one of the panels. I'm a sucker for anything Heritage.

Here is one of the non-Heritage packs:

13 - Sammy Sosa (I'd already forgotten that Sosa was an Oriole. If I was loony enough to be a Baltimore fan, I'd probably cringe at the sight of this.)

8 - Melvin Mora (A much more respectable Oriole card to get. The facsimile autos look like what you would get if you had a player sign with one of those silver metallic pens that were always popular with kids when I was in middle school. I know I mention this way too often, but I find it hard to get behind sets where players are cropped out of their natural backgrounds. "High end" wasn't meant for me, I guess.)

22 - Carlos Guillen (Even Carlos Guillen is pretty unenthusiastic about this pack.)
- Sluggers.com ad

19 - Travis Hafner (At least Travis is happy.)

42 - Eric Chavez (There's plenty of dead space on the backs of these cards. It's not like the backs are going to be autographed.)

I'll post the results of two of the other three packs here at a later time. There was also a 2007 Upper Deck 5-card pack that was not worth mentioning at all.

1999 Skybox Thunder

It's another pack of late-90s Skybox. You know what that means. More gangsta backs!

1992 Skybox Pre-Rookie

Here's a pack of cards I had never heard of before: 1992 Skybox Pre-Rookies. The cards are a matte-like finish and feature large photos on the front. The player's name is in the upper left corner, the minor league team logo and league are in the upper right corner. At the bottom of the picture is the Skybox logo, and below that in the border is the team name and player position. For fun, since I had not heard of any of these guys except for the lone former-Indians player, I thought I'd do a little research on each one...

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The first card is the Charlotte, NC, Knights expansion. There's a red-orange photo of the city skyline. Honestly, it reminds me of the same orange cast that Michael Enslin sees in room 1408 in Stephen King's short story (not the movie version). The first player we see is Pete Schourek (Tidewater Tides). Pete played in the majors for 11 years with the Mets, Reds, Astros, Red Sox, Pirates, and then back to the Red Sox for his final season in 2001. Armando Reynoso (Richmond Braves) played for the Braves, Rockies, Mets and Diamondbacks. His last game came in 2002.

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Mike Ignasiak (Denver Zephyrs) played four seasons with the Brewers, bowing out in 1995. Steve Scarsone (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons) bounced from Phillies, Orioles, Giants, Cardinals, and eventually to the Royals. His last season was 1999. Turk Wendell (Iowa Cubs) spent 11 years in the Bigs with the Cubs, Mets, Phillies and Rockies. I'm seeing a bit of a pattern here, I think...

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Brian Barnes (Indianapolis Indians) played for the Expos, Indians (1994) and Dodgers (also 1994). Rosario Rodriguez (Buffalo Bisons) played for the Reds and Pirates and by the time this card came out, he was done in the Bigs (last season was 1991). Lonnie Maclin (Louisville Redbirds) played in 12 games for the Cardinals during his only season in the majors.

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Harvey Pulliam (Omaha Royals) played for the Royals and Rockies between 1991 and 1997. Greg Johnson (Portland Beavers - sorry, I must have had Braves on the brain earlier... I've now corrected this.) represents the first player for which I could not find any major league stats. Joey Vierra (Nashville Sounds) evidently never made it to the Show, either. That's a shame, because he certainly has a baseball name.

Will Taylor (Las Vegas Stars) shows the back of his card on here. The backs are very plain, but have the player name, the MLB affiliate, the minor league team name and affiliation, player bio info and minor league stats. There is also a little semi-paragraph about the player on the bottom of the card. I do like that the card numbers are in a home-plate motif... Jerry Schunk (Syracuse Chiefs) and Larry Shikles (Pawtucket Red Sox) apparently made no MLB appearances either...

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I should note that my research comes from www.baseball-almanac.com (other such sites may have different info)

The Dirty Dozen: 1999 Skybox Metal Universe

Here's another pack that I also busted in the 20-for-$40. I'm hoping I pull a subset card or an insert, just so I can post all those ridiculously written card-backs.

Base Set:
Carlos Guillen (Building Blocks)
YES!!! First card in the pack, first subset card for me to ridicule!

"Yo, `G!' You're a player. Missed some games in '96 but still named to the All-Star team. This kid's got game! The M's traded the Big Unit for you and your phat skills, and you stroked .333 in Seattle in '98. We can see why they want you in the family. Show Seattle what'cha got, 'Los. Word!"

Travis Lee (MLPD)
OMG!!!! Another subset card!!!!

"Mr. Lee, we believe da hype. Mr. Lee, you knew we'd be watching. `Mr. Lumber Machine,' takin' your place in the middle of the brand-new Diamondbacks' order as a rook, no doubt. We believe, 'cause we know you're a former U.S. Olympian who hit better than .330 last year in the minors. What did you do?? Go 3-for-4 in your MLB debut while clubbing Arizona's first-ever DING-er. History, Baby!"

Troy Glaus (BB)
Holy Shit! Three-for-three on the subsets!!!

IT'S BAD SUBSET MOJO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"So much for easin' your way in. You dipped your toes in `The Show' and had a shark of a pennant race pull you into the deep end. (ed. note: WTF does that supposed to mean?) Wow, you scorched training camp pitching to the tune of .423 in '98. That's large, like you. Maybe those Ripken comparisons aren't so wack after all."

Mickey Morandini
Out first actual player card -- and of a 1993 Phillie, no less. Unfortunately, he's pictured as a Cub. (I forgot that the Phightin's traded him to Chicago for Doug Glanville.)

Barry Bonds (Caught on the Fly)
Another awful '99 Skybox Metal Universe subset card! That's, like, four in one pack! My God, this has got to be the greatest pack of baseball cards ever!

BARRY-MOJO!!!!!!!!!

"If/when B-squared doesn't dail long distance ("Hello, operator, gimmie Jack City"), then he takes his bases on at a time. The oppositions thinks of him as a man of steal, and why not? You-n-Fly know he's super, man. In fact, when he looks at his career `I' chart, his vision comes up a perfect 400/400."

Chili Davis

Is the all-time leader in homers and RBI by a player from Jamaica. Then again, there have only been three Major Leaguers from Jamaica.

Andy Pettitte
Have we forgiven him? You know, for the whole Mitchell Report/Kirk Radomski thing?

Gregg Olson
This is Gregg-with-two-G's, closer and 1989 AL ROY; as opposed to Greg-with-one-G, former Atlanta Brave catcher. Both Olsen's made the 1990 All-Star team. (I wonder what that conversation must have been like!)

Four hilariously funny subset cards and zero Oleruds. Great pack!

2000 Skybox Metal

I found this pack in an old abandoned briefcase in the basement. There was a CVS down the street from my job back in 2000 and when things got intolerable in the office I'd sneak out to get a couple of packs and a soda from the Quik Trip across the street. If you look at the pack there's a big hole in A-Rod's head. This is because for no apparent reason the CVS decided to switch up the card display so that the packs went from being in boxes where they belonged, to hanging up on a rack. They had a bunch of sticky plastic hanger hooks to paste on the packs to make them hang, but when they ran out of them they took a hole punch to the wrappers. No seriously, they hole punched at least a whole box of Metal, Fleer Tradition and Press Pass football. Possibly more but I don't remember. This pack has been abandoned in the basement for about 7 years so now it's like getting to open it all over again!


197 Rico Brogna
171 Warren Morris
142 Charles Nagy
71 Chad Allen
53 Kevin Millwood
8 Vinny Castilla
22 Alex Gonzalez
185 Al Leiter Green parallel
186 Roger Clemens
40 Albert Belle

Wow. No wonder I left this pack to rot in the basement. Metal is one of many great ideas Fleer had in the mid-90's that they had completely ruined by the time this millennium came around. Metal Universe debuted in 1996 with fantastically creative "comic book' backgrounds on textured foil and was one of the most unique sets ever made. They kept up the comic book theme in '97, switched to cityscapes in '98, did a sort of industrial thing in '99 and then devolved to this. Sort of a swirly metal fingerprint kinda thingy. I guess it's sort of a unique concept and you can spend a minute or so wiggling a card back and forth under a light and watching shiny concentric circles swirl behind Roger Clemens but overall it sucks compared to the fantastic comic book sets. My hit for the pack (remember when "hit" meant an insert and not a jersey card?) is a crummy Al Leiter Green parallel. I at least pulled a Brave in Kevin Millwood and with the Bravos' starting rotation woes, the rumor mill has him maybe making a return to the ATL. There will sadly be no return for Skybox Metal Universe.

1999 Skybox Metal Universe

As part of my continuing series of busting crappy waxboxes, I ripped a retail box of 1999 Metal Universe. I got this box from Pittsburgh Sports Wholesale for $18.95 + shipping in the same deal as '95 Select box I posted here earlier.

Unfortunately, I could only find a retail box. The difference between Hobby and retail is two less cards per pack, four less packs per box, and greater hit rates on the inserts.

Base
Mike Hampton
Did you know? From 2003-05 the Florida Marlins paid Mike $38 million, despite never playing for them.
Jay Buhner
Did you know? The Seattle Mariners once held "Buhner Buzz Cut Night." Any fan with a bald head, on agreed to shave their head, could get into the Kingdome for free.
David Justice
Did you know? When asked to comment on New York Yankee fans David was quote as saying, "They can't get any rougher on us unless they show up with Uzis."
Paul Bako
Did you know? Paul made the last out of the 2003 NLCS.
Sidney Ponson
Did you know? Was made a knight by the Queen of Netherlands.

Insert
Neophytes (1:10) Miguel Tejada
Did you know? Miguel is eight days older than baseball card blogger Chris Harris. (At least this week.)

The 20 for $40 re-wrap: 1999 Skybox Metal Universe

I bought a shitload of wax in '99, but never got around to Metal Universe. There are no RCs, but there are some decent inserts. Unfortunately, the odds of pulling a Planet Metal insert is 1:36; a Diamond Soul, 1:72; and a Linchpins, 1:360.

OBTW, due to satellite issues my new video pack bustin' sidekick Virtual Don West could not be with me to review this pack.

I know, you're heartbroken. As am I, but we're working on it. (I knew that Air Force training would someday come in handy.)



Let's review...

Base:
Charles Johnson
One of a handful of players to have been selected twice in the first round of the draft, Charles was picked by the Expos with the tenth pick overall in the '89 draft, but turned them down to attend "The U" on a baseball scholarship. Three years later, he was then chosen by the Marlins with their first first-round pick in '92. Johnson has the "honor" of being traded to, then released by, the Boston Red Sox on the same day. He ended a respectable career with the Devil Rays in '05.

Known more for his defense, Charles Johnson won four straight Gold Gloves (1995-98), and was an All-Star twice. Although pictured here as a Dodger -- he was sent to LA by the Marlins in the blockbuster Mike Piazza/Gary Sheffield trade -- he was traded again in the off-season to the Orioles, where he would hit .251/16/54 in '99.

Adrian Beltre (Building Blocks)
"Building Blocks" was your run-of-the-mill subset of rookies whose actual RCs were in a previous year's product. (In Beltre's case, 1997 Bowman) In the late-90s Fleer attempted to market/pander their Skybox brands to the "hip-hop" audience, with hilarious results. To fully appreciate this, I present to you, in all it's unintended comedic glory, the reverse side of Adrian Beltre's 1999 Skybox Metal Universe card.

(Before I go any further I should note that in 2001 I toured Fleer's headquarters in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. After spending nearly two hours at the Fleer office, I did not notice anyone outside the "middle-aged-white-guy/white-gal" demographic who was employed there. Please take this into consideration before reading this gem...)

"Yo, Adrian, 20 years old, filling in for Bobby Bo' at third for the L.A. Dodgers ... not bad. We know that you almost nabbed the '97 FSL Triple Crown and were Mr. MVP. We can see your glove is phat already. But at 20? I guess that's why Zeile's in Texas and Konerko's in Cincy ... your move, Kid."

Ivan Rodriguez
Any pack with Pudge, is automatically a good pack, and 1999 would be his best season. He added to the trophy cabinet with his eighth consecutive All-Star appearance, (seventh consecutive start) his eighth consecutive Gold Glove, and the AL MVP. (Or should it be "Mr. AL MVP?") I don't give a shit if Canseco says he was on the gas, if only for his defense, Pudge is a first-ballot HOFer.

Darin Erstad (Caught on the Fly)
The gimmick behind the COTF subset is that it's "written" in the style of The Sporting News column of the same name. Unlike the Building Block card, I will not subject you to the mangled punctuation and broken English of this one.

Ken Griffey, Jr. (Checklist)
A checklist. Yay.

Matt Williams
Matt Williams was in every Fleer insert set in the mid-to-late-90s -- or so it seemed. So I guess it was inevitable that I pulled a Williams. After an awful '98 season in Arizona (his first with the Snakes), Matt rebounded with a possibly steroid-fueled .303/35/142 season. Matt was selected to his fifth (and final) All-Star game, and finished third in the NL MVP balloting to...

... Chipper Jones
who led the Braves to the NL Pennant with a .315/45/110/25 campaign. In addition to the NL MVP, Chipper won his first of two Silver Sluggers -- but curiously was left off the All-Star team.

Insert:
Neophytes (1:6/packs) Troy Glaus
The Neophytes were the designated "Hot Rookie" insert that were standard in most late-90s products. Just like the Building Blocks, the backs are written in "Mount Laurel Ebonics."

"Anaheim's Angel at the hot corner. Your future's so bright, it's hurtin' our eyes! We just hope the bosses know they have a future star on their hands. Keep their heads ringin', Troy, and we know the sky's the limit for this Angel in the infield. True that! True that!"

I believe that sometime around '97, even white people in Nebraska stopped saying "True That." Anyway, most of the fifteen players in this insert were also included in the Building Blocks subset mentioned earlier. In fact, looking at the checklist, with Beltre, Kerry Wood, and "That J.D. Guy," Glaus may be the best pull.

All-in-all, not a bad pack. I'm kind of mad at myself for not busting any '99 Skybox Metal Universe until now. I think I need to find a box of this stuff.

2005 Skybox Autographics

Here's the second pack from my Target trip, and now that I have it home I'm not really sure why I chose this pack. There was certainly some better stuff in there, including some Fleer Tradition and Upper Deck hobby packs. Maybe it was Chipper on the wrapper. Maybe the Skybox brand reminded me of those old basketball cards with the cool computer generated backgrounds. Maybe I figured no one in their right mind would ever buy this crappy pack so I had a scoop for the blog. This isn't even a set I would normally buy anyway, the rookies and old timer cards are so short printed they are actually harder to pull than the autos and relics. Well, I bought it and I can't take it back, so here it is.

5 Chipper Jones
39 Alex Rodriguez
59 Bobby Abreu
2005 Sluggers.com game card
28 Mike Sweeney
7 Miguel Tejada

Well, look at that, Chipper's on the pack and in the pack. He looks like he's getting his driver's license photo, but what the heck. ARod's not a bad pull either even with that self-satisfied smug look on his face. Wipe that smirk off your face, Chokey McChokerson, your autograph may be nicer than Chipper's but he's got a ring and you don't. Who's smiling now? To be fair, everyone has a middle school photo day look to them, save Miggy who's too cool to look at the camera. At least Abreu is in a Phillies uni and not a lousy Yankees one. Larry aside, this is a boring pack from a boring set. This is one of those all-or-nothing packs, either you pull a rookie or auto or you have more stuff for the compost heap. I should have gone with the UD hobby or at least gone crazy and gotten a basketball draft pick or racing pack.