Box Opener

63 cases of 08-09 Exquisite Basketball (Yes CASES not Boxes)

2009-09-12T09:06:00.002-04:00

Some bloggers have already posted about these guys but they bought 23 more cases of 08-09 Exquisite Basketball. Cases are going for about $1800 a pop now online. Here is the first of many videos they have of them opening up 23 more cases 08-09 Exquisite Basketball. They open a ton of high-end stuff, and they go through the boxes as if they were opening up junk wax. I wonder if they buy this stuff direct from Upper Deck, and whether they get a heavy discount on it, they probably buy much more of this stuff then some small distributors.

Jordan-Lebron Auto Patch

2009-08-28T10:03:00.004-04:00

This Jordon-Lebron Patch auto from 2008-2009 Upper Deck Black is a good looking card but come on $23k? You can buy about 70 boxes for the asking price of the auction. The auction has 55 offers so far and close to 10,000 page views.

How much would you pay for the Invisible Man's Auto?

2009-08-27T09:29:00.003-04:00

Some Ginter Set collectors are just nuts in my book. This auction just ended for a "genuine" copy of the Invisible Man's autograph, in "Red Ink" too nonetheless. Apparently, the auto can be seen under a black light. The ebay auction ended a couple of bucks over $1100 with 63 bids and well over 600 page views. I'm not a fan of gimmicks like this in sports card products at all. A cut signature or relic of a historical figure is one thing but paying this much for whats no more than a story Topps crafted for a card is just crazy. Kudos to the brand manager at Topps that came up with the card idea though, a very wise business decision as I'm sure a card like this costs much less to make then actually paying for a celebrity's signature.

Upper Deck Redemptions

2009-07-27T14:57:00.003-04:00

Just got my SP Authentic Football Redemptions back from Upper Deck. Pretty sweet patches, although I hate it when people put tape on the top of top loaders instead of using a team set bag, it ruins the top loaders. Anyone have any suggestions for getting all the tape residue off the top loaders?

Jordy Nelson 2-color:

Chris Johnson 3-color (same cop-out auto though):

3 Boxes 2008-2009 UD Ultimate Collection Basketball

2009-07-25T15:23:00.007-04:00

I couldn't really help myself and opened my first boxes of Basketball so far this year. Here are the highlights of the three boxes I picked up at my local card shop. There have been a lot of subpar breaks online, but I got a pretty good price for the three so I can't complain, especially with what I pulled.

Base Cards:
#54: Andre Miller 24/499
#22: Kevin Durant 494/499
#76: Gerald Wallace 265/499
#38: Andre Iguodala 28/499
#48: David Lee 497/499
#41: Lebron James 259/499

#106: Julius Erving 150/499

#88: DeAndre Jordan RC 333/491
#89: JaVale McGee RC 497/499

Onto the Hits:

Tony Parker/ Pau Gasol/ Richard Jefferson/ Jamaal Tinsley Ultimate Veteran Foursomes Jersey Card #1/50

Pretty nice card, although I'm getting kind of sick of just plain old jerseys and second tier players. This card could have been so much better if it were Kobe/Duncan/Rose/"Insert Any Pacer Here". But hey UD's got to keep collectors chasing some

Kevin Love Ultimate Rookies Jersey Auto #'d 37/60

Not a bad card at all. At least I got the blue jersey auto, and the card is somewhat of a shortprint at 60. I'm pretty impressed with Love as a player and still see a lot of upside left in his career.

Derrick Rose Epic Signatures Auto

This card made my impulse purchase of the 2008-2009 Ultimate Collection Basketball worthwhile. If I decide to sell/trade it, I've probably at least broke even on the three boxes.

2008-2009 Ultimate Collection Basketball Break Grade: B-

Summary: Like the Celtics of last year, 2008-2009 UD Ultimate Collection Basketball had so much potential/hype of being a great, but in the end failed to live up to past expectations. The Rose auto is very nice, a clean on-card auto design, but I'm not sure that really justifies the price of boxes. The rookie on-card jersey autos look good, but leave a lot to be desired (why can't they just make all of these patches). The multiple player card jerseys/patches is a nice touch, but I'm not sure if there was much rhyme and reason to the pairings. If you're gonna put multiple players on a card, at least make it so they are either superstar players or have some thought behind why they're on the card together (same team, same position, etc.) I'm contemplating getting a case of Exquisite later this year, but if the last of the basketball inventories at UD is anything like what was in Ultimate Collection then UD went out of the basketball card business with a whimper and not much of a bang at all.

Final Gint-A-Cuffs Post

2009-07-24T10:23:00.007-04:00

Pack 22

Base Cards
158: Sigmund Freud
249: John Higby
65: Dexter Fowler
89: Elvis Andrus
5: Luke Hochevar
283: Mike Aviles

Inserts/Mini/Hits
NH7: Juan Santamaria National Heroes Mini +5

NP49: Max Scherzer National Pride Insert

Pack 22 points: +5 points
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 22): +251 points

Pack 23

Base Cards
251: Carl Crawford
155: Yadier Molina
109: Samuel Morse
232: Everth Cabrara
317: John Baker Short Print +5

18: Clyde Parris Negro League Player +2

Inserts/Mini/Hits
NP51: Albert Pujols National Pride Insert
LMT5: Invisible Man Creatures of Legend Myth Terror Mini Insert +7

Pack 23 points: +14 points
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 23): +265

Pack 24

Base Cards
131: Rickie Weeks
290: Cat Osterman
203: Scott Kazmir
184: Chris Young
144: Joakim Soria
100: Ichiro

Inserts/Mini/Hits
NP15: Jorge Posada National Pride Inserts Yankees (Boo!) -1
48: Brigham Young Black Border Mini +3

Pack 24 points: +2 points
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 24): +267 points

Total Box Points: +267 points

Wow, that was anti-climatic, the box started pretty strong, but even with a Red Ink Auto I couldn't break 300 points. Multipliers are the name of this game, just having one of my hits be a multiplier would have helped out a lot. Well it was fun at least and now I no longer have to stock up on breakfast sandwich bribes and can get back to some regular blogging and trading. I have a couple of trades in the works and should be able to off load some of the Ginter cards to slim down the number of cards I have laying around. Email me any want lists from this year's Ginter I broke 5 boxes altogether and have a lot of cards. I'm trying to put the base auto set together and am contemplating putting the red ink auto set (but that may just be sheer madness with the money needed to get that done). Contact me if you have any Ginter autos you want to trade/sell.

Allen Ginter Box 2, Packs 19-21

2009-07-22T16:35:00.006-04:00

Pack 19

Base Cards
245: Todd Helton
231: David Murphy
143: Robbie Maddison
136: Mickey Mantle
306: Cliff Lee Short Print +5

Inserts/Mini/Hits
NP52: Dice K National Pride Insert +2

98: Josh Whitesell A&G Back Mini +2

AGH21: David Price Sketch Highlights +3

Pack 19 points: +12 points
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 19): +230 points

Pack 20

Base Cards
349: Aubrey Huff Short Print +5

264: Carlos Pena
214: Adam Dunn
226: Ricky Romero
172: Jarrod Saltalamacchia

Inserts/Mini/Hits
84: Justin Upton Black Border Mini +3

AGHS20: CC Sabathia Sketch Highlights (Brewers) +3

Pack 20 points: +11 points
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 20): +241 points

Pack 21

Base Cards
27: Chien-Ming Wang Yankees -1
133: Roy Halladay
258: Felix Hernandez
222: Aki Iwamura
233: John Lackey
333: Nick Swisher Short Print +5, Yankees -1

Inserts/Mini/Hits
NP50: Jay Jurrjens National Pride Insert
167: Jim Thome A&G Back +2

Pack 21 points: +5 points
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 21): +246 points

Going to be hard to catch up, a little more than 100 points to go with only 3 packs left. On the bright side, I can get to back to normal blogging...Ginta-A-Cuffs has been a lot more work than expected.

Allen & Ginter Box 2, Packs 16-18

2009-07-21T10:00:00.005-04:00

Pack 16

Base Cards

243: Alexander Cartwright

298: Dan Haren

263: Brian Duensing

162: Shane Victorino

129: Brian Giles

274: Josh Hamilton Favorite Player List +2

Inserts/Mini/Hits

NP55: Kosuke Fukudome National Pride Insert on Fav. Player List +4

HHB15: The Bathtub Hoax +5

Pack 16 points: +11 points
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 16): +216 points

Pack 17

Base Cards

119: Scott Lewis

79: Electron Useless Card -1

55: Alex Rios

138: Garrett Atkins

115: Ryan Doumit

35: Geovany Soto Fav. Player List +2 (This card should be rated "R" with Soto's look and pose)

Inserts/Mini/Hits

282: Eric Chavez Mini

NP18: Robinson Cano National Pride Yankees Player -1

Pack 17 points: 0 points (Damn Yankees!)
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 17): +216 points

Pack 18

Base Cards
227: Nelson Cruz

213: Stephanie Brown Trafton

280: Shin-Soo Choo

181: Aaron Rowand

288: Joe Saunders

84: Justin Upton

Inserts/Mini/Hits

247: Jeff Clement A&G Back Mini +2 (Not sure if Clement Mini cards gets negative points for Minis, doesn't say so in rules)

NP14: Francisco Rodriguez National Pride Insert

Pack 18 points: +2 points
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 18): +218 points

Summary

What goes up most come down. This three pack stretch was a tough one. Six packs left to catch up to Beardy. Just looking at the stack of cards from the box I notice three that I put in top loaders. Will there be another hit? Or are they only nice minis? Only time will tell...

Allen & Ginter Box 2, Packs 13-15, Red Ink Auto!!!

2009-07-20T14:56:00.005-04:00

Pack 13

Base Cards

212: Mariel Zagunis

277: Kerry Wood

47: JJ Hardy

236: Edgar Renteria

325: Dioner Navarro Short Print +5

Inserts/Mini/Hits

AGHS22: Ken Griffey Highlights Sketch Card +3

NP58: Derek Jeter National Pride Insert (+4), Yankees (-1)

331: Jeff Samardzija Mini Short Print +7

Pack 13 points: +18 points
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 13): +155 points

Pack 14

Base Cards

105: Kurt Suzuki

152: Phil Coke Yankees -1

51: Ryan Perry

254: John Maine

1: Jay Bruce Fav. Players List +2

161: Justrin Morneau

Inserts/Mini/Hits
NP57: Victor Martinez

215: Jed Lowrie Mini on Favorite Team +1 (Should get extra points for big dent right through the middle of the card)

Pack 14 points: +2 points

Cumulative Points (Through Pack 14): +157 points

Pack 15

Base Cards

45: Derrek Lee

275: Vlad Guerrero

180: Russell Martin

279: Jon Lester Fav. Team Base +1

318: Delmon Young Short Printed Base +5

Inserts/Mini/Hits

NP54: Carlos Zambrano National Pride Insert

263: Brian Duensing Mini

AGA-ES Ervin Santana Red Ink Auto 7/10 +42 points

Pack 15 points: +48 points
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 15): +205 points

Summary

This box has been much better than the first one, especially with the red ink auto. Not a great name, in terms of Gint-a-Cuffs points, but still made good progress in catching up to Beardy.

Allen Ginter Box 2, Pack 8-12

2009-07-20T12:30:00.007-04:00

Pack 8

Base Cards

208: Michael Young
58: Brad Hawpe
253 Miguel Carera
148: Brad Lidge
230: Torii Hunter
311: Gavin Floyd +5 points Short print

Inserts/Mini/Hits

NP60: Stephen Drew
57: Frank Evans Negro League (+2), Black Border Mini (+3)

Pack 8 points:+10 points
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 8): 65 points

Pack 9

Base Cards

150: Prince Fielder
183: Pedro Feliz
11: Jacoby Ellsbury Favorite Team Base Card +1

81: Willie Williams Negro League +2

329: Carlos Gomez Short Print +5

Inserts/Mini/Hits

NP13: Justin Morneau National Pride Insert
31/50: Jason Wong "No" Number Mini (+10), Short Print (+7)

AGHs2: Ken Griffey Jr. Highlights Sketch Card +5

Pack 9 points: +30 points (wow killer pack)
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 9):+95 points

Pack 10
Base Cards
337: Billy Butler Short Print +5

61: Burke Kenny Beard & Mustasche Chamption +2

22: Mariano Rivera Yankees on Favorite Players List +1

244: Carlos Beltran
170: Lance Berkman
70: Rich Ankiel

Inserts/Mini/Hits
NP17: Felix Hernandez
77: Francisco Liriano Mini

Pack 10 points: 8 points
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 10):103 points

Pack 11

Base Cards
200: Carlos Quentin
271: Jair Jurrjens
202: Conor Jackson
250: Grady Sizemore Favorite Player List +2

Inserts/Mini/Hits

NP16: Jake Peavy
HHB18: Piltdown Man World's Biggest Hoaxes +5

AGA-HS: Herb Simpson Auto(+15), Negro League (+2)

Pack 11 points: +24 points
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 11): +127 points

Pack 12

Base Cards

104: Jeff Francoeur
95: David Patton
238: Vincent Van Gogh
40: Jeremy Hermida

Inserts/Mini/Hits

NP59: Miguel Cabrera National Pride Insert
142: Lashawn Merritt A&G Back +2

AGA JR: Jimmy Rollins Relic +8

Pack 12 points: +10 points
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 12): +137 points

Half way down, and only have a couple of hits left, will I catch Beardy? Only time will tell...but there is some red ink in the future...

Allen Ginter Box 2, Pack 6-7

2009-07-17T15:03:00.004-04:00

Pack 6

Base Cards

#224: Tim Lincecum+2 points

#69 James Loney
#135 Jeff Suppan
#16 Josh Johnson
#66 A-Rod -1 Yankee
#132 Anna Tunnicliffe

Mini Cards/Inserts
#84: Justin Upton

National Pride Inserts
#NP62 Ryan Braun +4 points Fav. Player List

Pack 6 points: 5 points
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 6): 50 points

Pack 7

Base Cards

#324 Wladimir Balentien +5 points Short Printed
#76 Brandon Phillips
#71 Albert Pujols
#160 Max Scherzer'
#174 John Lannan
#167 Jim Thome

Mini Cards/Inserts
#78 Eric Brynes

National Pride Inserts
#NP63 Carlos Beltran

Pack 7 points: 5 points
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 7): 55 points

Allen Ginter Box 2, Pack 3-5

2009-07-17T12:40:00.004-04:00

I've been traveling, so haven't been able to post, but here are Packs 3-5 for the Gint-a-Cuffs

Pack 3

Base Cards

#19 Manny Parra
#260 Louis Braille
#101 Andrew Bailey
#3 Manny Parra
#127 JD Drew +1 Favorite Team

#53 Clayton Kershaw +2 Favorite Player

Other Inserts

#NH22 William Wallace +5 National Heroes Mini Inserts

National Pride Inserts
#NP61 Mark Teahen

Pack 3 Points: +8 points
Cumulative Points: +34 points

Pack 4

Base Cards

#131 Rickie Weeks
#286 Matt Kemp
#37 Andrew Eithier
#25 Evan Longoria +2 Favorite Player List

#121 Ryan Church +2 Crack the Code

Mini Cards

#183 Pedro Feliz

National Pride Inserts
#NP53 Vladimir Guerrero

Pack 4 Points: +4 points
Cumulative Points: +38 points

Pack 5

Base Cards

#137 Mark Texeira -1 Yankee Base Card
#116 Charles Darwin
#297 Kolan Mcconiughey
#49 Ubaldo Jimenez
#313 Jeff Francis +5 Short Print

Mini Cards/Other Inserts

#277 Kerry Wood
#AGH Brad Lidge +3 Highlights Sketch Card

National Pride Inserts
#NP64 Francisco Liriano

Pack 5 Points: +7 points
Cumulative Points (Through Pack 5): +45 points

Allen Ginter Box 2, Pack 2

2009-07-10T16:51:00.004-04:00

Pack 2

Base Cards
#204 Casey Blake
#182 Jose Reyes
#201 Travis Snider
#28 Ervin Santana
#209 St. Patrick's Cathedral
#342 Sitting Bull +5 Short print

Mini Card
#105 Kurt Suzuki +2 A&G Back

National Pride
NP56 Edison Volquez

Summary:
Only average in terms of points, Sitting Bull is a very nice looking card though.

Pack 2 points: +7 points
Cumulative Ginta-Cuffs Points: +26 points

Allen and Ginter Box 2, Pack 1, Let the Ginta-Cuffing begin

2009-07-10T16:22:00.007-04:00

Oh man this Ginta-Cuffs scoring is going to take forever. I feel for the commish who has to sort through the results. This box was full of the hits so should make posting every pack worth it...onto the box topper and Pack 1....

Box Topper
#N43-AP Albert Pujols +5 N43 Box Topper

Pack 1

Base Cards
#193 Khalil Greene Base Card
#175 Alfonso Soriano Base Card
#228 Will Simpson/Archie Bunker Base Card
#97 Art Pennington Base Card +2 Negro League Player

#85 Jason Jaramillo Base Card
#307 Hunter Pence Base Card +5 Short Print

Mini Card
#305 Javier Vasquez +7 Short Print Mini

National Pride Inserts
#NP48 Jorge Cantu

Total Box Topper Points: 5 points
Total Pack 1 Points: 14 points
Cumulative Ginta-Cuffs Points:19 points

Did pretty well in terms of points for this pack with a couple of short prints. Question for the commish, how many points are red ink autos? they're numbered to ten.

Allen and Ginter Madness Begins...

2009-07-09T14:48:00.010-04:00

Couldn't wait for my boxes to come in the mail yesterday, so I stopped by my local card shop to buy a box, paid $83 for it so not too bad, just a slight premium on what I'd get online. This isn't my entry to the Gint-A-Cuffs so I won't bother going over it pack by pack so I'll just mention the hits:

Tim Lincecum N43 Box Topper:

This is a very good looking card, but not quite sure how to protect it. Probably will stop by the card shop latter to see if they have any top loaders that fit. I know some of these are autographed or have game used pieces, but it would have been nice of Topps to make them all be either autos or game used pieces and to put them in top loaders, and charge a little more for the boxes.

2 Black Bordered Minis

-Magglio Ordonez
-Francisco Rodriguez

Once again the Allen and Ginter cards don't disappoint in terms of design. The black border meshes well with the artwork and you can readily distinguish between the black border and base card design :

21 Minis:

-16 Regular Minis
-2 National Heroes Inserts
-2 Biggest Hoaxes, Hoodwinks, & Bamboozles

These are basically just smaller versions of the base card design, the mini inserts are interesting but not sure I'm going to collect them.

24 National Pride Inserts

Here's Jason Bay representing his former nationality, he just recently became an American citizen. I like these cards a lot they come about one every pack, but I think they are great looking cards. I may try to put the set together.

4 Allen & Ginter Highlight Sketches

-David Wright: "1st Walk Off Home Run"
-NY Yankees: "Yankee Stadium Farewell"
-Francisco Rodriguez: "Breaks Saves Records"
-Jim Thome: "500th HR"

These are action shot cards of highlights from the 2008 season. Looks a little like UD Masterpieces, but can't complain about that.

Short Printed/Other Sports Cards

There has been a bit of confusion about what the numbers are for the short printed cards. But if it's the same as last year (300-350), then I got five of them. Here is one of my favorites:

The Hits:

Chase Utley Relic (Jersey)

I love the fact that they frame these cards, only if they would just make the game used pieces a bit more interesting.

Corey Patterson Relic (Bat)

Not the biggest of names, but at least it's a game used bat instead of a gray jersey piece.

Max Scherzer Auto

These are great looking cards, and who can complain about an on-card auto that is protected in the frame? I think I'm going to start collecting all the Red Sox autos out of Allen & Ginter starting with this year's set.

Summary

All in all I was very happy with the design of the cards, I think Allen & Ginter's success is partly attributable to it trying to meet the needs of all types of collectors, the sets have enough cards/subsets to make set collecting a challenge. The inserts/oddball cards serve the non-sport/Americana fans out there. The auto checklist is an eclectic mix, and they are all on card to appeal to the autograph junkies out there. Topps even throws in a couple of cut signatures to appeal to those that love the chase of Legendary Cuts. Thinking about busting a case or half case, but waiting to see where prices settle (anyone else notice that online prices keep on jumping for wax boxes of all cards in general?)

2008 SP Authentic Football Box Break...5 Autos, 2 Patch Autos

2009-07-07T18:41:00.008-04:00

I love fantasy football, and can't wait for it to begin. So to satiate my thirst for some pigskin I broke a box of 2008 SP Authentic, here are the hits...

3 Short Printed Insert Cards

Drew Radovich 42/999
Jeff Otah 990/999
Lex Hillard 5/1399

These are nothing special, no big names, pretty much base cards with serial numbers. I'm a big fan of the design of the cards though.

3 On-Card Autographs

John Carlson 416/999
Matt Flynn 92/1199
Gosder Cherilus

All no names again, after getting these I thought I got the shaft again with opening football boxes, 2008 SP Authentic is only supposed to have 3 Autos "on average"

Then came these....

If you can't see it from the scan, it's a scan for 2 On-Card Rookie Patch Auto Redemptions...One of Jordy Nelson...and one of Chris Johnson

The Johnson card definitely made the box, even though it's a redemption. After a quick perusal of ebay, the on-patch auto cards look awesome, even though Johnson's auto is a huge cop-out, hopefully I'll get multi-color patches for both of them.

Topps 2, Upper Deck 0

2009-07-03T14:14:00.004-04:00

I've sent two requests for replacements to Topps and both have been returned within a weeks time. I've yet to hear anything from Upper Deck about my Yaz replacement that I sent about a month ago. Topps just sent me back this Brooks Robinson patch from my second box of Topps Series 2 Jumbo boxes. The first patch I pulled from a pack had some of the stiches pulled out of it (I think the loose stiches are visible in the scan below). This one is in pristine condition. Any Orioles fans out there that need this card for their PC?

Patch 1(damaged)

Patch 2(the one Topps sent back)

2008 Finest Football Box Break...Two Redemptions in 1 Box?

2009-07-03T13:04:00.006-04:00

Just busted a box of 2008 Finest Football to get the football juices running again, unfortunately didn't get a great box. Come on Topps, 2 Redemptions in One Box? Hits aren't great...should have waited for SP Authentic boxes to come...Contact me if anyone is interested in any of them.

Autos:
-Devin Thomas Finest Moments Auto
-Jake Long Green Xfractor Auto RC Redemption
-Adrian Arrington Base Auto

Numbered Refractors:
-Steven Jackson Red Refractor 22/25
-Malcolm Kelly Blue Xfractor 11/50
-Marcus Trufant Yellow Refractor 7/50
-Willie Parker Green Refractor 199/299
-Fred Taylor Green Refractor 78/299
-Derrick Mason Green Refractor 176/299

Box Toppers:
-Adrian Peterson Refractor 74/149
-Tom Brady Refractor 570/629

Rookie Refractors:
-Jake Long 283/699
-Dexter Jackson 504/699

Finest Moments Inserts:
-Ryan Grant, Chris Long, Vince Young, Randy Moss, Braylon Edwards, Glenn Dorsey, Darren Mcfadden

Base Refractors:
-Jay Cutler, Reggie Wayne, Carson Palmer, Shawn Merriman, TJ Housh, Dallas Clark, Thomas Jones, Kevin Curtis, Antonio Cromarte

Decision Time...

2009-06-30T11:03:00.005-04:00

I'm thinking about getting a box of this, it's gonna cost a pretty penny ~400, but it may be worth it...The website says, "Top names include : Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Robert E. Lee, John F. Kennedy and many more!!!" It's only being sold through hobby shops and there's less than 800 made. But is $400 worth it for just one card?

Plus One for Topps...Minus One for Upper Deck

2009-06-25T17:20:00.003-04:00

I sent in the Career Best Longo auto on June 17th to Topps and in less than 10 days they were able to send back a replacement today, this one with no dinged corners and a signature that is actually centered better than the one I pulled out of the Topps Series 2 box. I also sent back a Yaz Game Used Jersey to Upper Deck the same day but have yet to receive any correspondence from them...let's see how long it takes Upper Deck to respond.

CC Hurt, Bad Investment?

2009-06-22T12:11:00.004-04:00

Talk about bad timing, I picked up this card this weekend to add to my 2009 Finest Baseball printing plate collection. Not only is it a 1/1 but it's a card with a pitcher batting, only if CC could just stay healthy...

2009 Topps Series 2 Jumbo HTA Box Break

2009-06-17T09:59:00.005-04:00

2009 Topps Series 2 Jumbo HTA Box Break

There was a great deal on the Topps Series 2 Jumbo HTA Box on Blowout Cards last weekend, so I decided to break a box and see if I could get any decent hits. I was more than pleased with the outcome here are the major hits:

Red Hot Rookie Redemption #10 and #8:

The first 2 hits I got were Red Hot Rookie Redemption Cards 8 and 10. I was pretty pleased especially since these normally come 1 a jumbo box. I already have all ten 2009 Finest Rookie Redemption cards, so may go for the Red Hot Rookie set next. Especially since Topps just announced that 1 in 10 of the #2 card of Gordon Beckham would be an auto.

Career Best Ryan Howard Game-Used Bat:

I don't have many game used bats, so this was a great pull of a great player.

Career Best Evan Longoria Autograph:

This was exactly what I needed from the box. I've been chasing a Longoria auto for a while now. The sad part is that Topps quality control is getting to be like Upper Deck's. Not sure if it's visible from the scan but the Upper left corner is dinged. I'm gonna call them tom. to see if they can get me a replacement. Hopefully if I send it back I won't become one of those horror stories where card companies send you back a sub-par replacement which is supposedly of equal value.

Johnny Mize Legendary Letters Commemorative Patch #'d 10/50

Mize is not a huge name, but the patch looks great, I really like the look and feel of the card, even though these are manufactured patches.

Ryne Sandberg Short Printed Variation Card #350

I didn't realized I pulled this card, until I went back and sorted the base cards. Apparently Topps, like in Series 1 paired 17 legends of the game with their modern counterparts. All the variation cards look the same as any other base card. Here's a checklist of the variation cards.

Summary

All in all i was very satisfied with the pulls. In addition to the hits above I got a ton of insert cards including:

11 Gold Parralell Cards
10 Turkey Reds
10 Ring of Honor Cards
10 Legends of The Game Cards
5 WBC Cards
2 Career Best Legends Cards
11 Topps Town

Topps Series 2 more than surpassed my expectations, and in my opinion had many more quality pulls than Upper Deck Series 2. Even if you get an UD Series 2 hot box, the autos tend to be very low caliber. If you're looking for some good value in a box of cards I'd say spend the 70 bucks or so on a jumbo HTA box of Topps Series 2.

Ron Santo SP Legendary Cuts SA2

2009-06-16T16:51:00.002-04:00

Ron Santo SP Legendary Cuts SA2- Great looking card, will post more scans later from my box break.

SP Legendary Cuts Half Case Break Results...

2009-06-16T09:05:00.004-04:00

Here are the hits from the half case of SP Legendary cuts, I think I got all the hits...This is from 8 boxes:

15 Short Prints:
-Napoleon, Francis Scott Key, Teddy Roosevelt, Harmon Killebrew, Edgar Allen Poe, Jesse James, Adolphus Busch, Sam Adams, Jim Palmer, Al Kaline,Betsy Ross, Harriet Tubman, Robin Yount, Thomas, Jefferson, Charles Dickens

6 Destination Stardom Game Used Jersey Cards:
-Ben Sheets, Justin Morneau, Grady Sizemore, Russell Martin, Carlos Beltran, Brandon Phillips

5 Destined for History Game Used Jersey Cards:
-Tom Glavine, Frank Thomas, Magglio Ordonez, Pedro Martinez, Lance Berkman

11 Dual Memorabilia Game Used Jersey Cards:
-Paul Molitor/Ryan Braun, Paul Molitor/Justin Morneau, Robinson Cano/Craig Nettles, Jack Morris/ Justin Verlander, Eddie Murray/Carlos Delgado, David Ortiz/Wade Boggs, Don Mattingly/Jason Giambi, Dave Parker/ Prince Fielder, Joe Morgan/ Ian Kinsler, Jack Morris/Jake Peavy, Johnny Bench/ Victor Martinez(bat)

11 Legendary Memorabilia Cards:
-Mark Grace 75/75
-Don Sutton 41/50
-Carl Yastrzemski 9/75
-Joe Morgan 16/125
-Gaylord Perry 73/125
-Kirk Gibson 72/125
-Ron Santo 28/50
-Bob Gibson 10/20
-Bucky Dent 61/100
-Ozzie Smith 99/125
-Don Sutton 21/50

And the case hits...
-Mark Prior 20th Anniversary Memorabilia Card
-Josh Willingham Future Legends Signatures Auto 105/125
-The Mystery Cuts Exchange Card

And the cut signature
-Bob Shawkey 1/8

All in all, pretty satisfied, spent a little over 600 on the 8 boxes, and will probably make my money back on the bay for most of them. I'll just scan the 4 case hits, but will eventually scan everything and put it on my blog link in my signature. If anyone is interested in seeing any scans or trades/sales from the other cards send me a message.

2009 Finest Baseball Collection

2009-06-15T14:16:00.006-04:00

Here's the latest editions to the PC, I'm trying to put together as many full player sets as I can from 2009 finest baseball. I'm starting with the toughest pulls...printing plates. Here's three I've got my hands on so far. I'm also putting together complete green and blue refractor sets, not sure if I'll try for gold or red refractor sets, but we'll see how the Finest boxes I just bought off of blowout cards turns out.

Hanley Ramirez Cyan Printing Plate (1/1)
Gary Sheffield Cyan Printing Plate (1/1)
Matt Tuiasosopo Magenta Printing Plate (1/1)

Has Topps Messed Up with their Finest printing plate?

2009-06-12T10:56:00.001-04:00

Don't really know how to explain this, it seems like there are two 2009 Adam Dun "1/1" Magenta printing plates on ebay. Both are from guys with almost perfect feedback, not sure what to think of this.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... tsupported

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370213998330&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&salenotsupported

Ronald Reagan 2009 UD 1989 Design #803

2009-06-12T09:59:00.004-04:00

I almost missed this Ronald Reagan short printed insert when opening a box of 2009 UD Baseball Series 2. When I saw it I just thought that it was just like any of those lame 20th Anniversary cards they put in every box. Seems to have some ebay value though. Maybe that lame UD Series 2 box was actually worth it, even with all the dinged corners.

Two "2/5" Cards of Solome in 2009 Finest Baseball?

2009-06-12T00:53:00.005-04:00

As anyone that has opened a 2009 Finest Baseball box knows the rookie patches look great. But I noticed a slight problem today, when looking through ebay for some decent deals. I noticed not one but two Angel Solome Red Refractor patches both numbered 2 out of 5. At first thought, I said to myself, maybe it's just some ebay scoundrels trying to game the system and start two auctions with the same item. But then I remembered, Solome has two "O's" in his name. I ask everyone out there who is a Finest fan, are these patches really numbered out of five or ten? Or should have made players sign the cards on different sides of the manufactured patch. Here's pictures from both the front and backs of the cards and the corresponding auctions if any readers are interested in picking up some cards serial numbered to ten in my book.

Front of Card 1 (Link to Auction Here):
Front of Card 2(Link to Auction Here):

Back of Card 1:
Back of Card 2:

SP Legendary Cuts Two Box Break

2009-06-09T10:19:00.001-04:00

To start off the blog, here are the highlights of my 2009 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts box break, all are on sale on ebay:

Box 1:

Bo Jackson Legendary Memorabilia Game Used Jersey Card #'d 115/125[SOLD]

Carlos Beltran Destination Stardom Game Used Jersey Card

Ken Griffey Jr. / Carl Yastrzemski Dual Generation Memorabilia Game Used Jersey Card

Cole Hamels Destined for History Game Used Jersey Card [SOLD]

The box wasn't bad, it also included two short prints numbered to 550, and a David Price base rookie card, the highlight was the dual of Griffey and Yaz

Here's box 2:

Edgar Martinez Legendary Memorabilia #'d 71 out of 100

Jim Palmer Legendary Memorabilia Game Used Jersey Card #'d 21/50

Nolan Ryan/ Roy Oswalt Dual Generations Memorabilia Game Used Jersey Card [SOLD]

Wade Boggs/ Mike Lowell Dual Generations Memorabilia Game Used Jersey Card

Alexander Ovechkin 20th Anniversary Memorabilia Game Used Jersey Card

-All in all this box was much better than the first box. I got a case hit (Ovechkin), but also got 2 numbered game used cards, and 2 Dual Game Used Cards. No cut signatures, but pretty decent hits.
-The upsetting thing is that I almost got entirely the same base cards as my first box, so now I have two David Price Rookie Cards, and dupes of half a set.
-I bought a half case (8 boxes) that's on its way, so hopefully I can get a cut signature or a mystery cut out of that.