A Great Big, Cheesy Group Break

Last month, Nachos Grandes hosted a group break.  He broke two boxes of 2017 Archives, one box of 2017 Diamond Kings, and a box each of 2017 and 2016 Bunt.  To my surprise, nobody had taken the Cubs yet, so I pounced.  Everybody who bought into the break got the team of their choice plus a random bonus team.  When I saw that no one had claimed the Angels, I was hoping to score some Mike Trout.  Alas, my random team was . . . the Marlins.  You know, the team with like 3 cards in the entire master set.  Of any set.  Oh well, I was just in it for the Cubbies anyway.  The rest is just gravy.

When I got the results, though, the package was much heavier than I expected.  And here is why:

There was SO MUCH more than the boxes I saw him break on the video.  And this was only the Cubs portion.  He actually sent some random Marlins, too.  By the way, I'm not sure who should be thanking whom for that--I was getting free cards after all, but I'm sure he was more than happy to clear his boxes of Marlins.  Actually, there are a few Marlins I collect, so I appreciated some of those cards anyway.

We'll start with the Diamond Kings.  I don't think I can complain about any of these players.  This is my first look at 2017 DK, and like last year's version, I'm pretty impressed.  It's by far my favorite Panini baseball product.

Here are a couple of shorter printed cards.  The Addison Russell is from the SP portion of the checklist, while Chris marked "Variation" on Rizzo's penny sleeve.

Moving on to Archives, there were Cubs in all three designs this year.  I have to say, I'm not a huge fan of the 1960 design.  First of all, they're all horizontal.  Second, I don't love the yellow strip with two-toned text.  I do like the two pictures on the front, though.  Once again, I like the player selection.

On to the 1982 design.   With Zobrist, Rizzo, Bryant, Ryno, and Fergie, this is the best design of the set for the Cubs.  Plus, I have my first Wade Davis card with the Cubs.  Let's take a moment to mourn the season that is happening right now.  The team was almost without question the best team in baseball wire to wire last year is currently mired in mediocrity.  The team that won the World Series has one All-Star on its roster this year--and that is a player who wasn't even part of that championship team.  So that's enough mourning the season.  Let's celebrate Wade Davis's performance and welcome him to my collection.

And here is the 1992 portion of Archives.  I kind of expected more from this design, but it feels a bit off to me.  Maybe it has to do with these particular players being somewhat disappointing.  Sorry to lump you in there, Andre, but each of your groupmates has done something that left me shaking my head this season.

Two boxes of Archives yielding two Cubs inserts.  It seems like the inserts of Archives are never really cohesive with the rest of the set.  To me, it would have been better to include sticker sets or Topps Gold parallels like the originals had.  Why include a 1959 Bazooka design with the 1960, 1982, and 1992 redux?

Bunt is once again a fun set.  It is cheap.  It looks cheap.  And it's satisfying.   I don't like it as much I did last year, but it's still a nice little set. 

New to Bunt this year is the parallel.  The blues fall one per pack, and I picked up four Cubbies.  I have to say, the Cubs look really good on the blue parallel.

And here are the Bunt inserts.  I like the Programs insert, but I think I liked it better last year.  I've heard some people giving the Infinite set some flak, but I like it. I think I may eventually put this set together.  For the time being, I'm quite satisfied with the Cubs on the checklist.  The Perspectives set is kind of boring for me, and I'm not sure what it's meant to do.  Especially after the incredible set of the same name that appeared in Flagship last year, this set does nothing for me. 

The Cubs weren't the only team I had in the break, but as I pointed out earlier, the Marlins don't have too many cards in the checklists.  I did end up with a couple of Marlins in Archives and Bunt, though.  Here are a couple of the base, the blue parallel and a Perspectives insert from Bunt.  I'm keeping the Ichiro, but the rest are available for all of those Marlins collectors who will be beating down my door for these.  First come, first serve, everybody.

All in all, I'm happy with the box break, and more than pleased with the number of extra goodies Nachos Grandes sent along in the mailer.  Thanks a lot, Chris!  It was a lot of fun.  This probably won't be the last time I buy into one of your group breaks.

Surprise Mail Day

In the back of my mind, I'm always keeping track of packages that  I'm expecting to receive in the near future.  Between ebay, blog trades and Zistle/TCDB trades, it seems that there is usually at least one thing en route every week.  Sometimes, I end up waiting longer than I expect to receive something.  And even more rarely, something show's up in the mailbox that I had no idea was even coming.  GCA treated me to one of those surprises this past month.

Included in his package was a note that said that I have an easy wantlist for him to hit.  I know why that is.  Compared to so many bloggers that have been in the game for longer, my have list is much more wide open.  Commons from the 80s and 90s?  I probably need them.  I see collectors posting about their 1000th card of a single player in their PC.  Geez, my Packers and Cubs collections are right around 1000 cards total for each team.  My largest quantity for a single player has yet to reach 100.  The point is, I'm easy to find cards for because I need so many.

In this surprise package, Greg hit mini-collections and set needs, and did a good job of hitting cards I didn't have.

 

First, I got a healthy stack of 1992 Fleer football.  I needed all of them.  This is a prime example of what I'm saying.  How many other people would be excited to see a bunch of this set show up in the mailbox?  I, however, was really happy.  I'm getting closer to finishing this set.

Oh look, another set from 1992 that I'm trying to complete.  This is just the highlight reel, as Greg sent me about a dozen needs from this set.  

The last set need that Greg hit was a more recent insert set.  I have to say, I really don't like the Boston Beards, but I like the set revolving around superstitions in baseball, so this set was definitely on my wantlist.

 

All of these cards represent All-Star MVPs or ROYs.   And they're all oddballs.  We have cards that once accompanied breakfast cereal, snack cakes, fast food, and restaurants.  This in and of itself would make this package. 

Of course, there were more than the few cards I showed here, but this is a good representation of how easy I am to please and how Greg seems to have found a welcome place to unload cards that probably nobody else wants.  Thanks for the surprise package, Greg.  I'll work on building a return package, but you might need to give me some time because I don't have much for you yet.  The favor will not go unreturned!

Free Swag From a Cutch Collector

A couple of months ago, Collecting Cutch hosted what has been the best giveaway of the year, in my opinion.  He asked everybody to show off their Top 10 cards of their favorite player.  I loved reading all the posts and seeing what other people valued most concerning the player of whom they value everything.  There was a great response to the contest, and, if I understood correctly, every entrant came away with something. 

I got my package a couple of weeks ago, along with a note apologizing for not having very many Packers cards.  The reason?  Apparently, Brian "torched" all of his Green Bay cards after they beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl a few years back.  Well, Brian, I'm sorry about that, but not really.  That didn't stop him from putting together a nice little package.

Not everything Green and Gold was ashes, fortunately, as this beauty found a spot in the package (and my collection).  Abbrederis was used sparingly during the regular, but saw some good action in the playoffs in 2015, starting a game and making six grabs for 69 yards that year.  He signed with Detroit this offseason, but this is still an awesome card, numbered to 150.

A few new Cubs came along with the big prize, including that USA Baseball Albert Almora.  I don't generally collect USA baseball cards because it feels weird to me to have cards of kids I don't know, some of whom may even be under 16.  But it is fun to see players who have made a name for themselves back when they were barely beginning to realize their dreams.

Finally, a really cool card (to me): an Andrew McCutchen oddball!  This is a 2006 Police Card, and one that I would have never even known that it existed if it hadn't been sent to me.  I may not collect Cutch, but he is one of my favorite guys in the MLB, so this card will stay put with me.  I love it.

Thanks again, Brian, for the awesome contest and great package.  I may never be able to send you a Cutch that you don't already own, but maybe someday I'll be able to get something good out to you.

TCDB Trades Are Coming More Slowly Now

After a flurry of trade activity when I first joined the Trading Card Database, the trading has slowed considerably.  This has been partly because all those voracious traders have gotten what they need from my tradelist, and partly because I'm taking a semi-break from new card acquisitions.  I'm trying to get organized and I can't keep up with a ton of incoming cards and my reorganization.  So here is my one trade for the month of June, my second trade with jmiller4.

The highlight of the trade for me was the near-completion of Series 1.  I'm now only 3 cards away from Series 1.  Here are the more notable cards from this trade.  I love the Sano dugout shot.

Five new Gracies for my collection.  I'm surprised a couple of these weren't in my collection already, since they look so familiar, but they are new to me.

We can't forget his infield mate, the great Ryno.  The middle card is Rainbow parallel from TSC and the next one is an insert with Carlos Baerga on the back.

I also got some random 2000s Cubs that I needed.  Some of these players are the first I have in my collection.  I'm digging the Rich Hill rookie, even if he isn't duplicating last year's success this year.

Finally, I can't have a trade package without some football involved.  Here we have some All-Decade guys with a former BYU great (and current BYU coach). 

I appreciate the trade package from jmiller4.  It had about everything for me: set help, Cubs, All-Decade NFLers, BYU, and Green Bay.  I like the variety.

A New Trading Partner, Thanks to Johnny's BFG

A few weeks ago, I was the recipient of a Highland Mint Robin Yount in Johnny's Trading Spot's Big Fun Game.  Not too long after the contest ended, blogger and Brewers fan Matt Prigge contacted me about swapping our prizes: his Highland Mint Brooks Robinson for my Yount.  Since I collect Robinson and not Yount, it seemed like a win-win to me.  I got the Robinson this past week, along with some other goodies.  It's been kind of a long time coming, but I'm finally posting my BFG contest winnings.

First, the extras that John sent with the Yount.

 Some beautiful Topps Heritage Chrome Cubbies.  I had the base for both of these cards, but the Chrome versions are spectacular.  The Rizzo is numbered to 999.

I also received the Yount, which was parlayed into these cards from Matt:

Some new Pucketts for my PC.  I've seen the 93 Topps with the gigantic bat before, but I had never owned it until now.

A couple of Angels in the outfield.  At first, I couldn't figure out if the 1993 Topps was Salmon's rookie card or not, and why it didn't look familiar.  I soon discovered that it is actually a 2013 Archives short print, so that's pretty cool.  I really like the look of those two Trout inserts, too.

Some great Cubs also arrived in Matt's package.  I thought I had that Bryant already, but I was mistaken.  I appreciate Matt filling in that hole for me.

And finally, the crown jewel of this post, my Big Fun Prize from John, via Matt:

A certified Highland Mint Brooks Robinson. 

Here it is in all its glory.  The picture really doesn't do it justice.  I love the detail in it.

Thanks for the contest, John, and thanks for a solid win-win trade, Matt!

Cards from Oregon: Some Base Trade Bait?

I've been out of the blogosphere for a few weeks now, partly because I took the family to Oregon for 10 days to visit my wife's sister.  I may not have posted anything, but I did pick up some cards while I was there.  I always like to check out the stores and products in other areas I visit, because it seems I usually find something that is hard to come by in my neck of the woods.  I didn't find anything too unusual this time around, but I certainly couldn't leave Oregon without a souvenir.  So today, I proudly present to you: Cards from Oregon.

I picked up a repack blaster for $11 and was pleasantly surprised at its contents.  It was filled with older stuff--most of it from my time away from collecting--that I had never opened for the most part.  It also included this sweet bonus card:

 Schwarber is on the other side.  Not a bad pull, I have to say.

Let's take a gander at the cards in the box.

 
1992 Score was the only product included in this repack that I have actually opened for myself.

I've always thought that Score did a better job with baseball than its football.  Here are some of the bigger names, including Sabo, Coleman, Carter, and Dawson for my collection.

Continuing in chronological order, there was a pack of 1994 Ultra.

Plenty of Cubs, including that Steve Trachsel rookie, and a nice Greg Maddux insert.

Sticking with Ultra, we'll jump to 2006.  There were two packs of this in the box.

This was probably my favorite pack of the box.  Every card here fits in my collection.  I really like the base design, though all the Ultra products of this era kind of looked the same.  The insert is kind of "meh."  I'm going to guess that there was a relic version of this set and that's why there is so much wasted space.

The second pack wasn't too shabby.  It's good time to pull a Ryan Zimmerman rookie with the season he is having.  I had completely forgotten about Garrett Atkins.  He was a big deal for a while. . . and then suddenly he wasn't.  I love when my cards do that to me.

Next up is 2007 Topps Update.  I have to say that 2007 is probably my least favorite Topps set of the 2000s.  This is the first time I've ever opened a pack of it fresh, though.  Maybe ripping some Update for myself will help me feel better about it.

No, not really.  I like the Hunter.  I never realized David Wells played for the Dodgers.  This is really what I expected: weird, thick, movie reel border.

I appreciate what Topps did here, though.  Checklists aren't necessarily bad, but it is nice that it was a bonus 7th card, not one of the six.  By the way, I found on TCDB that there are blue and red checklists.  Does anyone know anything about this red one?  As for the Barry Bonds insert, I don't like him at all, and I hate that he owns the home run record, but if you're going to pull a Bonds Home Run History insert, it may as well be #755, though, right?
 

 Apparently, I forgot to take a picture of the wrapper for 2009 Upper Deck X.  UDX was a strange set, I thought.  The wrappers were as shiny and attractive as can be, and the cards were kind of blah.  I completed the 2008 set last year, but had never seen the 2009 version.  This one was a Chipper Jones hot pack!  The base and the die-cut in one place.  The Xponential 4 was a nice pull, as the 4 was the toughest Xponential pull.  Overall, I like 2009 more than 2008.  There is way more color, but the card is still pretty busy and cheap looking.

Two packs of 2010 Topps Update will round out this box.  I like 2010 much more than I do 2007.

I thought these were some fun cards.  Andrew Bailey fits into my ROY collection.  His page still needs some work.

 Each pack contains an Attax Code card and I pulled the extra Spahn insert, too.  I can't argue with an insert Cubbie, and I like that Tales of the Game set.  At least the idea of it.  If I recall, it was pretty much dominated by Yankees.

Well, that will do it for my Oregon souvenir blaster.  I'm listing all the cards from this box that are available for trade, if anybody is in need of anything on the list, just let me know.

Cards for Trade:

1992 Score

173 Mike Pagliarulo, Twins
175 Craig Lefferts, Padres
176 Steve Finley, Astros
178 Kent Mercker, Braves
248 Terry Shumpert, Royals
252 Bill Pecota, Royals
268 Paul Kilgus, Orioles
272 Gene Larkin, Twins
402 Derek Bell, Blue Jays
404 Tim Sherrill, Cardinals
407 Troy Afenir, A's
410 Mike Remlinger, Giants

1994 Ultra

422 Edgar Martinez, Mariners
440 Todd Stottlemyre, Blue Jays
446 Greg Maddux, Braves
449 Terry Pendleton, Braves
479 Marvin Freeman, Rockies
514 Tom Candiotti, Dodgers
541 Ricky Bottalico, Phillies
573 Andy Benes, Padres
595 Robby Thompson, Giants
(Strikeout Kings) 3 Greg Maddux, Braves

2006 Ultra

41 Yadier Molina, Cardinals
97 Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
146 Garrett Atkins, Rockies
Gold Medallion 18 Rich Harden, A's
Gold Medallion 69 Pedro Feliz, Giants
Diamond Producers DP19 Pat Burrell, Phillies

2007 Topps Update

UH15 David Wells, Dodgers
UH27 Yusmeiro Petit, Diamondbacks
UH32 Russ Ortiz, Giants
UH151 Tony Abreu, Dodgers
UH174 Curtis Thigpen, Blue Jays
UH186 Kyle Kendrick, Phillies
UH231 Torii Hunter, Twins
UH308 Gabe Gross, Brewers
Red Checklist 1
Barry Bonds Home Run History 755 Silver, Giants

2009 Upper Deck X

4 Chipper Jones, Braves
34 Carlos Guillen, Tigers
38 Lance Berkman, Astros
52 Justin Morneau, Twins
Xponential4 X4-JR Jose Reyes, Mets

2010 Topps Update

US11 Vernon Welles, Angels
US69 Lance Cormier, Rays
US97 Troy Tulowitzki/Matt Holliday
US101 Jake Westbrook, Cardinals
US125 Adam Wainwright, Cardinals
US127 Nick Swisher, Yankees
US146 Peter Bourjos, Angels
US162 Hong-Chih Kuo, Dodgers
US207 Jerry Hairston, Padres
US224 Scott Olsen, Nationals
US227 Mark Kotsay, White Sox
US230 Robinson Cano, Yankees
US259 Yadier, Molina, Cardinals
US249 Rafael Soriano, Rays
US263 Randy Winn, Cardinals
US275 Hong-Chih Kuo, Dodgers
US276 Austin Jackson, Tigers
US324 George Kottara, Brewers
Topps Attax "Mike" Stanton, Marlins

A Cracked Bat Contest

As I'm sure most of you know by now, Julie at A Cracked Bat is holding a contest to celebrate 100 posts.  Check it out here and good luck.