Stacks of Packs

Reopening the doors

2011-10-24T11:53:00.001-04:00

This is just a quick little update stating that I hope to be writing some on this blog in the very near future. I may not talk exclusively about baseball cards, but I do plan on keeping that the main focus of this blog. Sorry for the long absence, if anyone is reading this, but I hope to return very soon.

How rare is this card?

2008-09-11T08:00:00.002-04:00

I just recently pulled this card from a pack 0f 2008 Upper Deck Series 2 and I haven't found too much information about it. I know it's pretty rare, but how rare is it?

Another Hero of mine has passed away

2008-09-09T05:05:00.004-04:00

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Evan Tanner was found dead last night. Tanner was only 37 years old.

I don't really know what to say. Ever since the first time I saw Tanner fight he has been my favorite fighter; not only for his fighting ability, but for his personality. He overcame his personal demons and was finally happy with his life again.

I could say so much more, but there is nothing I could say to give Evan Tanner the amount of credit he deserves.

Rest in Peace Evan, I will never forget what you meant to me.

A couple of recent hits

2008-09-03T05:20:00.004-04:00

First off a few 2008 Bowman Auto's:

Josh Bell of the LA Dodgers
Jarrod Parker of the Diamondbacks organization.

Matt Dominguez Refractor /500

Next is a card that I received in a package I received from Bad Wax. I won a contest celebrating the 50,000 visitor to the site. The prize was a sealed package of a game-used or autograph card, along with a team set, and an unopened pack of cards.

Here was the autograph card:
A 2004 UD Etchings Chris Capuano Etched in Time Autograph /375. Pretty sweet card. Thank you once again to Mike from Bad Wax. And if you haven't checked out his blog yet, please do, it is well worth the time.

I pulled this Erstad jersey card out of a box of 16 random packs I bought from Wal-Mart. Usually the packs are unspectacular, but at the very moment I opened this pack I said to myself "I'll probably never get a jersey or autograph card out of a box like this." Next things you know, BAM! It's a pretty sweet card of a very underrated player.

2008 Upper Deck Football Mario Manningham "event-worn" jersey card. I think the Giants drafted him so they can listen to the announcers say: "Manning to Mannigham." Eh, maybe not, but I can dream.

Superman's Cape from 2008 Upper Deck A Piece of History. It's from the movie Superman 3 starring Christopher Reeve. This card is a lot better than the Birdcage relic I got a few months ago.

OVERALL RATING for no reason:

IV out of V

35 cards for 2 dollars, good idea or bad?

2008-08-31T06:48:00.000-04:00

Hey, college football season is here. That's great, but so is getting 35 re-packaged baseball cards for $1.99. I don't feel like going in depth here, so I'll just write a quick statement about each of the cards. Besides, college football season is here, and I've got to write quickly to watch it.

The Cards:

2006 ESPN Baseball #88 Carlos Delgado: Lefty masher, a potential future Hall of Famer.
2006 Topps #BOS14 Josh Beckett: The best postseason pitcher of the century.
1986 Topps #602 Mariano Duncan: Somehow voted as the N.L. starting second baseman of the 1994 All-Star Game
1990 Donruss #89 Bret Saberhagen: Two-time Cy Young winner, could have been a Hall of Famer if not for injuries
2004 Topps #111 Braden Looper: Mediocre closer turned mediocre starter.
1988 Fleer #113 Garth Iorg: Long-time Blue Jay
1988 Fleer #256 Steve Farr: Decent reliever, Didn't debut in the majors until he was 27.
2005 Topps #733 Postseason Highlights: World Series Game 3: Boston 4-St. Louis 1
1992 Leaf #124 Don Slaught: Better than Mike Lavalliere
1985 Donruss #535 Vic Rodriguez: Never heard of him
2008 Topps #CLE5 Casey Blake: Late-bloomer, underrated player.
1992 Leaf #70 Glenallen Hill: Hates spiders (see no. 23)
2006 Topps#601 Atlanta Braves: Shows a team picture of the 2005 Braves, the last of a dynasty.
2001 UD Victory #197 Robert Fick: Former Brave, didn't really pan out for the team, though.
1991 Score #273 R.J. Reynolds: The former Pirate outfielder, not the tobacco company.
2008 Topps #HOU2 Brad Ausmus: Starting catcher for way too long for the Astros.
1991 Score #830 Glenn Davis: Washed-up before he was 30.
1991 Score #537 Roger McDowell: A better prankster than a pitcher, even if he was a good pitcher.
2006 Topps #MIL10 Russell Branyan: Swing and a miss.
1994 Bowman #311 Robert Toth: Never heard of him.
2008 Topps #ATL12 Jeff Francoeur: Hopefully, Francouer can rebound from a poor 2008, much in the way Ron Gant did for the Braves in 1990.
1988 Fleer #399 Ron Hassey: The only catcher of two perfect games.
2006 Topps #BAL4 Brian Roberts: Has been rumored to be traded for about three years.
2001 Topps Gallery #36 Jason Kendall: A career .294 hitter, which surprises me.
1994 Topps Finest #13 Troy Neel: Went to Japan after the 1994 strike.
2006 Topps #CHC12 Jacque Jones: Career may be over, career .230 hitter against lefties.
1990 Star #13 Brad Hopper: Former Royals prospect, never heard of him.
2003 Topps #244 Brad Wilkerson: Career seems to be on the Glenn Davis path.
1988 Fleer #218 Willie Randolph: A better player than manager.
2003 UD MVP #106 Geoff Jenkins: Injury-prone, but a good hitter.
1988 Fleer #150 Doug Sisk: Middle reliever for the '86 Mets.
2006 Topps #PHI8 Aaron Rowand: Good player who's played like a superstar.
2006 Topps #PHI11 Jon Lieber: Former 20 game winner, excellent control.
2006 Topps #HOU1 Roy Oswalt: Having an off year, but still among the best pitchers in baseball.
1988 Fleer #370 Scott Bradley: Left-handed hitting catcher, coaches at Princeton.
1988 Fleer #648 Major League Prospects (Greg Jelks, Tom Newell): Prospects look dim.
2007 Bowman Draft Picks Future's Game Prospects #46 Homer Bailey: Will 2009 be the year of the Homer?

Overview: Honestly, I was expecting more older cards, and I was surpised to see a lot of cards from the 2000s in here. It's not the greatest collection ever, but there are a couple of current stars like Delgado and Oswalt, and an early card (if not a rookie) of prospect Homer Bailey. I'll give the package about a C.

2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites

2008-08-27T21:40:00.005-04:00

Like the 1990 Donruss packs, this pack of 2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites has been lying next to my computer screen for the last couple of weeks. Basically, the set is made up retired players who played during the Topps era, although there could be a few players that were active in 2005. The cards themselves are designed in the style of previous Topps sets. For example, the Bob Boone card below is designed in the style that the 1978 Topps baseball cards were. Got it, good. For a nostaglia mark like myself, this is a pretty cool product. Well, let's see what we've got.

#132 Bob Boone

Boone was a catcher more known for his defense and durability than for his hitting. Only one other player has caught more games than Boone's 2,225, and that man, Carlton Fisk, has caught only one game more than Boone did. Boone later went on to manage some bad teams in Kansas City and in Cincinnati.

#37 Al Kaline

Sweet, a Hall of Famer. Kaline was a great player, even if he had his best season at age 20. I never realized this until a friend mentioned it a few weeks ago, but if you combine his first and last names, you get Alkaline. It is safe to say that Al Kaline powered the Detroit lineup for many years (bad joke, I apologize).

#78 Carl Yastrzemski

It was good to hear that Yaz was released from the hospital and that he is doing well. Yaz was a player that did everything well and remains the last Triple Crown winner in baseball history.

#40 Bill Mazeroski

Three Hall of Famers in a row, although the previous two were slam dunks while Mazeroski's selection remains debateable. He hit perhaps the most famous home run in the game's history in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. That, and his defensive reputation, got him into the Hall of Fame. Good for him, but there are better second basemen than Mazeroski (Joe Gordon, Lou Whitaker, Bobby Grich) that will never be elected into the Hall of Fame.

#53 Atlee Hammaker

There are 142 cards in this set. The fact that Topps gave Hammaker a spot among the "All-Time Fan Favorites" is either very charitable or very curious. Hammaker wasn't a terrible player, but in no way does a 59-67 record and 1 All-Star apperance in a 12 season career inspire the term, 'fan favorite'. Hammaker was great in 1983 (10-9, NL leading 2.25 ERA and NL leading 1.03 WHIP (Walks+Hits per inning), but he also became the only pitcher in All-Star Game history to allow a Grand Slam that year (to Fred Lynn).

#51 Matt Williams

Not a bad way to end the pack. Williams was always a favorite of mine, expect in 1993 when his Giants were battling with the Braves for the N.L. West Title. It would have been interesting to see if Williams would have broken the single-season home run record in 1994, but the dang strike ended whatever chance he had at hitting 62 home runs. At the time, Williams had 43 home runs, and the Giants still had 47 games left, so it's very possible that Williams, and not Mark McGwire, would have been the man to break Maris's mark.

Overview:

Pretty cool pack, with the three Hall of Famers being the highlight. The inclusion of Hammaker is curious, but does not take away from the quality of this pack. I'll give an 9.0415626 out of 9.95268368

Random Braves cards

2008-08-26T02:24:00.006-04:00

I recently purchased a lot off of Ebay for 5 bucks. It wasn't really a specific lot, but it was supposed to include at least two autographs and a couple of numbered cards. I asked him if there were any Braves cards he could put in this lot, and these are what I got:

First is a 2006 Bowman Blue Parallel Horacio Ramirez #495/500. Horacio was a pitcher that I thought always showed great promise but would follow every good start with an equally bad start.

2006 Topps '52 Anthony Lerew Autographed Rookie Card. I really like this card. Lerew was once a top pitching prospect for the Braves. Last year he had some arm troubles and had to undergo Tommy John surgery. He has only pitched a total of 19 games the last two seasons, 16 of them in the minors. But I still have hope that Lerew can become a successful pitcher.

Next is a 2003 Topps Own the Game card of Javy Lopez. Lopez is probably the best catcher in Braves history. Joe Torre is a very close second, but he had a lot of good seasons after he left Atlanta, including three straight 100+ RBI seasons with St. Louis. Brian McCann could be the best in the future, but that remains to be determined.

1993 Leaf Greg Maddux. Maddux is my all-time favorite pitcher and any cards of his gets an A+ in my book.

1993 Leaf John Smoltz. Probably my second favorite pitcher of all-time, tied with Tom Glavine. These two cards mark the beginning of one of the best pitching staffs in history. Three surefire Hall of Famers in one rotation for about 10 or so years. It's hard to get better than that.

2005 Topps Update Jeff Francouer Gold #0938/2005. Francouer may be struggling this season but he is only 24, I can't call him a kid though as he is six months older than I am. Francouer is still fun to watch in the field however. He has one of the most explosive arms i've ever seen...sometimes it's just too explosive.

2004 Bowman Sterling Autograph of Alec Zumwalt. For some reason i've never heard of this guy. He was a fourth round pick by the Braves in 1999, but he never made it past Triple-A. Still, it's a pretty nice looking card with a nice autograph on it.

2006 Topps Own the Game Andruw Jones. Yup.

1998 Score Chipper Jones. A Chipper card I don't have, and it is added to the collection.

2005 Topps Chrome Update Chuck James Rookie Card.

2005 Bowman Chrome First Year card of Matt DeSalvo. DeSalvo got called up this year from Triple-A even though he had a 2-9 record... I guess that shows you how bad the Braves are desperate for healthy arms.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I was kind of impressed. It was only five bucks and I had ZERO expectations for this lot, but it turned out pretty good. I got three future Hall of Famers and some pretty nice rookie cards. Overall for Five bucks I definitely got my money's worth.

I give it a score of 493 out 500.

2 Packs of 1990 Donruss

2008-08-23T22:57:00.007-04:00

These packs of 1990 Donruss cards have been lying by the computer for the last couple of weeks. So, I thought to myself, why not write about them? Each pack comes with a puzzle piece for a Carl Yastrzemski puzzle. I hope that Yaz is recovering well from his heart surgery earlier this week, get well soon, Yaz.

Pack 1

#518 Frank DiPino

Dipino was pretty good in 1989, putting up a 9-0 record, a 2.45 ERA and walking only 20 batters in 88 innings. He was hit or miss for much of his career, but DiPino pitched until he was 37 because you can never have enough lefty relievers.

#581 Scott Bradley

Bradley had 1648 career at-bats, and walked 104 times. At least he didn't strike out a whole lot, as he only had 110 career strikeouts, so he's got something going for him. According to Wikipedia, Bradley is now the baseball coach at Princeton.

#230 Will Clark

Hey, a pretty good player for once. Clark was the man in the late 80s and early 90s. He single-handedly beat the Cubs in the 1989 NLCS. Back in the prime of his career, Clark looked like a sure Hall of Famer, but things didn't quite work out that way. Hell of a player, though.

#179 Luis Aquino

It looks as if Aquino is about to shake off his catcher on this card. Aquino was a decent pitcher, with good control, but he didn't strike out many batters (4.21K/9).

#303 Nick Esasky

Esasky had a big year in 1989, hitting 30 home runs and driving in 108 runs. The Braves, needing as much help as they could get, signed Esasky to a big money deal, hoping he could give the team a much needed power boost. What happened instead was bizarre, as Esasky somehow developed vertigo from an ear infection. He only played nine games for the Braves. I know it wasn't Esasky's fault, but I can't think of another big free-agent signing playing less than Esasky did.

#308 Tom Browning

Browning once pitched a perfect game against the Dodgers in 1988. The first baseman that day was Nick Esasky. That has nothing to do with anything, but I find it interesting.

#665 Nolan Ryan (King of Kings)

Sweet card here, although I'm not sure what the heck is going on in the background. Still, it's cool to get a card of a legend like Nolan Ryan.

#60 Danny Jackson

Jackson was just awesome in 1988, going 23-8 with a 2.73 ERA. He would have won the Cy Young award if not for Orel Hershiser. Unfortunatetly, Jackson was only mediocre to good for the rest of his career, finishing with an ERA+ of 100 (which basically means that Jackson was exactly average). He did pitch in three World Series, though.

#85 Kevin Seitzer

Seitzer wasn't the greatest fielder, and never had a ton of power, but the man could flat out hit. He led the AL in hits as a rookie in 1987. In my opinion, he was a victim of following George Brett's shoes, and the Royals never appreciated what they had in Seitzer just because he wasn't quite as good as George Brett.

#628 Les Lancaster

The most vivid memory I have of Lancaster is watching a Braves-Cubs game in 1991 or 1992. Lancaster kept warming up and sitting back down, warming up about five times before finally getting into the game in the 8th inning. Story aside, Lancaster was awesome in 1989, posting a 1.36 ERA in 73 innings for the division winning Cubs.

#BC-5 Orel Hershiser (MVP)

Orel was a pretty good pitcher, and he isn't a bad tv analyst either. I don't think his incredible 59 inning scoreless streak will be broken for a long time. I mean, that's like pitching 6 and a half whole games without allowing a run.

#519 Randy Milligan

Milligan was a lot like Nick Johnson, a first-baseman who drew a bunch of walks but didn't have overwhelming power. Unfortunately for Milligan, teams didn't value On-Base percentage a whole lot in the 80s, and he came up with the Mets, who had Keith Hernandez blocking his path. As such, Milligan didn't get a full time gig in the majors until he was 27, with the Orioles. Milligan retired in 1994 with a .391 career on base percentage.

#582 Greg Harris

The thing I most remember about Harris, a long time reliever who pitched for a bunch of teams, was that the media would bring up the fact that Harris, a right handed thrower, was ambidextrious, and wanted to pitch a game left-handed. Well, late in the 1995 season, with the Expos out of the pennant race, Harris got the go-ahead to pitch some left-handed in a game against the Cincinatti Reds. He pitched to two batters left handed, Hal Morris and Eddie Taubensee, walking Morris and getting Taubensee to ground out, before switching back to his right hand to get Bret Boone out to end the inning. Harris is the only pitcher to alternate arms in the same game during baseball's modern era. That doesn't mean this card is worth more than a common, it's just interesting.

#584 Lee Mazzilli

Mazzilli was with the Mets during the post-Seaver years of the late 70s, playing for some wretched teams. It was nice that the Mets brought him back for their championship run in 1986, though perhaps they kept him too long. Mazzilli was wretched in 1988 (.147 average, 2 XBH in 116 at-bats). Mazzilli got a raw deal as Orioles manager in 2005, as the team collapsed due to circumstances outside of his control (i.e., Palmerio getting busted for steroids, then pointing the finger at Miguel Tejada). I don't know if Mazzilli will get another shot at managing, but I feel that he should.

#236 Bill Doran

Doran was a good hitting second baseman, except during the second half of the 1989 season. With the Astros in a pennant race, Doran put up the following numbers during that second half: .136 batting average, .244 OBP, a .182 slugging percentage. That is one hell of a slump.

#185 Mark McGwire

About a decade ago, McGwire was credited by many people as the savior of baseball. He was a national hero. My how times have changed.

Pack 2

#96 Carney Lansford

Lansford stole 37 bases in 1989, which is amazing to me because I remember him being pretty slow. I guess he had deceptive speed. Lansford was a heck of a hitter, though, even winning the AL batting title in 1981. Lansford also was in the movie "Angels in the Outfield", a film which I know I have seen but I can't remember anything about it.

#455 Scott Fletcher

Fletcher was traded with Sammy Sosa and Wilson Alveraz for Harold Baines. The White Sox would repeat the Rangers' mistake, and let Fletcher walk as a free agent after the 1991 season. Fletcher was nothing more than a decent shortstop, who didn't take anything off the table, but didn't bring anything to it, either.

#459 Paul Assenmacher

I have no idea where the name Assenmacher originated from, but Paul Assenmacher was a solid left-handed reliever for a number of years. Assenmacher pitched 884 games in his career, ranking him 23rd in major league history.

#521 Mike Jeffcoat

I'm sure Mike Jeffcoat is a nice guy, I just have nothing interesting to say about him.

#169 Mickey Tettleton

Some ballplayers get their power from steroids and HGH, Tettleton got his power from Fruit Loops. Tettleton was the ninties version of Gene Tenace, lots of strikeouts and a low batting average, but lots of walks and a lot of home runs.

#359 Larry Andersen

Besides being a good relief pitcher (good enough for the Red Sox to trade Jeff Bagwell for), Andersen was also credited as being the funniest man in baseball during his career. I'd provide examples of his wit, but I don't remember any right now.

#245 Alvaro Espinoza

Here's an interesting stat for you, Alvaro Ezpinoza had 503 at bats in 1989. He drew 14 walks. This in spite of those thick glasses he is wearing. The only reason Espinoza played so much is that the Yankees original starting shortstop, Rafael Santana, missed the season due to injury. That's a duo reminiscent of Mantle and Maris right there.

#367 Pat Sheridan

Earlier in his career, Sheridan wore glasses on the field. I guess he decided to go with contacts by this point. However, his .221 average in 1989 suggests that maybe Sheridan should have stuck with the glasses.

#372 Bryan Harvey

Harvey was postively dominant from 1988-1991, Harvey was dominant, and was the best closer in the game with the exception of Dennis Eckersley. However, injuries cut him down, and except for a big season in 1993 with the expansion Marlins, Harvey never would reach those same heights again.

#612 Mark Thurmond

Thurmond was the prototypical junk-throwing left hander. In 837 and 2/3 career innings, Thurmond struck out a mere 3.43 batters per nine innings. He had a career ERA+ of 101, and was very good for the NL Champion Padres in 1984 (14-8, 2.97 ERA in 178 2/3 innings), so Thurmond was able to fool enough batters to have a decent career.

#617 Don August

August should be a cautionary tale as to why you can't trust pitchers with low strikeout rates. In 1988, August went 13-7 with a 3.09 ERA for the Brewers, but only struck out 66 batters in 148 innings (4.01K/9). The next year, August put up a 5.31 ERA (though his record was remarkably 12-12), and struck out 51 batters in 142 innings (3.23K/9). Needless to say, August didn't last much longer.

#96 Cal Ripken

Sweet, a Hall of Famer and a card of Ripken I don't have. There have been many things said about Ripken so I will just say this, I don't believe that Kevin Costner story for a second.

#102 Spike Owen

Spike is not a nickname, it's his given name. Owen was basically Scott Fletcher lite, except Owen was better at drawing a walk.

#460 Zane Smith

Zane Smith went 1-12 for the 1989 Braves before being traded to the Expos for three guys I don't care to remember (Pitchers Sergio Valdez and Nate Minchey and outfielder Kevin Dean, in case you were wondering). Sure, Smith had a 4.45 ERA, but you'd think the Braves could score enough runs to give him 4 wins. Then again, the 1989 Braves would have trouble scoring even if you let them start every inning with a runner on second base. so who knows.

#522 Mike Harkey

Harkey was the fourth overall pick in the 1987 amateur draft by the Cubs. Unfortunately, his career was cut short by arm injuries.

#525 Tony Armas

Armas was an odd player. He'd hit for power, but not for average, and he seemed allergic to walks. He hardly ever stole a base, but was quick enough to play center field. He also had a couple of kids (Marcos and Tony Jr.) who played in the big leagues.

#175 Dan Plesac

Plesac started out as the Brewers closer, doing very well (100 saves from 1986-89). He struggled in 1990 and 1991, and was eventually moved to a set up role. Except for a few months with the 1996 Pirates, Plesac never got a chance to close again, even though he played until 2003. I guess teams felt Plesac was too valuable as a LOOGY (Lefty-one-out-guy) to move into the closer's role or something. Plesac pitched 1064 games in his career (sixth all time), but I wonder why he never go another shot at closing. Oh well.

Overview

For a couple of 1990 Donruss packs, they weren't too bad. No rookies, but two Hall-of-Famers (Ryan and Ripken) and a third who may be (McGwire). Plus, even though I have a bunch of 1990 Donruss, I didn't get too many duplicates. Overall, I'd give the two a C+

2003 Topps Finest Dale Murphy Game Used Bat Card

2008-08-20T06:43:00.004-04:00

Here's a quick update for today. This right here is one of my favorite cards that I own. It's a 2003 Topps Finest Game Used Bat card of Dale Murphy. I just recently purchased it off of Ebay and it is fantastic. Dale Murphy is one of my all-time favorite players and should definitely get into the Hall of Fame (in my opinion.)

At around age 5 my parents bought me an autograph baseball and autographed framed picture of Dale Murphy and ever since then Murphy was my favorite. A few years later he was traded to the Phillies and I resented him for it (I was young and didn't realize that it was the teams fault and not Dale's.)

Recently I was hoping to start collecting some Murphy cards to add to my collection and I saw this one and couldn't pass it up.

none

2008-08-19T06:03:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the lack of an update lately. I've got some new cards to put up soon, including a blaster of 2008 Goudey. Tomorrow there should be an update of some sort.

Donruss Americana II

2008-08-12T05:18:00.004-04:00

Today I bought a pack of Donruss Americana II. For some reason I thought it was a baseball set, even though John Wayne was on the pack. Afterwards I remembered what it was, but hell here's the cards anyway.

#184 Gloria Stuart. I've heard of her before, but upon a brief search I can see that she is almost a hundred years old (98 to be exact), and she was also nominated for an Oscar for her role in the movie 'Titanic'. Weird start.

Next up is #165 Ed Asner. Ed Asner has been in about 250 movies, shows, etc. His most memorable role was on the Mary Tyler Moore show. That show was on before I was born and I never really cared to watch it. I guess he's a pretty decent actor, but I don't think the kids are clamoring for an Ed Asner rookie card...but who knows.

Remember Sammy Jankis...

Sammy Jankis!!! He is a character from the awesomely amazing movie 'Memento'. He is played by this man, #160 Stephen Tobolowsky. Tobolowsky was also the annoying guy Ned in Groundhog Day. AWESOME!!!

Next up is #107 Goldie Hawn...ugh... The best thing she has ever done was when she stopped making movies in 2002. It's been a wonderful six years!!

AND FINALLY THE GRAND DADDY OF THEM ALL!!!!

GARY FREAKIN' COLEMAN!!!! What else can I say about this man that you haven't already thought. Coleman was almost the governor of California and now I own his ROOKIE CARD!!!!

Extreme sarcasm here in case you didn't know.

Uh...it's a pack of cards alright. I've seen some decent cards of UFC and other fighters from this set but there was nothing of the sort here. If I buy another pack of this stuff I will be more surprised then you.

Final grade: F+

1979 topps

2008-08-08T00:55:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, my brother bought a pack of 1979 Topps. Well, let's see what we have here, shall we.

#378 Rob Picciolo

Picciolo played 148 games for the 1977 Oakland As, all at shortstop. He made 21 errors and had and OPS+ of 31. He played 8 more years and finished with a .234 career batting average. Not a good start.

#129 Marty Pattin

Decent pitcher, the one thing I remember most about him is that Jim Bouton wrote in "Ball Four" that Pattin has a great Donald Duck impression.

#247 Tucker Ashford

Nothing like a career .218 hitter to get the juices flowing. The back of Ashford's card mentions that he set career highs in many offensive categories at Amarillo in 1976. Wee Doggies!

#303 Lary Sorenson

Lary Sorenson doesn't need two R's in Lary, No Sir. Perhaps I should spell my name with one M. How does Jimy look. Actually, Jimy Williams, the former Red Sox manager, already does that, so never mind. Anways, Sorenson was a control pitcher who didn't strike out much people, so he had to rely on his defense to make plays. Normally, those types of pitchers rarely have a string of All-Star seasons, and Sorenson is no exception. He was good in 1978, however (18-12, 3.20 ERA, 281 IP)

#511 Paul Reuschel

Paul Reuschel does not look like a major league player. Neither did his brother Rick. However, at least Rick was a successful pitcher whereas Paul, well, wasn't (4.51 career ERA)

#167 Roger Metzger

Metzger once won a Gold Glove, in 1973. He also cut the tips off of four fingers in a chainsaw accident in the 1979 offseason, basically ending his career. So, Metzger's interesting, if anything else.

#683 Dan Meyer

Dan Meyer somehow managed to reach base on catcher's interference twice in one game, on May 3, 1977. He had a couple of years with 20+ homers, but other than that he was an ordinary player.

#645 George Scott

"Boomer" is listed at 210 lbs. on the back of this card, which is very generous of Topps. He was a hell of a player, multiple-time Gold Glove winner at first base, led the AL in homers with 36 in 1975. Scott's probably the best player in this pack, which is truly damning with faint praise.

#327 Art Howe

Howe was a better manager than a player. In retrospect, the Mets probably shouldn't have spent all that money for Howe to manage the team to a 137-186 record, but it wasn't all Howe's fault.

#405 Butch Wynegar

Wynegar was an All-Star in 1976 and 1977. He turned 22 in 1978, but he would never play in an All-Star Game again. I guess Wynegar decided he wanted to be a league-average catcher or something.

#686 Ron Schueler

I don't remember Schueler as a player. Of course, I wasn't born yet when he played. I do remember him as the General Manager of the White Sox, where he had an interesting term. The highlight must have been trading Wilson Alveraz, Roberto Hernandez, and Danny Darwin to the Giants for six prospects not ready to play in the big leagues yet despite the Sox being like five games behind Cleveland in the A.L. Central. Sure, one of those six was Keith Foulke, but if ever a trade disheartened a team, that was it. Oh yeah, Schueler traded Sammy Sosa for George Bell

#196 Steve Kemp

Speaking of disheartining, Kemp had a few big years in Detroit and Chicago, signed a huge free-agent deal with the New York Yankees. Kemp couldn't handle the pressure, and, to make matters worse, Kemp got hit by a pitch and developed vision problems. Needless to say, he never fulfilled the Yankees' expectations, and is seen as one of the worse free-agent signings ever.

Overview

Well, that was weird, the best cards are probably George Scott and Art Howe. That doesn't really make for a good pack price wise, but it's still kind of cool looking through these older cards.

Through The Mail Autograph Attempt

2008-08-05T04:55:00.003-04:00

I've never tried to acquire an autograph through the mail before. I had thought about a few times in my younger years. I always wanted a Dale Murphy autographed card, or a Jeff Blauser auto (basically any Braves player.) But I never really followed through with it.

However, about two months ago I decided to try my hand at a TTM mail autograph. I picked out three cards that I wanted to send out. I originally planned on sending all three cards with handwritten letters to the individual players. But due to the lack of stamps in the house and the machine at the post office being broken, I only had enough stamps for one envelope, and the enclosed self-addressed stamped envelope. So I chose this card:

Yes I am aware that it already has a facsimile signature on it, but the card is light colored and I thought it would look good with a real autograph on it. Todd Helton has always been a favorite player of mine, even though not a Brave, so I thought it would be cool for a Helton auto.

Let's fast-forward now to last night. I was actually thinking about the card I sent off with a nice handwritten letter to Mr. Helton. I figured I would never get anything back and my letter will just sit amongst a pile of other envelopes. But lo and behold, this morning I received an envelope address to me, in my own handwriting. That means only one thing!

I open the envelope and I see the card I had sent. But there is no autograph on it. There is also a letter with it. See below (click to see large version):

Also with the envelope is this card of Todd Helton.

I did not receive an autograph, but that is fine by me. I'm just glad that Todd Helton, or at least a representative of his, took time to open my letter. And plus they sent back the card I originally sent.

I guess i'm a person who is not hard to please as I thought this was a pretty cool experience. I guess I could try my next two targets, Kelly Johnson and Eric Byrnes. Maybe i'll have a little bit of luck with those guys. I also want to send an auto request to former Major Leaguer Brett Butler. He is a favorite of my mother and it would make her day to get an autograph from him.

Oh yeah, the purple paper is super sweet.

Quick Update

2008-08-01T06:45:00.003-04:00

Just a quick update. I got a few more packs today that I will soon share. I have about 4 1990 Donruss Packs, 4 1990 Score packs, and a few packs that are a bit more recent.

So stay tuned.

2008 Upper Deck A Piece of History

2008-07-26T04:35:00.006-04:00

Well, the box came a day later than expected. And I opened it as soon as I woke up today and didn't really have a chance to post a live box break. But here are the box "hits" so to speak.

Up first is a Justin Morneau Box Score Memories Serial Numbered: 73/75.

Next is THREE different Alex Rodriguez Box Score Memories cards. They are numbered 235/699, 236/699, and 237/699. Click the image to see the large version. It's kind of odd to have three in a row like that, but it's cool I guess.

Next is a Pedro Martinez Stadium Scenes card no. 05/25.

Wladimir Balentien Gold "Rookie" 06/75.

This one might be my favorite card of the whole box. It's a Franchise Members 3 card of Smoltz, Hudson, and Glavine no. 137/799. It's a pretty sweet card, even though Glavine is wearing a Mets jersey...ugh.

This card was in the very first pack I opened. It's a CC Sabathia Stadium Scenes game-used card.

A Magglio Ordonez Franchise History no. 434/699.

Oh yeah, I also got THREE MORE of the same card, numbered 425/699, 429/699, and 433/699. I don't really know what to think about having FOUR Magglio Ordonez cards in the same box...but whatever.

A New York Mets Franchise Members 4 card with Reyes, Beltran, Delgado, and Santana no. 10/149. A pretty sweet card as well.

Next is the Autograph of the box. It's a Justin Ruggiano (never heard of him) no. 247/499. His signature looks like Kanji or something. Maybe it's a samurai message or something...

Carlos Beltran Gold no. 20/75.

Lance Berkman Franchise History Jersey Card.

David Ortiz Timeless Moments no. 033/149.

And finally, a piece of the shirt Robin Williams wore in the movie 'Birdcage'. This card is really thick and won't even fit into a penny sleeve.

I never really thought of how my life would change if I were to ever touch the shirt Robin
Williams wore, but maybe I should have...

I now look like this...
A slight improvement if you ask me.

FINAL THOUGHTS

A pretty fun box to open. I had a couple blasters previously, so I was able to come pretty close to completing the set. The FOUR Magglio cards were a little frustrating, but the Braves card was really nice. I wouldn't mind getting another box someday.

SCORE:

8/10.

A pack of 2004 Fleer Legacy

2008-07-24T03:03:00.003-04:00

Here is a five card pack of 2004 Fleer Legacy.

First up is #44 Pat Burrell. He should of been an all-star this year. The back of the card notes that he had the final hit EVER in Veterans Stadium.

Up next is #20 Orlando Cabrera.

Tom Glavine #58. It's hard to believe that Glavine played FIVE seasons in New York.

Sammy Sosa #8.

And finally, Ken Griffey Jr. #37.

Final Thoughts:

I really like this pack. It has two definite hall-of-famers in Griffey and Glavine. Sosa should get in, but with steroid allegations you never know. Burrell is a good player and Cabrera has proven to be a solid player as well. I wouldn't mind finding a box of this set if they were available, but my search has shown very much.

Overall grade, A

A few tidbits

2008-07-24T02:35:00.004-04:00

Here are a few highlights of about ten different packs that I went through. Not so many "hits" so to speak, but a few entertaining cards at least.

Like this one, Moose takes a Duece. It's a 2005 Bazooka card of Mike Mussina's 200th win.

2003 Fleer Tradition Update Diamond Debut, Jhonny Peralta #24 of 25.

2004 Fleer Platinum Mark Teixeira #53. I've kind of started a collection of Teixeira cards, and I don't have this one yet. It's a welcome addition to my fledgling collection.

2005 Bowman Arod subset/insert card something or other. It's numbered 96-AR.

2005 Bowman Barry Bonds #100. The card has a cool note on the back saying: "Facsimile signature is as appears on original (Rookie) Topps contract." I never knew that. I wonder if they do that for every player or just the elusive ones, like Bonds. Ya learn something knew everyday.

2006 Fleer Smoke 'n Heat Chris Carpenter #SH-2.

2006 Upper Deck Hot Stove Headlines #HS-12 Ken Griffey Jr.

Well that's that. I have a few more packs that I plan to do soon. I also have a box of Upper Deck History that I am expecting in the mail tomorrow. So the plan is for tomorrow (Thursday) probably around Midnight for a live box break. It should be sweet.

A bit of an update

2008-07-23T06:48:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts the last couple of days. I haven't really got around to scanning some cards to show and there really aren't a whole lot of interesting packs laying around.

BUT, I should have a box of Upper Deck History 2008 in my possession today or tomorrow, and when I do, I will do a live box break on here and post the pack-by-pack results. Should be exciting as i've never done one before, and I don't know if I will have an audience for it. But, regardless it will be done.

Affliction: Banned A.K.A Fedor is the man

2008-07-20T06:55:00.003-04:00

Not much of an update today as I spent about 5 hours watching MMA after I spent 8 hours working.

The UFC Fight Night was a pretty lackluster show. Kevin Burns winning by TKO after FIVE eye pokes is the most ridiculous thing ever. Brandon Vera still pisses me off every time he fights. Frankie Edgar can still not finish an opponent, granted it was Hermes Franca, but still. James Irvin reaffirms my thought about him being a total garbage fighter. And, Rory Markham is a complete badass. He gets beat out for about a minute straight, kicks a man in the head knocking him out, and then walks away like it was totally expected. BADASS!!!

The Affliction: Banned show didn't start off too promising. Megadeth is one of my least favorite bands as I absolutely LOATHE Dave Mustaine. They play one of their better songs, but still, IT'S MEGADETH.

Commentary is pretty awful. Big John is ok, Jay Glazer is a tiny bit better then Mauro Ranallo, and Frank Trigg is the most biased, and absolutely stupidest commentator ever. The production had a lot of little errors, but at least it wasn't Elite XC.

Mike Pyle beats a man i've never heard of. Little Nog dispatches of Edwin Dewees rather handidly. A guy i'm really a fan of, Matt Lindland, starts out extremely strong and nearly finishes Fabio Negao. But as the fight went on Lindland started to gas, but was still able to win the Unanimous Decision.

Babalu is the man. I will root for him against nearly anybody. He beat Mike Whitehead in a kind of lackluster fight, but it's Babalu, so HELL YEAH!

Mark Hominick submits Savant Young. Not really surprising to me, but the announcers thought it was a HUGE deal that Hominick knows submissions.

Josh Barnett, another favorite of mine, avenges a loss to Pedro Rizzo via a brutal left hook knockout. Pretty decent fight too.

Andrei Arlovski knocks out a very tought, as always, Ben Rothwell in a very entertaining fight. After the second round though, I knew Rothwell didn't have much left, but he still fought hard.

And the main event went about how I imagined. Fedor absolutely MAULS Tim Sylvia. In only 36 seconds Fedor secures the Choke and Sylvia taps. Fedor is the man! I would like to see him fight Randy, but I think a fight against Arlovski or Barnett would be even better. Hell they can bring Arona in to fight him, so that the "controversial decision" over Arona could be redeemed.

I don't really know what i'm talking about now as i'm really tired. But Affliction, minus the 3 megadeth songs, was a very good show and well worth the money. I can't wait for Affliction 2.

2005 Topps, 2006 Topps, 06 Topps Update, 2007 Topps

2008-07-19T01:36:00.004-04:00

Here are a few highlights of 6 packs of Topps from 2005, 2006 and 2007. The results are about as expected. So here are a few cards of note.

2006 All Star Grady Sizemore #UH240.

Nick Shisher Generation Now #GN370. This card should be remade today as part of the Generation Never set. Ruben Rivera would on the cover of the pack.

Gary Sheffield and Alex Rodriguez share a private moment on home plate #659. There should be more cards of man-love in future sets.

Frank Thomas Hit Parade #HR6. A pretty neat card of one of the best hitters of the 90's. I'm not sure what the design is, it's actually holographic on the card but the scan shows it's abstract art. I guess that was the artist's interpretation of what a "Hit Parade" would look like.

Ken Griffey Jr. #440. I don't know what is on his hat, and I don't think I want to know...

Devern Hansack Gold Rookie Card #646 serial numbered 1122/2007. I don't know who he is, but with a name like Hansack I hope he becomes a Hall Of Famer.

And finally we have to more pointless Mickey Mantle Home Run Cards. These cards show no creativity or ambition as there are only three different poses and he's standing there looking at the sky or Manute Bol or something. Eh, maybe I can a buck on Ebay for these.

Final Thoughts:

My final thought is that maybe I should show some actual good cards that I currently have, because these SIX topps packs are kind of depressing.

Coming Soon:

I will post some of my favorite cards i've acquired over the last couple of months. Oh, how exciting!!!!! Sure...

2005 Upper Deck Pro Sigs

2008-07-19T01:04:00.003-04:00

Up next is another pack from a set i'm not very familiar with. It's a pack of 2005 Upper Deck Pro Sigs. It promises 6 cards per pack and 1 BONUS Flyball Card. I like bonuses...

Adrian Beltre #76 is first.

Next is a Lance Berkman #37.

Next is a Brandon McCarthy First Class Prospects Rookie Card #132. McCarthy seemingly had a lot of potential coming out of the minor leagues but has had some bad injuries for the last year or so. (Run-on sentence...)

Brian Giles #71.
Ben Sheets #45

Next is a Justin Verlander First Class Prospects Rookie Card #105. Complete with crooked scan and everything. The card actually looks really nice and it's always nice to get a Verlander rookie.

The last card in the pack is a "BONUS Flyball Card" of Armando Benitez.

Final Thoughts:

Overall it was a good pack. I got the all star game starter in Ben Sheets, two rookie cards, and a few other decent players. Not bad not bad. Not overly exciting or anything, but a good solid pack. I'll give it: 2 and 1/2 thumbs up.

2003 Upper Deck 40 Man

2008-07-18T01:01:00.004-04:00

Here is a pack of 2003 Upper Deck 40 Man. I'm guessing this is a set that tried to make a card of every person on every teams 40 man roster. This set seems absolutely GIGANTIC and has a ton of common cards. I could be wrong though. Oh yeah, the name 40 Man could be the worst name for a set of cards in history. Actually i'm going out on a limb and saying it is THE WORST BASEBALL CARD SET NAME IN HISTORY OF MANKIND AND THE YEARS TO COME... Ok maybe I went to far there... but anyways lets bust open this pack.

Well I should of read the pack first as it indeed says it is the largest Upper Deck Base Set of the year.

First card is a Ty Wiggington #316 which proclaims loudly at the top "Wigginton gets nod at Third Base for Mets." I guess it's a special card or something as it's the only paper-feeling card in the pack and it feels kind of out of place...I dunno.

Juan Acevedo # 336
Ramon Santiago #277
Rod Barajas #502
Nelson Cruz #758
Andres Galaragga #564. Yeah! Finally someone worth a crap!
Barry Zito #28. Yeah! Someone that used to be worth a crap! I hope one day Zito makes a comeback and becomes dominant once again. Maybe if we all join and hands and rain-dance or something it will happen...hey, it's worth a shot.

Jaret Wright #653. His best year was when he was on the Braves. Mazzone was the man!

Next is a Nomar Garciaparra 'UD Top 40' #840. I have always been a fan of Nomar (Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket.) It's a pretty nice looking card but it's not an insert and just another base card.

Lastly we have a Luis Matos 'New Releases' card #908.

Final comments/impressions:

The pack itself had potential (maybe...) but with the amount of base cards and complete lack of inserts in this pack I have to give this a 'Five Thumbs Down'

Nah, not really but I was not really impressed and I will probably not go out of my way to look for this product. But at least i'm reminded that Ty Wigginton was at one point announced as the Mets' starting Third Baseman. Thank you Upper Deck.

2003 Fleer Genuine

2008-07-18T00:25:00.002-04:00

Up first is a pack of 2003 Fleer Genuine. I'm not really familiar with this set, so I guess we'll dig in and see what lies ahead.

First up is Josh Beckett #57

Edgar Martinez #67

Kazuhisa Ishii #45
Tom Glavine #73. Glavine is one of my all-time favorite players, as I have been a lifelong Atlanta Braves fan.
And finally it's Pedro Martinez # 46. I've never really been a fan of Pedro, but I have always respected him as a pitcher. Through a recent discussion with my brother I realized how good of a pitcher Pedro has been and still is. Sure he may not be the dominating strike-out pitcher anymore but during his prime there definitely was no one better.

Overall a decent pack. No inserts or anything like that, but I got two guaranteed first-ballot hall of famer's, and a possible HOFer in Martinez. And who knows maybe Josh Beckett could be considered one day...but that looks kind of far-fetched.

Post Number 1

2008-07-18T00:19:00.003-04:00

Well today I bought about 30 random packs of cards. And for a while I was wanting to make my own blog about cards and such. So with so many packs, which are literally 'Stacks of Packs', I thought it was finally time to make such a blog. This is just the obligatory first post which explains the blog and so forth and so forth.

So basically I have around 30 something packs to show off...whether they are worth showing off or not.

And this will just be the beginning as I hope to share all of my card findings whether through packs or boxes or however they are acquired.

Well anyways enough rambling, welcome to Stacks of Packs.