New Year Contest Pack Break 1-3

Let's get started on this junk wax blaster pack break contest. I posted the order and the packs on Saturday and here are the first three on the block.

Pack 1--1990 Topps 16 cards--Beardy
Pack 2--1990 Score 16 cards + magic motion trivia card--MattR
Pack 3--2006 Upper Deck First Pitch 5 cards--spastikmoos

Best of luck to everyone!

Pack 1 Beardy--1990 Topps (Orioles)

#428 Steve Davis-Indians

#299 Adam Peterson-White Sox

#477 Willie Fraser-Angels

#752 Tom Gordon-Royals

#606 Storm Davis-Athletics

#586 Ed Nunez-Tigers

#306 Tom Niedenfuer-Mariners

#151 Rick Mahler-Reds

#559 Andy McGaffigan-Expos

#578 Joe Magrane-Cardinals
#612 Dave Gallagher-White Sox

# 532 Cecilio Guante-Rangers---+1

#71 Allan Anderson-Twins

#566 Mark Knudson-Brewers

#548 Pat Clements-Padres

#244 Bill Schroeder-Angels

Beardy came out with only 1 point for the lone Ranger.....yea, I went there. No Hall of Famers or Orioles. The only interesting thing about this pack was that aside from Gallagher(OF) and Bill Schroeder (C) the other players are all pitchers.

Card of the Pack--Tom Gordon, complete with the little Gold Topps Rookie Trophy

Pack 2 MattR--1990 Score (Giants)

#163 Damon Berryhill-Cubs

#352 Shawn Abner-Padres

#357 Dave LaPoint-Yankees
#169 Shawon Dunston-Cubs

#166 Fred Manrique-Rangers--+1

#354 Greg Walker-White Sox

#63 Gregg Olson-Orioles

Magic Motion #23 Mickey Mantle-Yankees

#77 Nelson Liriano-Blue Jays

#697 Bo-Royals

#57 Frank Tanana-Tigers

#239 Bob Milacki-Orioles

#259 Mark Davis-Padres

#241 Otis Nixon-Expos

#650 Dave Justice-Braves

#655 Terry Jorgensen-Twins

#560 Ken Griffey Jr.-Mariners-nice, but no points! Sorry...

MattR picks up 1 point for his Ranger. Despite having a couple of other nice cards in this pack, it still only scores one point.

The cards of the pack were the Bo Jackson and Ken Griffey Jr. Dave Justice was married to Halle Berry....hmmmm. If you haven't seen the back of the Bo Jackson it looks like this...

Not many stats, but at least you know who the card belongs to.

Pack 3 spastikmoos--2006 Upper Deck First Pitch (Red Sox)

#213 Jason Bergmann

#44 Tadahito Iguchi

HS 13 Hot Stove Headlines Manny Ramirez--+3

#65 Todd Helton

#130 Jason Giambi

This pack only had 5 cards, so let's show them.

spastikmoos makes a fortunate Red Sox pull to get 3 points and take the lead after 3 packs.

I'll post the standings off to the side of the blog. I know what you're wondering. No, not why did I enter this contest? Rather, why didn't he scan the cards? All he could talk about was that new scanner. Well, I opened it, I marveled at it and then I hooked it up and....it didn't work. Talk about anti-climactic. Unlike a great number of our former beloved cardboard heroes, my scanner had no juice. Some kind of power supply issue I suppose. I'll be exchanging it later today or Tuesday. Just another hiccup in the life of a collector.

GCRL means Good Cards I Really Like

Ok, I know that post title was a stretch, but when GCRL, also known as GARVEY CEY RUSSELL LOPES contacted me about a Dodgers for Rangers trade, little did I know how many Rangers he was going to send. I haven't had the privilege of trading with Jim before, but I'm glad I said yes to this one. He sent over a small box nearly full of cards and even apologized that it wasn't quite full. You never have to apologize because you sent 150 Rangers instead of 180. I didn't count them, but it was a lot. I wish I could post them all...here are just a few of the ones he sent.

At one time, in a galaxy far, far away, I became obsessed with getting a complete set of these 1993 Topps Gold cards. I ended up with a little over a 100 of them...but they went the way of the garage sale. Todd Burns pitched 1+ seasons with Texas appearing in 60 games and going 3-9 in 168 innings pitched. He was traded on 7/22/93 to the St. Louis Cardinals for Duff Brumley. He signed with Seattle on 2/1/94, but never appeared in another game. He did pitch in 5 World Series games for the Athletics from 1988-1990. He didn't allow a run in the 1988 or 1989 Series in 2 innings, but gave up 3 runs in 1.2 innings in the 1990 Series.

Here are the 1989 traded and 1990 Score Kevin Browns. I've mentioned how I didn't really like Kevin Brown. A couple of people have asked why. He pitched ok for Texas, going 78-64 in basically 6 full seasons (hi pitched in a few games in '86 and '88), winning 21 in 1992. His career numbers are pretty solid as well. In 19 years, he went 211-144 with 2,397 Ks. My problem with Brown was that he always seemed like a headcase and a locker room headache. I may be remembering wrong, but that's the way I remember him. I'm sure Dodger fans have much fonder memories of Kevin don't you.

I remember Todd Van Poppel as one of those can't miss, never hit prospects. He had a couple of swims through Texas and never panned out. He pitched in 4 games in 1998 for Texas, 50 games in 2002 and 7 games in 2003. I also thought it was interesting the back of this 2002 Topps Chrome Traded card shows he played for the White Sox in 2000 and 2001. According to Baseball-Almanac he played for the Cubbies those two seasons.

I've mentioned recently how much I like these 2001 Fleer EX cards. I like the color scheme and the embedded logo. What is a little frightening is the fact that Andres Galarraga looks like he's about 70 years old. His hair is very, very gray and on the back, he actually looks like an old Ray Romano. Andres only played in 72 games for the Rangers before being traded to the San Francisco Giants for Chris Magruder and Erasmo Ramirez.

On this 2001 UD Vintage card we get to see Rafael Palmeiro play a friendly game of pass the HGH.

Here are a couple of interesting Juan Gonzalez cards. The first is a 1993 Ted Williams card highlighting the "Dawning of a Legacy" that was Juan Gonzalez. The second is a 1993 UD Award Winners Juando showing him swinging at what must have been a terrible pitch. The card highlights Juan being the 1992 Home Run Champion so I guess the swing worked out for him.

I had a nice collection of these Topps Black Gold cards a while back and now I finally have one of them back where it belongs. It has a nice home next to it's shiny cousin, the 1997 Topps King of Swing Juan Gonzalez card.

It took me a minute to realize this 1986 Topps Oddibe McDowell must have been cut off the bottom of a box. I remember buying box after box of 1986 Topps because I could get it at Sam's Warehouse for less than $13 a box. I don't think I cut off any of the cards.

I've picked up a couple of these 2009 4-1's with Rangers on them, but this is my first with 4 Rangers on it. Well, 3 Rangers, since Marlon Byrd signed with the Cubs a few days ago. Good luck Marlon, I think we'll miss you around here.

More Pudge in gear goodness. The 2001 UD Ovation on the left has a nice thread like design built into it. It notes on the back that Pudge earned his 9th straight Gold Glove and batted .347 in 2000. The nice close-up on the 1993 Upper Deck is similar to a card I recently posted from a trade with Wicked Ortega. Only this time, Pudge has a mean scowl on his face. It says on the back that Pudge was the first player born in the 1970's to appear in the All-Star Game.

Every time I see Will Clark in a Texas Rangers uniform, like on this 1997 Topps card, I miss the days when I could go out to the ballpark and watch that sweet swing. I wonder if this is from one of his 2 steals in 1996.

At first, I was mad when I saw how the picture I took of this 1998 Stadium Club Mark McLemore turned out. Then I laughed. It made me look forward to using the scanner I got for Christmas. I think this is from 7/30/97. Baltimore beat Texas 3-1, but Brady Anderson was caught stealing by Pudge Rodriguez. John Burkett was on the mound for Texas.

Here are a couple of nice Rangers from a set I never saw, 2007 SP Rookie Edition.

I think this the 3rd 1978 Richie Zisk I've received in the last month. I appreciate any card from the 1970's. It IS a reminder of the needs of a wantlist like the one Night Owl has posted.

This is my favorite card of the bunch. I don't know who made it or exactly when. It has no other information than what you see on the front. The back is a smaller part of a large puzzle. The card is larger than normal, measuring 3 1/2" by 4 1/4". Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks again Jim! I've just about got your return box full of Dodgers and I'll mail it out next week.

Padres and Rangers from Padrographs

Sometime last year, ok a couple of months ago, Rod over at Padrographs held a contest to see who could guess his favorite Padre. Fortunately he gave a hint which made the contest doable with a little research. I was among the people who guessed right and as my part of the prize Rod sent over some Padres goodies and was kind enough to include a few other items as well. Poor Rod mailed my package and then weeks later got it back in the mail because it was a few cents short on postage so he had to re-send it. Thanks for the efforts Rod!!

My part of the prize was a 2003 Keebler Padres Set and a 1984 Mother's Cookies Set. I have a couple of these Mother's Cookies sets from the Mariners as well. I was never a big Padres fan, but I always liked Tony Gwynn. Thanks for these sets Rod!

Rod included these nice cards from the 09 UH set. How can you not like the Babe in a Sox uni? The propaganda inserts are one of this year's best in my opionion. These will go to the boy.

The back of this 1993 Megacard features a ficticious meeting between Walter Johnson and Nolan Ryan. Johnson died 52 days before Ryan was born.


Topps Gold Photo Day Fun Card #170/2009. I like the photo and I like the numbering. It's all mine.

Here is an interesting 1993 Fleer combo card. I like Pudge and I really liked Kirby. I always felt bad the Puckett's career ended the way it did.

Does that look like the face of guy who would put you in a headlock and punch you in the head repeatedly? Sure it does.

Here we have a trio of 1991 Topps Stadium Club Members Only Rangers. I never saw these in or near 1991, but have seen a few through the years. These are the first ones I've received via the blogosphere I believe.

Are these 1991 Stadium Club Charter Member cards come from the same set? Wherever they came from, I like them.

Rod also sent 21 other Rangers cards, including 11 of Don Slaught. I'm glad those aren't taking up space in your collection anymore Rod!! Thanks a bunch.

New Year Contest Update

We had all 13 spots filled 99 minutes after my original post hit. Sincere apologies to Wicked O' and Roy Z for missing out. I'll be having another contest before too long!

Before we see the packs, I want to clarify the rules. The team you claimed in your comment is the team for which you will get points. You only get points for the cards in the ONE pack you are assigned, which has already been done using Random.org.

You'll get 1 point for each Ranger in your pack, 3 points for each card from your favorite team, including combo cards or stickers and 5 points for any card of a Hall of Famer. Not a might be, or should be, or will be Hall of Famer. Someone who is actually in the Baseball Hall of Fame. If some othe unexpected something or other is in a pack I'll make a ruling at that time.


Here is a picture of the packs we will be opening.

I don't know if you can read the post-its, but they are numbered 1-13 (done randomly) from left to right top to bottom. As I said, I randomed your names and here is the order and which pack we'll be opening for each person.

Pack 1--1990 Topps 16 cards--Beardy

Pack 2--1990 Score 16 cards + magic motion trivia card--MattR

Pack 3--2006 Upper Deck First Pitch 5 cards--spastikmoos

Pack 4--1992 O-Pee-Chee 8 cards--fan of reds

Pack 5--1988 Topps 15 cards--Baseball Dad

Pack 6--Fleer Baseball Star Stickers (year??) 5 cards +logo sticker--AdamE

Pack 7--1989 Topps 15 cards--Thorzul

Pack 8--1992 Donruss 15 cards--tastelikedirt

Pack 9--1989 Fleer 15 cards--Jeremy

Pack10--1991 Upper Deck--Mr. Scott

Pack 11--1988 Donruss 15 cards--Joe S.

Pack 12--1990 Fleer 15 cards--DKWilson

Pack 13--1987 Topps 17 cards--Night Owl

I'll start posting the packs early Monday, doing three or four each day until we're done. Hopefully this will be fun and competetive. Thanks for participating.

An Award Winning Trade with the Wicked One

In honor of him winning the Trader of the Year award, I thought I would go ahead and post the latest trade from Wicked Ortega of My Past Time...I Love It. Al and I have had so many trades at this point, I don't know if this package is one he sent for one I already sent or need to send. At any rate, I do have another package ready for him, but won't be going to the post office until Monday. I've worked 3 double shifts this week and I just want to sleep when I get home. Sweet, precious sleep...

Sorry, back to the trade. I've said it before and it bears repeating, that Al is an amazing trade partner. If you haven't already worked out a trade with him, it would benefit you and your collection to do so. The cards you see here just represent about 1/3 of what he sent.

This 1992 Donruss Rafael Palmeiro is interesting. A review of Raffy's stats on the back reveal that during his first 3 seasons he hit 30 homeruns in 392 games. That is 30 homers in 1,360 at bats. During his next two seasons he hit 40 homeruns in 313 games, 1229 at bats. Those numbers show his progression as a professional hitter. Between the years 1995-2003, he never hit less than 38 homeruns. We all know the story with Palmeiro. If Palmeiro had gone before Congress after this photo was taken in 1991 and said he had never taken steroids/HGH, he would have been telling the truth.

This 2008 Bowman Chris Davis gold talks about the power potential Davis has, but doesn't mention his knack for striking out. I hope Davis doesn't turn out to be another feast or famine hitter for the Rangers. That hasn't gotten them far in the postseason in the rare times they've made the playoffs. Also, that mysterious orb is from the camera not the card. Does it look like he's rubbing up the ball like a pitcher would to you?

This 1994 Leaf Triple Play Dean Palmer was kind enough to mention the Rangers had never won a division title (as of 1993). Way to bring the Rangers fans down Leaf! Palmer was one of my favorite Rangers of the 1990's.

I see other bloggers post from time to time about 1993 Donruss cards and now I know why. I don't usually post pictures of card backs because it is tedious to take/edit more pictures than necessary. Now that I'll be using a scanner, I hope to use more card backs in posts. I made an exception for this Billy Ripken card because it is a great shot and is the action is continued on the FRONT of the card.

I'm not a big Billy Ripken fan, but I love this card. This is what ALL cards could be...great photography makes great cards. Simple, non-intrusive design. This may be one of my favorite all-time non-vintage cards.

I bought a couple of blasters of SP this year. I think this is the first time I've seen the Elvis Andrus card.

Here is another one of those Topps Gold Cards, circa 2009. I still like them no matter what others might say. This one is Neftali Feliz #206/2009. I hope Feliz isn't a flash in the pan. And if he is, I hope it's like an iron skillet, that seasons and gets better the more you use it. I'm just sayin'.

What we have here is a bit o' shininess in the form of a 2008 Bowman Chrome Brandon Boggs. If that doesn't do much for you then how about this...

...a 2009 Topps Chrome Greg Olson refractor. Sure it's just Greg Olson, but it is refractory goodness.

I like the close-up on Pudge on this 2003 UD First Pitch card. I'm ok with it being in a Marlins uni. It takes me back to meeting Pudge at a card show and getting his autograph on a ball. That was back in '94 I think. Boy do I feel old. I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that I'll turn 40 later this year.

The only thing about this 2009 Topps UH WM black Kris Benson that gives it a home in my team collection is that little Rangers logo in the bottom right corner. This guy was an absolute waste of money, time and cardboard for the Rangers. Nothing personal Kris, but wow, you were bad even by Rangers retread standards. Kris was out of baseball due to injuries in 2007 and 2008 and only made it into 8 games for the Ranges in 2009. He managed to go 1-1, post a nice 8.46 ERA in 22.1 innings and strikout 11 hitters. Those poor guys must really be embarrassed.

It's cards like this that turn team collectors into player collectors. Having said all that...it does fill a spot in a binder, so it has that going for it.

Here is a 2008 UD Baseball Heroes card featuring one of the guys from my player list, Joe Mauer. I'm sure these would great with on-card autos, but the player pic should never be the same size as the logo. I'm guessing Al had a duplicate of this since it features one from his team, the Florida Marlins.

Here are some very colorful 2009 Spectrum Rangers. I think I like the blue best, but they sure are nice and shiny. Not to mention they feature two of my favorite players. Oops, I mentioned it.

It's cards like this one that make Al a great trader. It isn't a fabulous card of a sure-fire Hall of Famer. However, it is proof that Al reads my blog. He knows that my son likes the relic cards of the Team USA players. My son is pro-USA, pro-2010 Camaro, and pro-Madden 10. He makes a connection between these guys representing the U.S. in baseball and likes the thought of having a little piece of that. Isn't that the reason relic cards were/are so appealing in the first place? Al, thanks from the little man.

This is an absolutely horrible picture of a 2008 UDX Luis Mendoza autographed card. It's my first Mendoza auto and is another reason I like dealing with Wickedness. He didn't shoot me an email saying he pulled this or post it up and wait for me to say I wanted it. He busted some wax, posted some pics and even said right there in the post that he was sending an auto my way. It true, you can see his original post right here. That is true greatness on his part if you ask me. Wicked, thanks so much for another great trade and congratulations on a well deserved award as Blog Trader of the Year!

Happy New Year Contest!

I hope you all had a safe and happy New Year's Eve and that 2010 is better in every way than 2009. I celebrated safely tucked away at work and let the crazies have the roads all to themselves. By the time this is posted, I will have driven safely home while the "happy" people are still sleeping off the indulgences of last night. In honor of our new year, I'm going to have a little contest.

Back on December 15th, I wrote a post about my mother-in-law and some discounted blasters she purchased for me. I said I was going to save one of those blasters for a contest on January 1st so here it is. Here is the blaster:

This is one of those "World's Greatest Card Chase" blasters. It cost $9.97 at Wally World. As you can see, it contains 16 packs. I took out the two Hidden Treasures packs and the Eight Men Out pack because they won't fit neatly into the parameters of our contest. That leaves 13 packs.

The first 13 people to respond will be randomly assigned one pack from the box. If you want to play, leave a comment including your favorite team (realizing these packs are mostly late 80's to early 90's). I will break and post the packs and score each one. The person that scores the highest will win a couple of unopened packs of something recent...most likely 2009 Heritage High Numbers since that is about the only baseball product around these parts. If I can find more than one thing, I may give the winner a choice of packs. I'll also include some cards of your favorite team. You will not be getting the cards from your pack in the mail unless you win. In the event of a tie, I will randomly pick a winner or I may decide to reward both people. That is the beauty of running your own contest.

Scoring is as follows:

Any Rangers: +1

Any card from your favorite team, including combo cards with other teams: +3

Any current member of the Hall of Fame: +5

I will reveal the packs when we have 13 contestants and you'll know what kind of pack you have before I start busting them open.

NOTE: The packs contain between 5 and 17 cards so it will be luck of the draw.