On Vacation.....

....be back in a few days to continue the packs.

Pack 5

#13 BJ Upton

#30 Mark Teixeira

#66 Erik Bedard

#MM-6 John Smoltz & David Wright Marquee Matchups

#YSL6339 Hideki Matsui Yankee Stadium Legacy

2008 SP Authentic

Pack 4

#06 Vladimir Guerrero

#56 Roy Halladay

#90 Chien-Ming Wang

#94 Jason Bay

##AA-9 Scott Rolen Authentic Achievements

2008 SP Authentic

Pack 3

#02 Derek Jeter

#34 Travis Hafner

#68 Joe Mauer

#74 Paul Konerko

##AA-31 Pedro Martinez Authentic Achievements

2008 SP Authentic

Pack 2

#17 Carlos Beltran

#38 David Wright

#84 Lastings Milledge

#MM-32 Jose Reyes & Tom Glavine Marquee Matchups

#YSL718 Babe Ruth Yankee Stadium Legacy

2008 SP Authentic

Pack 1

#49 Cole Hamels

#65 Josh Beckett

#72 Jose Guillen

#77 Dontrelle Willis

#MM-31 CC Sabathia & Magglio Ordonez Marquee Matchups

Upper Deck Still Blows....

I told myself not to do it. I should of listened, should of stuck with Topps products. At least they generally deliver what they say. 2 boxes of 2008 SP Authentic came today. I figured it would be a great way of getting some autographs as the odds are 3/box on average (I love how they throw that on). Ripped both of the boxes and got 3 autographs total, and none of them were players of note.

If anyone is looking for a good read about the beginnings of Upper Deck, check out this book.

I'll start posting pack breaks tomorrow. I need to sort through these to see if I missed one.

Coming Up.....

I have two boxes of 2008 SP Authentic coming from the Blowout Sportcards weekend specials. Hoping to have them on Wednesday or Thursday. Should be a fun break with 3 autographs per box.

1989 Donruss

Last pack from the mixed box I bought awhile ago. This time it's a pack of 1989 Donruss cards. It's a kaleidoscope of colors.

#39 Cris Carpenter

#127 Mike Pagliarulo

#133 David Palmer

#227 Mark Langston

#232 Greg Swindell

#239 Gerald Perry

#312 Chris James

#317 Chris Sabo

#436 Al Newman

#442 Cecil Fielder

#457 Jeffrey Leonard

#547 Hensley Meulens

#561 Craig Biggio

#567 Willie Fraser

#568 Glenn Hubbard

2007 Topps Stadium Club Series 2

Back to the mixed box and a pack of 2008 Topps Stadium Club Series 2 cards.

#197 Joe Carter

#283 Shannon Stewart

#299 Rocky Coppinger

#351 Brant Brown

#358 Rex Hudler

2008 Topps Co-Signers

Last pack from the Co-Signers box. Still trying to figure what I'm going to open next. I'm thinking 2008 SP Authentic and/or 2007 Bowman Draft.

Pack 10

#063 Paul Konerko

#0077 Mike Lowell

#078 Dan Haren

#096 Ross Ohlendorg

#039 Carlos Delgado/Carlos Beltran Silver Blue #'d 100/250

#108 Bronson Sardinha Silver Gold Autograph RC #'d 079/150

Everything, except the autographs, will be available on sportlots soon.

2008 Topps Co-Signers

Pack 9

#040 Alex Gordon

#055 Ichiro

#081 Jason Bay

#082 Carlos Zambrano

#095 Vladimir Guerrero

#082 Carlos Zambrano/Ted Lilley Silver Gold #'d 108/150

2008 Topps Co-Signers

Pack 8

#023 Chipper Jones

#060 Prince Fielder

#065 Felix Hernandez

#068 Roy Oswalt

#098 Jonathan Meloan

#094 BJ Upton Silver Red #'d 158/400

2008 Topps Co-Signers

Pack 7

#017 Carl Crawford

#024 Chase Utley

#028 Greg Maddux

#075 Ryan Howard

#087 Richie Sexson

#002 Michael Young Silver Green #'d 107/200

2008 Topps Co-Signers

Pack 6

#045 Hanley Ramirez

#047 Adam Dunn

#056 Scott Kazmir

#084 David DeJesus

#049 Scott Rolen Silver Red #'d 155/400

#CS-JA Brandon Jones/Josh Anderson Co-Signers Auto

This is a pretty cool card for me as the Tiger's traded for Anderson at the tail end of spring training and he has been a really good platoon guy. He is fast as can be.

2008 Topps Co-Signers

Pack 6

#014 Josh Beckett

#033 Curtis Granderson

#062 Alfonso Soriano

#069 Brian McCann

#092 Jermaine Dye

#100 Mike Lowell/JD Drew Silver Gold #'d 058/300

2008 Topps Co-Signers

Pack 6

#039 Carlos Beltran

#064 Matt Holliday

#072 Travis Hafner

#085 Ryan Zimmerman

#086 Bobby Abreu

#100 David Ortiz/Manny Ramirez Silver Gold #'d 063/300

2008 Topps Co-Signers

Pack 5

#031 Orlando Hudson

#050 Alex Rodriguez

#057 Jeff Kent

#074 Ben Sheets

#099 Chin-Lung Hu

#100 Clay Buchholz Silver Red #'d 032/400

2008 Topps Co-Signers

Pack 4

#011 Nick Markakis

#022 Carlos Lee

#058 Aubrey Huff

#067 John Maine

#086 Robinson Cano/Bobby Abreau Silver Blue #'d 088/250

Julie Cesar Chavez Jr Autograph Redemption

An autograph redemption of a boxer? WTF? I'm going to redeem it and pray that he didn't sign his cards. Hopefully Topps will substitute it.

2008 Topps Co-Signers

Pack 3

#025 David Ortiz

#042 Todd Helton

#059 Justin Upton

#079 Adrian Gonzalez

#090 Jake Peavy

#074 Ben Sheets Hyper Plaid Red #'d 040/100

2008 Topps Co-Signers

Let's get to the 2nd box from Blowout....

Pack 2

#005 Grady Sizemore

#019 Brad Penny

#052 Andruw Jones

#070 Albert Pujols

#094 BJ Upton

#006 Brandon Webb Hyper Plaid Blue #'d 09/50

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game

Pack 15

Last pack and it yieled a great autograph....

#61 Luis Aparicio

#76 Robin Yount

#94 Tony Perez

#STL-RS Red Schoendienst Cardinals Greats

#68 Ozzie Smith Greats of the Game Autograph

Overall, I loved this break. Lots of great players from my young days and two fantastic autographs. I'm tempted to get another box but chances are slim that it would be half as good as this one.

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game

Pack 14

#47 Harmon Killebrew

#67 Nolan Ryan

#CHC-MG Mark Grace Cubs Greats Game Used Bat Card

#STL-SC Steve Carlton Cardinals Greats

When I collected big time, Grace was always my favorite player and the focus of my collection. This is the first time I have ever pulled a Grace GU or Auto.

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game

Pack 13

#12 Bob Gibson

#24 Dave Parker

#68 Ozzie Smith

#83 Ryne Sandberg

#CIN-JM Joe Morgan Reds Greats

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game

Pack 12

#1 Al Kaline

#14 Bobby Murcer

#16 Brooks Robinson

#32 Dwight Evans

#LAD-DD Don Drysdale Dodgers Greats

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game

Pack 11

#31 Dusty Baker

#75 Reggie Jackson

#85 Stan Musial

#13 Bobby Doerr Pewter Parallel

#DEC-RC Roberto Clemente Decade Greats

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game

Pack 10

#13 Bobby Doerr

#15 Boog Powell

#DET-GK George Kell Tigers Greats

#NG-GS George Scott Nickname Greats "Boomer"

#92 Tom Seaver Copper Parallel #'d 248/299

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game

Pack 9

#11 Bob Feller

#28 Don Mattingly

#47 Harmon Killewbrew

#72 Ralph Kiner

#CIN-KG Ken Griffey Jr Reds Greats

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game

Pack 8

#56 Kirby Puckett

#58 Lee Mazzilli

#98 Willie Horton

#DET-TC Ty Cobb Tigers Greats

#NG-DR Dave Righetti Nickname Greats "Rags"

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game

Pack 7

#64 Mark Grace (My Favorite Player)

#73 Randy Hundley

#84 Sparky Lyle

#DEC-TG Tony Gwynn Decade Greats

#GG-HK Harmon Killebrew Autgraphics (This is an awesome card)

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game

Pack 6

#20 Rico Petrocelli

#22 Chris Chambliss

#87 Steve Garvey

#61 Luis Aparicio Parallel

#DEC-CR Call Ripken Jr Decade Greats

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game

Looking for a hit.....

Pack 5

#15 Boog Powell Parallel

#27 Denny McLain

#36 Frank Robinson

#52 Joe Morgan

#BOS-WB Wade Boggs Red Sox Greats

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game

Pack 4

#17 Bruce Sutter

#46 Greg Luzinski

#92 Tom Seaver

#100 Yogi Berra

#NYY-YB Yogi Berra Yankees Clippings

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game

Pack 3

#7 Bill Madlock

#45 Graig Nettles

#48 Jack Clark

#NG-HJ Howard Johnson Nickname Greats "HoJo"

#DEC-BF Bob Feller Decade's Greats

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game

Pack 2

#50 Jim Palmer

#57 Kirk Gibson

#LAD-CA Roy Campanella Dodger's Greats

#DEC-JK John Kruk Decade's Greats Game Used Bat Card

I'm really like the looks of these cards and the checklist. Let's hope for some good autograph's.

2008 Topps Co-Signers

The second box I bought from Blowout was 2008 Topps Co-Signers. It's supposed to have three autographs per box with one being a dual. Lot's of parallels.

Pack 1

#001 Jacoby Ellsbury

#018 Barry Zito

#036 Ken Griffey Jr

#080 David Wright

#097 JR Towles RC (God, I hate the new rookie card rules and logo)

#055 Ichiro/Kenji Johjima Green Parallel #'d 064/200

Looks like this set is an all stars or rc set.

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game

This box came today from Blowout Sports Cards. Odds of 2 Auto's and 2 Game Used cards seemed worth it and it sounded like a fun break. I'm going to break a pack a day on these. Most cards will be listed on sportlots shortly, unless I pull any Tiger cards.

Pack 1

#23 Dave Concepcion

#38 Fred McGriff

#41 Gary Matthews

#62 Luis Tiant

#CHC-FJ Fergie Jenkins Cubs Greats

New Boxes Coming

I ordered two boxes of cards from Blowout today and they should be here on Wednesday. I got a box of 2006 Fleer Greats of the Game and 2008 Topps Co-Signers, so I'll be getting some autographs.

There's also a new card show coming to the Rock Financial Showcase that I'm going to check out this weekend. Hopefully it will be worth it. I used to go to Gibraltar twice a month but that show has gone down a lot lately.

I also still have a few more packs from my mixed box to open.

2008 Topps Opening Day

Next up in from the mixed box is 1 pack of 2008 Topps Opening Day. I never understood this set. It is basically just a parallel version of the Topps base set. Did anyone actually collect these except player collectors?

#14 Jimmy Rollins

#22 Orlando Cabrera

#49 Justin Morneau

#87 Manny Ramirez

#162 Jeff Frances

#189 Chris Young

1990 Upper Deck

Next up, 2 packs of 1990 Upper Deck

#35 Scott Service

#43 Jose Cano

#45 Bob Hamelin

#63 Kent Mercker

#134 Nelson Liriano

#143 Darrell Evans

#153 Mitch Webster

#182 Darryl Strawberry

#281 Carmen Castillo

#284 Roy Smith

#293 Chris Bosio

#294 Jim Eisenreich

#301 Shawn Abner

#331 Jeffrey Leonard

#386 Donn Pall

#395 Claudell Washington

#411 Rex Hudler

#412 Mark Grant

#442 Bill Landrum

#456 Glenn Bragg

#531 Geronimo Berroa

#546 Hensley Meulens

#552 Jeff Robinson

#598 Billy Hatcher

#641 Dave Schmidt

#647 Mark Langston

#647 Mark Langston (Yes, I got two of them)

#679 Dave Dravecky (Remember his broken arm?)

#778 Billy Hatcher

#793 Kevin Bass

2006 Upper Deck Update

Holy Moly, a thousand card set......

Another pack from the mixed box, 2006 Upper Deck Update

#1047 Norris Hopper

#1065 Clint Hurdle

#1103 Grady Little

#1121 Oliver Perez

#1159 Shawn Chacon

#1177 TJ Bohn

#1215 Travis Hughes

#SA-HP Hayden Penn Star Attractions Insert

2008 Topps Series 2

This time, a pack of 2008 Topps Series 2 cards from the mixed box.

#332 Classic Combos Grady Sizemore & Jhonny Peralta

#344 Mike Rabelo

#398 Kenji Johjima

#425 Hanley Ramirez

#454 Mike Hampton

#479 Bobby Abreu

#582 Dusty Baker

#615 Pat Burrell

#649 Joe Crede

#656 Darin Ertad

2008 Topps Series 1

Another pack of 2008 Topps Series 1 cards.

#11 Yorvit Torrealba

#70 Dan Uggla

#91 Marcus Giles

#156 Brandon McCarthy

#162 Andy LaRoche

#205 Gil Meche

#271 Chad Tracy

#273 Rafael Soriano

#285 Tony LaRussa

#311 Jeremy Guthrie

2007 Topps Series 2

I opened three more packs from my 16 pack mixed box.

2007 Topps Series 2

#335 Brian McCann

#351 Mark DeRosa

#363 Bobby Crosby

#388 Torii Hunter

#411 Jason Bay

#459 Jeff Suppan

#420 Jeff Weaver

#465 Jhonny Peralta

#484 John Maine

#490 Andruw Jones

#494 Orlando Hudson

#515 Josh Phelps

#556 John Patterson

#579 Taylor Tankersley

#584 Clint Barmes

#612 Ozzie Guillen

#615 Lou Piniella

#637 Justin Hampson

1991 Topps

Next from the mixed box, 1991 Topps

1991 Topps

#11   Roberto Kelly

#60   Frank Viola

#96   Trevor Wilson

#97   Brady Anderson

#105 Kevin McReynolds

#181 Duane Ward

#392 Ken Griffey Jr All Star

#472 Kirt Manwaring

#535 Ruben Sierra

#552 Jeff Hamilton

#633 Kevin Tapani

#672 Shane Mack

#725 Ron Gant

#749 Greg Harris

#778 Danny Gladden

2008 Topps Series 1

Next up from the mixed box is a pack of 2008 Topps Series 1

2008 Topps

#33 Joe Mauer

#34 Aaron Cook

#100 Ryan Howard

#134 Matt Stairs

#152 Bronson Arroyo

#211 Lyle Overbay

#220 Roy Oswalt

#280 Willie Randolph

#301 Chris Duffy

#310 Kelvim Escobar

2004 Fleer Platinum

I bought one of those boxes or random packs today for $20.  Was hoping to get at least one good pack but no such luck.  I'll be opening these packs one per day.  Nothing to get excited about but fun nonetheless.

2004 Fleer Platinum

#17    Jamie Moyer

#37    Bo Hart

#62    Ryan Klesko

#120  Troy Glaus

#125   Edwin Jackson

#135   Hideo Nomo

#179   Edgar Renteria Unsung Heroes

Stick around tomorrow for another pack.

2009 Topps Heritage

For my second rip I've decided to do another set I collected a lot of, Topps Heritage.

Pack 1

17   Adam Lind

72   Detroit Tigers Team Card

107 Jo-Jo Reyes

166 Carl Crawford

169 Joe Nathan

187 Bronson Arroyo

283 Jeff Clement

388 2008 World Series Game #4

Pack 2

13   Garret Anderson

46   Brandon Backe

145 Jesse Chavez

242 St. Louis Cardinals Team Card

295 Casey Blake

333 Anibal Sanchez

406 Dustin McGowan

NF1 Aswan High Dam News Flashback Insert

Pack 3

40   Ryan Ludwick

78   Joe Saunders

140 Lou Marson

149 Adam Dunn

177 Joakin Soria

196 Alex Gordon

261 Scott Kazmir

404 Chris Young

Pack 4

174 Cleveland Indians Team Card

190 Luke Scott

223 Lou Pinella

259 Kosuke Fukodome

260 Manny Ramirez & Andre Ethier Power Plus

285 Chase Headley

487 Derek Jeter SP  SOLD

NAP14 Scott Kazmir New Age Performers

Pack 5

24   Marco Scutaro

228 Jeff Suppan

313 Brandon Morrow

325 Brad Ziegler

363 Coco Crisp

386 2008 World Series Game #2

400 Magglio Ordonez

TN6 Bob Friend & Johan Santana Then and Now

Pack 6

8     Gil Meche

33   Randy Johnson

50   Curtis Granderson

73   David Price

158 Gregor Blanco

219 Bob Geren

369 BJ Ryan

393 Ryan Doumit

Pack 7

25   Paul Konerko

130 Greg Golson

218 Ozzie Guillen

290 Jose Reyes

304 Jake Peavy

319 Mike Aviles

334 Jimmy Rollins

442 Joe Mauer SP  SOLD

Pack 8

29   Johan Santana

85   Justin Verlander

159 Shin-Soo Choo

211 Manny Parra

246 Brandon Jones

349 Steve Pearce

359 Willy Taveras

BF9 Mickey Mantle Flashback

2008 Bowman Draft Picks

I can't even tell you how much money I spent on Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects over the years.  I figured this would be a great set to start with.  In celebration of this little project, my first couple of posts will be 8 pack retail boxes.  I bought several boxes of the 2002 version before the prices started skyrocketing.  Looking back on it, I'm trying to even think of some of the stars that were in the set.....Granderson, Greinke, Upton.   2003 was the year that I really went nuts and probably bought the evivalant of 4 cases.  For some reason I remember the price of boxes flucuating drastically from week to week.  Some of my best pulls were from these boxes.

Pack 1

Bowman

BDP29 Chris Perez

BDP33 Maz Scherzer

BDPP38 Paul Demny

BDPP43 Jason Corder

Chrome

BDP42 Jamie D'Antona

BDPP95 Luke Hughes

Gold

BDP24 Elliot Johnson

Pack 2

Bowman

BDP31 Greg Reynolds

BDP54 Gregorio Petit

BDPP17 Benji Gonzalez

BDPP58 Anthony Bass

Chrome

BDP5 Wladimir Balentien

BDPP79 Wes Hodges

Gold

BDPP70 Shairon Martis

Pack 3

Bowman

BDP10 Mitch Boggs

BDP44 Edgar Gonzalez

BDPP3 Kenny Wilson

BDPP52 Ryne White

Chrome

BDP21 Micah Hoffpauir

BDPP69 Andrew McCutchen

Gold

BDPP99 Gorkys Hernandez

Pack 4

Bowman

BDP6 Collin Balester

BDP50 Jai Miller

BDPP11 Jordan Danks

BDPP26 Nick Romero

Chrome

BDP37 Ryan Tucker Refractor

BDPP73 Greg Golson

Gold

BDP15 Blake DeWitt

Pack 5

Bowman

BDP27 Evan Longoria

BDP39 Chris Volstad

BDPP16 Shane Dyer

BDPP41 Brandon Crawford

Chrome

BDP40 Michael Hollimon

BDPP70 Shairon Martis

Gold

BDPP104 Kevin Pucetas

Pack 6

Bowman

BDP12 Chris Carter

BDP36 Rich Thompson

BDPP9 Adrian Nieto

BDPP24 Xavier Avery

Chrome

BDPP99 Gorkys Hernandez

BDPP104 Kevin Pucetas

Gold

BDPP30 TJ Steele

Pack 7

Bowman

BDP14 Chris Davis

BDP53 Joe Mather

BDPP45 Edgar Olmos

BDPP59 Scott Green

Chrome

BDP8 Wes Bankston

BDPP30 TJ Steele

Gold

BDP43 Clayton Richard

Pack 8

Bowman

BDP24 Elliot Johnson

BDPP10 Robbie Grossman Blue Parallel #'d 097/399

BDPP18 Miles Reagan

BDPP46 Dusty Coleman

Chrome

BDPP51 Jake Odorizzi

BDPP57 Kyle Weiland

Gold

BDPP57 Kyle Weiland

I am so out of touch with cards these days I have hardly heard of any of the prospects.  Geez.....

My First Post

I'm writing this post while watching the 1st game of the Tigers/Royals series in Kansas City.  I was card collector and serial pack ripper until about 3 years ago when all of sudden I just lost interest.  Some of it had to do with the sheer amount of cards available, the rookie card rules enacted by MLB and a lack of funds.  I was sitting here tonight looking through some of the cards I have posted for sale on Sportlots and realized how much I missed opening packs.  I decided to start opening again.  This time, it's gonna be different through.  I'm not going to open looking for the big score.  I'm not going to buy cases of cards at a time.  I'm going to buy cheap retail boxes from Target, old packs from my childhood and oddball stuff I see at random shops and shows.  I'll also post random cards from my personal collection that I find while digging through things.  I'll keep some of the stuff that I like, mostly Detroit Tiger cards but everything else will be available for sale on sportlots, for trade or maybe the occasional giveaway.  

I decided that my first two rips would be of sets I collected big time when I did this regularly, Bowman Draft Picks and Topps Heritage.