Card of the Week: 2007 Topps Frank Thomas Trading Places Game-Used Bat

Never in my 22 years of life on planet Earth had I ever pulled a single game-used or autograph from the flagship set of Topps. This was despite the fact that I had been purchasing a large number of packs and boxes over the past 7-8 years; but that all changed when lightning struck outside of Wally World late last week. I know that Topps doesn't have the best odds for pulling "hits", but even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally, and I was quite surprised that it took this long for me to finally bring home the bacon...but it was worth the wait as you will soon see.

As a rule of thumb I try to steer clear or re-pack boxes, because even though you get 16 packs for $20, you're really just throwing your money away. There are generally a few good packs and then a load of junk wax or $0.99 Topps, and this box was no different. I usually open the crap packs first and convince myself that the premium packs hold something good (they don't), so I started this box off by opening a 2007 Topps Series 2 pack that contained just 6 cards (half of a normal Topps pack). The odds of pulling anything from these packs are exteremely difficult, and ipso facto, the odds of pulling a relic are just plain stupid. Yet, that's exactly what happened. After moving aside the first card in the pack I was greeted with the sight of a Frank Thomas Trading Places Game-Used Bat: odds....1:6,081!! I really hit the jackpot on this one; my first Topps relic and it's a bat-sliver from the "Big Hurt" who clubbed 521 HRs in his HOF career! I think the best part of this card was the fact that it was so unexpected...a six-card Topps pack in a re-pack box, who woulda thunk?