Box Break: 2009 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects (Blaster)

So much for avoiding blasters in 2010. In my defense, I was feeling under the weather and there is no better panacea than a box of baseball cards. I'm not usually much of a prospector, but 2009 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects seems to be providing pretty good value (the only real caveat being the overdone WBC cards) with two purple refractors in each box and a decent shot at an autograph. I opened the box and let each of my twin brothers take turns picking a pack for me to open. One of the brothers picked all four packs that had an insert, the other brother picked none (needless to say, I won't be to taking him to Vegas with me). It was a decent box, but the real fun was sharing it with my brothers. Here's what I got:

Drew Sutton Purple Refractor: The purple refractors are exclusive to retail packs and look great in person. They are a nice addition at 1 in 4 packs to a product that until this year had terrible odds for pulling anything other than base cards from packs.

Ryan Perry Blue Base Card #31/399: A sharp looking parallel to the base cards, these fall 1 in every 45 packs and feature a nice blue border (cerulean? sky blue? I think we need to consult resident crayon expert Night Owl). It helps that Perry is a known commodity.

Miguel Cabrera WBC Purple Refractor: At least this WBC card is of a good player. Earth to Topps, no one wants these cards. No one! Cabrera should drop about 50 pounds this offseason if he sticks to the strict guidelines of the Lendale White "no tequila" diet.

Bud Norris X-Fractor #180/199: I think I'll hold onto this card because Mr. Norris and I both share a fairly uncommon (at least since the 1950's) first name. He's a pretty good prospect for the Astros and I beat the odds on this card at 1 in 92 packs.

Seiichi Uchikawa Blue Refractor #84/99: Nevermind that this card was more difficult to pull from a pack (1:180) than a chrome auto, I was thrilled to add another Seiichi Uchikawa card to my collection. Who wouldn't want that completely non-creepy smile staring back at them from a binder of cards? D'oh!

Overall Impressions: Despite the overabundance of WBC cards and no autograph, this blaster was still fun to open and featured plenty of color to make things exciting. Other notable chrome cards included Aroldis Chapman, Derek Jeter WBC, Phillipe Aumont and a Chris Tillman RC. There's one blaster left at Target that I am planning to split with my lucky brother (while having the unlucky brother divide the packs between us for a no-holds barred "pack wars"). I'll make to update you on any big pulls. Have a great weekend!

Christmas Comes Early: Upper Deck's Unexpected Generosity (Jerseys! Jerseys! Jerseys!)

As some of you may recall, Upper Deck and the Beckett Blog recently put on a contest to find the face of 2010 SPX Baseball. I entered the promotion and didn't give it a second thought before later discovering that I was one of five finalists for the prize. Unfortunately, I didn't end up winning (a face only a mother could love probably did me in) but Upper Deck was kind enough to send me some cards as consolation prizes (they also sent a retail box of Icons which I will break later). I was really impressed by there generosity and would like to thank Chris Carlin in particular for his excellent communication throughout the process. Without further ado, here's what UD send my way:

2008 Upper Deck Kenji Johjima Game Jersey: I love these throwback jersey cards, this particular one featuring the 2000 Upper Deck design. While Kenji is long gone, he won't soon be forgotten (oh wait, he already has).

2008 Sweetspot Felix Hernandez/Justin Verlander Jerseys: A dual jersey of two of the best young right-handers in baseball, this card has a simple, elegant design that I find quite appealing.

2008 Upper Deck Felix Hernandez Game Jersey: Another cool throwback, this one modeled off the 1998 Upper Deck design. My Felix jersey cupboard was nearly bare before UD sent all these my way; he's probably my second favorite Mariner behind Junior.

2007 Ultimate Collection Felix Hernandez Jersey #75/75: The gem of all the Felix jerseys that UD sent, this beauty has an excellent design, and even though it doesn't mean anything to most collectors, the fact that it is the last serially numbered copy is cool in my book.

2008 Sweet Spot Bobby Richardson Auto #158/250: Admittedly this card seems out of place amidst all the Mariners but I mentioned to Chris how much I like Sweet Spot autos and he was thoughtful enough to include this card in the package. I'm not a Yankees fan, but Richardson was from a different era of the Bronx Bombers, and despite being a poor hitter had a successful career that included 5 Gold Gloves, a World Series MVP award and a place in history as the man who snagged Willy McCovey's screaming line drive to end the 1962 Fall Classic against the Giants.

2005 Ultimate Collection Ken Griffey Jr/Miguel Cabrera Dual Jersey #14/15: SHAMWOW! I was utterly flabbergasted when I saw this card, a dual jersey featuring my favorite player, a skinny Cabrera, and numbered to only 15! This is easily one of the best Griffeys in my collection and a wonderful surprise.

Thanks again Upper Deck. These cards certainly helped ease the sting of a bitter defeat. I will highlight what I pulled from the Icons box in the next few days. Merry Christmas!