Box Break: 2006 UD Artifacts (Not Bad)

This is the second of three boxes I got from Atlanta Sports Cards on Black Friday. 2006 UD Artifacts has 3-4 hits per box in just 10 packs so there isn't a lot of wasted base cards (which is good, because they are kind of boring). The autograph checklist is pretty strong, so I was hoping to pull a big name, and this box was definitely better than Fleer Platinum. Here's the goods:

Derek Jeter Base Card: Pretty standard, but better than later years of Artifacts. That does not look like a Gold Glove shortstop to me. Just saying.

Mark Loretta AL Artifacts Jersey #317/325: I don't know if there is a more boring player to pull from a pack than Mark Loretta. Jose Lopez? Don't get me wrong, he's not a bad player, just not one I ever want to pull a jersey card of again.

Huston Street MLB Game-Used Apparel Jersey #193/250: Another yawn.


Graig Nettles Auto-Facts Autograph #75/300: While I didn't pull an autograph of a Hall-of-Famer, Graig Nettles and his 390 career HR's is a pretty nice consolation price. Please take notes Topps and Panini, this is how you should design a sticker autograph card. A very slick looking card that hides the sticker well.

Overall Thoughts: For 30 bucks this is a pretty fun box to open, although I wouldn't pay much more than that. The jerseys are kind of boring but the autographs look good and there are plenty of star players to pull. I would be willing to trade the jerseys if anyone wants them but I think I will hang on to the auto for a while. Thanks for looking! Stay tuned for box number three!

Box Break: 2008 UD Heroes (Case Hit)

I opened this box about a month ago, but for reasons outside of my control (i.e. death of a computer), have been unable to share the results of my break until now. I got a good deal on this box during a Blowout Cards weekend special and was happy with what I pulled, especially considering that there are quite a few duds in the autograph checklist (I'm looking at you Tom Gorzelanny). It's a fun box to open with an insert in almost every pack and a bevy of serial numbered parallels. Here's the goods:

Al Kaline Sky Blue Parallel #32/49: You're guaranteed one "low" numbered parallel in each box and I was glad mine was of a Hall-of-Famer. Love the old-school crew cut.

Randy Johnson Yankee Stadium Legacy Jersey: You might have wondered why there was no exclamation point after the "case hit" part of the title of this post. Well, this card is why. Don't get me wrong, I love the Big Unit, but they're are quite a few other players from this set I would rather have (or at least a pinstripe). It's up for trade if any of you Bronx Bombers want it.

Andre Ethier Jersey #179/200: The design of the jersey cards is one of my few qualms with the set. I'm tired of companies being too lazy to design a separate concept for game-used cards, and instead just throwing the swatch onto one of the base cards. Panini/Donruss has a terrible habit of this. At least Ethier is a good player.

Cole Hamels Jersey #73/200: Another ho-hum jersey, this one would have benefited greatly from a nice red pinstripe. Phillies fans are hoping that Hamels bounces back from a poor 2009 season, though truthfully I could care less.

Chad Billingsley Jersey Auto #20/50: Well, here's the hit of the box, and quite a nice one it is if I do say so myself. The auto is on a sticker but you can barely tell as it blends into the card well. Billingsley has flashed enormous potential during his time with the Dodgers but has yet to put it all together. Once CB does, he has the chance to be one of the best in the NL. Same story as last time; not sure if I want to trade this card, but if I do, it will be to Night Owl.

Overall Thoughts: This is a great box to bust if the price is right with three guaranteed jerseys and a guaranteed autograph. With tons of inserts there is rarely a dull pack (other than those with YSL cards) and with UD now out of baseball, collectors will find this as a nice alternative to Topps' pedestrian 2010 releases. Loved opening the box and was satisfied with my pulls. Send me an email if you are interested in any of the cards. Thanks for reading.

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!

Box Break: 2002 Topps Gallery (Hobby)

Instead of waiting for the increasingly hideous looking National Chicle Baseball to be released, I thought I would get a box of cards from when men were men and more importantly, when Babe Ruth was not wearing a Braves uniform. 2002 Topps Gallery (6 cards per pack, 24 packs per box) was advertised as the "Museum Edition" and indeed the cards are quite worthy of their own little frames. The box was only $30 with shipping on eBay (there are still some available if anyone likes what they see in this break) and while I didn't pull any "hits" (they fall one in every other box--and by that I mean every other box that I don't buy--ba da chi!) I still enjoyed the box. Here's what was inside:

Base Set Completion: 129 of 200 (64.5%)

Duplicates: 8 (Eight dupes in one box is disappointing, especially since two packs only contained five cards instead of the advertised six, but it is Topps after all.)

Rookie/Young Stars Subset (1 per pack): 18 (This set is utterly devoid of rookies other than Joe Mauer. I did not pull a Joe Mauer. The "rookie cards" feature a red streak across the name whereas the young stars look just like the regular base cards.)

Retired Star Subset: 6 (There are just 10 retired stars in the set, numbered 191-200, I pulled Harmon Killebrew, Frank Robinson, Kirby Puckett, George Brett, Ryne Sandberg and Nolan Ryan).

Veteran Variations (1:24 packs): 1 (Derek Jeter Solid Blue--can't complain about this one, most valuable card in the set.)

Topps Gallery Heritage (1:12 packs): 3 (Mark McGwire 1985, Alex Rodriguez 1998 and Tsuyoshi Shinjo 2001--a painting of a year old card of Shinjo? It's a good thing I beat the odds and pulled an extra one of these.)

Overall Impressions: I always liked Topps Gallery but before this box had only opened a few packs here and there. The base cards are phenomenal except for a small number where the painting doesn't resemble the player at all and the Topps Gallery Heritage cards look great. Personally I would have enjoyed it more if there had been another insert set but from a base set collecting standpoint I guess it's good there wasn't. I'm not sure whether I will collect the entire base set because the rookie crop is so weak (the second best rookie besides Mauer is Kaz Ishii) so maybe I will just go after the 150 veterans and 10 retired players in the set. If someone else is trying to build this set I would be happy to help, or if someone else buys a box I would be interested in trading for your base cards. The inserts are all up for trade. Thanks for looking!

Box Break: 2007 UD Masterpieces (Hobby)

This is the second of two boxes that I purchased from Atlanta Sports Cards with some hard earned Christmas cash. I've wanted to collect 2007 UD Masterpieces for quite some time, but besides an odd pack here and there from a repack box, I had not busted much of the product. I love the design and feel of the base cards and the fact that each box yields three jerseys and one on-card auto is just icing on the cake. Though I didn't hit any homeruns, I was happy with what my packs yielded and I will likely get another box or two in order to finish up the set. Here's what I pulled:

Derek Jeter 4 x 6 Boxtopper: A great looking card of El Capitan and a great way to start the box. Up for trade if someone wants it.

Joe Mauer Green Linen Parallel: The base set by itself is incredible, but throw in a raised frame border and "shazaam" you have, well, a masterpiece. The Mauer is my favorite, but I also pulled a Billy Butler RC, Michael Jordan, Sandy Koufax and Reggie Jackson.

Victor Martinez Black Frame Parallel #88/99

Bucky Dent Shiny Green Frame Parallel #37/50: I'm not sure exactly what frame this is but I know for certain I didn't want it to be a Bucky "Effin" Dent. Not only is it a Yankee, but it's a marginal one at that. Will a Yankees' fan or Red Sox's fan just looking for kindling trade me anything for this?

Curt Schilling Captured On Canvas jersey card: Yawn.

Rich Harden Captured On Canvas jersey card: Double yawn.

Roy Oswalt Captured On Canvas jersey card: Will there ever be a day in my life when I don't have to constantly live in fear of pulling yet another Roy Oswalt hit from a box? How long will he haunt my dreams? Does anyone collect the Astros?

Ryan Zimmerman Stroke of Genius Autograph: Whew, this card really saved the box from being a complete stinker. These are some of the best on-card autographs of the past few years and I was happy to pull one of an up-and-coming star like Zimmerman. I've always wanted a Stroke of Genius for my collection, so I don't think I will be trading this one. A real beauty.

Overall Thoughts: Loved the cards and enjoyed opening every pack of this box. It's nice when a product delivers base cards that aren't throw-aways because a box isn't a complete failure if you don't pull good hits. I got about 65 of the 90 base cards in the set and if I don't get another box (or do and don't pull what I need), I will post a needs list in the near future. Thanks for tuning in and email me if you are interested in any of the cards.