Pack Attack: Topps Chrome Wrapper Redemptions

Here's what Brian and I got from our wrapper left over from the box busting bonanza. I was a little disappointed we didn't receive a Strasburg or Posey, but it was a solid group of players overall. The cards look great in person and don't seem to have any of the quality control issues that the regular Topps Chrome set had. Thanks for looking!

Brian and Bud's Box Busting Bonanza: Coming Soon!

Monday! Monday! Monday! Brian from Play at the Plate and I will be splitting two boxes of 2010 Topps Chrome Baseball--stay tuned for results and possible video of the breaks. You don't wanna miss it!

A Playoff Swap with the Pride of Texas (PATP)

Since joining the blogosphere I've completed more trades with Brian from Play at the Plate than anyone else. We cheer for division rivals (Seattle and Texas) so swapping cards is cinch. Here's the lastest batch he sent my way:

2002 Pacific Joey Harrington RC: I'm not sure whether Brian sent this as a joke or not but I was always a fan of Joey Harrington during his college days at Oregon. Harrington was considered a bust by most, but given his surroundings (the Detroit Lions) he performed admirably. According to Wikipedia is a now a commentator for Oregon Ducks football games but is open to a return to the NFL. I'm not holding my breath.

2002 Topps Reserve Ken Griffey Jr: I never bought more than a few packs of Topps Reserve so I still needed this card to add to the Griffey collection. I'm not sure of the exact number of cards but I think it's nearing 600. Thousand.

2001 Upper Deck Ichiro RC: I don't know if Brian intended to send me an Ichiro rookie because it was in the middle of a bunch of other 2001 UD Mariners, but I certainly won't complain. I admire Ichiro more every season--a beautiful flower in a crappy pot.

2010 Topps Cliff Lee Orange Refractor: Brian was kind enough to throw in a card of the player who might help his team win the World Series. Cliff Lee is so, he doesn't even seem real. The orange refractors look great and were a nice addition to retail.

Thanks Brian! Go Rangers!

Play at the Plate's One Trade to Rule Them All

Recently I had the privilege of opening the greatest trade package in the history of First Day Issue. Brian, from the outstanding Play at the Plate, send me an amazing collection of cards in return for a couple of Rangers and catchers that I sent to Texas. I am constantly amazed by the generosity of everyone in the blogosphere and this trade really went above and beyond the call of duty. Here's a smattering of my favorite cards from Brian:

2000 Skybox Metal Ken Griffey Jr. Hit Machines: It doesn't get any better than a Griffey that's shiny and diecut. I am nearing 400 unique Juniors on my Zistle page, but there are plenty of missing ones that I still need to upload. Why did diecuts disappear, I loved these!

2001 Topps Ichiro Suzuki RC: Ichiro! This is only the second Ichiro rookie in my collection (the other is the Fleer Fanfest card) and a most welcome addition. I like the design of 2001 Topps, simple yet elegant with plenty of room for the photos.

2000 UD Century Legends Eddie George Parallel #97/100: Despite the fact that I have never been within a 1,000 miles of the state of Tennessee I am a loyal Titans fan for reasons I can't explain. Brian was kind enough to send some my way, including this sweet diecut of workhorse Eddie George, who announcers liked to call "a throwback".

1999 Donruss Steve McNair X-Ponential Power #194/2500: If you thought the last diecut was cool take a look at this! A sweet card of one of my favorite players of all-time, this insert reminds me of a beautiful and delicate dragonfly wing. It's incredibly thin and made out of some sort of plastic. Awesome.

1999 SP Signature Edition David Segui Auto: Before you laugh, don't forget that Segui did receive one vote for the Hall-of-Fame this year (probably from someone who didn't vote for Alomar). These on-card autographs are really sharp and Segui has an intricate if illegible auto. He spent two years in Seattle, compiling an even .300 average in 867 AB's (but hit only 28 HR's).

2001 Upper Deck MVP Kerry Wood/Rick Ankiel Dual Bat Card: I've always thought that game-used bat cards of pitchers are cool because, well, how often does a pitcher even use a bat? Few used one as well as Ankiel, which sure helped in his transition to the outfield. I hope he signs with a team I like, because I've always rooted for Ankiel.

2000 Topps Stars Rick Ankiel Auto: Schwing! A well designed on-card auto of my favorite pitcher turned hitter, this was my second favorite card of the trade (just behind the one listed below). I think I am drawn to Ankiel because his story parallels that of Roy Hobbes from The Natural, except with uncontrolled wildness instead of a gunshot wound.

2001 UD Gold Glove Ichiro/John Olerud Game-Used Ball: My jaw literally dropped when I saw this card. It contains a piece of game-used baseball from a Mariners game during the teams historic 2001 season in which they won 116 games (but of course, not the World Series). It's a nice swatch of ball that shows game use and a couple of stitches, and it's also technically an Ichiro rookie card. A winner all around and a card I will hold onto for a long time.

Thanks for everything Brian! I will do my best to match this amazing trade package. Expect to find some Rangers in the mail soon. Good luck Cowboys!

Card of the Week: 2001 Stadium Club Ken Griffey Jr. Play at the Plate Batter's Box Dirt Relic

One of the most unique Ken Griffey Jr. items in my collection, this card was found exclusively in Home Team Advantage (HTA) packs of 2001 Stadium Club. Available as redemptions only it is unclear how many of these exist of each player, but they are extremely difficult to track down.

The "Play at the Plate" relics contain authentic game-used batter's box dirt, although the back of the card doesn't identify where the dirt was used so it could be from a local high school field. Regardless, if a card has Griffey on it I will try and track it down, and this is another step towards owning every piece of Junior memorabilia available (still need: game-worn hat, game-used fielding glove and Mariners patch). A very cool card, and a concept that was never used again (except for Topps American Pie which produced "mud cards" from Woodstock), perhaps blogger Brian of Play at the Plate fame will start to hunt these down. There were also "King of the Hill" inserts from this set that featured authentic dirt from the pitcher's mound, which are even harder to find. What do you think of these cards?

Prize Package II from Play at the Plate

Another contest over at Play at the Plate and yet another great (or more accurately, lucky) guess netted me four packs of 1991 Topps Stadium Club plus some randoms of my favorite players and teams from Brian. The packs were a ton of fun to bust, vintage wax is always a treat, and they really live up to their billing with some great photography (they seem like prime candidates for TTM's). Here are my favorite cards from each pack:

Andrew Dawson: "The Hawk" on the fly between first and second.

Mark Whiten: Hard-Hittin' Mark Whiten was one of my favorite M's during his short stay in Seattle. I remember he hit a ball so hard it got stuck in an outfield wall. He also had four HR's and 12 RBI's in one game. That's a season for most Pirates players.

Cal Ripken Jr: The best player to pull in Series II packs, this was definitely a case hit (for 1991 at least). Love the old Baltimore orange, sure would make great jersey cards.

Sam Horn: Don't know much about him, but his sons sure do seem to be causing a ruckus these days.

As mentioned, Brian isn't content with just being generous. He's like Mother Teresa; he gives until it hurts. Here are my favorite Mariners that he also included in the prize pack:

2002 UD Originals Kaz Sazaki Jersey: Kaz and his splitter had a great run as Seattle's closer, finally bringing some stability to a Mariners' bullpen that always seemed to be in chaos. The front of this card features his 2000 UD Rookie Card whereas the backs of the 1991 Stadium Club featured the respective players rookie cards.

2001 SP Game Bat Ken Griffey Jr Trophy Room: A cool insert from a product I never busted, the sight of Griffey in Mariners' blue never fails to bring a smile to my face. And he's back for 2010! Hazaa!

Thanks for all the great cards and another fun contest Bryan!

Prize Package from Play at the Plate

Recently, Brian from the phenomenal Play at the Plate blog held a contest for his readers to guess the total number of runs that would be scored in the World Series. As luck would have it, my guess of 59 runs was exactly right, and today's mail included the prize package promised by Brian. This is the first contest I've won since joining the blogosphere, and I couldn't wait to see what Brian had in store for me. Inside were 5 packs of 2009 baseball cards, a team set bag, and a "hot pack"...let's see what's inside!

2009 Bowman Chrome Pack 1:
1) Tae Kyun Kim World Baseball Classic
2) George Kottaras
3) Torii Hunter Refractor

2009 Bowman Chrome Pack 2:
1) Brad Harman WBC
2) Hanley Ramirez Refractor
3) ICHIRO!!!!

2009 Goodwin Champions:
1) Adrian Gonzalez
2) Ben Roethlisberger
3) Franciso Liriano mini
4) KEN GRIFFEY JR!!!

2009 Topps Updates and Highlights:
1) Wilkin Ramirez RC
2) Brayan Pena
3) Xavier Paul RC
4) Nelson Cruz All-Star
5) Freddy Sanchez All-Star
6) Carlos Pena HR Derby
7) Nolan Ryan Legends of the Game (Gold)
8) RAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLL ToppsTown
9) Randy Wells
10) Cesar Izturis
11) Sean West
12) Ryan Langerhans

2009 Topps Ticket to Stardom:
1) Jason Varitek
2) Conor Jackson
3) Ian Kinsler
4) Ryan Howard Deckle
5) Hideki Matsui
6) Javier Vazquez
7) Derek Jeter
8) Carlos Zambrano

2009 Topps Updates and Highlights "Hot Pack":
1) 1990 Leaf Jay Buhner
2) 2002 Pacific Atomic Maurice Morris RC #307/465
3) 1999 Donruss Freddy Garcia Stat Line #367/397
4) 1990 Topps Ken Griffey Jr.
5) 2002 Fleer EX John Olerud Game Used Bat!!

Brian also included a team set bag that included some sweet Griffey's, Olerud's and Edgar's, as well as a Carlos Guillen RC (#524/2000), a few Titans and Packers..and best of all, a 2008 Topps Roy Halladay Game Used Jersey! Wow, I was blown away by everything I got from Brian. His generosity is almost unmatched in the blogosphere and he is a great trade partner.

Thanks again Brian, you've made my day yet again!!

Baseball Card Bonanza: Trades with Brian (Play at the Plate), Collective Troll and Wicked Ortega

Wow! Just got a bunch of trades in the mail and they couldn't come at a better time; it's wet and miserable here with about two inches of snow on the ground. Nothing better to cheer me up than some well-timed baseball cards from Brian, Troll and Wicked Ortega. Let's go to the cards!

First, the cards from Brian (Play at the Plate). I sent some Rangers Brian's way and he was very generous with what he sent me, including a bunch of new Griffey's:

2000 Fleer Focus Pocus Ken Griffey Jr: I had actually been lusting (in a healthy manner) after this card for a while so I was thrilled to get it in a trade and not have to buy it off the Bay. This is a great insert of Griffey, and the photo doesn't do justice to how shiny it really is. I miss cards like this, you can never go wrong with shiny.

1995 Classic Ken Griffey Jr. Phone Card: No Ken Griffey Jr. collection is complete without a phone card! Now I can finally catch up with Junior and not have to worry about those nasty roaming charges or dropped calls. Thanks Classic!

2001 Upper Deck Vintage Koren Robinson Rookie Jersey: I almost fell off the couch laughing when I saw this card. Koren Robinson had a short and troubled career with the Seahawks after battling alcoholism. I think he came back with the Green Bay Packers a few years ago, but I haven't heard from him lately. While alchoholism is no laughing matter, relics of draft picks busts always are (and always appreciated, thanks Brian).

Next, the cards from my first trade with the Collective Troll. He sent some great M's my way, lots of different players, years and brands. Even though Troll said he was out of Mariners, I think I will still send some more Rays his way, because he is the hardest working man in Blogbusiness. Here are some highlights from the cards:

2009 Topps Don Wakamatsu: This year's Topps set is really growing on me, as is the Mariner's first year manager, Don Wakamatsu. He guided a underwhelming M's squad to an 85-77 record, not bad after going 61-101 the year before. I love the photo, think he's calling for a cup of coffee.

1992 Classic Best Ken Griffey Jr.: This is my first card featuring Ken Griffey Jr. as a minor leaguer, even though it was released three years after his major league debut. Junior looks like he is about to sneeze in this photo.

2007 Topps Trading Places Jeff Weaver: If you look closely at the photo of Weaver in the M's uniform it looks like is giving someone the stink-eye, although almost every Mariners' fan was giving him that look by the end of his time in Seattle. It was not a pretty sight.

Last but not least, some cards from my first trade with Wicked Ortega of My Past Time...I Love It! Alfredo is a great guy to trade with, and I am sure this won't be our last deal. Here's what he sent:

2009 Upper Deck X Ken Griffey Jr. X-Ponential-5: I've got to be honest, I love these inserts in Upper Deck X. It's shiny, it's Griffey...and that's all she wrote.

2009 SP Authentic Ichiro: This is my first encounter with 2009 SP Authentic and I have to say, they are really nice base cards. Crisp photography, a nice cardstock and a metallic sheen that makes the players jump out of the picture all add up to a great set.

2009 Upper Deck X Ken Griffey Jr. X-Potential-3: Another UD X Griffey. Now if anyone has the X-1, X-2, X-4, X-6, and didn't have a home for them, you know where to send 'em.

Thanks again to Brian, Troll and Wicked Ortega for some super cards! I will have some trade packages headed your way soon!