Crickets...

Long time and no posting...for shame!  The last few months have been crazy busy for me, so hopefully I can start to post some stuff again and share my collecting experience with all y'all.  For those following at home, here is a rundown since my last post:

Sold our house and moved from Spokane, WA to Coeur d'Alene, ID.  Waiting for a house to be ready, so currently mooching off of family.  Moving was not fun, and we will have to move our stuff from storage to the new house when it is ready.

Finished coursework at Whitworth University for my Elementary Education Degree - I will be student teaching this fall at Dalton Gardens in Coeur d'Alene.  Finally had a week or two to catch my breath before the deep plunge.  So close I can taste it...

I've still been opening packs/boxes during this time - doing some light trading as well.

From my last post before hiatus - The football boxes sucked a big one - nothing too exciting and all is traded or has been sold.  The Bowman box was just okay.

Upcoming Box Breaks

I have two boxes slowly trundling their way to my front door - one from Dave and Adam's Card World and the other from Blowout Cards.  Here is a list of what is incoming:

2008 Bowman Football Box
2008 SP Football Box
2008 UD Heroes Football (108 retail packs!) - for around $40 - basically the equivalent of 4 1/2 boxes.
2011 Bowman Baseball Hobby
2010 Topps Football Jumbo Box

Will be tough to decide what I open first!

The man in brown should be by my house next Monday with the goodies.  I might head to the store in a bit and find something fun for a small break to hold us all over.

I went on a little trip and did pick up some 2011 Bowman Racks and two Blaster Boxes - 2 Base Harpers, 1 Chrome Harper, and some other goodies as well.  Pretty decent value from this product!

Stay Tuned!

Contest Over at The Diamond King

Very cool contest happening here:

The Diamond King

I'll be breaking 5-6 boxes of football/baseball next week, so stay tuned!

The 1986 Topps Have Arrived - Probably More Excited Than I Should Be!

The mailman dropped off the box of 1986 Topps Rack Packs for me this morning, and I popped open the case pretty much right away.  I always liked finding the packs with a visible star when I was a kid, so these ones stood out to me as pretty cool packs:

This one features Eddie Murray and Dale Murphy on the front, as well 

as a Gary Carter (one of my childhood favorites) on the back.

Scanning skills failed a little here.  This pack features Trammell and Whitaker

right next to each other, which I thought was cool.  The other pack has Jim Rice and 

Harold Reynolds RC on the front, but the back features three pretty darn good pitchers -

Goose Gossage, Dennis Eckersley, and Bret Saberhagen.

There are a bunch of packs to open - so I will get started.  Hopefully I get a Cecil or two and I'll throw up some scans of fun stuff I find.  Will probably try and get this set put together with what I have here, but if anyone out there is trying to complete the 1986 Topps set, shoot me a message and I will see if I can help.  Stay tuned!

Gypsy Queen = Mojorific!

Took the kiddo in to Target earlier today to check out the Tron toys - he loves the show - couldn't resist the siren call of the card aisle and grabbed two value packs of the Gypsy Queen.  The value packs are the ones with three sealed packs and the bonus pack that includes the green framed parallels.

Anyway, I did really well on the six packs, pulling three relic hits from the packs as well as three of the Framed Paper Parallels numbered /999.  Two of the hits were jerseys - one of Hanley Ramirez and the second was a framed relic of Chase Utley.  The best hit was this bad boy:

Numbered 09/10 - very cool card.  I posted it up on eBay, hopefully I get a decent offer for it.  Haven't added anything to my Andrew McCutchen PC in a few weeks, so the money would be spent to that purpose.  Anyway, hoping the '86 Topps shows up in the next day or two - stay tuned!

The Day of the Gypsys has Arrived!

Finally got my hands on some 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen - been looking for it for a while and the best I could come up with is two blasters and a value pack...and there goes most of my pack money until next payday.

At any rate, here goes!

The value pack has the three extra green frame parallels and since Victor Martinez is staring out at me from the clear cellophane pack, let's begin there!

Bonus Pack Green Frame Parallels - Victor Martinez, Mat Latos, and Tony Gwynn (nice!)

Packs 1-3 from the Value Pack Yield:
Star Base: Chapman, D. Wright (card has a funny marking on the top left),Tom Seaver, Yaz
SP Cards: Brett Anderson (328)
Minis: Dave Winfield, Chipper Jones, Chipper Jones
Sticky Fingers: Brandon Phillips
Home Run Heroes: Troy Glaus
The Great Ones: Jim Palmer

First Impressions - I really like this set, and I can see why the majority of folks are getting into the craze...drink the Kool Aid!  I was a little bummed that the second Chipper Mini was a base version, I assumed getting a second one meant at least a red back.  Could be worse!

On to the Blaster Packs, each featuring 8 packs.  Come on everybody and do the Mojo Dance for me!
Blaster #1
Star Base: Al Kaline, Ty Cobb, Josh Hamilton
SP Cards: Chase Utley (326), Hank Aaron (318)

Minis: Josh Johnson, Jeremy Jeffress RC, Dexter Fowler, Jacoby Ellsbury, Al Kaline, Bob Gibson (Great Picture on this card!)
Mini Red Backs: Ian Kinsler, John Lackey
Sticky Fingers: Jose Reyes, Brandon Phillips
Wall Climbers: Mike Stanton, Franklin Gutierrez
Home Run Heroes: Babe Ruth, Johnny Bench
The Great Ones:  Thurman Munson, Frank Robinson
Future Stars: Ike Davis, Phil Hughes
Paper Framed /999: Matt Cain

Even without a hit, that was a fun break!  I really like the set design and the inserts are very cool as well, this may be one where I end up going for the set and the inserts as well.  Just what I need!

On to Blaster #2:

Star Base: Ty Cobb, Josh Hamilton, Aroldis Chapman, Reggie Jackson
SP Cards: Hisanori Takahashi (311), Justin Upton (317)
Minis: Derek Jeter, Gordon Beckham, Bernie Williams, Fausto Carmona, Cole Hamels, Andre Ethier
Mini Red Backs: Wandy Rodriguez
Black Minis: Alexei Ramirez
Sticky Fingers: Derek Jeter, David Wright
Wall Climbers: Nick Swisher, Michael Brantley
Home Run Heroes: Jimmie Foxx, Alex Rodriguez
The Great Ones:  Jim Palmer
Future Stars: Phil Hughes, Stephen Strasburg, Aroldis Chapman
Framed Mini Relic: Matt Holliday
Little Mojo in that second blaster - maybe the gods were happy with me because I didn't do a Mojo dance for them this time.  Well, I think it was worth the wait, I really like this product.  Hopefully the price on the Hobby boxes comes down a bit.

The Rak Pack Box of '86 Topps is next on the docket, it has shipped so I would expect it early next week as it is only traveling a short distance from Montana.  Stay tuned!

Next Break! 1986 Topps Rak Packs!

Found a seller over on FeeBay selling sealed boxes of 1986 Topps Rak Packs at what seems like a reasonable price, so I purchased a box.  Should be here early next week and I will post the break at that time.

The 1986 Topps set was my introduction into baseball cards, so this is kind of a nostalgia break.  Back in...well...1986, my parents were stationed with The Salvation Army in Eugene, Oregon.  I was about to turn seven years old that summer, and was doing the typical end of summer "I am bored" routine that kids tend to do.  One day, someone brought in a box of 1986 Topps cards to the Thrift Store and the manager called my dad, because he knew that I was in to baseball.  My dad bought them and brought them home that evening.  We had a ton of fun going through the rows of cards, sorting them by team and looking for players we recognized.  It took a couple of days to get it all sorted, and we made dividers with team names on them to seperate the cards.  That was the start of my baseball card hobby - and I have many fond memories of my dad and I headed to shows and card shops around the area.

Here is one card in particular that I remember owning quite a few of:

Good old Cecil!  I had around eight or nine of these when he broke out after coming back from Japan and they were worth a decent amount.  Made some good trade bait!

Anyway, should be a fun break when they arrive!  If I manage to find some Topps Gypsy around here, I will try and pick it up in the meantime - I have yet to see even loose packs in the area.  So, stay tuned for a trip down memory lane when they arrive!

Future Box Breaks?

I'm trying to decide what to open up next - here are some ideas that I came across:


Top Choice - Need to find a good deal:
2011 Topps Gypsy Queen


Other Ideas
Some type of Chrome product (2008-2010 Topps, Any Year Bowman)
Topps Hobby/HTA Boxes
Topps Triple Threads
2004 Fleer Greats of the Game (or similar product)


Cheap Ideas
Mid 80's Topps
Upper Deck from 1990 onwards


Anyone have suggestions?

The First Ever Hits and Misses Contest Winner Is...

So, I took everyone's name and put it in a list over on random.org - hit the randomize three times, and the result is that our winner is:

Greg Doane

Congratulations - Contact me with your information and I'll get the pack sent out to you!

Contest Update!

Sorry for the delay blog followers - I have been swamped the last week with family stuff and finishing some coursework at school.  I will get the names of my blog followers into the randomizer and pick a winner tomorrow!  Thanks to those who are following along!

Heritage Has Arrived!

After being mailed 7 days ago via Priority Mail - the boxes arrived from California today.  I've been anxiously awaiting these, so I am going to go ahead and start ripping the packs!

Box 1:
Topper - Cleveland Indians Stamps (Choo, Santana, Sizemore)Box 1
Toppers: Stamp Panel of the Cleveland Indians (Choo, Santana, Sizemore)
Clubhouse Collection Relic: Justin Morneau (Last Pack of Box)
SP: 433 Kyle Davies, 440 Ricky Romero, 443 Brian McCann, 454 Jose Tabata, 467 Robinson Cano, 482 Ron Gardenhire, 483 Trevor Hoffman, 496 Rookie Parade
Chrome: C2 Joe Nathan 0366/1962, C12 NL Batting Leaders (Gonzalez, Votto, Infante, Tulowitzki) 1187/1962, C53 Chris Johnson 1807/1962
Chrome Refractor: C98 Mark Teixeira 522/562
Chrome Black: C34 Paul Konerko 33/62
New Age Performers: 5 Miguel Cabrera
Baseball Flashbacks: 7 Harmon Killebrew, 9 Frank Robinson
Then and Now: 2 Robinson/Cabrera, 6 Roberts/Hernandez
News Flashbacks: 3 Mona Lisa, 8 Mets Join NL

Box 2:
Toppers: Baseball Bucks Brandon Morrow $1 (Ugh), 1962 Topps Buy Back Bob Grim (564)
Clubhouse Collection Relic: Jason Bartlett
SP: 428 Josh Willingham, 435 Huston Street, 451 Ben Revere, 473 Joe Mauer, 478 David Wright, 486 Martin Prado, 491 Torii Hunter, 498 Rookie Parade
Chrome: C15 NL Strikeout Leaders (Lincecum, Halladay, Jimenez, Wainwright) 1324/1962, C91 Dan Haren 1022/1962
Green Tint: 110 Mark Teixeira
New Age Performers: 4 Roy Halladay, 13 Robinson Cano
Then and Now: 10 Gibson/Halladay
Baseball Flashbacks: 2 Brooks Robins, 8 Warren Spahn
News Flashbacks: 1 Cuba, 10 Jackie Robinson

Not the most awe inspiring box breaks I've ever had.  This is a set that I am building, so the SP and base will be useful at least.  Will take out my needs and post the rest on my trade page - let me know if you have something to trade!

No Heritage Yet - Bowman Platinum 3-Pack Retail

My 2011 Topps Heritage boxes were not here today, so I picked up a retail three pack of 2010 Bowman Platinum to rip for today.  I had good success with a blaster box of these last week, so hopefully my run continues.  Here are the details:

Special Refractor 3-Card Pack - Mike Trout PP5, Miguel Sano PP28, Brian Johnson USA PP38

Pack 1 - Brad Miller USA Prospect Card PP42
Pack 2 - Brad Lincoln RC, JD Martinez Prospect PP23
Pack 3 - Alex Dickerson USA Prospect Card PP33, Dayan Viciedo RC

Not much to get too excited about there - will look up the BV and add to my trade list when I get a chance.  Thanks for tuning in!  Update: The two purple refractors of Sano and Trout were actually decent hits - the Trout is $12.00 and the Sano is $8.00 - not bad.

2010 Topps National Chicle Box Break!

Sorry for the delay - had to deal with someone breaking in to my truck today while my son was in his speech therapy session.  Stole a bunch of stuff that I had sold on eBay, so I was contacting the buyers to make everything right.  Anyway, without further ado;

The man in brown (UPS) dropped off a box full of goodies for me just after five o'clock my time.  The box from Dave & Adams was well packed - I had ordered some supplies and they were all accounted for as well.  The box of Chicle is the retail product, featuring 24 packs with six cards per pack.  I started opening it, and was pleasantly surprised with the ratio of inserts in the box - it seemed like there were only two packs without a parallel or hit in them.  Pretty good for a retail box at any rate.  Here are the hits:

Autograph - Tobi Stoner (Mets)
Relic Card - Elvis Andrus (Rangers)
Black Umbrella - Walter Johnson (Washington) 04/25
Bazooka Backs - JJ Hardy (Twins), Mel Ott (Giants) - SP, Joel Pineiro (Angels), BJ Upton (Rays)
Chicle Backs - Michael Brantley (Indians) - SP, Buster Posey (Giants), Adrian Gonzalez (Padres), Michael Brantley (Indians), Phil Hughes (Yankees), Mickey Mantle (Yankees), Tim Lincecum (Giants)
SP Cards - Rogers Hornsby (Cardinals) 277, Walter Johnson (Washington) 290, Cy Young (Indians) 291, Ryan Zimmerman (Nationals/Expos) 309, Drew Stubbs (Reds) 316, Juan Francisco (Reds) 329

Based on the odds, I was lucky to get an auto and relic in the same box.  The Black Umbrella is one per three boxes, the SP Bazooka Back is 1:100 packs, and the SP Chicle is 1:50.  Not bad for a $30 retail box!

Will post some scans of cards - everything is for trade (except the Stubbs RC).  Thanks!

2011 Topps Retail 4-Pack - Good Friday Sparkle MOJO!

Just grabbed one of these at the grocery store to have a little break today - this is the retail four pack hanger that comes with a Diamond Giveaway card on the front.  I like these for a few of reasons:

1 - Nobody has mangled the packs trying to feel for game used or whatever.
2 - The Diamond Giveaway - A chance for a 1987 Topps common - You bet!
3 - I seem to have pretty decent luck with these - having pulled 2 SP cards out of 3-4 of these.
4 - They added 4 more cards - so each pack is a 12 card pack.

So, without further ado, here is my first pack break on my blog!

Opening the retail packaging, the Diamond Giveaway features Derek Jeter - I will enter the codes at the end and share my fabulous prize with you all at that time.

Pack 1: Pedro Alvarez RC (no RC logo), Ichiro, Topps 60 Neftali Feliz, History of Topps #7 - 1989 Bowman, Topps Town Adrian Gonzalez, Ryan Braun - the rest were commons.

Pack 2:  Diamond Parallel Clayton Kershaw, 60 Years of Topps Cliff Lee, Topps Town Josh Hamilton, nothing too exciting outside the Kershaw.

Pack 3:  I let my five year old handle this one - he pulled Kyle Drabek RC, Zack Greinke SPARKLE SP!!!, Kimball Champions Mat Latos, Topps Town Troy Tulowitzki, Hanley Ramirez.  I need to let him open more packs, he opened his first ever pack a few months ago and pulled a game used from a box of 2010 Topps Update.

Pack 4:  Joey Votto, Yonder Alonso RC, 60 Years Stan Musial Original Back, Jeter/Cano Diamond Duos, Topps Town Roy Halladay, Roy Halladay

Diamond Giveaway Code:  I will have to check later, looks like they are having technical difficulties.

Not a bad hit out of a retail pack - will be adding the inserts and what not to my trade page shortly.  Thanks for tuning in!

Contest Time!

I've decided to go ahead and post a contest for folks who follow my blog.  The rules are simply that you must become a follower of my blog - post your name in the comments under this post.  Pretty simple process!

The Prize:  One Target Retail 2011 Topps Heritage 3 Pack Blister - you get 3 retail packs of Heritage as well as a 3 card pack of the black borders which have a nice BV!

To find out more about this product - Topps Heritage

Upcoming Box Breaks

Hopefully this is the first of many blog posts about my favorite hobby - collecting baseball cards.  I'll be posting box breaks as well as posting random ramblings about the hobby in general.  So, sit back - grab a frosty beverage of choice - and enjoy!

Incoming boxes for breaks:
2010 Topps National Chicle (Retail) - Hey, it was cheap! - ETA: April 25th
2011 Topps Heritage Hobby - 2 Box Break! - ETA: Early next week

STAY TUNED!