Anytime you get a chance to buy a Topps hobby jumbo pack for 2,ドル you have to pounce on it. I don't care what year it is. It also doesn't hurt that I am trying to collect this set.

I've had a lot of problems buying loose packs this year. I got an Obama pack at a Target that was bent in half by an angry partisan. I've gotten American Heritage packs that had the top card scratched all to hell by someone with a bizarre pack searching technique. The worst has been Topps Heritage. I have gotten no less than three packs this year where I discovered the pack had actually been opened in the store by someone peeking inside. I've found quite a few more opened ones too, it's reached epidemic levels. This pack here was in fact, partially opened. The bottom was pulled apart just enough to see inside. I didn't notice it until I had left the store or I would have passed up the pack. I'm glad I didn't notice it, as you will see.

73 David Price RC

In all the talk about licenses these days, I don't really see anyone clamoring for a Score revival. Score cards were first introduced as a more "normal" brand from the makers of Sportflics. Anyway, I don't have a lot of Score cards that were released after 1991, and 50 cents seems about right for a jumbo pack that had an MSRP of 1.99. So I present to you, with one of the most hideous pack wrappers ever, 1996 Score - Series 2.

363 - Rafael Palmeiro Star Struck (I see what they did there... with the stars and the like.)

283 - Paul Molitor
318 - Erik Hanson
352 - Roberto Petagine (I think I missed out on this guy's major league career.)

290 - John Franco (I don't even know what to say about this photo.)

325 - Kenny Lofton (The fade helped him steal more bases than the rest.)

367 - Randy Johnson Star Struck (Consequently, I don't think Randy's hairstyle contributed to his success, but something about his overall apperance definitely seemed to distract hitters.)

302 - Ivan Rodriguez (Style.)
337 - Ron Gant (Gant was one of those low-budget stars, someone I always tried to sell myself on. Having four Ron Gant rookies was as good as having a Ken Griffey Jr rookie, right?)

508 - Scott Hatteberg (Hatteberg should take lessons from Pudge.)

487 - Lou Whitaker
407 - Chad Ogea

511 - Marty Cordova AL Checklist (Apparently this set was numbered in League order. Whatever happened to this guy? He and Pat Listach must be laughing it up somewhere in the upper midwest.)
473 - Greg Swindell
389 - Steve Trachsel (If you were to do some sort of free association thing with me and said the words "bad pitcher," I'm pretty sure "Trachsel" would pop out of my mouth without much of a thought.)
420 - Stan Javier
456 - Pete Harnisch


1 of 20 - Frank Thomas All-Stars (This card is fairly shiny, and I kind of like the effect of the old newsprint style picture of Thomas on the right. All-Star cards came in 1 out of 4 packs according to the ugly wrapper.)
480 - Gabe White
479 - Brad Ausmus

Before we get to today's pack, I have a special announcement. Now, I normally wouldn't shamelessly promote my blog like this, but I have free cards to give away. Free baseball cards. Free basketball cards. In today's economy (tm), that's called a win-win situation. Go here to find out why I am bothering you before I post the contents of a baseball card pack here. All you have to do is fill out one of those ubiquitous NCAA tournament brackets.

Now that the little... unpleasantness... is out of the way, let's check out some baseball cards. This was the first Topps jumbo pack I bought this year. It's just plain old basic Topps, but I think they have really put together a solid base product this year so far.

136 - Tim Hudson

193 - Zack Greinke (There's something to be said for a crisp, straight-forward portrait on a baseball card. Zack looks kinda ticked off, though.)
37 - Erick Aybar
211 - Ryan Rowland-Smith (In the Mariners disasterous 2008 season, this Aussie was asked to do just about everything. He made 12 starts in 47 appearances, saved two games and put up respectable numbers in the process.)

122 - Joe Mather (Mather seems to have the 3B job locked down until Troy Glaus gets back.)
155 - Roy Halladay (The ace of one of my fantasy team's staff for something like 3 or 4 years running.)
81 - Ryan Howard / Adam Dunn / Carlos Delgado NL Home Run Leaders
43 - Joe Mauer / Dustin Pedroia / Milton Bradley AL Batting Average Leaders (During a fit of computer trouble, Yahoo saw fit to draft Joe Mauer for me, and now I'm stuck deciding whether or not to dump him. Pedroia's commercial for some PS3 game is annoying and Milton Bradley is no longer in the AL.)

4 - Chipper Jones / Albert Pujols / Matt Holliday NL Batting Average Leaders

115 - George Sisler (At the time that I got this, I didn't know how tough these short print things were to get. And I had already pulled a couple of Mickey Mantles, so I didn't realize that his card wasn't special but this one was. I'm trying to decide whether or not to sell this card on eBay.)
TTT22 - Tim Lincecum Topps Town
97 - Willie Harris
108 - Alcides Escobar (RC)

194 - Jeremy Guthrie (Sometimes pictures just have to tell the story.)
306 - Javier Vazquez (Hopefully his transition to the NL goes well, because I drafted the guy.)
29 - Jerry Hairston (Went from "I can't believe this guy gets paid to play Major League Baseball just because his dad was some unheralded ex-player" to "wow, he hit .326 and stole a few bags in part-time duty" last year)
33 - Jose Guillen (I'm not sure what he's pointing at, but it's kinda funny. I didn't scan the card, though, so I might have to save it for another post.)
142 - Brad Penny
156 - Carlos Pena
76 - Marcus Thames
213 - Jeremy Sowers
210 - Geovany Soto (Currently stealing ABs and face time from Yadier Molina for Team Puerto Rico.)
328 - Doug Alphabet
260 - Manny Ramirez (What's the over/under on the first date he runs out a ground ball this season? June 3rd?)

153 - Lastings Milledge (Everything you've heard about the improved photography from Topps this season is absolutely true.)
163 - Ross Gload

LG12 - Mel Ott Legends of the Game

121 - Greg Golson (RC) (In no way does the subject of this photo represent a Major League baseball player.)
137 - Angel Salome (RC)
144 - Matt Tuiasosopo (RC) (My girlfriend thinks it's hilarious when I say Tuiasosopo outloud. When you come from Pac-10 football country, it just rolls off the tongue.)
237 - Aaron Cunningham (RC) (Never heard of the guy until right now. I guess he has a generic name.)
236 - Kelly Johnson (Still a Brave, right?)
198 - Conor Jackson
277 - Asdrubal Cabrera

2 - Omar Vizquel (A final Topps stats-on-the-back tribute to Omar Vizquel, a fine example of a shortstop. Wait... Omar didn't retire? What are they thinking?!)
57 - Jo-Jo Reyes

2008 Topps U&H Presents 2008 Heritage High Number Series retail jumbo 'hanger pack' [4ドル.99 each] - about double the number of Heritage High Number cards and a little less of the Updates and Highlights cards.

2008 Topps Heritage High Number cards

#630 Ryan Ludwick - after his breakout year in 2008, I suddenly need more cards of him.
#645 Masahide Kobayashi - the retro 'Topps News Rookie Stars of 2008' design does nothing for me.

#671 Chris Davis - Texas Rangers' rising star
#603 Joel Pineiro - he was poised to be an ace, but flamed out. Maybe he will 'breakout' in 2009, with the help of Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan. His spelling of his last name always got me confused. Is it 'ei' or 'ie' in 'Pineiro?'

#513 Darin Erstad - looking back at his career, it could have been so much more, but I don't think Erstad has had any regrets as the all-or-nothing, lay it out on the line, grinder.
#618 Matt Diaz - after having a breakout season in 2007, kind of disappeared in 2008.
#616 Brian Schneider
#563 Doug Mientkiewicz
#641 Omar Infante
#541 Jon Rauch
#555 Jeff Keppinger

#TN 6 Del Crandall/Russ Martin - Then and Now insert
#C207 Geovany Soto - Chrome parallel insert serial #'d 1306/1959

2008 Topps Update and Highlight cards
#UH 104 Omar Infante
#UH 51 Fernando Tatis
#UH 78 Dallas Braden
David Wright - Students Work Hard, Get Cards

Influenced by this APAD post - I decided to pick one up for myself and while I don't it was such a great pack of 'content,' it was OK.

That's right, Jumbo Pack. I didn't know that these things existed either until I found one lonely cello pack sitting on top of a fresh box of TBU&HP2008THHNS which looked untouched. I literally said aloud "what the hell is this??" right out in the middle of the store. Or, actually the frontish part of the store by the Pizza Hut snack bar. In any case, I exclaimed in an audible voice in a public place my surprise over a pack of baseball cards. Yes, I'm that guy. I don't like this set and I have decided to wait about 6 months and buy a box for about 25ドル when dealers will be begging to get rid of them, but I can't resist something weird and a jumbo pack of Heritage fits that description. Rip.

587 Mike Napoli
642 Nick Punto
558 Adam Kennedy
646 Marco Scutaro
533 Jonny Gomes
551 Clete Thomas RC
623 Eric Hinske
614 Russell Branyan
665 Texas Rangers
612 Jeff Baker RC
613 Houston Astros
TN4 Willie McCovey & Ryan Braun Then & Now
C283 Cody Ross Chrome #0423/1959
UH2 Sean Casey Topps
UH81 J.C. Romero Topps
Topps Head of the Class David Wright

So here's the deal with these packs. They are basically like two packs of Heritage mooshed into one. They are actually better, because two packs of normal Heritage High gets you 12 Heritage cards, 4 Topps cards and two awful pieces of gum for 5ドル.98. This pack has one more Heritage card, one less Topps card and only one piece of horrible gum for 4ドル.99. More Heritage for less money = happy, joy and frolicking bunnies as far as I'm concerned. I've only seen this one pack though, so as far as I know it was the only one in the universe.

Ok now for the pack itself. Well, the base cards are a pretty good reflection of the checklist. That is to say, something only a team collector could love, and they'd only love 1/30th of it at that. Seriously, who's the star out of that mess? Adam Kennedy? Russell Branyan? I guess if you squint you can see Josh Hamilton on the Rangers team card. Um, actually I don't see him. He's gotta be there somewhere. I got two inserts though, which is nice. Cody Ross is nice and shiny and the McCovey/Braun Then & Now card is a cool pair of Rookie of the Year winners. Sorry Thorzul, the McCovey is off the table. I don't care a whit about the Topps cards, but there were two annoyances in this pack. Apparently David Wright ad cards count as one of the three Topps cards in the pack, and I pulled what seems like my 80th Sean Casey card. The worst part about the pack is that all the cards reek of that gum. I chewed one piece of the new gum for less than two minutes and now even the smell makes me nauseous. Yes, I am going to harp on the gum for the rest of my life, or until Topps fixes it. Bring back the Mexican gum, Topps! this Chinese gum ain't cutting it! Anyway, If you do like Heritage High Numbers and you have a choice between normal and jumbo packs, go for the jumbo. More cards, cheaper packs, no brainer.

"Fighting out of the orange corner, weighing in at 27 cards; he features an exclusive "Home Run Heroes" insert in each pack, and a base set with a Manny Ramirez RC. It's ...


"And in this corner, in the silver foil, also weighing in at 27 cards. He features a Jumbo exclusive "On Deck" insert in each pack, and a base set that has a Derek Jeter RC. It's ...



Let's get it on!



And now, Stale Gum.com presents "The Tale of the Tape."

	1992	1993
Printed Price Tag:	2ドル.19	2ドル.79
Price Paid:	1ドル	5ドル
Base Set:	700 cards	420 cards
Pack Exclusive Insert:	Home Run Heroes	On Deck
Star Rookie:	ManRam	Derek Jeter

The pack battle is being scored on the ten-point must system.

Next up, a Jumbo pack from a time when Bowman baseball truly was "The Home of the Rookie Card," 1993. There are 22 cards in this pack, and the "money card" is a Derek Jeter RC; which after the SP RC, is probably his "best." There's also the only true RC of Andy Pettitte.

I have had a sixteen-year long hard-on for the 1992 Fleer Jumbo Packs. A big, raging, Peter North sized boner for this stuff. I mean, it was the first trading card product where the collector had a realistic shot at pulling a card worth 100ドル.

That card was, of course, the 1992 Fleer Frank Thomas Rookie Sensations. Last year, I wrote a feature on the Jumbo pack exclusive '92 Fleer Rookie Sens and I invite you to check it out, here.

So when Scott and I eyed a box full of junk 1ドル packs at the Reading Show, and found three '92 Fleer Jumbos, I just had to video bust them.

It's been 16 years since I've busted a Jumbo of '92 Fleer, here's they are. Enjoy!

At Reading, I picked up about 25ドル worth of loose junkpacks -- all of which I'll be video reviewing over the next weeks. Seven of these are early-90s Jumbo packs, and the first of which is a 1991 Upper Deck Hi-Series.

The last time I saw an unopened Jumbo pack of 1991 Upper Deck, might have been, well, 1991. Each pack contains 27 cards, and since this is a Hi-Series pack, half the cards are from the Lo-Series (Cards #1-700). You also get a Jumbo exclusive "Silver Sluggers" insert, and a shot at one of the 2500 Hank Aaron Baseball Heroes autographs.

I'm back! Between my annoyance with Topps' runaway gimmickry and real-life stuff (vacation, rehearsals for my next play), I've been away from APAD for too long. With dayf incommunicado until next week, it's up to the rest of us to pick up the slack for once. What better way to start than by finally closing the door on this box break that I started nearly five months ago. Holy crap.

335 Mark Prior
598 Ron Gardenhire MGR - Shown with untucked jersey, which if you've seen Gardy, is for the best.
433 Casey Kotchman - His name rhymes with...Stacy. Get your head out of the gutter.
376 Luis Gonzalez
406 Ryan Doumit
368 Khalil Greene
397 Jason Vargas
RBI7 Ruben Sierra Hit Parade - Hahaha, are you kidding? Oh, I see: he was #7 among "active" players in RBI.

524 Ben Sheets GOLD 0685/2006
SC-JW James Wilson US Constitution - They really should tell you at least which state these guys were from.
449 Jason LaRue
436 Keith Foulke - He's still pitching...with the A's. (Or was, he's on the DL now.) Seriously.
441 Rich Aurilia
444 Curtis Granderson
435 Paul Konerko - Excellent photo of Paul firing a throw across the diamond.
378 Tony Clark - MORE dupes. Grr.
353 Claudio Vargas
459 Mark Hendrickson
595 Terry Francona MGR
539 Juan Rincon
508 Danny Haren
530 Carlos Guillen
Checklist 3 of 3
MHR30 Mickey Mantle Home Run History #30 - I have 24 of these overall.
479 Carlos Silva - Okay, back to cards I actually need.
622 Jason Bergmann RC
430 Octavio Dotel - Really, he was a Yankee?
619 Joey Devine RC
437 Juan Rivera
443 Danny Kolb - Shown after a swing in Atlanta ruined his career.
639 Prince Fielder RC
560 Jim Thome
660 Angel Arms: Ervin Santana and Francisco Rodriguez - Must be nice to lose arbitration and still bring home 10ドル million.
607 Cubs Team Card
647 Twin Fundamentals: Rondell White and Lew Ford
603 Mets Team Card

Okay, where do we stand with that box? No relics or autos, which is lame. Way too many doubles, considering that I wasn't able to complete the base set. That's what I get for 27 bucks I guess.

Base Cards: 309 of 330 (93.6%)
Doubles: 75 (19.5% of base cards in box)
Checklists: 2 sets of 3

Gold Parallel (1:4): 3 (Blake, Castilla, Sheets)
Black Parallel (1:14): 1 (Payton)
Hit Parade (1:6): 2 (Bagwell, Sierra)
Mickey Mantle Home Run History (1:1): 12
Opening Day (1:3): 4
Signers of the US Constitution (1:2): 6 (Franklin, Washington, Williamson, Wilson, Spaight, Sherman)
Trading Places (1:4): 3 (P. Wilson, Furcal, R. Hernandez)
Topps Stars (1:4): 3 (Soriano, Cabrera, Ramirez)