Aargh, not again!

A collector friend who buys so much retail he should own stock in the store recommended the 20ドル Championship repack boxes to me. So the last time I was in my local Wal-Mart, there wasn't much of anything else interesting, so I caved and got one.


When I got it home, I expected the concealed innards to contain packs of ubiquitous junk wax to contrast the newer stuff that was mounted in the windows.

What I found was an even worse abomination than just junk wax. Inside were several "bundles" of junk wax cards that had apparently been created by a previous buyer* who must have returned the box to the store. They were five card groups of 1987 Topps, 1989 Donruss, 1990 Donruss, 1990 Fleer, 1991 Topps, 1991 Upper Deck, and 1995 Fleer sealed in what looks like penny sleeves closed with a shrink wrap heat sealer.


I thought it was just a cheesy way to repack old cards. My friend says that these boxes are usually all more recent packs, so I knew I got screwed. To make matters worse, I got DUPES in the bundles and a couple of the packs. The OPC Premier pack only had five cards in it.

Needless to say, this tarnishes my desire to ever buy any more repacks, especially from that store. I'll have to check if their shrink wrap has logos on it normally. This box was one of only two left along with one football box. No use trying to return it now, since I opened everything. More trade fodder at best....



* [Sensitive readers go back to the text now] Previous buyer = fucking douchebag.

Before you send me your hate mail, yes, I know. It's called "A Pack A Day" not "A Blaster A Day." But, it's been about a week-and-a-half since I posted anything here, so I'm making up for lost time.

I had no intention of posting any of these packs -- much less the whole box. However, after opening it, I had to make an exception.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, collectors of all ages; I proudly present to you the worst box that has ever been opened by anyone, anywhere!

Pack #1
Curt Schilling
Dontrelle Willis
Mike Sweeney
Alex Rodriguez Head Up (SP)
Curt Schilling
Dontrelle Willis
Ryan Langerhans
Jose Vidro

Pack #2
Ben Sheets
Vladimir Guerrero
Frank Thomas
Gary Matthews
Carlos Delgado
Jake Westbrook
Rickie Weeks
Juan Pierre

Pack #3
Rafael Furcal
Troy Glaus
Nick Johnson
Fergie Jenkins (SP)
Ben Sheets
Vladimir Guerrero
Justin Verlander
David Eckstein

Pack #4
Tim Hudson
A.J. Burnett
Hideki Matsui
Andre Either
A.J. Burnett
Rafael Furcal
David Wright
Chone Figgins

Pack #5
Khalil Greene
Alfonso Soriano
Aubrey Huff
Joe Maurer Heads-Up (SP)
Alfonso Soriano
Tim Hudson
Mike Jacobs
Brad Lidge

Pack #6
Aaron Rowand
Aramis Ramirez
Luis Castillo
Chris Duncan
Aramis Ramirez
Khalil Greene
Ray Durham
Michael Cuddyer

Pack #7
Livan Hernandez
Geoff Jenkins
Brad Penny
Wade Boggs (SP)
Livan Hernandez
Aaron Rowand
Jack Wilson
Felipe Lopez

Pack #8
Jim Edmonds
Mike Piazza
Orlando Cabrera
Conor Jackson
Jim Edmonds
Mike Piazza
Dan Uggla
Austin Kearns

For those of you scoring at home: six of the eight packs had doubles, and two had "double-doubles." And to add insult to injury, three of the four short-prints were cards I already had.

Trade anyone?

I think the mediocre nature of this repack box is getting to me. Yet, I forge ahead.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
Warren Spahn Puzzle pieces 61,62,63
575 Juan Nieves (I remember where I was the first time I pulled this card: Fargo, North Dakota, visiting some family friends. I only remember this because it was a Brewer, the only one to ever pitch a no-hitter. My knowledge of this fact earned me a Derrick Turnbow bobblehead this summer at a pre-Brewer game trivia party.)
337 Ken Williams
571 Don Robinson
262 Floyd Bannister

260 Cecilio Guante (Happy, optimistic that it will start raining, so maybe he can play some Nintendo in the clubhouse.)
650 Jody Davis
438 Doug Jones (For some reason, not holding a ball on fire.)
199 Kent Hrbek (Whom my Twins fan girlfriend lovingly refers to as "Tubba Goo.")
434 Dave Anderson
632 Mike Young (A Brewer I have no recollection of.)
25 Glenn Davis Diamond King
659 Wayne Tolleson
575 Juan Nieves (Wait a minute...)
573 Bill Long
571 Don Robinson (What the...?)
632 Mike Young (Who the eff...?)

Alright, the pack says "3 Puzzle Pieces & 15 Picture Cards." I received the correct number of aforementioned pieces, but 16 cards, three of which were doubles in the same pack, so that's more like 13 cards. Sure, I guess this could have been expected back in 1989, but does this happen anymore? I remember reading a Beckett article a long time ago where they gushed about Pacific trading cards, where you were unlikely to receive any doubles in an entire box. This, of course has become standard by now. Whatever. Too bad they weren't Griffeys and Biggios.