2009 Tristar Prospects Plus box break recap

Even though the cards feature the same Stephen Strasburg sketched image [which makes him look a little sickly, a little ghostly] - just for novelty's sake, I was happy to pull a base card, a short print variation card [pictured, has a box around the card number on the back] and an Obak Update card of the professional pitching phenom. 

2009 Tristar Projections [20 packs per box, six cards per pack] - I think I'm still making up for a month during the off-season when I was out of the country and having just a little leftover spending money [after spring training] is giving me some confidence in picking up various packs / boxes. 

I was able to pick up a box of 2009 Tristar Projections for around $40 [during a special through a place that does blow out prices on some boxes / packs] - I didn't get a free preview box, like a number of card bloggers have, but these cards maybe the most attractive of Tristar's Prospect Plus series.  

In the end, these are still minor league cards, ones not officially licensed by Minor League Baseball - but once I finally had the cards in-hand, I may actually like these better than the 2010 Topps Pro Debut.

While the logos on the players' uniforms are edited out, it isn't as much of a distraction because the cards' graphics look pretty clean with foil stamping used - though it maybe subjective, the images are generally sharp with backgrounds washed out [at times, it seems like images on cards are cluttered up by stuff in the background].  

Collation may not be a card company's responsibility, but it feels so good to be only one card short [#78] of putting together the 100 card base set - sorting the cards isn't as messy if I don't have too many doubles / triples to deal with. 

I'd also rather have as many different cards towards the base set - instead of missing cards towards the base set I was expecting to pull [and end up not pulling, so now I have to find some way to get the cards without picking up another box of a particular product]. 

It looks like I got my 11 hits out of the box, including four different autographs - these cards have been out for perhaps four or five months already and I'd read some initial 'box bust' reports where people were getting four autographs of the same guy out of a box.

#44 Tommy Joseph autograph; serial #'d 08/50

#29 Matthew Davidson autograph - serial #'d 22/50

#38 Victor Black autograph; serial #'d 095/199

#50 Robert Stock autograph; serial #'d 13/25

#108 Drew Storen - Crystal Ballers; serial numbered #22/50

#116 Kristopher Hobson - Crystal Ballers

#57 Adam Warren - parallel; serial #'d 34/50

#24 Slade Heathcott serial #'d 09/50

#4 Tony Sanchez - SP variation card with a box around the number.

#115 Stephen Strasburg - Obak Update card