Hank Conger made his season debut for the Angels on Tuesday and hit his first Major League home run against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday - I quietly root for Conger because he is the type of professional baseball player who I might have aspired to be in my dreams.
He and Mark Trumbo are living their dreams of professional baseball players from Orange County playing for the Angels - so maybe I'll play closer attention to what they do as Major Leaguers because they are 'local guys' made good for.
The 2006 Bowman Draft card was signed when in-person when the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes team made an organized appearance at Angel Stadium back in 2008 - Conger was on the team with Trumbo, Jordan Walden, Peter Bourjos, Trevor Bell, Bobby Cassevah, David Herndon, et al.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Featured autograph - Hank Conger
Monday, March 23, 2009
2008 Topps series one blaster break
2008 Topps was a 'meh' product - but who knows what I can pull from any unopened box of cards. I also like the feeling of busting any unopened box [even though it maybe no better than a 'fat pack'] for $5.
#TCP 4 Luke Hochevar
#TCP 9 Joba Chamberlain - looks like someone pressed hard in the middle, leaving a crease.
#TCP 3 Matt Holliday
#107 Shawn Green - was this his last regular issue Topps card?
#209 Andy Phillips
#327 NL League Leaders strikeouts - Jake Peavy/Aaron Harang and John Smoltz
#198 Shannon Stewart - Green and Stewart were the two up-and-comers in the Toronto Blue Jays' outfield towards the late 1990s, just a couple of seasons before the arrival of Vernon Wells.
#167 Jason Hirsh
#185 Yunel Escobar
#OTG 21 Jake Peavy - Own the Game insert
David Wright Topps of the Class - blah, blah, blah
#86 Scott Podsednik
#93 Kenny Lofton - sometimes I think 1992 was just a few years ago, but reality says it was 17 years ago when a friend and I called a card shop to see what the value of a Lofton minor league card [out of a pack as opposed to a team set] was [apparently around $3 back then].
#72 Mike Piazza - this must have been my 'super veterans' pack; I don't realize how the years have flown by and how long someone like Green, Stewart, Lofton and Piazza had played professionally.
Pack two
#4 Rick Ankiel - - I'm not too impressed with the off-centered image and how Ankiel's face is sort of obscured.
#19 Robinson Tejeda#324 NL League Leaders saves - Jose Valverde/Chad Cordero/Trevor Hoffman
#127 Steve Pearce - was looking for a card of this guy in 2008 to get signed in-person.
#197 Melky Cabrera
#48 Zach Duke
#AR 46 Derek Jeter - 50th Anniversary all-star rookie team insert
#C08-BO Barack Obama - candidates insert; the 'first' card of the leader of the free world would have been a more interesting pull when he was still on the campaign trail.
#121 Mike Cameron
#308 Felipe Lopez
Pack three
#206 Geoff Jenkins
#112 Jacque Jones - despite struggling to do anything in 2008, he has been a 'decent' Major League player; he was a 1996 U.S. Olympian and like Jenkins, went to USC.
#326 NL League Leaders BA - Matt Holliday/Chipper Jones/Hanley Ramirez
#273 Rafael Soriano
#162 Andy LaRoche
#252 Dmitri Young - battled through lots of personal problems; he and his brother were the showcase of a baseball documentary shown on the MLB Network.
#MHR511 Mickey Mantle - home run card insert.
Topps All-Star rookie - promo/info card
#169 Adam Lind
#119 Jeremy Hermida - maybe some proof that careers of top prospects like Hermida are more up-and-down than meteoric.
#104 Kevin Youkilis - points to a teammate who likely hit a home run; a hot dog vendor in the background claps his hand to celebrate as well. Youkilis seems like the toughest hitter to face on the Boston Red Sox, because the count seems like it is 2-0 once he steps up to bat. He fouls off a ton of pitches, works the count and BAM, he hits an extra-base hit or a home run.
Pack four
#225 Hunter Pence
#77 Angel Guzman
#261 Josh Barfield
#106 Josh Bard
#149 Hochevar
#195 Todd Helton#YR 7 A-Roid - Year in Review insert
#41 Rich Aurilia
#92 Ross Detwiler
#29 Anibal Sanchez
Pack five
#251 Dan Johnson
#12 Jason Bartlett
#247 Edgar Gonzalez
#88 Jack Cust
#6 Felix Pie
#321 J.R. Towles
#FS 1 Kazuo Uzuki - if he actually existed, would he be on Japan's World Baseball Classic roster?
#115 Johan Santana
#250 Jonathan Papelbon
#210 Mark Teahen
Friday, January 02, 2009
2008 Tristar Prospects Plus blaster box
2008 Tristar Prospects Plus blaster box [$19.99 each] - I was looking at the trading card section the second time [I was bored and spending time at Walmart is fun] and this blaster 'popped up.' The first time I was at thr trading card section, I only saw a blaster box of 2008 Tristar Projections High Series.
Because it is a minor league product - a typical baseball card collector are not going to go out of their way to look for this product. Still Tristar products have somewhat of a following with minor league autograph collectors and baseball card collectors looking for something different.
The card design isn't pretty and looks like a Fleer/Skybox design from the late 1990s - I don't think baseball cards should be boring, but they shouldn't look garish either, particularly for a 'niche' product like minor league cards.
As listed, each blaster box is guaranteed one autograph - five packs per blaster with six cards inside. Hopefully it didn't mean anything but basically the packs are crammed inside the box, with a crumbled up paper [I think similar to what you'd find stuffed in shoes at a shoe store] to support the blaster. It isn't like the packs are enclosed in a cardboard 'tray' inside like other blasters i.e. Topps/Bowman I've busted.
I got 29 out 150 base cards - with no doubles or triples.
Pack one - no suspense here, I already hit the auto
#26 Christian Friedrich - the No. 25 overall pick in 2008 [Colorado Rockies].
#14 Ethan Martin - the No. 15 overall pick in 2008 [Los Angeles Dodgers] and also possibly the year's Ben Christensen/Delmon Young Award winner.
#85 Jason Knapp
#FH JJ Jay Jackson - the 2008 Tristar Farmhands autograph inserts look better than last year's version.
#87 Boston Top Pick Pitchers; Bryan Price, Stephen Fife and Kyle Weiland - I think the multiplayer cards in this year's product is a distraction to collectors who probably want as many single cards to get signed either in the mail or in-person. If can get all the players' autographs at one time, then it is okay, but Tristar should have stuck with one player per card.
#149 Chicago Future Pitching Stars; James Leverton [Levitrol?], Justin Bristow and Toby Matchulat - it seems like these multiplayer cards are Tristar's way of getting more players in Prospects Plus.
Pack two
#4 Brian Matusz - the No. 4 overall pick in 2008 [Baltimore Orioles]
#36 Jake Odorizzi
#84 Rashun Dixon - the Oakland Athletics sees some value in this guy, so he must be good [as in better than your average toolsy athlete from high school that the organization has not typically drafted]. According to the back of his card, Dixon had eight home runs, 42 RBIs and a .525 slugging percentage in the Arizona League [rookie level]. He could be an intriguing speed/power guy if his Moneyball skills develop [having patience at the plate and taking walks].
#73 Tyler Ladendorf
#104 Ryan Lavarnway
#135 Staten Island Yankees Teammates; Ray Kruml and Addison Maruszak
Pack three
#41 Pete Hissey
#58 Dan Brewer
#49 Xavier Avery
#37 Brad Holt
#123 College Teammates; Yonder Alonzo and Jemile Weeks [Miami] - Alonzo was the No. 7 overall pick in 2008 [Cincinnati Reds] and Weeks was the No. 12 overall pick [Oakland Athletics].
#109 Mike Lee
Pack four
#95 Steven Fife
#92 Kyle Higashioka - local Orange County, California kid drafted by the New York Yankees
#23 Ryan Perry - the No. 21 overall pick [Detroit Tigers]
#6 Kyle Skipworth - the No. 6 overall pick in 2008 [Florida Marlins]
#141 Lowell Spinners Teammates; Lance McLain and Kyle Weiland
#103 David Adams
Pack five
#69 Tyson Ross
#52 Jaff Decker
#13 Aaron Hicks - the No. 13 overall pick in 2008 [Minnesota Twins]
#21 Andrew Cashner - the No. 19 overall pick in 2008 [Chicago Cubs]
#148 Boston Future Stars; Bryan Peterson, Tyler Yockey and Jonathan Hee
#119 Matt LaPorta - seems like from playing the Milwaukee Brewers' system to being traded as part of the C.C. Sabathia trade to playing in the Futures Game and also being a member of the U.S. Olympic baseball team [and being beaned during competition in the Olympics], LaPorta has gone through a lot in 2008. He is 24 years old and as far as a top prospect is concerned, 2009 is probably his make or break year to see if he can stick in the Major Leagues for good.
I tried to scan these cards, but the foil used on the cards do not scan well - for images, go to the official Tristar Web site.
