Spring training trip preview: San Francisco Giants

I found the Buster Posey/Gordon Beckham dual insert card - probably two of the young players in spring training I want to see up close. Spring training is a time to get autographs of various young players and every camp there are at least one or two 'phenoms' who are either destined to Major League stars or Major League busts.

One person/player's autograph to get [a priority] - Tim Lincecum
One person/player's autograph I'd like to get [a name to look for] - Will Clark
Player featured [I'd like to get his autograph too] - Buster Posey

My take on 2009 Topps

I'm wasn't not going to buy any 2009 Topps or Upper Deck until the hype dies down - with many bloggers busting random packs left and right to give their take, I don't want to succumb to the 'peer pressure' until the excitement over new stuff dies down a little.

Despite finding nothing marked '2009' in two visits to Target - I was able go to a place where I sometimes get my cardboard fix from and cherry pick cards out of some commons bin to get my fill [instead of buying loose packs].

The prices ranged from 25 for $1, a quarter and a dime each - too bad,I was only able to find loose 2009 Topps cards and not Upper Deck.

I don't see how this year's Topps is different from past years - there is a certain feeling about base Topps cards that I'm indifferent to. Maybe it is the fact after a month, every retail outlet, hobby shop, Major League Baseball team store [ones they have inside a MLB stadium or one in an MLB city] and some card show booths will be carrying these cards. For collectors, I suppose having a look at base brand Topps each year is a rite of passage.

The silver on black 'name plates' makes players' names hard to read infront of the card - with 2008 Upper Deck, you can get away with it, because the full-bleed images were sharp enough to stand alone. With Topps, any little design flaw is exposed as an excuse [for me] not to pick up anymore cards.

However, there are some things I liked as I glanced at random cards - it seems there was a more conscious effort by Topps to include action shots [though getting some from 'different' angles like the Kevin Youkilis card is kind of distracting] as opposed to merely 'pitching, hitting and fielding' shots. There are guys making awesome catches in the outfield [Juan Pierre, Alex Rios, Brandon Moss], flying in the air [Youkilis, Jack Wilson], directing traffic [Jose Guillen], et al.

I saw the Turkey Red inserts and it mimicked the 2005/2006 Topps Turkey Red backs - as opposed to some kind of 'vanilla' Trading Card History insert style back. These cards will be a nice to find in random Topps packs.

Spring training trip preview: Kansas City Royals

An update here and there is haphazardly made to try to keep up with the transactions while keeping track of cards I still need or already have for spring training - I'm worried a friend is picking up cards left and right [of different players, multiple quantities], leaving me behind.

Perhaps I've got to focus on a little 'game planning,' so I get stuff signed - it means making do with what I have [I think I have enough] and realize it isn't a battle and there are really different priorities as far as what I need to get autographed.

One person/player's autograph to get [a priority] - Alex Gordon
One person/player's autograph I'd like to get [a name to look for] -Zack Greinke
Player featured [I'd like to get his autograph too] - David DeJesus

Redemption fulfilled - Woodrow Wilson certified cut autograph card

I was dreaming about something as I slept on the couch - I heard the faint ringing of a doorbell and knock on the door. I ran as fast as I could to the door, so I could sign for the package.

All I cared about was securing what I assumed - was my redemption from Upper Deck in my hands.

It looks like a bubble mailer was mailed from Upper Deck's offices in Carlsbad - I had thought everything they did was in Nevada.

I was hoping to get someone infamous [maybe Richard Nixon] or someone iconic [maybe John F. Kennedy] - I'm not sure if Woodrow Wilson, the 28th United States President can be squarely pidegonholed into either category, but his cut autograph card [serial #'d 05/22]was the one that popped out of the bubble mailer, housed in nothing but a thick-card top loader.

What stuck out in getting this particular certified cut autograph card is during a time when the United States has taken one step forward in having its first African-American President in Barack Obama - Wilson was probably the symbol of 'institutionalized racism' in the United States during the first part of the 20th century. Even today as the United States is more a melting pot, it gets to be a volatile one due to racial issues. Wilson's views and actions may not be at all flattering or qualities to admire his life for, but something part of his legacy as a United States President.

I'll be busting 2009 Topps and 2009 Upper Deck soon enough - nice to see Upper Deck on the ball and sate my collecting impulses by fulfilling my redemption in a short time.

I initially thought I'd be getting a more common cut from this list of baseball players - but then my mouth started watering when I saw this and this. It was a mystery redemption, where all I knew was I was going to receive a certified cut autograph card of a former United States President.

I don't know if the redemption ended up as a 'holy crap' pull that is a collection centerpiece [anyone have a 2009 Topps Vladimir Guerrero super patch card]? - but there is definitely a lot of history behind the cut autograph and hopefully it will be in my personal collection for a long time.

Spring training trip preview: Milwaukee Brewers

You can get a number of players, personnel, special assistant to the GM [former players], minor league coaches, et al during spring training - I can't worry about who I don't have cards/other items for with the number of cards/possibly other items I'm bringing during the trip. I've always believed in being concise and bringing everything for everyone, but you cannot anticipate everything.

One person/player's autograph to get [a priority] - Prince Fielder
One person/player's autograph I'd like to get [a name to look for] - Trot Nixon; haven't seen him at all and I still need an 'old' 8x10 and a 2004 Topps Cracker Jack set card signed.
Player featured [I'd like to get his autograph too] - Ryan Braun; maybe down to signing cards without personalizations?

Spring training trip preview: Cleveland Indians

The Indians are back in Arizona and hopefully there will be ample access to get autographs - I need to knock out many cards from all the teams, but the key is rubbing all my cards down [the glossy ones], so when the cards are signed, they come out clean. There is no time other than now, to make sure the surface of my cards are otherwise ready-to-get signed.

One person/player's autograph to get [a priority] - Grady Sizemore of course.
One person/player's autograph I'd like to get [a name to look for] - Carl Pavano; haven't seen him at all and I still need an 'old' 2001 Fleer Tradition set card signed.
Player featured [I'd like to get his autograph too] - Carlos Santana

Spring training trip preview: Texas Rangers

Texas Rangers camp in Surprise figures to be busy - Josh Hamilton is a superstar now, legend Nolan Ryan is intent on putting his stamp in the organization and there will be hot prospects like Elvis Andrus, Justin Smoak and Neftali Feliz in big league camp.

One person/player's autograph to get [a priority] - Nolan Ryan
One person/player's autograph I'd like to get [a name to look for] - Josh Hamilton
Player featured [I'd like to get his autograph too] - Manager Ron Washington

Spring training trip preview: Chicago White Sox

I've been to the Cactus League in Arizona for the last several years and this will be a fun little preview for me to do on the teams that will be there in a few weeks - it seems like Arizona is the place to be once pitchers and catchers start reporting and I'll be taking a trip with a friend and his acquaintance for about 10 days.

One person/player's autograph to get [a priority] - Jim Thome
One person/player's autograph I'd like to get [a name to look for] - Gordon Beckham
Player featured [I'd like to get his autograph too] - Alexei Ramirez

Dealing with the superstars

I'm trying to understand this desire to load up on assorted cards of superstar players [past and present] - but then would you pay more than a quarter for cards you really can't do anything to. I've never been a serious set collector, so I don't need particular cards for sets.

Maybe I want to pick up cheap non-autograph inserts during the past 15-20 years just to sate some sort of revisionist collecting itch - maybe pick up shiny, old school inserts from the super premium era of the 1990s? Or maybe pick up all the rookie cards of the hot players back 15-20 years ago, but are now in monster boxes for a quarter or $0.50 each.

Maybe I want to pick up assorted base star cards - from sets printed when I didn't even know what a baseball card was or from sets that was initially considered a high-end, expensive product during its release [like 1989 Upper Deck and 1990 Leaf as far the time frame is concerned].

They are all sitting in monster boxes and handfuls of them need to be liberated, but whether it is new cards or old cards - part of it is the mentality of trying to salvage treasure as a baseball card collector and putting some context in-between the things I see as far as modern collectors not really collecting, but gambling.

Maybe I'm doing some gambling myself - but I'm sticking to the penny slots, knowing I'm not a high-roller.

On the other hand, if I'm just 'have not' doing with what I can because I can't afford better cards - why bother when it all becomes clutter to me just the same and it doesn't make sense to build something up that I don't feel will make a positive impact in my collecting endeavors.

Maybe I want to show off my vast knowledge of cards on this blog - maybe I want to be like DayF over at Cardboard Junkie, whom I don't think never has met a piece of cardboard he didn't like, whether it be baseball, football, basketball, other sports and non-sports cards.

The most important thing for me is get cards to be signed in-person or through the mail - I don't exactly care for many of the cards [typically base cards/cheap inserts] of the established players I have in those binders [though it maybe a small accomplishment I have 15-20 cards of particular players housed in nine-pocket sheets].

Why would I need more cards worth not much more than a quarter each - when I've already built up an archive of cards over the years. When does picking up a base star cards/non-autographed inserts going pay off when there is so much more.

Superbowl XLIII commentary

I'll probably enjoy a lazy Sunday, holed up on a couch at home, watching the Big Game by myself - no snacks, no treats, no frills, no HD, no big screen. I might even watch the game in 'snippets,' meaning my attention will be focused mostly when I assume big plays are going to happen or at least when it is commercial time. Forget Bruce, I'll be checking out blogs during the halftime show to see who else has busted 2009 Topps already. Maybe there will be leftovers, maybe there won't. However, all the cheering and booing will be done by me.

If the Arizona Cardinals score early and often against the Pittsburgh Steelers, I think they will win - how can you not score with Kurt Warner at quarterback, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin as your primary receivers [think both will have to be involved for the Cardinals to win], the running back duo of the resurgent Edgerrin James and Tim Hightower.

I think it goes without saying, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense is key and if they implode - it will be much more harder for the Steelers do anything if they are down 14-20 points by the first half.

I see Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger as sort of a 'hack' of a quarterback because at times, he looks ugly getting the job done - it makes him a more exciting player however to see him improvise and mimic a Brett Favre. Frankly, I wouldn't bet against Big Ben him in the big game because he is simply a playmaker.

The Cardinals need to constantly pressure Roethlisberger and clamp down on him once he is out of the pocket - it limits Roethlisberger's ability to improvise and come up with some miracle throw or use his legs to gain some positive yards.

If the Cardinals let the Steelers hang around early- then it allows Big Ben and his offense can put together some game-changing plays. If you give Big Ben one more chance, then he'll stab you in the heart.

Final score prediction - 38-24 Cardinals

Featured card: 2003 Studio Big League Challenge Materials Barry Bonds NNO

I found the following image in a trading card folder - I'm probably in the minority and would be considered a 'Bonds apologist,' but I thought the card was funny [and appropriate], in light of the events taking place behind the scenes, before good ole' Barry Lamar Bonds' trial on March 2.

I didn't not create the card image - I probably found it on a baseball card forum and saved it for posterity. I like how Bonds is smiling like he just doesn't give a hoot. Of course, the image was taken during the time when he was popping home runs left and right as the most feared slugger in the Major Leagues. Of course the card is a parody created in Photoshop and does not have anything to do with the image featured.

Long after Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens, Brian McNamee [trainer], Kirk Radomski [supplier], Mark McGwire, Brian Roberts, Shawne Merriman [NFL], Lance Armstrong [bicyling], Marion Jones [track and field star], Chuck Knoblauch, Andy Pettitte, Jay Gibbons, Eric Gagne, Paul LoDuca, Dave Justice, Mo Vaughn, insert name of athlete here, et al - the government is still bent on making Bonds the Michael Vick of performance enhancing drug use among professional athletes in America.

Featured autograph - Xavier Nady

New York Yankees' left fielder Xavier Nady returned the card [on Jan. 27] I sent to him personalized and signed in blue ink - I either sent it out some times in 2007 or some time in 2008 when he was still with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

I think there were one or two other cards I sent, though I don't remember - I was just surprised at getting Nady back, thinking I was going to get a more recent request back in a SASE I found in my mailbox. The SASE was postmarked from San Diego and I was wondering who I'd written to down there in recent months.

I always like saying his first name and thought he was going to be star when he was drafted by the San Diego Padres back in 2000 - it sort of took a while for Nady to establish himself in the Major Leagues with the Padres, then he bounced around with the New York Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In 2008, he had a breakthrough season split between the Pirates and the New York Yankees - he played in 148 games and in 555 at-bats, hit 25 home runs, drove 97 runs and hit .305. He also posted an on-base percentage of .357 and he slugged .510.

At times you will get athletes who insist on personalizing items presented to them in-person - and sometimes they will do so on their own, when you send something for them to sign in the mail.

These days, athletes personalize because they literally want to protect the value of their name - if they are not going to personalize something, both the athlete and his agent feel like they should be getting paid.

I personally would prefer any card or item autographed, not personalized- though I find personalizations are unique and do not mind them. I figure I have many autographs in my collection that aren't personalized and I'm fine with the odd card or item that is made out with my name.

NBA, Panini, trading cards and you

It is a good thing I don't collect basketball - though I can't say I haven't tried to collect it one way or the other at least a few times in the last 20 years, for one reason or the other.

However, it is staggering to learn about the NBA reaching agreement with Panini - to become the sole producer of NBA trading cards.

I think Panini just threw so much money at the NBA - it was an offer they couldn't refuse, despite the fact Panini is known in the United States more for its sticker books printed more than 20 years ago.

Would Panini even have the motivation or is their plan to radicalize the trading card industry - to bring it back to the 'Stone Ages,' where you had one choice, one option for trading cards.

How many products will Panini put out [?] - is it conceivable that they may only put out one flagship brand of cards for an entire year? Would basketball collectors only have one option? I doubt that will be the case, but is Panini capable of creating products that distinguish themselves between low-end, midlevel and high-end?

Would that be realistic and if it were to happen - would it be something to sap the money aspect about collecting cards as far as commodities? While there might be more mainstream interest, would serious card collectors just quit the hobby? Does this new agreement signal the death of the modern basketball card as it is valued by serious collectors?

I cannot name a basketball product from Topps, so I could care less if there were no more Topps basketball cards - at the very least, Upper Deck has exclusives like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James to possibly juice up any product they decide to produce. I would think the NBA would have come to an agreement with Upper Deck as far as exclusive rights to print their cards [like how I believe it is in the NHL].

Having Panini as the sole trading card company to produce NBA trading cards is like O-Pee-Chee [long before Upper Deck bought its rights] -being handed the keys to produce every single Major League Baseball card.

I wonder how it will affect basketball trading cards and will it be conceivable - something like this would happen to the baseball card industry.

Beckett blog link - to the news

Beckett blog link - NBA's reaction

Wax Heaven blog link - Topps and Upper Deck's reaction

Featured cards: Kenshin Kawakami

Kawakami is one of the veteran imports out of Japan coming over to play Major League Baseball this upcoming season - he signed with the Atlanta Braves and they are looking to get something out of him.

My friend rounded up some loose Japanese cards of Kawakami - and also other players like this guy. I think they are all subset cards and none of them are rookie cards. They are coated with gloss on both sides and are somewhat aesthetically pleasing.

It seems like the Atlanta Braves' starting rotation looks better that it did several months ago - though the team hasn't been in the postseason since 2005 and the buzz has been with teams like the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies.

It will be interesting to see how the Braves' starting rotation holds up - when things break down if guys don't perform well, take a step back instead of take a step forward and really aren't as good as expected.

Derek Lowe didn't have a defined role when he first came to the Major Leagues - but his talents have enabled him to be a well-paid starting pitcher, despite not always being faithful to his home team.

Jair Jurrjens didn't really come out of nowhere - but had a nice breakthrough season in his first full season in the Major Leagues in 2008.

Jorge Campillo saved the staff, though he is pretty much garbage to me since Vlad - is probably at the top of my personal list of favorite players to watch play.

Javier Vazquez needs to grow a pair [check out his last three regular season starts in 2008, not to mention his 2008 American League Division Series start] - but at the end of the year you look at his ability to pitch 200 innings a year [while striking out nearly the same number of hitters as innings pitched] and you see a workhorse whom you roll the dice with every year.

Vazquez has also recorded double digit wins in nine of 11 Major League seasons - you can almost say he is the epitome of a quality No. 3 starter.

Tim Hudson probably isn't coming back for a while and neither is Tom Glavine - whom I think is really looking to leave the game on his own terms and is still trying to make a comeback despite some long odds.

Featured card: 2004 Score Larry Fitzgerald #373

I haven't dabbled in collecting much football cards and have no such thing as a Kurt Warner rookie card to show off, but I do have this 2004 Score rookie card of Warner's No. 1 go-to-guy, Larry Fitzgerald - with the former grocer [Warner] slinging passes to the former ball boy of the Minnesota Vikings [Fitzgerald], the Arizona Cardinals have gotten to Super Bowl XLIII.

All I can say with a straight face the card featured is now legitimately worth a couple of bucks, even though the back is off-center - I said a few bucks, not a million dollars...

It probably would not be out of place to symbolically put Fitzgerald's card alongside another football rookie card - I have in my personal collection.

Who knows if Fitzgerald will be as accomplished as Jerry Rice was when Fitzgerald finishes his career - but he is probably playing the best football in his NFL career and he is only 25 years old.

Third blog bat around - thinking about 2009

I'm a middle of the road type of collector, so I grab stuff that catches my eye - not because I'm going to 'rip and flip,' but because I'm a baseball card junkie who strives to keep up his one last link to his adolescence.

Topps and Upper Deck need to put out more product that isn't going to insult the collector - it seemed like I didn't bother with most of Upper Deck's products because there was no greater appeal with brands like Spectrum, SPX, X, Heroes for example.

I busted some 2008 Upper Deck Timeline packs and like the product - but quality control problems hindered the appeal.

With Topps, they always put on a show with their sell sheets for their products [an average collector has access to these online] - but actual, nice pulls seem far and few in-between in their products.

For 2009, here is what I'd like to see Topps, Upper Deck and other companies - possibly producing baseball cards.

1.) Have more cards per pack like 2008 Upper Deck with 18 cards - it seemed like the collector got a little more cards to flip through for a $3 pack.

2.) While mediocre 'hits' are par for the course, tighten up the insert checklist - what happened to the superstar certified autograph or super patch card? Collectors don't like pulling plain swatch material cards of middling players and certified autograph cards of middle relievers and utility guys because collectors can sniff out when companies are trying to be cheap.

It is nicer to try and complete a set of inserts - knowing it has some value and knowing there are marquee players to chase.

3.) No 'weird' autographs - leave the 1980s hair bands or the D-list 'celebrities' alone Upper Deck. No one needs autographs of subjects whose notoriety rests on the fact he or she is going to be in rehab and it is going to be filmed for a reality show. A Donruss Fans of the Game type of insert would be nice, where you have celebrity baseball fans featured on cards.

4.) Don't manipulate a type of insert set to produce a cheaper type of card that people typically associate with a big hit - certain card types should retain a certain appeal and to find the quad autograph card or quad material card worth little, because there are a billion of them takes the fun out of busting packs like 2008 Upper Deck Ballpark.

5.) Quality control - opening a pack of cards and seeing roller marks, nicks and dings is something to shy away from.

6.) Have some fun thinking up a retro themed set - and find a way to incorporate a 'vintage' design for one product and make it a stand alone set [at least 200 cards] with a comprehensive player checklist. There are a lot Upper Deck and Topps can do in-between.

While Topps Heritage and Topps Allen and Ginter are set builders' staples - a quirky product like 2008 Upper Deck Timeline was more fun to bust because it had a little bit of something for everyone.

7.) Have minimal subsets - one subset per base set is fine, but having all sorts of manager, team, leaders, checklist cards dilute from the base set.

8.) Include a checklist sheet/card per box - it may not be a new concept for a set builder, but I'd like to figure out what I've pulled, what I have and what I still need.

9.) For non-memorabilia, non-autograph cards - create better parallels and not cheap inserts to include as hits.

10.) Old faces, new places - planning for product takes some time, so Topps and Upper Deck need to figure out how to print old players' cards with their new teams i.e. get all the off-season trades, signings and other transactions.


A second look -

2008 Topps Stadium Club - it is kind confusing how the product is put together with the hobby and retail variations in the base set. Hobby was priced as 'high-end' even with midlevel specifications. I think retail was an appropriate way to get these cards if you kind of wanted to see what this was all about. The product was nice even though every other collector was looking for different things, when the news Topps was bringing back SC first came out.

2008 Tristar Projections - a two-series set of 400 minor league player cards [including New York Yankees' failed prospect Billy Crystal, who had one spring training at-bat and was let go] was hard to ignore for an in-person or through the mail autograph collector who needed the cards signed. Many of the players are obscure [isn't that the point with a minor league product] and the better names already have cards produced by Donruss, Topps or Upper Deck. On the other hand, you do get eight hits per box, including four autographs and numbered cards.

2008 Prime Cuts IV - maybe prices for individual cards have leveled off in general and the inclusion of first-year and rookie type players is unecessary filler, but based on sell sheets alone, Prime Cuts IV takes the prize as the best high-end product of 2008. The kicker is it isn't even a licensed MLB/MLBPA product.

2008 Topps Sterling - maybe the worst high-end product, just because you are locked into a player once you open your box and if you don't a really big name, then you are likely to pull a less than stellar card.

2008 Razor - was supposed to be a radical product that leveled the prospecting playing field. People are sitting on this product now because singles have not exploded in value and people don't want to sell their average hits for $2-$4each.

Featured autograph - Mike Mussina

Mike Mussina returned the cards I sent to him signed in blue Sharpie in about two weeks - the first card was a dual player card I first sent to Chien-Ming Wang during last year's spring training. I like dual signed cards, but not when I cannot immediately complete the pair.

I was holding onto this card for much of the year, wondering when I would send it to Mussina - I figured I can send something to him anytime.

While Mussina has generally been considered a 'face' or 'role model' type, he seems like he doesn't always like the attention given to him - to his credit, after all the last 15 years or so, he has dutifully signed everything through the mail with nearly the same, consistent autograph. To the best of my knowledge, he hasn't changed his signing habits or suddenly stopped for whatever reason.

Ever since he entered the league, Mussina has been considered a 'star' and his career numbers are impressive - while there is a lot of discussions on forums and blogs about his Hall of Fame credentials, maybe he fall just falls short of election to the Hall of Fame because he wasn't able to win 300 games and/or win at least one championship after signing with the New York Yankees.

Rickey Henderson

Not the greatest two shots in the world but I took them when Rickey Henderson played in the independent Golden League in 2005 - in the first picture, Henderson is signing autographs after the game. He was still looking to play in the Major Leagues and had some sort of reservation about signing anything related to Major League Baseball with his image. Maybe he was just looking to get paid to sign something. The second picture shows him warming up with his teammates.

Jim Rice bandwagon

I tried getting Jim Rice's autograph once and he wasn't too friendly. I think he was trying to get to a cab in Anaheim when he was a coach with the Boston Red Sox in the early part of this decade or late 1990s - he kind of just blew by me and some people off and told the cab driver to 'get outta here' in a surly, 'get me away the hell from these people' manner.

In retrospect, Dennis Eckersley traveled with the Red Sox during the same time - he had no problems signing autographs and I was able to get a couple.

Rice maybe a dick in real life, but that doesn't mean I get the animosity towards Rice and it is like how people hate Joe Morgan as a broadcaster, don't believe in Dusty Baker's managerial skills hot air to me - as tempting as it seems, I'm not going to bother to listen or read these ramblings.

For those who debunk the myth of Rice labeled as a feared hitter - it is compliment, not a seal of approval people. I think certain people need to take a chill pill.

I suspect some bias and prejudice at play here by those who can work a keyboard - somehow breaking down Rice's stats bit-by-bit to invalidate his career. Baseball has become a sabermetrician's wet dream with the ability to manipulate, play, study the numbers.

It has been noted Rice has many shortcomings when it comes looking behind the numbers - where there is some merit for his induction.

However, if you do it with every player in the Hall of Fame - really break down someone's career numbers, you'll find something you don't like or something you can brush off, unless it comes to players of Rice's ilk.

Yeah Rice had to wait 15 years, things do change, people soften their grudges - perspective changes and isn't aren't the writers going to do the same things for the Steroid era's greatest sluggers?

Did Rice have to absolutely be heads and shoulders better than everyone else - for people clamoring for a player Don Mattingly to get in, apparently.

The same people who vehemently argue that Rice isn't a Hall of Famer - are probably the same schmucks who would probably not for Rickey Henderson.

I'm on the West Coast and I realize the East Coast bias is a term thrown around casually - but Rice was a seemingly surly, prickly player to his hometown media, why should they have rallied around him?

In short, Rice can probably tell you to look at the scoreboard - I don't think all the smart writers will be able to take the honor of being elected to the Hall of Fame from him.

2008 Upper Deck Timeline pull encore

2008 Upper Deck Timeline - after tearing through the first nine packs of my first box and seeing what I pulled, I finally got the composure to finish the last nine packs on the right hand row.

We'll jump to pack eight again - which was actually the second pack from the top

#17 Ken Griffey Jr.
#72 Jonathan Van Every - rookie card subset
#124 Nick Swisher - 1992 Upper Deck Minors

BOOM - and there goes the land mine...with shrapnel hitting all around.

#181 Brandon Boggs - 1995 SP Top Prospects die-cut auto
#377 Eider Torres - 1995 SP Premier Prospects die-cut
#168 Daisuke Matsuzaka - 1994 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes
#195 Jesus Flores - 1995 SP Top Prospects die-cut
#212 Randy Johnson - 2004 Upper Deck Timeless Teams

I actually busted a box of Tristar Projections High # Series before starting on the last nine packs of Timeline - the Tristar Projections High # Series break was not as deliberate as the first nine packs of Timeline were. I don't know if it is worth it to showcase any other breaks beside these last two Timeline packs.