Brian and Bud’s Box Busting Bonaza: Results!

I busted the two boxes of 2010 Topps Chrome for Brian and I today and was fairly pleased with the results. We received the promised number of autographs with two decent prospects (Wilson Ramos and Jon Jay) and a very tough to pull red refractor (1:370 …

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Monday! Monday! Monday! Brian from Play at the Plate and I will be splitting two boxes of 2010 Topps Chrome Baseball–stay tuned for results and possible video of the breaks. You don’t wanna miss it!

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Against my better judgment I grabbed a value pack of 2010 Bowman Chrome (3 packs plus 3 green xfractors) and another lone pack for a look at the retail exclusive green xfractors. They look great, but the rest of the cards leave something to be desired…

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I had been trying to add a printing plate to my collection for quite some time but just never found the right player at a reasonable price until just a few weeks ago. I was thrilled to win this card for less than the cost of a blaster (why don’t I spen…

Continue reading about Card of the Week: 2009 Bowman Sterling Alex White Cyan Printing Plate Auto #1/1 »

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A great looking refractor rookie card of one of my favorite players/personal friend and a rising star for the New York Jets: 2009 Topps Platinum Mark Sanchez White Refractor RC #477/499

Continue reading about Card of the Week: 2009 Topps Platinum Mark Sanchez White Refractor Rookie #477/499 »

I’ve been burned out on baseball lately (blame the Mariners for that) so I’ve turned by card buying focus to football cards. Topps Chrome is always one of my favorite sets and has great value at the retail level (with an insert or refractor in every pa…

Continue reading about 2010 Topps Chrome Football Thus Far: Shiny! »

Since joining the blogosphere I’ve completed more trades with Brian from Play at the Plate than anyone else. We cheer for division rivals (Seattle and Texas) so swapping cards is cinch. Here’s the lastest batch he sent my way: 2002 Pacific Joey Harrin…

Continue reading about A Playoff Swap with the Pride of Texas (PATP) »

After not pulling a patch auto out of a handful of Platinum blasters I figured I would cut my losses and go for the guarantee in a hobby box. I sold some cards some eBay so the box was basically free (you know, since paypal money isn’t real money) and …

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2009 Bowman Draft Michael Saunders Red Refractor #5/5: Considering the fact that Saunders’ jersey number is 55 is this card (#5/5) a one-of-one? Well, I’m sure it would have been if I had got it off eBay, and lord knows I would have paid a hefty premiu…

Continue reading about Another Color of the Saunders Rainbow Acquired »

After getting skunked on a couple of boxes of Draft about a month ago I decided I was better off spending my money on singles from the set. I got the following cards for the less than the price of a box, so I’d call this break a success: Michael Saund…

Continue reading about Prospect Maildays: 2009 Bowman Draft Edition »

I was out of town for work the other day and happened to find a small card shop in a strip mall. There wasn’t a great selection of next wax (not a single baseball product I liked) but I couldn’t resist a rare chance to open some hobby packs. After some…

Continue reading about Pack Attack: 2010 Donruss Classics Hobby (x9) »

Bud from First Day Issue is one of those guys who will occasionally send a package out of the blue. No trade talks, no cards claimed…just a friendly package with no strings attached. It’s always a nice surprise.I won’t keep you long. I know you have …

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Did I feel incredibly lame while writing that title? Of course, but my hand(s) was (were) really tied in this instance (not another pun!) I was perusing Mojo and Beardy’s Blog for the Ages a few weeks ago and saw some cards Mojo pulled over the summer …

Continue reading about Oh By Gosh, By Golly, Collie! »

I fell in love with Topps Platinum last year when I pulled not one, but two, patch/autograph cards from blasters of the product. Though I don’t but nearly as much football, baseball cards are a wasteland right now (unless Target starts carrying Triple …

Continue reading about Box Break: 2010 Platinum Football (Blaster) »

Bowman is an extremely feast or famine product, and unfortunately, I was left quite hungry after these two boxes. It’s possible that some of these lesser prospects will turn into starts later on, but I wouldn’t exactly bet the house on it. Here are the…

Continue reading about Box Break: 2009 Bowman DPP (x2) »

Thorzul just pulled this gem for me yesterday in a group break of 2005 Leaf Limited. This jaw-dropping card of Donnie Baseball features an autograph, bat slice and patch–not to mention it’s numbered 2 of 10!! I’m no Yankees fan, but who doesn’t love …

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Vernon WellsOrlando Hudson CopperAndy PettiteRoy Halladay SPDerek JeterFelix Hernandez Polar Bear Back (the one good thing in the pack)Thoughts: I wasn’t a fan of Topps 206 before today and this pack did little to change my mind about it. Why Topps fee…

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2007 Bowman Draft Michael Saunders Future Game Jersey: When Ken Griffey Jr. retired, Michael Saunders became my favorite Mariner. He’s shown signs of improvement at the plate this season and I hope that he can grab the left field role full-time next s…

Continue reading about eBay Grab Bag: Mariners and More »

If you haven’t made a trade with Kerry from Cards on Cards yet–what are you waiting for? My neighbor to the south has provided me with many of my favorite Mariners and Griffey cards, and this trade package was no exception. This is what he sent in the…

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Continue reading about Card of the Week: 2008 UD Heroes Ken Griffey Jr. Jersey Logo Patch #24/25 »

My brother and I both ordered a box of 2009 Bowman Chrome to bust as a last hurrah before he took off for college. For around $50, you got a boatload of shiny cards and an on-card autographed prospect. The checklist is decent (the big names include Fre…

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An Ichiro Mini Masterpiece

Continue reading about My Brother Is a Great Artist: Exhibit B »

With football season just around the corner and the New York Jets gaining nationwide attention on “Hard Knocks”, I figured that the time was right to admit, that yes, I am friends with Mark Sanchez.Now you may be asking yourselves: how does a small-tow…

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I was down in Colorado at the end of July for a friends’ wedding and was lucky enough to find the time to take in a Rockies/Cubs game at Coors Field. It was my first visit to a field other than Safeco or the Kingdome and I was very impressed with the R…

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If you like the Million Card Giveaway, you should hurry over to Walmart and buy a “Topps Value Box”. The box includes one code, one refractor (Strasburg, Ruth or Ripken), one Allen & Ginter hobby pack and six 2010 Topps Series II packs for $14.99. …

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… for every card blogger’s favorite TV game show:Welcome! Welcome! Thank you! Thank you!Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of “What’s the Best Card in the Package.” This is your host Night Owl, guiding you again through another exciting tr…

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I bought this box about a month ago off eBay for a decent price hoping to pull an Austin Jackson, Brennan Boesch or Mat Latos rookie auto. The box took about three weeks to show up, and of course, was full of crap. Here’s what I pulled: Howard/Carpente…

Continue reading about Box Break: 2008 Bowman Chrome (WOOF!) »

It was just over a year ago that I made my first trade with the aforementioned Night Owl, which eventually got me plugged into this crazy and wonderful thing called the baseball card blogosphere. I’ve completed a handful of trades with Night Owl and ea…

Continue reading about A Nice Swap With My Favorite Nocturnal Bird »

I was lucky enough to pull an Adrian Beltre SP Black Border mini (1:130 packs) from my box of Allen and Ginter, which opened up a whole new can of worms when I finally found someone to send all my Red Sox to (and there’s a lot of ‘em_. Adam from Though…

Continue reading about A Great First Trade With Thoughts and Sox »

I won this handful of cards on eBay over the last month or so. After a couple of shaky starts Brad Hand has begun to pitch at a high level again and I have big expectations for the 20-year-old left hander. Michael Saunders is finally getting a shot at …

Continue reading about Recent eBay Acquistions: Mariners and Prospects. »

Stan Musial has always been my favorite “old-time” player (there’s a great read on him in the newest Sports Illustrated) and I jumped at the chance to pick up this incredible card of one of the game’s all-time (and criminally underrated) greats.Not onl…

Continue reading about Card of the Week: 2002 Donruss Rookie Year Materials Jersey Stan Musial #12/50 »

I bought this box about a month ago with my Gint-a-Cuffs entry and after seeing the results from that break, it’s not hard to believe that this one was slightly better. Despite the fact that 2003 Flair is nearly devoid of anything other than “hits” it’…

Continue reading about Box Break: 2003 Flair Hobby (Reds Hot) »

I pulled some “You Sketch” cards from a couple of packs of Topps Series II and gave them to my much more talented brother to play around with. He sketched a Mantle and Strasburg which sold fairly well on eBay, and then he truly blew me away with this E…

Continue reading about My Brother Is a Great Artist: Exhibit A »