Box Break and Review: 2008 Topps Allen & Ginter

One box of 2008 Topps Allen & Ginter (paid $65)
24 packs and one chiptopper per box, eight cards per pack.

The Pulls

Chiptopper
1 N-43: Ichiro

Base Set: 124 of 350 (35.43%)
20 Doubles

Short Set: 111 of 300 (37.00%) with 17 Doubles
Short-Prints (1:2): 13 of 50 with 3 Doubles

Parallels*
7 Minis
2 SP Minis (1:13)
7 A&G Backs (1:5)
1 SP A&G Backs (1:65)
3 Black Bordered (1:10)

Inserts
16 U.S. States with six doubles (50 cards, one-per-pack#)
2 World Leaders (50 mini cards*, 1:12) Mozambique, Spain
2 World's Icons (ten mini cards*, 1:48) The Sphinx, Quetzalcoatl
1 Pioneers of Aviation (five mini cards*) Piloted Glider

Autogamers$#
2 Framed Relics: A. Dunn, C. Crawford

* One mini per pack
$ Two of the following per box: Framed Autograph, Framed Relic, Framed Printing Plate, Framed 1887 Original, Cut Signature, 1 of 1 Relics
# One U.S. State insert or framed autogamer per pack

Did Not Receive
1 World's Greatest Victories insert (1:24)

The Review

If you don't like Allen & Ginter, you're an idiot.

That's all I have to say.

Product Rating: 4 Gumsticks (out of 5)

Box Break and Review: 2008 Topps Series 2 HTA

One HTA box of 2008 Topps Series Two (Paid $45)
10 packs per box, 46 cards per pack

The Pulls

Base Set: 330 of 330 (100%)
43 doubles

Parallels
20 Gold Foils (two-per-pack)
5 Golds (1:2, numbered to 2008) W. Rodriguez, J. Payton, K-Rod, E. Chavez, J. Keppinger

Inserts
10 Topps Stars (25 cards, one-per-pack) A-Rod, M. Ordonez, J. Morneau, J. Beckett, ManRam, J. Peavy, D. Ortiz, J. Reyes, M. Cabrera, M. Holliday
10 Trading Card History (25 cards, one-per-pack) V. Martinez, B. Webb, C. Beltran, R. Martin, P. Hughes, A. Dunn, R. Cano, J. Thome, C. Young (OF), C. Zambrano
10 Topps All-Rookie Team 50th Anniversary (55 cards, 1:5) C. Young, H. Okajima, R. Adams, D. Pedroia, C. Tracy, T. Wigginton, N. Johnson, R. Furcal, R. Durham, J. Cruz
10 Year in Review (60 cards, one-per-pack) CC Sabathia, C. Figgins, F. Thomas, D. Haren, B. Butler, R. Garko, J. Maurer, C. Young (P), J. Isringhausen, C. Crawford
10 Historical Campaign Match-Ups (55 cards, 1:6) 1796, 1804, 1852, 1860, 1868, 1888, 1892, 1916, 1936, 1952
3 Mickey Mantle Story (10 cards, 1:3)
1 Home Run Derby Contest (50 cards, 1:125, numbered to 999) L. Berkman
1 Red Hot Rookie Redemption (20 cards, 1:10) #4, KosFu

Autogamers*
1 2007 Highlights Autographs: T. Tankersley
3 2007 Highlights Relics: D. Lee, D. Ortiz, D. Wright

* One Autograph and two Relics per box

The Review

2008 Topps Series Two went live six months ago. Now that the Stale Gum Topps Boycott over, I'm playing catch-up with all the Topps releases that I missed.

To refresh your memory, there were three things Topps did to Topps Series Two that I was either ambivalent about, or hated.

1) Each Hobby box would include either an autograph or a game used card, and each HTA box would yield three. Topps' stated reason for adding "hits" to its flagship was slow sales of first series Hobby boxes, but I disagreed.

Yes, pulling additional gamers is nice; but a product like Topps' flagship is, and always has been, a collector's set. Poor sales of '08 Series One Hobby (and of Series Two for that matter) had more to do with it being a lackluster product than the lack of a jersey card. The addition of more "hits" would make little, if any, difference. The fact that I purchased an HTA box for only $45 six months after it's release seems to confirm my view.

2) The establishment of the "Red Hot Rookie" redemption program also seems to have had little impact on box sales. The redemption rookie gimmick may appeal to the "high-end" hobbyist, but the concept never quite caught-on with the the traditional collector -- which is flagship Topps' demographic.

3) Gimmicks which backfired. Much virtual ink has been spilled on this blog (and others), so I won't repeat myself.

I picked up an HTA box, not because I wanted the three "hits," but because it was so cheap. I bought an HTA box for about the price of a regular Hobby box went for when Topps Two went live. I could have bought a regular Hobby box for $35 -- again for less than I was when it went live -- but with 100 more base cards and a crap-load of more inserts for only $10 more, going with HTA was a no-brainer.

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So with three hits in an HTA box, what exactly did I get? I pulled a sticker autograph of Taylor Tankersley and three gamers: Derrick Lee, David Wright, and David Ortiz. (For the record, the Wright and Big Papi were both in the same pack.) The theme behind the autogamers is "2007 Season Highlights" and the Tankersley commemorates....

... I don't know. For some reason Topps thought that Tankersley's .179 OPP AVG against left-handed hitters in '07 is worthy of an autographed "Season Highlights" card. Ummm, yeah.

The three gamers celebrate more meaningful accomplishments: Lee reaching base in 32 straight games; Big Papi setting the single-season doubles record for DHes; and Wright breaking the Mets' single-season TB mark.

Now let's just say for a moment that you actually did buy this box just for the hits. Would you be happy with a Taylor Tankersley autograph, and three un-numbered jerseys?

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If there's one thing I've always liked about HTA -- dating back to when Topps first introduced the HTA program back in '97 -- is that they're chock-full of inserts. You'll get at least five inserts and either a Gold Parallel or another insert in each pack. What a deal!

The inserts include extensions of the Trading Card History, Year in Review, and All-Rookie Team 50th Anniversary sets. In addition there are two inserts exclusive to the second series: Topps Stars and Historical Campaign Match-Ups. In each pack, I received one card from each of these sets. There's also another batch of Mickey Mantle hero worship cards and two exchange inserts: the aforementioned Red Hot Rookies and the Home Run Derby Contest.

The Bottom Line

The box yielded a full base set and a healthy stack of doubles. Given the size of the box, anything less than a complete set would be disappointing.

No, you can't find a legitimate Kosuke Fukudome rookie card in Topps Series Two. But I did get the next best thing: a KosFu Red Hot Rookie redemption (yay). It should be noted that these are the first on-line redemption cards Topps has issued. However unlike Upper Deck, the Topps redemptions do NOT have those lottery-esque scratch-off strips that conceal it the secret code. Keep this in mind if you see these cards for sale.

I did not pull any of the gimmick cards, nor did I expect to get one.

Product Rating: 2 1/2 Gumsticks (out of five)

... and another thing

The front of the Lance Berkman Home Run Derby Contest insert I pulled says "If he wins, you win." However, if you examine the fine print on the back it reads, "If you receive a HRDC with player who wins, you have not won a prize."

... and yet another thing

For the second consecutive year, Yadier Molina is card #660. I don't know if someone at Topps really, really likes or really, really hates Molina.

What I Observed (and got) at the White Plains Ass Slap: 11/29/08

Yes, it was White Plains weekend. And you know what, The Slap couldn't come soon enough. After all the turkey, bad football, and annoying relatives, a Saturday afternoon in White Plains was definitely in order.

For the first time in a long time, the show was in the basement of the Westchester County Center. The folks at JP's Rock Solid Promotions were punked out by a stamp and coin show, which booked the arena floor so into the basement we all went.

If you've never been to the basement of the Westchester County Center, consider yourselves lucky. It is the tenth circle of hell. Imagine the usual White Plains show, but compressed into a space the size of your typical middle school lunch room. Combine that with the atmosphere of a medium-security prison and you have a dreadful scene.

Now that I'm on the subject, for those of you that have small children or babies, do me a favor. Do not ever take your kid to a card show like White Plains. It's bad enough that you have to constantly run into other collectors while navigating the extremely narrow aisles. I don't need to be constantly running into your wife/girlfriend and your four-year-old. It's called a babysitter, look into it jerky.

In fact, when I'm dictator, my first decree will be that all children under the age of eight shall be prohibited from attending sports collectible shows.

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As for the show, Jim Rice -- one of the show's autograph guests -- no-showed. Not that anyone seemed to care. (This is, after all, Yankee/Met country.) Now if this were a little further to the North and East, you would have heard about the riot already.

One of the regulars at White Plains (and at most other card shows in Northeast) is a dealer named Seymour. He always rents six tables and stacks them high with all the latest wax. I purchased a box of Allen & Ginter for $65 and an HTA box of Topps series two for $45 from him, but then the conversation turned to another Topps product.

"Say, are you collecting Stadium Club? I can cut you a deal. $175!"

The price tag on his stack of eight 2008 Stadium Club baseball boxes had already been marked down from $225 to $200 to $185. I replied, "Nah, that's alright."

"What's the matter, you don't like Stadium Club?"

"I like Stadium Club, just not 2008 Stadium Club. It's overpriced and uncollectible."

At this point Seymour lowered his voice and said, "You know what, you're right. But I'm stuck with all these boxes that aren't moving. You know, I have to wonder what Topps was thinking. It great that they brought back the Stadium Club name, but $25? For one pack? In this economy? And all those autographs? Who's gonna collect that?"

To which I said, "Yeah, sometimes I wonder too. I wonder if whoever came up with 2008 Stadium Club even collects baseball cards?"

He nodded his head in agreement.

After making this purchase, and bowling over about five stray toddlers, I went looking for cheap singles. White Plains is a Mecca for cheapskates like myself who rummage through the $1, $5, and $10 boxes. I picked out about $30 worth of 2006 and 2007 Bowman base set autographs and another $16 worth of various inserts from such boxes.

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Other observations:

For the first time in my life, I witnessed perhaps the single greatest autographed insert card of the modern era: a 1992 Score The Franchise Triple-AU of of Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle, and Carl Yastrzemski. It didn't have a price tag, and I wasn't about to ask.

Some a-hole had packs of 1997 Metal Universe for $5 each. $5 for a pack of '97 Metal? Yep, $5. Why? Because it has an "A-ROD AUTOGRAPH!" Yes, 1997 Metal did have an on-card autograph of Alex Rodriguez. Too bad it was a redemption.

Another a-hole had a 1993 Donruss Don Mattingly (base card) for sale. It was graded PSA10 and he wanted $20 for it. First off, who the fuck sends '93 Donruss singles to be graded? And who the fuck would want to pay hard currency for a GRADED 1993 DONRUSS DON MATTINGLY BASE CARD?

Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects is live, but no one seems to care anymore. I didn't see a single waxbox sold.

The same can be said for the new unlicensed Donruss Elite.

I was tempted to buy a waxbox of 1992 Score Italian Soccer for $5, but thought better of it.

Total Spent on Cards: $156
Admission and Parking: $11
Tolls: $16.70
Grand Total: $183.70

Video Box Break and Review: 2008 Topps Baseball Updates & Highlights Presents 2008 Topps Heritage High Number Series Hobby

One Hobby box of 2008 Topps Heritage High Numbers (paid $65)
24 packs per box; six Heritage and two Updates & Highlights cards per pack

Part One


Part Two


The Pulls

Chiptoppers
1 Advertising Strip (one per box): D. Navarro/J. Crede/R. Ludwick
1 Buy-Back (1:2 boxes): S. Bilko

Base Set
Heritage High Numbers: 106 of 220 (48.18%)
Five Doubles

Short Set: 97 of 185 (52.43%)
Short Prints (1:3): 9 of 35

Updates & Highlights: 48 of 330 (14.55%)

Variations
15 Black Backs

Parallels
8 Chrome (100 cards, 1:3, numbered to 1959) K. Wood, J. Soria, E. Longoria, J. Cueto, A. J. Pierzynski, D. Span, E. Aybar, M. Gonzalez
2 Chrome Refractors (100 cards, 1:11, numbered to 559) J. Wright, R. Barajas

Inserts
2 Rookie Performers (15 cards, 1:12) M. Aviles, M. Scherzer
2 Then & Now (Ten cards, 1:12) L. Sherry/M. Lowell, L. Aparicio/O. Cabrera
2 Flashbacks (Ten cards, 1:12) KosFu, C. Delgado

Autogamers*
1 Clubhouse Collection: C. Granderson

*Odds of finding an autograph or a gamer: 1:24

The Review

The one thing I always thought was missing from the Heritage brand was an update. Think about it. Imagine if the 2001 set had an Update with RCs of Albert Pujols and Ichiro? So it's great that Topps has finally gotten around to issuing "2008 Topps Baseball Updates & Highlights Presents 2008 Topps Heritage High Number Series" -- and yes, that's the full name.

The set contains 220 cards, and like most Update sets is heavily weighted towards rookies (KosFu, Jay Bruce, Evan Longoria, and the like). 35 of the cards are short-printed, and has become par-for-the-course for Heritage, it's up to you the collector to figure out which ones are SPed. There are also another 35 black-backed variations, and Chrome parallels for your collecting pleasure. Inserts include another batch of "Then & Nows" and "Flashbacks," and a 15-card "Rookie Performers" which replace the "New Age Performers." In addition, you get a autograph or a gamer in each box.

Each waxpack has two cards from the Updates & Highlights set. All of these cards are base cards. (Yay.)

The Bottom Line

The box yielded about half the base set, and each pack had either a black-back or an SP. All the inserts, including the Chromes, were as promised.

The big "hits" were an Evan Longoria Chrome and a Curtis Granderson game used pants card. (Although I'd hate to know what part of the pants it came from.)

Product Rating: 4 Gumsticks.

No Comment Needed

Gammons, Gammons....

Peter, Peter.

Rock Over London....

... Rock on Chicago!

MATT DAMON!

I dare you to watch all four minutes of MATT DAMON!

Blaster Break: 2008 Topps Updates & Highlights

Found a Blaster of TU&H at Target this evening. Why not?

One Blaster Box of 2008 Topps Updates & Highlights (Paid $19.99 + tax)
10 packs per box, eight cards per pack.

Base Set: 74 of 330 (22.42%)

Parallels
1 Gold (1:7, numbered to 2008) J. Cabrera

Inserts
1 2009 WBC Preview (1:9) Ichiro
1 Year in Review (1:6) D. Price
1 '86 Mets Ring of (Dis)Honor (1:18) H. Johnson
2 First Couples (1:6) Pierce, Ford

Autogamers
1 (one-per-box) M. Mulder

Yes I Hope They Die...

... and I hope they burn in hell.



Mmmm, mmmm.