Pack Break: 2008 SP Authentic

I picked up 3 packs of 2008 SP Authentic as an impulse buy. They cost 5 bucks and change which isn’t a fortune, but I immediately regretted the purchase. The contents of the packs were pretty decent. The main drawback is that you only get 5 cards in a pack. Anyway, here’s what I picked up.

Pack 1:
Jake Peavy
Matt Cain
Grady Sizemore
Nick Markakis
Smoltz/Ramirez – Marquee Matchups

Pack 2:
Carlos Pena
Magglio Ordonez
Rick Ankiel
Vernon Wells
Ichiro Suzuki – Authentic Achievement

Pack 3:
Hunter Pence
Phil Hughes
Chris Young
Hideki Matsui – Yankee Stadium Legacy
Pujols/Lidge – Marquee Matchups

Someone’s going to have to explain these Marquee Matchup cards to me. I don’t like cards that feature more than one player to start with. But why is John Smoltz on the same card as Hanley Ramirez? Why is Albert Pujols on the same card as Brad Lidge? These players have no relation to one another except that they have faced each other a couple of times. But anyway, I could have done worse. I picked up a couple of Yankees, a Pujols, and a Hanley Ramirez.

Trade with Nr Mt

I completed a trade with Nico at Nr Mt where I sent a bunch of Donruss Diamond Kings and a jersey card and received a whole bunch of cool cards. Both of us are Yankee fans so very few Yankee cards were involved in the swap. Most of the cards I received were Minnesota Twins commons from the 2000s. I would have to say that the Twins are my second favorite team next to the Yankees. Some of my favorite Twins cards are pictured below. I also received a nifty Derek Jeter insert card and a Vernon Wells Sweet Spot card. Thanks for the cards Nico. I look forward to trading again soon.

2009 Topps Silk: Carlos Lee

I recently purchased my first Topps Silk card. I got it for $3.79 shipped on eBay. It is a 2009 Carlos Lee card numbered 26/50. It’s not that I’m a Carlos Lee fan, but the card was cheap and I was curious. I was surprised at how thick the actual silk piece is. I was expecting something that was a little more flimsy. Although the picture on the front matches the base Topps card, the back of the card is blank. I really like this type of card. It’s something different then anything else I own. I’m sure the novelty will eventually wear off though. But seriously what a time to be alive – a baseball card made of silk.

Topps Million Card Giveaway

Today’s the big day. Today’s the day that Topps is going to give away rare Mickey Mantle rookie cards to all of us collectors. I’m just kidding. Topps is only going to give away a million 1990 Ellis Burks cards. Of course, nothing has been given away yet since the web site is not up yet. But I have a confession to make. I am already a winner in this promotion. Why? Because I have not purchased a single pack of 2010 Topps and therefore have no codes to enter on the Topps site. I like the base cards but the inserts don’t really excite me at all. So instead of spending the day waiting to enter my codes on the Topps site, I have spent my day preparing my Spring Training TTM requests which will be discussed in a future post. Just in case the site remains down, I have a 1994 Topps card of Ricky Bones that I’m willing to part with.

Yankee Stadium Legacy: Games 2071 & 2381

I recently purchased 2 2008 Upper Deck Yankee Stadium Legacy cards from a seller on eBay for the princely sum of 32 cents. I’m not a big fan of the YSL cards. There's just too many of them. Do we really need one card for each game played at Yankee Stadium? But these are Yankee cards and the price was right. The cards feature Yankee greats Phil Rizzuto and Allie Reynolds. Unfortunately, the Reynolds card has a slight ding due to a combination of a plain white envelope and both cards being inserted into the same top loader. But for 32 cents, I can’t complain.

2008 Topps Chrome Refractor - Jeff Francis

I picked up a 2008 Topps Chrome Refractor of Jeff Francis off of eBay for 35 cents including shipping. I’m not an avid Jeff Francis fan although he is a good TTM signer. Now that I think of it, I should do a TTM mailing to Francis. I just couldn’t resist a refractor for 35 cents. This is my second 2008 Topps Chrome Refractor. These cards just look really cool. Check out the picture below.

Pack Break: 2007 Fleer

This is my final 2007 Fleer pack. It’s sad in a way. I didn’t really get anything great until I got to the rookies and inserts. The rookies were Bourne and Murphy. The inserts were Hamels and Jeter. Any pack with a Derek Jeter card is a friend of mine. Anyway, here’s the loot.
- Marcus Giles
- Carlos Guillen
- Felix Hernandez
- Tim Corcoran
- Mike Sweeney Mini (I would have preferred the entire card)

- Michael Bourne RC
- David Murphy RC
- Jose Vidro
- Cole Hamels Rookie Sensations

- Derek Jeter Perfect 10

Do You Like Free Cards?

Then, head over to Play at the Plate to enter a fabulous new contest in honor of Groundhog Day. Guess the right number and you can win some 2010 Topps cards. Hurry up and enter. The contest ends Wednesday.