Video Box Break and Review: 2008 Razor Signature Series

I won a Beckett contest, and they sent me this waxbox of 2008 Razor Signature Series.



So, was this a loaded box, or not? Let the conspiracy theories begin!

Cardola: 2008 Topps Mayo Football

One Hobby Box supplied to me for free by Topps of 2008 Mayo Football (street value: $100)
24 packs per box, eight cards per pack

Part One

Part Two

The Pulls

Base Set: 144 of 330 (43.64%)

Parallels
19 Minis
2 Yale Minis (1:13) E. Sims, D. Northcutt
1 Princeton Mini (1:24) T. Brady
1 Harvard Mini (1:50, numbered to 25) J. Gage

Inserts
2 Mini Famous Ships (19 cards, 1:12) Andrea Gail, RMS Carpathia
22 Super Bowl Logo History (33 cards, one-per-pack)

Autogamers
1 Mayo Relic (43 cards*) C. Henne
1 Mayo Americana Relic (18 cards*) W. Haynes

* Odds of finding an autogamer: 1:12/packs

Box Rating: 4 Gumsticks (out of five)
Product Rating: 4 1/2 Gumsticks (out of five)

Cardola: 2008 Triple Threads Football

Full list of 2008 Gummie Winners.

Product of the Year, Set of the Year, and Best Retro-Themed Product: Topps Allen & Ginter.

All of these were runaway winners, and neither should come as a shock.

Card of the Year: Donruss Threads Bats #9, Shoeless Joe Jackson

This was the first surprise result. The smart money was on the Topps Obama, but it could only muster 25% of the vote. Meanwhile, the Shoeless Joe Bat card from Donruss Threads received 41% and won in an upset.

Rookie Card of the Year: Topps Heritage #650, Evan Longoria

It wasn't much of a shock to see Longoria get this award. What was a shock was that it wasn't the one with the cut/sticker autograph, swatch of jersey fabric, and serial numbering that won (SP Authentic); but just a humble base card (Heritage).

Best Insert Set: Topps Trading Card History

Trading Card History got 56% of the vote, easily defeating TA&G's Mini World Leaders.

Best Autogamer Set: Topps Allen & Ginter Framed Relics

The TA&G Framed Relics got 45%, while Stadium Club Beam Team beat out Topps Heritage A Real One for second by a single vote.

Also, Razor Signature Autographs did not receive a single vote.

Best High-End Product: Playoff Prime Cuts IV

This by far, was the most competitive category.

Topps Triple Threads 21.7%
Upper Deck Premier 14.5%
Topps Finest 20.5%
Topps Sterling 19.3%
Playoff Prime Cuts IV 24.1%

Best Prospect Themed Product: Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects.

If I were a betting man, I'd have placed my money on Razor to win, and BDP&P to finish last. As it turns out, BDP&P won and Razor got the wooden spoon.

Best Unlicensed Product: Playoff Prime Cuts IV

Donruss took the Win (Prime Cuts), Place (D'Russ Threads), and Show (DEEE) positions.

Worst Overall Product: Upper Deck X
Most Disappointing Product: Stadium Club
Most Meaningless Product: Upper Deck Documentary

All three were shoo-ins, and all three carried at least 40% of the vote in their respective categories.

Worst Gimmick: Topps #661, Johan Santana "No-Hitter"

I really thought it was going to be the fake Japanese ballplayer (Uzuki). But you chose the fake no-hitter.

Best Hobby Blog: Cardboard Junkie

This was a two-horse race between The Junkie and.....

Best Hobby News Source: Wax Heaven

Mario received over 65% of the vote.

Best Video Box Breaker: TomTheRipper407

I mean, come on! It's Tom the Ripper. Everyone else was competing for second place -- which, by the way, went to Dr. Wax Battle.

Hobby Rookie of the Year: Evan Longoria

77% of the vote. Nuff said.

Hobby MVP: Josh Hamilton

This was a battle between Hamilton and Albert Pujols, but in the end, Hamilton won with 39% to Pujols's 27%.

Hobby Top Prospect: David Price

Another no-brainer.

Jefferson Burdick Award for Contributions to The Hobby: Ben Henry

I thought you'd give it to Sy Berger, but Ben Henry pulled it out with his Casey at the Bat farewell.

2008 Gummie Awards: The Winners

And here they are, the best and worst of The Hobby as selected by YOU!

Just a friendly reminder...

... you have until Sunday to vote in the 2008 Gummie Awards.

Click Here to take Part One
Click Here to take Part Two
Click Here to take Part Three

Tom the Ripper: 2008 Bowman Sterling (in 3D)

2008 Gummie Awards: THE POLLS ARE OPEN!

Follow the links to cast your ballot.

Click Here to take Part One
Click Here to take Part Two
Click Here to take Part Three

Polls close Jan 11th. DO IT NOW!

Gummie Award Nominees

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BARRINGTON, NJ, December 30, 2008 - The Baseball Card Writers Association of America (BCWAA) today have officially released the nominations for the 2008 Gummie Awards. On-line balloting will commence sometime in the New Year.

Product of the Year: Topps Allen & Ginter; Topps Heritage; UD Masterpieces; Topps Triple Threads; Upper Deck
Card of the Year: Topps Campaign '08 #BO, Barack Obama; UD Masterpieces #16, Jonathan Papelbon; Topps Heritage #81, Torii Hunter; Topps Future Stars #FS1, Kazuo Uzuki; Donruss Threads Bats #9, Shoeless Joe Jackson
Rookie Card of the Year: SP Authentic #121, Evan Longoria; Upper Deck #708, Kosuke Fukudome; Topps Campaign '08 #BO, Barack Obama; Topps Heritage #650, Evan Longoria; Topps Red Hot Rookie #1, Jay Bruce
Set of the Year: Upper Deck; Topps Allen & Ginter; UD Masterpieces; Topps Heritage; Topps
Best Insert Set: Topps Campaign '08; Topps Trading Card History; Topps Allen & Ginter Mini World Leaders; Upper Deck Goudey Berk-Ross Hit Parade of Champions; Donruss Threads Diamond Kings
Best Autogamer Set: Stadium Club Beam Team; Topps Allen & Ginter Framed Relics; Topps Heritage A Real One; Upper Deck Game Materials 1997; Razor Signature Autographs
Best "High End" Product: Topps Triple Threads; Upper Deck Premier; Topps Finest; Topps Sterling; Playoff Prime Cuts IV
Best Retro-Themed Product: Topps Allen & Ginter; Topps Heritage; Upper Deck Goudey; Upper Deck Timelines; Upper Deck Baseball Heroes
Best Prospect-Themed Product: Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects; Donruss Elite Extra Edition; Razor Signature; Upper Deck Team USA
Best Unlicensed Product: Donruss Threads; Playoff Prime Cuts IV; Razor Signature; Sportkings "B"; Donruss Elite Extra Edition
Worst Overall Product: Topps Moments & Milestones; Upper Deck X; Topps Co-Signers; Bowman; Upper Deck First Edition
Most Disappointing Product: Stadium Club; Topps; Topps Heritage High-Number Series; Upper Deck Timelines; Razor Signature
Most Meaningless Product: Topps Opening Day; Upper Deck First Edition; Bowman; Upper Deck X; Upper Deck Ballpark Collection
Worst Gimmick: Bowman Chrome #155c, Kosuke Fukudome "Unautographed-Autograph"; Upper Deck Yankee Stadium Legacy; Topps #661 Johan Santana "No-Hitter"; Topps #FS1 Kazuo Uzuki; Manufactured Letter Patch Cards
Best Hobby Blog: Cardboard Junkie; Ben Henry's Baseball Card Blog; Stale Gum; Sportscards Uncensored; Wax Heaven
Best Hobby News Source: Beckett; Wax Heaven; Sportscard Info; Sports Collector's Daily; Mannufacturer's Press Releases
Best Video Box Breaker: TomTheRipper407; ArmyATC22; TheBackstopDotNet; umiami89; chri5784
Hobby Rookie of the Year: Jay Bruce; Kosuke Fukudome; Evan Longoria; Johnny Cueto; Jed Lowrie
Hobby Top Prospect: Tim Beckham; Buster Posey; David Price; Matt Wieters; Rick Porcello
Hobby MVP: Albert Pujols; Derek Jeter; Alex Rodriguez; Daisuke Matsuzaka; Josh Hamilton
Jefferson Burdick Award for Contributions to The Hobby: Sy Berger; Ben Henry; DeWayne Buice; Keith Olbermann; Judge Clarence Newcomer

Tom the Ripper: 2008 Topps Sterling

The $250 EPIC FAIL.

First, go watch Beckett's break of two pack/boxes of Topps Sterling. (I'd post it here for your convince, they won't let me embed the video to this site.)

Go on, watch it.

While you watch, I'll keep myself entertained with this Tom the Ripper mash-up video.



Now, if you're a long-time Stale Gum reader, you've probably figured out that Topps Sterling is a product that isn't exactly geared toward my demographic. But if I paid $250 for a "pox" of Sterling, and my "big hit" is a framed multi-swatch jersey card of Tom Seaver numbered to ten copies, and the '69 on the frame WAS MOUNTED UPSIDE DOWN, I would not be a happy collector.

That is all.

2008 Gummie Awards: Your Nominations Wanted!

NOTE: The is not the actual ballot, just your nominations. The final ballot will be issued sometime in January. Also, the Gummies are for BASEBALL CARDS ONLY.

---

Has it really been a year? Yes, sadly it has. 2008 is almost over and you all know what that means.

It's almost time for us, the members of The Baseball Card Writers Association of America (BCWAA), to honor the best (and worst) in The Hobby for 2008.

Send me your picks for each category below to chris.harris@stalegum.com by January 1, and stay tuned to this space sometime in the new year for the 47th Annual Gummie Awards and Beer Pong Tournament.

Categories:

Product of the Year
Card of the Year
Rookie Card of the Year
Best Base Set
Best Insert Set
Best Autogamer Set
Best Retro Themed Product
Best Hobby Idea/Innovation
Worst Overall Product
Worst Base Set
Most Meaningless Product
Most Disappointing Product
Worst Insert Set
Worst Gimmick
Best Cardblog (You can't vote for your own!)
Best Hobby News Source (Again, you can't vote for own.)
Hobby MVP
Hobby ROY
Hobby Top Prospect
Jefferson Burdick Award for Contributions to The Hobby (this goes to a person)

Video Box Break and Review: 2008 Topps Baseball Updates & Highlights Presents 2008 Topps Allen & Ginter Blaster

Base Set: 39 of 350

Short Set: 39 of 300
Short-Prints (1:2): 0 of 50

Parallels
4 Minis: M. Kobayashi, R. Durham, E. Dukes, M. Scherzer
3 Black Bordered Minis (1:10): B. Jenks, A. Wainwright, A. Miller

Inserts
4 U.S. States: S. Victorino, J. Maurer, T. Tankersley, S. McClung
1 World Leader (1:12): O. Arias Sanchez (Costa Rica)

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.

---

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?

---

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.

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.

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

Video Box Break and Review: 2008 Topps Updates & Highlights Hobby

One Hobby box of 2008 Topps Updates & Highlights (paid $49)
36 packs per box, 10 cards per pack.

Part One


Part Two


Part Three



The Pulls

Base Set: 308 of 330 (93.33%)

Parallels
1 Chrome Refractor Rookie (55 cards, one-per-box): M. Macri
18 Gold Foils (1:2)
7 Gold (1:5, numbered to 2008 copies): S. Casey, R. Brignac (RC), C. Izturis, G, Sherrill, J. de la Rosa, B. Zobrist, D. Uggla All-Star

Inserts
2 Mickey Mantle Story (10 cards, 1:18)
5 2009 World Baseball Classic (25 cards, 1:9) A. Gonzalez, Pujols, K-Rod, Chin-Lung Hu, KosFu
6 Year in Review (58 cards, 1:6) M. Teixeira, Glavine, C. Buchholz, B. Phillips, J. Thome, D. Wells
2 1986 Mets Ring of (Dis)Honor (10 cards, 1:18) R. Darling, D. Gooden
2 Ring of Honor (11 cards, 1:18) L. Aparicio, D. Snider
6 First Couples (41 cards, 1:6) Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Reagan, Bush (41), Clinton
1 Take Me Out to the Ballgame (one card, 1:72)

Autogamers
1 All-Star Stitches (64 cards, 1:44*) D. Navarro

*Overall odds of finding any autograph or gamer: 1:36/packs.

And Now A Special Comment.


There. I did it.

For the first time in nearly five months, I've purchased a Topps product.

Please do not construe my actions as some sort of endorsement of Topps' recent actions -- especially regarding their flagship baseball brand. It's just that some gimmicks are (to sound a bit Orwellian) a little more equal than others.

Beauty queen politicians and manufactured fake-error cards? Those I can live with -- provided they do not screw with the integrity of the rest of product, especially the base set. If you are able to ignore the gimmicks, you can pull actual rookie cards of Evan Longoria, Jay Bruce, KosFu, et al, out of a pack of 2008 Topps Updates & Highlights. (In fact, I pulled all three from this particular waxbox.)

What I have zero-tolerance for is bullshit.

Poley Walnuts, Kazuo Uzuki, and Johan Santana's "no-hitter" were all bullshit and everyone knew it. But what puzzles this collector/fake journalist are these three little letters. Why?

Why is Topps doing this?

Seriously, Topps: What the H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks are you thinking? (Or are you even thinking at all?)

But the lack of respect Topps has shown hobbyists with these gimmicks in this foul Year of our Lord Two-Thousand and Eight, is not what bothers me.

Really, it doesn't. There have been other trading card companies that failed to take The Hobby seriously, and in the end they got what they deserved (i.e. Pinnacle).

What bothers me is the lack of respect Topps has shown to itself and to the legacy of the Topps flagship.

57 years of history may not mean much to the current "Powers That Be" at Topps; but they mean something to this collector/fake journalist.

Topps Baseball is a slice of Americana (and not the Donruss kind) that dates back to 1952. It's an American institution that appeals to everyone from the hardcore collector, to the casual hobbyist, to the new father whose only cardboard-related purchase of the entire year is a Topps factory set he bought at the Wal-Mart so he can pass it down to his newborn son someday.

Topps Baseball is a product that needs no gimmicks. It's history IS it's gimmick. It's "Heritage," if you will.

But sadly, The Powers That Be at Topps feel that that no longer matters. Hence, the fake cards of fake players, and politicians Photoshopped into the Yankee Stadium grandstands.

---

But believe it or not, I could live with all of this. After all, I have a very high tolerance for BS. But what really sent this collector over-the-edge, was Topps' handling of the Kosuke Fukudome "Rookie" in Topps Series Two. If Topps wanted to pull KosFu's RC from Topps 2 at the last minute and save it for TU&H, fine. Nor did I have an issue with Topps replacing it with a short-printed non-rookie KosFu. What really pissed me off was the fact that Topps did these things WITHOUT bothering to tell anyone until well after the product had been released.

And so with that, I stopped.

It was this despicable act of bait-and-switch that led me to cease collecting any new Topps baseball products. That is until now.

Regardless of where you stand, I hope this is something all collector's can agree on: Card companies have the obligation to inform collectors of what exactly is in their products before they are released. Topps told us all via their website that there would be a rookie card of Kosuke Fukudome in the second series of 2008 Topps Baseball; but then the product went live, and there was no KosFu RC to be found. Topps lied to us all and didn't come clean until weeks later with a press release.

---

So Topps, if you are reading this (and judging from the list IP addresses tracked by my web host, I know you are), please, I beg of you; SHOW SOME FREAKING RESPECT FOR THE HOBBY, FOR COLLECTORS, AND FOR YOURSELVES! You're gimmicking away 57 years of history and tradition, and for what?

Please! Stop it with the gimmicks. Put some additional effort into your product -- especially your flagship. (Last year, I posted some suggestions on "How to Fix Topps Baseball." Go back and read it.) And tell us what's in your product, before you release it.

(Upper Deck, you might want to take this last point into advisement as well.)

I'm willing to let by-gones be by-gones (for now). But make no mistake Topps, you are still "On Notice."

And with that, I leave you with this. If the main drawing card (no pun intended) of a particular product (any product) is a gimmick, then what does that say about the rest of the product?

If The Powers That Be at Topps continue to feel that their annual flagship needs a gimmick, then what does that say about Topps Baseball?

The Review

TU&H is what it is, the third series of 2008 Topps baseball. The last few years, TU&H was released in late-November, but this year it's out in October; meaning that the postseason highlight cards that have been a staple of TU&H are the only thing missing from the base set, and is 100% varmint-free.

Inserts include a continuation of the 2007 Year in Review, a 25-card World Baseball Classic set, and a 41-card set of every President and his Missus. About the only thing good I have to say about that last one is, thankfully, we'll not have to put up with cards of politicians much longer.

The cornerstone of the insert program is "Ring of Honor;" a concept that debuted in Topps Football. Unfortunately, Topps chose to honor the '86 Mets, one of the most dishonorable World Series teams ever.

Oh yeah, you get an autograph or a game jersey card, and a Chrome Rookie Refractor in each waxbox.

The Bottom Line

Hopefully, this is the start of Topps Baseball's long redemption. I got over 90% of a base set with no doubles, and I received an additional WBC insert (both the Pujols and KosFu WBC's were in the same pack).

The designated one-per-box game-used card was an "authentic event-worn piece of a 2008 MLB All-Star festivities" (read: batting practice) jersey card of Tampa Bay catcher Dioner Navarro. For the record, I ripped this box on the day of Game Three of the Phillies/Rays World Series. I hope this isn't bad karma.

By one-per-box Chrome Refractor Rookies was of Matt Macri, a 26 year-old third-baseman from the Twins. (Yay.)

Box Rating: 3 1/2 Gumsticks (out of five)
Product Rating: 3 Gumsticks

... and another thing.

My favorite card I pulled, and perhaps my favorite card I've pulled this year, is #UH6. Yamid Haad is a career minor-leaguer who played one game for the '99 Pirates and seventeen games for San Francisco in '05. The 30 year-old catcher started the 2008 season with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons and on June 12th, he got the call.

One week later Cleveland signed veteran backup catcher Sal Fasano and sent Yamid back to Buffalo without getting as much as an at-bat.

Even though Yamid Haad didn't play a single inning for the 2008 Indians, it didn't stop Topps from commemorating his seven days with the Tribe with his own Topps baseball card.

Laugh all you want, but Yamid cashed a Major League paycheck this year, and you didn't.

So, what is this?

Ummm, nevermind. (UPDATE #2)

UPDATE #2: A second upside-down Jay Bruce RC has shown up on eBay; however, no other gimmicks the likes of which we saw in Topps 1 & 2, A&G, BowChro, or Heritage have yet to appear. All of which leads to the question: Should I consider these gimmick cards? Stealth variations? Or actual error cards?

Or do you even care either way?

---

UPDATE: The Cardboard Junkie thinks that these two error cards may not be legit. After further review, and until more of these begin to make their way onto eBay, I yield to The Junkie's judgment.

---

Well, that didn't take long.





(H/T Holy Hitter of SCU)

The countdown is on.

The Chris Harris Topps Boycott is well into it's fourth month, but it may be coming to an end. According to The Cardboard Junkie, it appears that 2008 Topps Updates & Highlights is now live.

Here's the deal: If it appears that Topps didn't include any stealth gimmick cards in TU&H, then two weeks from today I will buy and bust a box of it.

If on the other hand, if there are any cards of furry creatures, contrived errors, or cards of fictional teenage prospects, then it continues.

Cardola: 2008 SP Authentic

One Hobby Box supplied to me for free by Upper Deck of 2008 SP Authentic (street value: $100)
24 packs per box, five cards per pack

Part One



Part Two



The Pulls

Base Set: 95 of 191 (49.74%)
1 Double

Short Set: 93 of 100 (93.00%) with one double
1 Rookie Jersey Autograph: (36 cards*, production varies) B. Bocock, numbered to 599
1 Rookie Autographs: (55 cards*, production varies) G. Petit, numbered to 999

Parallels: NONE

Inserts
12 Authentic Achievements (50 cards^): D. Jeter, K. Griffey, Jr., B. Webb, E. Bedard, Dice-K, Big Papi, J. Peavy, J-Roll, Phat Albert, L. Berkman, M. Teixeira, M. Buehrle
12 Marquee Matchups (50 cards^): Beckett/Jeter, Pujols/Lidge, Rivera/Ortiz, Willis/Hafner, F. Hernandez/V. Martinez, Griffey, Jr./Oswalt, P. Martinez/Howard, Wagner/Teixeira, Reyes/Glavine, Zambrano/Fielder, Hamels/Beltran, Smoltz/H. Ramriez

Mirrors
6 Yankee Tedium Luncay (1:4): #2029 (V. Raschi), #2054, 2389, & 2439 (A. Reynolds), #2079 & 2414 (P. Rizzuto)

Autogamers
1 By The Letter Autographed Manufactured Patch (47 players on multiple cards*, production varies): C. Lee "N," numbered to 15#

* Overall odds of finding any autograph: 1:8/packs
^ Overall odds of finding an Authentic Achievements or a Marquee Matchups: one-per-pack
# The Carlos Lee "N" I pulled is serial numbered to 15 copies, but the cumulative production run for all Lee BTL's is 160 copies.

The Bottom Line

It's been seven years since I've busted a box of SP Authentic, and after busting this box I remember why I quit collecting SPA. It's a set that's not even worth the trouble to collect.

Oh sure, you can get autographed rookie cards of Evan Longoria, Jay Bruce, Clayton Kershaw, and an un-autoed, game jersey card of Kosuke Fukudome. But for every RC of these guys, there are dozens players similar in caliber to the two I pulled out of this particular waxbox: Brian Bocock and Gregorio Petit. Caveat Emptor.

All of which begs the question: Why are there 90 different autographed rookie cards (there are two different Evan Longoria's -- one with and one without a jersey swatch) in SPA anyway? Are there really 90 players worthy of an autographed rookie card serial numbered to 999 or less in a $100/waxbox product? How exactly does an AUed RC of a guy who was called up and sent down from Triple-A three times this past season (Petit) and of another guy who hit .220 in Single-A (Bocock) "add value" to a product like this? If I had actually paid the street value of $100 for this box, why would I want to spend another C-Note on another box if what I'm expecting to receive are two AUed RCs of obscure all-glove, no-bat shortstops?

With that said, the rest of the base set -- the part that you can actually collect -- looks great. You can't really tell from the video, but the way the player's jersey number is "spot glossed" into the whitespace is really neato.

Other positives: You get one of 100 different insert cards in each pack, meaning you get something of value for your money. In addition, you get one of those autographed manufactured "By The Letter" patch cards in every box -- for those of you who are into that.

Box Rating: 3 Gumsticks (out of five)
Product Rating: 2 Gumsticks (out of five)

... and another thing.

You know what 2009 SPA needs? (Well, other than about 75 fewer autographed rookie cards) HoloViews.

Yes, HoloViews.

I'm just saying....

Cardola: 2008 Upper Deck X

One Hobby Box supplied to me for free of 2008 Upper Deck X (Market Price: $50-$55)
20 packs per box, eight cards per pack.

Part One



Part Two



The Pulls

Base Set: 100 of 100
13 Doubles

Parallels
20 Die-Cuts (one-per-pack)

Inserts*
10 UDxponential (90 cards): B. Phillips, C. B. Young, C. Guillen, H. Matsui, Ichiro, J. Kent, J. Varitek, ManRam, P. Konerko, Pronk Hafner
7 UDxponential² (75 cards) : B. Roberts, C. Jones, D. Lee, J. Papelbon, M. Holliday, P. Fielder, T. Tulowitzki
2 UDxponential³ (25 cards) : Big Papi, J-Roll
1 UDxponential⁴ (10 cards): A. Soriano

* Odds of finding any UDxponential are one-per-pack

Mirrors
5 Yankee Tedium Lunacy (1:4): #5959 & 5977 (D. Jeter), #6484 (R. Johnson), #6509 (M. Rivera), #6534 (J. Posada)

Autogamers
2 UDX Signatures (30 cards, 1:10): E. Meek, J. Newman

The Bottom Line

I've now busted a full Hobby box of this stuff, and I still don't understand what Upper Deck was going for with UDX.

Just about every one of the one-per-pack die-cuts has either A) A huge roller mark running the length of the card, or B) Is not properly die-cut.

I had no idea who the two AU were until I looked them both up on baseball-reference.com. Both Evan Meek and Josh Newman are 25-year-old rookie middle-inning relievers.

UDX-JO!!!!!!

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

I hope Upper Deck comes to its senses and brings back Fleer Ultra for 2009. (And by that I mean "Fleer Ultra" and not "Ultra SE.")

Cardola: 2008 UD Masterpieces

Well, here goes ten year's of credibility right down the drain!

One box supplied to me (for free) by Upper Deck of 2008 UD Masterpieces Baseball
Twelve packs per box, six cards per pack.

The Video



The Pulls

Base Set: 58 of 120 (48.33%)
2 doubles

Short Set: 52 of 90 (57.78%)
6 Short Prints (1:2): F. Robinson, N. Ryan, L. Brock, D. Jeter, R. Jackson, J. Carter

Parallels
4 Black: L. Berkman, W. Ford, Chutley, J. Bench
1 Red: M. Young
1 Blue (numbered to 125): H. Killebrew

Inserts: NONE

Mirrors
4 Yankee Tedium Lunacy (1:3): #320 (T. Lazzeri), 345 (B. Meusel), 370 (E. Combs) 5934 (T. Martinez)

Autogamers
1 Captured on Canvas (1:12): N. Markakis
1 Autographed Captured on Canvas: B. McCann

The Bottom Line

Yeah, yeah, I got my precious six SPs. I'm happy. I still don't think SPing the base set was a smart idea though. Like I said, I love the base set but UD should had left well enough alone.

If you recall, in the Hobby box I paid for, I pulled a blue framed parallel of Hideki Matsui. This card was serial-numbered to 50 copies. In this box I got a framed blue parallel of Harmon Killebrew, but this one was numbered to 125 copies. (The frame on the Matsui is a slightly lighter shade of blue.)

There are a grand total of ten parallel insert sets in 2008 UD Masterpieces; however, Upper Deck does not list anywhere on their website, or on the pack wrapper, what the specific production figures for each set are. So, even though I pulled a Harmon Killebrew parallel numbered to 125 copies, I have no idea whether it is a "Deep Blue Linen" or a "Perisan Blue Linen."

I also can not determine whether the Michael Young red parallel I pulled is a "Hades," "Red Linen," or a "Pinot Red."

And now the $64,000 question: If I had actually paid hard currency for this box, instead of getting it for free, would I have been happy with this box? Well, it was better than the one I actually did pay for. But if I had spent $70-$75 for this box, I don't believe I would have gotten my money's worth.

Box Rating: 2 Gumsticks
Product Rating: 2 1/2 Gumsticks

Video Box Break and Review: 2008 UD Masterpieces Hobby

By the time this gets published, I'll be in DC watching the US vs. Cuba World Cup Qualifier. America, Fuck Yeah!

One Hobby box of 2008 UD Masterpieces (paid $75)
12 packs per box, six cards per pack.

The Video



The Pulls

Base Set: 58 of 120 (48.33%)
3 doubles

Short Set: 53 of 90 (58.89%)
5 Short Prints (1:2): C. Fisk, J. Bench, D. Mattingly, R. Clemente, A. Pujols

Parallels
4 Black: R. Yount, J-Roll, C. Crawford, L. Brock
1 Blue (numbered to 50): H. Matusi

Inserts: NONE

Mirrors
5 Yankee Tedium Lunacy (1:3): #1625 (J. Gordon), 3742 (R. White), 6122 & 6147 (P. O'Neill), 6197 (R. Clemens)

Autogamers
1 Captured on Canvas (1:12): J. Willingham
1 Autographed Captured on Canvas: M. Cain

The Review

Let me get this out of the way. I love the 2008 UD Masterpieces base set. I loved it last year, and the base set was the sole reason why I spent $75 on this box. With that said, I despise what Upper Deck has done to this product. While I don't normally like short-prints in a base set, I actually thought that adding them wasn't such a bad idea in a product like this. As long as it was still feasible for the collector to build a full set, I had no problem with it. Boy was I wrong.

I guess I'm still bitter over getting only one SP in the Blaster box I ripped a few days ago. But I'm really bitter about getting gypped out of an SP in this Hobby box, and pulling an additional Yankee Tedium Lunacy.

(Are you like me and absolutely dread pulling YTLs from Upper Deck packs? Good.)

And then there's the reason why Hobby packs are $7/pack: the hits. Like I said, I bought this exclusively for the base cards and really could care less about jerseys and autographs. I'm not a (term to describe nitwit collectors that will no longer be used on this site), so allow me to play Devil's Advocate here. If I paid $75 for a waxbox and my two autogamers were Josh Willingham and Matt Cain, I'd be pissed. Seriously UD, Josh Willingham and Matt Cain? Is that the best you could come up with for a $7/pack product? WTF?

The Bottom Line

In addition to receiving one fewer SP and being saddled with one more YTL, I received three base set doubles. ANY doubles in a waxbox this small (72 cards) is inexcusable. Three doubles AND getting shafted out of a short-print should be a felony.

Box Rating: 1 1/2 Gumsticks, a total waste of $75.
Product Rating: 2 1/2 Gumsticks

... and another thing

The two gamers I pulled are so thick, neither one fits into a standard penny-sleeve.

1st Impressions: Razor Signature Baseball

Gellman over at Sports Cards Uncensored had the scoop a few days ago (pay no attention to the article that proceeds it) on the much-anticipated debut of Razor Baseball -- a product I've labeled "The Bowman Killer." But in perusing the checklist, I found a few things that were a bit strange.

For one thing, the posted checklist for 2008 Razor Signature Baseball doesn't list the first 100 cards in the base set -- just cards #101-200. There were also a few minor details that were omitted such as street date and MSRP for a pack.

I contacted Brian Gray of Razor to clarify and his response is that the first 100 cards in the set are all un-autographed base cards. The next 100 cards will repeat the checklist of the first 100 and each will feature a "trapped cut autograph."

What is a trapped cut autograph, you ask? It appears that in lieu of stickers (or for that matter, on-card autographs) Razor had each player sign what looks like a cardboard "tab." The tabs will then be mounted (or "trapped") into the card -- kind of like a cut signature.

Each pack will contain five cards (one of which is autographed) and will retail for an MSRP of $12.50. Waxboxes will have 10 packs. The street date is December 1st, which is about a week before the scheduled release of 2008 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects.

Video Box Break and Review: 2008 UD Masterpieces Blaster

One Blaster Box of 2008 UD Masterpieces (paid $19.97)
Eight packs per box, five cards per pack

The Video



The Pulls

Base Set: 36 of 120 (30.00%)

short set: 35 of 90 (38.89%)
1 Short-Print: Y. Berra

Parallels: NONE

Inserts: NONE

Mirrors
2 Yankee Tedium Lunacy: #3395 (R. Maris) & 3420 (B. Richardson)

Autogamers: NONE

The Review

Last year's retail version of UD Masterpieces was one of the best value breaks 2007. While the Hobby edition yielded an on-card autograph, three gamers, and a multi-colored galaxy of parallels in each 18-count waxbox, the $7/pack MSRP priced out most collector's who only wanted the base set. But no fear, as UD released a stripped-down version of Masterpieces for retail at only $2.99/pack. And there was much rejoicing. (Yay!)

This year's UD Masterpieces appears to follow the same formula, with a $7/pack Hobby version for J C, and a $2.99/pack retail version for A C. But there's one huge difference between Hobby and retail this year, and this is 2008 UD Masterpieces' fatal flaw.

Upper Deck expanded the base set from 90 to 120 cards, which is good because last year's set was a bit on the small-side. But those extra thirty cards in this year's set are short-printed. While this may appear to be a bad thing, it appeared that '08UDM would still be somewhat collectible. The sell-sheets for this product stated that each 12-pack Hobby box would yield six of the 30 SPs, for an insertion ratio of 1:2/packs -- a ratio that is easily manageable a collector to build his/her base set. But in this eight-pack Blaster box I just ripped (which actually had nine packs in it), I got only one SP.

So Upper Deck changed the insertion ratios from Hobby to retail from 1:2 to 1:8. Big deal, right? The problem is, there is nothing on the Blaster box mentioning this change; which would lead a collector to assume that the SPs are inserted into retail packs at the same 1:2 ratio as Hobby. That ain't good.

The Bottom Line

I pulled just under 40% of the short-set, and got two more of those annoying Yankee Tedium Lunacies. The Yankee Tedium Lunacy cards are about as out of place in this product (and in Goudey, for that matter) as those A-Rod 500 Homerun Bullshit Waste-of-Space cards were in last year's Allen & Ginter and Heritage. On the bright side, each pack that contained a YTL had five cards in it, so I guess works out in the end. Also, as I mentioned above, this Blaster had nine packs. So if you bought the one that has only seven, my apologies.

Don't get me wrong, UD Masterpieces is still a great set to try and build -- and this collector will. But getting only one SP in a Blaster when you were led to believe that you were getting four is really, really, bothersome.

Product Rating: 2 Gumsticks (out of five)

This would easily be a 3 Gumstick product if the SPs were seeded 1:2. It would be a 4 Gumstick product if it didn't have SPs at all.

... and another thing.

In addition to the SPs, there are no mention of insertion ratios for any of the other inserts, parallels, autogamers, or Yankee Tedium Lunacies anywhere. At last year's Hawaii Trade Conference, Richard McWilliam himself said that such insertion ratios would be returning to pack wrappers. We're still waiting on that Dick.

Video Box Break and Review: 2008 Upper Deck Goudey Hobby

One Hobby box of 2008 Upper Deck Goudey (paid $64)
18 packs per box, eight cards per pack.

Part One



Part Two




The Pulls
Base Set: 127 of 330

Short Set: 117 of 200
3 SPs: Bo Jackson, G. Perry, T. Gwynn
2 U.S. Presidents: T. Jefferson, R. B. Hayes
1 1936: P. Fielder
3 Black-Back Sport Royalty: C. Cooper, A. Dawson, G. Hall, Jr.
1 Green-Back Sport Royalty: K. Durant

Parallels
6 Red Backs: A. Jones, H. Matsui, S. Anderson, P. Fielder, R. Kiner, J. Guthrie
2 Blue Backs: K. Escobar, D. Eckstein
2 Green Backs (numbered to 88 copies): R. Oswalt, M. Cain

Inserts
2 Hit Parade of Champions: B. Worthlessberger, T. Brady

Mirrors
4 Yankee Tedium Lunacies: #6018 (P. O'Neill), 6043 (T. Martinez), 6088 (D. Jeter), and 6093 (T. Martinez)

Autogamers
1 Goudey Autograph: Towelie
1 Goudey Memorabilia: J. Papelbon

The Review

It's hard to believe that I wrote the preview for 2008 Upper Deck Goudey on the opening week of the season, and as I write this review the Phillies and Brewers and are opening the Playoffs.

The big difference with '08 Goudey is, of course, size. Some collectors hate the standard sized cards, but I like 'em. It's 2008, not 1934. Deal with it.

The big flaw with the product is the set size; specifically the massive amount of short-prints. 130 of the 330 cards are SPed which seems a bit excessive. And when you look at the SPs, it's clear the UD overdid it.

Did we really need more cards of dead presidents? Of course not. And what about the 1936 subset? What was the point of that?

The minis are now relegated to parallel status, which as Allen & Ginter has shown, seems to be what Hobbyists want (although, not this one). And like with A&G there are five different varieties of mini parallels.

Wrapping up Goudey are the requisite "hits" and Yankee Tedium Lunacy.

The Bottom Line

The collation was great, with ten SPs and ten parallels. I also received two "hits," four Yankee Tedium Lunacies, and two Berk Ross Parade of Champions.

Collation Review: 4 Gumsticks (out of Five)
Product Review: 3 1/2 Gumsticks

Why I Have No Problem/A Huge Problem with the Topps Sarah Palin Card(s).

I guess it was inevitable -- especially after yesterday's announcement that UD will insert into SP Authentic parody cards of the VP candidates -- that Topps would include into Updates & Highlights a Campaign '08 insert of Sarah Palin. Many of you may be surprised to read this, but I have no problem with it. If only to provide "closure" to the set, the Republican Vice Presidential candidate serves a purpose and is a welcome addition to '08TU&H. (For the record: A Campaign '08 card Joe Biden was inserted into Series One packs.)

And an "attah-boy" for giving The Hobby a heads-up with a press release. The only thing that has been worse than Topps use of "gimmick" cards, has been the lack of transparency concerning these cards. Card companies have an obligation to inform collectors as to what exactly is in a product before he/she buys it.

With that said, there is one thing that really, really, annoys me about the Sarah Palin Topps insert. It's this....

Topps is going to produce not one, but two different Sarah Palin inserts. The more common one will feature the hockey mom/governor we've all come to know and love. (At least that's what Topps is infering, as they've yet to produce an image of what this card will look like.) The other, more scarcer one is, this, thing.....

Seriously Topps: WTF? None of the other candidates have had two cards, so why start now?

And why just Governor Palin? If Topps is going to start making gimmicked inserts of the candidate's previous indiscretions, then dammit Topps be consistent! I WANT A CARD OF OBAMA WITH A ROLLED-UP $100 BILL UP HIS NOSE! I WANT ALL FIVE OF THE KEATING FIVE! I WANT A JOE BIDEN/NEIL KINNOCK DOUBLE CUT-SIGNATURE AU! (Maybe those are the stealth gimmicks of '08TU&H?)

So, thumbs up to Topps for Sarah Palin: Governor of Alaska; thumbs down to Sarah Heath: Miss Wasilla 1984.

UPDATED: UD, Over the Limit?

UPDATE AND CLAIRIFICATION (9/23): Chris Carlin from Upper Deck wrote Stale Gum to clarify.

The MLBPA considers Upper Deck's flagship set and First Edition as the same product; which makes sense since First Edition is nothing more than a stripped down version of "real" Upper Deck. Therefore, UD Series One and First Edition count as one product, as do UD Series Two and First Edition Update.

Also, factory-set exclusive releases (such as Upper Deck Update) are exempt from the MLBPA's 17-product quota.

---

At last year's Hawaii Trade Conference (which was held in Florida, but that's neither here nor there), the MLBPA decreed that Topps and Upper Deck would be limited to only 17 baseball card releases in 2008. A careful analysis shows that, while Topps appears to be on pace, Upper Deck is scheduled to go over their designated allotment.

Stale Gum complied this information from products already released, sell sheets already issued, and pre-sell solicitations. Baring any last-minute changes, Topps will wrap-up 2008 with 17 baseball card products. However, Upper Deck will issue 20 products -- three more than the MLBPA allows.

(Blogger's Note: I have no idea why Blogger inserts a very large gap whenever I attempt to post a table. Just scroll down.)

List of 2008 Baseball Card Releases

Topps	Upper Deck
Topps Series One	Upper Deck Series One
Topps Series Two	Upper Deck Series Two
Topps Updates & Highlights	Upper Deck Update
Opening Day	First Edition
Topps Chrome	First Edition Update
Bowman	SP Authentic
Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects	SPx
Bowman Chrome	SP Legendary Cuts
Topps Heritage	UD Goudey
Topps Heritage High Numbers	Artifacts/A Piece of History*
Allen & Ginter	UDX
Finest	UD Masterpieces
Co-Signers	Spectrum
Moments & Milestones	Ballpark Collection
Stadium Club	Baseball Heroes
Topps Sterling	MLB Documentary
Triple Threads	Sweet Spot
	Ultimate Collection
	Premiere
	Timeline

* Since Artifacts and A Piece of History are, for all intents and purposes, the same product, I'm treating them as one.

Developing...

Find What's Missing, with Upper Deck X

UPDATE: WE HAVE A WINNAH!

JayBee correctly noticed that there are no images of the actual UDX base cards. And if you check out The Cardboard Junkie's review of UDX on APAD, you'll understand why they were omitted from the pres release.

JayBee, congratulations. You've won a 2008 Topps card of teenage Japanese sensation Kazuo Uzuki!

---

Let's play a game called, "Find What's Missing."

Below, is the text and attached images I received in an e-mail from Upper Deck today promoting their new card set Upper Deck X.

Here's the question, "What's the one thing that's missing from this press release?"

Here's a hint: You'd think they'd at least show it.

Ready? FIND WHAT'S MISSING!

---

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Terry Melia – 760-929-3055
terry_melia@upperdeck.com
Public Relations Manager
The Upper Deck Company

Upper Deck Marks the Spot with Its New ‘X’ Baseball Launch

Boasting two Upper Deck X autographs and 20 die-cut parallels per box,
the 2008 MLB Upper Deck X release will surely ignite collectors’ fires!

North Las Vegas, NV (September 17, 2008) – With die-cut and stunning foil designs, not to mention a stirring array of autograph and memorabilia cards, the 2008 MLB Upper Deck X release will keep collectors cracking packs for more. An impressive player lineup is further complimented by the set’s inclusion of such popular inserts as Upper Deck’s “Yankee Stadium Legacy Collection” and “Presidential Cut” signature cards.

“We’re extremely pleased with this year’s MLB Upper Deck X launch,” said Jason Masherah, Upper Deck’s senior brand manager. “The die-cut parallels are amazing and the ‘Xponential Dimensional’ foil cards will stand out against any card ever produced.”

With the MLB season now in its final two weeks of the regular season – and the Yankees missing out on the postseason for the first time in 13 years – Upper Deck’s “Yankee Stadium Legacy Collection” inserts now hold even deeper meaning for longtime fans and collectors of the Bronx Bombers. What’s more, it appears the long-suffering Chicago Cubs just might make it to the Fall Classic after all as the team is currently sporting the best record in the National League (91-58).

“It’s been an incredible season so far,” added Masherah. “And who would have guessed that the Tampa Bay Rays at this juncture would be leading both the Red Sox and Yankees in the A.L. East?”

The 100-card Upper Deck X regular set is further bolstered by four different levels of the 200-card “Xponential Dimensional” foil insert collection that falls at a ratio of one card per pack. With two UD X autographs, five YSL cards, 20 die-cut parallels and 20 “Exponential Dimensional” foil cards packing out in every box, collectors have hit the proverbial home run when it comes time to cracking packs of 2008 MLB Upper Deck X.

The autographed lineup includes such notable mainstays as Derek Jeter and Ken Griffey Jr., along with up-and-comers like Evan Longoria, Ian Kennedy, Clay Buchholz and Alexei Ramirez. The Upper Deck X memorabilia cards have an even bigger assortment of top-tier talent including names like Derek Lee, Daisuke “Dice-K” Matsuzaka, David Ortiz, Jermaine Dye, Travis Hafner, Huston Street, Torii Hunter, Johnny Damon and Grady Sizemore.

The 2008 MLB Upper Deck X product carries a suggested retail price of $3.99 per eight-card pack with 20 packs per box. The product is available in stores now.

CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS:

o UDx Signatures, two per box on average!
o One UDxponential dimensional rainbow foil card per pack!
o One Die-Cut Parallel card per pack!
o Yankee Stadium Legacy Inserts randomly inserted!
o Yankee Stadium Legacy Memorabilia Cards, one per case on average!
o Yankee Stadium Legacy Buybacks, one per case on average!
o Look for Signs of History Presidential Cut Signatures!

PRODUCT BREAKDOWN:

Regular Cards and Rookies
o 100 Regular Cards

Inserts and Parallel Cards
o Regular Card Die Cut Parallel Cards
o UDxponential (Huge 200 Card set!)
o Yankee Stadium Legacy
o Yankee Stadium Legacy Buybacks

Autograph Cards (2 per box, on average)
o UDx Signatures
o Yankee Stadium Legacy Buybacks
o Signs of History Presidential Cut Signatures
o Memorabilia Cards
o Yankee Stadium Legacy Memorabilia Cards
o Yankee Stadium Legacy Buybacks

About Upper Deck

Upper Deck is a premier sports and entertainment publishing company which delivers a portfolio of relevant, innovative and multi-dimensional product experiences to collectors, sports and entertainment enthusiasts. For more information on Upper Deck and its products please visit www.upperdeck.com

##################################

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intended only for the named recipients and may
contain confidential information. If you are not one
of the intended recipients, please do not duplicate
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Blaster Break: 2008 UD Goudey

It's been a while since I've ripped anything new. Of course, that ain't all my fault. But I was in Target and found the last Blaster of UD Goudey buried behind a stack of 10 Opening Day and Topps Series 2 Blasters.

Base Set: 55 of 330 (16.67%)
(Five doubles)

Short set: 49 of 200 (24.50%)
2 Short Prints (201-230): C. Ripken, Jr., W. Ford
1 US President: G. Washington
1 1936: D. Jeter
2 Sport Royalty: D. Jeter, T. Bradshaw

Parallels:
3 Red Backs: D. Mattingly; '36 J. Santana; Sport Royalty Amy van Dyken

Inserts:
1 Berk Ross: R. Jackson

Mirrors:
1 Yankee Tedium Lunacy: P. Rizzuto, for The Money Store

Notes:

Both the Terry Bradshaw Sport Royalty and the Derek Jeter 1936 SPs have green-ink backs as opposed to black. For Upper Deck's sake, I hope this was an honest mistake and not a stealth gimmick.

I had no idea the Berk Ross inserts were that small!

I've now ripped three Blasters and every one of the mini parallels I've received were from the SPed subsets.

I pulled three Yankee SPs, a Mattingly mini, a Reggie Berk Ross insert, and a Yankee Tedium Lunacy of The Scooter. Dare I say it....

YANKEE-JO!!!!!!

For the final time...

This is a legit error card.



This is a gimmick card.



And this... The jury is still out on.



Got it? Good.

1st Impressions: 2008 Upper Deck Update

Upper Deck will finish off their flagship baseball card set with a 200-card Update set.

So what, you say. OK, here's the cool part: UD is going old school by issuing it exclusively as a factory set. In other words, its an update set the way an update set should be.

But wait, there's more! Each set will be packaged in a custom-fit box big enough to fit the whole 1000-card set.

Upper Deck Baseball is truly "The Collector's Choice."

Street Date: November 4th.

Video Box Break and Review: 2008 Upper Deck Goudey Blaster

One Blaster box of 2008 Upper Deck Goudey (paid $19.97)
Eight packs per box, eight cards per pack.

For the Record: This is the Blaster box I did a pack-akkake with on APAD.

The Pulls



Base Set: 61 of 330 (18.48%)

Short Set: 57 of 200 (28.50%)
1 SPs: A. Kaline
1 U.S. Presidents: G. Cleveland
0 1936
2 Sport Royalty: A. Pujols, Bitter Gordie

Parallels
2 Red Backs: 1936 A. Pujols, Sport Royalty Chutley
1 Blue Back: Sport Royalty J. Evans

Inserts: NONE

Mirrors
2 Yankee Tedium Lunacy

Autogamers: NONE

UPDATED!!!! 1st Impressions: Various Topps Late-Season Products

UPDATED!!!!

Updates & Highlights

The sell sheets for TU&H have been posted for a while on this one. There are the usual inserts, and one-per-box autogamers. But the selling point is, of course, the 330-card base set.

A certain player who should have been card #645 in series two, is listed on the checklist as card #UH1. Then again, this is Topps, and given their track record this year I wouldn't put it past Topps to find a way to gimmick this up as well.

Stadium Club Retail

2008 Stadium Club is starting to look a lot like last year's Ultra SE after all, as Topps will release a stripped down version for retail. That the good news. The bad news: I finally figured out what's actually in Stadium Club.

Of the 150 cards in the base set, 50 are gimmicked "rookies" each numbered to only 1499 copies. If that's not bad enough, while each Hobby five-card pack will have a base rookie, retail has a "Retail Exclusive Rookie First Day Issue Parallel Card." So, are we supposed to believe that the base set rookies are Hobby-exclusive and the retail (read: the version for the rest of us) is stuck with a one-per-pack parallel?

That would royally suck.

Topps Heritage High Numbers

UPDATE:

Base Set: 220 cards (numbered 501-720). 45 cards are of rookies, 35 will be short-printed -- no odds stated.

Each pack will have two cards from the Topps Updates & Highlights set -- therefore giving you an excuse NOT to buy TU&H.

Inserts: 15 Rookie Performers, 10 Then & Now, 10 2008 Flashbacks.

Two Chrome/Refractors per waxbox.

One Autogamer per waxbox.

Street Date: Oct. 13

1st Impressions: Upper Deck MLB Documentary.

On the same week Topps killed off Moments & Milestones, Upper Deck has unveiled plans for another equally massive, and equally confusing, trading card set.

2008 MLB Documentary will have 166 cards....

... for each of the 30 teams!

That's right, a 4980-card base set.

In what may be the understatement of the year, UD calls MLB Documentary "The most extraordinary set ever to be completed."

Clearly, UD isn't expecting anyone to actually build the nearly 5000 card base set, and is marketing MLB Documentary towards team set collectors as each card will be sequentially numbered twice (as part of the full set and as a team set).

But even if you only wanted to collect all 166 cards of your favorite team, there's one other issue: price. Each fifteen card waxpack will cost $2.99.

Considering the massive size of the base set, the large size of each team's subset, and the odds of finding any particular card from the team you want to collect in a pack, $2.99 is a lot of money.

Each 24-pack waxbox will yield an autograph, and each pack will have a Gold parallel.

Street Date: Late December 2008

Video Box Break and Review: 2008 Upper Deck Series Two Blaster

Nope, I still ain't buying Topps.

One Blaster box of 2008 Upper Deck Series Two (paid $19.97 + tax)
Ten packs per box, eight cards per pack.

The Pulls



Base Set: 64 of 400 (16.00%)

Inserts
7 Common StarQuest: C. Granderson, P. Martinez, "I", A. Dunn, C. Beltran, P. Konerko, C. Pena
2 Un-Common StarQuest: A. Dunn, D. Jeter
1 Rare StarQuest: Captain Cheeseburger Sabathia
2 Superstar Scrapbook: The World's Fattest Vegetarian, The Big Unit
1 Team USA: D. Espinosa
1 Presidential Predictor: Hillary & McCain

Mirrors
2 Yankee Stadium Legacy: W. Ford, Y. Berra

Gamers
1 UD Game Jersey: D. Jeter

Kazuo Uzuki: Where Are They Now?

With all the controversy about Topps' multitude of series two gimmick cards, let's take a few moments to catch-up on the subject of Topps' series one gimmick card: Kosuke Fukudome's "compatriot," Kazuo "The Uzi" Uzuki.



This rather creepy video was uploaded by "kwatanabe52" (52, get it?) and shows "Uzuki" chilling out in New York's Central Park and signing an autograph for one of his "fans."

In the three months since it was uploaded this video has been played less than 600 times. (I guess that whole "viral marketing" idea didn't work, huh Topps?)

But who is Kazuo Uzuki? We may have found our answer.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Uzuki is actually Sensen Lin, a student at NYU Law School. According to the article, Topps paid Lin $500 for the picture and another $100 to appear in the aformentioned video.

And get this, Lin isn't even Japanese! He's an American of Chinese ancestry.

Upper Deck Lowers Their Standards (just a bit).

In my rage over Topps bait-and-switching the Kosuke Fukudome RC, I passed overlooked this.

I'm not as angry with Upper Deck with this one because, after the series one Hillary fiasco, I think we all were expecting that they'd pull a similar stunt. I'm also not as angry because, unlike the Kosuke Fukudome gimmick card (which, BTW, is still listed on topps.com as base set card #645), both versions of these cards were posted to the checklist on upperdeck.com. That and, again, unlike the Topps Fukudome, it does not compromise the integrity of the base set.

But just because I'm not as mad, it still doesn't mean I like it.

(h/t Orlando Sentinel's Sports Stuff)

On the other hand...

I'm more disappointed than angry over this one. Upper Deck has still not confirmed the existence of this variation. But I guess if you absolutely have to lower yourself to gimmicks, then short-printed variations (which do NOT compromise the base set) are the way to go.

Another Day, Another Bullshit Gimmick.

The Johan Santana card in this picture is card #661 in the 2008 Topps baseball set. (And to think, you actually thought there were only 660 cards in the Topps set?) According to the eBay auction -- the only one of this card offered so far -- card #661 "commemorates" the "no-hitter" that Johan Santana "pitched" for the Mets on September 28, 2008.

Yes, it says September 28, 2008.

(Today's date is June 2, 2008.)

Let the Topps hatred commence in 3, 2, 1...

Video Box Break and Review: 2008 Upper Deck Series Two

Here's my video box break, courtesy of the one and only Dr. Wax Battle.

One Hobby Box of 2008 Upper Deck Series Two (paid $69 + tax)
16 packs per box, 20 cards per pack

The Details

Base Set: 400 cards (no SPs)

Parallels
Gold (numbered to 99)

Inserts
25 USA National Team (1:4)
20 USA Junior National Team (1:4)
12 Presidential Predictors (1:8)
Yankee Stadium Legacy Buybacks

Mirrors
Yankee Stadium Legacy (1:4)

Autogamers
45 USA Baseball Autographs* (numbered to 375 or less)
45 USA Baseball Jersey Autographs* (numbered to 199 or less)
45 USA Baseball Patch Autographs* (numbered to 99 of less)
10 1997 Game Jersey#
10 1998 Game Jersey#
10 1999 Game Jersey#
70 UD Game Jersey#
10 Throwback 1997 UD Game Jersey Patch Parallel#
10 Throwback 1998 UD Game Jersey Patch Parallel#
10 Throwback 1999 UD Game Jersey Patch Parallel#
70 UD Game Jersey Patch Parallel#
45 USA Baseball Jersey#
45 USA Baseball Patch#
Yankee Stadium Legacy Memorabilia Cards#

* = Stated odds: Two-per-box
# = Stated odds: One-per-box

The Pulls



Base Set: 299 of 400 (74.75%)
3 Doubles

Parallels
1 Gold: A. Marte

Inserts
4 USA National Team: B. Wallace, D. Espinosa, J. Smoak, T. Ross
4 USA Junior National Team: J. P. Ramirez, M. Purke, R. Torrez, T. Melville
2 Presidential Predictors: Clinton vs. McCain: Iraq, Obama vs. McCain: Healthcare

Mirrors
4 Yankee Stadium Legacy: #s 6024 (P. O'Neill), 6049 (T. Martinez), 6074 (D. Jeter), 6099 (T. Martinez)

Autogamers
1 USA Baseball Jersey Autographed: T. Hibbs (# to 392)
1 USA Baseball Autographed: K. Skipworth (# to 200)
1 USA Baseball Jersey: T. Medica

The Review

It's the most anticipated rookie card to hit The Hobby in seven years. And thanks to Topps' hubris, 2008 Upper Deck Series Two will have the only Kosuke Fukudome RC on the market for a while.

The rest of the set consists of 300 regular player cards (401-700) arranged alphabetically by team, thirty "Rookie Cards" (701-730), a batch of Season Highlights (731-750), thirty Team Checklists (751-780), and then, yet another score of Season Highlights (781-800). Once again, the Team Checklists -- at least their fronts -- are virtually indistinguishable from the regular player cards.

The main insert -- and timed just in time for the 2008 MLB Draft -- is the return of Team USA. 45 members of last year's National and Junior National teams are represented on inserts and autogamers. This is the first time the Junior National Team has been included in a Major League set, and I have to be honest with you, I'm not sure I'm all that comfortable with cards of high schoolers.

The Bottom Line

This box yielded three-quarters of a full base set with three doubles and all inserts ran as promised. I pulled three Team USA autogamers, and not knowing who the heck these kids (and they are kids) are, I did some research.

I pulled an autographed jersey card (numbered to 392 copies) of Junior National Team pitcher Tyler Hibbs. Hibbs was the Baltimore Sun's All-Metro High School Player of the Year for 2006, and was offered a scholarship by Florida State. Then this past February he was arrested for marijuana possession, and FSU revoked their offer. Hibbs be attending Tallahassee Community College in the fall.

The second autogamer was an autograph (numbered to 200) of Kyle Skipworth, a catcher from Patriot HS in Riverside, CA. Skipworth hit .543 this past year and was named California high school player of the year. Skipworth is expected to be a top-10 pick in this year's draft.

The third and final autogamer is a jersey card of another catcher: Santa Clara University's Tommy Medica. Medica is a sophomore, and as such, is not draft eligible until next year.

I also pulled eight non-gamer USA cards, three of whom (Justin Smoak, Brett Wallace, and Tim Melville) are projected to go in the top-half of the Draft.

Product Rating: 3 1/2 Gumsticks (out of five)

... and another thing.

I think it says something about the state of The Hobby in 2008 that, of the 18 inserts, parallels, mirrors, and autogamers I pulled in this box, only five feature actual Major League players.

1st Impressions: Upper Deck X

Upper Deck X is a new brand that, in a way, hearkens back to what SPx used to be before UD ruined it with gimmicked "rookies."

Each eight-card pack contains six base set cards, one die-cut parallel, and one UDxponential insert.

PRODUCT BREAKDOWN:

Regular Cards and Rookies

o 100 Regular Cards

Inserts and Parallel Cards

o Regular Card Die Cut Parallel Cards (one-per-pack)

o UDxponential (Huge 200 Card set!, one-per-pack)

o Yankee Stadium Legacy (1:4)

o Yankee Stadium Legacy Buybacks

Autograph Cards (2 per box, on average)

o UDx Signatures

o Yankee Stadium Legacy Buybacks

o Signs of History Presidential Cut Signatures

Memorabilia Cards

o Yankee Stadium Legacy Memorabilia Cards

o Yankee Stadium Legacy Buybacks

MSRP: $3.99 for an eight card pack.
Street Date: September

Yes, This Guy Is Real.

In an attempt to gimmick away what little relevance their Bowman brand still had with collectors, Topps has included autographed inserts of over 20 Major League scouts in their just-released 2008 Bowman. But some collectors have had questions about this particular scout card.



This is an autograph of the mysterious "Bowman Scout." Who is this guy? Is he even real? Or do we have another Kazuo Uzuki? Or "Rip Master?"

First off, yes, The Bowman Scout is a real person. He is an actual scout for an American League team who has worked as a consultant for Topps since the early 90s. According to a 2006 interview with Beckett, The Scout (who wishes to remain anonymous) says he attends 300-400 baseball games a year, ranging from high school to the Big Leagues.

Among The Scout's greatest "discoveries:" Mike Piazza (1992 Bowman), Jorge Posada ('94), Matt Holliday ('99), Jose Reyes and Justin Morneau (2001).

And despite his work with Topps, he says he doesn't collect baseball cards.

So now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

2nd Impressions: 2008 Topps Series Two.

Taking a second look at the sell sheet of Series Two Topps, a couple of items I never noticed before quickly piqued my interest.

ITEM #1) FIRST TIME! Every 36-pack HOBBY box contains 1 Autograph or Relic Card! ENHANCED CONTENT! Every 10-pack HTA box contains 1 Autograph and NOW 2 Relic Cards!

Topps announced this about a month ago, and I've been sitting on this for a while. So allow me to vent.

I don't mind pulling gamers. But is the lack of a gamer in each 2008 Topps Series One Hobby box (as Topps has claimed) the real reason why sales of Hobby boxes weren't as brisk as HTA boxes? HTA's have always sold well; long before Topps began stuffing them with autogamers. It's not all that hard to figure out why if you think about it.

A Hobby box has 360 cards which (you would think) should be enough for a full 330-card base set. But over 50 of those 360 cards are not base cards, (i.e. inserts, parallels, fake Japanese pitching "prospects," and the like) leaving Hobby boxes about 30 cards short of a full base set. On the other hand, a 500-card HTA box all but guarantees a full base set (not to mention a healthy stack of doubles, and a lot more inserts). When given the choice between one box type that delivers a full set and another that leaves you short, some collectors are willing to pay the extra $35-$40 for HTA.

The second (and probably most important) culprit are Blasters. More and more Topps collectors -- even those who would never be caught dead buying their cards retail -- are finding Blasters to be a viable option. Collectors who aren't able to invest either $100 for an HTA box, or even $60 for a Hobby box, find $20 Blasters more affordable. (The availability of Blasters, and Blaster-exclusive inserts doesn't hurt either.)

Topps' flagship product has always been a collector's set; a product where the main draw is, has been, and always will be, the base set. Yes, pulling an autograph or a gamer is nice; but base Topps has never about pulling autogamers. Topps has made HTA boxes and Blasters more attractive to the collector, at the expense of Hobby wax. The addition of a hit in each Hobby box will have little, if any, impact on series two Hobby box sales.

Item #2) NEW! Red Hot Rookie Program! Rookie redemption cards numbered 1-20 will be randomly inserted and guaranteed in every Topps Series 2 Hobby and HTA box.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Gimmicked "Rookies"? In FUCKING BASE LEVEL TOPPS? SURELY THEY CAN'T BE SERIOUS?

Sadly, they are serious. (And don't call me Shirley. Ba-Dump-Bump.) Whether you like it or not, gimmicked "Rookies" are coming to base Topps. (Whether you want them or not, is immaterial.)

The scheme is similar to what Topps already has in Finest. Each randomly inserted redemption card will have a number, and Topps will announce over the remainder of the year -- stretching it out to maximize the effect -- what player each redemption card will be good for.

On the original sell-sheets for '08 Topps series two, there are no mentions of these gimmicked rookies so I'm guessing that they are a late addition. Hopefully this gimmick will be a one year aberration.

It's Shenanigans, I Tell Ya! Shenanigans!

So yesterday, I got this press release from Upper Deck touting this particular Daisuke Matsuzaka card.



According to the press release, this rookie card (their words) has been selling for as much as $970.

$970? For an autographed "rookie" card of Dice-K? And serial numbered to only 18 copies?

HOLY SHIT!

There's just one teensy-weensy problem.

This "2007" Upper Deck Premiere "rookie card" of Dice-K was issued.....

... in packs of the recently released 2008 Upper Deck Premiere.

In other words, Upper Deck is trying to pass off a card issued in April 2008, as a card from 2007.

In UD's defense, this card was supposed to be in last year's UD Premiere. (Not wanting to pack it out as a redemption, they pulled it and saved for this year.)

That still doesn't make it a 2007 card, and nor is it a "true" rookie.

It is what it is: an autographed second-year card of a pretty damn good pitcher.

Video Box Break and Review: 2008 Topps Heritage (Hobby)

Part one...




Part two...


The Pulls

Paid $69

Chiptopper: 1 J. Pierre, B. Molina, D. Murphy Advertising Panel

Base Set: 154 of 500 (30.8%)

short set: 146 of 425
Short Prints: 8 of 75 (1:3)

Black Backs: 25 (one-per-pack)

Parallels:
3 Chromes: T. Hunter, R. Oswalt, J. Francis (1:8, numbered to 1959)
1 Chrome Refractor: E. Byrnes (1:29, numbered to 559)

Inserts:
2 New Age Performers: D. Wright, J. Peavy (1:15)
2 Then & Now: E. Mathews & A-Rod, D. Drysdale & J. Peavy (1:15)
1 Baseball Flashbacks: O. Cepeda (1:12)
2 News Flashbacks: Dalai Lama, Hawaii (1:12)

Autogamers:
1 Clubhouse Collection: T. Hunter jersey (1:24)

My two cents on 2008 UD Goudey

Since everybody else seems to be doing "Second Thoughts" columns on UD Goudey, here's mine.

What I like about 2008 UD Goudey

• The size. It's 2008, not 1934. We like our cards 2.5" X 3.5". This was the main flaw of last year's UDG. We get the authenticity of the mini cards, but save 'em for the parallel.
  
• The larger size of the base set. The bigger the base set, the better. You can't complain about 42 extra cards.
  

What I don't like about 2008 UD Goudey

• More SPs. Unfortunately, all those extra cards were added short-prints. Now I wouldn't mind a set with 130 SPs. But the base set is only 330 cards, and the insertion ratio is only 1:2.571/packs. As it is, nearly 40% of the cards in 2008 UDG will be SPed.
  

Here's a rule of thumb for those of you at Topps and UD who are reading this (and I know you are), so you might want to take notes. 25%. No more than 25% of the cards in a base set should be short-printed.

• The Presidents and Sportkings Sports Royalty subsets. This is an instance of UD making cards that they think collector's want, instead of what collector's actually want. Yeah, we get it. It's an election year. But it's time to put this gimmick to bed already. As for the Sports Royalty, this is a subset that would work better as an insert.
  
• The $5 pack price. $5 seems a bit steep for a product like this. Heritage has been at the $3 since it's inception and TA&G has an MSRP of $4 -- although it rarely sells for that.
  

What I'm indifferent about 2008 UD Goudey

• The one-per-box autograph and gamer. Of course, this is the reason why UDG is $5/pack.
  

1st Impressions: 2008 UD Goudey

After the rousing success of 2007 UD Goudey, you knew it was inevitable that a sequel would be forthcoming. The sell sheets are out, and '08UDG looks just as good as the original.

There are two big differences in '08 Goudey and they both involve size. The base set will be a little bigger (330 cards), and with more SPs (130). The design is based on the '34 Goudey's, but with Derek Jeter instead of Lou Gehrig saying, something. The biggest change is the size of the cards themselves, as all base set cards will measure the standard 2.5" X 3.5." (Orignial-sized mini cards have been relegated to a parallel.)

The entire "Sport Royalty" insert -- which, in an Olympic year, has a noticeable Olympic feel to it -- has been folded into the base set and all 60 of them are amongst the SPs. Also short-printed are a '36 Goudey-influenced 20-card "Black & White" subset, 30 of the base cards, and a 20-card US Presidents subset. (Yeah, yeah. I'm sick and tired of President cards as well.)

Each 18 pack, eight-card waxbox should yield (according to UD), one on-card autograph, one game jersey, four Yankee Stadium Legacy mirrors, seven SPs, and seven mini parallels -- which works out to a "hit" in each pack. In addition, each 12-box case will have an original '34 Goudey buyback, one Yankee Stadium Legacy gamer, and one autographed Sports Royalty.

MSRP: $4.99/pack
Street Date: July

何がである"愚かな仕掛けのために日本語か。"

Remember that Topps card of Kazuo Uzuki that everyone forgot about when we all realized it was just another stupid gimmick? Guess what? It was all an April Fool's joke.

Really.

I'm not making that up.

It says so right in the press release.

I'll leave to the judgment of the reader to determine whether the joke is on you the collector, or on Topps.

---

Speaking of gimmicks, Mario over at Wax Heaven has the scoop on 2008 Topps Finest. Yes, the idea Topps ripped off of Dr. Wax Battle the cast of the Topps TV Rip Party is now a subject for an autographed insert. So for those of you patiently waiting for your boxes of Finest to arrive at the local Hobby shop, buyer beware. Your one-per-mini-box "hit" might be this.

Video Box Break: 2008 Upper Deck Series One Super Star Blaster.

EDITOR'S NOTE: After this video was taken, I discovered a Barack Obama Presidential Predictor insert buried in with the base cards.

Reason #423 Why Topps Moments & Milestones is a Joke.

Is this what Topps meant by "Added Value in Every Pack?"

Courtesy of the must-read Sports Collectors Daily:

"Topps is confirming that because of what it calls 'a manufacturing error' in the recently-released 2008 Topps Moments & Milestones Baseball, card numbers 145-189 feature more than one red parallel.

"By design, each of the Rookie Cards 145-189 should only have one Red Parallel (1 of 1), but because of the error the subjects have an additional 20 Red Parallels."

In other words, the only "true" ones-of-one in TM&M -- and the only ones-of-one that might actually be worth more than the price of a waxpack -- are actually 20s-of-one.

Congratulations, suckers!

Video Box Break and Review: 2008 Topps Heritage Target Blaster

We interrupt this Fleer tribute to present a video Blaster box break of 2008 Topps Heritage.

Seven packs + one "Bonus Pack" per box; eight cards per pack. (Paid $19.97 + tax)



Base Set: 46 of 500

short set: 43 of 425
Short Prints: 3 of 75 (1:3) K. Gregg; Snell, Capps, Maholm, Gorzelany; Verlander All-Star

Variations
7 Black Backs: B. Lidge, P. LoDuca, B. Penny, C-L Hu RC, M. Cameron, A. Lind, R. Ankiel

Parallels
1 Chrome: J.J. Putz (1:15, numbered to 1959)

Inserts
1 New Age Performer: Ichiro (1:15)
1 Then & Now: Aparicio & Reyes (1:15)
4 T-205: C-H Hu, R. Howard, V. Guerrero, W. Balentien

Autogamers
NONE

1st Impressions: Upper Deck series two

Second verse, is different as the first. Well not really, but the second series of 2008 Upper Deck is essentially the same as the first. Just replace the '69 OPC inserts with Team USA and add a parallel.

400 card base set with a parallel numbered to 99 copies

4 Team USA/Junior Team USA inserts per box
At least one Hillary Clinton Presidential Predictor

4 Yankee Stadium Legacy mirrors per box

1 Team USA autograph numbered to 375 copies per box
1 Team USA autographed gamer numbered to 199 per box
1 Team USA autographed patch gamer numbered to 99 per 12-box case
1 gamer of an actual Major League player per box

All that and Yankee Stadium Legacy gamers and buybacks, and cut cards of dead presidents to chase after.

16 packs per box, 20 cards per pack (MSRP $4.99)
Street Date: June 3rd

When Everything is Scarce, Nothing Is.

Just how much of a joke is Topps Moments and Milestones?

Number of days since it's gone "live:" 8

Number of "ones-of one" currently for sale on eBay: 181

Number of "ones-of-one" already sold on eBay: 168

1st Impressions: 2008 Fleer

According to Upper Deck's Fleer website, 2008 Fleer baseball will go live this week.

Ordinarily, when I do one of these product previews, I show some promos and give some details about the set's composition and inserts. But I can't. There's nothing on the Fleer website stating when exactly is in 2008 Fleer baseball.

No pictures.

No checklists.

Just a date, and a name.

(If anybody has any info on this product, I'd greatly appreciate it.)

I Take Back Everything I Said About 2008 Topps Heritage.

Just read the Cardboard Junkie's rant on the "super duper ultra whooper collectors take it in the pooper short print gimmick cards" in 2008 Topps Heritage.

Topps, you are officially "On Notice"

If you're ever going to catch for Houston, be sure to bring a towel.

This is just too easy.

Box Break and Review: 2008 Topps Heritage

One Hobby box of 2008 Topps Heritage (Paid $62)
24 packs per box, eight cards per pack (MSRP $2.99)

The Details

Chiptoppers:
One Stamped 1959 Buyback (1:2 boxes)
One of Advertising Panel (one-per-box)

Base Set: 500 cards

Short Set: 425 cards
Short Prints: 75 cards (1:3)

Variations
Black Backs: 110 cards (one-per-pack)

Parallels
Chrome: 100 cards (1:8, numbered to 1959)
Chrome Refractors: 100 cards (1:29, numbered to 559)
Black Bordered Chrome Refractors: 100 cards (1:315, numbered to 59)

Inserts
New Age Performers: 15 cards (1:15)
Then & Now: 10 cards (1:15)
Baseball Flashbacks: 10 cards (1:12)
News Flashbacks: 10 cards (1:12)

Autogamers*
Clubhouse Collection Relics: 40 cards (production varies)
Clubhouse Collection Dual Relics: five cards (1:5582)
Flashback Stadium Relic: 10 cards (1:162)
Dual Flashback Relic: five cards (1:55,000)
Real One Autograph: 46 cards (1:247)
Real One Special Edition: 46 cards (1:835)
Real One Dual Autograph: 10 cards (1:6869)
Flashback Autograph: 10 cards (1:14,900)
Clubhouse Collection Auto Relic: 10 cards (1:6875)
Flashback Auto Stadium Relic: five cards (1:22,100)
1959 Cut Signatures: 10 cards (1:98,200)

*Odds of finding an autograph or game used card: 1:24

The Pulls

Chiptoppers
1 1959 Harvey Kuenn Buyback
1 A-Rod, Huston Street, M. Grudzielanek Advertising Panel

Base Set: 156 of 500 (31.20%)

Short Set: 148 of 425 (34.82%)
Short-Prints: 8 of 75 (10.67%) R. Freel, J. Peavy, F. Lopez, B. Giles, M. Owings, J. Contreras, O. Husdon All-Star, J. Beckett All-Star

Variations
24 Black Backs

Parallels
3 Chrome: B. Penny, T. Hudson, M. Ordonez
1 Chrome Refractor: J. Isringhausen
1 Black Bordered Refractor: A-Rod

Inserts
24 sticks of gum
1 New Age Performers: M. Holliday
1 Then & Now: D. Drysdale & J. Peavy
2 Player Flashbacks: E. Banks, M. Mantle
2 News Flashbacks: Alaska, Antarctica

Autogamers
1 Real One: S. Podsednik (Redemption)




The Review

I'm going to keep this short and sweet.

Things I like about 2008 Topps Heritage

• The design
• The one-per-box every-other-box buybacks
• Fewer short-prints

Things I don't like about 2008 Topps Heritage

• Fewer cards than 1959 Topps
  
• The one-per-pack black-back variations
• The advertising panel chiptoppers

Things I really, really like about 2008 Topps Heritage

• No mirrors
• No Mickey Mantle overload
  

Product Rating: 4 Gumsticks (out of five)

Box Break and Review: 2008 Upper Deck series one

One Hobby box of 2008 Upper Deck series one (paid $69)
16 packs per box, 20 cards per pack (MSRP $5)

The Details

Base Set: 400 cards (no short-prints, no rookie redemptions)

Parallels: NONE

Inserts:
1969 O-Pee-Chee: 50 cards (1:2)
Presidential Predictors: eights (or nine) cards (1:8)
Buybacks

Mirrors:
Yankee Stadium Legacy: (1:4)

Autogamers:
1997 UD Jersey: 25 cards*
1997 UD Patch: 25 cards*
1998 UD Jersey: 20 cards*
1998 UD Patch: 20 cards*
1999 UD Jersey: 20 cards*
1999 UD Patch: 20 cards*
2008 UD Jersey: 25 cards*
2008 UD Patch: 25 cards*
500 Home Run Bat: two cards*
Milestone Memorabilia: five cards*
Signature Sensations: 20 cards+
Inkredible: 20 cards+
Upper Deck Autographs: 20 cards+
Season Highlight Signatures: 20 cards+
All Rookie Team Signatures: 20 cards+
1969 OPC Autographs: 31 cards+

* Odds of finding a game jersey card: 1:8
+ Odds of finding an autograph: 1:16

The Pulls:

Base Set: 268 of 400 (67.00%)
34 Doubles

Chiptoppers: Yankee Stadium Legacy pamphlet.

Inserts:
6 1969 O-Pee-Chee: M. Cabrera, M. Holliday, M. Ordonez, Man-Ram, M. Teixeira, N. Lowry, P. Fielder, B. Phillips
2 Presidential Predictors: R. Giuliani, J. Edwards
1 OPC Buyback: 1988 Wally Joyner

Mirrors:
4 Yankee Stadium Legacy: #3128 (W. Ford), #3153 (Y. Berra), #5193 (Mattingly), #5218 (K. Maas)

Autogamers:
1 1997 Jersey: X. Nady
1 1998 Jersey: B. Hall
1 Inkredible: J. Sosa

The Review.

When I ripped open my first pack of 2008 Upper Deck and looked at the cards, I had a strange sense of deja vu. Didn't I collect this set 13 years ago?


Yes '08UD is a dead-ringer for the 1995 UD set. However, whereas the bronze-colored foil on the '95s accentuates the design, the silver foil on this year's model makes it very difficult to make out the player and team name.

As for the set's structure, '08UD is 400 cards divided between 300 individual players (cards 1-300), fifty MLBPA-approved "Rookies" (301-350), thirty team checklists (351-380), and twenty season highlights (381-400).

Again, like I've said the last couple of years, for the life of me, I still can't figure out why Upper Deck insists on including team checklist cards in the first series of a multiple series set. But what I still can't figure out, is which cards are the team checklists? Can you figure out which B.J. Upton card is the regular player card and which is the Tampa Bay Devil Rays team checklist?

One thing in the base set that (thankfully) was dropped from last year are the rookie redemptions. Although originally on the sell sheets, Upper Deck wisely decided against a repeat of last year's rookie card debacle. What does this mean for you the collector? There might actually be more than two true rookie cards in the second series.

Inserts include a 50-card Hobby-exclusive set done in the style of the 1969 O-Pee-Chee set -- which suspiciously looks a lot like the 1969 Topps set. (I don't happen to have a '69 Topps common, but I did pull a 2008 Topps insert of Jacoby Ellsbury made to look like a '69T.) See for yourself.

Unfortunately (just like the base set) the silver text camouflages itself into the lettering of the player's jersey, making the player's name virtually unreadable.

The Bottom Line:

This box yielded two-thirds of the base set with a healthy stack of doubles -- all of which came from the subsets. In fact, in one particular pack I found the same Clay Buchholz Season Highlight on back-to-back cards. Ideally one box should be enough, but you may have to buy a second (or a couple of Blaster boxes).

The inserts ran as scheduled: six '69OPCs, two Presidential Predictors, and four Yankee Stadium Legacy mirrors -- all of which will gladly be donated to The Bench's V Foundation charity drive.

Each box also promises three autogamers, and this box delivered. I pulled an autograph of Mets pitcher Jorge Sosa, a Xavier Nady jersey done in the style of the 1997 gamers, and a Bill Hall gamer which Upper Deck says is based on the non-existent 1998 Upper Deck game jersey set -- but is actually from 1999.


Xavier Nady, Bill Hall, and Jorge Sosa? Not exactly anything to get excited about, but it's hard to think of Upper Deck's flagship product without autogamers.

Product Rating: 4 Gumsticks (Out of five)

... and another thing.

In the very last pack of this box, I pulled a buyback card.

"Congratulations! You have received a trading card that was originally released in a previous product and is now being re-released for your collecting pleasure."

Then I flipped it over. A 1988 Topps Wally Joyner? Inserted into an Upper Deck pack? Wha-wha-what?

I then took the card out of it's slickie-sleeve and immediately noticed the French text. It was a 1988 O-Pee-Chee Wally Joyner -- diamond cut and severely off-center no less!

It should be noted that, unlike the off-center 1980 Topps Eddie Murray I found in a pack of Topps Traded a few years back, there is nothing on this '88OPC Joyner (i.e. a stamping or an embossing) to signify that this card was re-purchased.

Video Box Break and Review: 2008 Topps series one. (Part Deux)

NB: The 2008 Topps drinking game was not played during the filming of this box break.

The Pulls

---

Base Set: 301 of 330 (91.21%)

Variations: NONE

Parallels:
18 Gold Foil
4 Gold: E. Bedard, J. Lackey, K. Youkilis, J. Santana
1 Black: A-Rod

Inserts:
6 Own the Game: A-Rod, C. Pena, L. Berkman, R. Howard, B. Penny, F. Carmona
6 Trading Card History: J. Ellsbury (69T), JOBA!!! (55B), P. Martinez (51B), C-M Wang (75T), Ichiro (50s-era Menko), G. Sizemore (48 Swell Sport Thrills)
2 Mickey Mantle Story
7 All-Rookie Team 50th Anniversary: G. Carter, L. Piniella, H. Ramirez, R. McDowell, R. Oswalt, F. Liriano, M. Ordonez
4 Campaign '08: J. Edwards, RUDY!!! The Huckster, D. Kucinich
1 Kazuo Uzuki Future Star

Mirrors:
6 Year in Review: I-Rod (4/16), D. Young (4/17), M. Buehrle (4/18), A-Rod (4/19), J. Saunders (4/20, (heh-heh 4/20!)), R. Martin (4/21)
4 Mickey Mantle Home Run History: #515, 516, 517 & 518

Autogamers: NONE

Product Rating: 3 Gumsticks (out of five)

...and another thing.

Despite being on the sell sheet, Barry Bonds is nowhere to be found in '08 Topps. (Geez, I wonder why?) Will the last six cards of the Barry Bonds Home Run History mirror set ever be released? Does anybody even care?

However, it should be noted that Roger Clemens, Rick Ankiel, Miguel Tejada, and Paul Byrd are all in the base set.

Video Box Break and Review: 2008 Topps series one. (Part I)

And now, courtesy of The Backstop's Dr. Wax Battle, my first ever video box break!

But first, you know the drill.

---

One Hobby box of 2008 Topps series one (paid $58.85)
36 packs per box, ten cards per pack (MSRP $1.99)

The Details

Base Set: 330 cards (no short-prints)

Variations: one card of Rudy Giuliani Photoshopped in with the Red Sox (1:70)

Parallels:
Gold Foil* (1:2)
Gold (1:9, numbered to 2008)
Black* (1:95, numbered to 57)
Platinum (1:16,500, one-of-one)
Printing Plates* (1:1348)

Inserts:
Own the Game: 25 cards (1:6)
Trading Card History*: 25 cards (1:6)
Mickey Mantle Story: 10 cards (1:18)
All-Rookie Team 50th Anniversary: 55 cards (1:5)
All-Rookie Team 50th Anniversary Gold: 55 cards (1:1290, numbered to 99)
Campaign '08: 12 cards (1:9)
Kazuo Uzuki Future Star: one "stealth" insert (odds unknown)

Mirrors:
Year in Review: 60 cards (1:6)
Mickey Mantle Home Run History: 35 cards (1:9)

Autogamers:
Presidential Stamps: 15 postage stamps mounted on cards (1:1950)
Highlights Autographs: 48 cards (production varies)
All-Rookie Team 50th Anniversary Autographs: 40 cards (1:7194, numbered to 25)
World Champion Autographed Relics: 10 cards (1:14,417, numbered to 50)
World Champion Relics: 15 cards (production varies)
All-Rookie Team 50th Anniversary Relics: 20 cards (1:7178, numbered to 50)
Mickey Mantle Home Run History Relics: 35 cards (1:29,331, numbered to 7)
1955 Mickey Mantle Reprint Relic: one card (1:400,000, numbered to 55)
Campaign 2008 Cut Signatures: five cards (1:125,000, numbered to 15)
In The Name Relics*: 312 cards of 52 subjects (1:17,980, one-of-one)
Mini-Jersey Patch: 35 cards (1:412, numbered to 499)

* Hobby Only

The Curious Case of Kazuo Uzuki.

Twenty-three years after George Plimpton and Sports Illustrated gave us Sidd Finch, Topps has issued a "Future Star" card of a Japanese teenage pitching sensation named Kazuo "The Uzi" Uzuki.

He's only sixteen and has a fastball clocked at 104 MPH!

Two years ago, as a fourteen-year-old, he was invited to tryout for Japan's World Baseball Classic team.

And, according to the back of his short-printed 2008 Topps card, one scout says he's the best pitching prospect he's seen in three decades!

But wait a sec. If there really was a 16 year-old in Japan who could hit 104 on the Jugs gun, and was invited to try out for the Japanese World Baseball Classic team at 14, don't you think he'd be a household name on this side of the Pacific already?

And besides, don't they use the metric system in Japan?

Does Topps really, really, think we're this stupid?

(h/ts to Short Printed and Wax Heaven)

The 2008 Topps Drinking Game.

2K8 Topps dropped today, and yes, There Will Be Blood Milkshakes Gimmicks.

More airbrushing! More parallels! And this year's version of "Generation Now!" It's the first Topps baseball set of the Michael Eisner era! Can't you just feel the excitement?

No? OK then. Here's a little game I came up with. Some of you may be familiar with "Hi Bob!" It's a game in which you watch an old episode of "The Bob Newhart Show," and for each time someone on the show says "Hi!" to Bob, you drink.


Well, welcome to "Hi, Topps!" the 2008 Topps drinking game.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO PLAY:

One (1) unopened waxbox of 2008 Topps Baseball. Hobby is preferred, but HTA or Blasters will do.

One (1) twelve-pack of beer. The higher the ABV, the better.

RULES:

Open each individual pack, until you're finished with the whole box.

TAKE ONE SIP -- for each David Wright "TOPPS OF THE CLASS" or "ROOKIE CUP" promo card.

TAKE ANOTHER SIP -- for each overtly airbrushed card.

TAKE TWO SIPS -- for each meaningless "gold foil" parallel pulled.

TAKE ANOTHER SIP -- for any other parallels.

DRINK ONE BOTTLE/CAN -- for each similarly meaningless Mickey Mantle Home Run History mirror pulled.

DRINK TWO BOTTLES/CANS -- for each mind numbingly stupid Year in Review (a.k.a. "Generation Now" version 2.0) mirror card.

DRINK THE REMAINDER OF THE 12-PACK -- if you pull the Giuliani/Red Sox card.

The greatest insert set ever!

UPDATE #2 2/7: I stand corrected on the Hillary/Morganna card. It appears that the card was "pulled" at the last minute, but some of the cards somehow managed to make their way into packs. (wink, wink; nudge, nudge; knowwhatimean?)

Meanwhile, Beckett is reporting that UD2 will have a Hillary. Maybe they can throw in Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul?

---

UPDATE #1 2/7: UD set up a website where you can see the whole set.

Apparently "Hillary Clinton as Morganna The Kissing Bandit" has been pulled. (Damn political correctness.)

The Jon Stewart vs. Bill O'Reilly "Wild Card" is not shown, but is still on the checklist.

Still no card of Ron Paul.

---

I guess it's a shot at Topps "Campaign 2008" insert. Maybe not, but Upper Deck's "Presidential Predictors" -- a nine-card "stealth" insert in '08 Upper Deck series one -- is the funniest thing I've seen, like, ever.

2008 UD1 dropped today, and I haven't seen any on eBay (yet), and nor do I know what the pack insertion ratios are.

Here's the complete checklist:

Card #	Player	Print Run	Team
	2008	PP-1	Rudy Giuliani (as Jeffrey Maier)
	2008	PP-2	John Edwards (as Moonlight Graham)
	2008	PP-3	John McCain (as Ted Williams)
	2008	PP-4	Barack Obama (as Steve Bartman)
	2008	PP-5	Mitt Romney (as Carlton Fisk)
	2008	PP-6	Fred Thompson (as Babe Ruth)
	2008	PP-7	Hillary Clinton (as Morganna the Kissing Bandit)
	2008	PP-8	Al Gore (as Jose Offerman) with a cameo by George W. Bush (as Chuck Knoblauch)
	2008	PP-9	Wild Card

Yes, that's Bill O'Reilly playing the "Robin Ventura" to Jon Stewart's "Nolan Ryan."

An absolute stroke of genius! +1 goes to UD

Another year, another gimmick.

For those of you who had "Rudy Giuliani on the Red Sox team card" in the "2008 Topps base set Photoshop gimmick" pool, congratulations.

You're going to the pay window.

(image courtesy of the New York Post)

1st Impressions: 2008 Topps Series Two

The first series of 2008 Topps isn't even out yet, but the sell sheets for the second are. (Go figure!)

Here's the sell sheet, and the checklist.

1st Impressions: "Fisking" the 2008 Bowman Sell Sheet

Fisking: "A point-by-point refutation of a blog entry or (especially) news story."

The term was coined to describe a now (in)famous December 9, 2001 blog entry by Andrew Sullivan that ripped left-wing journalist Robert Fisk a new one.

With that said, I have in my formerly nicotine stained hands (CRUNCH-CRUNCH-CRUNCH) the sell sheet for 2008 Bowman. Yes, it's not even February, and the sell sheets for '08 Bowman (with Bowman Chrome!) are already out.

Whaddaya say we have some fun with this?

UPDATE: 1/28/08
Found a sell sheet.

---

Configuration: 24 packs per box. 10 cards per pack.

So far, so good.

Home of the Rookie Card!

For the last few years Bowman has ceased to be "The Home of the Rookie Card." But hey, maybe Bowman's changed. Maybe they'll include a few more Rookies this year? Then again, this product is going to be released in May, so maybe not. Let's find out, anyway.

2008 Bowman Baseball now features even more must-have, Bowman Exclusive cards than ever before!

Ooh, I can hardly wait. Are they going to expand the base set to more than 220 cards? Get rid of the base set autographed cards?

NEW this year, 2008 Bowman Baseball presents Hobby Exclusive AUTOGRAPHED Bowman Chrome Prospect Cards, at an insertion rate of 1 per Hobby and HTA Box and introduces Bowman Scouts Autographed Cards, highlighting baseball scouts who have signed some of today’s most incredible MLB stars!

SURVEY SAYS......



FEATURES
- NEW Bowman Chrome Autographed Prospect Cards! 1 PER HOBBY BOX!

NEW Bowman Chrome Autographed Prospect Cards? 1 PER HOBBY BOX? Be honest, raise your hand if you didn't see this coming?

- NEW Autographed Bowman Scout Cards!

SURVEY SAYS......

Yes, you read right. Autographed cards.

Of scouts.

(How the hell can these people sleep at night?)

- 110 Topps Exclusive Bowman Chrome Prospect Cards!
- 110 Topps Exclusive Bowman Prospect Cards!
- 3 Autographed Cards Per HTA Box!
- Each pack contains 5 Bowman Baseball cards PLUS 2 Prospect cards PLUS 2 Bowman Chrome Prospect cards PLUS 1 Gold Parallel card.

Wait, wait, wait. Why are you telling us on one line that we get three autographs in an HTA box; but then give us the pack breakdown for regular wax in the next? What's the breakdown for HTA boxes?

BASE CARDS (200 subjects): 5 PER PACK!
- VETERANS: 200 top MLB pros.
- ROOKIES: 20 young players featured with the MLB® Rookie Card Logo.

Same old puny 220-card base set; unchanged from the last couple of years. If there was anything that NEEDED to change about Bowman, it was the base set.

Available In The Following Parallels:
- RED: HOBBY EXCLUSIVE! A 1 of 1 version of the base set.
- ORANGE: Numbered* to 250.
- BLUE: Numbered* to 500.
- GOLD: The player’s signature and Bowman logo are gold-foil stamped!

Does anybody really care about the non-Chrome parallels? I get the one-per-pack Gold parallels, but what's the point with the Oranges and Blues? (Yeah, I know. "Adding value." Whatever.)

AUTOGRAPHED ROOKIE CARDS: HOBBY EXCLUSIVE!

I hope for Topps sake, they didn't tell Wal-Mart that the AUTOGRAPHED ROOKIE CARDS are HOBBY EXCLUSIVE!

And what's the deal with THE ALL CAPS AND THE EXCLAMATION POINTS AT THE END OF EACH SENTENCE! IT SOUNDSSSS LIKE THISSSS GUY WROTE IT:

(VERIFYING ON ANOTHER!)

- 10 Rookies sign their base card and are numbered 221-230. 1 PER HTA BOX!

Here is the complete AUTOGRAPHED ROOKIE CARD checklist:

221 Clay Buchholz
222 Nyjer Morgan
223 Brandon Jones
224 Sam Fuld
225 Daric Barton
226 Chris Seddon
227 J.R. Towles
228 Steve Pearce
229 Ross Ohlendorf
230 Clint Sammons

Basically, it's that guy who pitched a no-hitter for the Red Sox last September, and nine others.

Oh, and wasn't Daric Barton's RC in 2003 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects? (That would be a "yes.")

Available In The Following Parallels:
- RED: 1 OF 1!
- ORANGE: Numbered* to 250.
- BLUE: Numbered* to 500.

Blah, blah, blah...

Moving on to...

PROSPECT CARDS (110 subjects): 4 PER PACK!

BOWMAN PROSPECTS (2 per pack! HTA 8 per pack):
- Non-Major League Prospects appear in their MLB uniforms along with a “First Bowman Card” logo. Numbered BP1–BP110. 2 PER PACK!

Available In The Following Parallels:
- RED: HOBBY EXCLUSIVE! A 1.....

Same concept as the base cards. You get the idea.

NEW! AUTOGRAPHED BOWMAN CHROME PROSPECTS: 1 PER HOBBY & HTA BOX!
- HOBBY EXCLUSIVE!
- 25 prospects appear with their signatures on Chrome technology and will be numbered BCP111-BCP135!

Translation: All those Autographed Prospect Cards that were numbered as part of the regular Prospects set, have been moved into the Bowman Chrome set.

And who you ask are these guys?

BCP111 David Price
BCP112 Michael Moustakas

Autographed non-rookie cards of players whose First Bowman Card was in last year's BDP&P.

SURVEY SAYS......

Here's the rest of the checklist.

BCP113 Matt LaPorta
BCP114 Wendell Fairley
BCP115 Josh Vitters
BCP116 Johnathan Bachanov
BCP117 Edward Kunz
BCP118 Matt Dominguez
BCP119 Kyle Lotzkar
BCP120 Madison Bumgarner
BCP121 Jason Heyward
BCP122 Julio Borbon
BCP123 Josh Smoker
BCP124 Jarrod Parker
BCP125 Kevin Ahrens
BCP126 J.P. Arencibia
BCP127 Johs Bell
BCP128 Scott Cousins
BCP129 Brandon Hynick
BCP130 Alan Johnson
BCP131 Josh Kreuzer
BCP132 Ryan Zink
BCP133 Matt Harrison
BCP134 Justin Masterson
BCP135 Fautino de los Santos

---

Alright, that's enough, you get the gist of 2008 Bowman: Very few actual rookies and a shitload of gimmicks.

And that's the problem. Topps' once vaunted Bowman brand -- the self-proclaimed "Home of the Rookie Card" -- has lost it's identity. Granted, most of it is not of their making (i.e. the MLBPA's "Rookie Card" rules), but a lot of it is self-inflicted. I think Ben Henry said it best last summer: Do collectors really want Autographed Chrome Prospects in regular ol' Bowman, (or Chrome cards? or autographs of scouts? for that matter) or is it because Topps thinks that's what they want?

Anyway, for the first time in years, I think I'll be taking a pass on 2008 Bowman. (At least until the season ends.) If anything, by the time of next year's World Series, hobby wax will be selling for half price.

ETA: 5/12/08

When Upper Deck deals you lemons, try and cure cancer.

A group of smart collectors may have found a purpose for Upper Deck's Yankee Stadium "world-record-that-really-isn't-a-world-record" mirror insert: Fighting cancer. The folks behind the card trading site "The Bench" are asking collectors to donate their Yankee Stadium Legacy cards.

The plan to is to build the entire 6500+ card set, auction the completed set on eBay, and then donate 100% of the proceeds to The V Foundation.

For more information on the project, check out this website, and this facebook group.

The Latest Addition to the '08 TA&G Fantasy Set.

Yeah, he was a douche in the Senate. But after today, he deserves the ultimate tribute: a fake Allen & Ginter card.

1st Impressions: 2008 Topps Moments and Milestones

Is it just me, or has the Topps product development team been playing a little too much Heroin Hero lately?




(Sorry for the clip, but Randy Marsh chasing an video game dragon is funniest damn thing I've seen on South Park since ManBearPig.)

Anyway, ah yes! Baseball cards!

I have in my formerly nicotine-stained hands (*crumble crumble crumble*) the December 2007 issue of Beckett. I turn to page 5 and lo and behold, what do I see?

"MOMENTS & MILESTONES"
"THE SLEEPER HIT OF 2007 RETURNS!"
Yes, Topps is bringing back the "Sleeper (S)Hit of 2007": Moments & Milestones.

More details when they become available. (Like you're actually going to collect this crap.)

UPDATED: 1st Impressions: 2008 Topps Series One

UPDATE #2 (11/1):
Sell Sheet
Product Sheet

Things I Like:

• The Base Set design. "Retro," but still original.
• The Campaign 2008 Inserts
• The Baseball Card History Inserts

Things I Don't Like:

• The one-per-pack Gold Foil parallels. Just what Topps needed, yet another parallel.
• The Mickey Mantle and Barry Bonds mirrors. But on the bright side, at least they're going away after '08 Topps series one.

Things I'm Still Not Sure About:

• The Year In Review Inserts. At 180 cards, this has "Generation Now" written all over it.
• The as yet unannounced, but inevitable, bullshit base set gimmick. What will this year's Alex Gordon/Alay Soler/Poley Walnuts be?

UPDATE #1 (10/30): Here's a link to my "How to Fix Topps Baseball" post from back in June. Let's see how many of my suggestions Topps took to heart.

---

The Cardboard Junkie has the scoop on '08 Topps.

The base set will be 330 cards (again), although -- if last year's Airbrush-O-Rama first series was any indication -- the A-Rod card you see pictured above will more than likely be the only 2008 Topps card of Alex Rodriguez in a Yankee uniform.

Inserts include a 50-card "Baseball Card History" set and although I've yet to see any prototypes, I'm guessing that these will be along the lines of the 2001 Topps "Through The Years" reprints. There's also going to be a 12-card set of the major 2008 Presidential candidates. And seriously, aren't you just dying to rip open a pack of 2008 Topps baseball and pull a card of Dennis Kucinich?

On the plus side, it looks as though Topps is finally putting the mirror concept to rest. More than likely, this will be the last Topps set with the Mickey Mantle and Barry Bonds Home Run Histories, and there are no other inserts as egregious as Generation Now.

More information as it becomes available. But in the meantime, here's a provisional checklist.

1st Impressions: 2008 Upper Deck Series One

The playoffs aren't yet over, but the sell sheets for next year's Upper Deck are already out.

First off, the base set will be a little bit smaller. While I like the concept of a 1000-card set, it can get a bit ungainly. How the hell are you supposed to store a 1000-card set anyway? Last time I checked, a 1000-card set doesn’t exactly fit into an 800-count set box snugly. But not to worry, the first series of '08 UD will be only 420 cards -- the last twenty being “Rookies” tacked on the tail end as redemptions. Yes, after the fiasco that was last year's rookie card redemption program, UD is doing it again. Why? I still don't know why they did it this year.

And what exactly is the raison d'etre for "redemption rookies" anyway? They completely alienate the set collector -- and Upper Deck still is a "Set Builders" set – and all but destroy the market viability of the second series. For example, how different would the second series of '07 UD baseball have been if Dice-K, Alex Gordon AND Tim Lincecum were all in it? It probably wouldn’t be setting on the shelves collecting dust, that’s for sure. (And I’m also confident in saying that the “sunk costs” to ship these cards to those collectors fortunate enough to find one, won’t be helping out Upper Deck's bottom line either.) Let’s all hope UD will come to its senses and either allow all the redemptions to be fulfilled for the entire 20-card set (like they did this year) or just nix this stupid concept all together.

Among the inserts, the highlight -- at least from what Upper Deck is pushing -- is a 50-card set based on the 1969 O-Pee-Chee set. Just a rhetorical question here: But if Bill Hemrick and Paul Sumner had a crystal ball installed into the storage room of their card shop, and were able to see 20-years into the future; do you think they would have gone ahead with their "Upper Deck Project" if they knew that the company they helped to establish would be making baseball cards in the style of ‘69OPC in 2008? And when the hell did Upper Deck buy out O-Pee-Chee anyway? I must have missed that memo.

Speaking of not coming up with new ideas, some of the game used cards will be done in the style of the 1997, ‘98, and ‘99 gamers. And yes, there will be another Ken Griffey, Jr. gamer based on his 1997 game used card -- although this one will have a swatch from a Reds jersey, and have a patch variation. Yes, it has come to this.

If it sounds like I’m unfairly dumping on ’08 UD, well, I am. I do have to give the boys from Carlsbad their props. They haven’t screwed up everything (yet). For one thing, (with the exception of the rookie redemptions) they’ve kept the base set sacrosanct. The set’s full-bleed design with the player’s name underlined reminds me a bit of the 1995 UD set, without being too obvious. Also, with an MSRP of $5 for a 20-card pack, you're going to get more cards for your money than you did last year (five more in fact), at the same price point. And to top it all off, there's a continuation of the popular "A Piece of History 500 HR" series, with Jim Thome, Frank Thomas, and Manny Ramirez.

Each 16-pack waxbox should yield an autograph, two gamers, eight OPC inserts, and one Rookie Redemption. Street date: "Early February."

THIRD SERIES! -- '08 TA&G Fanatasy Prototype Gallery

Now with a dozen more fake cards!

The Fanatasy '08 TA&G Checklist -- Series II

Chris, what hath thou wrought?

This whole fanatasy TA&G idea is already starting to get out of hand. The Cardboard Junkie has even made prototypes!

My God, we don't have lives!

Baseball

The Racing Sausages of Milwaukee
The Phillie Phanatic
That guy in the Pirate Parrot custome who got busted for selling cocaine to half the National League in the 80s
Billy Beane
Billy Bean (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)
Billy Martin
Keith Hernandez' Mustache (REEE-JECTED!)
John Kruk's Mullet
Oscar Gamble's Afro-Puffs
Honus Wagner (Duh!)
Michael O'Keeffe
Victor Conte
Kimberly Bell
Danny Almonte
Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes
Jay Johnstone
Crash Davis
Lloyd and Paul Waner
That 6' 8" man/child in last year's Little League World Series
Ken Burns (If only for the PBS mini-series that got us all throught he 1994 strike)
Marvin Miller (Speaking of player strikes...)
Frank Pastore (Technically qualifies in all four categories)
Darren Daulton: Astral Traveler
Bobby Wallace

Non-Baseball

Billy Mitchell (Greatest Pac-Man player, ever.)
Marco Materazzi & Zinedine Zidane
The Dudley Boyz with Joel "So big, it's hard to keep from hurtin' her" Gertner
Steven Petrosino
Sachin Tendulkar
Sebastien Chabal
Joe Namath & Suzy Kolber
Grits-'n-Gravy (77 "7s" in a row, bitches!)
Doyle Brunson
Lewis Hamilton
Bam Margera
Allison Stokke
The 1950 US World Cup Team
Tony Alva
Mick Foley
Bobby Jones (The other Bobby Jones)
Mat Hoffman
Rusty Wallace
Rasheed Wallace

Non-Sports

Jonas Salk
Joe Strummer
Walter Winchell
H. L. Mencken
Matt Drudge ("A Piece of the Fedora?")
Wink Martindale
Thom McKee
Ben Stein
James Buchanan (The Nobel Prize winning economist of public choice theory fame, not the lousy president.)
Steven Levitt
Marshall McLuhan
GG Allin
The Channel Four News Team
The 6ABC Action News Team
Carl Monday
Manbearpig (I'm totally serial!)
Towelie
P. J. O'Rourke
Tucker Max
Wesley Willis
Rupert Murdoch
R. Lee Ermey
Aristotle
Morton Downey, Jr.
Barry and Levon ($240 worth of puddin'. Awww yeah!)
Earth, Wind & Fire
Ron Jeremy
Thomas Sowell
"Screaming Jay" Hawkins
John Wayne
John Wayne Gacy
John Mark Carr
Friedrich Nietzsche
Tina Fey
Daft Punk
William F. Buckley, Jr.
The Wu-Tang Clan (If only for ODB)
George Plympton
Kraftwerk
DJ Kool Herc
Johnny Carson & Ed McMahon ("Yew, are correct sir. Hey-yo!")
Ann Coulter
Bob Marley
Gene Rayburn's long skinny microphone
George Orwell
Pope John Paul II
Mike Wallace
Chris Wallace
George Wallace (Both of them)
William Wallace
Wallace & Gromit

Monuments

The World Trade Center
The Freedom Tower
Carhenge
The Liberty Bell
Cave of the Winds
The New Jersey Turnpike
Wembley Stadium (Both the old and the new)
Yankee Stadium (2008 is the last season!)
The "Rocky" Statue
Paul Bunyan & Babe the Blue Ox
The Big Texan Steak Ranch
The CN Tower
The Waffle House (pick one, any one)
South of the Border
Wallace Wade Stadium

Insert

Will Leitch
Matt Ufford
The Mighty MJD
Big Daddy Drew
Dan Shanoff
A.J. Daulerio
The Cardboard Junkie
Joey Abna
Ben Henry
Chris Harris (Dammit, if Topps is going to rip-off this idea, I WANT MY OWN CARD!)

A Fantasy 2008 Allen & Ginter Checklist

If you haven't read Ben Henry's latest, you should. The poor guy finally broke down and ripped a box of 2007 Allen & Ginter.

While that in and of itself may not seem all that special, what he wrote at the tail-end got me thinking.

"I’d like to do the next checklist of special cards for A&G 2008, precisely because I think Topps dropped the ball in not including David Beckham in this set, but also because Ernest Hemingway, Keith Richards and the Lusitania need their own cards."

So if you were Topps, what do you do for (another) encore? I came up with this list of athletes and celebrities I'd like to see in next year's TA&G -- assuming that there is one.

And if you don't know who any of these people are, look 'em up on wikipedia.

Old Time Baseballers

Albert Spalding
Ed Delahanty
Bill James (Alright, so he never actually played. But c'mon, he's Bill James!)
Bill "Spaceman" Lee
Dock Ellis
Buck O'Neil
Tommy Lasorda
Ban Johnson
"Shoeless" Joe Jackson
Fred Merkle (2008's the 100th anniversary of "The Boner!")
Vin Scully, Harry Caray, Mel Allen and Harry Kalas (Why don't they made announcer cards?)

Non-Baseball Athletes

Cristiano Ronaldo
Jozy Altidore
Sir Donald Bradman
Willie Mosconi
Amanda Beard
Shaun White
"El Wingador" (and yes, I consider competitive eating to be a "sport")
Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins
That guy who fell off the 40-foot vert ramp at the X-Games
Maria Sharapova
Michael Phelps
Secretariat
Kelly Slater
Ronaldinho
Chris Harris -- New Zealand cricketer
Chris Harris -- Carolina Panthers defensive back
Chris Harris -- English motorcycle rider
"Wildcat" Chris Harris -- Professional Wrestler

Non-Athletes and Historical Figures

Robert Peary
Henry Ford
Booker T. Washington
Sarah Silverman
Hunter S. Thompson
George Washington Carver
Milton Friedman
Edward Teller
Penn & Teller
Trey Parker & Matt Stone
Sid Vicious & Nancy Spungen
Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid
Michael Larson
Kevin Mitnick
Ayn Rand
Frank Lloyd Wright
Edward R. Murrow
Keith Olbermann & Bill O'Reilly (An Olbermann/O'Reilly double autographed box loader. Hmmm...)
Charles Nelson Reilly

Monuments

The Grand Canyon
Big Ben
The Sphinx
The Panama Canal
The Golden Gate Bridge
Machu Picchu

Got any suggestions of your own?

If You Ruled The Hobby

Friends, Readers, and Fellow Collectors:

You have been selected "God of the Baseball Card Hobby." With these powers, you have been given the power to dictate to Topps and Upper Deck what 17 products they will be allowed to release in 2008.

Post your suggestions in the comments area. I'm not asking for specific product details (at least not yet). Just what specific products should return, what products should go away, and what products would you like to see return.

Choose wisely, the long-term fate of The Hobby is in your hands.

If I were given such a title, here are the 34 products that I would allow:

(Sorry for the long gap)

Category	Topps	Upper Deck
Flagship Series 1	Topps 1	Upper Deck 1
Flagship Series 2	Topps 2	Upper Deck 2
Flagship Update	Topps Updates and Highlights	Upper Deck Update
$0.99/pack Contractual Obligation Set	Opening Day	First Pitch
"Second" Flagship	Bowman	Fleer
"Second" Update	Bowman DP&P	Fleer Update
Premium #1	Stadium Club 1	Ultra
Premium #2	Stadium Club 2	Upper Deck Ovation
Super Premium #1	Finest	SP
Super Premium #2	Bowman's Best	Fleer Flair
Retro #1	Topps Heritage	Greats of the Game
Retro #2	Pre-War Tribute Set (i.e. TA&G)	Goudey
$20 Product	Topps Co-Signers	SPx
$50 Product	Bowman Sterling	Upper Deck Epic
$100 Product	Topps Triple Threads	Ultimate Collection
Rookie-Themed	Bowman Chrome	Upper Deck Future Stars
Wild Card	Third Retro Product not named Bowman Heritage	Upper Deck Premier

How to Fix Topps Baseball.

From all the talk among collectors, from all the e-mails I receive, from all the posts on the website, the verdict is in: 2007 Topps Baseball sucks. This anonymous poster sums it all up:

"I hate this year's Topps base set... I hate the airbrushing. I hate the design. I hate the mirror cards. I hate the 'Generation Now' idiocy. I hate the Mickey Mantle 'hero worship' cards. I hate that Topps repeatedly recycles the 1952 baseball design everywhere ... I really hate the red letter variations. I hate the fake short-print variations. ... I wish they would keep their base set sacrosanct. Put in autographed cards as chase cards. Maybe do one or two small (10-card) insert sets. But that's it! ... Don't ruin the stinkin' base set!"

So as a service to Upper Deck, Michael Eisner, Bazooka Joe, the infamous, deplorable, Keith Olbermann, or whomever winds up running Topps, may I make a couple of suggestions for the 2008 Topps Baseball set.

1. Expand the base set.


Call it "The 792 Mystique." Topps Baseball and the number 792 go together like peanut butter and jelly. But Topps hasn't made a base set that large since 1994 -- even though the number of MLB teams (and the number of MLB players) have expanded.

660 cards is just too small. Then again, 792 isn't big enough anymore either. Topps should expand their base set from 660 cards to (at least) 880. 880 cards is more than enough to include each team's entire 25-man roster, all 30 managers, 30 team cards, a handful of multi-player cards, and a couple dozen "Rookies."

The Updates and Highlights set -- which, since it's gone to its current format, I consider to be a third series -- is fine at 330 cards. The structure of traded players, "Rookies," All-Stars, league leaders, et al should remain unchanged.


2. Addition by subtraction.


With the PA's decision to cut the number of 2008 card releases by three, Topps series one and two should be combined into a single series, to be released in late-March. Updates and Highlights would remain in it's current late-October/early-November slot.


3. Please, step away from the airbrush.


Did we really have to have a card of Alfonso Soriano as a Chicago Cub, before he's even played a game for them? What exactly was the point of doing that? And doesn't airbrushing undermine the purpose of a second series or update set? If you absolutely, have to use the airbrush, save it for the Update set.

And while I'm on the subject of airbrushing, if the MLBPA can mandate to the trading card manufacturers who can appear in a set (i.e. the "Rookie Card" rules), they should decree that licensees should refrain from airbrushing until after the September 1 "call-up" date.


4. Cut back on the number of parallels and manufactured variations.


Personally, I could never understand the attraction of parallels. But many collectors like them, so I'm not advocating they be totally eliminated. But five different parallel sets? (Not to mention the contrived variations?) Golds, one-of-ones, Press Plates, and HTA-only Coppers are more than enough. Get rid of the Red Letter "stealth" parallels and the variations.


5. Ditch the "Mirrors."


The "mirror" insert is one of the dumbest concepts The Hobby's seen in the post-Pinnacle Brands era. It's right up there with Fractal Matrix, "Dare-to-Tear," and cards packaged in soup cans on the stupidity meter. The whole concept is an insult to the intelligence of baseball card collectors everywhere. Besides, its not like anybody's actually collecting any of these things.

For 2008, Topps should finish up the Bonds, Mantle, and A-Rod mirrors, and put this gimmick to bed. Permanently.


6. Streamline the other inserts.


OK, so Topps paid a shit-pot of money to get Mickey Mantle. But does that justify a new "hero-worship" insert of him, every year? Here's a suggestion, with all the other card companies ripping off Topps' designs and ideas, how about ripping-off an idea from the competition?

I don't know about you, but I loved the "Baseball Heroes" anthology inserts Upper Deck had in the early-90s. Why not try the same idea in Topps? Put out a new ten-card hero-worship set for a different player, in each series. Start with Mantle and Bonds sets for 2008, but continue the series in '09 with different players.

I'd keep the other inserts: Own the Game, Hobby Masters, and Topps Stars in the combined "regular" set; Trading Places and Rookie Debuts in Updates and Highlights. I'd also throw in a "historical figures" insert along the lines of the Distinguished Service and The Constitution Signers.


7. We "get" pack-specific inserts, but this is a little ridiculous.


As collector's, we're used to the idea of separate inserts for Hobby packs, retail packs, HTA jumbos, and racks. But inserts exclusively for K-Mart, Wal-Mart, and Target? That's a little excessive, wouldn't you say?

So those are my ideas for '08 Topps. What to you all think? Care to make any suggestions?