A Worst Card-Related Video I've Ever Seen on YouTube.

Don't ask me how I found this.

1994: Last Great Year -- Fleer

Since I already wrote about it as part of the "Always Be Collecting" Fleer tribute, I'll kick this love-fest off by reprinting my 1994 Fleer blog post from last March.

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1994 Fleer


Base Set: 720 (one series)
Inserts:

• All-Rookies: 9 cards (complete set available via a 1:200/pack redemption card)
• All-Stars: 50 cards (1:2, wax exclusive)
• Award Winners: 6 cards (1:37)
• Golden Memories: 10 cards (one-per-"Blue" pack; jumbo version numbered to 10,000)
• League Leaders: 12 cards (1:17)
• Lumber Company: 10 cards (1:5, jumbo exclusive)
• Major League Prospects: 35 cards (1:6)
• Pro-Visions: 9 cards (1:12)
• Rookie Sensations: 20 cards (1:4, jumbo exclusive)
• Tim Salmon: 15 cards (cards #1-12: 1:30; cards #13-15 available via a wrapper redemption offer)
• Smoke 'n Heat: 12 cards (1:30)
• Team Leaders: 28 cards (1:6)

Autogamers: Tim Salmon Autographed (total of 2500 cards)

Packaging: 36 pack, 15-card waxboxes; 24 pack, 21-card jumbo boxes; 24 pack, 23-card Wal-Mart exclusive "Blue" packs.
Notable Cards: Nolan Ryan Smoke 'n Heat, Pro-Visions set.
Other Notes:

• Hands down, the greatest Fleer baseball set ever.
  
• The Gold Standard of what a base-level baseball card product should be.
• Classy and clean white-bordered set.
  
• First year of UV coating on both sides of the card, and gold foil stamping on each card.
  
• Over 200 inserts, each seeded at the rate of one-per-pack.
• Complete Pro-Visions set forms a nine-card mosaic.
  
• Debut of fin-sealed foil packaging.
  

Full Set: $50 (NmMT)


1994 Fleer Update

Base Set: 200 cards
Inserts:

• Diamond Tribute: 10 cards

Notable Cards: Alex Rodriguez's second best RC (enough said).
Other Notes:

• Last Fleer Update factory set for four years.

Full Set (factory): $50 (NmMT)

Always Be Collecting: 99 Stinking Cents

What, no love for the Fleer?

The Complete "Always Be Collecting" Fleer Tribute

"What do you mean the checklist in 1993 Fleer is weak? It's a good set. We know what it is. It's fine. All I'm saying, you look at the checklist, they threw...wait, wait, wait, Fleer threw the Piazza RC away. All that I'm saying, they wasted their Piazza rookie."

For your convenience and future reference, here's a link to all the A.B.C. Fleer posts.

Pre-1981 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

What Did We Learn Today?

So now that the Stale Gum year-by-year tribute to Fleer Baseball is (mercifully) over, what did you think?

Now that Fleer baseball is gone, what was its legacy to The Hobby?

What was the greatest Fleer/Fleer Tradition baseball card ever?

What was the worst Fleer/Fleer Tradition set ever?

I have my picks, and I'll be revealing them shortly. But for now, I yield the floor to you.

Always Be Collecting: 2007 Fleer

Do you know what it takes to review every single Fleer baseball set ever?

2007 Fleer

Base Set: 430 cards (one series; last 30 cards exclusive to factory set)

• short set: 350 cards
• Rookies: 50 cards (two-per-pack)
• Factory set exclusive Rookies: 30 cards
  

Parallels:

• Minis: 400 cards (1:2)
• Gold Minis: 400 cards (1:576)
• Press Plates: (1:720)
  

Inserts:

• Crowning Achievement: 20 cards (1:5)
• In the Zone: 10 cards (1:10)
• Perfect 10: 20 cards (1:5)
• Rookie Sensations: 25 cards (at least one-per-pack)
• Soaring Stars: 42 cards (1:2 Fat Packs)
  
• Year in Review: 20 cards (1:5)

Autogamers:

• Autographics: 26 cards (1:720)
• Fresh Ink: 24 cards (1:720)
• Genuine Coverage: 40 cards (1:720)

Packaging: 36 pack, 10-card retail waxboxes; 18 pack, 52-card Fat Pack boxes; factory sets.

Notable Cards: Andrew Miller RC, factory set exclusive RCs of Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Lincecum, Hideki Okajima and Alex Gordon.
Other Notes:

• Retail only product.
• Each 10-card pack contained two cards from a 50-card MLBPA "Rookie" subset (cards #321-#370), thereby making the "Rookies" more available than any of the other base set cards.
• Each pack also contained two inserts: one Rookie Sensation and either a second Rookie Sensation or another insert. (A typical 36-pack waxbox yielded 40-45 Rookie Sensations.)
• All the inserts are not sequentially numbered. Instead, as has become custom with autogamers, inserts are "numbered" with the player's initials.
  
• Once again, a factory set was issued at the end of the year. And once again, it contained over 30 additional base set cards. Unlike 2006's factory set, the 2007 version had some actual RCs. (Dice-K, Lincecum, Okajima)
  

Full Set: $50 (NmMT)
Full Set (factory): $60 (NmMT)

Always Be Collecting: 2002 Fleer Tradition

2002 Fleer Tradition

Base Set: 500 cards

• Short Prints: 100 cards (1:2, stealth)
• short set: 400 cards

Parallels: Glossy (numbered to 200)
Inserts:

• Diamond Tributes: 15 cards (1:6 Hobby, 1:10 retail)
• Grass Roots: 10 cards (1:18 Hobby, 1:20 retail)
• Heads Up: 10 cards (1:36 Hobby, 1:40 retail)
• Lumber Company: 30 cards (1:12 Hobby, 1:20 retail)
• This Day in History: 29 cards (1:18 Hobby, 1:24 retail)

Autogamers:

• Grass Patch: 10 cards (limited to 50 copies)
• Lumber Company Bat: 30 cards (1:72)
• This Day in History Autographed: 8 cards (production varies from 50-100 copies)
• This Day in History Game Used: 22 cards (production varies from 50-250 copies)

Packaging: 36 pack, 10-card Hobby waxboxes; 10 pack, 10-card Blasters.
Other Notes:

• Design based on the 1934 Goudey set.
• One year after screwing over set builders with a factory set, collectors take it in door number two again after it is discovered that the first 100 cards in the base set are short-printed. Fleer never mentioned anywhere in run-up to Tradtion's release that there were any SPs.

Full Set: $200 (NmMT)


2002 Fleer Tradition Update

Base Set: 400 cards

• Prospects: 100 cards (one-per-pack)
• short set: 300 cards

Parallels: Glossy (numbered to 200)
Inserts:

• Diamond Debuts: 15 cards (1:6)
• Grass Roots: 10 cards (1:18)
• Heads Up: 10 cards (1:36)
• New York's Finest: 15 cards (1:83)
• Plays of the Week: 30 cards (1:12)
• This Day in History: 25 cards (1:12)

Autogamers:

• Grass Patch: 7 cards (numbered to 50)
• Heads Up Game Used Caps: 11 cards (numbered to 150)
• New York's Finest Single Swatch: 20 cards (1:112)
• New York's Finest Double Swatch: 6 cards
• This Day in History Autographs: 6 cards (1:582)
• This Day in History Game Used: 20 cards (1:28)

Packaging: 28 pack, 10-card Hobby boxes; 10 pack, 10-card Blasters
Notable Cards: Oliver Perez RC
Other Notes:

• First Update set released in pack form since 1996.
• Largest Fleer Update set ever.
  
• First 100 cards in set short-printed, but at least Fleer had the courtesy to state that they were SPed.
• Designs and names of most inserts were recycled from the base set.
  

Full Set: $120 (NmMT)


2002 Fleer

Base Set: 540 cards
Parallels:

• Gold Letters (15% of total production run)
• Minis (numbered to 50, retail exclusive)
• Tiffany (numbered to 200, Hobby exclusive)

Inserts:

• Barry Bonds Career Highlights: 10 cards (1:12 Hobby, 1:36 retail)
• Diamond Standouts: 10 cards (serial numbered to 1200)
• Golden Memories: 15 cards (1:24)
• Headliners: 20 cards (1:8 Hobby, 1:12 retail)
• Rookie Flashbacks: 20 cards (1:3, retail exclusive)
• Rookie Sensations: 20 cards (numbered to 1500, Hobby exclusive)
• Then and Now: 10 cards (numbered to 275, Hobby exclusive)

Autogamers:

• Barry Bonds Career Highlights Autographed: 10 cards (numbered to 25 each)
• Classic Cuts Autographs: 9 cards (1:432, Hobby exclusive)
• Classic Cuts Game Used: 94 cards (1:24)
• Classic Cuts Game Used Autographs: 3 cards (limited to 35 or 45 copies)

Packaging: 24 pack, 10-card Hobby packs; 10 pack, 10-card Blasters.

Notable Cards: Classic Cuts
Other Notes:

• A one-off product, 2002 Fleer is not considered to be part of the Fleer/Fleer Tradition "lineage."
• Despite this, many collectors consider this set to be a superior product to 2002 Fleer Tradition.
• Hobby exclusive Rookie Sensations and retail exclusive Rookie Flashbacks have the same 20-card checklist.
• Barry Bonds Career Highlights use the same design as the 1992 Roger Clemens Career Highlights insert.
  

Full Set: $100 (NmMT)

Always Be Collecting: 1997 Fleer

1997 Fleer

Base Set: 761 cards (one series of 500 cards, the other of 261)
Parallels: Tiffany (1:20)
Inserts:

• Golden Memories: 10 cards (1:16, series one)
• Lumber Company: 18 cards (1:12, series one retail exclusive)
• Night and Day: 10 cards (1:240, series one)
• Rookie Sensations: 20 cards (1:6, series one)
• Team Leaders: 28 cards (1:20, series one)
• Zone: 20 cards (1:60, series one Hobby exclusive)
• Bleacher Blasters: 10 cards (1:36, series two retail exclusive)
• Decade of Excellence: 12 cards (1:36, series two Hobby exclusive; Rare Tradition parallel: 1:360, series two Hobby exclusive)
• Diamond Tribute: 12 cards (1:288 series two)
• Goudey Greats: 15 cards (1:8, series two; Foil parallel: 1:800, series two)
• Headliners: 20 cards (1:2, series two)
• Soaring Stars: 12 cards (1:12, series two)

Autogamers: Andruw Jones '97 Circa Autographed (numbered to 200 copies, series two)

Notable Cards: The aforementioned Andruw Jones AU, David "Arias" (Ortiz) RC
Other Notes:

• Fleer Update replaced by a second series. However, the second series has most of '96 Fleer Update's traits, and that none of the packaging on series one boxes or wrappers mention it being part of a "first series."
• At 761 cards, the largest Fleer base set ever produced.
  
• Cards #751-761 were added late in the production run and are noticeably short-printed.
• The return of team checklist cards.
• Decade of Excellence inserts based on the design of 1987 Fleer.
  
• Home to one of only two David Ortiz (a.k.a. David Arias) RCs -- the other being '97 Ultra.

Full Set: $140 (NmMT)

Always Be Collecting: 1996 Fleer

1996 Fleer

Base Set: 600 cards (one series)
Parallels: Tiffany: 600 cards (one-per-pack)
Inserts:

• Checklists: 10 cards (1:6)
• Golden Memories: 10 cards (1:10)
• Lumber Company: 12 cards (1:9, retail exclusive)
• Postseason Glory: 5 cards (1:5)
• Prospects: 10 cards (1:6)
• Road Warriors: 10 cards (1:13)
• Rookie Sensations: 15 cards (1:11)
• Smoke 'n Heat: 10 cards (1:9)
• Team Leaders: 28 cards (1:9, Hobby exclusive)
• Tomorrow's Legends: 10 cards (1:13)
• Zone: 12 cards (1:90)

Notable Cards: Mike Sweeney RC (big frickin' deal)
Other Notes:

• After the visual disaster that was 1995 Fleer, '96 opted for a classic full-bleed look with a unique matte finish.
• Wrappers changed to fin-sealed coated waxpaper.
• First one-per-pack parallels.
  
• Still an insert in each pack, and randomly seeded "Hot Packs."

Packaging: 36 pack, 11-card waxboxes.
Full Set: $80 (NmMT)


1996 Fleer Update

Base Set: 250 cards
Parallels: Tiffany (one-per-pack)
Inserts:

• Diamond Tribute: 10 cards (1:100)
• Headliners: 20 cards (1:20, retail exclusive)
• New Horizons: 20 cards (1:5, Hobby exclusive)
• Smooth Leather: 10 cards (1:5)
• Soaring Stars: 10 cards (1:11)
  

Notable Cards: Tony Batista, Mike Cameron and Chris Singleton RCs were actually worth something.
Other Notes:

• Encore subset consists of non-traded, non-rookie, superstars.
• Diamond Tribute inserts are still worth something.
  

Packaging: 36 pack, 11-card waxboxes.
Full Set: $30 (NmMT)

Always Be Collecting: 1995 Fleer

1995 Fleer

Base Set: 600 cards (one series)
Inserts:

• All Fleer-9: 9 cards (complete set available via a wrapper redemption offer)
• All Rookies: 9 cards (complete set available via a 1:150/pack redemption card)
• All-Stars: 25 cards (1:3)
• Award Winners: 6 cards (1:24)
• League Leaders: 10 cards (1:12)
• Lumber Company: 10 cards (1:24, retail wax exclusive)
• Major League Prospects: 10 cards (1:6)
• Pro-Visions: 6 cards (1:9)
• Rookie Sensations: 20 cards (1:4, jumbo exclusive)
• Team Leaders: 28 cards (1:24, Hobby wax exclusive)
  

Packaging: 36 pack, 12-card waxboxes (Hobby and retail); 24 pack, 18-card jumbo boxes.
Notable Cards: The whole base set is notable for its six different base set designs, all equally ugly.

• In an effort to spur strike-induced flagging card sales, the marketing slogan for 1995 Fleer was "Different by Design."
• Base set featured six different (and distinct) designs, one for each of baseball's six divisions.
• Fronts ranged from mildly nauseating (AL West) to LSD flashback (AL Central) to epileptic seizure inducing (NL West).
  
• Still an insert in every pack, with the debut of "Hot Packs" containing nothing but inserts.

Full Set: $50 (NmMT)


1995 Fleer Update

Base Set: 200 cards (one series)
Inserts:

• Diamond Tribute: 10 cards (1:5)
• Headliners: 20 cards (1:3)
• Rookie Update: 10 cards (1:4)
• Smooth Leather: 10 cards (1:5, jumbo exclusive)
• Soaring Stars: 9 cards (1:36)

Packaging: 36 pack, 12-card waxboxes; 24 pack, 18-card jumbo boxes.
Notable cards: Hideo Nomo RC
Other Notes:

• First Fleer Update set released in pack form.
• Last Fleer jumbo pack product.
  
• One of a bazillion late-1995 sets to feature a Hideo Nomo RC.
  

Full Set: $15 (NmMT)

Always Be Collecting: 1994 Fleer

1994 Fleer

Base Set: 720 (one series)
Inserts:

• All-Rookies: 9 cards (complete set available via a 1:200/pack redemption card)
• All-Stars: 50 cards (1:2, wax exclusive)
• Award Winners: 6 cards (1:37)
• Golden Memories: 10 cards (one-per-"Blue" pack; jumbo version numbered to 10,000)
• League Leaders: 12 cards (1:17)
• Lumber Company: 10 cards (1:5, jumbo exclusive)
• Major League Prospects: 35 cards (1:6)
• Pro-Visions: 9 cards (1:12)
• Rookie Sensations: 20 cards (1:4, jumbo exclusive)
• Tim Salmon: 15 cards (cards #1-12: 1:30; cards #13-15 available via a wrapper redemption offer)
• Smoke 'n Heat: 12 cards (1:30)
• Team Leaders: 28 cards (1:6)

Autogamers: Tim Salmon Autographed (total of 2500 cards)

Packaging: 36 pack, 15-card waxboxes; 24 pack, 21-card jumbo boxes; 24 pack, 23-card Wal-Mart exclusive "Blue" packs.
Notable Cards: Nolan Ryan Smoke 'n Heat, Pro-Visions set.
Other Notes:

• Hands down, the greatest Fleer baseball set ever.
  
• The Gold Standard of what a base-level baseball card product should be.
• Classy and clean white-bordered set.
  
• First year of UV coating on both sides of the card, and gold foil stamping on each card.
  
• Over 200 inserts, each seeded at the rate of one-per-pack.
• Complete Pro-Visions set forms a nine-card mosaic.
  
• Debut of fin-sealed foil packaging.
  

Full Set: $50 (NmMT)


1994 Fleer Update

Base Set: 200 cards
Inserts:

• Diamond Tribute: 10 cards

Notable Cards: Alex Rodriguez's second best RC (enough said).
Other Notes:

• Last Fleer Update factory set for four years.

Full Set (factory): $50 (NmMT)

Always be Collecting: 1993 Fleer

1993 Fleer

Base Set: 720 cards (two series of 360 each)
Inserts:

• Tom Glavine Career Highlights: 15 cards (cards 1-12 exclusive to all pack types, cards 13-15 available via a wrapper redemption offer)
• All-Stars: 24 cards (12 National Leaguers exclusive to series one wax, 12 American Leaguers in series two wax)
• Golden Moments: 6 cards (3 in series one wax, 3 in series two wax)
• Major League Prospects: 36 cards (18 in series one wax, 18 in series two wax)
• Pro-Visions: 6 cards (3 in series one wax, 3 in series two wax)
• Rookie Sensations: 20 cards (10 cards in series one jumbos, 10 in series two jumbos)
• Team Leaders: 20 cards (10 American Leaguers exclusive to series one racks, 10 National Leaguers exclusive to series two racks)

Autogamers: Tom Glavine Career Highlights Autographs

Packaging: 36 pack, 15-card waxboxes; 24 pack, 29-card jumbo boxes; 24 pack, 18-card retail-only rack boxes.
Notable Cards: Tom Glavine Career Highlights Autograph, Team Leader inserts
Other Notes:

• First Fleer set released in multiple series.
• First Fleer set with UV coating (on obverse).
  
• Simple, silver-bordered design.
• "Round Tripper" and "League Leader" subsets.
  
• Last year for rack packs.
• Speaking of which, here's a challenge: find an opened 1993 Fleer rack box. Go ahead, I dare you.

Full Set: $40 (NmMT)


1993 Fleer Final Edition

Base Set: 300 cards
Inserts:

• Diamond Tribute: 10 cards

Notable Cards: Jim Edmonds RC, lots and lots of Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies.
Other Notes:

• Renamed "Final Edition" for one year.
  
• Largest Update/Final Edition set to date.
• Features the complete Opening Day rosters of the Marlins and Rockies.
• Card #F131 of Ozzie Smith who was curiously excluded from both series of '93 Fleer.
  

Full Set (factory): $10 (NmMT)

Always Be Collecting: 1992 Fleer

1992 Fleer

Base Set: 720 cards (one series)

Inserts:

• Roger Clemens Career Highlights: 15 cards (cards 1-12 exclusive to packs and Hobby factory sets, cards 13-15 available via a wrapper redemption offer)
• All-Stars: 24 cards (wax exclusive)
• Rookie Sensations: 20 cards (jumbo exclusive)
• Team Leaders: 20 cards (rack exclusive)
• Lumber Company: 9 cards (Hobby factory set exclusive)
• Smoke 'n Heat: 12 cards (retail factory set exclusive)

Autogamers:

• Roger Clemens Career Highlights Autographs
  

Packaging: 36 pack, 17-card waxboxes; 24 pack, 35-card jumbo boxes; 24 pack, 42-card rack boxes; Hobby and retail factory sets.
Notable Cards: Roger Clemens Autograph, Frank Thomas Rookie Sensation
Other Notes:

• In an effort to "keep up with the Joneses," Fleer dramatically improved the quality of the cards using metallic inks on both sides of the card and a smoother card stock.
• Design a reminder of pro sport's early-90s "teal craze."
  
• Waxpaper wraps were replaced with poly-plastic.
  
• Pack price increased to $1/waxpack.
• Base sort arranged alphabetically by team with American League teams followed by the National League.
  
• First autographed inserts.
• First foil-stamped inserts.
  
• Final year for factory sets.
• Pro-Visions moved to the base set.
• Jumbo exclusive Rookie Sensations kicked off the "insert mania" of the early-90s.

Full Set (factory): $20 (NmMT)


1992 Fleer Update

Base Set: 132 cards
Inserts:

• '92 Headliners: 4 cards

Packaging: Hobby exclusive factory set.
Notable Cards: Mike Piazza and Jeff Kent RCs
Other Notes:

• After years of overproduction and slow sales, '92 Fleer Update was printed to order.
• Production estimated to be equal to that of the 1984 Fleer Update set (about 12,000 sets).
  
• Iconic Mike Piazza RC.
• Addition of the '92 Headliners "insert."

Full Set (factory): $60 (NmMT)

Always Be Collecting: 1991 Fleer

1991 Fleer

Base Set: 720 cards (one series)
Inserts:

• Pro-Visions: 16 cards (12 "blacks" exclusive to wax and racks, four "whites" exclusive to factory sets)
• All-Stars: 10 cards (exclusive to jumbos)
• Box Bottoms: 9 cards
• World Series: 8 cards (exclusive to factory sets)

Packaging: 36 pack, 15-card waxboxes; 24 pack, 30-card jumbo boxes; 24 pack, 53-card jumbo boxes; 24 pack, 42-card rack boxes; factory sets
Notable cards: Pro-Visions inserts.
Other notes:

• Responsible for the "Great Yellow Printer Ink Shortage of '91."
• Largest Fleer base set ever.
• Full-color backs for the first time.
• All-Star inserts are a dead ringer for the '71 Topps Greatest Moments set.
• Pro-Visions are, and continue to be, "The Shit."
  

Full Set (factory): $10 (NmMT)


1991 Fleer Update

Base Set: 132 cards
Packaging: Hobby-exclusive factory set
Notable Cards: Jeff Bagwell and Ivan Rodriguez RCs

Full Set (factory): $5 (NmMT)

Always Be Collecting: 1990 Fleer

1990 Fleer

Base Set: 660 cards (one series)
Inserts:

• All-Stars: 12 cards (wax and cello exclusive)
• Soaring Stars: 12 cards (jumbo exclusive)
• League Leaders: 6 cards (rack exclusive)
• Box Bottoms: 28 cards
• World Series: 12 cards (factory set exclusive)

Packaging: 36 pack, 15-card waxboxes; 24 pack, 33-card cello packs; 24 pack, 45-card rack boxes; 24 pack, 43-card jumbo boxes; factory sets
Notable cards: Sammy Sosa, Larry Walker, Juan Gonzalez and David Justice RCs, Decade Greats subset errors.
Other Notes:

• One of the most (if not the most) overproduced baseball card sets ever.
• Design recycled for the 2004 Fleer Tradition set.
• First year for separate Hobby/retail factory sets.
• Last year for cellophane-wrapped "cello" packs.
• Debut of poly-wrapped "jumbo" packs.
  
• Rare bilingual version sold in Canada.

Full Set (factory): $15 (NmMT)


1990 Fleer Update

Base Set: 132 cards
Packaging: Hobby exclusive factory set
Notable Cards: Frank Thomas and John Olerud RCs
Other Notes:

• Unopened factory sets make a fine paperweight or door stop.
  

Full Set (factory): $4 (NmMT)

Always Be Collecting: 1989 Fleer

1989 Fleer

Base Set: 660 cards (one series)
Inserts:

• All-Stars: 12 cards (wax and cello exclusive)
• For the Record: 6 cards (rack exclusive)
• Box Bottoms: 28 cards
  
• World Series: 12 cards (factory set exclusive)

Packaging: 36 pack, 15-card waxboxes; 24 pack, 36-card cello packs; 24 pack, 42-card rack boxes; factory set; Glossy Tin factory sets
Notable Cards: Ken Griffey, Jr. RC, Randy Johnson "Marlboro" RC, and of course, Billy Ripken "Fuck Face" ERR.
Other Notes:

• The most infamous card of our time: The Billy Ripken "Fuck Face" card (and it's many variations).
• Randy Johnson "Marlboro" variation not discovered for ten years.
• Approximately 30,000 Glossy Tin sets produced.
• Final year for Glossy Tin sets.

Full Set (factory): $15 (NmMT)
Full Glossy Set: $100 (NmMT)


1989 Fleer Update

Base Set: 132 cards
Packaging: Hobby exclusive factory set
Notable Cards: Nolan Ryan 5000 Strikeout and Mike Schmidt retirement cards, Joey (Albert) Belle and Deion Sanders RCs
Other Notes:

• No Glossy Tin set produced.
• Lackluster rookie card selection.
  

Full Set (factory): $5 (NmMT)

Always Be Collecting: 1988 Fleer

1988 Fleer

Base Set: 660 cards (one series)
Inserts:

• All-Stars: 12 cards (wax and cello exclusive)
• Headliners: 6 cards (rack exclusive)
• Box Bottoms: 16 cards
• World Series: 12 cards (factory set exclusive)

Packaging: 36 pack, 15-card waxboxes; 24 pack, 28-card cello boxes; 24 pack, 45-card rack boxes; factory sets; glossy factory sets
Notable Cards: Tom Glavine, Edgar Martinez, Matt Williams and Mark Grace RCs, Tim Flannery with his surfboard.
Other Notes:

• First Fleer set of the overproduction era.
• Second-tier RCs of Ron Gant, Jack McDowell, Ellis Burks and Ken Caminiti.
• Approximately 40,000-60,000 Glossy Tin sets produced.

Full Set (factory): $15 (NmMT)
Full Glossy Set: $25

1988 Fleer Update

Base Set: 132 cards
Packaging: Hobby exclusive factory and Glossy Tin factory sets.
Notable Cards: Roberto Alomar, Craig Biggio and John Smoltz XRCs
Other Notes:

• Checklist arranged alphabetically by team.
• Last year for Update Glossy Tin set.
• Approximately 40,000-60,000 Glossy Tin sets produced.
  

Full Set (factory): $10 (NmMT)
Full Glossy Set: $25 (NmMT)

Always Be Collecting: 1987 Fleer

1987 Fleer

Base Set: 660 cards (one series)
Inserts:

• All-Stars: 12 cards (wax and cello exclusive)
• Headliners: 6 cards (rack exclusive)
• Box Bottoms: 16 cards
  
• World Series: 12 cards (factory set exclusive)

Packaging: 36 pack, 17-card waxboxes; 24 pack, 31-card cello boxes; 24 pack, 51-card rack boxes; factory sets; glossy factory sets
Notable Cards: Barry Bonds, Barry Larkin, and Bo Jackson RCs
Other Notes:

• Arguably the best Fleer set of the 80s.
  
• First factory-exclusive inserts.
• First Glossy "Tin" factory set. In fact, your humble correspondent's father set the type for the 1987 Glossy Tin box.
• Approximately 75,000-100,000 Glossy sets were produced.
  

Full Set (factory): $40 (NmMT)
Full Glossy Set: $80 (NmMT)

1987 Fleer Update
Base Set: 132 cards
Packaging: Hobby-exclusive factory set, and Glossy "Tin" set
Notable Cards: Mark McGwire, Greg Maddux XRC
Other Notes:

• Approximately 75,000-100,000 Glossy Update sets were produced.
  

Full Set (factory): $12 (NmMT)
Full Glossy Set: $15 (NmMT)

Always Be Collecting: 1986 Fleer

1986 Fleer

Base Set: 660 cards (one series)
Inserts:

• All-Stars: 12 cards (wax and cello exclusive)
  
• Then & Now: six cards (rack exclusive)
• Box Bottoms: eight cards
  

Packaging: 36 pack, 15-card waxboxes; 24 pack, 27-card cello boxes; 24 pack, 42-card rack packs; 660 card factory sets
Notable Cards: Jose Canseco RC, Don Baylor "Ouch"
Other Notes:

• First year for factory sets.
• First insert sets as we know them.

Full Set (factory): $40

1986 Fleer Update

Base Set: 132 cards
Packaging: Hobby-exclusive factory set
Notable Cards: Barry Bonds, Will Clark and John Kruk XRCs

Full Set (factory): $30

Always Be Collecting: 1985 Fleer

1985 Fleer

Base Set: 660 cards (one series)
Packaging: 36 pack, 15-card waxboxes; 24 pack, 28 card cello boxes; 24 pack, 42 card rack packs; 500 card vending boxes.
Notable Cards: Roger Clemens RC, Kirby Puckett RC
Other Notes:

• Debut of dual-player "Major League Prospect" cards.
• Decent second-tier RC class (Eric Davis, Orel Hershiser, Bret Saberhagen).
  
• For the first time since 1982, colored-coded borders.

Full Set: $60 (NmMT)

1985 Fleer Update

Base Set: 132 cards
Packaging: Hobby-exclusive factory set
Notable Cards: Darren Daulton XRC, Vince Coleman XRC, Ozzie Guillen XRC
Other Notes:

• What more needs to be said about a set whose "best" XRC is of Darren Daulton?
• Fleer should have saved those second-tier RCs for this set.
  

Full Set (Factory): $8 (NmMT)

Always Be Collecting: 1984 Fleer

1984 Fleer

Base Set: 660 cards (one series)
Packaging: 36 pack, 15-card waxboxes; 28 card, 24 pack cello boxes; 24 pack "triple wax" rack packs; 500 card vending boxes.
Notable Cards: Don Mattingly RC, Darryl Strawberry RC, Glenn Hubbard with his "special friend"
Other Notes:

• Another classic design.
• Lots and lots of wacky photos (e.g. Glenn Hubbard, Jay Johnstone, and Larry McWilliams).
  
• Waxboxes back down to 36 packs.
• First "World Series" subset.
• Checklists had photos of team managers.
• Design of 2004 Fleer Platinum loosely based on '84 Fleer.
  

Full Set: $50 (NmMT)

1984 Fleer Update

Base Set: 132 cards
Packaging: Hobby-exclusive factory set
Notable Cards: Roger Clemens XRC, Kirby Puckett XRC, Dwight Gooden XRC, Pete Rose pictured as a Montreal Expo.
Other Notes:

• One of the true "landmark" sets of the 80s.
  
• Fleer's first Update set.
• First Fleer factory set of any type.
• First Fleer Hobby only product.
• Printed-to-order. (Approximately 12,000 sets made.)
  

Full Set (factory): $300 (NmMT)

Always Be Collecting: 1983 Fleer

1983 Fleer

Base Set: 660 cards (one series)
Packaging: 38 pack, 15-card waxboxes; 24 pack, 28-card cello boxes; 24 pack "triple cello" rack boxes; 500-card vending boxes
Notable Cards: Wade Boggs, Tony Gwynn and Ryne Sandberg RCs
Other Notes:

• After the disaster of 1982, Fleer got their shit together for '83.
  
• An increase in quality control, and a classic beige design.
• Debut of the "Super Star Specials" subset.
• Return of the 38-pack waxbox.
  
• Debut of rack packs.
• "Holy Trinity" of '83 rookies: Boggs, Sandberg and Gwynn.

Full Set: $60 (NmMT)

Always Be Collecting: 1982 Fleer

1982 Fleer

Base Set: 660 cards (one series)
Packaging: 36 pack, 15-card waxboxes; 24 pack, 28-card celloboxes; 500-count vending boxes
Notable Cards: Cal Ripken, Jr. RC, John Littlefield ERR, "All" Hrabosky ERR
Other Notes:

• Arguably the worst Fleer baseball set of the 80s.
• Just as many error cards as 1981, but with a dreadful design.
• First card set with full-color backs -- beating Score by six years.
  
• Debut of cello packs.
• Waxboxes back down to 36 packs.
• Team logo sticker replaced stick of gum.
• Oh yeah, there's a Cal Ripken, Jr. rookie card.

Full Set: $50 (NmMT)

Always Be Collecting: 1981 Fleer

1981 Fleer

Set Size: 660 cards (one series)
Packaging: 38-pack, 17-card waxboxes; 500-card vending boxes
Notable Cards: "Fernand" Valenzuela RC, Harold Baines RC, "Craig" Nettles ERR
Other Notes:

• First effort in 18 years.
• Riddled with errors (corrected and otherwise).
• Cards were grouped by team in the order of their final 1980 record, with the World Series Champion Phillies first. Each Fleer baseball set from 1981-1991 would be arranged this way.
  
• Two different Rickey Henderson cards.
• Waxboxes contained 38 (as opposed to 36) packs.
• 500-card vending boxes were numbered (1, 2, 3, or 4) and collated in a way so that if one of each box were opened, it would yield three full 660-card sets. Fleer would continue to produce vending boxes until 1985.
  
• Only post-'63 Fleer baseball set packaged with gum.
  
• Design recycled for the 2001 Fleer Platinum set.
  

Full Set: $40 (NmMT)

Always Be Collecting: 1959-1963 Fleer

Bloggers Note: This is the first installment of a 27-part year-by-year tribute to Fleer baseball. Today, we start at the beginning with Fleer's pre-1981 baseball efforts.

1959 Fleer Ted Williams

Set Size: 80-cards (one series)
Notable Cards: "Ted Signs for 1959" (SP)
Other Notes:

• ACC Designation: R418-1
• In an effort to muscle it's way past the Topps monopoly, Philadelphia based chewing gum manufacturer Fleer signed Ted Williams to an exclusive contract.
• Entire 80-card "hero worship" set -- released three decades before Upper Deck's Baseball Heroes.
• "Ted Signs for 1959" card was withdrawn from production as it featured Sox GM Bucky Harris who still was under contract to Topps. Was one of The Hobby's first counterfeited cards.

Full Set: $1800 (NrMT)

1960 Fleer Baseball Greats

Set Size: 79 cards (one series)
Notable Cards: Three different variations of card #80
Other Notes:

• ACC designation: R418-2
• Four decades before Greats of the Game, Fleer released this set -- consisting of Ted Williams and 78 retired players.
• Cheap vintage cards of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Ty Cobb.
• 17 cards were double-printed
• Pepper Martin's card (#80) was pulled due to contract issues. However, a number of Martin cards did make their way into packs. According to PSA, three different versions of Martin's card exist:

1. One with Eddie Collins' (card #20) picture on the front and Martin's stats on the back.
2. One with Lefty Grove (#60) on the front and Martin's stats on the back.
3. Martin on the front and Joe Tinker's (#40) stats on the back.

Full Set (w/o #80): $600 (NmMT)

1961 Fleer Baseball Greats

Set Size: 154 cards (two series)
Notable Cards: Same as 1960
Other Notes:

• ACC designation: F418-3
• First multi-series set. (First 88 cards were part of the first series, cards #89-154 in series two)
  
• Last set under the "Baseball Greats" format.
• Like the previous year's set, lots of affordable cards of Hall of Famers.
  
• Each series one pack contained a team logo sticker.
• Design recycled for a one-per-pack Hobby insert in 1999 Fleer Tradition.

Full Set: $1200 (NmMT)

1963 Fleer

Set Size: 67 cards (one series)
Notable Cards: Maury Wills RC, Joe Adcock and checklist SPs
Other Notes:

• Fleer's first venture into active-player cards.
• Featured cards of established stars like Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, Roberto Clemente and Carl Yastrzemski.
  
• To get around Topps' "bubblegum" clause, each pack contained a cherry-flavored "cookie." According to Pete Williams' 1995 book Card Sharks, the cookie was so devoid of sugar -- to get around the restriction -- that it "tasted like a dog biscuit."
• Snubbed by Topps as a minor leaguer, 1962 NL MVP Maury Wills' rookie card appears in the set. It would be another five years before Topps would issue their first Wills card.
  
• Wills and Jimmy Piersall both served as agents on Fleer's behalf.
• Plans were afoot to release as many as five series, but was stopped at only one after Topps sued Fleer immediately after the first series' release.
• Card #46 (Joe Adcock) was pulled midway through the production run and replaced by a checklist.
• Design was recycled for the 1998 and 2003 Fleer Tradition sets.
  

Full Set (w/ Adcock and checklist): $1500 (NmMT)

Fleer Baseball: 1981-2007

It's official. After 26 years, Upper Deck has killed Fleer baseball.

Upper Deck has confirmed to Stale Gum that 2008 Fleer baseball was canceled. No word on the status of other Fleer brands (i.e. Ultra, Tradition, et al).

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.)

Always Be Collecting -- 1992 Fleer Rookie Sensations

Now it's time for a new feature on Stale Gum, a little something I call: Always Be Collecting. Here, I'll take a look at a some of my favorite cards and sets from years gone by. The kind of cards and sets that I feel deserve a second look by The Hobby. So PUT THAT COFFEE DOWN! dig out those dusty ol' commons boxes, and join me on this journey through a cardboard time machine. Come on, will you?

HAVE YOU MADE YOUR DECISION FOR CHRIST?

First up is one of the truly great insert sets of the 1990s. In fact, it was this set -- more than the 1990 Upper Deck Reggie Jackson's Baseball Heroes -- that kicked off the "insert mania" that defined collecting throughout the decade. I'm talking, of course, about the 1992 Fleer Rookie Sensations.

So what's the big deal, you ask, about a fifteen-year-old insert set anyway? Especially an insert set that is neither serial-numbered, nor autographed, nor has a piece of something glued to it? And why do I like it so damn much? Plenty.

For those of you either a) too young to remember, or b) part of the "lost generation" of collectors who are now just getting back into The Hobby, this may seem strange to you. But there was a time when pulling a "valuable" card out of a brand new pack was a novelty. But first, let's set the WABAC machine to 1992.

---

1992 was a year of transition in The Hobby. Upper Deck had taken the card world by storm in '89, and while the established companies were quick to add new products to compete with UD, for the first few years of the decade the "base level" products (a term that was coined during the era), remained stagnant. By '92 it had become obvious that in order for the "base" product to survive in the marketplace, they had to evolve. They had to become like Upper Deck.

And in 1992 Fleer and Donruss did just that. Both companies reconfigured their flagship products, leaving the 50-cent wax pack market to Topps and Score. Both Fleer and Donruss greatly improved the quality of their base sets -- both in design (at least by 1992 standards) and in card stock. But that wasn't all. 1992 was the first year both Fleer and Donruss began to exploit the new market in the limited edition "mini-sets" we now know as inserts. Donruss pulled their popular Diamond Kings out of the base set and made them into an insert -- the result of which being one of the nicest looking card sets of the era. (but that's for another ABC) But it was Fleer that really took the concept to the next level.

'92 Fleer had four such insert sets, each UV-coated and dripping with gold foil. But what made Fleer different, was that three of the four were exclusive to specific pack types. Wax packs (which were now made of a poly-plastic shrink wrap) had a 24-card "All-Stars" set. Rack packs featured the 20-card "Team Leaders." And the 35-card jumbo packs had the Rookie Sensations. The '92 FRS's marked a new point in The Hobby. For the first time, a collector could purchase a brand new pack of baseball cards, and have a realistic chance of pulling a card worth $100.

Ah yes, the '92 Frank Thomas Rookie Sensation. The card that had collectors from Maine to Malibu willingly pay $5 for a pack of baseball cards with a $1.99 price tag printed on the wrapper. And who could blame them? With the Rookie Sensations dropping at the rate of one every fourth pack, you had a 1:80 chance of hitting The Big Hurt. (Compare that to astronomical odds of pulling a Donruss Elite, or an Upper Deck Baseball Heroes autograph.) And even if you didn't get a Thomas, there still were 19 other super prospects.

With Ivan Rodriguez, Jeff Bagwell, Brian McRae, Phil Plantier, Juan Guzman, and Chuck Knoblauch -- all of which were booking for at least $20 Beckett HI through out the Summer of '92 -- the checklist reads like a who's-who of early-90s baseball mega-prospects. Heck, even pulling a common like Scott Leius or Chito Martinez, was like getting your money back.

So let us raise a glass. To the 1992 Fleer Rookie Sensations! By the end of the decade, with the birth of game used cards and the "Rookie" card renaissance, The Hobby seemed to move on from you. And today, the once almighty Frank Thomas from your set can be had for less than a sawbuck, and the whole set for less than what the Phil Plantier once went for. But we recognize your lasting influence on The Hobby with inserts that followed in your wake.

Three cheers for the 1992 Fleer Rookie Sensations!

Oh, and here's something to chew on. Here's a factory case of 1992 Fleer jumbos that I found on eBay. Current bid: $79.00.

Box Break and Review: 2007 Fleer Ultra

One Blaster Box of 2007 Fleer Ultra (paid $19.97)
12 packs per box, five cards per pack

The Details:

Base Set: 250 cards
200 card short-set
37 Ultra Rookies
13 Lucky 13

Parallels:
Gold: 250 cards
Printing Plates: (one-of-one)

Inserts:
Swing Kings: 25 cards
Hitting Machines: 15 cards
Faces of the Game: 20 cards
Strike Zone: 10 cards
Ultra Iron Man: 50 cards

Autogamers:
Swing Kings Memorabilia: 25 cards
Hitting Machines Memorabilia: 15 cards
Faces of the Game Memorabilia: 20 cards
Strike Zone Memorabilia: 10 cards
Feel the Game Memorabilia: 50 cards
Ultra Rookies Autographs
Lucky 13 Autographs
Ultragraphs
Autographics

The Pulls

Base Set: 54 of 250 (21.60%)
Short-Set: 48 of 200 (24%)
Ultra Rookies: 5 of 37 (13.51%) Z. Segovia, M. Rabelo, J. Marshall, C. Jimenez and L. Speigner
Lucky 13: 1 of 13 (7.69%) R. Braun

Parallels:
2 Golds: E. Bedard and D. Haren

Inserts:
1 Swing King: F. Thomas
1 Strike Zone: J. Verlander
2 Ultra Iron Man

Autogamers: NONE

The Review

When Upper Deck initially announced the retooling and renaming of the Fleer Ultra brand into something called "Ultra SE", some of us had our concerns. Did The Hobby really need to have yet another $20/pack autogamer product? And why Ultra?

But fear not collectors. While the one-per-pack "Ultra SE" has hit the hobby stores (along with it's $20/pack price tag), the real Ultra has made its return as well. Only, you won't find it on the shelves of your local Hobby dealer. Nope. You'll find it instead at your local Wal-Mart.

2007 Ultra/Ultra SE is set up similar to what Pinnacle Brands did with Score ten years ago. If you remember, the mass-market retail outlets (K-Mart, Wal-Mart, et al) received regular '97 Score; however, Hobby dealers got something called "Score Premium Stock." The only difference between Score and Score Premium Stock was that the all of the Premium Stock cards were printed on a thicker "premium" gauge cardboard, and all the cards were hit with a foil stamp. For '07 Ultra, all the "SE" base cards are printed on what UD spokesman Don Williams calls "spectrum deco foil;" while the retail cards are on regular old UV coated cardboard with silver foil accents. Other than that, there is no difference -- base set wise -- between the two.

As for the Ultra base set itself, both Ultra and Ultra SE virtually unchanged: 250 cards in total, with 50 short-printed "ROOKIES." 13 of the 50 "ROOKIES" are part of a subset called "Lucky 13," and it appears that these cards are a little tougher to find than the other 37 short-printed "ROOKIES." The big "money card" is one of the first true-RCs of Brewers third-baseman Ryan Braun. He's in the Lucky 13 subset.

As is now par-for-the-course with UpperFleerDeck products, there are no checklists, nor are the pack insertion ratios are unlisted. So if you want a checklist, you know the drill: go to their website and download one. I distinctly remember Richard McWilliam saying at the Hawaii Ft. Lauderdale Trade Conference that UD was going to resume putting insertion ratios on the pack wrappers. We're still waiting on that, Dick.

The Bottom Line

For most collectors, this should be a no-brainer. For the price of one pack of Ultra SE, you can get a 12-pack Blaster Box. Oh sure, you're not guaranteed to get that Adrian Beltre game jersey. But if you're a Fleer Ultra die-hard, you're probably OK with that.

As for this particular box, every single five-card pack contained something of value -- whether it be a Gold parallel, a short-printed "ROOKIE," or an insert. (Zero doubles, five "ROOKIES," a Ryan Braun Lucky 13, four inserts, and two Golds.) If you're going after the full set, you're going to have to get at least four Blasters. Since not a lot of Hobby dealers will be breaking the retail version of Ultra, you may have to bite-the-bullet and buy a fifth, or even a sixth blaster box to dust off your base set. Either that, or intermix the regular cards with the foil-fronted SE cards.

Product Rating: 3 Gumsticks (out of five)

1st Impressions: 2007 Ultra "SE"

Last year, it was Bowman. In 2004, it was Diamond Kings. In 2002: Bowman's Best. And before that: SP Authentic, SPx, Finest, and (of course) 2001 Donruss. Now you can add another to the list of once collectible baseball card products ruined by unnecessary gimmickry: Fleer Ultra.

I have in my formerly nicotine stained fingers (*crunch, crunch, crunch*) the sell sheet for "2007 ULTRA SE." Yes folks, it's true. UpperFleerDeck has converted Ultra into a one-per-pack-autogamer product. Five packs per box, fifteen cards per pack. MSRP: $20/pack.

Why? Aren't there enough one-per-pack autogamer products already? Did The Hobby really need another one? And why Ultra?

Yeah, I know, it's all about delivering "Pack Value." More "Hits Per Box!" Whatever.

If there is a positive to '07 Ultra, at least UpperFleerDeck didn't monkey around with the base set. It's still 250 cards, with 50 "Rookie Cards" seeded at the rate of one-per-pack -- although for some reason 13 of them are designated as "Lucky 13" cards. And there are the usual bevy of non-parallel inserts.

But still, it's not the same Ultra. (I guess that's the reason for the "SE.") Oh well.

Box Break: 2007 Fleer

One Box of 2007 Fleer Baseball. (paid $33)
36 packs per box, ten cards per pack.

The Details

Base Set: 400 cards

350 card Short Set
50 "ROOKIE CARDS" (two-per-pack)

Parallels:
Die-Cuts: 400 cards (1:2)
Die-Cut Golds: 400 cards

Inserts:
Rookie Sensations: 25 cards (one-per-pack)
Crowning Achievements: 20 cards
Year in Review: 20 cards
In the Zone: 10 cards
Perfect 10 AL: 10 cards
Perfect 10 NL: 10 cards

Autogamers:
Genuine Coverage: 42 cards
Fresh Ink: 24 cards
Autographics: 26 cards

The Pulls

Base Set: 243 of 400 (60.75%)
31 doubles

Short Set: 193 of 350 (55.14%)
"ROOKIE CARDS:" 50 of 50

Parallels:
18 Die-Cuts

Inserts:
One full 25-card set of Rookie Sensations (14 doubles & 2 quads)
7 Crowning Achievements: F. Thomas, Maddux, Griffey, Jr., J. Santana, Thome, M. Cabrera, & Piazza
7 Year in Review: F. Liriano, F. Sanchez, R. Howard, J. Dye, J. Mauer, J. Reyes & J. Velander
4 In the Zone: D. Ortiz, D. Wright, Griffey, Jr. & M. Cabrera
3 Perfect 10 AL: Jeter, I-Rod & J. Dye
4 Perfect 10 NL: Pujols, Beltran, Utley & J. Bay

Autogamers: NONE

The Bottom Line:

I have absolutely no interest in doing a full review of 2007 Fleer. Hey, if UpperFleerDeck can phone this one in (which they obviously did), why can't I? Oh well, I guess I have to write something....

The 50 "ROOKIE CARDS" are all double-printed -- as opposed to being short-printed. That's different. Also, the Rookie Sensations inserts are about as common as the base set rookies are -- which doesn't make them very "common" at all. In fact, I pulled four Scott Olsen and Kenji Johjima Sensations out of this one box.

For some strange reason all the Rockies' players have "COLORADO ROCKIES" spelled out in full on their cards, while all the other players only have their team nicknames. Did the state of Colorado pass a law mandating that all baseball cards of Rockies' players must mention that the team is, in fact, located in the state Colorado?

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

Box Break: 2006 Flair Showcase

One Box of 2006 Flair Showcase baseball (paid $72.95)
18 packs per box, five cards per pack ($4.99/pack)

The Details

Base Set: 200 cards

Broken Down by Short-Print Scheme:

• 100 Upper Deck


• 50 Field Box (1:4/packs*)


• 50 Suite Level (1:8*)

Parallels:

• Legacy Blue: 200 cards (1:18, numbered to 150 copies)


• Legacy Emerald: 200 cards (1:18, numbered to 150 copies)


• Press Plates

Inserts:

• Wave of the Future: 30 cards (1:3*)


• Hot Numbers: 30 cards (1:6*)


• World Baseball Classic Moments: 50 cards (1:8*)


• Hot Gloves: 30 cards (1:108*)

*Stated odds of finding either an insert or a short-printed base set card: one-per-pack

Autogamers:

• Showcase Stiches (1:9#)


• Lettermen (odds not stated#, production varies from three to nine copies, per player)


• AUTOGRPAHics (1:36$)


• Fresh Ink (1:36$)


• Showcase Signatures (Numbered to 35 copies$)

# Stated odds of finding a game used card: two-per-box
$ Stated odds of finding an autograph: one-per-box

The Pulls

Base Set: 72 of 200 (36%)

Broken Down by Short-Print Scheme:

• Upper Deck: 65 of 100


• Field Box: 4 of 50 (Rolen, B. Crosby, Tejeda, E. Renteria)


• Suite Level: 3 of 50 (P. Polanco, P. Fielder, B. Webb)

Parallels:
2 Legacy Blue: B. Myers, C. Floyd
Inserts:
6 Wave of the Future: G. Sizemore, J. Francoeur, W. Nieves, C. Ross, J. Verlander, R. Weeks
3 Hot Numbers: A-Rod, M. Teixeira, R. Clemens
2 WBC Moments: J. Grilli, K. Fukudome
Autogamers:
2 Showcase Stiches: E. Gagne, T. Hudson
1 AUTOGRAPHics: X. Nady

Box Break and Review: 2006 Fleer Tradition

One Box of 2006 Fleer Tradition baseball (paid $55)
36 packs per box, ten cards per pack ($1.49/pack)

The Details

Base Set: 200 cards (no short-prints)

Parallels*:

• Sepia: 200 cards


• Black & White: 200 cards


• Press Plates: 200 cards (four for each card)

Inserts*:

• Blue Chip Prospects: 25 cards


• Grass Roots: 25 cards


• Triple Crown Contenders: 15 cards


• Diamond Tribute: 25 cards


• Goudey Greats: 100 cards


• 1934 Goudey Buybacks

* Odds of finding an insert or parallel (according to fleer.com): one-per-pack.

Autogamers#

• Traditional Threads: 42 cards


• Signature Tradition: 16 cards


• 1989 Fleer Ken Griffey, Jr. Autographed Buyback: one card

# Odds of finding an autogamer(according to fleer.com): "better than one-per-box."

The Pulls.

Base Set: One complete 200-card base set
122 doubles

Parallels:

• 12 Sepias: T. Hudson, Halladay, Pujols, J. Aclardo, C.C. Sabathia, A. Beltre, D. Wright, J. Peavy, R. Howard, K. Millwood and C. Barmes


• 4 Black & Whites: A. Rios, J. Schmidt, E. Bedard and A-Rod

Inserts:

• 6 Blue Chip Prospects: Zimmerman, H. Ramirez, A. Wainwright, J. Johnson, K. Morales and C. Billingsley


• 5 Grassroots: V. Martinez, M. Cabrera, J. Kent, C. Beltran and C. Carpenter


• 3 Triple Crown Contenders: A-Rod, T. Helton and T. Hafner


• 6 Diamond Tributes: Griffey, Thome, T. Hafner, R. Oswalt, R. Harden & B. Abreu


• 1 Goudey Great: K. Johjima

Autogamers:

• 1 Traditional Threads: M. Young

The Review

Earlier this year, Upper Deck announced that they would release four baseball products under the Fleer name this season (Fleer, Ultra, Greats of the Game, and Flair Showcase). After breaking one box of Fleer Tradition, the fifth Fleer Set of 2006, UD probably should have stuck with four.

The 200-card base set feels a bit like an "Update" set. 26% of the base set (52 cards) are of MLBPA approved "ROOKIE CARDS" -- by far, the largest proportion of RCs in a product this year. (Of course, the vast majority of these are parenth-RCs.) Then again, with regular player cards of all the top stars (most of whom did not change teams) you can't really call it a true "Update" set?

So what are we to make of 2006 Fleer Tradition? Well, like the Fleer Trad sets of the past few years, the design gives the appearance of an old-fashioned Topps set, in this case 1981 -- although I don't remember Topps UV coating their cards back in '81. When The Hobby is starting to recycle the designs of cards issued a mere 25 years ago for a retro themed set -- especially a lousy one like '81 Topps -- this proves that the "retro" fad has officially jumped the shark.

Not that you would know it by looking on the back of the wrapper, but each pack contains either a parallel or an insert. As usual, UD conveniently forgot to include the insertion ratios and checklist cards. By now, you should know the routine: go to their website, download and print.

Standing out like the proverbial sore thumb from the rest of the inserts are the 100-card Goudey Greats. Done in the style and size of the 1934 Goudeys -- like we haven't seen that before (See: 1997 Fleer Goudey Greats inserts and 2002 Fleer Tradition base set) -- it appears that these undersized cards are inserted at the rate of one-per-box. Again, this is only a guess since the insertion ratios are unknown. Considering just how big a waxbox is (360 cards-per-box); how puny the size of the base set is (200 cards); and how relatively easy the other non-parallel inserts are to pull, the Goudeys seem out of place.

And yes, there are the standard one-per-box autogamers. According to Fleer's website, the 42-card "Traditional Threads" game used cards "(portray) what memorabilia cards would have looked like in the 1950s." They look nothing of the sort. Nice try though.

The Bottom Line:

For a set that really has no reason to exist, '06 Trad is about what you would expect. Now I don't know about you, but if I were in charge of UD, and management ordered me to produce a fifth Fleer product, I might consider issuing an "Update" set -- especially considering just how late in the season it is. Either an update of Fleer or Ultra, or even a multi-brand bundled update set would have made a lot more sense than this.

The box yielded a full 200 card base set and a stack of over 120 doubles. Each pack contained the promised insert, with a Goudey Great of Kenji Johjima and a gamer of Michael Young. Yawn.

Product Rating: 1.5 Gumsticks (out of five)

Do I recommend this product?

Only if you're a Fleer Tradition set completist. Otherwise, save your money and skip it. If you absolutely have to build a Fleer Tradition base set the old fashioned way, buy loose packs. Better yet, spilt up a box with a friend and play pack poker with it.

Box Break and Review: 2006 Ultra

Two Boxes of 2006 Ultra baseball (paid $59 each).
24 packs per box, eight cards per pack (MSRP $2.99/pack)

The Details

Chiptoppers: One advertisment for 2006 Flair Showcase. (Looks pretty good).

Base Set: 251 cards

Broken Down by Short-Print Scheme:
Short Set: 200 cards
Retro Lucky 13: 50 cards (1:4)
Kenji Johjima Redemption Card: one card

Parallels:
Gold Medallion: 200 cards (one-per-pack*)
Retro Lucky 13 Gold Medallion: 50 cards (1:18/packs*)
* Pack odds retrieved from fleer.com

Inserts#:
RBI Kings: 20 cards
Home Run Kings: 15 cards
Strikeout Kings: 10 cards
Ultra Rising Stars: 10 cards
Diamond Producers: 25 cards
Midsummer Classic Kings: 10 cards
# Stated odds of finding an insert (from any of the sets) are one-per-pack.

Autogamers$:
AUTOGRAPHics: 35 cards
Ultra Fine Fabrics: 60 cards
Feel the Game: 30 cards
$ Stated odds of finding an autogamer (from any of the sets) are two-per-box, or 1:12/packs.

The Pulls.

Box One

Base Set: 115 of 251 (45.82%)
No doubles

Broken Down by Short-Print Scheme:
Short Set: 109 of 200 (54.50%)
Retro Lucky 13: 6 of 50 (12%) NOE-MAH! Helton, Cuddyer, F. Lopez, Baldelli, and P. Fielder.

Parallels:
24 Gold Medallions
1 Retro Lucky 13 Gold Medallion: A. Gonzalez

Inserts:
11 RBI Kings: Griffey, Ortiz, Teixeira, Sheffield, Sexson, Pujols, Helton, Delgado, C. Lee, V. Guerrero, and L. Gonzalez.
8 Home Run Kings: Pujols, A. Rodriguez, D. Lee, Teixeira, Dunn, Konerko, Sheffield, and Piazza.
5 Strikeout Kings: Santana, Peavy, Carpenter, Prior, and Zambrano.
5 Ultra Rising Stars: Street, F. Hernandez, Utley, Kazmir, and Taveras.
14 Diamond Producers: Edmonds, Griffey, Ortiz, M. Ramirez, Kent, Helton, Cabrera, Matsui, Tejada, Cantu, Burrell, Abreu, Dunn, and Chavez.
5 Midsummer Classic Kings: Jeter, Clemens, Soriano, G. Anderson, and I. Rodriguez.

Autogamers:
1 Ultra Fine Fabrics: Teixeira.
1 Feel the Game: V. Guerrero.

Box Two

Base Set: 115 of 251 (45.82%)
No doubles

Broken Down by Short-Print Scheme:
Short Set: 109 of 200 (54.50%)
Retro Lucky 13: 6 of 50 (12%) Jeter, P. Wilson, Jenkins, Verlander, Burroughs, Weeks.

Parallels:
24 Gold Medallions
1 Retro Lucky 13 Gold Medallion: Z. Greinke

Inserts:
11 RBI Kings: Griffey, Ortiz, M. Ramirez, Teixeira, Sheffield, Sexson, Kent, Pujols, Delgado, C. Lee, and V. Guerrero.
8 Home Run Kings: Pujols, Griffey, A. Rodriguez, D. Lee, Teixeira, Konerko, Sheffield, and Piazza.
5 Strikeout Kings: Santana, Peavy, Schilling, Carpenter, and Prior.
6 Ultra Rising Stars: Howard, Street, Utley, Duke, Kazmir, and Taveras.
13 Diamond Producers: Jeter, C. Jones, Ortiz, M. Ramirez, Kent, Helton, Matsui, V. Guerrero, Tejada, Burrell, Abreu, Bay, and Dunn.
5 Midsummer Classic Kings: Piazza, Jeter, Clemens, G. Anderson, and P. Martinez.

Autogamers:
1 Ultra Fine Fabrics: E. Chavez.
1 Feel the Game: F. Thomas.

The Review.

UpperFleerDeck does it again! Hot on the heels of Fleer baseball and the first series of Upper Deck, 2006 Fleer Ultra makes it 3-for-3 for the boys from Carlsbad. (or is it North Las Vegas now?)

The 251-card base set is pure Ultra. Just like how 2006 Fleer was a dead ringer for '94 Fleer, 2006 Ultra is Ultra just how you remember it was before it jumped the shark in 2001. The first 180 cards are arranged by team, followed by a twenty card "rookie" subset that is (are you ready for this) NOT short-printed. All 20 of these cards have the standardized MLBPA "ROOKIE CARD" icon, and yes, some of them are parenth-RCs. Cards 201-250 make up the "Retro Lucky 13" subset, and are SPed (1:4). After all, it wouldn't be an Ultra set without some short-prints? It shouldn't be all that difficult to complete the set, being that you get six of them in each box. And besides, unlike other recent card sets that shall remain nameless, it's not like they come autographed or anything.

The theme of the Retro Lucky 13s is that all were among in the first thirteen players selected in the first round of the amateur first-year player draft. Get it? Yes, there are all the usual suspects, but there are a few guys you don't normally find in a short-printed subset. Seriously, when was the last time Paul Wilson, Tony Clark, and Dustin Hermanson had SPed cards? And all the player's are current Big Leaguers -- no Brien Taylors or Josh Hamiltons in this bunch, but no Alex Gordons or Justin Uptons either. What makes the Retro Lucky 13s cool however, is that they really are Retro. The pictures used correspond directly to the year (or at least the general time frame) in which the player was drafted. For example, Ken Griffey, Jr.'s Lucky 13 shows him in one of those ass-ugly late-80s royal blue Mariners jerseys.

To finish off the base set, UpperFleerDeck was able to sneak in a redemption card -- right in the nick of time -- of The Hobby's current "Man of the Hour:" Kenji Johjima. On the checklist posted to fleer.com, Johjima is listed as card #251 in the set. However on the actual redemption card, it clearly states "NON-AUTO RREGULAR CARD #210 ... KENJI JOHJIMA." (And yes, if it says "NON-AUTO," feel free to assume that UpperFleerDeck's going to get Johjima to sign a handful as well.) If Johjima is indeed card #210, that must mean that Billy Wagner's Retro Lucky 13 card (#210 on the checklist) was pulled from the set. But it wasn't. I found at least one eBay auction for a Billy Wagner Retro Lucky 13 card. Is the redemption card right? or is the checklist? That remains to be seen.

Also, word on the street is that the Johjima redemption card was seeded at the rate of one-per-case (each case has 12 waxboxes). If this is true, then the Johjima redemption is short-printed in relation to the other Retro Lucky 13s at a rate of 30%. And since this card is only available as a redemption, could we see a repeat of the 2001 Donruss Albert Pujols situation? Stay tuned.

Moving on, just like with '06 Fleer and '06 UD I, there are an absolute crap-load of non-parallel inserts: 90 in all (not quite the "shit-load" of UD I, but a "crap-load" nonetheless). They're spread-out amongst six different insert sets, and you get one-per-pack -- at least that's what it says on the wrapper (more on that later). If you're like me and like chasing after non-parallel inserts, this is a good thing. Unfortunately, just like with Fleer and UD I, the pack insertion ratios for each specific insert set are not listed anywhere on the wrapper. In fact, since there are no checklists included with the product (tisk, tisk), you have to go Fleer's website to find this information. In addition to the one advertised insert in each pack, you also get a Gold Medallion parallel in each pack. Thankfully, it's the only parallel set in Ultra. Yes, the de-Donrussification of The Hobby continues!

Wrapping up '06 Ultra are the autogamers. Each box promises two from three different sets: Either an AUTOGRAPHic (and yes, THEY USE ALL CAPITAL LETTERS), Ultra Fine Fabric, or Feel the Game card. The latter two are game-used inserts. Of course, in mid-level premium products like Ultra, such cards are merely window dressing. Chances are, you're probably not buying a box like this to pull autogamers, but you don't really mind pulling them either. Think of them as the scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of your slice of apple pie-a-la-mode.

The Bottom Line:

Both boxes yield everything advertised and then some. Instead of the advertised one insert per pack, in both boxes, I got two. Apparently, this is not an abberation, as most collectors are reporting that you get two inserts per pack -- three if you count the one-per-pack Gold Medallion parallel. If you are building the short set -- and if you're even considering buying this product, you probably are -- you'll need to buy at least two boxes. So tap that 401k, cash in your kids college fund, do whatever you can to buy that second box. You'll be glad you did.

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

Do I recommend this product?

Hell yeah! It's Fleer freaking Ultra, for crying out loud. If you don't like this product, then get the hell out of The Hobby now!

...and another thing

For some reason the Prince Fielder and Justin Verlander Retro Lucky 13 cards I pulled both have the MLBPA "Rookie Card" icon on them. According to the MLBPA's own guidelines, they shouldn't, because they both made their Major League debut before the September 1, 2005 cut-off date. Also, Ryan Zimmerman's card (also with the icon) is placed among his Nationals teammates and not with the 20 other rookies.