What I Got at the Card Show: 11/26/06

Site: An armory in Bordentown, NJ

One box of 2006 Topps Traded Updates & Highlights (paid $52)

Box break forthcoming.

Stack #1 (Paid $25)
1995 Bowman's Best Juan Encarnacion RC
2001 Donruss 20th Anniversary Reprints R. Clemens (#/1985)
2001 Donruss Diamond Kings D. Jeter (#/2500)
2001 Fleer Platinum Classic Combinations T. Gwynn/T. Williams (#/500)
2002 Donruss Elite Series W. Ford (#/2500)
2002 Donruss Production Lines B. Bonds (#/1378)
2002 Donruss Production Lines A-Rod (#/1021)
2002 Donruss Elite Austin Kearns (#/1500)
2004 Donruss Power Alley Red J. Gonzalez (#/2500)
2005 Donruss 1985 Reprints C. Ripken, Jr. (#/1985)

Stack #2 (paid $18)
A trio of 2006 Bowman Autographed Rookies: J. Devine, R. Abercrombie, & R. Nolasco

Total Spent on Cards: $95
Tolls: $2
Admission: $2
Grand Total: $99

1st Impressions: 2007 Topps series one.

Well, the design for 2K7 Topps has been unveiled, and no, you're eyes aren't deceiving you. Topps' base set has gone back to non-white borders.

The navy blue layout reminds me of '94 Score (not that that's a bad thing), but there's something in me that always wants Topps' flagship to have white borders.

No details on set compsition, inserts, autogamers, and the like. Not yet anyway, but the first series is scheduled to drop in February -- just like '06 Topps I.

(Image ripped off from Beckett.)

Good News/Bad News

The good news is that Tuff Stuff just Stale Gum it's "Website of the Month." Horray for me, and thank you Tuff Stuff for the recognition.

Now the bad news. In case you haven't noticed, there haven't been a whole lot of new posts of late. To be honest with you, updating this site is not the most important thing in my life right now (getting into a halfway decent graduate school is). With school, work, and whatnot, I haven't had the time to devote to this page. That and there really isn't much for me to talk about Hobby wise.

I'll be back sometime around the end of the year -- after finals are over and to wrap up The Hobby year.

Thanks for being there.

Topps is raking it in.

For those of you who had their doubts on the MLBPA's product guidelines and were cursing the PA for revoking Donruss's license, comes this.

Topps has announced that profits for the quarter ending in August were up nearly 10% over the same period last year. Leading the charge were sales of sports cards (baseball cards in particular), which are up 75% over the same period last year and 66% for the six months ending in August.

All credit was given to the reduction of brands in the marketplace (i.e. no more Donruss) and The Hobby's new focus on low-end products.

In fact, according to COO Scott Silverstein, sales of 2006 Topps baseball at mass-market retail outlets (Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, etc.) were up an impressive 124% over '05 Topps baseball. He also said that sales of '06 Opening Day and '06 Bazooka were up 101% and 42% respectively.

Info lovingly ripped off from topps.com and tuffstuff.com

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

What I got in the mail: 10/14/06

One box of 2006 Flair Showcase (paid $63)

Total Spent on Cards: $63
Shipping and Handling: $9.95
Grand Total: $72.95

Box break forthcoming.

What I didn't get at the Card Show: 10/8/06

Site: Moorestown Mall; Moorestown, NJ

Bought absolutely nothing, because I didn't go. I went to the Eagles-Cowboys game instead.

The Linc was amped up, giving it almost playoff atmosphere. (A 4:15 kickoff -- and the ensuing three extra hours of tailgating -- will do that to an already rabid fanbase.) I honestly can not recall being this fired up for a game since the Tampa Bay debacle. Lot's of "O-DEE, O-DEE, O-DEE, O-DEEEEEEE; O-DEE, O-DEEEEEE," chants, aimed at you-know-who (who was a non-factor). God Bless Sal Pal for getting through this teaser with a straight face.

The pass interference call against Michael Lewis, scared the bejesus out of all 69,268 of us. It gave us all a flashback to the 4th quarter collapse against the Giants last month. But atfer Lito Sheppard's "Pick Six," the Linc went absolute batshit. (Note how quick exit T.O. makes as soon as the clock strikes 0:00.)

The Birds are 4-1, and on top of the best division in the football by a game-and-a-half. And from the hills of Scranton, to the beaches of Cape May; from Dover to Harrisburg, and all points in between; all is well in Eagle Nation.


Game Ticket: $60
12-pack of Yuengling Lagers: $9
Subway and Patco Speedline Ticket: $6.40
Cheesesteak, Jumbo Dog, and five beers at the game: $40
Extra ticket I was able to unload on a parking lot scapler, because the guy I was going to the game with punked out on me: + $75
Grand Total Spent at (and to get to) Game: $40.40

What I got at the Card Show: 10/1/06

What to do on a football Sunday when your team is playing on Monday? Why, go to a card show, of course! Screw homework.

Site: A VFW hall in Port Monmouth, NJ

A stack of 2006 Bowman and Upper Deck singles (paid $34)

Total Spent on Cards: $34
Turnpike and Parkway Tolls: $5.50
Parking and Admission: $4
Grand Total: $43.50

The Philly Show was to have run this weekend, but was cancelled due to the closing of the Ft. Washington Expo Center. The good news is that the EPSCC found a new venue in Reading, so the December show looks like it's on.

I arrived in the VFW hall around 2:30, and as such, most of the dealers had already begun to pack up and leave. Don't you just hate that? I was able to spot one of the old Ft. Washington regulars, and bought a bunch of current season baseball commons (his specialty).

I have now completed my '06 Bowman short set (reds, greens, and blues), and am exactly one card shy of a full 1000 card Upper Deck set. Anyone have a spare '06 UD David Dellucci?

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.

What I got at the Card Show: 9/24/06

Site: Concord Mall; Concord, DE

A stack of 180 Topps Allen & Ginter singles and short-prints (Paid $50)

Total Spent on Cards: $50
Bridge Tolls: $3
Parking and Admission: FREE
Grand Total: $53

Like I said in the review, "With so much of the wax being broken, singles are becoming easier, and cheaper, to acquire." Needless to say, I've decided against busting a second box of TA&G, and am buying singles. By sticking to singles, I was able to get just as many base set cards as a full waxbox, for half the price. Unless you're chasing after autogamers or a Rip Card, you might want to hold off on that second TA&G box.

Still working on that box break of '06 Fleer Trad. Hold your horses folks, it will come eventually. But to tide you over, I'll say this: '06 Fleer Trad sucks.