Sweet Spot Strasburg cards

Occasionally I like to type in his name and sort by highest price first just to see what crazy prices pop up. I came across the usual crazy ones that we have featured on here and in the contest. What I wasn't aware of is that Strasburg has a little collection of auto's in the 2008 Sweet Spot.

I opened a boatload of 2008 Sweet Spot, and obviously didn't pull a card of him and when you look at the serial numbering on these you will understand why most of us never saw one. The first one I found looked fake to me,2008 Sweet Spot Strasburg ball auto but upon a little further investigating they all looked basically the same. That one struck me as bad stitching, but it's probably just quality control. This one looks a little bit better, 2008 Sweet Spot Strasburg ball auto #2.

Now, if you need solid evidence that this young phenom is truly a rookie just check out these two cards:

2008 Sweet Spot Strasburg thumbprint

2008 Sweet Spot Strasburg thumbprint #2

I know signing his first few autographs must have been very exciting, but this ink was not magic quick dry ink. Why is he sticking his finger smack on the middle of the auto? Does this add value because you now have an auto with a fingerprint? I know players charge for inscriptions so maybe there are only 37 of the ball auto and 32 of the glove because to have the fingerprint was costly to Upper Deck.... One clean black glove sold for $800, and am curious to see what the cards with the prints sell for now.

There is also an uber rare 2008 Sweet Spot /10 of Strasburg.... it's the brown glove signature one. There was only one completed listing for that card, and none currently on eBay.

Click here to try your luck....

This might be the last Upper Deck pack I buy

Last week when the news hit that Topps was granted an exclusive MLB license, I lamented over losing UD. It had its faults, but so does Topps.

While at Wal-Mart, I looked at the baseball card aisle and decided to splurge $20 on a 2008 Sweet Spot packs (blaster?). You really only get one pack with a guaranteed game-used jersey or autograph inside.

I figured if I was going to buy something of Upper Deck, I would go out with a bang.

This was my prize:





It's not this exact card. I borrowed this picture from eBay because I hate scanning cards, but I received a similar Clayton Kershaw autograph numbered to /50. It wasn't the Derek Jeter autograph I hoped for, but this was fun too.

Thanks Upper Deck.

Mail Day #4 - The Sweetest Spot

I am done with these cards now. I have no interest in pursuing the dual game used cards from this set. The one thing I noticed about the specific card I got is there is a thread of some sort on it, still connected. I don't know if it is visible in the scan, but it's kind of interesting yet kind of annoying.

As far as the dual game used from this set, if you have one and are willing to trade it then by all means I want it. I just don't care to buy any on eBay.

2008 Sweet Spot Hobby Box Break #2

Long story short, I somehow acquired a second box. With the exception of the card that made the whole thing worth it 10 times over, tell me if this box break looks familiar.

Pack One:

- Derek Jeter (yay)
- Jose Reyes
- Russell Martin (yay)
- Sweet Swatch Memorabilia Ron Guidry

- Aaron Rowand
- Scott Rolen
- Joba Chamberlain (yay)
- YSL Ron Guidry

(Nice pack for a Yankee fan that's for sure.)

Pack Two:

- Manny Ramirez
- Alex Rodriguez (yay)
- Troy Tulowitzki (yay)
- Sweet Swatch Triple Memorabilia Pedro Martinez/Trevor Hoffman/Randy Johnson

- B.J. Upton
- Felix Hernandez
- Justin Verlander
- YSL Dave Winfield

Pack Three:

- Trevor Hoffman
- David Wright
- Jonathan Papelbon
- Sweet Swatch Dual Memorabilia Travis Hafner & Justin Morneau (yes, no joke. at least Morneau's swatch is an away jersey in this one... snarl)
- Aaron Harang
- Vernon Wells
- Dontrelle Willis
- YSL David Wells

Pack Four:

- Jonathan Papelbon (x2)
- Roy Oswalt
- Chase Utley
- Sweet Swatch Memorabilia Miguel Cabrera (yes, really. only difference is the material texture.)

- Derek Jeter (x2)(yay for Sooz)
- Johan Santana
- Rich Harden
- YSL Tommy John

Pack Five a.k.a. The Mother Pack:

- Jose Reyes (x2)
- Russell Martin (x2)
- Chipper Jones
- Sweet Spot Signatures Bat KEN GRIFFEY JR. 190/230 (holy schnikeys!!)

- Albert Pujols
- Torii Hunter
- Dan Uggla
- YSL Don Mattingly

Pack Six this was Tin Pack:

- Jeff Francoeur
- Nick Markakis
- Brandon Webb
- Sweet Swatch Memorabilia Felix Hernandez (uh huh... at least it's gray? wtf)

- Carlos Beltran
- Ichiro
- Michael Young
- YSL Willie Randolph

Yes, please tell me how I rarely purchase or obtain something this pricey and for once end up with 2 boxes that have virtually all the same cards? Not to mention I only got one autograph card. I'm not being greedy here, but I mean really I could have done without one of the THREE I already had, and got one autograph. But then again, it probably would have been a Brian Bixler autograph.

I did purchase them from the same store, but shouldn't there have been some variety to the case they were in? I am not even going to bother writing to Upper Deck because I am pretty sure I am going to get absolutely no where with that complaint.

At any rate, how about the Griffey Jr. card?!! I am super happy about that one and plan to hold onto it for a while, or until someone comments that they have a nice Pujols Sweet Spot auto to trade me for it... Overall, if we forget that I already had 3 of the GU cards, I did get 5 players that I collect, 6 if you count the Pujols that I now have 3 of.

If anyone has a Phil Hughes from this set please send it my way and I'll get you something you need.

2008 Sweet Spot Hobby Box Break

I was dying to break this one so I took care of my curiosity tonight after I got home from work. Here is the break:

Pack One:

- Upton
- Hernandez
- Verlander

- Sweet Swatch Memorabilia Felix Hernandez

- Bay
- Zambrano
- Pudge (Yankees uniform)
- Kubek YSL

Pack Two:
- Young
- Beltran
- Ichiro
- Sweet Swatch Dual Memorabilia Hafner & Morneau


- Griffey Jr.

- Cano

- Smoltz
- Berra YSL

Pack Three:

- Rios
- Hoffman
- Wright
- Sweet Beginnings Brian Bixler Auto 185/699 (ok really, not happy)


- Santana
- Harden
- Pena
- Howard YSL

Pack Four:

- Phillips
- Sheffield
- Milledge
- Sweet Swatch Memorabilia Nick Markakis


- Albert Pujols (amazing, I get his card yet did not need it)


- Hunter
- Uggla
- Maris YSL

Pack Five:

- Gordon
- Hafner
- Ortiz
- Sweet Swatch Memorabilia Miguel Cabrera


- Thome
- Blanton
- Fielder
- Skowron YSL

Pack Six:

- Haren
- Mauer
- Lowell
- Phillips (yay, two of these.)
- Sweet Spot Signatures Bob Gibson 062/250


- Butler
- Sanchez
- Berkman
- Skowron YSL


Overall, this was fun but... don't know if I'm happy with what I got out of it. The Bixler auto, I couldn't care less about having or pulling. The Gibson auto is pretty sweet, and I'm just glad I didn't end up with some scrub player. You do get a lot of base cards in the hobby box which for the money is nice. And you can not go wrong with a Hall of Famer autograph, I am pleased with that.