Loot from Upper Deck

As most of you know I have been writing articles for Upper Deck's blog over the last couple of weeks. In exchange for writing they are offering cards, which is what they money would be spent on anyway so it's a win win for me cutting out the middle man.

In light of only needing 36 cards to finish my 2009 O-Pee-Chee base set, I requested a box of them thinking it would get me to completion or very close to it at least. I'll start by making it clear that I did not get a "loaded" box by any means, so don't get too excited.

Out of however many base cards are in a box, I needed SEVEN of them. Which left me with roughly 200 doubles and 100 triples, frickin sweet. I logged my SEVEN cards in, and went through Sooz's want list and she needed 36, and Flash over at Dropped Third Strike needed 63 of them. They each got more out of this than I did, even with the inserts. I got 4 inserts I really liked and the rest were blah. I have yet to go through the black borders to see how many I needed, but rest assured I will let you all know if that turns out to be disastrous as well.

Here are the highlights, no game used card in the whole box....

I have SO many doubles so if you are trying to put this set together and can help me get those last 29 cards I would be more than happy to send you plenty in return. I probably even have a couple of black border doubles floating around as I try to complete that next.

I'm going to keep my promise

I will not post anymore O-Pee-Chee blaster or box breaks for fear of being stoned by most of the blogosphere. However, I will be posting a highlight of things I find here and there. This gem was too good not to showoff, and I also wanted to point something out on it.

Clearly, this card is freakin' awesome!! Not sure why Bedard is pictured wearing a Baltimore uniform, but that is not what I wanted to point out. If you click on the picture and enlarge it, you can see that around the letters is a brownish color like it was stained or burned when putting the card together. It's like the old treasure maps we all made as kids, that brownish type color on the edges. The fact that I got 2 stripe swatches on the card made it that much sweeter.

Currently at 501/600 of the set complete, which makes me happy. Anyone by chance pull the Cano triple?

I promise not to buy anymore...

blasters of 2009 O-Pee-Chee. (Do I have a secret stash?? You'll never know...) Though I love them so very much, I just can't continue doing it mostly because I ran out of coupons and don't want to spend $20. At $13 bucks it's really hard to resist, but $20 doesn't sound quite as tempting. I'm currently sitting at 472/600 and waiting on cards from gcrl, Sooz, and I think Stale Gum which leaves me in decent shape to finish the set at the show in August or by trades soon.

This last blaster had a little bit of everything that you get in a hobby box more or less, and only cost $13. I haven't had a chance to log the black parallels yet but I do believe I have over 100 (I'm telling you I have issues), and some doubles that I am hoping to trade for some black parallels that I don't already have. I'd like to complete the black set also, but not really on my high priority list of cards at this point.

Here are the highlights:


Of course they are Red Sox.
I really like this subset, just haven't encountered a Yankee yet.
I absolutely love him back in the Seattle uniform. Not sure why but I feel like he looks like himself, and it kind of adds to the retro feel of the card.
Holy moly!! Two pieces of gu jersey that have stripes? Must book for at least $50 (haha), however since I don't care for any of these guys I'm willing to trade it.

I will be posting a list of my doubles from this set so we can trade for the cards we all need to complete this for those of you out there that are doing the same. I have also (for the most part) updated my want list of OPC and others.

More O-Pee-Chee madness

Most of the blogosphere seems to be obsessed with the 2009 Allen & Ginter and while that has totally passed me (us) by here we are all about the OPC set. I just can't get enough of it in every sense of the word. I have bought more of this product than I will even admit to myself much less all of you for fear of being punched for sheer stupidity. However, I have had a blast working on this set and I am inching closer by the day and still have 3 Target coupons left, 1 blaster, incoming trades, and a 1 way ticket to the looney bin will surely follow.

I won't say that I am very, very tempted to finish the set in black parallels as well. I think it will look cool because I plan on putting this set into a binder, which I will pick up at the show in August. I think we should orchestrate a blog meeting there, I am planning on going Friday when they first open because I am silly. I do have quite a few black doubles if anyone would be willing to trade with me for ones I need.



Anyway, some of you expressed interest in seeing my blaster break so here it is (I am writing this while holding a pile of Biology notes I should be studying). It only took me roughly 9870 packs to finally get #200 Derek Jeter. Now if I could come across one for my Jeter binder that would be sweet. Here are the highlights, though I didn't scan all the black parallels. I ended up getting 26 base cards that I needed bringing my total to 447/600, not including cards Sooz has for me and some that Stale Gum has for me.

Mini (1 in the box)




Anyone that has some for trade, please check my want list and let me know which ones you have available. I have plenty of doubles for trade as well. Back to the books I go (somewhat reluctantly).

2009 O-Pee-Chee Hobby Box Break

Over the weekend I broke my hobby box of 2009 O-Pee-Chee baseball, and I had a ton fo fun doing this one. For one there was 36 packs of "fun-ness" to open, and second I love these cards. This was my first hobby box this year, which defies all of my normal spend, spend, spend logic of years past. It was incredibly fun, and will probably lead to disaster on future purchases.

I decided to give a breakdown in an easy way for those of you keeping score at home.

36 packs per hobby box, 6 cards per pack

Zero doubles in the box

6 20th Anniversary cards

1 New York, NY card of Hideki Matsui (of course)

1 black mini

1 Triple Game used card

1 Blank back

1 blue Old Time looking card

91 base cards were needed

68 were doubles that I already had from the million other packs I opened.

336/600 is where I currently stand on completing this set.

Here are the rest of the inserts:




Here are some of the more fun cards, for me anyway.




Overall, I was very pleased with the contents of this box despite the fact that there was not a Jeter base card. I was equally mad that I didn't get Lind or Cano, however Baseball Dad (Tribe Cards) sent me a Cano, but still mad that after all the packs I have opened he has excaped my clutches. The best part of this box was that there were no base card doubles which happens very rarely, if ever, so props to the distribution.

I want to finish this set, and part of me wants to finish the black version of the set as well. Then the smarter part of me takes over and says, "Hey, remember you were supposed to be focusing on Yankee Stadium Legacy." Then I hear the gong, make the sad face, and stop thinking about it. Between Sooz, and Waxaholic I am going to trades some doubles and hopefully some of you guys have some doubles to trade as well.

I haven't put together a want list just yet, but if you have a couple you want to send just let me know the numbers because it may be a while before I post a want list since the other class I am taking started yesterday.

An O-Pee-Chee Auto - Kouz style

Apparently, the odds of getting an O-Pee-Chee autograph aren't that great. But that never stopped me from getting the card I want.

I picked up this Kevin Kouzmanoff OPC auto for $1 (I think $4 shipped) and it actually is one of my favorite autos of his.



The card isn't too flashy and it's plain without being boring. The yellow border gives it just a little style and you can tell it's different than the base cards because it's glossy. The colors are actually so ugly that I like it.

Maybe I'm looking a little too much into the card, but it's one of my new favorite Kouz cards.

O-Pee-Chee Problem

By problem, I mean I can't stop buying them. It's an addiction, and the first step is admitting that you have a problem so here I am. My newest and "favoritest" cards came out of retail packs today from Target.




Who would have thought I would end up with an SP of Pujols from this set before I got the base card? (You get a $2 off coupon for an OPC blaster in each retail pack purchased in Target.)

Now it wouldn't be a problem if I didn't have a ton of other highlights to showcase. So here you have it:

Yes, I did end up with 2 Ryan Doumit black parallels, and they were both in the same blaster. I also got my first hobby box of the year in the mail today and plan to break that bad boy tomorrow once I am done with this class. I love vintage type stuff, so I really don't care about the ripped off design or anything like that. Everything that has come out in recent years is a rip off of something from years ago (meaning retro type sets).

I plan on logging in all my cards this weekend this way I can see how many out of the 660 I have so far. The guys I collect will be living in their binders, and luckily I got some doubles of those guys so I can leave one in the set. When I used to build sets I used to make sure I had two of all Pujols, and some others this way I could have one in my PC and one in the set. Not sure I see that happening here since I have yet to get a Pujols or Jeter base.

On another note, I also want to let the people that I owe cards to know that I will also be doing a mass mailing probably Friday. I apologize for the delay but I haven't really had much time. If you have sent me something, I am sorry for the delayed thanks but I haven't been to my P.O. Box in quite a few days.

If anyone is skipping town early tomorrow for the holiday weekend, have a happy and safe 4th of July weekend!

Topps Agreement Forces Upper Deck To Discontinue Production of Key Sports Card Sets

I saw the link to this article on Twitter and needed to post it for everyone who doesn't follow Blow Out cards. This article was originally seen on the Cardboard Connection, however I read it from a link on Twitter at Blow Out cards message boards.

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Earlier this year Topps sued rival sports card manufacturer Upper Deck on the basis that numerous 2009 Upper Deck Sports Card Products copied the designs of various 1970's Topps Baseball Card Sets. Upper Deck scored an early legal victory when a New York judge ruled in their favor by denying Topps' request for a temporary
restraining order that would have prevented Upper Deck from releasing 2009 Upper Deck Series 2 Baseball and 2009 O-Pee-Chee Baseball.

The next chapter in the legal battle between Topps and Upper Deck was revealed late last week when the two bitter rivals reached an out of court agreement as they await their day in court. According to court documents filed on June 18th, the agreement will allow Upper Deck to continue to sell its existing stock of 2009 Series One and Two Baseball, 2009 O-Pee-Chee Baseball and 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Hockey cards until July 16. Upper Deck will then have to cease production, distribution, and promotion of the sets named in the lawsuit. A hearing on whether Upper Deck will eventually have to recall the aforementioned products will be delayed until the case goes to trial. The trial date has yet to be scheduled.

The similarities between the Upper Deck cards in question and 1975 Topps Baseball are numerous. Both baseball card designs use a 2-color outer border, a thin white border that surrounds the players' photos, bubble-lettered team names complete with shadows near the tops of the cards, player names written in a single color located at the bottom of the card, and sport a baseball in the bottom corner.

Upper Deck says in its defense that the Topps baseball card designs that it supposedly copied are "common and functional" and therefore not protected as a matter of law. In taking this stand, Upper Deck appears to taking the position that trading card designs should not be protected by copyright laws. Should they prevail over Topps, this could ultimately diminish the level of protection available to any and all trading cards - including their own brands.

Regardless of the similarities that exist between the sets, Topps could easily find itself in a no win situation. Should Topps come out victorious, it would significantly strengthen the copyright protections available to the trading card industry as a whole. However, in doing so they would also drive up the demand for 2009 Series One and Two Baseball, 2009 O-Pee-Chee Baseball and 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Hockey. The hobby's love of short printed cards could easily catapult these products into a previously unattainable degree of success.

-The Cardboard Connection

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This is not good news for us, since as you know we both loved the OPC set. Sigh.

My O-Pee-Chee decision

There were so many options to choose from and the only one that didn't cost me money was not collecting the set. However, that wasn't a realistic option because I really wanted these cards.

I've decided that I am going to collect the base cards of the players and send them out for TTM autos. Sure, I won't be getting some (maybe lots) back, but the project just seems very interesting to me.

The good news is that I only need 500 cards, not 600. That bad news is that I need 500 cards.

My one venture into TTMs happens last summer where I sent about five cards to Yankees prospects. I got all but one back. I'll post updates as I send groups of cards out and what cards I get back and how long it took to get them back.

Anything, I don't send out by Aug. 15., I am going to wait until spring training to send out.

This could take a while.

I pulled a fast one

Well, I wouldn't say that is totally true but if anyone has been to Sports Authority you know that their blasters and rack packs are overpriced. I took the liberty of asking them to price match Target on a blaster of 2009 O-Pee-Chee since they were marked $24.99, and the guy told me I would need a flyer. I told him that they are never in the ads and I would go upstairs to Target and take a picture of all the blaster prices and come back, he said don't worry about it and gave it to me for $19.99. Hooray! I was so excited to have found the blasters that I never bothered looking at the box to see which cards were on it til about 30 minutes later in Barnes and Noble. I ended up with Jeter and Hanley Ramirez, which is great because I have a Pujols incoming from Baseball Dad.

There was one blaster left, and I saved my receipt so that after class I can stop there and see if the other one is still there and snag it. I love baseball cards.

Here are some of the highlights from the blaster. I got one card that is probably my favorite so far, and it has nothing to do with Pujols (who has not made an appearance in my packs or Sooz's yet). It is a Jeter card and it is from the last game at Yankee Stadium, which both myself and Sooz were at and this was probably one of the moments I will always remember from the Stadium.


These are the rookies I pulled, I am not sure if I am going to do a complete set or not, so I am not trading anything from this set just yet. I will trade black cards and SP's, just not the base yet. I don't think I have completed a set since 2004 or 2005 of anything, though I did end up with a 2007 Topps Series 1 only because I was chasing the Jeter error.



Stadium cards:



Face of the Franchise



Couple more highlights:








Hopefully I will be back later with the story that I found another blaster.

Sooz's O-Pee-Chee Dilemma

I really like this set, so much so that I want to finish it. I'm not a set collector. The only thing I ever go after are Derek Jeter and Kevin Kouzmanoff cards and will gladly give away anything that isn't that.

However, I bought an O-Pee-Chee blaster last night (with the cut out Jeter card) and want to finish it. So, I bought another one today. But there are a number of roads I can go down and I don't know which one to pick. OF the 600-card base set, I got 126 and about five doubles.

Before we get to the options, let's see the highlights of the blasters.

I like the Yankee Stadium, but of the stadium cards it's a little boring.

Sweet! I got a Kouzmanoff base card. Although, he looks kind of scary on it.

This is a Joba mini-black parallel.

This was the favorite card that I got. It was actually the only Jeter card. I didn't get a base of his in two blasters.

Two things stuck out about the set that I didn't care for. One was the checklist cards. I love the stadium checklist cards, but they aren't all like that. Some of them have the floating heads. I got a double of the Cardinals checklist and that just have a bunch of floating heads of Cards.

The other were the Moments card, specifically this Michael Young card, which I also got a double of. He looks bored and I don't see how this is a special moment from the '08 season. And why is it the '08 season?

I got the same card as the last card in both blasters. Probably one of my least favorite players.

So here is my dilemma.

1. Do I collect just the base cards?

2. Do I collect the master set? Marie isn't me collecting the master set because I pulled this card.

3. Do I just not even bother collecting the set and stick to getting the Jeters. I think there are 13 different Jeter cards in this set alone.

However, one thing I am considering doing is a little bit of a crazy project. I want to collect most of the base cards (excluding the checklist and team leaders cards) then send all of them out for TTM and see how many of them I get back. I am leaning toward this one because it's a little different, but we're talking about hundreds of dollars in postage.

So what do I do?