Repack - Bang or Bust? Part 1

Last week I teased a repack break. The box had 15 packs containing 212 cards total.  Was the break a bang or bust?

As I've said before, any card I don't have is a card I need. So I'll be sort of happy if the box yields a lot of cards I don't have. Beyond that, I'm happier if I get a card that I can add to my reference book. I'm even happier if I can get a Phillie or post 1994 Astro card I don't have. And just if happy if I can get a player I collect.  I'm going to evaluate the box pack by pack in roughly the order they came out of the box.

1993 Triple Play

I remember buying a lot of 1992 Triple Play even though it was clearly designed for kids. I kind of liked the bold graphics. 1993 Triple Play, although still aimed at kids, was too bland for me and I didn't buy much. Consequently, of the 12 cards in this pack, I 'needed' 10 of them.

This card is a bang on two counts, it's a Phillies card I didn't have and it's a subset card I didn't have. Schilling is apparently beating a new glove into submission. I haven't figured out who that is on the back.

And another subset for the reference book.

There were really no inserts in this set but there was a game card. I already had one featuring Darrin Dalton of the Phillies. But I'd rather have a non-Phillie card in the reference book.

The card folds open to reveal a scratch off game. 

Overall, I'd rate this pack as a 'bang'.

1993 Upper Deck

There was a time that I didn't like 1993 Upper Deck much, but now I like it a lot. 15 cards in the pack and I needed 11, so clearly a bang. No great players in this pack but some good photos.

This kid must be at least 25 years old by now.

1989 Topps

I have this set completed, so I didn't expect anything here. Let's just call it a bust, but interesting to see this package again. 29 cards for  79 cents. Along with the Spring Fever Baseball contest, Topps was selling tee shirts.

I wish I'd have bought that Style E shirt although it would probably be a rag by now.

1988 O-Pee-Chee

I've picked up plenty of O-Pee-Chee cards in repacks over the years, but this is the first pack of this product I've ever seen.

Here's one of the problems of opening up 29 year old baseball cards with gum. The gum took off most of Mike's face.

I didn't have any of the 7 cards in this pack, so rate this a bang. Plus I pulled a few players I collect, including the above Hershiser card and Bret Saberhagen. Although I have nearly the complete 1988 Topps set, I don't have the Topps cards of these two.

1993 Ultra

One of the so-called "Super Premium" sets of the early 1990s. I like this set but it's a frequent find in repacks and I only pulled 3 (of 14 in the pack) that I needed. So this pack was a bust.  Just to remind you of what these cards looked like.

Glossy, full-bleed printing front and back. 2 photos in the back but a scarcity of stats. Just a little gold foil on the front.

1988 Score

Another set that loads up repacks. I have nearly the entire set although I'm pretty sure I never bought a pack when new. Of the 17 cards, I only needed 3, so call this a bust.

This was the first year for Score. As the new kid on the block, they brought a colorful card back, complete with a color photo and full career stats to the table. A bit ahead of their time I think.

1989 Topps

A regular 1989 Topps wax pack. A complete bust.

1991 Stadium Club Series 2

The set that started the "Super Premium" trend. "Produced with Kodak Technology". I needed 11 of the 12 cards from the pack, so a total bang. As with the 1993 Upper Deck, no great players but some good photos.

Stadium Club had two gimmicks. One was a system of stats called BARS. I can't claim I ever paid much attention to it. Every pack had a card to explain the system. The other was a copy of the players Topps rookie card on the back. I always liked that in this set. They did it again in 1992 but it didn't work as well since we'd seen all the rookie cards in 1991. Topps should try this again with a current Stadium Club issue.

I collect George Bell. Unlike a lot of cards the design element works pretty well with vertical and horizontal cards.

An Astros rainbow jersey and a good photo at 3rd base.

I'll get the rest of this box done later in the week.

Repack Teaser

It's been awhile since I've seen one of these repacks in the local Target.

Wouldn't that Ty Cobb be a sweet pull? No such luck. Here's a teaser of what was in the box. 15 packs of mostly late 1980 and early 1990 packs. 212 cards for $19.98! And three sticks of nearly 30-year-old gum.  I couldn't fit all the packs on the scanner bed very well but here's an attempt.

Assuming there's anything interesting in here, I'll have some posts up next week.

Players being interviewed on cards

Pretty much every baseball game I've every watched on TV features either pre-game interviews or post-game interviews with players. Sometimes, both. There should be more baseball cards featuring interviews. I have 20 cards featuring players being interviewed. I showed about half them in an earlier post. Here are the rest, in chronological order.

1984 Fleer #28

Dernier had two stints with the Phillies, 1980-1983 and 1988-1989. In 1984 he actually played for the Cubs and he won a Gold Glove.

1987 Fleer Limited Edition #3

Bedrosian led the league with 40 saves in 1987 but he doesn't look too happy here.

1989 Upper Deck #406

I've shown this card before but it's my favorite card from this genre of cards. It's 1989 Upper Deck, it's Mike Schmidt and the guy with the microphone is Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas who passed away 8 years ago.

1991 Upper Deck #728

 In a not very remarkable career, Perez had his best season in 1991, going 9-3 for the Cardinals. And this may not be in interview card but that black thing looks like a camera to me.

1991 Upper Deck Final Edition #92

Clark probably got interviewed a lot in 1991. He was an All-Star, hit .301 for the season with a lead leading .536 slugging percentage.

1996 Collector's Choice #220

I have two cards featuring Franco giving an interview. He looks like he'd be a fun interview.

1998 Collector's Choice #60

I image "The Big Hurt" gave a lot of interviews too.

1998 Pinnacle Inside #86

The Rocket won one of his 7 Cy Young Awards in 1998.

2005 Upper Deck ESPN #2

I'm guessing pre-game interview. 

2010 Upper Deck Season Biography

If the caption on the card is to be believed, Rivera is being interviewed after his 524th save. You never know with Upper Deck.

2014 Topps Update #234

Hernandez earned his 2014 All-Star slot with a lead leading 34 saves and an ERA of 2.14.

Random Cards from My Collection #81

I haven't done this for awhile. Since I'm a giant nerd I use a random number generator in an Excel spreadsheet to generate cards for a post like this.

Card #7,217: 1996 Collector's Choice Silver #24 Matt Lawton

The Silver parallel had a facsimile signature in silver foil. There was a gold parallel as well. Lawton was a 13th round draft pick by the Twins in 1991.

Card #49,761: 1992 Topps Micro #551 Chipper Jones

Topps issued these Micro card sets for a few years in the early 1990s. I remember buying the 1992 set at Toys 'R Us for $10. The cards are so small that they are a pain in the neck to own.

Card #60,334: 2017 Topps #143 Nick Noonan

I just bought this card about a week ago. One of several in the set with players featuring those orange sunglasses.

Card #24,802: 2010 Bowman Platinum #18 Buster Posey

Foil board cards. I don't like them.

Card #23,903: 2003 Upper Deck #379 Jason Lane

When the Astros moved to Enron (later Minute Maid) Field, they changed their uniform colors to sort of match the brick facade of the stadium. This lead to years of Astros baseball cards with this dreadful orange/red brick color.

Card #36,584: 2005 Topps Traded #86 Buddy Bell

I miss manager cards in the Topps flagship set.

Card #32,901: 2012 Bowman #94 Shaun Marcum

After going 20-11 in two seasons with the Brewers, Marcum signed a $4 million contract with the Mets for 2013 and then went 1-10 for them. He is a college pitching coach today.

Card #11,720: 2004 Topps Cracker Jacks #223 Juan Pierre

Still one of my favorite sets of the 21st century.

Card #34,304: 1994 Triple Play #25 Doug Drabek

Triple Play went from a set designed mainly for kids to a sophisticated design like this in just 3 years. Then Donruss dropped the brand until Panini resurrected it a few years ago. 1994 Triple Play was quite nice, a full-bleed glossy card with a photo and full career stats on the back.

Card #38,828 2009 O-Pee-Chee #507 Braves Turner Field/Checklist

Upper Deck, in it's death throws, turned out this weird set in 2009. That may be the Braves Stadium but it's Hanley Ramiriz of the Marlins on the scoreboard.