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.

Random Cards From My Collection #76

Card # 49346
1986 Topps Baseball Tattoos Charlie Hough

Comments on the card/player: These were available as a sheet with 6 players and a stick of gum in a pack. I had started collecting cards in 1985 but don't remember ever seeing this for sale.
How/When acquired: I got a sheet of these as a throw-in in a trade in 2008.

Card #493
1992 Leaf Black Gold #396 Eddie Murray

Comments on the card/player: A very early example of a parallel card. This was the second year for Leaf, and the first for Leaf Black Gold. The Black Gold parallel added a bit of gold foil and a black border to the front and the gold colored border on the back.
How/When acquired: I don't know when I got this but it was probably new in a pack in 1992.

Card #25279
2011 Topps Opening Day #108 Jonathan Sanchez

Comments on the card/player: Sanchez had a pretty good 2010 season with the Giants, going 13-9 and helping get the Giants into the playoffs. He spent much of 2011 on the DL, winning 4 and losing 7, and was a free agent at the end of the season.
How/When acquired: Paid $0.13/card for 2 77-card blasters of Topps Opening Day in March 2011.

Card #3325
2002 Donruss Rookies Crusade #48 Elio Serrano

Comments on the card/player: This was a 50-card insert in 2002 Donruss Rookies packs. I also have the Donruss Rookie card of Serrano which has the same photograph. Since this is the only Rookie Crusade card I have I don't know if the repeat photo was a feature or not. I'm also not sure what the medieval symbolism was supposed to mean. As for Serrano, he never made it to the majors and was out of baseball by 2005.
How/When acquired: I got this card on eBay for $3.10 in May 2005.

Card #44847
2014 Topps Super Veteran #13 C. C. Sabathia

Comments on the card/player: This 15-card insert in 2014 Topps is based on the Super Veteran subset cards in Topps sets around 1980.
How/When acquired: Paid $0.27/card for 80-card blaster at WalMart on 2/1/14.

2014 Topps Heritage #367 Alex Cobb

Comments on the card/player: The back of the card says that Cobb was the winner in the first-ever AL Wild Card game. That's one record that can never be beat. He pitched 6.2 scoreless innings to beat the Indians in 2013.
How/When acquired: Paid $0.34/card for 2 blaster boxes of Topps Heritage on 4/3/14 at Target.

Card #15771
2003 Upper Deck Victory #20 Derek Lowe

Comments on the card/player: Wow. Here's a card that's got everything against it. It's got rounded corners. It features a card game on the back that you'll never have cards to play. It's got 2 numbers on the back making you guess which is the card number and which is the player number. And it's ugly.
How/When acquired: Paid $0.17/card for 60-card Fairfield repack in April 2010.

Card #19179
1981 Coke Team Sets #11 Manny Trillo

Comments on the card/player: In 1981, Coke distributed 11 team sets. I don't know how they were distributed. They look just like the corresponding Topps card except, of course, for the Coke label.
How/When acquired: I got this set at a flea market near Philadelphia in the early 1990s.

Card #26542

1985 O-Pee-Chee #87 David Green

Comments on the card/player: Usually you see the "Traded to..." label on the front when the player is shown in his old team's uniform. It's to explain why the card has a Giants logo but the player is clearly not wearing a Giants uniform.
How/When acquired: Paid $0.04/card for 278-card Fairfield repack box in April 2011.

Card # 51261
1997 Score #115 Dennis Martinez

Comments on the card/player: 1997 Score: the most boring fronts and the most complicated backs in baseball card history. Sorry to end today's post on such a weak card.
How/When acquired: Don't know.

More Phillies cards from Dan

Here are some more Phillies cards I got from Dan of dansotherworld. Check out his blog.

1989 Topps Wax Box Cards #O Kent Tekulve

 I was collecting in the late 1980s and I remember that several manufacturers were featuring cards on box bottoms, but I don't remember ever seeing one. In 1989, Topps had 16 cards in the set featuring players who reached some milestone. For some reason, they numbered them from A to P. Maybe so they wouldn't get confused with the regular set. Dan sent me the two Phillies from the set, Tekulve and Greg Gross.

1989 Toys R Us Rookies #16

I didn't have any cards from this set. There aren't many card sets with yellow borders, and that may just as well. But I actually like cards with yellow borders, probably because they are rare.

1992 O-Pee-Chee Premier #134 John Kruk

This was the first set that O-Pee-Chee released that didn't use the same design as Topps. A pretty nice looking card.

1992 Stadium Club Dome #4 Ron Allen

You don't see many cards featuring the player in his college uni. Dan sent me this and another Phillie from the set, Tyler Green. I already had the Kevin Stocker card. Only two to go, Kruk and Gene Schall.

1993 Fleer Atlantic #12 John Kruk

This is a nice odd-ball. It's the same basic design as 1993 Fleer except it has a gold border on the front and a gold background on the back. The regular card is silver. It also features different photos than the regular Fleer card. These were available in 5-card packs at Atlantic gas stations with an 8-gallon purchase. By the way, gas was going for about a dollar a gallon in 1993.

1997 Metal Universe #205 Scott Rolen

A Fleer product, perhaps the weirdest set ever produced. With his power belt on, Rolen could hit home runs into the next galaxy.

2000 Red Barons Magnets Jimmy Rollins

I don't really know what this is. I'm guessing it's from 2000 since that's the year Jimmy played with the Red Barons. It isn't really a baseball card but a refrigerator magnet. I guess it was a ballpark giveaway. Need and MRI? Call 800-383-4MRI.

2001 Bowman Heritage #24 Nelson Figueroa

2001 Bowman Heritage pretty much passed me by. I may have bought one pack. My first Phillie from the set.

2003 Fleer Splendid Splinters #41 Bobby Abreu

 Another of the myriad Fleer sets from the 2000s.