August 2011 Group Break - 1996 Fleer (Packs #29-36)

This post will finish up this month's break.  I again thank everyone who signed up.  If you are also participating in next month's Topps Marquee break keep watching.  I know there is a lot of excitement building up for it.  I should also mention that I've already picked out 3 different early 2000 boxes that will yield lots of packs and at least 6 hits.  Best part is it looks like I can keep the price at around $10 shipped for a 2 team deal.  I don't want to give everyone "Group Break Overload" so I'll wait a bit before a formal announcement is made.  If you can't wait to know then shoot me an e-mail and I'll divulge the details.

Alright - to the last handful of 1996 Fleer packs.

Pack 29:

#369 David Nied - Tiffany (Rockies)

#14 Joe Carter - Team Leader (Blue Jays)
#478 John Franco (Mets)
#431 Delino DeShields (Dodgers)
#093 Charles Nagy (Indians)
#136 Jon Nunnally (Royals)
#974 Lyle Mouton (White Sox)
#280 John Olerud (Blue Jays)
#176 Frank Robinson (Twins)
#238 Ken Griffey Jr. (Mariners)
#034 Zane Smith (Red Sox)

Pack 30:

#499 Charlie Hayes - Tiffany (Phillies)

#01 Garret Anderson - Rookie Sensation (Angels)
#286 Rafael Belliard (Braves)
#248 Jeff Frye (Rangers)
#203 Geronimo Berroa (A's)
#012 Doug Jones (Orioles)
#582 Marvin Benard (Giants)
#538 David Bell (Cardinals)
#492 Toby Borland (Phillies)
#451 Shane Andrews (Expos)
#258 Dean Palmer (Rangers)

Pack 31:

#059 J.T. Snow - Tiffany (Angels)
#15 Quilvio Veras - Rookie Sensation (Marlins)
#033 Aaron Sele (Red Sox)
#323 Randy Myers (Cubs)
#117 Brian Maxcy (Tigers)
#346 Darren Lewis (Reds)
#412 Todd Jones (Astros)
#571 Brian Johnson (Padres)
#392 Terry Pendleton (Marlins)
#437 Todd Hollandsworth (Dodgers)
#503 Tom Marsh (Phillies)

Pack 32:

#502 Tony Longmire - Tiffany (Phillies)

#04 Tony Gwynn - Zone (Padres)
#269 Tony Castillo (Marlins)
#227 Tim Belcher (Mariners)
#382 Jerry Browne (Marlins)
#336 Jeff Brantley (Reds)
#287 Jeff Blauser (Braves)
#249 Benji Gil (Rangers)
#204 Mike Bordick (A's)
#013 Rick Krivda (Orioles)
#583 Barry Bonds (Giants)

Pack 33:
#579 Fernando Valenzuela - Tiffany (Padres)

#06 Greg Maddux - Smoke 'n Heat (Braves)

#07 Cal Ripken Jr. - Checklist (Orioles)
#446 Felix Rodriguez (Dodgers)
#332 Steve Trachsel (Cubs)
#154 Dave Nilsson (Brewers)
#193 Melido Perez (Yankees)
#483 Chris Jones (Mets)
#104 Dave Winfield (Indians)
#470 Tony Tarasco (Expos)
#449 Todd Worrell (Dodgers)

Pack 34:

#161 Greg Vaughn - Tiffany (Brewers)

#01 Kevin Appier - Smoke 'n Heat (Royals)
#411 Brian Hunter (Astros)
#570 Trevor Hoffman (Padres)
#391 Joe Orsulak (Marlins)
#436 Carlos Hernandez (Dodgers)
#502 Tony Longmire (Phillies)
#555 Danny Sheaffer (Cardinals)
#525 Esteban Loaiza (Pirates)
#369 David Nied (Rockies)
#297 Mark Lemke (Braves)

Pack 35:

#433 Chad Fonville - Tiffany (Dodgers)
#02 Ken Griffey Jr. - Post Season Glory (Mariners)
#183 Joe Girardi (Yankees)
#144 Mike Fetters (Brewers)
#108 John Doherty (Tigers)
#064 Ray Durham (White Sox)
#024 Jose Canseco (Red Sox)
#403 John Cangelosi (Astros)
#361 Ellis Burks (Rockies)
#314 Frank Castillo (Cubs)
#270 Domingo Cedeno (Blue Jays)

Pack 36:

#458 Mark Grudzielanek - Tiffany (Expos)

#02 Tony Gwynn - Road Warriors (Padres)
#295 Mike Kelly (Braves)
#244 Luis Sojo (Mariners)
#214 Steve Ontiveros (A's)
#050 Mike James (Angels)
#330 Sammy Sosa (Cubs)
#152 Mike Matheny (Brewers)
#353 Pete Schourek (Reds)
#419 Greg Swindell (Astros)
#578 Scott Sanders (Padres)

1988 Topps Dinosaurs Attack!

I remember running across a poll on another blog to the sum of "Are you a sports fan first and then a card collector?", or "Card collector first who just happens to be a sports fan" ...or something like that.  I answered that I was a card collector first.  Yes, I like sports cards...hence the baseball theme of this blog.  I also like various non-sports card sets too.  I have lots of Marvel Comics sets from the 90's and 2000's plus some of the current stuff.  Topps seemed to be king of the non-sports scene in the 80's and while I may have bought several packs of Garbage Pail Kids and other things back in the day I haven't paid them a whole lot of attention since I got back into cards.

While browsing the selection of cards for this month's group break I ran across a box of 1988 Topps Dinosaurs Attack!.  I knew nothing of the set, but I took a chance since the box was uber cheap and I'm glad that I did.

I tried to share a few packs of this comical bloody set of cards via video, but the audio gave out early on the video.  In that video I mentioned how there was a story that unfolded card by card giving a reason if you will behind the card set's subject.  Now that all of the packs have been opened and sorted I wanted to share off the complete 55 card set (and all 12 stickers!).

Pulled directly from card #55 (synopsis) in the set:

Orbiting our world is the space laboratory Prometheus, where Dr. Elias Thorne is about to demonstrate his newest and most revolutionary invention:  the Time Scanner.  By projecting a modified particle beam to Earth, Thorne hopes to view - through an enormous wall of shimmering light - any area of Earth's past he chooses.  First on the agenda:  investigating the prehistoric era and learning why the great dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago.  When this experiment goes awry, the Time Scanner becomes a "time tilter".  All living creatures from the Devonian Period to the Late Cretaceous are suddenly, savagely swept through time into the 20th Century.  The world trembles as dinosaurs and other prehistoric monsters invade familiar surroundings, setting cities ablaze and devouring millions of hysterical human beings.  Meanwhile, Thorne and his associates on Prometheus work feverishly to correct their cataclysmic mistake.  They finally succeed...and the sudden "yank" of this time reversal literally shreds the reptilian invaders into bloodied pulp and bone.  Despite unprecedented losses and mass destruction, our civilization recovers.

Ok, you still with me?  Ready to see the story in card form?  Yeah?  Me too!

I miss non-sports sets like this.  Having a good look at a lot of these cards it's easy to say something like this could never be sold these days.  We're too "PC" today for something like this.  Perhaps this is a reason I enjoy this set so much.  Yes it's goofy, but it appeals to the sci-fi / horror movie fan inside me.

For anyone interested I do have one full master set available for trade or sale.  I also have an extra set of just the stickers.  I'm only one card (#55) from having a full 3rd set.

August 2011 Group Break - 1997 Fleer (Packs #10-18)

This post will finish up the retail box of 1997 Fleer.  In retrospect I should've bought 2 of these boxes.  I didn't realize Fleer changed up the insert ratio.  Oh well, I hope everyone is enjoying their team(s) performance thus far.

Pack 10:

#065 Dave Martinez (White Sox)
#371 Mike Piazza (Dodgers)
#233 Bobby Witt (Rangers)
#216 Bob Wells (Mariners)

#160 Todd Walker - Tiffany (Twins)
#198 John Wasdin (A's)
#048 Mark Langston (Angels)
#212 Jamie Moyer (Mariners)
#488 Rick Wilkins (Giants)

#476 Marvin Benard (Giants)

I think I like the Tiffany parallels much better this time around...too bad they are seeded 1:20 packs now.

Pack 11:

#171 Tino Martinez (Yankees)
#349 Darryl Kile (Astros)
#022 Nomar Garciaparra (Red Sox)
#221 Juan Gonzalez (Rangers)
#217 Dan Wilson (Mariners)
#003 Bobby Bonilla (Orioles)
#495 Mark McGwire (A's)

#452 Ozzie Smith (Cardinals)
#330 Charles Johnson (Marlins)
#073 Robin Ventura (White Sox)

Pack 12:

#161 Wade Boggs (Yankees)

#252 Jeff Blauser (Braves)
#312 Quinton McCracken (Rockies)
#275 Luis Gonzalez (Cubs)
#069 Chris Snopek (White Sox)
#468 Jody Reed (Padres)
#041 Darin Erstad (Angels)
#334 Pat Rapp (Marlins)
#082 Jack McDowell (Indians)
#383 Pedro Martinez (Expos)

Pack 13:

#018 Jose Canseco (Red Sox)
#454 Mark Sweeney (Cardinals)
#195 Scott Spiezio (A's)
#276 Mark Grace (Cubs)

#09 Alex Ochoa - Rookie Sensations (Mets)
#248 Robert Perez (Blue Jays)
#329 Andre Dawson (Marlins)
#091 Jose Vizcaino (Indians)
#364 Todd Hollandsworth (Dodgers)
#306 Eddie Taubensee (Reds)

Another Alex Ochoa insert for BA Benny!  I guess the Mets had high hopes for this guy back in the day?

Pack 14:

#434 Ramon Morel (Pirates)
#183 Tony Batista (A's)
#223 Kevin Gross (Rangers)
#174 Paul O'Neill (Yankees)
#165 Joe Girardi (Yankees)
#144 Ron Coomer (Twins)
#493 Andruw Jones (Braves)
#241 Juan Guzman (Blue Jays)

#050 Tim Salmon (Angels)
#418 Scott Rolen (Phillies)

I hope Angels, In Order needs this Salmon card...if not I might!

Pack 15:

#153 Dan Naulty (Twins)
#214 Paul Sorrento (Mariners)
#037 Chili Davis (Angels)
#175 Andy Pettitte (Yankees)

#04 Mark McGwire - Golden Memories (A's)
#253 Brad Clontz (Braves)

#240 Shawn Green (Blue Jays)
#100 Mark Lewis (Tigers)
#446 Ray Lankford (Cardinals)
#152 Greg Myers (Twins)

We have our 1st Golden Memories card...but no one claimed the A's.  Any takers?  I love this photo of Shawn Green.  I hope $30 a Week Habit likes it too!

Pack 16:

#406 Matt Beech (Phillies)
#066 Lyle Mouton (White Sox)
#197 Bill Taylor (A's)
#156 Frank Rodriguez (Twins)
#150 Travis Miller (Twins)
#123 Mike Sweeney (Royals)

#296 Barry Larkin (Reds)
#011 Randy Myers (Orioles)
#331 Al Leiter (Marlins)
#365 Eric Karros (Dodgers)

I wonder if this Larkin card already resides in Nachoes Grande's collection or not?

Pack 17:
#474 Rich Aurilia (Giants)
#162 David Cone (Yankees)
#060 Alex Fernandez (White Sox)
#004 Rocky Coppinger (Orioles)
#410 Jim Eisenreich (Phillies)
#392 Mark Clark (Mets)
#207 Sterling Hitchcock (Mariners)
#062 Roberto Hernandez (White Sox)
#242 Pat Hentgen (Blue Jays)
#465 Trevor Hoffman (Padres)

Pack 18:

#014 B.J. Surhoff (Orioles)
#273 Brant Brown (Cubs)
#295 Thomas Howard (Reds)
#231 Ivan Rodriguez (Rangers)
#157 Scott Stahoviak (Twins)
#184 Geronimo Berrora (A's)
#490 Desi Wilson (Giants)
#127 Jeff D'Amico (Brewers)

#092 Omar Vizquel (Indians)
#347 Brian Hunter (Astros)

I love cards like this when the players' kids are featured as such.



There you have it!  Again I wish we had more packs to open as I think I'd give '97 a slight edge over the '96 set as far as the base design goes.  If you liked this box/set and would like to see it featured again in the future let me know.

August 2011 Group Break - 1996 Fleer (Packs #21-28)

We'll pick back up with the 1996 Fleer box and rip another 8 packs.  Now, where were we?

Pack 21:
#002 Brady Anderson - Tiffany (Orioles)

#09 Frank Thomas - Golden Memories (White Sox)
#406 Tony Eusebio (Astros)
#364 Darren Holmes (Rockies)
#317 Matt Franco (Cubs)
#273 Alex Gonzalez (Blue Jays)
#231 Jay Buhner (Mariners)
#386 Andre Dawson (Marlins)
#340 Ron Gant (Reds)
#291 Tom Glavine (Braves)
#253 Roger McDowell (Rangers)



Can't go wrong with an insert of the Big Hurt!

Pack 22:
#545 Brian Jordan - Tiffany (Cardinals)

#07 Pedro Martinez - Smoke 'n Heat (Expos)

#03 Chipper Jones - Checklist (Braves)
#155 Joe Oliver (Brewers)
#194 Andy Pettitte (Yankees)
#484 Jeff Kent (Mets)
#217 Carlos Reyes (A's)
#513 Mike Williams (Phillies)
#058 Lee Smith (Angels)
#308 John Smoltz (Braves)
#598 Sergio Valdez (Giants)

That's a couple of Pedro Martinez cards now that have come out of the packs.  I'm kinda surprised no one grabbed the Expos.

Pack 23:
#423 Donne Wall - Tiffany (Astros)

#05 Karim Garcia - Prospect (Dodgers)

#06 Manny Ramirez - Checklist (Indians)
#355 Eddie Taubensee (Reds)
#157 Kevin Seitzer (Brewers)
#196 Ruben Sierra (Yankees)
#486 Robert Person (Mets)
#219 Todd Stottlemyre (A's)
#558 Allen Watson (Cardinals)
#056 Tony Phillips (Angels)
#306 Luis Polonia (Braves)

Wasn't Karim Garcia a total bust in the majors?

Pack 24:
#548 T.J. Mathews - Tiffany (Cardinals)

#02 Ken Griffey Jr. - Post Season Glory (Mariners)
#324 Jaime Navarro (Cubs)
#118 C.J. Nitkowski (Tigers)
#347 Hal Morris (Reds)
#413 Darryl Kile (Astros)
#572 Marc Kroon (Padres)
#393 Pat Rapp (Marlins)
#438 Eric Karros (Dodgers)
#504 Michael Mimbs (Phillips)
#553 Tom Pagnozzi (Cardinals)

If anyone wants this Griffey insert let me know as I had the Mariners and it's a double for me.

Pack 25:
#022 Luis Alicea - Tiffany (Red Sox)

#07 Alex Ochoa - Prospect (Mets)
#115 Jose Lima (Tigers)
#344 Mike Jackson (Reds)
#410 John Hudek (Astros)
#569 Dustin Hermanson (Padres)
#390 Robb Nen (Marlins)
#435 Dave Hansen (Dodgers)
#501 Kevin Jordan (Phillies)
#556 Ozzie Smith (Cardinals)
#524 Nelson Liriano (Pirates)

Pack 26:
#480 Butch Huskey - Tiffany (Mets)

#15 Greg Maddux - Team Leader (Braves)
#272 Carlos Delgado (Blue Jays)
#230 Darren Bragg (Mariners)
#385 Jeff Conine (Marlins)
#339 Mariano Duncan (Reds)
#290 Mike Devereaux (Braves)
#252 Kevin Gross (Rangers)
#207 Brent Gates (A's)
#016 Jamie Moyer (Orioles)
#586 Royce Clayton (Giants)

These Team Leader cards just don't scan so well.  The actual card is much brighter in color than the scan shows.

Pack 27:
#570 Trevor Hoffman - Tiffany (Padres)

#05 Randy Johnson - Smoke 'n Heat (Mariners)
#380 Kurt Abbott (Marlins)
#334 Bret Boone (Reds)
#285 Steve Avery (Braves)
#247 Will Clark (Rangers)
#202 Mark Acre (A's)
#011 Chris Hoiles (Orioles)
#581 Rod Beck (Giants)
#537 Allen Battle (Cardinals)
#491 Howard Battle (Phillies)

Pack 28:
#356 Jerome Walton - Tiffany (Reds)

#05 Jim Thome - Post Season Glory (Indians)
#036 Lee Tinsley (Red Sox)
#326 Mike Perez (Cubs)
#120 Clint Sodowsky (Tigers)
#349 Mark Portugal (Reds)
#415 Derrick May (Astros)
#574 Marc Newfield (Padres)
#395 Jesus Tavarez (Marlins)
#440 Ramon Martinez (Dodgers)
#506 Gene Schall (Phillies)

The timing of pulling this Thome card seems perfect.  I'm sure all of Cleveland has welcomed him back w/ open arms.

8 packs left to go.  I hope everyone is having fun so far.

Sunday Verse

We interrupt this month's group break results to bring you the Word of God.

Isaiah 26:4 (NIV)

⁴ Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.

The Lord is often referred to as the rock.  What that means for those who may not understand is that God is firm and unchangeable like a rock.  A rock offers protection and defense for everlasting ages...hence the idea "Rock of ages".

Have a great Sunday everyone!  The group break results will resume shortly...

August 2011 Group Break - 1997 Fleer (Packs #1-9)

For 1997 Fleer kept the matte style for the cards, but dropped some of the thick gold foil imprints for the player's names.  The glossy Tiffany parallels went from 1 per pack to 1:20 packs.  This retail box has 18 packs with each pack containing 10 cards.  Inserts include:

- Lumber Company (retail only) 1:48 - these are cool "round" die-cut cards
- Night & Day 1:240 - 3D cards similar to the recent Topps 3D cards
- Team Leaders 1:20 - die-cut
- Golden Memories 1:16
- Rookie Sensations 1:6

Pack 1:

#370 Chan Ho Park (Dodgers)
#206 Ken Griffey Jr. (Mariners)
#293 Eric Davis (Reds)
#005 Cesar Devarez (Orioles)
 
#26 Brian Jordan - Team Leaders (Cardinals)
#067 Greg Norton (White Sox)
#061 Ozzie Guillen (White Sox)
#345 Ricky Gutierrez (Astros)
#101 Felipe Lira (Tigers)
#399 Jason Isringhausen (Mets)

These Team Leader cards are different...but I like different.  I think there is a Gwynn and a Chipper card in this set for me to track down.

Pack 2:

#201 Rich Amaral (Mariners)
#193 Mark McGwire (A's)
#006 Scott Erickson (Orioles)
#232 Mickey Tettleton (Rangers)

#12 Bob Abreu - Rookie Sensations (Astros)
#019 Roger Clemens (Red Sox)
#496 Paul Molitor (Twins)
#463 Joey Hamilton (Padres)
#484 Marcus Jensen (Giants)
#191 Jose Herrera (A's)

I can't say that I'm a huge fan on this Rookie Sensations design.  Too bad no one claimed the Astros.

Pack 3:

#348 Todd Jones (Astros)
#035 George Arias (Angels)
#369 Antonio Osuna (Dodgers)
#487 Allen Watson (Giants)
#294 Willie Greene (Reds)
#215 Matt Wagner (Mariners)
#344 Tony Eusebio (Astros)
#106 Ruben Sierra (Tigers)
#388 Ugueth Urbina (Expos)
#404 Robert Person (Mets)

Pack 4:
#251 Steve Avery (Braves)
#172 Ramiro Mendoza (Yankees)
#354 Billy Wagner (Astros)
#204 Joey Cora (Mariners)
#250 Mike Timlin (Blue Jays)
#163 Mariano Duncan (Yankees)
#494 Chipper Jones (Braves)
#430 Jeff King (Pirates)
#140 Bob Wickman (Brewers)
#271 Mark Wohlers (Braves)

Pack 5:

#154 Kirby Puckett (Twins)
#040 Jim Edmonds (Angels)
#352 James Mouton (Astros)
#255 Tom Glavine (Braves)

#03 Albert Belle - Lumber Company (Indians)
#016 Todd Zeile (Orioles)
#313 Neifi Perez (Rockies)
#211 Edgar Martinez (Mariners)
#346 Mike Hampton (Astros)
#029 Heathcliff Slocumb (Red Sox)

Wow!  These Lumber Company cards are really cool.  Beat the odds with this one too.

Pack 6:

#017 Darren Bragg (Red Sox)
#229 Dean Palmer (Rangers)
#277 Tyler Houston (Cubs)
#058 Mike Cameron (White Sox)
#205 Russ Davis (Mariners)
#274 Leo Gomez (Cubs)
#429 Jason Kendall (Pirates)
#117 Jeff Montgomery (Royals)
#464 Rickey Henderson (Padres)

#263 Greg Maddux (Braves)

I figured there would be others that would appreciate the awesomeness of this card.

Pack 7:

#455 Dmitri Young (Cardinals)
#291 Jeff Branson (Reds)
#175 Mariano Rivera (Yankees)
#032 Mo Vaughn (Red Sox)
#353 Shane Reynolds (Astros)
#173 Jeff Nelson (Yankees)
#289 Turk Wendell (Cubs)
#328 Jeff Conine (Marlins)
#107 Justin Thompson (Tigers)
#170 Jim Leyritz (Yankees)

Pack 8:

#182 Willie Adams (A's)
#015 David Wells (Orioles)
#020 Wil Cordero (Red Sox)
#186 Scott Brosius (A's)

#14 Wilton Guerrero - Rookie Sensations (Dodgers)
#408 Ricky Bottalico (Phillies)
#224 Darryl Hamilton (Rangers)
#081 Dennis Martinez (Indians)
#431 Jon Lieber (Pirates)
#134 Ben McDonald (Brewers)

Pack 9:

#282 Ryne Sandberg (Cubs)
#202 Jay Buhner (Mariners)
#158 Dave Stevens (Twins)
#310 Andres Galarraga (Rockies)
#021 Jeff Frye (Red Sox)
#155 Brad Radke (Twins)
#080 Kenny Lofton (Indians)
#363 Wilton Guerrero (Dodgers)
#118 Jose Offerman (Royals)
#416 Mickey Morandini (Phillies)

Another Ryno for Matt Pederson!

One half of the box down.  Still looking for a few of the other inserts.  I'll be back w/ the 2nd half shortly.