June 2018 Group Break Results

Whew!! I tell you, going back to work after being off for vacation is tough as it is, but coming back after being off for two weeks has been tough! I really meant to get this post up by Monday, but well I've had my hands full with work. Why is it everything bad at work has to happen the minute you leave for vacation?!

Oh well, this month's group break is in the books and it was one that I enjoyed hosting. Most of the participants ended up with a decent amount of cards, thanks in part to the 2003 Upper Deck 40-Man box. Its always good seeing players get cards that are often overlooked and 40-Man did a good job at creating some cardboard for some of these type guys.

The box of 2002 Upper Deck Diamond Connection didn't really specify what the odds were on the various game-used cards, but it turned out that each mini box contained one hit if you will.

The 40-Man box I had was retail (I think) and the only odds listed were for the Endorsement auto cards at 1:500 packs. Needless to say I wasn't expecting to pull an auto...

As the host I usually take the Braves and this time it paid off with a game-used bat card of Chipper Jones from the Diamond Connection box. The other hit was of Curt Schilling and went to the Diamondbacks.

Finally the last hit pulled was a hand numbered auto of Jayson Werth, 17/50 from the 40-Man box. wow, beautiful card. While doing the live video I didn't have my list of teams in front of me so I didn't know who this card would be going to. It was only later in the evening that I realized the Blue Jays were one of the teams I inherited after I had to "eat" a few slots that didn't sell. I'm still not sure what to do w/ the card. Save it for a contest? Trade it for Braves? Hmm, decisions, decisions.

Regardless it was a fun break and even though all the slots didn't sell, I hope the others that participated had fun as well. I threw in 21 bonus packs this round, ranging from 1986 Leaf to 1993 UD Denny's Grand Slam hologram packs. You never know what I'll add as a bonus so if you've ever been on the fence about joining one of my Affordable Breaks, you may want to jump on board next time.

June 2018 Affordable Break 2nd Team Randomization

If you watched the live video in the Facebook group this evening, then you should know how the unclaimed 15 teams were assigned to all participants. If not, well you're in luck because here they are below!

01 - Cardboard Collections - Braves / Rays
02 - Cards on Cards - Cardinals / Tigers
03 - Community Gum - White Sox / Pirates
04 - Nachos Grande - Reds / Mets
05 - Roy Galloway - Red Sox / Marlins
06 - gcrl - Dodgers / Padres
07 - Royals & Randoms - Royals / Giants
08 - the Lost Collector - Yankees / Rockies
09 - Marc Brubaker - Astros / Expos
10 - Nick Dusenbury - Orioles / Phillies
11 - Highly Suggestive & Completely Arbitrary - Twins / Diamondbacks
12 - Marc Brubaker - Cubs / Rangers
13 - Angels in Order - Angels / Mariners
14 - Cardboard Collections - Brewers / Indians
15 - Cardboard Collections - Blue Jays / A's

We've got 21 bonus packs, yes, 21 bonus packs in this break to go along w/ our two boxes. If you didn't watch the video, you may want to as I revealed what those packs are towards the end of the video.

If you are wanting to make a trade, please comment on this post so that I can see any trades that are agreed upon by both parties. I want to make sure I pack and send the correct cards to the correct people so let's make sure to do all trading on this post please.

I'm looking to go live in the Facebook Group at 9 PM Eastern on Saturday, 06/16/18. I'm hoping we can get some people in on the video as it makes it more entertaining for me to chat with you guys as I bust the packs. I'll do my best to do a recap post for the blog once all the boxes and packs and have been opened. If you have any questions for me please let me know, otherwise thanks for your support and I look forward to Saturday night.

Does Winning Effect Your Collecting?

This has been a question I've often thought about. Does a particular player's performance on the field/court/ice or a team's performance effect your collecting?

Let's take two of my teams as an example. The Atlanta Braves were supposed to be continuing their rebuild in 2018, yet as of 06/05/18 they find themselves in first place atop the NL East. Granted their lead over the Washington Nationals is a small lead and there is a lot of baseball left to be played, it's been so much more fun watching my team play.

On the collecting front, the Braves success alone as generated more Topps Now cards than any other season since that program began. I find myself finding ways to purchase most of these cards, plus searching out other Braves cards from this year and years past. Last week I was in Atlanta to celebrate my wife's birthday and we saw Mike Foltynewicz pitch himself into the Braves record book. This lead me to checking out some of his RCs online in between innings! The same can be said of utility player, Charlie Culberson after he hit two walk off HRs in the same week. He only has a few cards in a Braves uniform at this time and his on the field performance has put those cards on my radar a little bit more. Needless to say, I've always found entertainment in collecting Braves cards, I just feel that 2018 has been one of the better years.

I'm not the biggest basketball fan out there. I do try and follow ACC college hoops and of course I get excited every March for the NCAA tournament, but I don't actively watch a lot of NBA games. I grew up a Hornets fan and back in the early 90's the team was still new in Charlotte where I lived that there was still excitement over the team. Despite their win/loss record, the team was fun to watch. I saw many games live at the old Charlotte Coliseum and watched them on TV. Then the owner took the team and left town. True the city would get another NBA franchise a few years later (Bobcats), but it just wasn't the same. Even when the Bobcats were re-branded the Hornets, the play on the court left a lot to be desired.

I probably watched more Hornets games this past season than I have in awhile, but man was it hard at times watching my team get clobbered or only to lose the game in the final minutes or seconds. Kemba Walker and Dwight Howard made it fun to watch, but even their performance could only hold my attention for so long. I guess because of the team's play I found myself rarely searching out new Hornets cards. I didn't buy many singles and I can't remember the last time I bought a pack of basketball cards that wasn't marked down. Part of me wants to have more current Hornets cards, it's just hard to get excited to look for them. Perhaps if there were more card shows in the area where I could dive through dime boxes or if the team could actually string together a winning record it would be different. Or would it?

Most of the readers also know that I'm a Carolina Panthers fan as well, but my collecting of the team really hasn't changed since they came into the league.

Overall it just seems to be a little more interesting to collect when your team is winning, or your player is doing well. Note I said interesting and not fun as I can always can find fun in card collecting and fun things with the cards in my own collection. One of the reasons I started this blog was to have another way to "interact" with the cards I have.

Does any of my rambling make any sense? Do you find yourself actively searching out cards of your team/player after a good game or season? I'd love to hear if there are others that think/collect in a similar fashion or if I'm on an island by myself.

June 2018 Affordable Group Break

Time for another Affordable Group Break. Even though I'm away on vacation, I thought I'd go ahead and post the boxes and the sign-ups now so that by the time I return we should be able to get underway as quickly as possible. Most importantly, this will be affordable at only $9 for a two team slot!

We'll start off with 2002 Upper Deck Diamond Connections (Hobby). Each box has 2 mini boxes, with 7 packs each (14 packs total). I don't believe I ever opened much of this when it was current and I felt it went well with the next product. For more info on this release, check out the Trading Card Database.

40 Man Baseball is Upper Deck's answer to Topps Total. It features a massive 900 card set so there should be plenty of cards available for each team. 10 cards per pack, 24 cards per box. No fancy inserts or "hits", but two different parallel sets that may contribute. Autos are seeded 1:500 so I doubt we'll get any ink, but you never know. For more about this set, please check out the Trading Card Database.

We'll have 14 total spots available (after I claim the Braves) and we'll use the following format:
Choose 1 team and the 2nd team will be randomly assigned once the break is full. Cost for each slot will only be $9 shipped. All cards pulled will be shipped. Packs will be opened Live in the Facebook group, including randomization of second team(s).

As with all of my breaks, there *will* be bonus packs/boxes and if any participants teams don't yield as many cards as the next guy, we'll make sure to toss in some freebies.

If you're interested, all you need to do to claim your slot:

* Join the Facebook group (not required, but highly recommended)
* Comment on this post (or on Facebook or Twitter) with the team you want (first come, first serve)
* Payments will be by PayPal, www.paypal.me/colbeyhopper (Goods & Services only)

I return from vacation on 06/13/18. I'll place the order at some point while I'm gone (assuming the sign ups have gone well) so that it's waiting for me when I return. Hopefully we can get to ripping Saturday evening, 06/16/18. If there are any questions please let me know. Please help spread the word to others that you know may be interested.

As with all breaks I host, I claim the Atlanta Braves. All other teams are up for grabs!

01 - Cardboard Collections - Braves (PAID)
02 - Cards on Cards - Cardinals (PAID)
03 - Community Gum - White Sox (PAID)
04 - Nachos Grande - Reds (PAID)
05 - Roy Galloway - Red Sox (PAID)
06 - gcrl - Dodgers (PAID)
07 - Royals & Randoms - Royals (PAID)
08 - the Lost Collector - Yankees (PAID)
09 - Marc Brubaker - Astros (PAID)
10 - Nick Dusenbury - Orioles (PAID)
11 - Highly Suggestive & Completely Arbitrary - Twins (PAID)
12 - Cardboard Collections - A's
13 - Cardboard Collections - Brewers
14 - Cardboard Collections - Angels
15 - Cardboard Collections - Blue Jays