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 - 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.

Time for another mini group break! $5 shipped gets you a team!

Since my August group break of 2011 Topps Marquee has been delayed several weeks I thought I'd host another smaller group break.  This time I thought we would do 2 boxes of the all matte Fleer designs - 1996 and 1997.

1996 Fleer is a hobby box and contains 36 packs.  All of the base cards feature a matte front perfect for autographs.  There are one insert card per pack including: Golden Memories, Post-Season Glory, Prospects, Road Warriors, Rookie Sensations, Smoke 'n Heat, hobby only Team Leaders, Tiffany parallels and Zone.

1997 Fleer is a retail box with 18 packs.  All cards again feature a matte design.  David Ortiz (Arias) RC may be found.  Inserts are also found one per pack and feature retail only Lumber Company plus Bleacher Blasters, Decade of Excellence, Diamond Tribute, Golden Memories, Goudy Greats, Headliners, New Horizons, Night & Day, Rookie Sensations, Soaring Stars, Team Leaders, Tiffany parallels and Zone.

All teams are only $5 shipped!  To claim a team or teams please leave a comment and then send your PayPal gift payment to cardboardcollections at yahoo dot com.  The boxes have already been ordered so we'll get this started ASAP.  Please make sure your include your screen name, valid e-mail address and mailing address with your payment.  I already have mailing addresses for most of the 'regulars', but please include the requested info just in case.

Angels - The Angels In Order (paid)
Atlanta Braves - Cardboard Collections (paid)
Baltimore Orioles - Shady Twine (paid)
Boston Red Sox -

Chicago Cubs - Cardboard Conundrum / Matt Pederson (paid)

Chicago White Sox - Collector's Crack / cynicalbuddha (paid)
Cincinnati Reds - FanOfReds (paid)
Cleveland Indians - One Out Away / Jason (paid)
Colorado Rockies - Cards from the Quarry / hiflew (paid)
Detroit Tigers - 
Florida Marlins - 
Houston Astros - 
Kansas City Royals - Royals and Randoms / Josh D. (paid)
Los Angeles Dodgers - Night Owl (paid)
Milwaukee Brewers - Collector's Crack / cynicalbuddha (paid)
Minnesota Twins - Scott Crawford on Cards (paid)
Montreal Expos - 
New York Mets - BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffet (paid)
New York Yankees - BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffet (paid)

Oakland Athletics - 
Philadelphia Phillies - daddyohoho (paid)

Pittsburgh Pirates - The Real DFG / dogfacedgremlin
San Diego Padres - Cardboard Collections (paid)
San Francisco Giants - arpsmith (paid)
Seattle Mariners - Cardboard Collections (paid)

St. Louis Cardinals - Cards on Cards / madding (paid)
Texas Rangers - Play at the Plate (mailed)
Toronto Blue Jays - $30 a week habit / Robert