Group Break Recap: 2002 Fleer E-X

Last Friday night (04/02/21) our weekly Affordable Group Break just consisted of one box. I was headed out on a little vacation trip the following Saturday morning so I needed a little extra time to get ready. The box we opened was 2002 Fleer E-X, a product we opened earlier in the year, but this time we had a full on hobby box to rip. Hits were promised at 1:8 packs so that meant we had 3 expected hits to pull.

If you're not familiar with this product, all the base cards are printed on clear acetate which gives the cards a unique look. The player's name, team and jersey number are printed on the card in silver foil. The last box we opened the silver foil wasn't in the greatest shape, flaking off a bit in areas. This time however the cards were in much better shape which let me breath a sigh of relief.

Below is the actual video of the live break if you prefer to watch the cards pulled from the pack, otherwise keep scrolling for a complete breakdown of the highlights of the box.

The rookies/prospects in the base set were short-printed with the majority of them being serially numbered to either 2999, 2499 or 1999. Cards 126-140 were not numbered however.

We pulled two numbered SPs, Jorge De La Rosa (Red Sox, 2498/2999) and Luis Martinez (0131/2499)

There were several different insert sets to chase including Hit & Run. Darin Erstad (Angels) and Normar Garciaparra (Red Sox). I swear I seem to pull a lot of Nomar inserts in these breaks!

Hit & Run also came in memorabilia version featuring a piece of game-used bat or base. I was personally hoping for a game-used base card, but this bat card of Roberto Alomar (Mets) wasn't too shabby.

Behind the Numbers features one of those designs that was meant for a piece of game-used material so the non-game used versions just look odd...well at least to me. We pulled 3: Ichiro (Mariners), Roger Clemens (Yankees) and Albert Pujols (Cardinals).

Like with the Hit & Run inserts, Behind the Numbers also featured a memorabilia version. In this case we pulled a Brian Giles (Pirates). The glare makes it hard to see, but the white jersey piece is sitting behind a die-cut "24". Good hit for the Pirates since they don't always get much outside of base cards in the breaks.

Both Barry Bonds and Derek Jeter were the subject of their own insert set called 4X Champ. A small set at just 4 cards, these were serially numbered to 1999. I believe this was the first time I've even seen one of these cards before.

The third and final hit of the box was this Game Essentials game-worn jersey card of Robin Ventura (Yankees). The team from the Bronx was well represented yet again in this break.

Side note, according to TCDB this card of Ventura also comes in a batting glove form, however the image scanned was of this card. I submitted a discrepancy notice and uploaded my scans of this card.

This was a quick break, but if I'm being honest it was nice not having a ton of work to do after the break...even though as of this post I've yet to sort and put away these cards. I love hosting these breaks and after a short one week off, I'm ready to gear things back up and get back to our regular schedule. That said, I'll be posting two boxes in the FB group on here on the blog this Monday evening, 04/12/21. Both boxes however will be counted as one break so each team should have a good chance at getting a nice stack of cards. What are these boxes? Well they are from the late 90's and one of the boxes I've recently realized has gotten extremely expensive. Make sure to check by around 9 PM Eastern on Monday for a chance to grab your favorite team(s).

Affordable Group Break: 2002 Fleer E-X (Hobby)

** UPDATE 04/02/21 - Break is full! **

This break will feature a retail box of 2002 Fleer E-X. 24 packs / 4 cards per pack. Hits fall 1:8 packs. Prices listed beside each team. All cards ship. Stacking applies so the price does not include shipping. If you have questions on how this works please let me know. We'll break this box Live on my YouTube channel on Friday, 04/02/21 at 10 PM eastern.

To claim your team(s) please comment with your request and submit your payment at that time. If you haven't participated in one of my breaks, please email me (flywheels@yahoo.com) your name & mailing address. Please send your payment as Friends & Family: paypal.me/flywheels86

Anaheim Angels $3 - Joseph Inzirillo PAID

Arizona Diamondbacks $5 - Adam

Atlanta Braves - Colbey PAID
Baltimore Orioles $4 - Joseph Inzirillo PAID
Boston Red Sox $7 - Rick Mantz PAID
Chicago Cubs - Ben Martin PAID
Chicago White Sox $7 - Chad Pacey PAID
Cincinnati Reds $7 - Chris Reed PAID
Cleveland Indians $4 - Jennifer Peebles PAID
Colorado Rockies $4 - John Donovan PAID
Detroit Tigers $3 - Ben Morris PAID
Florida Marlins $2 - Joseph Inzirillo PAID
Houston Astros $6 - Denny Wagner PAID
Kansas City Royals $4 - Matthew Brenzikofer PAID

Los Angeles Dodgers $6 - Rick Mantz PAID
Milwaukee Brewers $2 - Mark Eisenman PAID
Minnesota Twins $2 - Joseph Inzirillo PAID

Montreal Expos $5 - Jennifer Peebles PAID

New York Mets $6 - Joseph Inzirillo PAID
New York Yankees $10 - @Lost Collector PAID
Oakland Athletics $5 - Jennifer Peebles PAID
Philadelphia Phillies $3 - Joseph Inzirillo PAID
Pittsburgh Pirates $5 - Wade Fisher PAID
San Diego Padres $3 - Joseph Inzirillo PAID

San Francisco Giants $5 - Joseph Inzirillo PAID
Seattle Mariners $6 - Joseph Inzirillo PAID
St. Louis Cardinals $6 - Kerry Biggs PAID

Tampa Bay Rays $2 - Joseph Inzirillo PAID

Texas Rangers $7 - Ben Morris PAID
Toronto Blue Jays $3 - Michael Speigel

Group Break Recap

The last few weeks of breaks have been a lot of fun. I know that not everyone can join the live video feeds on Friday night or even want to view the (sometimes long) video. That said here are some of the highlights from 2003 Topps Stadium Club, 2000 Upper Deck HoloGrFX, 2002 Fleer E-X and 94-95 Fleer Excel.

It's getting harder and harder to 1) find sealed boxes that aren't priced crazily and 2) trying to appeal to everyone's tastes. However I feel as if the last few weeks have done a good job at bringing some variety to the product busted. Hopefully others feel the same and I can get the this trend moving forward.

I was particular fond of the 2003 Topps Stadium Club box. When the base cards look this good the need for parallels and inserts isn't quite so high. Be on the lookout for a future post where we look at more of the great photography from this set.

We did pull a Photographer's Proof (1:39) of the Ranger's Hank Blalock (202/299). 

Beam Team (1:12) is a long standing insert set with the Stadium Club brand. This particular design though isn't one of the best. Bonds showed up in a lot of early 2000 sets/insert sets. Glad we pulled a Rockies player...always fun pulling inserts for the teams that aren't always well represented in breaks.

I was not familiar with the Stadium Shots (1:24) insert before this card was pulled. Wow, what a beautiful shot. If the other cards in this set look this good I may just have to build this insert set.

The box said one relic per box, but I did not expect to pull this Stadium Slices Trademark relic (1:415) of Gary Sheffield. As the host I prefer the hits go to other participants, but I won't turn down a card like this for my Braves.

Moving on to 2000 Upper Deck HoloGrFX, this box was requested by a member in the Facebook Group. It took awhile to find a box that wasn't overpriced, but once I found it I jumped on it quickly. I vaguely remember this set when it was new, but hadn't paid it much attention since it was released.

All of the HoloGrFX cards feature some sort of light refracting technology. The base cards are shiny and busy, especially in hand...but I can't deny the images of the players look a little washed out.

LongBall Legacy (1:6) were the easiest insert to pull. These feature a rainbow foil background and looked quite nice in hand. McGwire, Williams, Rodriguez, Rolen, Griffey Jr. & Bagwell...not too shabby of a line up.

Stars of the System (1:8) features young and upcoming players (for the time). This insert by far was the best looking by far. Reminded me of the current "Scope" parallels that Panini is using in sets like Select. Burrell, Soriano, Burnett and some kid (Riley) for the Orioles.

StarView (1:11) feature a holographic section with an image of the player in the background and stars in the foreground. If you can move these just right underneath the light, these don't look half bad. Piazza, Griffey Jr. and McGwire filled out the round.

Bomb Squad (1:34) features the same rainbow foil background as the Longball Legacy inserts. I should have scanned the back of the card as it showed the longest HRs hit the previous season. Very cool set.

Future Fame (1:34) inserts put the spotlight on would be future hall of fame players such as Cal Ripken Jr. here. Beautiful card, the new owner of this Cal was super happy to see it pulled.

I selected a box of 94-95 Fleer Excel minor league just to have something a little different. I figure not many breakers are breaking stuff like this, plus the box would yield a lot of cards for each team.

The big chase of the set would have to be Mr. Jeter...but several his teammates (Pettitte, Rivera) were on the checklist as well...all of which were pulled as well. 

This guy again?! The first of the 3 insert sets would be All Stars, which features a very 90's design. Most of players pulled I had not heard of, but this guy would be the exception.

The League Leader inserts were the most plentiful and feature a minimalistic design.

First Year Phenom highlighted stand out player during their initial season. There was a lot of chatter amongst the views when I pulled this Aaron Boone. I'm glad someone was happy to see this card!

Up next was a box of 2002 Fleer E-X. I thought it was essentially an old school blaster since the box just had 11 packs, but once we got the opened I noticed all the packs were of the Hobby variety! Game used cards were seeded at 1:8 packs so I was hoping we'd get some sort of hit.

This Hit & Run insert (1:12) has some sweet bat or base varieties, but we had to settle for the base version. At least the participant who had the Phillies was happy to see this card of Pat Burrell.

The only other insert pulled was this Behind the Numbers (1:8) Sammy Sosa. The memorabilia version of these cards looks better, but we'll take this since we weren't sure at what so few packs would produce.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if there is a product you'd like to see featured let me know and I'll do my best to find down a box for us to rip. If you want junk wax, let me know. If you want some older high end box, alright. Current stuff...well that might be tough (for me). As long as everyone is happy and wants me to keep on going, I'll do my best to keep everyone entertained.

Affordable Group Break: 2002 Fleer E-X

** UPDATE 01/28/21 - Break is now full! **

 

This break will feature a retail box of 2002 Fleer E-X. 11 packs / 6 cards per pack. Prices listed beside each team. All cards ship. Stacking applies so the price does not include shipping. If you have questions on how this works please let me know. We'll break this box Live on my YouTube channel on Friday, 01/29/21 at 10 PM eastern.

To claim your team(s) please comment with your request and submit your payment at that time. If you haven't participated in one of my breaks, please email me (flywheels@yahoo.com) your name & mailing address. Please send your payment as Friends & Family: paypal.me/flywheels86

Anaheim Angels $3 - Diego Torres PAID

Arizona Diamondbacks $1 - Ben Martin PAID

Atlanta Braves - Colbey PAID
Baltimore Orioles $3 - @Chapter37 PAID
Boston Red Sox $4 - Ben Martin PAID
Chicago Cubs $4 - Ben Martin PAID
Chicago White Sox $4 - Chad Pacey PAID
Cincinnati Reds $5 - Diego Torres PAID
Cleveland Indians $2 - Jennifer Peebles PAID
Colorado Rockies $2 - John Donovan PAID
Detroit Tigers $2 - Ben Morris PAID
Florida Marlins $1 - Ben Martin PAID
Houston Astros $3 - Denny Wagner PAID
Kansas City Royals $2 - Matthew Brenzikofer PAID

Los Angeles Dodgers $4 - Joey Nigro PAID
Milwaukee Brewers $2 - Mark Eisenman PAID
Minnesota Twins $2 - Diego Torres PAID

Montreal Expos $3 - Jennifer Peebles PAID

New York Mets $4 - @Chapter37 PAID
New York Yankees $5 - @Lost_Collector PAID
Oakland Athletics $1 - Ben Martin PAID
Philadelphia Phillies $3 - Dan Horton PAID
Pittsburgh Pirates $3 - Wade Fisher PAID
San Diego Padres $2 - @Chapter37 PAID

San Francisco Giants $3 - Paul Dionne PAID
Seattle Mariners $4 - Michael Spiegel PAID
St. Louis Cardinals $3 - Patrick W Ayers PAID

Tampa Bay Rays $1 - Ben Martin PAID

Texas Rangers $4 - Ben Morris PAID
Toronto Blue Jays $3 - karsal PAID