Pack Break: 1981 Fleer Stickers

I usually grab a few older loose packs when I order boxes for my Affordable Group Breaks from The Baseball Card Exchange. I did get into collecting baseball cards until 1990 so there are a lot of releases I missed out on, includes these 1981 Fleer Baseball Stickers. 5 stickers and 1 brick stick of gum. I believe this pack set me back about $1.50.

This Seattle Mariners sticker is actually two stickers on one card. I love the classic trident logo they used to use...in fact I think I prefer it over the modern Mariners logo.

I didn't expect the cartoon cardbacks, though I like the baseball history that is depicted.

This Texas Rangers sticker has a different layout than the two previous cards. The black "wall" is also a sticker. I don't recall seeing this old logo for the Rangers before. For some reason though I think of Arby's when I see this logo.

Another reminder of the American League winning the All-Star game. If I didn't know the two leagues were tied going into this year's game I would've thought the AL had the lead based on these cardbacks.

I miss the old Fleer stickers and these are cheap, fun packs to bust. I've actually bought and opened several of these since I first discovered them. What your take on these?

2017 Topps Now: Matt Adams #178 (217 print run)

Matt Adams, nicknamed "Big Country", joined the Atlanta Braves on May 20, 2017 when the Cardinals traded him for Braves prospect Juan Yepez. The Braves picked him up as a replacement for Freddie Freeman who had just been sent to the DL for a lengthy stay. Three days later, Matt would make his presence felt on the team with a walk off RBI single to capture a win against the Pirates. As you can see from the back of the card, he was greeted with a celebratory water cooler shower by his teammates on the sideline!

Sunday Verse

Psalm 139:13-14

New International Version For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

A few new pickups including some HOF RCs!

I really don't care to flood my blog with "pick up" type posts, but as I sit in front of my computer waiting for all of my stores to close at 4 PM today (so I can enjoy the rest of my 4th of July), I decided to scan a few new cards just for kicks.

We'll start off with two new Max Fried RC autographs I grabbed on the cheap. Max is coming off a dominating start against the Cardinals after being called back up from Gwinnett. He really has had the chance to make much noise in the majors, but if he can pitch like he did the other night on a consistent basis then the Braves have another bright star in their rotation. Best of all, his autos are fairly inexpensive right now. Of the two, I prefer the Finest (right) over the Tier One, but both are beautiful cards.

From 2005 Donruss Prime Patches comes this beautiful card of Ben Sheets. It not only features his autograph, but also game worn pieces of jersey, shoe, hat and pants. Best of all, it's serially numbered 01/93.

I don't have a large PC of Ben, but I ran across this card for less than $4 and seriously, how could I not pull the trigger? Ben belongs in my "Faith Brothers" mini-collection.

Ever since I started collecting baseball cards in 1990, I wanted a real RC of Cal Ripken. He played ball for the Charlotte O's in the early 80's, my hometown. While I can't say I remember watching him play at the old Crockett Field (I would've been 3-4 years old), I find it cool that a legendary player like Cal played minor league ball in my hometown. None the less, his RCs were always too pricey for my reach as a youngster so it was wishful dreaming to own some of his rookie cardboard.

While his 1982 Fleer RC may not be the most in demand or best looking card, I'm thrilled to have finally acquired this piece. Of course this just fuels the fire to acquire his Topps and Donruss cards next!

I'll blame this acquisition on Panini of America. Ever since they revived the Donruss brand, they have started to use some of the older designs, such as this 1983, in their current product. Well I ended up finding this Tony Gwynn RC for a mere $5 with free shipping not too long after I found the '82 Fleer Ripken. With Gwynn playing on the west coast his entire career, I was only able to watch him play when he played against my Braves or the Cubs (thanks to getting WGN), but I always marveled at his patience at the plate. The guy hardly ever struck out and always made contact. He may not have marveled fans with his power, but the dude could flat out hit the ball. From what I knew of him off the field, he also seemed like a great stand up guy too. I'm thrilled to add this vintage (at least to me!) piece of rookie cardboard to my collection.

Up next? Well I need to put the finishing touches on gathering all the details for my next Affordable Group break for July. Stay tuned, especially if you like Canadian cardboard!

2017 Topps Now: Matt Kemp #95 (202 print run)

I was happy to have had Kemp on the Braves, even if his time ended up being limited. He started off pretty hot for the club, hitting 3 runs in a game against the Brewers on April 29th. I found it hard to believe that a guy w/ his offensive abilities that this was the first game he hit 3 homers. This was the first time this has happened for the Braves since another "rental" player, Mark Teixeira did so in 2008.

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.