2009 Topps Baseball Series 2

The fifth and final pack from the Alleys. A 2009 Topps Series 2. The last time I opened some Topps series 2, I was surprised to find the Walmart black version. I understand that Target had its own version of this set as well. I am still looking for these Red Sox from the base set:
89 Jon Lester/Jason Bay HL
171 Jeff Bailey
267 Michael Bowden (RC)

There are 12 cards per pack (10 if it contains a relic card!)No surprise black border or other variation.

The Pack:
#340 Joe Mauer Twins

#354 Mike Aviles Royals

#472 Bill Hall Brewers

#518 Chris Perez Cardinals
#534 Skip Schumaker Cardinals

#571 Noah Lowry Giants

#576 Don Wakamatsu Mariners

#640 B.J Upton Bay Rays

#653 Nick Evans Mets

#TTT36 Ian Kinsler Rangers

#LG-15 Ichiro Mariners

#TR71 Albert Pujols Cardinals

As far as packs go I think that was a pretty decent one. No Red Sox, (it was as Cardinals pack for sure) but there were some nice cards inside. There is something oddly comforting about pulling an Ichiro card.
On another note - If anyone has the Jacoby Ellsbury Walmart or Target variations or the Jacoby ToppsTown from this set I would be interested in setting up a trade.

2009 O-Pee-Chee baseball

The third pack of the Alley's is the controversial O-Pee-Chee set from Upper Deck. This is a hobby pack, so the chances of finding a memorabilia card is 1:108 packs and an autograph is 1:216 packs. What are the chances of finding Red Sox?
There are still a number of Red Sox I need to complete this set;
7 J.D. Drew
30 Kevin Youkilis
34 Takashi Saito
150 Dustin Pedroia
180 Josh Beckett
227 Jason Bay
236 Brad Penny
239 Mike Lowell
370 David Ortiz
392 Tim Wakefield
406 Jason Varitek
456 John Smoltz
502 Boston Red Sox CL
550 Jonathan Papelbon
553 Kevin Youkilis

There are 6 cards per pack.

The Pack:

#200 Derek Jeter Yankees

#235 Jed Lowrie Red Sox

#259 Joe Blandon Phillies

#408 J.J. Putz Mets

#420 John Lackey Angels black border

#518 Nationals Team checklist

One solitary Red Sox card, which I already have. No Dodgers though. Am I losing the magic?

2009 UD A Piece of History

Another pack from the Alley family. I really thought about buying a box of these cards primarily for the Historical Moments inserts and not the baseball cards. For a short time I contemplated Paris for a on location box break a la Stale Gum, when I discovered that there was a Eiffel Tower card. Unfortunately a recent psychological survey informed me I am a innovative starter but not a completer/finisher, whatever that may mean. So the break never took place. Doesn't mean I don't still appreciate the historical moments cards .
There are only a few Red Sox cards in the set (Jacoby is one of them). I still need;

10 Josh Beckett
11 David Ortiz
13 Jacoby Ellsbury
14 Jonathan Papelbon
40 Kevin Youkilis
107 Michael Bowden (RC)
138 George Kottaras (RC)

The Pack contained;

#7 Nick Markakis Orioles

#41 Miguel Tejada Astros

#89 B.J.Upton Bay Rays

#143 Fernando Perez Bay Rays

#174 Golden Gate Bridge completed

#194 New Orleans founded

#SS-LB Minute Maid Park 520/999

If you have any of the historical moments cards you are willing to part with I would be very interested.

1989 Topps Baseball

I have junk wax two packs of this particular year to open. One from the Alleys and the other from 'Big B' at Waxaholic, who like myself, thinks that junk wax is the dog's whatnots.
There ais only one card I need to complete the Red Sox from this set;

#155 Marty Barrett

Each of these packs contains 15 cards and a stick of this stuff.

Pack 1:

#2 Wade Boggs Red Sox record breakers

#16 Ron Robinson Reds

#106 Willies Upshaw Indians

#145 Dave Stewart Athletics

#178 Mark Grant Padres

#215 Kevin Gross Phillies

#280 Bob Knepper Astros

#320 Lou Whitaker Tigers

#359 Tommy John Yankees

#421 Kirk McCaskill Angels

#594 Jimy Williams Blue Jays

#628 Matt Williams Giants

#643 Loiuie Meadows Astros

#693 Pat Borders Blue Jays

#729 Rangers leaders

Pack 2:

#38 Paul Runge Braves

#62 Alfredo Griffin Dodgers

#92 Jeff Kunkel Rangers

#211 Mike Pagliarulo Yankees

#318 Gene Larkin Twins

#344 Tom Trebelhorn Brewers

#363 Rich Yett Indians

#349 Ron Jones Phillies

#467 Jim Walewander Tigers

#533 Andy Hawkins Padres

#647 Randy Johnson Expos

#748 Jimmy Jones Padres

#753 Jose Uribe Giants

#772 Ron Oester Reds

#779 Craig McMurtry Rangers

A Red Sox but not the one needed.
This second pack reminds me of an e-mail that I received very early in my blogging career. The collector asked if any I had any cards in my collection of players who last name (unhyphenated nor double barrelled) was longer than 13 letters. At first I thought this was a strange request but I did look through my collection. Unfortunately I was unable to find any players who met these requirements.
I know of some footballers; Ranger's Saltalamacchia, Bolton's Giannakopoulos, Uniteds Van Nistelrooij,or my personal favourite Celtics Vennegoor of Hesselink but these are double barrels.
Any advance on 13 letters?

2009 Bowman Chrome Baseball

I was sent this pack along with a few others in a recent 'Trade' with the Alley family in North Carolina. They were generous and sent a five different packs, most of which I have cards but as yet to bust a pack.
There are a number of Red Sox I still need from this set;

#20, 22, 38, 49, 69, 89, 115, 140, 174, 188, 194, 205

Prospects set (BCP-)

#2,5, 26, 83, 104, 113, 139, 184, 187.

The pack contains 4 cards.

The pack:

#192 Trevor Cahill Athletics

Bowman Chrome Prospect #170 Mario Martinez Mariners

Baseball World Classic #39 Kyuji Fujikawa

Bowman Chrome Prospect #173 Santos Rodriguez White Sox

Refractor #244/250

Finally a card for Steve. I very rarely pull a White Sox card of any note. I like shiny cards but I am left to wonder about the reasoning behind 'chrome'. Has the concept worn thin or are collectors still enamoured with all things shiny?

2009 Goodwin Champions baseball

The head of my school was kind enough to grab a blaster box of these Goodwin Champions in her recent visit to the US of A. I had asked for Goodwins or Allen+Ginter, I even wrote it on a post-it note, for fear of receiving another fat pack of Upper Deck. If you observe my recent posting here, you will notice that English people visiting the US gravitate towards Upper Deck and more specifically the 'Fat Packs'. It says proudly on the box and packs that this is a Major League Baseball product. There are 12 packs (2 extra packs-how generous Upper Deck) of 4 cards each. The set is however full of non-baseball cards and many assorted short prints, super short prints, inserts and parallels.

There are 150 cards in the base set (#1-#150), 40 short prints (#151-#190) and 20 super short prints (#191-#210)
The inserts are; Landmarks, Entomology Citizens of the Day, Animal Series, Citizens of the Century, mini and mini exclusives.

The parallels are foil, black bordered minis and one parallel I would like to find 'Moonlight variation', 15 cards with a moonlight background. For a full breakdown check here.

The packs:

Pack 1:

#45 Peyton Manning

#86 Brooks Robinson Orioles

#111 Kevin Garnett

#99 Ben Roethlisberger mini

Pack 2:

#85 lance Berkman Astros

#99 Ben Roethlisberger

#125 Chris Johnson

#71 Adrian Gonzalez Padres mini

Pack 3:

#17 Rollie Fingers Athletics

#37 Whitey Ford Yankees

#43 Cole Hamels Phillies

#71 Adrian Gonzalez Padres

Pack 4:

#115 Smarty Jones

#123 B.J.Upton Bay Rays

#150 David Ortiz Red Sox

#236 Jake Peavy Padres

Pack 5:

#5 Albert Pujols Cardinals

#14 Donovan Bailey

#41 Ted Williams Red Sox

#125 Chris Johnson mini

Pack 6:

#62 Yogi Berra Yankees

#96 Paul Molitor Brewers

#172 Justin Verlander Tigers

#127 Francisco Liriano Twins black border Gypsy Queen

Pack 7:

#82 Justin Morneau Twins

#106 Ryan Howard Phillies

#110 Matt Holliday Rockies

#133 Joba Chamberlain Yankees

Pack 8:
#28 Brian McCann Braves

#51 Carlos Beltran Mets

#57 Eli Manning

#4 Jorge Posada Yankees mini

Pack 9:

#81 Wayne Gretzky

#114 Michael Jordan

#141 Bobby Orr

#30 Al Kaline Tigers

Pack 10:

#4 Jorge Posada Yankees

#30 Al Kaline Tigers

#55 Chad Reed

#142 Zack Greinke Royals

Pack 11:

#2 Derek Jeter Yankees

#67 Josh Beckett Red Sox

#138 Gary Sheffield Tigers

#2086 Albert Pujols Cardinals 20th Anniversary

Pack 12:

#27 Derrek Lee Cubs

#88 Peggy Fleming

#GCM-MS Mike Schmidt Phillies Jersey relic

So a similar scenario developed here, 14 non-baseball cards from 47 cards, minis and standard cards repeated in sequenced packs.

There was 3 Red Sox, one of them a very nice Ted Williams and a Mike Schmidt relic. I'm not a big fan of football, hockey or basketball (or for that matter skating or motorcross) but all in all I like this set, very much.