2007 Bowman Heritage baseball

A while back in 2006 before I had entered the world of blogging I made a decision to shave down my collection. I found a number of trading sites, Hobby Kings, The Bench and Sportscard Forum and then Sports Card Collectors UK. This was a (very) small band of US sports collectors in the UK. Most were basketball collectors, myself and one other collector were baseball. Our small band grew well into double figures, the dizzy heights of 30. There was about 8 of us who were regulars, so an idea was hatched to start some group breaks. The first baseball break we did was a blaster of this product 2007 Bowman Heritage. It was meant to be a box of cards but there was mix-up in communication. I gave up any hits for all the Red Sox, which ended up being very few. There were quite a few basketball group breaks but I just found no interest. I did notice though that the game used cards and autos were outstanding. Two boxes of 2008 Goudey were the next baseball group break but after that things turned a bit sour. The administrator of the forum, a guy called Jo, who had organised the breaks very fairly and smoothly, suddenly had difficulty with purchasing the boxes and went AWOL. We had organised a Mayo football group break, I liked the look of this product and was interested to see what we pulled. It never happened and he still has my money, Bastard. He continued to post his breaks on you-tube under the pseudonym of UKcardcollector and I pestered him politely for a while until he stopped posting, Bastard. I learnt a valuable lesson, always pay through paypal which I did at first then didn't have enough in my account so posted cash-idiot.
So unfortunately whenever I see 2007 Bowman heritage and 2008 Mayo I get a sour taste in my mouth, which is a pity because they are both very nice sets.
I still need 3 cards and 2 short printed variations to complete the Red Sox team set. They are;

#37 J.D. Drew
#41 Josh Beckett
#109 Curt Schilling
#243b Hideki Okajima SP
#250b Daisuke Matsuzaka SP

The pack:
#14 Mike Lowell Red Sox

#22 Michael Young Rangers

#47 Mark Teixeira Rangers

#71 Gary Mathews Angels

#220 Jeff Baker Rockies

#228 Elijah Dukes Bay Rays refractor

1/3 Checklist

#BHP28 Bryan Byrne D-backs

#BHP48 Donald Fines Bay Rays

One Red Sox but I already have it.

2007 Upper Deck baseball

Almost unnoticeable on this pack are the words 'retail' meaning that it is available at both hobby and big chain stores, rather than just through the hobby shop. Or does it mean much more? Is there a better chance of pulling a parallel, a jersey or an auto rather than a mass of base cards. That being said, this is first edition, so no autos or jersey inserts anyway. What was included was a number of inserts roughly 1 per pack- so set builders, team collectors or those of us after a quick fix may well be happy.
I still need 8 of the 11 cards from the Red Sox set;

#4 Devern Hansack RC
#59 Manny Ramirez
#61 Alex Cora
#62 Trot Nixon
#63 Doug Mirabelli
#64 Curt Schilling

#65 Jonathan Papelbon
#66 Craig Hansen

The pack:

#25 Dennis Sarfate Brewers

#73 Jose Contreras White Sox

#139 Chris Snelling Mariners

#140 Cha Seung Baek Mariners

#153 Jerry Hairston Rangers

#177 Chipper Jones Braves
#233 Greg Maddux Padres

#247 Lastings Milledge Mets

#259 Freddy Sanchez Pirates

#FPF-AM Andrew Miller Tigers

There is the one insert and no Red Sox. The photography in this set is first rate and I actually prefer the matt finish on the First Edition than the gloss on Series 1 and 2.

Would anyone like some Red Sox cards?

Half-term holiday this week, which means that Sunday isn't as hectic as it usually is. In our house Sunday ends up being a homework day for the children, my wife and me. Planning for the week ahead.
Today has been very different, the girls spent most of the day playing with a large box. It was a house, a cave, momentarily a trap, but it spent most of the day full of cushions and blankets. The boys played Paper Mario on the Wii, read for a while, annoyed their sisters and went back to Mario. My wife Tina read and was occasionally called upon to move a large cardboard box somewhere else. I was able to do some card sorting.

I have accumulated a heafty pile of cards but not had the time to sort through them for trade. The bulk of the cards are Red Sox. Adam from Thought and Sox sent a large selection of Red Sox my way recently, so there are some from his wants list on the way. A few from Shoebox Legends wants list, but there is still loads of 2009, 2008, 2007 Red Sox cards (a few earlier too) looking for a home.

Anyone else collect Red Sox?

2009 Bowman baseball

The final pack from Mark, then it is onto the book he included ' The Teammates' by David Halberstam.
There are only one card I need to complete the Red Sox set, which is;

188 Kevin Youkilis

The Pack:

#47 Mike Jacobs Royals

#58 James Shields Bay Rays

#143 Lance Berkman Astros

#159 Shane Victorion Phillies

#190 Kosuke Fukudome Cubs

#BP59 Parker Frazier Rockies

#BP59 Parker Frazier Rockies gold border

#BP89 Bryan Petersen Marlins

#BCP9 Kevin De La Cruz Indians

#BCP116 Javier Rodriguez Mets auto

So there you have it. No Red Sox but an auto from an autograph collector. I wonder how often the gold border and base card are included in the same pack!

2007 Fleer baseball

How fickle we can be as collectors. I really loved the 2006 Fleer design but wasn't moved by the 2007 design. The photography is excellent all the examples I have seen are close-up action shots, the inserts are nice and shiny, 2 rookies per pack. What's not to like? See fickle.
This pack comes form the generous Alley family in North Carolina.

There are still 12 cards I need to complete the Red Sox team set;
#166 Julio Lugo
#277 Josh Beckett
#279 Kevin Youkilis
#280 Jason Varitek
#281 Manny Ramirez
#282 Curt Schilling
#283 Jon Lester
#284 Jonathan Papelbon
#286 Mike Lowell a
#374 David Ortiz CL
#404 Daisuke Matsuzaka RC
#405 Hideki Okajima RC

The Pack:

#8 Jose Vidro Mariners

#29 Gary Matthews Angels

#130 Lastings Milledge Mets

#186 Joey Gathright Royals

#286 Mike Lowell Red Sox

#269 Aramis Ramirez Cubs

#333 Jerry Owens White Sox

#369 Joaquin Arias Rangers

#IZ-VG Vladimir Guerrero Angels

#RS-CH Cole Hamels Phillies

Nice one, a Red Sox and needed. Still think this is an above average set just not to my liking.

2009 O-Pee-Chee baseball

Another two packs of the controversial OPC cards by Upper Deck. There are still quite a few that I need to complete the Red Sox base set and this doesn't include the black border variation.

Still needed are:

#7 J.D. Drew
#34 Takashi Saito
#150 Dustin Pedroia
#180 Josh Beckett
#192 Hideki Okajima
#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

Pack 1:

#87 Andy Pettitte Yankees

#93 Aubrey Huff Orioles black border

#299 Jon Rauch D-backs

#264 Mike Adams Padres

#529 Angels checklist

#548 Padres moments

Pack 2:

#41 Xavier Nady Yankees

#44 Gabe Gross Bay Rays

#195 Geovany Soto Cubs

#285 Josh Johnson Marlins

#571 Scott Elbert Dodgers black border

#1138 20th Century Denver Broncos

What no Red Sox? Not a great deal to say about this set, it was fairly mediocre. It has a vintage type of feel and the photography is pretty good. But I'm not sure I would go for the complete set. I read the Padres moments card with interest, the Padres wore a camouflage kit in a game vs the Tigers in June 2008 to honour US troops. I wonder if these kits were available to purchase on the day?

2009 Allen+Ginter baseball

Three packs of 2009 Allen+Ginter from Mark. This is a really nice set to collect, great quality card and impressive pictures. No surprise it was voted product of the year in Stale Gum's 'Gummies' .
There are only 3 cards that I still need to complete the Red Sox base set. That doesn't include minis or crack the code variations.

#185 Dustin Pedroia
#279 Jon Lester a
#285 George Kottaras (RC)

Let's see what we can get from the three packs:

Pack1:

#64 Jordan Zimmermann Nationals

#114 Hideki Matsui Yankees

#126 Trevor Crowe Indians

#171 Brett Anderson Athletics

#319 Gary Sheffield Mets

#AGHS23 Brad Lidge Phillies

#NP15 Jorge Posada Yankees

#48 Brigham Young 'Colonizer' mini

Pack 2:

#36 Joba Chamberlain Yankees

#94 Paul Maholm Pirates

#121 Ryan Church Mets

#142 Lashawn Merritt

#239 Chris Carpenter Cardinals

#248 Colby Rasmus Cardinals

#NP14 Francisco Rodriguez Mets

#293 Ian Snell Pirates mini A+G back

Pack 3:

#45 Derrek Lee Cubs

#251 Carl Crawford Bay Rays

#279 Jon Lester Red Sox

#298 Dan Harden D-backs

#321 Kelly Shoppach Indians

#AGHS1 Aaron Boone Yankees

#NP72 Edgar Gonzalez Padres

#332 Curtis Granderson Tigers mini

Thats the way to do it. A single Red Sox but one that is needed.

2010 Topps Series 1

Unbelievable to be sent some 2010 packs of cards so early in the year. These came from the Alley family who contacted me a while ago about some Topps Attax cards for their son, an Everton fan. I purchased a few Everton items (scarf, tie pin) to include with a football sticker book and cards. In return they sent a huge package of Red Sox cards and unopened packs, not once but twice. Wow, what a family!

Pack 1:

#9 Tim Lincecum Giants

#22 Anthony Swarzak Twins

#46 Chad Tracy D-backs

#93 Joe Nathan Twins

#84 Nate Robertson Tigers

#175 Josh Hamilton Rangers

#184 Jeff Francoeur Mets

#190 Pablo Sandoval Giants

#207 Colby Rasmus Cardinals

#CMT-19 Steve Carlton Cardinals

#TOG-24 Josh Hamilton Rangers

#TTT1 Joe Mauer Twins

Pack 2:

#29 Aubrey Huff Tigers

#134 Philadelphia Phillies
#138 League leaders

#187 Will Venable Padres

#291 Austin Kearns Nationals

#303 Chris Snyder D-backs

#CMT-27 Nolan Ryan Angels

#TOG-4 1952 cards dumped in river!

#TTT18 Vladimir Guerrero Angels

#PPR-GSO Geovany Soto Cubs

Pack 3:

#34 Michael Dunn Yankees

#89 J.A.Harp Phillies

#108 Erick Aybar Angels

#163 Josh Butler Brewers

#168 Brad Kilby Athletics

#170 Jason Bay Red Sox

#283 Adam Kennedy Athletics

#288 Boston Red Sox

#290 Orlando Hudson Dodgers

#LL7 George Sisler/Ichiro Suzuki
#TR26 Dexter Fowler Rockies

#TTT14 Albert Pujols Cardinals

Pack 4:
#51 Eric Young Jr. Rockies
#60 David Wright Mets
#135 Ryan Dempster Cubs
#159 Vernon Wells Blue Jays
#165 Brandon Phillips Reds
#177 Adam Lind Blue Jays
#218 Fernando Martinez Mets
#233 League leaders
#245 Lance Berkman Astros
#PP-29 Roy Campanella Dodgers
#TTT25 Manny Ramirez Dodgers
#8 of 45 Mariano Rivera Yankees Topps 1951 Red back mini

Pack 5:

#26 Zach Duke Pirates

#49 Jorge De La Rosa Rockies

#87 Darin Erstad Astros

#146 Yunel Escobar Angels

#188 Joe Blanton Phillies

#192 Andruw Jones Rangers

#244 Barry Zito Giants gold border 0544/2010

#284 Ross Ohlendorf Pirates

#305 Juan Francisco Reds

#CMT-6 Frank Robinson Reds

#FCTTT20 Adam Jones Orioles

#TMC-9 card giveaway

As far as Red Sox go, this was poor showing. As a card collector there is a great variety of inserts, base and a nice memorabilia card. I like the 'cards your mom threw out' insert, although a variation on a theme used before. I'm not sure about the wave on the edge of each of the base cards though. Is this some sort of looking down a tunnel or looking through a lens effect?

As always any are up from grabs/trade.