1995 Topps Embossed

There is something that shows was was wrong about the baseball card companies attempts to try 'something new'. That was the 1995 Topps Embossed set. Even the inclusion of a GOLD fail (sorry foil) card in each pack didn't ignite the collecting world. I was looking for cards that I had never opened and purchased 5 packs of these cards.
There are 140 cards in the base set.
There are gold and silver variations of the base cards.
There are a parallel set called Golden Idols, gold naturally.

Pack 1:

#40 Andy Benes Padres

#41 Dean Palmer Rangers Gold Idol

#64 Mike Greenwell Red Sox

#88 Mark Whitten Cardinals

#108 Tim Salmon Angels Silver

#116 Ozzie Guillen White Sox Silver

Pack 2:

#9 Jeff Kent Mets

#14 Ruben Sierra A's

#61 Darren Daulton Phillies

#95 David Cone Royals Silver

#101 David Justice Braves Gold

#122 Mark Langston Angels

Pack 3:

#43 Kevin Appier Royals

#44 Brady Anderson Orioles

#49 Wade Boggs Yankees Gold Idol

#56 Tom Pagnozzi Cardinals

#90 Andres Galarraga Rockies

#107 Mark McGwire A's Silver

Pack 4:

#13 Ryan Thompson Mets

#24 Moises Alou Expos

#48 Chuck Finley Angels

#68 Devon White Blue Jays Gold idol

#81 Kevin Tapani Twins

#93 Mike Mussina Orioles

Pack 5:

#5 Pat Hentgen Blue Jays

#7 Jose Valentin Brewers

#19 Paul Molitor Blue Jays

#34 Ivan Rodriguez Rangers

#59 Rev Sanchez Cubs Gold idol

#75 Ozzie Smith Cardinals

1 Red sox from an ugly baseball card set.

2007 Upper Deck Masterpieces

Way back in 2007 I was sent a pack of these cards and have tried earnestly to get my hands on some more without much success. Its now 2009 and I was pleasantly surprised to find a blaster cheaply on e-bayUS.
The base set consists of 90 cards.
There are inserts: Captured on Canvas, Captured on Canvas Bronze, Captured on Canvas Green, 5x7 Box Toppers and Strokes of Genius
There are parallel sets: Blue Steel, Hades, Rusted, Ironised, Bronze Ore, Black Linen, Deep Blue Linen, Green Linen, Persian Blue Linen, Red Linen, Artists Proofs, Serious Black, Pinot Red, Winsdor Green, Celestial Blue and Urban Grey.

Pack 1:

#23 Roy Campanella Dodgers

#24 Jackie Robinson Dodgers

#37 Miguel Cabrea Marlins

#49 Albert Pujols Cardinals

Pack 2:

#35 Joe Mauer Twins

#46 Michael Jordan White Sox

#55 Cal Ripkin Jnr Orioles

#81 Chris Chambliss Yankees

Pack 3:

#22 Babe Ruth Red Sox

#42 Ripken Jnr / Gwynn

#68 Akinori Iwamura Bay Rays

#85 1969 World Series Champions Mets

Pack 4:

#3 Bill Mazeroski Pirates

#33 Chase Utley Phillies

#48 Randy Johnson Mariners

#65 Alex Gordon Royals

Pack 5:

#13 Brooks Robinson Orioles

#61 Jason Bay Pirates

#72 Alex Rodriguez Yankees

#78 Tom Glavine Met

Pack 6:

#11 Bucky Dent Yankees

#26 Sandy Koufax Dodgers

#62 Luis Aparicio White Sox

#88 Chase Utley Phillies

Pack 7:

#7 Don Larsen Yankees

#39 Frank Thomas White Sox

#52 Johan Santana Twins

#75 Richard Nixon President

Pack 8:

#9 Roger Maris Yankees

#30 Derek Jeter Yankees

#82 Tim Lincecum Giants

#87 Roberto Clemente Pirates

I still really like this set even though there was only 1 Red Sox card ( and 5 Yankees!)

2004 Flair retail

If you are at all like me, I like opening packs. Don't get me wrong cards are great but opening your own packs makes you child like. So I succumb and bought some packs from the US. I tried to look for packs I had never opened before and I understand that most of these packs have probably been searched and the 'hits' gone.
First up is 4 packs of 2004 Fleer Flair with a big RETAIL written across the top.

The set consists of 60 base cards and 22 Class of '04 (# to 799).
There are parallel cards: Fleer Collection Row,
There are inserts: 35 Hot Numbers, Hot numbers GOLD.
There are various game used memorabilia/autograph inserts.

Pack 1

#3 Jeff Bagwell Astros

#6 Tom Glavine Mets

#30 Andruw Jones Braves

#50 Hideki Matsui Yankees

checklist

Pack 2

#8 Barry Zito A's

#23 Shannon Stewart Twins

#27 Angel Berroa Royals

#51 Jim Thome Phillies

Pack 3

#1 Brandon Webb Diamondbacks

# 4 Shawn Green Dodgers

#32 Sammy Sosa Cubs

#48 Adam Dunn Reds

Pack 4

#14 Alfonso Soriano Rangers

#33 Dontrelle Willis Marlins

#38 Scott Rolen Cardinals

#41 Jason Schmidt Giants

#HN-MT Jim Thome Hot Numbers Jersey

Well no Red Sox, but surprise, surprise a Game Used Jersey. Very nice indeed.

1991 Topps Baseball

The third and final helping of Junk Wax from Big B.
There are 792 cards in the base set.
The sub-sets (inserts) are: Record breakers, All-Stars, Managers, First draft picks and Future Stars.
There are parallel sets: Topps Micro, Tiffany and Desert Storm (or Shield as it was known then).

There are 15 picture cards and 1 stick of bubble gum per pack.

The pack:
#80 Fernando Valenzuela Dodgers

#196 Jim Vatcher Braves

#204 Herm Winningham Reds

#334 Todd Benzinger Reds

#351 Joe Torre Cardinals

#361 Scott Garrelts Giants

#466 Charles Nagy Indians

#537 Jose Lind Pirates

#587 Jose Offerman Dodgers

#719 Keith Miller Mets

#736 Dick Schofield Angels

#745 Doug Jones Indians

#769 Tim Sherrill Cardinals

#780 Randy Myers Reds

#785 Scott Fletcher White Sox

A couple of close calls; an ex Red Sox and a soon to be Red Sox, but no actual Red Sox cards.

I was reading the Instant Win Game card included in the pack and was surprised to see that as a celebration of 40 years of card sets, Topps was giving away all 40 years of Topps baseball sets-that's 'EVERY' set they had ever produced. (ARV $125,000) surely they are worth more than that! They also inserted one of every card from the past 40 years in retail packs, chances of obtaining one are 1in 1000 packs. Sorry the 1952 to 1956 cards are redemption cards with instructions on how to obtain the card, expiry date 04/01/1992. Imagine pulling one today.

1991 Fleer Baseball

The second Junk Wax pack from Big B. Interestingly there is a advertisement on the wrapper for the 'Fleer Pro-Vision Sports Art Cards'. There are 12 to collect, they are limited edition and packed randomly in wax packs. Every star player portrait features bright, distinctive artwork that will make the set collectable (sic) for years to come. Anyone collect these or still trying?Apparently they are collectible for years.

There are 720 cards in the base set.
There are inserts: 10 Fleer All-stars, 12 Fleer Pro-vision.
There are two 'special' inserts only available in certain packs: 9 Wax Box cards and 8 World Series cards.
There are 14 cards and 1 sticker per pack.

The Pack:

Sticker

#30 Stan Belinda Pirates

#88 Tom Brunansky Red Sox

#137 Bobby Thigpen White Sox

#165 Frank Viola Mets

#186 Todd Stottlemyre Blue Jays

#194 Tim Belcher Dodgers

#381 Mike Walker Indians

#437 Jerome Walton Cubs

#461 Mike Schooler Mariners

#440 Steve Wilson Cubs

#534 Craig Lefferts Padres

#573 Gary Thurman Royals

#644 Bryn Smith Cardinals

#649 Milt Thompson Cardinals

There is just too much yellow on this set.

One Red Sox though.

1990 Fleer Baseball

Big B over a Waxaholic sent me three packs of 'Junk Wax', although I personally wouldn't call any packs junk, particularly since packs are a rarity(here inthe UK).

There are 660 cards in the base set consisting of 620 players, 7 checklists, 14 major league prospects, 10 player of the decade and 10 league leaders. The packs had 15 cards and 1 sticker.


Dayf sent a Red Sox free packet of these in January. Here's hoping I do better this time around.

The Pack:

The sticker

#122 Frank White Royals

#194 Mark Williamson Orioles

#197 Blaine Beatty Mets

#205 Keith Hernandez Mets
#244 Alex Cole Cardinals

#314 Ruben Sierra Rangers

#339 Greg Vaughn Brewers

#417 Eric Davies Reds

#440 Greg Cadaret Yankees

#487 Jerry Browne Indians

#501 Joel Skinner Indians

#552 Don Carman Phillies

#593 Lonnie Smith Braves

#594 Pete Smith Braves

#638 AL All Stars Mattingly McGwire

Another pack of 1990 Fleer without a Red Sox card, but that is two in row that has the Mattingly/McGwire card.

2007 Upper Deck World Series Champions Box Set

In my pursuit of Red Sox cards I cannot fail to get 100% from this box set sent by Eric from The Pettitte Pursuit.

The World Series Champions Red Sox Box Set contains:

25 Regular Season Players cards

15 Regular Season Highlight cards

9 Postseason Memorable Moments cards

1 World Series MVP card

1 Oversized Commemorative card

The Oversized Commemmorative card, which is 3 1/2in x 5 in. Has the Red Sox celebrating their win, but with no added photoshopping. After a 86-year gap between World Series titles ended in 2004, the Red Sox didn't need to wait nearly as long to add another ring to their collection.

Mike Lowell, the series MVP gets his own card. He was named MVP after he had a .400 batting average, six runs scored and four RBI's. He lifted the Red Sox to a title win over the Rockies.

100% success! Every card a Red S0x.