2009 Goodwin Champions

My favourite set in 2009 was;
Upper Deck Goodwin Champions

There are 150 cards in the base set(#1-150). There are Short prints (#151-190), Super Short prints (#191-210) and Mini Exclusives (#211-252).

I need 0 to complete the base set;


SP: 151, 152, 153, 158, 159, 160, 161, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 170, 171, 173, 174, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 188, 189, 190.

SSP: 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210

2000 Fleer Showcase

Fleer Showcase

Although this wasn't my favourite set from 2000, I have acquired a near complete base set along the way.

These are the 0 card I need to complete the base set of 100 cards;

COMPLETED!

There are also 40 prospect short prints. (#101-140)

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.

2007 Fleer Ultra Baseball

These packs come from Justin of Is this a Wasteland... in a trade package he sent recently.
There are 250 cards in the base set. Cards #1-#200 are veterans, cards #201 - #250 are rookies, cards #238-#250 Lucky 13 Rookies.
There are inserts: Faces of the Game, Feel the Game, Hitting Machines, Strike Zone, Swing Kings and a 5o card Iron Man Cal Ripken Jnr set.
There are parallels: Ultra Gold and Ultra Retail.
There are memorabilia cards: Material patches, Dual materials, Ultragraphs, Rookie Ultragraphs and parallel Materials of all the inserts.
Fleer love their inserts and parallels.
The cards come in 5 per pack.

Pack 1:

#29 Aramis Ramirez Cubs

#89 Chone Figgins Angels

#101 Bill Hall Brewers

#159 Chris Young Padres

#UIM-44 Iron Man Cal Ripkin Jnr

Pack 2:

#55 Todd Helton Rockies

#78 Craig Biggio Astros

#175 Scott Kazmir Bay Rays

#186 Vicente Padilla Rangers

#UIM-14 Iron Man Cal Ripken Jnr

Pack 3:

#33 Manny Ramirez Red Sox

#40 Adam Dunn Reds

#135 Chase Utley Phillies

#160 Greg Maddux Padres

#208 Joe Smith Mets RC

Pack 4:

#33 A.J.Pierzynski White Sox

#93 Andre Ethier Dodgers

#154 Trevor Hoffman Padres

#175 Scott Kazmir Bay Rays

#222 Matt Lindstrom Marlins RC

Pack 5:

#43 Bronson Arroyo Reds gold

#44 Ryan Freel Reds

#100 Prince Fielder Brewers

#130 Bobby Crosby Athletics

#161 Mike Cameron Padres

Only 1 Red Sox, a Man Ram, from the 5 packs. An insert per pack, which is pretty good going.

2009 Upper Deck Baseball Series 2

Another great gift from a parent at school. A 2009 Upper Deck Fat Pack. I have been very lucky and received about 4 of these fat packs from various people. As I have mentioned before UD must have the best marketing ploy in the entire country. These particular packs somehow encourage people, who know nothing about cards, to buy them.

So as the title suggests, we are looking for Red Sox in these packs. At present my Dodgers magnet is a little off and the Mets are appearing more often. Lets see what's inside.

#517 Josh Anderson Braves

#536 Jeremy Guthrie Orioles

#539 Aubrey Huff Orioles

#544 John Smoltz Red Sox

#557 Jonathan Papelbon Red Sox

#559 Hideki Okajima Red Sox

#594 Jay Bruce Reds

#597 Mike Lincoln Reds

#611 Mark DeRosa Indians

#640 Gary Sheffield Tigers

#650 Wes Helms Marlins

#658 Logan Kensing Marlins

#680 Alex Gordon Royals

#706 Casey Blake Dodgers

#718 Corey Hart Brewers

#725 Seth McClung Brewers

#750 Ryan Church Mets

#776 Mark Teixeira Yankees

#780 Jose Molina Yankees

#781 Alex Rodriguez Yankees

#789 Matt Holliday Athletics

#792 Jason Giambi Athletics

#816 Andy LaRoche Pirates

#834 Cla Meredith Padres

#844 Pablo Sandoval Giants

#845 Emmanuel Burriss Giants

#882 Yadier Molina Cardinals

#894 Dioner Navarro Bay Rays

#916 Marco Scutaro Blue Jays

#932 Josh Willingham Nationals

#957 Grady Sizemore Indians

#962 David Wright Mets

#987 Rocco Baldelli Red Sox

#997 Brian Fuentes Angels

#SQ-29 Brian McCann Braves turquoise common

#SQ-47 Justin Morneau Twins turquoise uncommon

So there you have it... 4 Red Sox from a 36 card pack. I think I have all the Red Sox from this particular set now as well.

2004 Topps Bazooka Baseball Part 4 of 4

The fourth and final instalment of the 2004 Topps Bazooka. Top Right

Pack 1:

#110 David Ortiz Red Sox

#205 Damian Moss Orioles

#221 Corey Koskie Twins

#253 Bernie Castro Padres

#265 Rickie Weeks Brewers

#136 Vernon Wells Blue Jays Red Chunk

#188 Jason Kendall Pirates Mini

# Tim Hudson Athletics Tattoo

Pack 2:

#65 Garret Anderson Angels

#82 Frank Catalanotto Blue Jays

#184 Jeremy Bonderman Tigers

#240 Michael Young Rangers

#241 Ramon Nivar Rangers

#245 Grady Sizemore Indians Red Chunk

#163 Aaron Guiel Royals Mini

#BC22 Frank Thomas White Sox Comic

Pack 3:

#72 Jose Vidro Rangers

#87 Jose Reyes Mets

#103 Alex Rodriguez Rangers

#206 Juan Pierre Marlins

#291 Carlos Quentin D-backs

#204 Ryan Klesko Padres Red Chunk

#52 Kenny Lofton Yankees Mini

#35 4in1 Sticker

Pack 4:

#3 Shea Hillenbrand D-backs

#58 Cliff Floyd Mets

#150 Vladimir Guerrero Angels

#194 Jermaine Dye Athletics

#195 Roy Halladay Blue Jays

#292 Khalid Ballouli Brewers

#94 John Olerud Mariners Mini

#BOL-WS Willie Stargell Pirates Relic

Pack 5:

#25 Mark Prior Cubs

#51 Tim Hudson Athletics

#58 Cliff Floyd Mets

#195 Roy Halladay Blue Jays

#290 Kyle Sleeth Tigers

#277 Matthew Moses Twins Red Chunk

#259 Ryan Madson Phillies Mini

#6 Mike Piazza Mets Stand-up

Pack 6:

#24 Jeromy Burnitz Rockies

#66 Sean Casey Reds

#178 Erubiel Durazo Athletics

#257 Ryan Harvey Cubs

#262 Eric Duncan Yankees

#274 Anthony Lerew Braves Red Chunk

#128 Boomer Wells Padres Mini

#BC20 Sammy Sosa Cubs Comic

So 1 Relic card, but it is a Hall of Famer and one lonely Red Sox from the final 6 packs so a little disappointing.