2012 Topps Premier League Sticker Collection

I need another pursuit like I need a hole in my head. I am attempting this because I feel it will be easier than trying to track down 2011 Baseball stickers. I want to help Big B with a completed collection as well.
462 stickers to collect. Onward and Upward.

I need 363 stickers to complete the whole book:
1
ARSENAL 3 6 7 10 11 12 13 16 19 20 21 22 23 24
ASTON VILLA 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 36 37 38 40 41 42 43 44 46
BLACKBURN 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 68
BOLTON 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 84 85 86 87 88 89 90
CHELSEA 91 92 94 95 96 97 100 102 103 105 106 107 108 109 111 112
EVERTON 113 116 119 121 122 123 125 126 128 131 132 133 134
FULHAM 135 136 137 139 141 143 145 147 149 150 151 152 153 155 156
LIVERPOOL 157 158 159 163 164 168 170 173 174 175 177 178
MAN CITY 180 183 184 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 196 197 198 199 200
MAN UTD 201 202 203 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222
ANNIVERSARY 223 224 225 226 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 241
NEWCASTLE 243 244 246 247 248 249 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 263 264
NORWICH 265 266 267 269 270 272 274 275 276 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286
QPR 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 308
STOKE 309 311 312 313 314 316 317 318 319 320 324 325 328 329 330
SUNDERLAND 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 340 341 342 343 345 347 348 349 350 351 352
SWANSEA 354 356 357 358 361 362 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 372 373 374
TOTTENHAM 375 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 385 386 387 388 389 390 392 393 394 395 396
WEST BROMWICH 397 398 399 400 401 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418
WIGAN 419 420 421 423 424 425 426 428 429 430 431 432 434 435 436 437 438 439 440
WOLVES 441 442 443 444 445 446 448 449 450 451 452 453 458 459 460 462

21/12/2011 50 stickers (10 packets) purchased from newsagents £5.00
24/12/2011 49 stickers (10 packets purchased local newsagents £5.00
28/12/2011 (10 packets purchased from newsagents £5.00

2011 Topps Series 2 Blaster

The third and final blaster from a recent three blaster haul. I have become pretty lucky to pulling a number of getting Red Sox from packs, that is until the last blaster. Usually Dodgers appear by their multitudes but they are evading me a present too. Hopefully this 2011 Topps Series 2 will get the blog back on track.

BaseballCardPedia has this to say about the 2011 Topps Series 2. Watch out for the Diamond Sparkle Gimmicks... or maybe not.

The Red Sox available from Series 2 are:
#351 Jacoby Ellsbury *
#357 Mike Cameron
#364 Tim Wakefield
#372 Jarrod Saltalamacchia
#406 John Lackey
#423 Hideki Okajima
#425 Adrian Gonzalez *
#464 Daniel Bard
#480 Dustin Pedroia *
#500 Kevin Youkilis
#576 Jed Lowrie
#610 Josh Beckett *
#653 J.D. Drew
*diamond sparkle gimmicks possible

The blaster contains 10 packs, including 2 packs of black background parallel cards and a commemorative patch card.

Pack 1:

#353 Cliff Pennington Athletics diamond

#533 Lorenzo Cain Royals
#571 Jeremy Affeldt Giants

#574 Brandon Kintzler Brewers

#605 Brandon Belt Giants

#642 Jason Hammel Rockies

#652 Edwin Jackson White Sox

#60YOT-69 Stan Musial Cardinals

Pack 2:

#334 St Louis Cardinals

#357 Mike Cameron Red Sox

#383 Ryan Ludwick Padres

#388 Kenley Jansen Dodgers

#440 Grady Sizemore Indians

#602 Ivan DeJesus Dodgers

#609 Juan Francisco Reds

#DS-19 Josh Hamilton Rangers

Pack 3:

#396 Adam Jones Orioles

#435 Elvis Andrus Rangers

#462 Daric Barton Athletics

#532 Erik Bedard Mariners

#546 Los Angeles Dodgers

#647 Jeanmar Gomez Indians

#DS-25 Carlos Gonzalez Rockies

#T60-58 Hank Aaron Braves

Pack 4:

#381 Michael Gonzalez Orioles

#382 Travis Snider Blue Jays diamond
#467 Wade Davis Bay Rays

#486 Francisco Rodriguez Mets

#595 Micael Pineda Mariners

#648 Cody Ross Giants

#60YOT-62 Jackie Robinson Dodgers

#KC-58 Mel Ott Giants

Pack 5:

#352 Colby Lewis Rangers

#408 Benard Span Twins

#413 Derek Holland Rangers

#461 Eric Sogard Athletics

#492 A.J.Burnett Yankees

#582 Kosuke Fukudome Cubs

#T60-98 Marlon Byrd Cubs

#TDG-18 Diamond Giveaway

Pack 6:

#331 Carlos Guillen Tigers

#362 Doug Fister Mariners

#378 Mark Reynolds Orioles

#520 Jorge Posada Yankees

#626 Dan Harden Angels

#654 Chris Getz Royals

#60YOT-107 Roy Halliday Blue Jays

#DD-4 Adrian Gonzalez/Carl Crawford Red Sox

Pack 7:

#438 Ryan Theriot Cardinals

#453 Joe Saunders D-Backs

#509 Michael Bourn Astros

#524 Michael Martinez Phillies
#530 Felix Hernandez Mariners

#560 Chris Iannetta Rockies

#KC-74 Eddie Murray Orioles

#TT2-26 Trevor Cahill Athletics

Pack 8:

#421 Domonic Brown Phillies gold 1115/2011

#469 Joe Blanton Phillies

#518 Michael Morse Nationals

#521 Joaquin Benoit Tigers

#529 Maicer Izturis Angels

#592 Dayan Viciedo White Sox

#641 Travis Wood Reds

#DD-9 Adrian Beltre/Elvis Andrus Rangers

Pack 9: black background

#352 Colby Lewis Rangers

#410 Prince Fielder Brewers

#492 A.J.Burnett Yankees

#574 Brandon Kintzler Brewers

#628 Blake DeWitt Cubs

#638 Ryan Madson Phillies

#DS-15 Cliff Lee Phillies

#KC-67 Pee Wee Reese Dodgers

Pack 10: black background

#355 Justin Verlander Tigers

#380 Jose Reyes Mets

#435 Elvis Andrus Rangers

#454 Alberto Callaspo Angels

#462 Daric Barton Athletics

#524 Michael Martinez Phillies

#632 Scott Kazmir Angels diamond

#60YOT-108 Chris Carpenter Blue Jays

Pack 11: Throwback patch

#TLMP-MG Matt Garza Cubs

Ho hum. A few more Kimballs to knock off the wants list. 2 Red Sox and a bunch of inserts/parallels. As always any cards are up for trade.

2011 Allen and Ginter Blaster

The second of the gifted blasters is the extra nice Allen and Ginter. I am still hammering away at the 2010 complete base set, so I have pretty much ignored 2011. That is until this blaster came along. Since 2006 Topps have excelled with  the Allen and Ginter branding, making it a popular and interesting set to complete. BaseballCardpedia lists the cards available in the 2011 Allen and Ginter set. Besides the Red Sox, there is one particular insert that looks fascinating to me- the US State Cabinet Relics. A 50 card limited set  of every US state and featuring a relic from each state such as a space shuttle parachute from Florida, redwood from California, the green monster from New England and a rollercoaster in Ohio. Now that would be a monumental pursuit.

However this posting concentrates on the Red Sox available in the base set, which are;

#17 Jonathan Papelbon
#19 Daniel Bard
#50 Carl Crawford
#55 Dustin Pedroia
#88 David Ortiz
#116 Josh Beckett
#120 Adrian Gonzalez
#121 J.D. Drew
#149 Lars Anderson RC
#171 John Lackey
#182 Clay Buchholz
#208 Marco Scutaro
#270 Kevin Youkilis
#294 Jacoby Ellsbury
#320 Jon Lester SP
There are 6 cards per pack and 8 packs in the blaster.

Pack1:

#7 Mickey Mantle Yankees

#25 Nelson Cruz Rangers mini A+G back

#180 Kyle Drabek Blue Jays

#243 Mike Nickeas Mets

#FF19 HMS Revenge

#HH26 Torii Hunter Pine Bluff Arizona

Pack 2:



#142 Michael Young Rangers

#153 Scott Cousins Marlins mini

#169 Dan Harden Angels

#175 Jose Bautista Blue Jays

#323 Orlando Hudson Padres

#HH90 Ryan Howard St.Louis Missouri

Pack 3:

#107 L.L.Zamenhof Esperanto Inventor

#232 Picabo Street  Alpine Skiing

#337 Drew Storen Nationals

#BHS-8 Cody Ross Giants

#HH3 Brain Wilson Londonderry New Hampshire

SRU4 The Flea Circus mini

checklist 2/5

Pack 4:

#7 Mickey Mantle Yankees code card

#53 Chipper Jones Braves black border mini

#179 Shane Victorino Phillies

#218 Bobby Abreu Angels

#281 Adam Lind Blue Jays

#HH38 Andre Ethier Phoenix Arizona

Pack 5:

#48 Edinson Volquez Reds

#205 Kendrys Morales Angels mini

#296 Derek Lowe Braves

#HH58 Jimmy Rollins Oakland California

#AGR-PS Pablo Sandoval Giants jersey relic

Pack 6:

#26 Edwin Jackson White Sox

#100 Albert Pujols Cardinals

#186 Yunel Escobar Blue Jays

#189 Dexter Fowler Rockies

#327 David DeJesus Athletics black border mini

#HH2 Colby Rasmus Phenix City Alabama

Pack 7:

#204 Jim Thome Twins

#229 Juan Pierre Whie Sox

#250 Ichiro Mariners

#312 Cody Ross Giants

#MMF3 Eli Whitney Cotton Gin

#PP1 Antonio Meucci Telephone

Pack 8:

#29 Johnny Cueto Reds

#71 Chris Perez Indians

#207 Kosuke Fukudome Cubs

#335 Jason Heyward Braves

#AOM4 Porifera (sponges)

#UG9 RMS Queen Mary

What the..?
Not a single Red Sox.
Plenty of interesting inserts, minis and a jersey relic. All lovely cards but no Sox. I need to try a little harder.

2011 Topps Opening Day

The second to last pack sent by Dayf of Cardboard Junkie. The Red Sox available from this set are:

 3 Jon Lester

13 Carl Crawford

29 Jonathan Papelbon

99 Clay Buchholz

135 David Ortiz

148 Kevin Youkilis

181 Josh Beckett

183 Jacoby Ellsbury

192 Dustin Pedroia

198 Adrian Gonzalez

and there is only 1 card I need to complete the Red Sox set #29 Jonathan Papelbon. Will the former Red Sox pitcher be amongst this lonesome pack.

The pack:

#14 Ben Zobrist Bay Rays

#24 Andrew Cashner Cubs

#100 Migual Cabrera Tigers

#155 Cole Hamels Phillies

#156 Ryan Zimmerman Nationals

#UL-4 Alex Rodriguez Yankees

#7/10 David Wright Mets Spot the Error

Please tell me you can see it? I am having trouble.. Still no Pap.

2011 Topps Chrome rack pack

A 2011 Topps Chrome value pack or Rack Pack if you prefer. Included are 3 packs plus 3 orange refractor parallel cards. For infinite details on this set, go to BaseballCardPedia 2011 Topps Chrome for all the inserts, parallel and game used etc. 
The Red Sox available from the base set are:
3 Carl Crawford
12 David Ortiz
25 Adrian Gonzalez
34 Josh Beckett
49 Jonathan Papelbon
55 Jon Lester
90 Kevin Youkilis
116 Clay Buchholz
124 Jacoby Ellsbury
161 Dustin Pedroia
There are only 4 cards per pack. So collecting the base set of 220 cards is no mean feat.
Firstly the three orange refractors were:

#50 Ichiro Mariners

#64 Vernon Wells Angels

#209 Cory Luebke Padres

Pack 1:

#10 Hanley Ramirez Marlins refractor

#86 Drew Stubbs Reds

#107 Clayton Kershaw Dodgers

#198 Eduardo Nunez Yankees

Pack 2:

#25 Adrian Gonzalez Red Sox

#61 Yovani Gallardo Brewers refractor

#180 Hank Conger Angels

#188 Alexi Ogando Rangers

Pack 3:

#75 Roy Halladay Phillies

#164 Jered Weaver Angels

#172 Brandon Belt Giants

#VC14 Matt Kemp Dodgers

I may finally have a package to send along to Nightowl, the Dodgers cards have been slowly drifting in again. Any Angels collectors out there?

1 Red Sox from three packs, a little underwhelming...

2002 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia

This is a surprise pack that arrived with some other cards I purchased from eBay. The Absolute Memorabilia brand ran for for a few years from 2001 to 2005, which was when the Playoff/Donruss/Leaf deal expired. Absolute Memorabilia is an amazing set. The base cards were limited to between 100 and 200 but the number of inserts, parallels and relics defies belief. The 2005 set have no less that 40 different inserts available.
The 2002 Absolute set has 200 base cards, which includes 150 veterans and 50 rookie/prospects. The rookie/prospects were limited and numbered to 1000 each. There is also, randomly inserted into packs, parallel cards called 'Spectrum'. The veterans were numbered and limited to 100. The rookie/prospects numbered and limited to 50 of each.
The most interesting and notable inserts  are called 'Signing Bonus'. Inserted one per box, the 313 plaque set varied in print run from 1 to 250. Measuring roughly 8inches by 10inches, each framed plaque featured a numbered jersey piece, an autograph of the player and either an American flag or an Absolute card. However this isn't the interesting part, it was more the list of names available which  includes, Walter Johnson, Babe Ruth, Mel Ott, Tris Speaker, Ted Williams, Nap Lajoie, Connie Mack, Jimmie Foxx, Eddie Collins, Ty Cobb and it goes on.
The very thick pack contain four base cards and a signing bonus entry card or presumably one of the many relic/autograph/memorabilia cards on offer.

The Pack:

#26 Nomar Garciaparra Red Sox

#33 Mark Buehrle White Sox

#75 Shawn Green Dodgers

#142 Alex Rodriguez Rangers

 The extremely thick insert was an entry in to the 

#16 Reggie Jackson autographed framed piece.

So a free added extra. Very nice.

2011 Topps Update blaster

Recently, I was gifted three blaster. This is the first blaster- 2011 Topps Update. 10 packs, 2 of which are exclusive blue bordered parallel cards and a commemorative flashback patch.  There is a site, far greater than this one, that provides very detailed information about virtually every card set released. That site is BsaeballCardpedia. The 2011 Topps Update set is featured here, which list the inserts, parallels and relics available.

However, the Red Sox available in the base set are: 

US1 Adrian Gonzalez
US9 Jose Iglesias RC
US20 Adrian Gonzalez
US42 David Ortiz
US78 David Ortiz
US122 Alfredo Aceves
US126 Adrian Gonzalez
US144 Kevin Youkilis
US166 David Ortiz
US257 Erik Bedard
US278 Jacoby Ellsbury
US296 Bobby Jenks
US300 Carl Crawford
Topps also added a further 50 Kimball Champions for me the chase. I have added those to the Pursuit.

The Blaster

Pack 1:

#US9 Jose Iglesias Red Sox
#US64 J.C.Romero Yankees
#US71 Jeff Francis Royals
#US147 C.J.Wilson Rangers
#US182 Ronny Paulino Mets diamond
#US259 Checklist 2/5
#US267 Sam Fuld Bay Rays
#US295 Wilson Ramos Nationals

Pack 2:

#US15 Aaron Heliman D-backs

#US62 Jason Marquis D-backs

#US74 Henry Blanco D-backs

#US90 James Russell Cubs

#US194 Jason Kipnis Indians

#US223 Arthur Rhodes Rangers

#US316 Justin Upton D-backs

#DD-25 Eric Hosmer Royals /Freddie Freeman Braves

Pack 3:

#US16 Welington Castillo Cubs

#US20 Adrian Gonzalez Red Sox

#US22 Randall Delgardo Braves

#US139 Rafael Soriano Yankees

#US174 Jacob Turner Tigers

#US298 Yorvit Torrealba Rangers

#T60-125 Paul Molitor Blue Jays

#TDG-26 Carl Crawford Red Sox

Pack 4:

#US55 Anthony Rizzo Padres

#US179 Michael Pineda Mariners cognac

#US222 Chris Gimenez Mariners

#US235 Charlie Morton Pirates

#US258 Andres Ethier Dodgers

#US274 Jeff Karstens Pirates

#US272 Jorge Cantu Padres diamond

#US309 Paul Konerko White Sox

Pack 5:

#US36 Josh Juby Indians cognac

#US61 Nick Masset Reds

#US70 Michael Wuertz Athletics

#US119 Jeff Francoeur Royals

#US122 Alfredo Aceves Red Sox

#US172 Jonny Venters Braves

#US297 Chase d'Arnaud Pirates

#T60-119 Tom Seaver Reds

Pack 6:

#US42 David Ortiz Red Sox

#US69 Gerald Laird Cardinals

#US135 Grant Balfour Athletics

#US144 Kevin Youkilis Red Sox

#US150 Adrian Beltre Rangers

#US195 Joey Votto Reds

#US276 Yuniesky Betancourt Brewers

#T60-136 Bert Blyleven Twins

Pack 7:

#US18 Robinson Cano Yankees

#US92 Hunter Pence Phillies

#US99 Carlos Villanueva Blue Jays

#US185 Orlando Hudson Padres

#US221 Jamey Carroll Dodgers

#US269 Sergio Santos White Sox

#US322 Fernando Martinez Mets

#KC-111 Tris Speaker Red Sox

Pack 8:

#US66 Andy Birks Tigers

#US112 Lonnie Chisenhall Indians

#US116 Shawn Camp Blue Jays

#US281 Mark Melancon Astros

#US282 Brad Hand Marlins

#US283 LaTroy Hawkins Brewers

#US291 Andrew McCutchen Pirates

#T60-108 Babe Ruth Red Sox 

Pack 9: blue border 1

#US14 Alex Zlvila Tigers

#US53 Koji Uehara Rangers

#US61 Nick Masset Reds

#US124 Xavier Paul Pirates

#US267 Sam Fulb Bay Rays

#US289 Eric Chavez Yankees

#US313 Tyson Ross Athletics

#645 Bob Gibson Cardinals cognac 

Pack 10: blue border 2

#US63 Doug Fister Tigers

#US70 Michael Wuertz Athletics

#US89 Sean O'Sullivan Royals diamond

#US132 Jose Altuve Astros

#US194 Jason Kipnis Indians

#US223 Arhtur Rhodes Rangers

#US315 Carlos Pena Cubs

#244 Mike Aviles Royals cognac

Bonus pack 11: Throwback Patch

#TLMP-PM0 Paul Molitor Twins

Could I say with conviction that 8 Red Sox from 80 cards is a good ratio. A whole pack of Red Sox! Quite a few diamond anniversary cards as well from this blaster, particularly the cognac variation. With a stated ratio of 1in12, which are approximate odds-7 cards in 10 packs is a damn good ratio.

2011 Topps Attax baseball

Another pack of cards from Dayf, this time a pack of 2011 Topps Attax baseball.
Just to clear something up that I wasn't sure of the last time I opened a pack of these- Which are the rare and ultra rare cards? A helpful reader dropped me a e-mail to say that the diamond in the bottom right corner denotes the rarity of the card.
As such:

A black diamond is common,
a silver diamond is uncommon,
a gold diamond is rare and,
a white diamond is ultra-rare.

So now you know. All a person, with ample amounts of time on their hand, has to do is create a checklist.
There are 258 cards in the base set, consisting of 206 players, 25 Mascots and 27 Stadiums. The cards are ordered alphabetically by first name. There are foil variations of every card, which should be regarded as a parallel set. There are two inserts, Mickey Mantle and  Babe Ruth Legend cards.

The Red Sox available from this set are:
#7 Adrian Gonzalez
#37 Carl Crawford
#55 Clay Buchholz
#66 David Ortiz
#77 Dustin Pedroia
#102 Jacoby Ellsbury
#116 Jon Lester
#117 Jonathan Papelbon
#123 Josh Beckett
#134 Kevin Youkilis
#230 Wally the Green Monster
#240 Fenway Park SP Stadium

The pack from Dayf contains 12 cards.

The Pack:

#10 Alex Rodriguez Yankees uncommon

#20 Aubrey Huff Giants common

#27 Brandon Phillips Reds common

#61 Corey Hart Brewers uncommon foil

 #77 Dustin Pedroia Red Sox rare

#93 Heath Bell Padres ultra-rare

#120 Jose Reyes Mets rare

#123 Josh Beckett Red Sox common

#132 Kelly Johnson D-backs common

#156 Michael Young Rangers uncommon

#188 Stephen Drew D-backs uncommon

#235 Chase Field D-backs common

A two Red Sox pack, nice.
Of some interest of those inclined, there are two variations (error) cards:
#33 Brain McCann who can be seen with one hand or two hands on the bat and,
#154 Michael Bourne with a #21 or #42 jersey.

2010 Allen and Ginter

 Here is the pack from the Yawkey Way store opposite Fenway Park, courtesy of Mark. I am trying to collect the complete 2010 base set, and failing miserably, so any cards out of the pack from the wants list would be great.
Before this pack I still need a whopping 144 of the 350 to complete the base set plus a side collection of Monsters of the Mesozoic. Also known as the Dinosaur set.

The pack:

#49 Jennry Mejia Mets mini black border

#197 Johnny Damon Tigers

#206 J.D.Drew Red Sox

#235 Carlos Guillen Tigers

#309 Casey McGehee Brewers

#TDH40 Jake Peavy White Sox



The wants list has been reduced by three and a Red Sox too. Only 141 to go.

2002 Topps Stadium Club

When Stadium Club was introduced in 1991, the borderless full bleed glossy cards were Topps attempt to enter the premium card market.

The 2002 set contained 125 cards, of which the last 25 cards (#101--125) were short printed and numbered to 2999.

There were two inserts available called Reel Time (1 in 8packs) and Stadium Shots (1 in 12packs).

There were relic cards aplenty with the overall odds of finding a relic 1 in 22packs. They included: All Star relics, Passport to the Majors jersey or bat relics, Stadium Club Bat barrel, Bat handle and Bat middle slices plus World Champion relics, which could have been a bat, jersey, Paul O'Neill or Roberto Alomar's pants or if you were one of the lucky 50, Rickey Henderson's spikes

The Red Sox base cards available are:

#1 Pedro Martinez
#24 Nomar Garciaparra
#40 Manny Ramirez
#53 Hideo Nomo
#111 Juan Diaz FS SP
#114 Seung Song FS SP

I obtained 7 packs of the 2002 Relic Edition which contain 6 cards and have $2.99 printed on the front. Making them a little cheaper than the $5 1991 packs.

Pack 1:

#2 Chipper Jones Braves

#22 Mike Piazza Mets

#40 Craig Biggio Astros

#51 Ichiro Mariners

#71 Barry Bonds Giants

#96 Darin Erstad Angels

Pack 2:

#26 Juan Gonzalez Indians

#39 Carlos Lee White Sox

#59 Gary Sheffield Dodgers

#76 Jeromy Burnitz Brewers

#86 J.D.Drew Cardinals

#99 Mariano Rivera Yankees

Pack 3:

#11 Jim Edmonds Cardinals

#18 Jermaine Dye Athletics

#50 Andruw Jones Braves

#56 Omar Vizquel Indians

#87 Ryan Klesko Padres

#SS6 Ken Griffey Jnr  

Pack 4:

#21 Carlos Delgado Blue Jays

#33 David Wells White Sox

#45 Dean Palmer Tigers

#66 Sammy Sosa Cubs

#74 Jason Kendall Pirates

#94 Placido Polanco Cardinals

Pack 5:

#46 Rafael Palmeiro Rangers

#63 Moises Alou Astros

#64 Sandy Alomar White Sox

#81 Edgardo Alfonzo Mets

#96 Brian Giles Pirates

#RT8 Manny Ramirez Red Sox

Pack 6:

#20 Randy Johnson D-backs

#22 Roger Clemens Yankees

#35 Miguel Tejada Athletics

#49 Troy Glaus Angels

#60 Curt Schilling D-backs

#100 Todd Helton Rockies

Pack 7:

#1 Pedro Martinez Red Sox

#7 Alex Rodriguez Rangers

#31 Ben Grieve Bay Rays

#34 Kevin Brown Dodgers

#55 Brad Penny Marlins

#69 Jason Giambi Athletics

With only six Red Sox to obtain, (four really the two prospects were short printed), pulling two Red Sox isn't great but not too bad - pity one of them wasn't a Nomar.  I was surprised that the packs containing inserts still had six cards. The inserts were at least 2 cards thick, which made the packs noticeably thicker. Must have been a pack searchers dream.

2011 Gypsy Queen

There are 300 cards plus 50 short print  in the Gypsy Queen base set. There are also bronze variations of the base cards.
The parallels include mini cards which come in black bordered, sepia, leather and a mini variation.
The inserts include: The Great Ones, Home Run Heroes and Future Stars.
Autographs, Dual and Triple autographs, relics and  mini relics are also possible.

The Red Sox consist of:
#5 Tris Speaker
#19 Jon Lester
#26 Adrian Gonzalez
#32 Carl Crawford
#57 David Ortiz
#63 Jimmie Foxx
#69 Kevin Youkilis
#73 Carl Yastrzemski
#164 Cy Young
#181 Lars Anderson
#200 John Lackey
#228 Ryan Kalish
#248 Dustin Pedroia
#249 Jacoby Ellsbury
#261 Daniel Bard
#262 Marco Scutaro
#284 Jed Lowrie
#309 Clay Buchholz SP
#338 Babe Ruth SP
#344 Josh Beckett SP
There are 6 cards per pack. As of yet I haven't opened any Gypsy Queen, so thank you to Dayf for making this possible.

The Pack:

#7 Jim Palmer Orioles

#62 Red Schoendienst Cardinals

#117 Dallas Braden Athletics

#274 Jose Tabata Pirates

#342 Placido Polanco Philles mini

#HH16 Andre Dawson Cubs

No Red Sox, however the 2nd pack sent by Dayf was full of Red Sox. It doesn't seem fair to include it in this pursuit of Red Sox from unopened packs.

2008 Upper Deck Series 2 rack pack

A great deal was said at the time of its unveiling in 2008 but the photography was a big plus on this set. It outweighed Topps big time for effort however it still didn't stop the demise of Upper Deck a short while later. The photography is certainly crisp and clear, all cards appear to be action shots and, the entire front of the card is taken up with photo. I think they refer to it as full bleed. Great work from Upper Deck. This set was definitely better than some of the others Upper Deck offered in the same year, X, Heroes, Documentary or Timeline and cannot be compared to Goudey or Masterpieces as they were aimed at different sort of collector.

There was a whopping 799 cards in this set, of which 32 are the Red Sox. They are:
221 Tim Wakefield
222 Daisuke Matsuzaka

223 Julian Tavarez

224 Hideki Okajima

225 Manny Delcarmen

226 Doug Mirabelli

227 Dustin Pedroia

228 Mike Lowell

229 Manny Ramirez

230 Coco Crisp

309 Clay Buchholz RC

373 David Ortiz CL

384 Clay Buchholz HL

429 Josh Beckett

430 Jon Lester

431 Curt Schilling

432 Jonathan Papelbon

433 Jason Varitek

434 David Ortiz

435 Jacoby Ellsbury

436 Julio Lugo

437 Sean Casey

438 Kevin Youkilis

439 J.D. Drew

440 Alex Cora

736 Dustin Pedroia SH

744 Josh Beckett SH

745 Kevin Youkilis SH

747 Mike Lowell SH

773 Josh Beckett CL

786 David Ortiz SH

795 Josh Beckett SH

The rack pack Big B sent my way contains 36 cards, which includes 2 Diamond Collection exclusives.
The pack:
#405 Justin Upton D-backs (x2)
#424 Braian Roberts Orioles
#432 Jonathan Papelbon Red Sox
#448 Ronny Cedeno Cubs (x2)
#462 Carlos Quentin White Sox
#495 Ivan Rodriguez Tigers
#505 Mark Hendrickson Marlins
#508 Cody Ross Marlins
#517 Geoff Blum Astros
#527 Alex Gordon Royals
#535 John Lackey Angels
#547 Jonathan Broxton Dodgers
#555 Eric Gagne Brewers
#567 Craig Monroe Twins
#584 Ramon Castro Mets
#586 Mariano Rivera Yankees
#592 Shelley Duncan Yankees
#615 Matt Morris Pirates
#628 Khalil Greene Padres
#632 Micael Barrett Padres
#638 Randy Winn Giants
#648 Mike Morse Mariners
#707 Johnny Cueto Reds
#709 Scott Kazmir Bay Rays SH
#728 Wesley Wright Astros
#735 Derrek Lee Cubs SH
#748 Ryan Braun Brewers SH
#763 Indians checklist
#769 Padres checklist
#777 Tigers checklist
#789 Jimmy Rollins Phillies SH
#4456 Reggie Jackson YSL
#DC-10 James Shileds Bay Rays
#DC-11 Jarrod Saltalamacchia Rangers
A solo Red SoxThanks for those two packs Big B. I was beginning to forget how good it feels to open packs.

1989 Topps Big baseball cards 1st series

The Topps BIG baseball set is based very loosely on the 1956 Topps set. They are the same size and orientated landscape as were the '56 set. So could this be considered as a retro set?

Just like its 1988 counterpart it was released in 3 separate series. The 1988 released in 3 sets of 88 cards, however the 1989 set was much bigger and released in 3 sets of 110 cards. Series 1 being cards #1-110, series 2 cards #111-220 and the series 3 cards #221-330.

The packs contained 7 cards and were wrapped in cellophane.   

The Red Sox available from this set were:

Series 1

#18 Jim Rice

#42 Roger Clemens

#72 Rich Gedman

#97 Jody Reed

Series 2

#119 Rick Cerone

#142 Carlos Quintana

#169 Dennis Lamp

#193 Dwight Evans

#211 Mike Greenwell

Series 3

#222 Mike Smithson

#241 Wade Boggs

#259 Ellis Burks

#278 Marty Barrett

#296 Mike Boddicker

#316 Nick Esasky

This particular pack came from Big B at Waxaholic and contained:

#24 Carlton Fisk White Sox

#42 Roger Clemens Red Sox

#84 Fred Manrique White Sox

#90 Les Starker Twins

#93 Tino Martinez Mariners

#97 Jody Reed Red Sox

#106 Sid Bream Pirates

Wow 2 out of the possible 4 Red Sox in series 1, that is great odds.

2008 TriStar Projections

I will be very honest and say I know very little about Minor League baseball, except to say it appears very organised structure with teams affiliated to a Major League outfit. So when I purchased these packs from e-bay (quite a while ago now) I need to conduct some research, as every good author should before proceeding with my review. I have four packs to analyse to see whether, in the three years since these cards came out, if any of these players made the show and secondly, as the name of the blog suggests, whether any of the minor league players are part of the Red Sox affiliation.  

My first observation is that there are some brilliant Minor League club names. I know people have chuckled at English Football team names and nicknames, they are nothing in comparison to Minor League monikers. My favourite from this pack being the High Desert Mavericks. Top Gun and Shane connotations aside, these guys are not just any old mavericks. Not low desert but high desert mavericks. I would love to collect a particular club on the merits of the name alone.

 

#2 Kelvin DeLeon  DSL Yankees 

At this point in his career he was palying for the Dominican Summer League and given a $1.1 million signing bonus. He must be some player. Currently he is playing for the A team (A league?, A divison?) Charleston River Dogs, in the Yankees organisation. The RiverDogs are advertising a Festival of Beer. You have go to love these Minor League clubs. 

# 190 Max Sapp Lexington Legends Houston Astros A

Unfortunately Max contracted meningitis in 2008. He has not played since then and was released by the Astros just this year.

 #181 Chris Tillman High Desert Mavericks Seattle Mariners Adv.A

Chris was traded to the Orioles in 2008 and made his MLB debut  for the Orioles on the 29th July 2009 vs Kansas City Royals.

 #24 Tommy Hanson Rome Braves Atlanta Braves A

Finally a name I recognise. Made his MLB debut for the Braves on the 7th June 2009 vs Milwaukee Brewers.

 #162 Justin Jackson GCL Blue Jays Rookie Blue Jays

Justin is currently playing for Dunedin Blue Jays A+.

#142 Hector Correa Jameston Jammers Florida Marlins SS 

Acquired by San Francisco Giants from Florida in exchange for Ronny Paulino on March 27, 2009. Currently playing for the AA Richmond Flying Squirrels. I wonder if Bullwinkle is a mascot? 

# 109 Danny Rams GCL Twins Rookie Minnesota Twins

Still with the Twins affiliation and currently playing with A+ Fort Myers Miracle

 

#189 John Mayberry Jr. Frisco Roughriders AA Texas Rangers.

Another fantastic club name 'roughriders'. John Jr.was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in Nov 2008 for Greg Goulson and made his MLB debut on the 23rd May 2009 vs Yankees. His father John Mayberry Snr. was a first basebman for the Astros, Royals, Blue Jays and Yankees between 1968 and 1982.

So out of a pack of 8 prospects, 3 have advanced to a MLB debut, 4 are still playing Minor league ball and 1 has left baseball altogether because of ill health. That sounds like a pretty good ratio, however I don't know the percentage of Minor League players that advance further than AAA.