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.