2007 Fleer Ultra baseball

A 200 card base set, really top quality photography, high quality card stock  and a tonne of Rookie cards didn't save Ultra. Fleer bought Ultra to a halt after 2007. 
Some blame a selling device called 'Hobby Only' or as it was really called Fleer Ultra SE. While packs of Ultra, the retail version, sold for around $3.00, the Hobby only SE packs were priced considerably higher. Yes SE packs guaranteed an auto or game used, rookie cards, 'gold medallion' cards and  an insert. The concept didn't overwhelm collectors and it stopped, well in Ultra's case anyway.
This pack is not SE, just standard, run of the mill Ultra.
The pack contains 5 cards but is very thick for 5 cards.

The Pack:
#39 Tadahito Iguchi White Sox
#88 Jered Weaver Angels
#143 Zach Duke Pirates
#155 Brian Giles Padres
#UIM-22 Cal Ripken Jnr  Orioles
A big thick lump of cardboard

No great shakes but nice looking cards. 

2007 Topps Flashback Fridays

The DeLong Gum Company was a Boston-based firm that issued a 24-card baseball set in 1933. Unfortunately it was the only set the company ever issued. Competing with the first Goudey release the same year, the cards designated as R333, were competing against the larger 240 card Goudey set. The Delong's, considered the more attractive cards, are now rarer and possibly more sought after than Goudey's efforts.

The backs of the cards include detailed playing tips written by Austen Lake, who was a Boston sportswriter. The backs are also numbered and include a message from DeLong Gum.

Flashback Fridays was a promotion involving Topps's Home Team Advantage stores. The first five cards were distributed in special packs (The same five cards are in every pack), with the remaining 20 cards given away, a different card every week. In order to get the card of the week, collectors had to buy a pack of Topps cards.

The 25-card set featured the design of the 1933 DeLong Gum set.
FF1 Ryan Howard
FF2 Derek Jeter
FF3 Ken Griffey, Jr.
FF4 Miguel Tejada
FF5 David Wright
FF6 Alfonso Soriano
FF7 Matt Holliday
FF8 Jason Bay
FF9 Ryan Zimmerman
FF10 Alex Rodriguez
FF11 Jermaine Dye
FF12 Miguel Cabrera
FF13 Johan Santana
FF14 Brandon Webb
FF15 Ivan Rodriguez
FF16 Ichiro Suzuki
FF17 Michael Young
FF18 David Ortiz
FF19 Roger Clemens
FF20 Frank Thomas
FF21 Trevor Hoffman
FF22 Gary Matthews
FF23 Rafael Furcal
FF24 Chipper Jones
FF25 Albert Pujols

2007 Upper Deck First Edition

The second pack from Waxaholic. He must have raided the Upper Deck bin. I remember opening some blasters of 2007 Upper Deck.
10 cards per pack and the tempting proposition of collecting the first rookie cards of the season! The first 50 cards were Rookies and there were a few notables in the 2007 product as well; Troy Tulowitzki, Andrew Miller, Delmon Young, Adam Lind, Ryan Braun, Ubaldo Jiminez (although I don't think he was in First Edition), Josh Hamilton, Tim Lincecum, Dice-K, Alex Gordon (not sure they were in First Edition either)
The Red Sox available from this set were:
#4 Devern Hansack (RC)
#5 David Murphy (RC)
#59 Manny Ramirez
#60 David Ortiz
#61 Alex Cora
#62 Trot Nixon
#63 Doug Mirabelli
#64 Curt Schilling
#65 Jonathan Papelbon
#66 Craig Hansen
#228 Julio Lugo

The pack:

#11 Ryan Sweeney RC White Sox

#54 Nick Markakis Orioles

#92 Nate Robertson Tigers

#103 Maicer Izturis Angles

#124 Mariano Rivera Yankees

#143 Jorge Cantu Bay Rays

#167 Casey Janssen Blue Jays

#184 Chad Paronto Braves

#226 Dan Wheeler Astros

#PC-TE Mark Teahen Royals

So no Sox and 1 Rookie.

2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces

Here is another solitary pack. This time from Waxaholic. It doesn't seem like 4 years since this original 2007 Masterpieces hit the shelves. I loved the 2007 set so much that I decided to collect the entire base set. Its design was classy, the autographs were right there on the actual card and there was the quirkiness of cards like Curt's bloody sock, Ty Cobbs karate kick and Ozzie Smith's backflip. I had resigned myself to collecting 2008 as well, but by the time it arrived the magic had left. It was too similar. Yes I understand that may be too picky, what else could it be? Masterpieces was meant to look like it was painted on canvas hence the name. Even Jonathan Papelbon's victory roar couldn't save it. Maybe it was the inclusion of Yankee Stadium Legacy cards that tainted this and other Upper Deck sets.

The pack:

#24 Adam Dunn Reds

#38 Lance Berkman Astros

#48 Ryan Braun Brewers

 #69 Chase Utley Phillies

#YSL1288 Joe DiMaggio

See tainted. No Red Sox and a YSL. 

Just imagine if there wasn't 4 Masterpieces card but 3 and the 4th card was a YSL. Luckily it is included as an extra.

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.

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.

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.

2007 Topps Updates and Highlights baseball

When I purchased the 2007 Updates and Highlights blaster there was some method to my madness. Among my collecting goals is the 'Pursuit of Jacoby Ellsbury'. I understand that there is a very rare Jacoby Card (#100b) available in this particular set. Due to its short print nature, hinted at being 1 in 20 cases, the card goes for big money on E-bay. So when this blaster became available I leapt at the possibility of collecting a unique Jacoby Ellsbury card. Now the odds are stacked against me: the entire time I have collected Jacoby cards I have managed to pull 4 from packs, the rest coming from trades, e-bay and sheer generosity. I have about 40 cards, so that is 1:10 I have pulled myself. Hmmm. Although the hope is there, the odds are not good.
For the record:
There are 330 cards in the base set.
There are inserts: Generation Now, Mickey Mantle Home Run History and The Mickey Mantle Story. There are also 25 more cards for the A-Rod Road to 500, Barry Bonds Home Run History also a special Barry Bonds Home Run King,World Series Watch cards.
There are parallels for all the base cards in Gold (numbered to 2007), Copper (#'d to 56), First Edition (one per box) and Platinum (1-of-1).
The relic cards include: All-Star Stitches, 2007 Highlights Autographs and Generation Now Autographs.

The packs:

Pack 1:
#128 Brad Thomson Cardinals
#140 Ryan Spilborghs Rockies
#161 Brandon Wood Angels

#167 Zach McClellan Rockies

#260 Matt Holliday Rockies

#266 Justin Morneau Twins

Pack 2:

#39 Wilfredo Ledezma Braves

#181 Nathan Haynes Angels

#187 Kevin Melillo A's

#253 Derrek Lee Cubs

#267 Brain Roberts Orioles

#297 J.P.Howell Bay Rays

Checklist 2/3

Pack 3:

#58 David Weathers Reds

#101 Jayson Werth Phillies

#174 Curtis Thigpen Blue Jays

#200 Brad Salmon Reds

#264 Victor Martinez Indians

#GN459 Kenji Johjima Mariners

Pack 4:

#132 Scot Shields Angels

#138 Sean Marshall Cubs

#244 Brad Penny Dodgers

#251 Chris Young Padres

#257 J.J.Hardy Brewers

#318 Scott Proctor Dodgers

Pack 5:

#5 Steve Trachsel Orioles

#35 Hiram Bocachica Padres

#225 Chase Utley Phillies

#233 J.J.Putz Mariners

#238 Francisco Cordero Brewers

#742 Barry Bonds Home Run History

Pack 6:

#2 Shannon Stewart A's

#8 Trot Nixon Indians

#78 Tony Pena Royals
#155 Carlos Gomez Mets

#226 Jose Rayes Mets

#GN407 Prince Fielder Brewers

Pack 7:

#1 Tony Aramas Jr Pirates

#10 Mark Loretta Astros

#61 Shawn Chacon Pirates

#97 Shawn Hill Nationals

#232 Jonathan Papelbon Red Sox

#291 Magglio Ordonez Tigers

Pack 8:

#50 Jason Smith D-backs

#92 Brendan Harris Bay Rays

#218 Derek Jeter Yankees

#240 Cole Hamels Phillies

#259 Freddy Sanchez Pirates gold 0555/2007

Checklist 3/3

Pack 9:

#75 Marcus Thames Tigers

#217 Placido Polanco Tigers

#304 D'Angelo Jimenez Nationals

#316 Brandon Watson Nationals

#GN460 Kenji Johjima Mariners

#ARHR389 Alex Rodriguez

Pack 10:

#23 Tadahito Iguchi Phillies

#48 Chad Durbin Tigers

#221 Magglio Ordonez Tigers

#290 Ryan Howard Phillies

#323 Jorge Cantu Reds

#MHR449 Mickey Mantle Yankees

So there was no Jacoby card in this blaster box and only one other Red Sox card. I did pick up many of the insert cards and a 'Gold' card so overall not bad for the price.

2007 UD Masterpieces Blaster

I bought this Masterpieces blaster from e-bayUS in the hope of finishing off , or getting very close to completing, the 2007 set. I haven't pulled any of the parallels or inserts but on looking that these cards I realised why I wanted the whole base set. The names and images in the set. Upper Deck seemed to go all out for this year with some iconic pictures.
The details of 2007 Masterpieces can be found here.

Pack 1:

#3 Bobby Thomson New York Giants

#29 Ken Griffey Junior Reds

#54 Jackie Robinson/Yogi Berra

#80 Craig Biggio Astros

Pack 2:

#17 Sandy Koufax Dodgers

#56 Hanley Ramirez Marlins

#67 Ryan Zimmerman Nationals

#90 Curt Schilling Red Sox

Pack 3:

#12 Ryan Howard Phillies

#28 Carl Yastrzemski Red Sox

#43 Ichiro Mariners

#69 Chien -Ming Wang Yankees

Pack 4:

#18 Reggie Jackson Yankees

#20 Ty Cobb Tigers

#64 Jared Weaver Angels

#77 Phil Hughes Yankees

Pack 5:

#31 David Ortiz Red Sox

#38 Albert Pujols Cardinals

#51 Delmon Young Bay Rays

#57 Victor Martinez Indians

Pack 6:

#5 Carlton Fisk Red Sox

#49 Albert Pujols Cardinals

#70 David Wright Mets

#88 Chase Utley Philles

Pack 7:

#58 Cole Hamels Phillies

#62 Luis Aparicio White Sox

#75 Richard Nixon

#83 Billy Butler Royals

Pack 8:

#7 Don Larsen Yankees

#71 Ryan Howard Phillies

#84 Andy LaRoche Dodgers

#87 Roberto Clemente Pirates

Great set and a little bit closer to a complete set. See my progress 2007 Masterpieces.

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!)

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.