1997 Upper Deck UD3 Baseball Pack # 13

Time for another riveting adventure into a UD3 pack. Today marks Pack #13 so we are more than halfway done.

Today's pack, well, all doubles. But a couple of good players found so I am okay with that.

Pack #14 coming at ya tomorrow!

Spectacular Advertising

Being a 90's kinda guy, one of the magazines I read from the 90's was Disney Adventures. The magazine discussed some of my favorite 90's Disney cartoons like Ducktales, Darkwing Duck and Goof Troop to name a few. It also contained comics of them as well so it was a well rounded winner.

So recently I found a newer issue, by newer I mean 2007, which was the final run of the magazine that started in 1990 and for fun went through it cover to cover to check it out.

I saw the usual things I remembered and then I came upon a very cool ad...

To me, this was a great advertisement for baseball cards. You combine every kids favorite and very popular Pokemon with baseball cards and you grab some attentions. Not to mention you also put it in the popular magazine that also has the word Disney on it, how do you not make some sales.

I know magazines today are more of a thing of the past (not for me as I prefer physical magazines over online ones) and probably wouldn't be a top ad place, but there is TV and that will never die. So why not do more advertising that way? Especially combining popular things of today with cards. Why not show Olaf from Frozen breaking a few packs of Topps or opening up his own Panini Sticker collection stickers? Why not have an Angry Bird ripping apart an Upper Deck hockey card pack? Or Darth Vader ripping a pack of Topps Star Wars open? I know it will take some investment on the companies sides to pay for use of those things, but I think if we want the youth of today joining in or being interested in today's hobby, I think it's important to see what interests them and use that to our advantage.

Will it help bring a huge up-rise to the hobby? Probably not. But, it may at least bring in a few more youth and those youth may discuss it with others and who knows where that ends up. Anything that can help the hobby grow will be huge.

What do you guys think? Should companies use popular things like Frozen to advertise cards?

1997 Upper Deck UD3 Baseball Pack # 12 (INSERT PULL!!!)

It took til pack #12, but we finally have an insert sighting. I wished the rest of the pack was solid to build around it as I added two more doubles which doesn't help my set, but just happy to see an insert finally.

 

Generation Next of Jermaine Dye. These fall 1:11 packs and are basically designed with the foil they used for the Pro Motion base card. This card also took place of my Homerun Heroes base. Not a bad looking card and not a bad player though I preferred to see the Jeter version.

First Yard Sale Find Of 2016

It has nearly been two years since I have had any luck at yard sales, of course last year I didn't go to as many but I never saw the word sports cards in ads so I didn't attempt to go.

This year I am off to what seems a good start. My mother-in-law went to a Friday yard sale, something that's uncommon as Friday yard sales are pretty slow in sales, and she stumbled upon this stack containing four sets, two white boxes and a baby wipes box packed with cards.

 

$20 later and she delivered them to her favorite son-in-law. She is always on the lookout for me. I will say she is not like any other mother-in-law for sure.

 

So as I do with a lot of things on here, I will be breaking this down and see what you guys think. I will need your opinion to see if this was worth her $20. At this point, I have no idea what is in here. So buckle your seat belts, this could be fun!

1997 Upper Deck UD3 Baseball Pack # 11

Pack #11 I was really itching to see an insert, but no such luck.

Actually my luck also ended with not getting any doubles too as all three cards in this pack were doubles. 

So no new additions to my set.

However, at least these doubles still equal a pretty solid pack with Big Mac and Rocket Roger.

Winner Of The Daniel Norris Autograph

Another contest done. I think this is 5th consecutive week of running a contest. That's something I haven't done in a couple of years and it feels good to be back in the groove again. I am usually not a fan of the random picks, but they seem to be doing well picking different winners every week and I am happy with that.

However, don't ever rule out me going with a game pick approach at some point and alternating it.

But, for now, we have a winner to announce.

I fired up the randomizer and here we go. After 7 randoms....

There were 32 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. kevin boxberger
2. Miami Vice
3. Jake1725
4. Joe
5. Bryan McCarter
6. Matthew Scott
7. defgav
8. the bowl cut kid
9. Trevor P
10. Justin S
11. Ozsportsfan
12. Jake1725
13. Tim B.
14. Cameron Towe
15. Tracy LeVeaux
16. Superduperman99
17. Bradley Defreitas
18. Scott N.
19. skunkman
20. Sam Zozaya
21. Trevor P
22. Arrogant Observer
23. Joe
24. Fuji
25. Sam Zozaya
26. Roland Wake
27. GRADY MALACHOWSKI
28. Scott N.
29. Adam Kaningher
30. God's humble servant
31. hudsonfan15
32. Tracy LeVeaux

IP: 72.169.81.80
Timestamp: 2016-05-29 10:33:23 UTC
You have randomized this list 7 times.

Congrats to kevin boxberger! You have won the Daniel Norris autograph. Please email sportcardcollectors@hotmail.com with your address. You will have 48 hours from now to claim your prize or it will be re-given away in a future contest. Please also give a shout out when you receive your prize so we can continue to do this.

Thanks to everyone who RT'd and spread the word and entered.

Not sure when the next contest will be, but hopefully soon.

Sunday's With Rodney:1996 Summit Premium Stock

Up until recently and I mean recently, I had thought that today's card was the Ground Zero parallel from 1996 Summit, but upon further research, I found out Summit came out with a Part 2 of sorts in 1996.

1996 Summit Premium Stock is a 200 card parallel set to the base set of 1996 Summit and it was issued in its own packs. They were put in 8 pack boxes of 13 cards.

The cards are printed on 24pt cardboard.As opposed to the 1996 Summit football set that was black, these have a rainbow foil. They look pretty slick.

1997 Upper Deck UD3 Baseball Pack # 10

Pack #10 helped add some more cards to my base set. With these, I am now halfway there with 30/60 cards.

Today's pack was ok. I think by far Jeff Bagwell was the star of the group but once again photo placement and use on these cards were well done. That alone makes me smile especially on these Homerun Heroes base. I would have loved a set alone with these.

Winners Of Upper Deck ePack

In what was a disappointing turnout for a contest my buddy Tim and I were running together, three people were going to each get an epack if they had serve(d) our great country or were close family members of someone who did.

Well, only three people entered the contest so it wasn't too hard to random the winners as no random was needed.

Congrats to Raz, Grady M and Alec P on each winning an epack. Grady and Alec, please DM @skunkman1998 on Twitter and he will give you instructions on how to claim. Raz, I am not sure if you are on Twitter, if so, please do the same and let me know if so. If not, comment below with your user name on Upper Deck ePack and I will have Tim give you a message that way.

Thanks to everyone who spread the word and for those three that entered.

Plenty more giveaways ahead!

Mail Day Saturday:Apple Of My Eye

Right after the Giants drafted cornerback Eli Apple in the first round of this years NFL Draft, I went through my collection to see if I had any cards of him and found none. Of course all I had busted up to this date is a 2016 box of Contenders Draft.

I made the case to my wife about my situation and she gladly fixed the problem by picking up my first 2016 Score card and autograph this year.

 

 

I was extremely happy to add this one to my collection. Now I just gotta pick up a Shepard and Perkins autograph to complete my 2016 Giants autograph rookie pickups.

Which 2016 rookie autographs are you chasing?

1997 Upper Deck UD3 Baseball Pack # 9

Pack #9 didn't provide me an insert yet, but the easiest ones are1:11 so let's hope soon!

Three decent players today.

I wasn't ever really much of a Palmeiro fan. One, I was a Yankees fan. Two, well, roid era player.

 

Ozzie!

 

And my favorite card of the pack, Mr Vlad. Loved the way this guy swung a bat and there is just something about those Expos uni's. I actually got to see him once play for the Expos in Montreal. I believe he hit a deep home run that day. But, the Expos lost. Seemed like a thing then.

 

 

Three more cards down in the set. 

And hopefully Pack #10 will be busted tomorrow. Thoughts on today' pack are welcomed!

Nuttin But The Hits:2012-2013 Panini Brilliance Basketball

This edition of Nuttin But The Hits is my first basketball edition. One that comes courtesy of a Twitter Guess The Rebound contest from @SCCTradingCards. 

Each of these boxes come with three hits, one jersey card and two autographs and run roughly $40 per box. Some good rookies to find so I am hoping to hit it big.

Let's break this bad boy!.

There were a ton of base cards and a good amount of inserts. These were the best of the best. Can't go wrong adding some Anthony Davis rookies.

Pulled an Artist Proof parallel and almost missed it. You tell me if you would see this in a pack without having to look, once, twice, or even three times at it to see it. These are numbered /10 so it's def a tough pull. Mines a rookie card of Kyle Singler. (may also be the best pull of the box, but I will let you guys decide that)

My first hit. Marc Gasol jersey card.

My next auto is of James Johnson who I have honestly never heard of.

And my final hit of the box is a Jim Jackson autograph redemption which will look like the card above. I have sent in a request to Panini to redeem it even though it's outdated. Hoping I can exchange it as well for something for my PC.

Was a very, very rough break all around. But, it was a free one and a thanks is due to@SCCTradingCards for the contest and the box. If you haven't yet, give them a follow and enter their weekly contests for boxes of all types.  

I will also post when I get the redemption card in or any other updates surrounding it.

FINAL CHANCE TO ENTER!!

Just tweeted this out. This id your final chance to enter.

If you don't qualify to enter, please spread the word on your blogs to if you know of anyone who serves, served or are close family members of those who did or do.

CONTEST!!!
Military @UpperDeckSports 
e-pack Giveaway
FOLLOW LINK 4 details
https://t.co/z9hSrp84mD

1997 Upper Deck UD3 Baseball Pack # 8

Pack #8 makes us 1/3rd of the way through the box. Still no insert finds, but I did nail another three cards toward the set putting me 24/60.

The three players I got today aren't too shabby either.

I always kinda liked Gary but once again, he had tie-in's with steroids among other on and off the field antics. But, he was a slugger and played what felt like for every team in MLB.

 

Greg Maddux was so dominant in the 90's. Playing baseball with my buddies in the backyard they would try to imitate him and it sort of intimidated me.

You see me Rolen...alright...all done with that song I promise...

 

Pack #9 coming your way tomorrow!

The 90's Collection:1994 SP Holoview Thomas Lewis

Holograms. One of the 90's greatest innovations. You know I have been a fan of these forever and they are part of the reason I started an Spx Set search for all sports from 96-98. You can keep track of how far I get right HERE.

So in my last trade with Tim Yount, I was pretty excited to had added this sweet insert from 1994 of Thomas Lewis from Sp to my Giants PC. The 3D hologram appeal makes this card stand out even though I couldn't capture it's glimmer in this picture.

Upper Deck included these in their flagship product and they fell at a rate of 1:5 packs. The checklist was very deep on these with 40 cards. Would make for a fun chase for a set.

 

How many of you collected these for football or baseball? Still have any?

1997 Upper Deck UD3 Baseball Pack # 7

You see me unwrapping.... this package... you know it going to be...shiny and chromie..going to be shiny and chromie...going to be shiny and chromie..

So alright, my lyrics don't work that well. But, shiny and chromie is what I found once again in Pack # 7.

I also found Tony Gwynn a player I loved watching growing up and Alex Rodriguez, another player I was fond of until he became a greedy steroid user. Sorry for the harshness of him, but I lose all respect for players who cheated the game. Even if they play for the Yanks.

 

Overall, three more new players towards my set. 21/60 now. Creeping in on completion at this rate.

Pack number 8 coming at ya tomorrow!

Forgotten Places:Kurt Warner

When most of us think Kurt Warner, I believe the Rams come to mind first. At least to me it does. But, I think we all forget that Kurt played for two other NFL teams as well.

(Thanks to a reminder from Tony at Off Hiatus Baseball blog, I had forgotten to add during my research of Kurt, despite not playing for them and was just a practice squad member, he was also apart of the Packers team in 1994)

The other majority of us who do not associate Kurt with the Rams, may associate him with the Arizona Cardinals who he helped lead to their first ever Super Bowl birth and almost victory if it wasn't for that amazing Santonio Holmes catch.

But, what most of us forget including me is that he also PLAYED for another team in between these two. That team is....

The NY Giants. Yes, my NY Giants. So today's forgotten place is the NY Giants. It's so forgotten and such a short term thing, I don't even have a card of it to include in this post (it is a want list item however)

After the Rams released Warner at the end of the 2003 season, the Giants picked him up giving him a 2-year deal in 2004 the same year they drafted Eli Manning. Warner started out playing very well with the Giants helping them go 5-2 before losing two in a row and dropping them to 5-4 which lead to his benching and the beginning of the Eli Manning era. Eli faced a rough year and the Giants went on to lose many more games after that, but Kurt decided not to stick around and voided his second year of the contract at the end of the season. It was a great decision for him who went to Arizona and changed their outlook. 

To me, it was a bad decision that season to bench him that early as they still played well with Kurt before sticking Eli under the bus. But, in the end, I guess you can say things worked out the best as Kurt led Arizona to their first ever Super Bowl appearance and Eli winning two rings for the Giants.

This was only a small part of Kurt's Cinderella story. Arena football and bagging groceries play a role as well. It's amazing if you have your mind in the right place and keep reaching for your goal, what you can actually accomplish.

How many of you remember Kurt Warner the Giants QB??? Packers practice squad QB?

1997 Upper Deck UD3 Baseball Pack # 6

Pack #6 is now busted and ready to be showcased! Still no insert finds, but still on a roll without the doubles on trying to complete the base set!

Today's wasn't the strongest pack, but these first two players  considered as the Semi-Stars of the 90's.

Love the photo they used for the inner glow of this Anderson one.

 

Pack #7 will be posted tomorrow. Hopefully I will have some luck with that one!

Uniform Versus:Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays

Today's battle involves not only uniform changes, but also involves a small name change.

Let's see the breakdown.

 

From 1998-2007, Tampa Bay's baseball team was known as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The name was based on the manta ray. It was a pretty cool logo and name coming from the sunshine state.

 

Then in 2008, the team had a name change to the Rays referring more to the "rays" of sunshine instead. I guess the name change also changed their attitude as they reached the World Series that year and have been contenders for the most part since.

 

When it comes to cardboard, for me, I would rather see the Devil Rays. I think the logo looks better on cardboard and the color scheme as well. The colors for the Rays uniforms are bland and some similar to the KC Royals. I liked the forest green and blue uni's with the colorful Devil Rays written across the front of the jersey. The name was cooler too. Imagine patches from that jersey embedded into cards...yeah, sweet huh??

Alright guys, I pass the question onto you, what do you think, Tampa Bay Rays or Tampa Bay Devil Rays???

1997 Upper Deck UD3 Baseball Pack # 5

The sun is shining, the birds are tweeting and I just busted another pack of UD3. Can you ask God for any better of a day?

 

Today's pack contained some players I call 90's icons. I always feld Andres never got enough respect for what he did on the field, Ripken I believe was loved by all and Manny, well, he is always been Manny. It's fun seeing him in an Indians uniform. I always feel people know him best when he played for Boston.

 

All three of these are once again new so that brings me up to 20/60 towards the set. Hoping to keep on this roll!

 

Pack # 6 up tomorrow. What will I find in there...hoping my first insert at least.....

Collectin' Griffey:2013 Topps Archives

Topps Archives is a fun product that celebrates today’s players on past designs from Topps’ 60-plus year history in the baseball card market.

The 2013 version put Ken back in his throwback uni as well in the 1982 Topps design. The color scheme is matched perfectly from the original design for the Mariners, obviously Griffey wasn't included in the original set but it's fun to see it now.

I think they also chose a great photo to use of Ken as most of those photos in that set were like this.

 

What do you guys think about Topps Archives? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Loathe it? Thoughts in comments are always welcomed!

1997 Upper Deck UD3 Baseball Pack # 4

This makes pack # 4 out of 24 and we are back on track with hitting the good players. Today's pack consisted of some pretty solid ones as you will see as you read on.

This also marks 12 cards out of 60 for the set so doing well there so far too.

Pack #5 will roll out tomorrow!

 

Thoughts on today's pack are welcomed!