A RUTHian Contest Win

Last week I found out I was the lucky random winner of a 2016 Leaf Babe Ruth Collection blaster box from @TopShelfBreaks on Twitter. The prize arrived on Monday (I am a few days behind) and I thought I would show some of the cards off.

Being a Yanks fan, I was pretty stoked about this contest win especially after passing on a box at Walmart due to finances.

 

 Each box of 2016 Leaf Babe Ruth Collection comes with 20 packs of cards with 5 cards per pack. I believe that the boxes are $30 each which is a bit steep in my opinion. You do have chances at pulling authentic bat cards, Yankee seat cards and 1 of 1 cut signature cards. But I figured you probably had better odds of being struck by lightning dancing to Freeze Frame then you would pulling one of those three.

 

The base cards look nice and capture fun Ruth moments on and off the field.

 

Wonder if this fan is alive today? Would be fun to hear their story...

 

Punting or ballet.....

 

If I still had a Caption This segment, this card would be fitting. If you want to, take your shot at it in comments.

 

There are two forms of inserts you can find as well and you will find one if not two of them per pack. These look good too.

 

Overall, I like collecting base cards and inserts don't get me wrong, but I felt there was just something lacking here. It was basically 20 packs of base cards in my opinion. I just wished there was some other form of draw in here. Numbered parallel per box, a chrome-type of card, a pennant, something. This box was probably my only bust of this as from what I read there should be a base set and possibly one or both insert sets per blaster. If I can get all that the product offers in one blaster, why buy more??

A big thanks to @TopShelfBreaks for the box and if you guys are not following them, please do so. They do countless giveaways and have some creative/nice breaks as well.

You heard my thoughts so I pass it onto you, what do you guys think of this product?

Uniform Versus:San Diego Padres

Today's match up was a simple one for me. Some of you may agree, some may not.

The San Diego Padres have a long history of uniform changes. They started out in 1969 with a plain jersey with Padres across it, changed it in 1972 to mustard yellow, 74, 78, 79 (just took out the San Diego part), 80, 85,92 (changed color of jersey and writing), 2001, 2004, and now 2016. Crazy and that's not even counting all of the alternates!!

It was such a long list I had a hard time picking a match up to use for this segment. So what I ended up doing is randomly grabbing two cards from my Padres pile to use today. I could have easily done a Uniform vs vs vs vs vs vs as you see above, but decided two was enough. So I have one from 1994 and one from 2012. 

Up first, the 1994 that they wore from 1992-2000. I think the uniform, despite being basic, is one I mostly associate with the Padres as it's the one saw the most in my prime of watching tons of baseball. So simply put, I would choose this as the winner just because of that. I also like the pinstripes (must be the Yankee fan in me) that were used. Something now they seemed to be completely away from.

It's wasn't that I hated this design as it fits with today's times and it was one they wore for a long time til this year,

But, I just give edge to the one I have seen them in the most.

Since this is a card blog and card segment, when it comes to cardboard for these uniforms, I would say base card wise, that the new jerseys look better, but when it comes to memorabilia, there is no denying that fans including myself would rather see pinstripes and some color on their jersey cards.

Now I gotta pose this question to the readers and Padre fanatics, which of these two jerseys would you choose and the even tougher question, which jersey OVERALL do you prefer? 

Let me know in comments and why!

Nuttin But The Hits:2015 Score Football Box

Score has always been my go-to just for fun cheap break. Not to mention, this years product I have bought a decent handful of and trying to fill in the some set gap needs. For me, it's easier and more fun doing it through busting packs. Probably not the cheapest way but, sometimes the itch is there to open and with the decent price and amount of cards, I just do it.

• 24 packs per box, 12 cards per pack
• 1 Autograph or Memorabilia card per box
• $25 per box

Base card Sp of Lesean McCoy. It's also the gold version.

My other photo variation from the box. Non-paralleled.

I don't think I have pulled one of these yet from Score 2015 til now. Cool design and theme. I am not a Patriots fan or one of Vinatieri, but I like the card none-the-less.

And my hit from the box. First time I have pulled an auto from 2015. It's also a Showcase parallel numbered to 99. Not bad either to find Dorsett who could have a breakout year with the Colts next season. I plan on holding onto this being my first Dorsett auto pull.

 

Overall, not bad at all. I also added 22 cards to my set (which I posted about in my handwritten post) and pulled a nice autograph. I also landed tons of inserts which didn't help any of my insert sets but I may use in a future giveaway on here. 

What are your thoughts on busting boxes to fill set needs? Do you prefer singles? Or if the boxes are cheap enough do you go this route?

Random Card On My Desk:2014-2015 Upper Deck Artifacts Tundra Tandems Dual Jersey Gerry Cheevers/Phil Esposito

Year: 2014-2015

Brand:Upper Deck

Team: Boston Bruins

Card Type: Jersey Card

Card Numbered:N/A

Sorting: Will be placed in a snap case and put into a jersey card box/hockey section

Sunday's With Rodney:1994 Pacific Prism

Prisms not to be confused with Panini Prizm, were some of the coolest looking cards on the market in the early to mid 90's. They had borderless fronts (you know I dig that) with a color player photo cut out and impressed on a prism-patterned background. The blend looks great and I tried my best to capture the appeal.

Production was a bit down on these as supposedly on 16,000 of each card was produced in silver foil like the Hampton below and 1,138 of each of the gold parallel were made. I featured the gold parallel of Hampton in a previous feature.

With only one card per pack, it wasn't always easy finding your favorites which drove up Marshall Faulk's gold parallel rookie card in value as they were very hard to find.

However, luckily for me, Jammin JDcards helped me bring this Hampton home for the PC.

 

The back is the actual photo they cut the player out of to put on the front with a blurred background.

 

If you would like to help out the Rodney Hampton Cardboard Craze and have some unneeded Rodney Hampton cards that are collecting dust, check out my major want list right HERE and support the cause.

What are your thoughts on 1994 Pacific Prism?

REVIEW:2016 Topps Museum Collection Baseball(MONSTER HIT) And Giveaway!!

For the past week, I have been staring/drooling over images of 2016 Topps Museum Collection baseball all over Twitter. It's a product I haven't honestly ever opened and only have dreamed of doing. Well, today, that dream was brought to a reality.

To celebrate my dream being brought to a reality, I want to celebrate it with a giveaway! Read the review, then find out how to enter to win a card from the break.

Read on!

The box design on the outside is a great start, I am hoping the contents are as well.

After opening the box,  I felt a game show type of rush as if I had to choose which suitcase (mini box) had the big pull I anticipated. Yes, as you can see, there are four mini boxes per hobby box.

Each of those mini boxes has one pack and each pack has 5 cards. Every mini box also has a hit per. Here is the overall breakdown of a box:

• 4 Packs Per Box, 5 Cards Per Pack
• One On-Card Autograph Per Box
• One Autographed Relic Card Per Box
• One Quad Relic Card Per Box
• One Prime Relic Card Per Box
• Boxes run around $180 

The base cards are simple, but yet elegant. It is a black border thick base card with full color player photo There is a touch of foil for inner frame, player name, MC (Museum Collection) and team name. It's simply the kind of base card you would expect from a high end product and one with the name Museum included.

There are 100 base cards in the set consisting of current players, rookies and retirees.

Not much in here for terms of inserts in Museum Collection and I felt they weren't really needed either. But, there are four levels of base card parallels, Copper, Blue, Green and Red and one insert in Canvas Collection.

Copper, Green (#’d to 199), Blue (#’d to 99) and Red (#’d 1/1) - See more at: http://www.dacardworld.com/blog/product-releases/2016-topps-museum-collection-baseball-preview/#sthash.Ejzy8Uj2.dpuf

Copper, Green (#’d to 199), Blue (#’d to 99) and Red (#’d 1/1) - See more at: http://www.dacardworld.com/blog/product-releases/2016-topps-museum-collection-baseball-preview/#sthash.Ejzy8Uj2.dpuf

Here is what a copper parallel looks like. I would also like to note the player in his updated uniform. Not sure what the odds of this one is. I would have to assume 1:4 mini boxes. These are also unnumbered.

 

Green Parallels, these are numbered to 199 and fall 1:4 mini boxes.

 

Blue parallels, numbered to 99, fall 1:8 packs.

Canvas Collections comes in two forms. The actual 1/1 original artwork or the reproduction that falls 1:4 packs and the one I got of Frank Thomas. There are a total of 25 of these overall.

Now onto the hits.

Up first, a base version of Meaningful Material of Zack Greinke that's numbered to 50. I think the card looks spectacular. The balance of player, swatch and color is perfect. What I like most is the appeal of something you may see in a museum. Glad they stuck to a theme as that is something not always easy. The swatch included is also really nice with 2-color seam.

These fall 1:9 mini boxes. There are also parallel versions numbered 35 or less.

Primary Pieces can come with 4 pieces of one player or 4 players with one piece. Legends are involved as well with 20 different ones on the checklist.

My Primary Pieces, though a single player, is a bit special. This is the Primary Pieces Quad Patch that is numbered 4/5 and falls 1:278 mini boxes. Crazy pull huh? Another minor detail I noticed immediately is how dirty it was. Yes, some call this hit even filthy. See my next picture.....

 

Yes, these were actually  GAME WORN!!!! A couple of the pieces on the card have marks like this.

My next hit was one of the promised autograph cards from the box, Signature Swatches. Mine is of NY Met Zack Wheeler and is the gold parallel that falls 1:85 mini boxes. This one happens to be a sticker auto, which I still don't mind cause an auto is an auto to me, but Museum does also have on-card offerings.

Once again, spot on with design on these and some nice swatches on this card as well.

And my final hit, well, it wasn't the second promised autograph....HOWEVER, it was something monstrous and so much better. 

My first ever Laundry Tag pull...

A 1:284 Mini Boxes pull....

A 1/1 Miguel Cabrera Momentous Materials JUMBO Laundry Tag. These babies stand out from a mile away. I can't even tell you how great this card looks cause words can't describe it. The previews I drooled over didn't even do it justice.

I think using the whole laundry tag and not just a corner of it makes these a museum worthy piece. I would go visit a museum with these displayed.

 

Overall, my first break of Museum Collection was absolutely stunning. It left me wanting more and may be something I add to my Christmas list now. If you are one who busts high end and are a baseball card collector (or just a collector in general), I strongly suggest you go this route with all that this product provides. The fun thing also, even if you don't bust high end hobby boxes or can't afford to, find someone who sells the mini boxes. It gives you the same kind of experience but at an easier price. I think a mini box would be well worth your time as well with one hit per and a chance at some of the beauties like I pulled above.

Now onto the giveaway portion of this review,

My first giveaway is going to be for this card which is what you are entering to win today:

  

However, if I can get 30+ entries on this contest, I will giveaway that sweet Zack Wheeler autograph/patch card numbered 1/25 above after this contest ends. Now that's a win-win. So start spreading the word!

Now onto the small print.

1. Please make sure to take a minute out to thank Topps for providing this box for me to review and to host this/these nice giveaways with. Follow them on all social media sites and visit their site, HERE, as well.
2. ***VERY IMPORTANT***MUST BE A U.S. RESIDENT to enter or have a shipping address in the U.S. Shipping costs have gone haywire and I can't afford to ship everywhere.This is always hard to do as I appreciate all readers but I hope you all understand non-U.S. readers.
3. Random winner will be chosen after 7 randoms
4. Card may be shipped PWE. I like to forewarn on this.
5. LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW telling me your thoughts on this product
6. EARN AN EXTRA ENTRY FOR SHARING THIS CONTEST ON YOUR BLOG AND/OR ON TWITTER. Make sure to leave your link in comments too so I can count it. If not, I won't be able to give you the credit. Commenting with it is very important!!
7. Sport Card Collectors or it's owner (person who runs the blog), WILL NOT be held responsible for lost, stolen or damaged mail. Sorry had to add this in since someone tried to scam me once about this.
8. Contest starts today, ends on Saturday, April 23rd 2016. Winner will be announced in a separate post on Sunday April 24th. 
9. Don't forget to thank the above sponsor of this contest and I won't mind a thank you as well :)

Good luck to all that enter and thanks for reading!

Mail Day Saturday:Reader's Mail Day Part 4:SHINE BABY, SHINE!

As always with my Grady M reader mail days, I save the shiniest for last.

These are in no particular order, because I just can't choose one favorite shiny card over another. And honesty, there is no order of madness here.  I didn't group them by sport or by anything, instead I just let the photo's simply upload where they wanted to.

Up first, a beautiful dumping of Topps Chrome refractors. Larry Fitzgerald, Percy Harvin, and Andre Johnson to name a few. Along with some rookies.

 

True Colors. Yes, the Phil Collins version of that song just popped into my head. One of my favorite inserts last year from Topps was Cut To The Chase. They look really good.

 

Some hockey shine including St.Louis from my Rangers.

 

Going to miss seeing Topps Platinum on the market in 2016. Was a hobby staple for me for awhile.

 

More goods. Chase Headley that's numbered to 199.

 

Some more 2016 Topps I don't have. I still haven't opened any :( This pile includes former Yankees Almonte.

 

I wished more flagship parallels looked like this. If they could turn the gold borders this way instead of a slight gold tinge, that would look amazing.

 

Prizm always looks nice to me. I know some really don't care for the product, but I am a fan.

 

Bowman parallels and inserts.

 

And to finish it off, this really sick looking Randall Cobb from Prizm. Don't tell me this card doesn't look nice and it's numbered to 75.

 

Overall, a great 4-part mail day. I can't say thanks enough Grady for all that you do for me. I hope you enjoy your package I put together when it arrives as well and I have begun setting aside a few more things for you for next time :)

Alright other readers, looking at all of the shiny-goodness above, what's your favorite kinda shiny?

Would You Give Up The Farm?

Looking at yesterday's LA Rams and Tennessee Titans trade for the top overall pick in this years NFL draft, in which the LA Rams as some would say "gave up the farm" for that number one spot, I began to question myself, would I as a card collector give up many great cards just to get one key one?

Honestly, I don't think I could.

Let's just say I really wanted this card in theory (took this image from Panini's Knights Lance blog:

And that it was the top card on my want list and had been for a few years

And lets say the person who owns that card wanted all of this for that Kobe card.....

 

 

 

Would I be willing to give all of this up for that one card? Honestly, no.

I break down cards differently than others might. Even though I really want that Kobe card, I also don't want to give up key cards that may turn out better in the long run. Moncada is a rising rookie star, Stafford could lead the Lions to a Super Bowl, Curry has already proven himself and is young enough to do even bigger things in the future and Odell Beckham autographed rookie card, well, he could break tons of records. How could I ever justify this move?

So despite how badly I want that Kobe autograph for my PC, giving up future/current potential of these other cards, it would turn my stomach sour if I made such a trade. The same way the Rams should feel after giving up just about their entire draft this year and next. Yes, I don't ever agree with trades like that.

So what do you guys think? Am I crazy? Would you give up "your farm" just to get the one card you want the most? Let's hear it in comments.

Top 5: 2005 Fleer Ultra Football Base Cards

If 2005 Fleer Ultra sounds familiar to you in this series, it should. This is my second installment using it. The first round was the Top 5 baseball card pics, this time we hit the gridiron! 2005 Fleer Ultra was simply action packed and sometimes unique with it's photography along with a clean design.

Just like with the baseball, it was extremely challenging to narrow this down to five images. Remember this list just consists of ones I think are Top 5. Everyone has their own likes/dislikes and connects with certain cards for their own reason.

Let's take a look at mine.

#5. A great sideline catch here by Lloyd. It displays both his concentration and the defender doing their best to stop this completion.

#4 High flying Donald Driver and the priceless reaction on the Bears sideline makes this card a must have on this list.

#3 Slam dunking of Tony Gonzalez. Great shot of this.

#2 Yes, I sometimes think 2 and 3 should be switched, but I can't remember a piece of cardboard that shows a QB from this angle.

#1 No, this isn't an action packed photo, but Brooks entering the field, the green of the grass and the fans cheering caught my eye. It's a beautiful photo capturing the fun and emotion of the game.

So what do you think of my list? Would you have moved some around? Or do you know of others you would have stuck in here instead? You know where to leave your thoughts!

Reminiscing 90's SPECIAL EDITION:1988 Kenner Real Ghostbusters Egon Spengler Screaming Heroes Figure

Alright, I have some explaining to do. Yes, this segment is called, Reminiscing 90's. Yes, this is a toy from 1988. Yes, I do know the difference between 90's and 80's. However, I am making a case for this toy and keeping the segment still 90's because I watched the show mostly in the 90s and it ran from 1986-1991. So in order to make sure I do this right, I am keeping the toys as their real years, but I am coming up with random year of either 1990 or 1991 for the posts. That way it's as close to realistic as I can get and keeping tradition going with the posts.

I think my timing on this upcoming Ghostbusters mania is good due to the new movie releasing this year. I still don't know how I feel about that movie yet as I am one for originals, but we will see.

Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Key notes for April 14th 1990:
April 14th 1990 was a Saturday
George H.W.Bush was President
Most Popular Movie released in April of 1990 was The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover
Most Popular Book around this time was The Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single on April 14th 1990 was Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinead O'Connor
Most Popular TV Shows: Shannon's Deal and Twin Peaks

FEATURED TOY:

I decided to kick this off with Egon for a few reasons. One, Egon founded Ghostbusters, Inc. along with Doctors Ray Stantz and Peter Venkman. Two, he is considered the brain behind the Ghostbusters and has designed and built nearly all of their equipment. Three, he is the leader to me. Everyone turns Egon for answers and he always comes up with something brilliantly.

This Egon toy is from the cartoon, Real Ghostbusters, not the movie. In some ways the cartoon was a running sequel from the movie.

I picked up this piece on eBay with many others for a cheap lot price. This is also why we are going on a bit of a Ghostbuster streak.

FEATURED CARDS:

When having to pair someone who founded something in the 90's and was a leader, I didn't have to look any further than Michael Jordan. He was the leader of the Bulls, he was someone teammates turned to when trouble arose and he always had an answer. He also founded many championships while playing there and helped create their complete dominance of the 90's.It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that!

I have had these cards for years. They are a 12-card set of 1998 Upper Deck Michael Jordan 3×5 cards from Gatorade. They were a mail in order item from Upper Deck that I got from a family member. I love the foil look with the black facsimile autograph.

 There is still more Ghostbustin' ahead!

Alright, give me your thoughts on Real Ghostbusters series. Did you watch? Who was your favorite ghost?