It's baseball, just not cards.

Not a popular pastime in the UK, baseball or baseball cards. Without e-bay, COMC and trading the pickings are very slim.

I do however have a dream.

There are shops dotted around the UK called 'Poundland', where everything for sale, is not surprisingly a pound. There is always one joker who asks 'How much are these?'

There is an odd mix of items contained within these shops and I have this glorious dream that by some freak of ordering, a collection of baseball cards find their way into the storeroom. Not really knowing what to do with said items and not at the desperate stage of throwing anything on the shelves, they are kept deep within the stockroom.

I need to know and always ask 'Do you have any cards?'

I cannot walk past one of these shops without diving in, its drive my wife mad. I do the same with TKMaxx, imagining a bored shop assistant distracted, careless....bemused, taking delivery of a box or two of Topps or Bowman thinking it is a new brand of stomach medicine. As I said a dream but you never know.

On a recent shopping trip to Canterbury, a large Poundland beckoned me inside. A quick stroll down a few aisles, past hygiene items, gardening products and rows and rows of batteries my heart sinking as nothing remotely resembling baseball cards leaps from the shelves. Then I come across a selection of books - Wayne Rooney's autobiography, Unsolved Mysteries, The Worst Album Covers in the World...EVER, enough cookery books to cook for the rest of your life...

Hang on.

What's this? Tucked behind 'Being Jordan' ( the frank and open story of topless model , sorry glamour model, Katie Price's rise to fame and fortune) Is that a baseball bat? Why yes it is. A sole hardback copy of Stephen King's Faithful. A chronicle of the Boston Red Sox's historic 2004 season for a pound. I had to ask.

Yes...sir...it's a pound sir, everything in the store is a pound...sir. I pass over my pound.

The nearest I have been so far.

I will never doubt the dream.

Never will I walk past a 'Poundland' or similar discount shop again.

Soon I will walk away laden with a selection of baseball cards.

Very soon...

Jacoby Ellsbury Wishlist

For a number of years I have been a Jacoby Ellsbury player collector. I don't mean attempting to collect every possible card ever produced that has his moniker on it, just the non-print run cards. If a few serial numbered cards come my way or a relic, I will not looked that gift horse in the mouth.
By my calculations (or Beckett actually) there are 164 cards since 2005 that fit into this collecting remit.
So far I have collected;

5 of a possible 10 cards from 2005,

1 of 5 cards from 2006

7 of 17 cards from 2007,

38 of 41 cards from 2008,

49 of 52 cards from 2009,

24 of 39 cards from 2010

making that 124/164 collected so far.

To view my progress see Pursuit of Jacoby.

My current top tens Jacoby Ellsbury pursuits are:

2005 Lowell Spinners Choice #5

2006 Wilmington Blue Rocks Choice #1
2007 Tristar Autothentics #67
2007 Tristar Autothentics Blue #67
2007 Tristar Elegance #46
2008 Topps Red Sox Gift Set #20
2008 Topps Chrome Blue Refractors #124
2009 Topps Target #660
2009 Topps 206 Old Mill #195
2009 Topps 206 Polar Bear #195

I am essentially a trading whore but realise that winning these when(and if ) they arrive on e-bay may be my only option.

'Tash'tastic baseball cards

Real life takes over and the little 'luxury' things like writing a blog post fall by the way-side. Fortunately the recent snow falls have closed my school so I am able to spend the spare time doing what I enjoy.
While I have been unable to write, a few packages fell on my doorstep. A tidy little pile of Red Sox from Mr Ross at Boxbusters, some boxes of 2010 Topps Series 2 courtesy of the Alley family in North Carolina and a second selection of Red Sox from fellow Red Sox collector Chris at The Call of Cardboard.
Chris sent along an assortment of '81 Topps and '82 Donruss and I noticed that so many of the players sported lip fungus in this era. In fact it was unusual to be photographed sans facial hair.

A popular charity in recent years has been a prostate cancer awareness group who have hijacked the month of November and proclaimed it 'Mo'vember. Many TV celebrities, sports stars (including a touring Australian Rugby Team) and the rest of us common people grew 'tashes' to raise awareness. Premier League footballers have yet to join as they are far to image conscious and poncy. Regrettably while sporting a moustache, all I need is a cowboy outfit and I could be quite easily (although not comfortably ) qualify as a member of the village people.

So here to help raise the awareness just at the end of 'Mo' vember, a few macho tashes found in the selection of Red Sox from Chris. Mr Dennis Eckersley sporting a Magnum PI tashe, stare and healthy growth of hair.

Mr Jerry Remy opting also for a Tom Selleck but failing miserably with the hair.

and finally Mr Dwight Evans favouring a Burt Reynolds (in the Sally Field era) tashe.

No Pogonophobes in the 1980's.

1999 Skybox Molten Metal Xplosion inserts

I was watching a number of items from one seller, who was off loading a few cards mainly from brands such as Pinnacle, Skybox, Score and Fleer. I was intrigued by the of number of more 'interesting' cards advertised as inserts, however the seller was asking ridiculous prices and not surprising very few, if any, were snapped up by collectors in the UK.
Patience however is a virtue.

I'm not sure what to make of these baseball cards, if you can call them that. They are more like a printing plate.

They come from the 1999 SkyBox Molten Metal set.

The 1999 SkyBox Molten Metal set was issued in one series and distributed in six-card packs with a suggested retail price of $4.99. The set features 100 of the game's top veterans in the Metal Smiths (cards 1-100) subset with an insertion rate of 4:1 pack; 30 of today's power hitters in the Heavy Metal subset (101-130) inserted one per pack; and 20 of 1999's hottest rookies in the Supernatural subset(131-150) with an insertion rate of 1:2 packs. The cards are silver-foil on 24-point stock and enhanced with additional holofoil and wet laminate.

These cards are from the SkyBox Molten Metal Xplosion parallel set

Randomly inserted in packs at the rate of one in two, this 150-card set is
parallel to the base set printed on metal stock with added etching, rounded
corners and foil stamping. A promotional card featuring Kerry Wood was
distributed to dealers and hobby media several weeks prior to the product's
national release. This unnumbered card can be readily identified by the text
"PROMOTIONAL SAMPLE" running diagonally across the back.

Although it wasn't the sample card that I was able to pick up, instead 7 'metal ' cards:

#15 Ruben Rivera Padres

#24 Sean Casey Reds

#32 Ray Durham White Sox

#34 Richie Sexson Indians

#75 Eric Karros Dodgers

#145 Sammy Sosa Cubs

#146 Kerry Wood Cubs

Not sure which genre of collecting to place these. Oddball, gimmick, parallel, inserts, alongside printing plates? At first I thought that Skybox must have had a hell of a time disguising these to ward off would be pack searchers. But the weight of these cards is not dissimilar to some of the blanks inserted in more recent Upper Deck products, roughly 3-4 regular cards.

2010/2011 Match Attax Football

They're back. Slightly different but still collectable.
This year there are 465 cards to collect. Thankfully for those of us who like cards in a nice tidy order, Topps chose to number the cards - in the top right hand corner.
Of the 465 there are 360 team base cards, that is 16 base cards and 2 foil cards for each of the 20 Premiership teams. Plus 20 manager cards and 1 referee card!
Topps introduced a further 'chase' card set called Showboat foils. There are 20 Showboat to add to the 60 Man of the Match rainbow foils and 4 100 club rainbow foils.
There are 5 limited edition cards scattered around 1 per in collectors tin, collectors magazine, starter packs , 'Lucky Packs?' and an edition of Match magazine.
Some retailers have Club Crest foil cards in special 7 card packs.
There is also a 100 signed silver foil Rio Ferdinand cards and 1 signed gold card. Good Luck finding those!
I purchased 6 of the retail card packs, which contain 6 cards and a foil team crest.

Pack 1:

#68 Brett Emerton Blackburn Rovers

#102 Ricardo Gardner Bolton Wanderers

#321 Frederic Piquionne West Ham

#324 Carlton Cole West Ham

#369 Damien Duff Fulham Showboat

#447 Alex McLeish Birmingham City manager

#R9 Fulham Crest

Pack 2:

#19 Brad Friedel Aston Villa

#66 Keith Andrews Blackburn Rovers

#207 Ji-Sung Park Manchester United

#213 Javier Hernandez Manchester United foil

#295 Pablo Ibanez West Bromwich Albion
#352 Greg Halford Wolverhampton Wanderers

#R1 Arsenal crest

Pack 3:

#20 Carlos Cuellar Aston Villa

#49 Keith Fahey Birmingham City

#58 Gael Givet Blackburn Rovers

#81 Stephen Husband Blackpool

#194 Yaya Toure Manchester City

#457 Chirs Houghton Newcastle manager
#R11 Manchester City crest

Pack 4:

#10 Jack Wilshere Arsenal

#271 Heurelho Gomes Tottenham Hotspur

#269 Frazier Campbell Sunderland

#312 Daniel Gabbidon West Ham
#360 Sylvan Ebanks-Blake Wolverhampton Wanderers
#365 Charlie Adam Blackpool showboat

#R17 West Bromwich Albion crest

Pack 5:

#65 David Dunn Blackburn Rovers

#164 Paul Konchesky Liverpool
#177 Ryan Babel Liverpool

#199 Edwin Van Der Sar Manchester United

#335 Hendry Thomas Wigan

#355 Matthew Jarvis Wolverhampton

#R8 Everton crest

Pack 6:

#134 Jack Rodwell Everton

#145 Mark Schwarzer Fulham

#246 Rory Delap Stoke

#332 Ben Watson Wigan

#410 Fernando Torrez Liverpool Man of the Match foil

#454 Roy Hodgson Liverpool manager

#R13 Newcastle crest

I have no affiliation to any premiership team, so for the fourth year running I will collect the whole base set.

Through the contacts I have made in the USA, Fulham appears to be the most popular team amongst American collectors followed by Everton. Wondering whether Liverpool will rise in popularity if the Boston Red Sox owners planned purchase of the club goes through.

Topps Attax STAR WARS Edition

Police Academy was a fine product of the 1980's. The first was the best, the second pretty funny but they should have stopped there. Three was stupid, four even worse. Then Steve Guttenburg decided enough was enough and jumped ship after the fourth instalment. They continued to squeeze that winning franchise until it bled...5th, 6th, Mission to Moscow (7th), TV series, Dog Academy and there is talk of an 8th with Steve Guttenburg safely rescued and back at the helm. Topps, I fear, is squeezing as much as possible from the Attax brand:

Premiership Match Attax (4 series)

Bundesliga Match Attax (2 series)

Slam Attax (2 series)

Match Attax Extra (4 series)

Match Attax World Cup edition (1 series)

Baseball Attax (2 series)

NFL Attax (?)

Basketball Attax(?)

and now Force Attax.

When I saw these I thought why, but that little Star Wars nerd that resides inside me bought four packs. My boys, who pay no attention whatsoever to any of my other collecting pursuits, saw them and without hesitation 'awwed' and 'arred' over them. So in this respect a success for Topps and the continuing Attax brand. Unfortunately they are not the original Star Wars (I mean episode 4, 5 and 6) but the more recent animated series 'Clone Wars'.

If you are familiar with the Topps Attax cards, you will know they are used as a game. Each card has a defence and attack number. There are 190 cards in the Force Attax set to collect, the usual special insert foils are available -Star foils and Force Master rainbow foils and an album with pocket pages, game mat and checklist also available.

I retrieved the four packs from my sons to give you a taste and share the Star Wars goodness enclosed within.

Pack 1:

Y-wing Starfighter

General Grevious Starfighter

Clone Trooper

Clone Trooper Denal

Count Dooku Star FoilPack 2:

Mace Windu Rianbow Foil

Bail Organa

Luminara Unduli & Barriss Offee

Yoda & Clone Trooper

Bounty Hunter

Pack 3:

Ahsoka Tano & Barriss Offee

General Grievous & Magnaguard

Clone Trooper Waxer

Asajj Ventress & Super Battle Droid

Asajj Ventress Force Master rainbow foil

Pack 4:

Obi-Wan Kenobi & Commander Cody

Embo

Anakin Skywalker & Obi-Wan Kenobi

Commander Wolffe

Padme Amidala & C-3PO

Some great looking cards that we have come to expect from the Attax brand. The Obi-Wan / Anakin card my personal favourite.

Where will the Topps Attax brand go next?
What Attax cards would you like to see Topps produce?

1961 Fleer Baseball Greats

The 1961 Fleer Baseball Greats is an unappreciated set of cards. I love them for their simple design and their underdog status. I would like to think that I will be at a stage in my collecting habits, when I have completed some of my other baseball pursuits, attempt to collect a unique set such as '61 Fleer. Considering the set includes such names as Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Cy Young and Honus Wagner, presumably because Topps had the current players under contract, it is possible.
The complete set is 154 cards and are numbered in 'alphabetical ' order. The set was issued in 2 series; cards #1 to #88 in the first series and #89 to #154 in the second. The first series packs contained team and pennant stickers showing past World Series winners. The Fleer Sticker Project shows both these superb stickers in their glory.
I already have 9 of the '61 Fleer set and this card #52 John Kling is a great addition.

1955 Red Man Tobacco Card

Chewing Tobacco conjures images of the Wild West, spittoons and Back to the Future. I believed that 'smokeless tobacco' was a thing of the past. How wrong I was. In seeking some information on the Red Man brand I discovered that chewing (and spitting!) is still widely practiced.
Baseball cards had not been included in Tobacco products since 1920, until 1952 when Red Man issued a set of cards, attractive big cards measuring 9cm (3.5 in) by 9cm with a 1cm (0.5in) stub at the bottom. The stub could be removed from the card and 50 stubs exchanged for a Big League Baseball cap in the team of your choosing.
Red Man chose to keep all the baseball information on the front of the card and use the back to advertise their product. For four years, 1952 to 1955, Red Man included baseball cards in their chewing tobacco. If you want to drool a little bit at a amazing collection of the entire 4 year run take a look at this blog.
The 1955 set included 25 players from the American League and 25 from the National League.
I was able to purchase this card #20 Pete Runnels Washington Senators with the stub. Unfortunately the cap offer expired on June 15th 1956.
Red Man tobacco products are still available( in only the top quality stores naturally ) but baseball cards have been replaced by fishing lures.

2009 Tristar Obak

I was fortunate recently to get hold of a 'blaster' of 2010 Obak. Blaster may be stretching it a little, as most of the box contained a large L-shaped block of foam. There are 4 packs within the blaster, each pack containing 6 cards.
The base set consists of 119 cards, 5 of which can only be collected through Tristar Prospect Plus packs. I don't really know enough about Minor League ball to speak confidently about the cards but I like the modern/vintage sets.

Pack 1:

#15 Neftali Feliz Oklahoma City Redhawks

#29 Angel Villalona San Jose Giants

#48 Robert Forrest Jacobs Asheville Tourists

#53 Ike Boone Mission Reds

#60 Joe Wilhoit Salt Lake City Bees

#38 Ron Necciai Bristol Twins T-212 Pack 2:

#64 Gregg Jefferies Jackson Mets

#73 Bud Hillerich and Pete Browning Louisville Slugger

#76 Mike Coolbaugh Columbus Clippers

#89 George H. Rawlings

O-EX3 Barack Obama

#29 Steve Dalkowski Rochester Red Wings T-212

Pack 3:

#36 Al Rosen Oklahoma City Indians

#44 Steve Dalkowski Rochester Red Wings

#59 Gary Redus Waterbury Reds

#74 Alexander Cartwright 'alleged' inventor of baseball

#84 Francis Scott Key

#37 Grover Lowdermilk Mattoon Giants T-212

Pack 4:

#2 Robbie Grossman West Virginia Power

#3 BJ Hermsen GCL Twins

#8 Junichi Tazawa Portland Seadogs

#13 Tim Beckham Bowling Green Hot Rods

#43 Oscar Eckhardt Mission Reds

#5 Michael Ynoa AZL Athletics T-212

Hooked ! Mainly by the names of the players and teams. I have to get some more 'Loudermilk' cards as well as Bristol Twins. Pity the team isn't called Bristol City Twins.
As usual all the cards are up for trade.

What will 99p buy you in baseball cards?

A load of crap possibly.
Readers from the UK might have seen this lot on e-bay recently. A 1000 cards with a starting price of 99p. Who wouldn't bid? Well everyone obviously because I won with a bid of 99p.

So what exactly did I get for my 99p?

A complete set of 1995 Topps,

A box of 1993 Donruss Series 1,

A box of 1993 Donruss Series 2,

5 Topps 1974 ,

8 Topps 1975,

19 Topps 1978,

1 Topps 1979,

1 Donruss 1983,

1 Sportsflick 1986,

1 Upper Deck 1989,

97 Donruss 1990,

1 Topps 1990,

30 Donruss 1991,

36 Fleer 1991,

1 Fleer Sticker 1991,

15 Score 1991,

4 Topps 1991,

74 Donruss 1992,

2 Fleer 1992,

27 Leaf 1992,

19 Score 1992,

104 Topps 1992,

7 Upper Deck 1992,

108 Donruss 1993,

89 Hostess baseball 1993,

13 Topps 1993,

4 Upper Deck 1993,

2 Fleer 1994,

1 Topps 1994,

12 Stadium Club 1994,

20 UD Collectors Choice 1995,

10 Fleer 1996,

12 Fleer Ultra 1996

28 Score 1996,

11 UD Collector Choice 1996,

200+ Topps Total 2004,

8 National Card Day 2006,

That is the bulk of the cards. An unusual mix considering there is two complete sets, possibly three, and the ever popular early 1990's cards, that appear to be common all over the world! There was also about 20 top loaders, a packet of card protectors and roughly 20 hard cases too.

There was a number of unusual items enclosed, hidden deep within the box.
A set of Civil War Leaders complete set of 32 cards in a plastic case,
A limited edition #to 240,000 1991 Front Row Draft Picks complete set in a plastic case,
A Mickey Lolich Detroit Tigers Gold embossed card?
A 1996 Fleer promotional card,
A 1996 Upper Deck Promotional card,
A slabbed 1994 Upper Deck Fold outs Cal Ripken ,
a Number of Frank Thomas cards from various years -all encased in hard covers.

Is there method to the madness of this collector? There are very few Red Sox, Pirates or Dodgers cards but plenty of White Sox pretty much together in a pile and Yankees cards again together. There are a number of cards badly beaten but in top loaders, a few more cards covered in sticky back plastic (for protection?) and a number of others that look as though they have been used to soak up low grade oil.

So a load of crap then?

Trade with Chris from the Call of Cardboard

Trading has been the backbone of my blog ever since I trying to secure the last few cards of the 1980's Topps set. Things have changed, there are well over three to four times as many blogs and I have been losing out on trades to some bigger (and closer) Red Sox collectors. So it was a welcome relief to be contacted by a few collectors recently interested in a Red Sox trade. This trade with Chris from The Call of Cardboard was completed a few weeks ago.

We originally made contact in regard to 2009 Goodwin Champions, as we are both attempting to collect the base set and it grew from there. Chris received my selection of cards and sent back a big selection of Red Sox from the 1970's and a large pile of Goodwins to check off the wants list.
To my surprise tucked away amongst the cards were the three 1951 Bowman cards shown above. Unexpected and greatly appreciated.
The '51 and '52 Bowman sets are rapidly pushing out the 1980 Topps as my favourite set of baseball cards. As I have said before I prefer the 50's Bowmans to 50's Topps.
Thanks to Chris for the 'awesome' trade.

2010 Allen and Ginter baseball

I seriously contemplated using these gifted packs as my first 'video break'. Made an introduction with background music, etc and waited until my friend Dion returned from the US with packs he e-mailed to say he had obtained. He searched the San Francisco area and eventually found some in a comic shop, overpriced and undoubtedly searched- but Packs of A+G none the less.
I sat down to record the pack opening, in what started as a very quiet house. As soon as I began to talk, the interruptions followed.
'Dad who are you talking to?',
'What are you doing?'
'Can I help read the names...?'
'Would you like a cup of tea?'
I could edit the interruptions but the chuckles of my wife in the background became too unbearable. I tried to involve her in the process, I had seen this done to great success with another pack break, but she was having none of it.
What began as a carefully thought video break descended into farce, so I thought Sod it!
So the nine packs obtained from Cards and Comics Central 5425 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco will be opened the old fashioned way...
My friend Tony, who writes the blog 'Collector from Across the Pond' and I endeavouring to collect the whole 2010 Allen and Ginter base set of 350 cards. He is also going for the mini parallel version as well, while I have opted for the 'Monster of the Mesozoic' mini parallel. Just love the dinosaurs.

Pack 1:

#119 Dan Uggla Marlins

#167 Dan Harden D-backs

#244 Aaron Cook Rockies

#272 David Blaine Magician

#295 Josh Thole Mets

#337 Joe Nathan Twins

#TDH28 Jose Reyes Mets

#121 Francisco Rodriguez Mets black border mini Pack 2:
#22 Lucy skeleton
#65 Andre Ethier Dodgers
#138 Javier Vazquez Yankees
#182 Chris carpenter Cardinals
#198 A.J.Pierzynski White Sox
#312 Carlos Ruiz Phillies
#TDH52 Justin Upton D-backs
#337 Joe Nathan Twins miniPack 3:
#179 Jorge Posada Yankees
#179 Ben Zorbist Bay Rays
#223 Jason Kubel Twins
#240 Aaron Hill Blue Jays
#242 Jules Verne Author
#292 Chris Pettit Angels
#TDH65 Zack Greinke Royals
#SSS4 Vasco Nunez De Balboa mini
Pack 4:
#90 Kevin Kouzmanoff Athletics
#186 Jose Reyes Mets
#196 Scott Baker Twins
#231 Travis Snider Blue Jays
#262 Zack Greinke Royals
#322 Gary Matthews Mets
#TDH4 Lance Berkman Astros
#274 Nick Markakis Orioles mini A+G back
Pack 5:
#3 Ryan Braun Brewers
#184 Jake Peavy White Sox
#185 X-Rays more bones
#234 Nick Johnson Yankees
#249 Alfonso Soriano Cubs
#261 Adam Jones Orioles
#TDH38 Jim Thome Twins
#298 Jorge Cantu Marlins mini
Pack 6:
#63 Matt Carson Athletics
#73 Avery Jenkins Disk Golf
#157 Kevin Youkilis Red Sox (finally)
#175 Tim Lincecum Giants
#178 Josh Hamilton Rangers
#326 Aaron Rowand Giants
#TDH18 Felix Hernandez Mariners
#NA1 Cougar Argentina mini
Pack 7:
#30 Rafael Furcal Dodgers
#100 Matt LaPorta Indians
#107 Adam Dunn Nationals
#144 Stuart Scott Sportscaster
#149 Ichiro Mariners
#301 Gaby Sanchez Marlins
#TDH14 Justin Verlander Tigers
#NA26 Gray Wolf Turkey mini
Pack 8:
#8 Miguel Tejada Orioles
#14 Shane Victorino Phillies
#85 Yunel Escobar Braves
#131 Tyler Flowers White Sox
#226 Brian McCann Braves
#AGHS5 Ichiro Mariners
#TDH22 Grady Sizemore Indians
#LO16 Persephone mini
Pack 9:
#87 Alexei Ramirez White Sox
#132 David Price Bay Rays
#176 Preston Pittman Turkey Caller
#210 Chris Johnson Astros
#217 James Shields Bay Rays
#350 Alcides Escobar Brewers
#TDH68 Brian McCann Braves
#38 Tiago Della Vega Guitar Player mini black border

A nice start to a very interesting set. Who cannot like a card set that includes a Turkey Caller!

I know I called the Monsters mini set but I really liked the 'Sailors of the Seven Seas' parallel set too. Plenty of mini's Tony, they will be on their way shortly.

Topps Baseball Talk Collection

Its funny what you find searching ebayUK when there is very little of note, that is unless you need to complete the 1991 Fleer set or 1987 Topps . If you willing to take your time and wade your way through the sea of yellow and brown, a couple of oddball gems appear.

I bid on three packs of 'Topps baseball Talk collection cards', the details in the auction were very thin except to say they were rare. Unfortunately the actual sports talk player wasn't included and a further search put it way out of my league.
You can be forgiven for thinking that the cards are regular 1989 Topps however there are some significant differences. Look at the comparison between a regular Topps and the Talk collection card.
Size obviously and smaller tweaks such as the Topps logo and each of the player cards in the set have a facsimile autograph. Turn the card over and you'll notice something completely different.

On the back of each of the Talk cards is glued a small transparent disk. This disk or mini record, when inserted into the LIN SportsTalk player, would play 2-3 minutes of audio. The player cards included interviews by Don Drysdale and Joe Torre. There were also specially narrated historic games and cards of former players. The Talk cards were sold in packs of 4 and according to the checklist included, there were 41 different sets of 4 cards to collect.

Unfortunately the cards were not as successful as hoped. The Talk players broke easily and the cards had poor audio, so NFL and NBA versions were shelved indefinitely.

The three sets I purchased included:

Set 4:
1956 World Series Game 5 Yankees vs Dodgers
Ozzie Smith Cardinals
Ron Darling Mets
Pete Incaviglia Rangers

Set 5:
1986 National League Championship Series game 6 Astros vs Mets
Kirby Puckett Twins
Dennis Eckersley Athletics
Gregg Jefferies Mets

Set 7:
1984 World Series Game 5 Tigers vs Padres
Keith Hernandez Mets
John Franco Reds
Eddie Murray Orioles

If you after more information look up these:
Sports Talk Wikipedia
Internet Museum of Oddity Records