30 Unopened packs of baseball Cards

It doesn't happen very often but when it does... I'm talking about unopened packs of baseball cards on eBayUK. Just last week, a seller put five lots of unopened baseball cards up for auction, I was lucky enough to win four of them, I was hoping for the fifth but was beaten out. Hopefully it went to the good home of one of my fellow UK card bloggers.
All the packs are from 2002/3, Donruss and Upper Deck. I have a sneaking suspicion that they are from repack boxes because there is clear plastic glue on the back or front of about 5 packs.
Some of these sets are familiar, but most were new to me.
Included was;

1999 Upper Deck Powerdeck 1pack,

2001 Donruss Studio 4packs,

2002 Upper Deck Rookie Debut  pack,

2002 Donruss Fan Club 5packs,

2002 Donruss 1pack,

2003 Upper Deck First Pitch 4packs,

2003 Upper Deck Series 1 2packs,

2003 Upper Deck Series 2 2packs,

2003 Upper Deck MVP 2packs,

2003 Upper Deck Standing O!  2packs,

2003 Donruss Team Heroes 2packs,

2003 Upper Deck Honor Roll 2packs,

2003 Upper Deck 40 Man 2packs.

They were delivered in a lovely big brown paper covered brick. I'm not ashamed to say it was a tad exciting. There was only one draw back - postage. It started as £15.00, I was able to knock it down to £8.00, knowing full well that it wouldn't come close to that. The actual postage cost was £2.80. I'm not sure why sellers do this and it is one thing that puts me right off eBay.
But look at all these unopened packs, such a glorious sight.
I will be cracking them open at Pursuit of Red Sox, my bold mission to collect Red Sox cards from packs and complete the occasional set.
All other cards will go into various trade piles.

2009 Goodwin Champions

For the past few years, because I have so much time on my hands... I like to choose a particular set to complete. There is no rhyme or reason to the set except I like them and as they are placed in their nine little beds they look pretty good.
The sets I have attempted to collect are:

1980 Topps -completed

1994 UD All Time Heroes 107/225 needed

2000 Fleer Showcase 9/100 needed

2005 Topps Heritage 175/385 needed

2006 Fleer Tradition -completed

2007 Masterpieces 15/90 needed

2008 Goudey-completed

Now in 2009 Goodwin Champions.

My excitement grew when Upper Deck gave us a Product Review and then the Checklist. Fortunately I was gifted a Blaster and my pursuit was firmly set. But there is still a long way to go before completion. I require 112 from the 150 base set. I need:

1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 46, 47, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 58, 59, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 83, 87, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 97, 98, 100, 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 112, 113, 115, 116, 117, 118, 120, 121, 122, 124, 126, 127, 128, 130, 131, 132, 134, 135, 136, 137, 139, 140, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147 ,148 ,149 ,150


There are short prints(#151-190), super short prints (#190- 210) and mini exclusives (#211-252) in this as well.

1995 Upper Deck Denny's baseball cards

When I purchased nine cards from this set I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I knew that Denny's was a restaurant, naturally I have watched American TV programs and Denny's is mentioned regularly. I had to research on the interwebs to find out more. My favourite from the Denny's menu is called:

'The Grand Slam Burrito'.
All your favourite ingredients from the Original Grand Slam-two scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and pancakes with syrup topped with melted American cheese and hand wrapped in a large flour tortilla. Grilled and served with crispy hash browns.

My arteries started to close just reading about it.
The only equivalent I can find here in the UK is the Little Chef. The restaurants can be found up and down the country usually located in motorway services, sweet escapes from the driving madness, truck drivers and tiredness. Motorway services are also, on Saturdays, full of travelling football fans moving from one stadium to another. The Little Chef offers a range of healthy salads, drinks and an American Style Breakfast for £6.75. Described as

Two rashers of bacon, a generous portion of free range scrambled eggs and two of our famous breakfast pancakes drizzled with sweet maple flavoured syrup.
Have a nice day!

There are 28 cards in the set, so I am presuming the cards were given away with a meal. Either one at a time or the whole set. This is not an usual practice, my children have collected all manner of items from McDonald's, Star Wars cards from KFC and plastic figures from Burger King. I'm not sure that Little Chef even has a child's meal.

However the cards from Denny's are of the holographic variety. Not really a new innovation in 1995. The backgrounds are exactly the same with a portrait of the player in front of the same crowd. Impressive cards but Mike Piazza smiles and then frowns at you, depending on the way you hold the card. Bret Saberhagen does the same. Both men are sporting moustaches. Spooky!

The cards I received were:
#4 Albert Belle Indians

#5 Jason Bere White Sox

#6 Roger Clemens Red Sox

#9 Andres Galarraga Rockies

#13 Barry Larkin Reds

#15 Don Mattingly Yankees

#20 Mike Piazza Dodgers

#22 Bret Saberhagen Mets

#28 Matt Williams Giants

2009 Goudey Blaster

This blaster was part of the stash a fellow teacher bought back from a US holiday. I collected Goudey in 2008 and like the look of the cards but I would like to collect the Goodwin Champions this year whenever they come out.


There are 200 cards in the base set.
There are 20 short prints.
There are inserts: 40 Sports Royalty, 40 Heads up, 100 4in1's (red border), 61 Goudey Graphs, 82 Goudey memorbilia and 53 Sports Royalty Autographs.
There are parallels: 4in 1's- green, blue and black, mini base, shortprinted and heads-up green, blue and black.
Good luck collecting this set.

The packs:

Pack 1:

#38 Kosuke Fukudome Cubs

#42 Carlos Zambrano Cubs

#90 Mark Teixeira Yankees

#98 Scott Elbert Dodgers

#115 Denard Span Twins

#127 Carlos Beltran Mets

#258 Larry Bird mini

#715 20th Anniversary Supreme Court Justice

Pack 2:

#2 Max Scherzer D-backs

#54 Jay Bruce Reds

#110 Yovani Gallardo Brewers

#146 Jeff Bailey Athletics

#187 Carlos Pena Bay Rays

#194 Travis Snider Blue Jays

#35-20 4in1 blue

#35-32 4in1 Red

Pack 3:

#9 Jeff Francoeur Braves

#69 Curtis Granderson Tigers

#72 Miguel Cabrera Tigers

#141 Greg Smith Rockies

#143 Johnny Damon Yankees

#155 Ryan Howard Phillies

#246 Guy Lafleur Hockey

#710 20th Anniversary Wayne Gretsky

Pack 4:

#1 Adam Dunn Nationals

#25 Kevin Youkilis Red Sox

#93 Howie Kendrick Angels

#105 Alcides Escobar Brewers

#167 Chris Young Padres

#189 Josh Hamilton Rangers

#35-8 4in1 red

#35-89 4in1 green

Pack 5:

#21 Melvin Mora Orioles

#30 Jonathan Papelbon Red Sox

#67 Troy Tulowitzki Rockies

#85 Alex Gordon Royals

#107 Mat Gamel Brewers

#109 Miguel Montero D-backs

#151 Cole Hamels Phillies

#191 Michael Young Rangers

Pack 6:

#12 Tim Hudson Braves

#33 J.D.Drew Red Sox

#36 Wilkin Castillo Reds

#45 Gavin Floyd White Sox

#96 Matt Kemp Dodgers

#153 Chase Utley Phillies

#177 Ryan Ludwick Cardinals

#179 Rick Ankiel Cardinals

Pack 7:

#6 Dan Harden D-Backs

#14 Kelly Johnson Braves

#34 Curt Schilling Red Sox mini

#62 Travis Hafner Indians

#133 Phil Coke Yankees

#156 Greg Golson Rangers

#158 Shane Victorino Phillies

#35-20 4in1 red

Pack 8:

#26 Michael Bowden Red Sox

#50 Alexei Ramirez White Sox

#66 Garrett Atkins Rockies

#103 Takashi Saito Red Sox

#122 Delmon Young Twins

#182 B.J.Upton Rays

#199 Lastings Milledge Nationals

#298 Carlos Zamrano Cubs

I like blaster, they give you a decent smattering of the cards, the occasional one your after and enough to trade.

Six Red Sox from the 8 packs isn't too bad either.

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.

2009 Upper Deck Baseball Series 2

The third and final jumbo pack of cards in my recent holiday haul.
There are (#501 to #940)
There are inserts: 4 '89 Design, 50 1977 O-Pee-Chee, 12 Goodwin Champions preview, 22 USAB National team, Star quest common, rare and SUPER rare.
Some pseudo inserts: 6 Rookie Cards, 10 Rookies, 20 Award Winners, 30 Team Checklists.
There is a Gold parallel set.
There are game used and autos: Inkredibles, Game Materials, USAB National team Jerseys, USAB National Team Autographs.
There are also two 1-off cards: Historic Firsts of a dog! and a Derek Jeter buyback card.
There are 36 cards in this jumbo pack.

The pack:

#506 Yusmeiro Petit D-backs

#513 Doug Davis D-backs

#542 Melvin Mora Orioles

#547 Takashi Saito Red Sox

#549 Jeff Bailey Red Sox

#551 Daisuke Matsuzaka Red Sox

#584 D.J.Carrasco White Sox

#590 Octavio Dotel White Sox

#595 David Weathers Reds

#603 Bronson Arroyo Reds

#627 Taylor Buchholz Rockies

#647 Anibal Sanchez Marlins

#651 Ricky Nolasco Marlins

#667 LaTroy Hawkins Astros

#671 Esteban German Royals

#672 Ross Gload Royals

#678 Zack Greinke Royals

#714 Ramon Troncoso Dodgers

#734 Francisco Liriano Twins

#743 Denard Span Twins

#752 Jeremy Reed Mets

#755 J.J.Putz Mets

#772 Edwar Ramirez Yankees

#774 Chien-Ming Wang Yankees

#830 Luis Rodriguez Padres

#839 Chris Young Padres

#861 Roy Corcoran Mariners

#863 Kenji Johjima Mariners

#888 Ben Zobrist Bay Rays

#892 Willy Aybar Bay Rays

#899 Shawn Riggans Bay Rays

#911 Taylor Teagarden Rangers

#964 Nate McLouth Pirates

#996 Justin Morneau Twins

#SQ-37 David Price Bay Rays Turquoise common

#SQ-49 Nick Markakis Orioles Turquoise common.

Three Red Sox from a pack of 36. Not a bad ratio. All the others available for trade.

2009 Upper Deck Baseball Series 1 Rookie Edition

The second of the Jumbo packs I received recently by surprise.
There are 401 cards in the Series 1 base set.
There are a plethora of inserts: Starquests of various colours and rarity, Rookie Debuts, 1975 O-Pee-Chee, Rivals, Stars of the Game, USA Retrospectives, USA U18 National Team, Historical firsts, Historical Predictors, Checklists, Team Leaders, Season Highlights, etc, etc
There is a GOLD parallel and a parallel of an insert, 1975 O-Pee-Chee minis.
There are a number of autograph and game used cards.
There is 36 cards in this Rookie Edition Jumbo pack.

The pack:

#6 Stephen Drew D-backs

#20 Tom Glavine Braves

#29 Nick Markakis Orioles

#48 Clay Buchholz Red Sox

#62 Derek Lee Cubs

#83 Joe Crede White Sox

#90 A.J.Pierzynski White Sox

#123 Jeff Francis Rockies

#128 Edgar Renteria Tigers

#130 Gary Sheffield Tigers

#142 Jeremy Hermida Marlins

#163 Mike Aviles Royals

#186 Ervin Santana Angels

#191 Manny Ramirez Dodgers

#193 Chad Billingsley Dodgers

#214 Ryan Braun Brewers

#231 Kevin Slowey Twins

#248 Moises Alou Mets

#253 Oliver Perez Mets

#287 Jack Cust A's

#299 Cole Hamels Phillies

#304 Ian Snell Pirates

#321 Scott Hairston Padres

#350 Chris Duncan Cardinals

#355 Ryan Ludwick Cardinals

#367 Troy Percival Bay Rays

#384 A.J.Burnett Blue Jays

#411 Brad Nelson Brewers

#431 Red Sox Team leaders

#446 Astros Team leaders

#465 Manny Ramirez Red Sox

#480 Nate McLouth Pirates

#494 Joakim Soria Royals

#496 Joe Mauer Twins

RR-KK Kila Ka'aihue Royals

RR-RP Robert Parnell Mets

Three Red Sox and plenty of cards for trade. Decent photography from Upper Deck for this years set too.

1994 UD All-Time Heroes

In the last trade I made, with Matt from Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius, he sent these two cards which really caught my eye. They looked familiar.
I have gone from a collector who; 'collects all the baseball cards he can lay his hands on' through to 'picking a specific team such as the Red Sox, a specific set, 1980 Topps and a specific player, Jacoby Ellsbury' to now 'collecting cards that are oddball, eye-catching cards or that look vaguely interesting'.
These cards were inserts from the 2008 Upper Deck Timeline set based on the 1994 UD All-Time Heroes Card Design. Flipping through my 1994 folder I stumbled across one card #189 Bill Buckner from the UD All-time Heroes set. A very quick search of the internet produced some of these cards for sale and surprisingly a 100 cards from the 225 card set on e-bay UK! Check out the auction here.
The set is very impressive not just for the names available in the set but also for the iconic images on the cards.
These four cards of Mickey Mantle and Willlie Mays, Jimmy Piersall's backward home run, Bill Mazeroski running through a mob of spectators and Lou Gehrig at Yankees Stadium on 'Lou Gehrig Day' are perfect examples of the quality and content.

I never thought it was likely that I would own a Babe Ruth card, but now I do.
Ted Williams is just one of the names available on the completely black and white set of baseball cards. Nice photography and not a shiny, refractors, game used in sight.

2009 Upper Deck First Pitch baseball

I purchased the blaster of Upper Deck First Edition before I had arranged a trade with Charles from Blue Jays Cards. He sent me the entire set of Red Sox, bar one card. So there was only SQ-7, the Dice-K Star Quest I needed.

There are 300 cards in the set.

There are 25 Star Quest cards.

That is it. No jersey, auto or short prints. A simple set and if you bought a box of 36 packets you could (theoretically) get the whole set. This would include the Star Quest, as there is one per pack. This was, I presume UD's answer to Topps Attax.

There are 10 cards per pack, 1 being a Star Quest foil. There are 10 packs in the blaster box.

Pack 1:

#6 Mark Reynolds D-backs

#10 Max Scherzer D-backs

#13 Jair Jurrjens Braves

#38 Daisuke Matsuzaka Red Sox

#71 Paul Konerko White Sox

#189 Carlos Delgardo Mets

#234 Nate McLouth Pirates

#247 Barry Zito Giants

#250 Brain Wilson Giants

#SQ-10 Grady Sizemore Indians

Pack 2:

#24 James Parr Braves

#50 Kevin Youkilis Red Sox

#60 Geovany Soto Cubs

#67 Alexei Ramirez White Sox

#73 Jim Thome White Sox

#89 Cliff Lee Indians

#234 Nate McLouth Pirates

#241 Trevor Hoffman Padres

#282 Roco Baldelli Bay Rays

#SQ-10 Grady Sizemore Indians

Pack 3:

#4 Dan Harden D-backs

#22 Tim Hudson Braves

#39 Josh Beckett Red Sox

#45 Jonathan Papelbon Red Sox

#51 Jason Bay Red Sox

#60 Geovany Soto Cubs

#92 Fausto Carmona Indians

#238 Will Venable Padres

#282 Rocco Baldelli Bay Rays

#SQ-22 Prince Fielder Brewers

Pack 4:

#16 John Smoltz Braves

#20 Brian McCann Braves

#27 Jeremy Guthrie Orioles

#49 Tim Wakefield Red Sox

#67 Alexei Ramirez White Sox

#77 Bobby Jenks White Sox

#171 Bill Hall Brewers

#224 Greg Golson Phillies

#293 Alex Rios Blue Jays

#SQ-22 Prince Fielder Brewers

Pack 5:

#9 Chris Young D-backs

#35 Jacoby Ellsbury Red Sox

#66 Rich Harden Cubs

#76 Mark Buehrle White Sox

#79 Brandon Phillips Reds

#143 Howie Kendrick Angels

#157 Andre Ethier Dodgers

#237 Matt Antonelli Padres

#248 Tim Lincecum Giants

#SQ-5 Chase Utley Phillies

Pack 6:

#3 Brandon Webb D-backs

#28 Adam Jones Orioles

#33 Melvin Mora Orioles

#47 Hideki Okajima Red Sox

#59 Kosuke Fukudome Cubs

#80 Aaron Harang Reds

#93 Troy Tulowitzki Rockies

#146 Joe Sanders Angels

#212 Mariano Rivera Yankees

#SQ-9 David Wright Mets

Pack 7:

#7 Eric Byrnes D-backs

#12 David Eckstein D-backs

#31 Daniel Carbera Orioles

#32 George Sherrill Orioles

#64 Mark DeRosa Cubs

#69 Carlos Quentin White Sox

#84 Joey Votto Reds

#120 Roy Oswalt Astros

#238 Will Venable Padres

#SQ-5 Chase Utley Phillies

Pack 8:

#12 David Eckstein D-backs

#19 Kely Johnson Braves

#21 Jeff Francoeur Braves

#42 Dustin Pedroia Red Sox

#65 Ryan Dempster Cubs

#71 Paul Konerko White Sox

#228 Jimmy Rollins Phillies

#240 Chris Young Padres

#SQ-4 Chipper Jones Braves

#300 Pittsburgh Penguins ?

Pack 9:

#30 Aubrey Huff Orioles

#30 Aubrey Huff Orioles

#46 Jason Varitek Red Sox

#56 Aramis Ramirez Cubs

#79 Brandon Phillips Reds

#81 Edinson Volquez Reds

#109 Dontrelle Willis Tigers

#131 Jose Guillen Royals

#235 Ian Snell Pirates

#SQ-8 David Ortiz Red Sox

Pack 10:

#1 Randy Johnson D-backs

#15 Tom Glavine Braves

#36 Coco Crisp Red Sox

#52 Justin Masterson Red Sox

#53 Jeff Samardzija Cubs

#57 Kerry Wood Cubs

#102 Dexter Fowler Rockies

#249 Matt Cain Giants

#285 Josh Hamilton Rangers

#SQ-15 Jose Reyes Mets

Bonus Pack:

SQ-4 Chipper Jones Braves

SQ-11 Hanley Ramirez Marlins

SQ-18 Lance Berkman Astros

SQ-23 Ryan Braun Brewers

Unbelievable....13 Red Sox from 10 packs, over 1 per pack. That is staggering and a little sad considering that I only needed 1 card from the entire Red Sox run. It is also what we call 'Sod's Law' in the UK.

There was a surprise, a hockey card from the UD 20th anniversary set.

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.

2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces

The first pack from Dayf. A product which I thought was brilliant in 2007 and 2008. But will it still be around in 2009?

The set consists of 120 base cards, of which 30 were short prints.

There were many parallels included: the Black and Red were not serial numbered. The other colours were: Navy (/125), Brown (/100), Green (/75), Blue (/50), Silver (/25), Gold (/10), Light Blue (/5) and Red (1/1).

There were inserts: Stokes of Genius, Captured on Canvas-jersey, patch, patch+autograph and jersey+autograph (seriously a set collectors dream!)

There are 4 cards per pack.

The pack:

#18 Alfonso Soriano Cubs

#26 Grady Sizemore Indians

#47 Prince Fielder Brewers

#81 Ichiro Mariners

No Red Sox, but still a really nice set. Excellent choice of pack Dayf.