Release the Kraken box topper!

It is time for my inaugural Gint-A-Cuffs entry. I finally got myself organised in time to enter the contest. I have also avoided the pitfall of picking the wrong box to open by only getting one box. I plan on getting three, one when I'm on my trip in September (too late for GAC) and one for my birthday, which I don't know will arrive in time or not. I also don't know what the limit on entries is. Is it two? I thought it was two. If it is two, maybe I'll have a second entry. If not, well, like I said, this is the only box I have.

Anyway, on to more important things, like the selection of the packs that I will open. Last year, I proceeded to get a relic in my second, fourth, and sixth pack, all in the first two rows off the top. This, of course, proceeded to give me lovely visions of the hot box to end all hot boxes, or at the very least a bonus fourth hit.

Alas, this was not to be. Those were my three hits. The rest of the box was anti-climactic. So selecting packs in the right order is crucial. Do I tempt fate, and clear out one side of the box at a time, or do I keep picking off the top? Will be hopes be dashed I think that due to the insane Series 1 jumbo box, my luck on hits might be used up for a while - bad news for Gint-a-Cuffs.

All right, enough yammering. Here's the envelope at the top:

CB-3 Dallas is perfect in Oakland (+8)
I really wanted the cabinet card that Nachos Grande pulled, because that would have been beaucoup points, plus I want it for my collection. But this card is pretty cool. I'm still willing to trade it for the Felix/Ichiro one, though.

And now, Pack #1:

118 Rafael Soriano (-1 Yankee scum)
What a shit start to the pack. Don't worry, it gets worse.

254 Denard Span
56 Scott Kazmir
30 Hanley Ramirez


AGA-AT Andres Torres framed auto (+10)
The autograph checklist Allen & Ginter fans have been waiting for, my foot.

Stuck to it was...


mini #7 Mickey Mantle (-1 Yankee scum, but...


...thank goodness it's an A&G back, so +2, so +1 overall)
Does the Mantle mini go into my Frankenset? Yes, but does it even matter? Don't worry, it gets worse.


HH79 Hometown Heroes (+1!)...

...Derek Jeter (-1 Yankee scum, so nil overall)
PBBBBBTH! A Bronx cheer for all the Bronx Bombers.

Total for pack: 10 points
Running total: 18 points

Pack the 2nd:

181 Mark Buehrle
132 Colby Rasmus
16 Gordon Beckham
85 Chris Sale
Why didn't I make the White Sox my favorite team?
110 Jake McGee


171 John Lackey (Ginter Code card: +3)


WMF1 Rasputin (World's Most Mysterious Figures: +3)


HH50 Josh Hamilton Hometown Heroes (+1 HH, +2 Favorite Player = +3)
I personally think I should get bonus points for pulling a Hometown Heroes card of my own hometown. I named my dog Raleigh, for goodness sake!

Total for pack: 9 points
Running total: 27 points

Pack III:

252 Omar Infante
243 Mike Nickeas
188 Daniel Descalso
226 Andre Ethier
88 David Ortiz


183 Mike Napoli (Ginter Code card: +3)


116 Josh Beckett black-bordered mini (+3)
Slot 116 is blank, so this goes in the Frankenset.


HH53 Justin Verlander Hometown Heroes (+1)
I'd like to average ten points per pack. After five cards, I was at zero, so seven is a decent result.

Total for pack: 7 points
Running total: 34 points

Notice anything about these cards?

I must say, I had them in my collection for two years but didn't notice them until this week when I was cataloguing.

It's here!

That's the box of 2011 Ginter that I ordered. And yes, I will be competing in Gint-A-Cuffs this time around. Colbey has gone out and set the first mark - 197 points. Will that hold up? We shall see. Expect an excruciatingly slow reveal from some folks - like me. I'll be opening the packs three a day (got to make them last!) but revealing them every other day.

Stay tuned...

I've managed to accumulate a stack of ToppsTown cards (haven't we all?) from 2009 to 2011, which I put together last week when cleaning up my collection.

The thing is, I don't want them. At all. I'd just toss them in the bin, but I can bring myself to do something like that to baseball cards, no matter how unwanted.

Does anyone want/need any of these cards? Send me an e-mail or leave a comment. Maybe this can be the start of a larger trade, who knows?

Well, I'm feeling incredibly productive - I've finished my Ken Griffey Jr. PC page. That's three down, one to go. Unfortunately, I've saved the biggest for last, and given how long the Junior page took (not long, but tedious, so I didn't work on it straight through), I'm not looking forward to Ichiro since that collection is twice as big as the Griffey.

Anyway, my Junior cards are catalogued and up on the site. The link, as always, is available on the right-hand side of the website. It now points to the Junior PC page instead of the White Sox project page, which is still at the top. I also have some Junior cards (as well as cards for the other three) that are sitting in my CheckOutMyCards account and aren't listed on any of the player collection pages. I really should get those cards shipped to me. It's been a year since I bought some of them, for crying out loud!

What do you think, should I add the pictures from COMC onto the page? Or should I just stick only with the cards I have on hand in my binders?

During my last eBay buying frenzy, I picked up a strange little set for 99 cents. Card No. 1 featured Ken Griffey, which is why I got the set. I figured I could put that card in the bottom right-hand slot of a binder page of my Griffey, then put the other nine in a page behind. While I realise this might offend some of your sensibilities, frankly, I'm not losing any sleep over this.

I scanned the whole set it while scanning in my Griffey cards (news flash! - I'm now done scanning in all of my PC cards!). So here, I present to you, the 1989 All-American Promo Cards set. A giant among card manufacturers, to be sure.

 

 

A couple of things - first, AAPC's attempts to hide MLB logos makes Upper Deck's attempt 21 years later look positively professional. I don't think AAPC even tried, or cared. Secondly, the choice of players seems strange - Griffey was in his rookie season, and appears to be the reason for the set since he has two of the ten cards. If you can figure out rhyme or reason behind the other eight players, please let me know. Jim Abbott was also included as a rookie. However, the back of his card lists "1988 Pitching Record" then says "No Major League Stats". However, the back of Griffey's cards say "1988 Batting Record" then list his numbers for the San Bernardino Spirit. Plus, they got the number of runs wrong.

Look carefully at the back of this card:

The blurb says Altherr was born in Germany, but the stats say he was born in Arizona. So which is it?