2014 Adventures in Repacks: Part 50 - I'm a sucker for the classics

And by classics I mean the $1 for 15 card hanger repacks at Dollarama.

2011 UD Christian Ehrhoff - When in doubt, pull the pack with the most interesting card visible. In this case, it was this one that won.
1991 Score Patrick LeBeau

2000 Pacific Steve Passmore - Here's a set I'm not used to seeing in repacks. A nice addition to my mask binder.
1990 UD Mike Gartner

2000 Victory Dave Scatchard - And here's another set that doesn't show up much.

1991 Pro Set French Jacques Plante - Although I already have the English version in the mask binder, it is nice to welcome its francophone cousin.
1993 Classic Ryan Hughes

2000 Pacific McDonald's Pavel Bure - Shiny!

1994 Donruss Claude LaPointe - If they can use 4 different photos on the back (Yeah, I'll count the #47), with a 5th on the front, in a 1994 release, why can't it be done in releases 20 years later?

2005 Heroes & Prospects Alexandre Vincent - Never reached the bigs, but will make it into the mask binder. On the upside, at least he can say he played for a team called "St. Georges Cool 103.5 FM".
1991 UD Claude Boivin
1991 Score Bob MCGill

1990 Bowman Troy Mallette - Naturally.

2013 Score Michael Ryder - And this wraps it up.

2014 Adventures in Repacks: Part 49: Another Flea Market repack with a guaranteed hit

The title says it all. I made another run by the flea market earlier this week. I picked up corn, yellow beans, raspberries and onions. And of course, a $5.00 repack with a guaranteed hit to go alongside about 60 cards.

Let's lead with the hit. It is definitely better than I expected. A Hall of Fame relic with this Joe Mullen. My sole beef is that this is an event worn card as opposed to game worn (meaning it was likely from an old timers game as opposed to a game that counted in the standings). Still, I won't complain adding this to my collection.

It is always nice to see some 80s cards pop out of these. The Taylor was the oldest card in this repack.

And the most recent card was this fresh out of the pack card from 2014-15 MVP.

Surprise mini! Even better when it is a mini you don't have of a guy you collect! Probably my favourite card in this repack, ranking even over the Mullen hit.

The rest of the repack consisted of 12-13 UD, 13-14 Contenders and 13-14 Prizm. There were lots of mask binder candidates in there. Since I didn't buy much 12-13 flagship, opting instead to just grab a base set. So, it is nice to add a couple into my misc. "neat photo" collection. The Spezza was the only Senators card I got, and the Skinner is yet another addition to my Rangers alumni collection.

So, a good number of cards for my PC, including a mini. Definitely worth my $5.

2014 Adventures in Repacks: Part 48.2: More from thje Generic 100 card hanger

And here's the other side.

2001 Platinum Jim Thome - A nice start with this visible card.

1978 Topps Al Oliver
1978 Topps Tim Blackwell - I won't turn down any unexpected 70s cards.
2010 Topps Tyler Colvin
2010 Topps Tyler Colvin - Yay! Dupes!

1984 Topps Scott Sanderson
1982 Topps Dave Tobik
1983 Topps Bump Wills - Or a nice mix of cards from the 80s. Especially when one features the spectacular name of Bump.
Yankee Stad. Legacy - Wade Boggs
1990 Bowman Glenn Braggs
1990 Bowman Dave Winfield
1990 Bowman Jeff Ballard
1990 Topps Traded Wayne Edwards
1990 Topps Traded Storm Davis
1990 Topps Traded Steve Howard
2004 Certified Edwin Jackson

2000 Stad. Club Dave Nilsson - My favourite photo in this side of the repacked cards is a nice PATP shot.
1996 Donruss Chuck Finley

2001 Vintage Dodgers Rookies - One of my favourite names in baseball history with the Hiram Bocachica appearance.
2008 Topps Matt Tolbert
2008 Topps Rich Aurilia
2008 Topps Anibal Sanchez
2008 Topps Tim Lincecum
1992 Megacards Ruth - The Bambino - The Man
1989 Bazooka Tony Gwynn

1991 UD Winfield's 400th - And wrapping things up with a nice drawn card.

I'll just hit the highlights from the two packs.

The Topps cards produced a few interesting ones. A great photo choice on the gold parallel, an alternate uniform on a card that might have been my favourite Mets base card of 2012, along with an always-welcome mini.

But the 1989 Fleer worked out better than I'd expect for keepers.

A bat barrel. A batting tee. A pitcher batting (a pitcher in the AL, no less) and a turning two. I'm stunned by the fact I'm wowed by photo  choices in a pack of 1989 Fleer. But such is the beast that is a repack where you never really know where the amazing is going to come from.

2014 Adventures in Repacks: Part 48.1: Generic 100 card hanger

There's probably no better method for me to mark the days up to my second year of blogging about my love for cheap pack and repack busting with a bunch of repacks for the next few days. So, let's start with a 100 card pack (with the obligatory packs 0f '12 Update and '89 Fleer added as well). First up, the side without the packs.

2010 Topps Justin Morneau - Visible Cancon! Yay!
2012 Topps Javy Guerra
2012 Topps Peter Bourjos

1992 Ultra John Candeleria - I'm not sure why, but I love the design on the backs of these.

2012 Archives Lance Parrish - Wow. A short-print in a repack.
1989 Topps George Brett

1989 Topps Mets Leaders - Woo-HOO! A Mets card!
1992 Bowman Hal Morris - As usual, at least one card to set aside for TMM.
1992 UD Tom Nevers
1989 Topps Tim Laudner

1991 Topps Travis Fryman - Great horizontal card working with the photo.
1986 Donruss Ramon Romero
1992 Fleer Jerald Clark
1987 Topps Gary Pettis

1986 Donruss Ricky Horton - Another proof I've watched too much wrestling in my time. I wanted to type that name as Ricky Morton. If I had gotten card #271 in this set (Bob Gibson), that would have been really strange.

1996 Ultra Juan Guzman - WOO-HOO! A Blue Jays card!

1992 Fleer David Wells - And another

2003 MLB Showdown Brian Giles - Do these count as an oddball?
1986 Donruss Danny Jackson
1988 Donruss Dave Meads
1989 Donruss Don Carman
1990 Donruss Lance McCullers
1990 Donruss Dan Schatzeder
1990 Donruss Checklist
1990 Donruss Charlie Hayes
1990 Donruss Mike Gallego

1990 Donruss Julio Machado - Not even a Mets card can break the tedium of this 1990 Donruss run.
1990 Donruss Erik Hanson
1990 Topps Stickers Carlton Fisk
1990 Topps Stickers Don Mattingly
1990 Topps Stickers Bobby Thigpen

1990 Topps Stickers Steve Sax - "I heard some guy got killed in New York City and they never solved the case. But you wouldn't know anything about that now, would you, Steve?"
1990 Topps Stickers Lou Whitaker
1990 Topps Stickers Gary Gaetti
1988 Topps UK Paul Molitor
1988 Topps UK Robin Yount
1988 Topps UK Wade Boggs
1988 Topps UK Don Mattingly
1991 UD Todd Benzinger
1992 Premier Tim Naehring
1991 Premier Dave Winfield
1992 UD Scott Servais
1989 Topps Tony Pena
1992 UD Mike Simms

1992 UD Mike Remlinger - Not surprisingly, the most interesting photo in this half goes to a card from UD.
1989 Topps Don Robinson
1993 Donruss Hubie Brooks
1991 Glossy All-Star Len Dykstra
1991 Glossy All-Star Will Clark
1991 Glossy All-Star Andre Dawson
1990 Glossy All-Star Ryan Sandberg
1990 Glossy All-Star Ozzie Smith
1990 Glossy All-Star Rick Reuschel
1990 Glossy All-Star Ruben Sierra
1990 Glossy All-Star Tony LaRussa
1990 Glossy All-Star Mark McGwire
1990 Glossy All-Star Kirby Puckett

1990 Glossy All-Star Dave Stewart - WOO-HOO! This finishes this subset for me. One I built entirely through repacks. This card vanishes from my 10 Most Wanted list as well.
1990 Glossy All-Star Carl Yastrzemski
2010 Topps James Shields

Any time I can use a repack to remove a card from my most wanted list, that's a nice repack.

A Sportlots Mailday

The title says it all. 10 cards from sportlots, which put this seller at the level where shipping moves into the category I wasn't willing to pay shipping on.

Since it only counts as 2 cards, let's start with some set building. 2 down. 2 to go with completing 2014 Heritage. With 1 on the way in the Votto, only Pedro Alvarez remains outstanding as the last card to be slipped into the binder.

And the rest of this 10 card envelope was hockey!

Let's start with a quartet of Alfredssons. Nothing too special, but it fills up 4 sleeves in his binder.

Next up is a pair of interesting additions to my 2/14 collection. My 66th card of Gaborik might be the strangest of the bunch, as ITG gets around the lack of a pro license with a painted Gaborik from Heroes and Prospects. And a retro parallel of Brandon Sutter moves his total to 19.

I have no idea how Harold Snepsts managed to get himself on a base card in Artifacts. He's definitely not in the group of guys you'd imagine as being in this set. But I guess that's why I picked it up.

And finally, since I had room for one more card, I figured I'd look to see if there were any reasonably priced Gabriel Dumonts in this seller's inventory to send off to the Clubhouse. There weren't but I figure a card of a QMJHL goaltender, who only had cards from his time in junior would suffice as an odd addition when I next send a PWE.

Prime Random Break - Coyotes & Lightning

I entered myself in a random break of a case of 2013-14 Prime Hockey through mojobreak. There were 28 slots in the break, and I ended up with a combo slot for the teams that didn't have too many hits. One of the combo slots was the Coyotes and Lightning. I ended up with 3 hits total along with a pair of base cards. Probably above what I should have got in terms of volume, and also in terms of adding some gorgeous patches to my collection.

The only thing better than getting a nice hit from a random break is getting one that fits right into one of your PCs.  In this case - a Kitchener Rangers alumni. He only spent one season there, the 2007-08 one, but did average more than a point a game throughout that season and playoffs, contributing to their OHL Championship season. While I think I like the Al MacInnis autograph a little more, this one is easily the best relic in my Rangers alumni collection.

This is pretty nice looking with a great use of colour, but it doesn't even come close to the Boedker.

Only two cards for the Coyotes, but I can't complain about both being well done relics.

And now, for Tampa!

A pair of base cards numbered to /299 start it off. Ben is on his way to the mask binder. It really doesn't have enough numbered cards in it.

But, the best is saved for last.

Wow. I don't think there could be a more perfect design for a game used patch. Nope, not a manupatch at all. This beauty reads "game used" on the back. Plus, I think a manupatch would have been better centered on the card. Still, when my main complaint about the card is that some of the number is under the border, that's a great complaint to have.

I think this is the '9' from the '91' that appears on the front of the jersey. I think the ones on the arm would be too large. Plus, the '1' from the same set has already shown up on ebay, with a hint of the stitching from the '9' on the left of the card.

This card will be up for trade temporarily, since I know there are people that would love this card.

To pry it from my grasp, I'd really like at least one multi-coloured, similar sized and similarly low numbered Ottawa Senators patch, particularly an Erik Karlsson. If you want to purchase something on ebay to offer, let me know beforehand and I'll give you the yay or nay.

I'll probably wait until next week, then just put it up on ebay myself.

But there's still more! Like the Spectra break, this included a pair of Silver packs from the National.

I really like the Mattingly. Despite only being a one-colour hit, the Ventura was almost as thick as either of the two major hits from the Prime break. and exactly as thick as the Yandle/Murphy.

Breaking the Raptors in Spectra

Goodies from another break via mojobreak showed up today, completing a break that dates back to the National. I grabbed the Raptors in a case break of 2013-14 Spectra, and here's what I got!

Yup. That's it. It's nice. It is shiny. And it is limited to 65. So, at least I pulled a Raptors card from the break, thus making it not a complete whiff.

But, if you go hitless in one of their breaks, they'll throw in a hobby pack with the break.

While I didn't get a hit from this either, there were still a few notable cards for me.

Pulling a card for my 2/14 collection with the Hamilton, my Raptors collection with the Lowry, and my general "awesome card" collection with the Pettit. However, I might put this card in backwards, since this is what the back looks like.

I love the old school logo on a card. I've got a card of Elvin Hayes in backwards because it had the original Houston Rockets logo on it. This one will join it due to the great St. Louis Hawks logo. As I've said before with Panini - one thing they do well with veterans in sets is making the logo match the era, even if the team hasn't changed.

But wait! There's more!

Since this break coincided with the National, there were some national packs as part of the break. I ended up with a pair of silver packs, and a pair of "breaker" packs.

2 cards apiece in these. Kelvin Benjamin is having a pretty good training camp with the Panthers. Although they aren't numbered on-card, the soccer blue wave cards were limited to 55 each, as best I can tell via ebay. The Tom Brady is already set aside for TMM. Plus, since the event was in Cleveland, I love how "City of Cleveland" is added alongside name on the base of Michael Brantley. It is something that is done on the other players from Cleveland as well, such as Kyrie Irving and Johnny Manziel.

And the breaker's pack produced a pair of cards, both numbered to 5. Neither one is a huge name, but they're still nice bonuses.

So, 1 card of Lowry still ended up with a nice little stack.

Tomorrow, a lot fewer cards to choose from to show off.  5 cards from a random break of Prime where I got a Coyotes/Lightning combo slot, and 4 from another pair of National silver pack. But I will have hits tomorrow to show off, including one that hit a PC and that will become the best swatch in it, and a card that I can think of at least 3 people that would be interested in trading for as soon as they see it.

Patience!