2016 Adventures in Repacks: Part 21.1 - A New (to me) Repack at Wally World

And of course, I must try it out. These were the packs contained within:

1997 Collector's Choice * 3
1997 Priority
2002 Archives (!)
2006 Beehive
2006 Ultra
2006 MVP * 2
2006 Upper Deck
2007 Victory
2007 MVP * 2
2007 Ultra
2007 O-Pee-Chee
2008 O-Pee-Chee * 2

For those inept at math, that's actually 17 packs. 18, if you count the penny sleeve housing the two relic cards.

Nothing too recent, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm not sure if I'll cover this box with 4-5 straight posts or break them up, but today is as good a day as any to start these. And I'll start with the MVP.

While I'm not a fan of the border intensive sets, I do find the packaging interesting since these two are facing off in the finals. And it gets the sets that are the least interesting to me out of the way in the first post.

The Thornton packaging is 2006-07, the Crosby is 2007-08. And you're getting right into my problem with many of the MVP releases. Too much border to go with a tightly cropped photo. At least the promised rookie card is of someone still active in the league. A couple of mask binder cards are the other highlights here.

No insert. No rookie. But an extra base card. So, the packaging might not be as accurate as one would expect. At least I got a Sens card from the MVP packs.

And now onto the 2007 packs of MVP. A slight change in the design of the photo frame, but I still found myself checking and double checking to make sure I got the right year on this. You really shouldn't have to do that with sets in consecutive years. The highlights here are the throwback Leafs logo, and my learning that Glen Wesley was still playing in 2007.

The second pack was a little more interesting at least, for good reasons (Rangers alum Andrew Peters and the Chicago version of Lalime's Marvin the Martian mask), and bad reasons (Owen Nolan dupes in the same pack)

At least these are done with.

When is a Dupe not a Dupe?

When it fits into two of my PCs! Aka: a trade with Waxaholic.

The main purpose of this trade on my end was to complete my Series 2 of Upper Deck's 15-16 base set. And I did, putting the finishing touches on it. I do need to highlight some of the photographs in the set that were included, and it was the Colorado Avalanche that came up as winners.

While their third jerseys made an appearance in this set on a couple other cards, this is the first one where we get a really good look at it. The shoulder white portion might be a little too big, but they look really nice on the card, with a sorta throwback to the original Rockies logo. And we also see the obligatory warm up puck pyramid collapse as well. But that third jersey makes me hope that Landeskog and Boedker make appearances in them for 2016 and I can add them to my Rangers alum collection.

Since I included a team set of the 2016 Gypsy Queen Toronto Blue Jays in the envelope, there were a few bonuses heading my way as well.

Some Platinum base cards.

Hey, it is my first card out of 2015 Contours. A new Karlsson card is always welcome, especially a numbered parallel.

And the card that inspired the title of this post. This autograph of Mike Hoffman. Mike really came out of nowhere as a 5th round draft pick to have a great season in 2014-15, and finally picked up his Upper Deck base card this season (although he had previous Panini releases). He also didn't have any relic hits until this season, and this might be his first certified NHL autograph. So, this is a welcome addition to my Sens collection.

And less than 12 hours before opening the envelope, I'd picked up one of these on ebay.

The good news is that Mike Hoffman is also a Kitchener Rangers alum (to the tune of 7 games). So, that one will find a home in a second binder.

Meaning that its dupe status is irrelevant.

The Raptors Might be Done for the Season

But instead of being two years away from being 2 years away, Bruno Caboclo is now just two years away.

Me, and a $15 for a Dozen box

The title says it all here. I hit the local show earlier today, and took the opportunity to make some additions to my collection(s) through a box that cost me $15 for a dozen cards. The box had relics, autos, and rookie cards, and I managed to add to a several PCs through there.

I also spotted some cards for other people's PCs, but as usual you'll have to wait for them to show up at their blogs.

I'm always looking to add new Senators cards, especially ones of new players. This card featured the NHL cardboard debut of Ryan Dzindel, sharing it with two other players. This is also Carpenter's first card, and I'm guessing he's the first NHLer born in Oviedo, FL to reach the NHL. Despite that, Oviedo's wikipedia article doesn't think he's notable enough to be on their page.

One Sens card deserves another. It's just a one-colour relic, but I still can't pass on adding it to my team collection at the price it was.

I love designs that incorporate a cityscape into them. So, that means I can't pass on this nice, sunny card of Tomas Hertl. This card has a slight foil to the background, but it still scans perfectly.

There didn't need to be a relic attached to this card for me to pick it up for my mask binder. Ullmark's Minion mask might be favourite new one from this season, and their colours work perfectly with the team colours of Buffalo. And I just love cartoon themed masks over the more common ones that look like rejected album covers for some Swedish death metal band.

A lot simpler design here, but still a nice hit for the binder.

Can you ever go wrong adding a swatch with Nordiques blue to your collection?

Kitchener Rangers alumni hit!

Kitchener Rangers alumni Young Gun! And when the player is a legitimate contender for the worst autograph in hockey, if not all of sports, this is a far better option as a chase card.

Sometimes you just come across an auto in a bin, and think "That's a pretty decent name who doesn't have too many autos available." And you put it into your purchase pile.

2/14 hit! This puts Milan Hejduk at a palindromic 111 in total cards in the binder.

There wasn't just hockey in the box, since I also picked up a Drew Bledsoe hit for that portion of the binder as well. This is card #32 for him.

And to reach the dirty dozen, a Mets autograph! I don't quite care that William Santamaria never made it past A-Ball, it is still a Mets autograph for that collection, and a truly great name.

But wait, there's more!

I also spotted a small box with some well-loved late 70s cards in it for a dime each. Why not?

"As of 11-15-78, unsigned free agent" That's something you don't see a lot of on cards. And now you also know when the 78-79 OPC  went to press. Interestingly, he didn't play that season, but was active with the Jets next season. He got a card pictured as a Jet that season. Then for 1980-81, he was back pictured as an Islanders, but with the OPC classic "Now With Jets" text on it.

There is probably a story there. Even if it is OPC incompetence.

It really doesn't matter how well-loved they are, how can I pass on 1979s of Mikita and Cheevers for a dime each?

And two Kitchener Rangers alum end this small acquisition of beloved vintage cards.

But I couldn't wrap this up without showing the great cartoon on the back of Walt's card.

Avoiding the Plain White Swatch

I generally buy into the "a hit is a hit" philosophy of relic cards. If the card has a nice design, or it falls into one of my PCs, I'm not going to complain about the blandness of a swatch. But, sometimes it can be fun to get a relic that is somewhat unique to a team. In the past, I've hunted down a Nashville Predators swatch from one of their mustard uniforms. Now, three more from specific uniforms.

The gold uniform of the Sacramento Kings seems to make a lot of lists of the worst uniforms in NBA history. Which means that since it was the base colour for a uniform, and finding a relic with it couldn't be too hard or too expensive. And I got it for $1 at COMC.

The (now North Bay) Brampton Battalion of the OHL might be the only franchise in sports to use military green. And I've got one. This one has been sitting in my COMC "to be posted" bin since Black Friday. 2014. Slacking! Jeff Bateman never did reach the NHL, but hockeydb lists him as playing for a team called the Lexington Man O'War.

While the gold Kings unis do not get much love, the light blue Chargers variations do. So, I had to have one. This one of Shawne Merriman was the cheapest I could find, even though I have to ignore the cheesy '2' window as part of the 'Ticket 2 Stardom' subset.

And he did have a cup of coffee with the Bills, so that's a second reason to justify this purchase.

Anatomy of a Complete Parallel Set - Part 4

Time to finish this up.

151 Cecil Fielder - The starting card of the final 1/4 of the set.

152 Lou Whitaker

153 Alan Trammell - I really like how the dirt of the infield flows between these two cards, despite one being at 2nd base and the other being at home plate.
154 Kirk Gibson
155 Cecil Fielder
156 Bobby Higginson
157 Kevin Appier
158 Wally Joyner
159 Jeff Montgomery
160 Kevin Appier

161 Gary Gaetti

162 Greg Gagne - Your official derp face card of the set.
163 Ricky Bones

164 Greg Vaughn - I always love the more casual photos as opposed to generic action photos in a set.
165 Kevin Seitzer

166 Ricky Bones - It probably says a lot about the mid 90s Brewers when they only have 4 cards in the set (tied w/ the Pirates), and two of them are devoted to Ricky Bones. But, he is a Mets coach now, so I don't mind too much.
167 Kirby Puckett
168 Pedro Munoz

169 Chuck Knoblauch - This is likely the most obvious BP photo in the set.

170 Kirby Puckett - And more infield dirt.
171 Don Mattingly
172 Wade Boggs
173 Paul O'Neill
174 John Wetteland
175 Don Mattingly

176 Jack McDowell - I'd completely blanked on McDowell's time with the Yankees (one season).

177 Mark McGwire - Celebratory photos aren't as intense in baseball as they are in hockey sets for anything but walk-offs, but they're still nice to see.

178 Rickey Henderson - There are not a lot of card photos where it appears that the player featured is caught in a run-down, but here you are!
179 Terry Steinbach
180 Ruben Sierra
181 Mark McGwire
182 Dennis Eckersley
183 Ken Griffey, Jr.
184 Alex Rodriguez

185 Ken Griffey, Jr. - Such a great casual pre-game photo.
186 Randy Johnson
187 Jay Buhner

188 Edgar Martinez - Speaking of things you do not see much of in card photos, howzabout a hatless in-game photo?
189 Will Clark
190 Juan Gonzalez

191 Benji Gil - More base-circling celebration.
192 Ivan Rodriguez
193 Kenny Rogers
194 Will Clark

195 Paul Molitor - And to end this set, the Blue Jays team portion.
196 Roberto Alomar
197 David Cone
198 Paul Molitor
199 Shawn Green
200 Joe Carter

And there you have it. Getting this complete parallel set was easily the highlight of the $15 3200 count box from the Expo. And I still haven't got to the 1995 Collectors Choice silver signature cards.

One Card Only: Trying the COMC mailbox

I picked up the Raptors in a case break of Luxe. Looking to save on shipping, I decided to have any pulls shipped to my COMC mailbox.

And I nailed a nice looking auto.

It is a little hard to tell from the scan, but this is a thick framed card, the first framed one in my collection. Carroll hasn't been as effective this round as in the previous ones, but there is no way they're still playing at this point without him.

I suppose I could have waited until I hit ship on the order to post this, but I'm pretty doped up at codeine at this time and am in the mood to post but too lazy to scan anything.

2016 Adventures in Repacks: Part 20 - Surprising Again

It has been more than two weeks since I busted a Dollarama Surprise Bag, so here goes nothing!

3 card pack items (I don't recall ever finding Donruss in them) and a container to hold them while I took my sweet time posting it.

The 90s pack dropped from 8 cards to 6, but still contained the expected junk wax mainstays. Eh, maybe the Young Superstars of Glen Wesley isn't quite a mainstay, but the others certainly are.

Even though they are common, I still have to show off the back of the 1993 Leaf.

At least one of the non rookie cards in the rookie repack taught me that Patrick Flatley ran(?) a bakery/deli in Chicago.

The base from the Donruss pack. The mask binder cards are dupes, but at least I got some bonus base cards for some of my trading partners.

But I did get one of these acetate inserts. Of which Dennis @ Too Many Manninghams picked up the complete insert set in one of our many trades.

So, not the best repack. Best card for me was probably the Flatley from Pinnacle. At least these are cheap.