1997 Topps Series 2

We're just hours away from the start of some college basketball tournament. For all the disinterested people out there, here's something that has nothing to do with basketball whatsoever. This is a pack of 1997 Topps that I got in a repack cube from some evil corporate giant store.

484 - Armando Benitez (I've only seen a few cards from this set and I haven't liked what I've seen. Upon further review, it's not the worst design I've ever seen, but it's certainly not great. I do like how the UV coating only extends to the borders of the picture frame and no further. The giant player names are pretty garish, though. And I always prefer it when cards show a player's position on the front.)
408 - Bill Pulsipher (Pulsipher made his way to the Cardinals minor league system but never got through it.)
409 - Jose Rosado (Another observation: these cards are extremely thin. They are thinner than any Topps set I've ever dealt with. I often complain internally that Topps cards these days are thin and frail, but I put this next to a 2009 card and it was noticeably skinnier. Flimsy.)

313 - C.J. Nitkowski (I'd never heard of the guy, but his name came scrolling across the bottom of the screen on ESPN awhile back in connection with Clemens/McNamee/etc. Apparently he plays in Korea now.)

SB15 - Rafael Palmeiro Season's Best Kings of Swing (Quite a shiny insert card we have here. Too bad it isn't someone more likeable.)
361 - Bobby Jones
311 - Rocky Coppinger

388 - Dennis Eckersley (I'm guessing a good number of baseball fans did not know that Eckersley pitched for the Cardinals. That's okay, though. It was a hazy time for me, too.)
302 - Wendell Magee Jr. (Let's pretend this player is important. His name sounds important.)
391 - Mark Carreon

419 - Jeff Blauser (Unusual for a Topps set - there's a photo on the back of each card.)

1997 Score Series 2

Continuing on in the "50 cent pack" series, here's a pack of 1997 Score Series 2. My interest in Score waned after 1991, so most of their sets from the the '90s are pretty unfamiliar to me.

367 - Orlando Miller
417 - Rich Becker
400 - Scott Erickson (On the back of the card, Erickson is credited with "nearly" taking his Orioles to the 1996 World Series. That's some feat for a guy with a 5.02 ERA, not to mention a plus-5.00 ERA in three of his previous four seasons. I just remember him as the guy who could never live up to his 20-win season in his second season of major league ball.)

500 - Andruw Jones Goin' Yard (Such a scrawny dude at that age. He had 5 career HRs at the time according to the back of the card.)
452 - Jim Eisenreich (Eisenreich was coming off a .361 season at age 37.)

337 - David Wells (Quite possibly one of the worst baseball card photos of all time.)

442 - Dave Justice (Awkward!)
386 - Armando Benitez

535 - Tony Gwynn True Grit (Grit is not a very tangible quantity in baseball. How does a front office determine what percentage of the payroll they should allocate to grit in a given season? What impact, truly, does grit have on a team's performance?)

475 - Jason Dickson Showcase Series (Sort of a poor man's chrome card on a 50 cent budget. I thought it might be a one-per-pack parallel, but some research indicates that these show up 1-in-7 packs.)

363 - Darryl Hamilton ("Hey guys, I'm here! I know I'm late, but does anyone still want to play some ball today? Guys?)

550 - Chase Common Checklist (I'm not really sure who Chase is. I think this is Mike Piazza.)

484 - Jose Guillen (A fresh faced rookie who would later fall in with the bad crowd.)
352 - Jeff Kent
404 - Cal Eldred (True story: My father's side of the family wanted to name me Eldred. Yikes.)
441 - Pat Rapp
482 - Brant Brown
362 - Jeff King

503 - Bernie Williams Goin' Yard (Bernie was coming off of a then-career high 29 HRs for the '96 champs.)

515 - Gary Sheffield Goin' Yard (The regular card backs have no photo and have a ton of tiny text. This subset features a photo on the back.)

Be strong, kids!

1997 Pinnacle Inside

1997 Pinnacle Inside... the first baseball card in a can. No really, they put a square pack of cards in a big round can. You'd think that a pack of cards rattling loose in a metal container would end up with trashed cards but surprisingly all the cans I've opened have had the cards come out looking minty fresh. That still doesn't answer the key question of "why the hell would you put baseball cards in a can that would be better used for creamed corn". Pinnacle did a lot of weird stuff in the '90s trying to distinguish themselves from the rest of the card manufacturers. Tins, dufex, large sized cards, that sort of thing. The idea behind cans was so cards could be sold at grocery stores stacked up on an endcap like soup or beans. Ok, stop laughing, that was really the idea. The thought behind it was that cans would deter theft, stop pack searching and would attract more eyeballs than a box in the candy display. Obviously theory and practice are two different things. I found a few cans cheap this weekend so I snagged one to open and a few for some player collectors I know. I don't think there's a hard core Juan Gonzalez collector out there (and if there is, I apologize) so Juan Gone was the one to get the can opener.

Yeah, I know. I really need to get a working camera. Maybe I'll get one for Festivus or an un-birthday present. Oooh but look!

First EVAR baseball card in a can!!!1 See I wasn't just bamboozlin' ya. Why it took so long I'll never know. Rectangular cards... round can... it's just intuitive, ya know? Ut oh... here's one of the drawbacks of steel packaging technology:

Tiiiiiiiiiiiiin CAN!
Rusted.

No more mint packaging for Juan. I wonder if cards have an expiration date? It's time to open this sucker. If you happen to find some of these beasts I recommend a side cutter can opener model for opening. Clean cut, no sharp edges and you can stack the lid back on top when you're done. ok here's the pack:

Yeah! Egger rookie! Edgar is in a group of players along with Andres Galarraga and Marquis Grissom who played only a short time with the Braves but I love 'em to death. (Not on the list). This is kind of a love it or hate it card design. It's got three photos pf the player on the card, but it's REALLY busy in a mid '90s kind of way. The foil name is actually pretty readable, but the huge Inside logo on the top right stabs a lot of players right in the head. There are no stats on the back, but there are some cool Studio-style factoids about the player. I'm going to pick out one of these factoids for each of the players in the set. Here's the back of Edgar's card so you can see what I mean:


140 Edgar Renteria rookie
Highlight: 22-game hit streak in '96

104 Rondell White
Mannerism: Big stride as he swings

17 Rafael Palmeiro
Charities: Chairman of Juvenile Diabetes "Walk for a Cure"

What kind of Orioles cap is this?? That thing is awesome!

50 Dean Palmer
Character: Quiet, steady presence on field and in clubhouse

103 Shane Reynolds
First Name: Richard

1 David Cone
Fans: Wear "cone heads" in stands

72 Jim Thome
Style: Wears socks above calves

123 Curtis Pride
Oddity: Fifth deaf major leaguer in history

90 Carlos Delgado
'93 Southern League MVP

Another hat aside: Carlos must be really, really patriotic to risk having his hat getting accidentally stapled to his head because of an errant line drive. I think that's a flag pin of Puerto Rico, but it's too small to tell.

137 Robin Jennings rookie
Born: Singapore

Ok pack. No shiny cards, but a couple of stars and an Edgar rookie. Curtis Pride is a cool card to have as well. Now I need to figure out what to do with the Gonzalez can. Pencil holder? Recycle? Kick it down the street until the neighbors yell at me? I think I'll save pennies inside it until I have enough money for another can of cards.

1997 Stadium Club Baseball Series 2

As far as sets go, 1997 Stadium Club isn't very significant. The design is solid with the brand's trademark great photography but there's little that pops out and makes you go, "Wow!" But that's the "big hit" mindset speaking. As far as set-building goes, it still wallows in the "Eh!" range. Spread over two series, the checklist tops out at only 395 cards - fine for a single-series release but too small for a double dip.



If the set as a whole is bland, then Series 2 on its own is even weaker. The base set checklist offers only a handful of HOFers or future HOFers like Maddux, Boggs, Gwynn, Sandberg and Guerrero. There's no rookies to be had. Not a single one.



How's that for a stellar introduction. I know I'd want to take the stage after that one. Time to tear in.

321. Robb Nen - One of the dominant closers for the era. Pictured in a solid action shot, albeit one that's been done many times over.

214. Greg Vaughn - Never lived up to the hype, although when he was on his game Vaughn was quite the slugger.

228. Alex Fernandez - Another over-hyped prospect from the same time. Injuries'll get ya' every time. But at least he gave us this boring posed portrait.

350. John Vander Wal - Bor...Wait a second, what's that I see in the top corner? Let's zoom in for a closer look.

 

This is what I loved about Stadium Club. There's a lot of good action shots out there on cards. But how many tell a story? This one's all about the fans. The kiddies have a "Holy, cow I might get a ball." fear about them. The lady, well I think she's yelling something else I won't write here. And Mr. Sunglasses Around the Neck, I can't see the face but the hands flung up in the air make me think you're on the verge of peeing them there shorts. Classic stuff.

381. Gary Sheffield - Stadium Slugger - This is definitely the pack for the Marlins fans out there. Eleven years ago this would have been a sweet pack seeing as how the Fish would go on to win the World Series then proceed to be dismantled. The Stadium Slugger subset is the easy-to-find shortprint subset in the series.

So far it's all National Leaguers. But not so fast

200. Ivan Rodriguez - Nice action shot, poor framing. I'm wanting to see more of the play rather than the field.

369. Mark Loretta - Trivia tidbit from the back of the card for all you Loretta stalkers - "Swatted .356 after the sixth inning" [presumably in 1996]. Give the stats guy a raise.

334. Mark Langston - Man the Angels have changed their official name in the last decade. Take a peek on your 2008 Upper Deck cards. They're simply referred to as the Angels.

357. Orel Hershiser is a classy guy.

Well the melodramatics of the Vander Wal saved this pack from being a routine mix of great photos, solid design and boring most everything else for Stadium Club. Hopefully the remaining couple of packs I have sitting here will be a little better.

The Dirty Dozen: 1997 Score Series Two Hobby Reserve

Two more packs to go in the Dirty Dozen, and the penultimate pack is one of my favorites: 1997 Score Series Two Hobby Reserve.

For an explanation of what "Hobby Reserve" is, and why it differs from regular ol' '97 Score, check out this pack I ripped from the 20-for-$40.

Base:
Ken Griffey, Jr. (Checklist)
Erik Hanson
Tim Salmon (Goin' Yard)
John C3PO-lerud

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kevin Mitchell
Benji Gil
Brant Brown (Rookie)
Jeff King
Bruce Ruffin
Bernie Williams (GY)
Rick Helling
Darren Lewis
Gary DiSarcina
Gerald Williams

Parallels:
Showcase Series (1:5) NOE-MAH!!!! (RC)

The Dirty Dozen: 1997 Finest Series Two

Not only did I choose one, I chose a dozen different junk waxpacks. All of them from 1997-99, and all of them for only $1/each.

But will they make me "better feeling?" That is the question.

First pack is 1997 Finest Series Two. This was the second (and thankfully) last year Finest was configured in it's multi-fractured, multi-subset format. The 175-card base set was divided into 100 "Commons" (or "Bronze" as they more commonly known), 50 "Uncommons" (Silver), and 25 "Rares" (Gold). The Silvers and Golds were short-printed and seeded into packs at the rate of 1:4 and 1:24 respectively, with refractors inserted at the rate of 1:12, 1:48 and 1:288.

The set is divided further into five different subsets, each with their own distinct design: Acquisitions (players who had changed teams), Masters (superstar players), Blue Chips (rookies), Power (power pitchers and power hitters), and Competitors (who compete, or something).

Like I did in the 20-for-$40 pack bust, in lieu of commentary, I'm just going to re-print the copy on the back of each card.

Base:
(All are Bronze)

Dean Palmer
COMPETITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS "At the plate: An already-productive hitter, Palmer outdid himself in1996 with a career-best 38 HR's and 107 RBI. In the field: His reliability and range improve every year at third, where he led the American League with 135 starts in '96."

Jim Leyritz
ACQUIRING TASTES "A valued utility player for the 1996 Yankees -- and a hero of their World Series win -- Leyritz offers the Angels a dangers bat and skills at catcher, first base, thrid base and left field. He hits for power against righties and lefties."

David Justice
ACQUIRING TASTES "After a 40-game 1996 season (thanks to shoulder surgery) in Atlanta, Justice arrives in Cleveland healthy and eager to join its revamped outfield corps. In a lineup looking for a lefty bat, he is penciled in for 20+ homers and 100+ RBI."

Ismael Valdez
POWER POINTS "Whiffed six or more batters 18 times, and seven or more 15 times, in 33 starts of 1996 ... Reached the seventh inning in 82% of his appearances ... Owns career high of 11 SO's (8/16/95) ... Had '96 season high of 10 on 4/24 versus Houston."

Walt Weiss
COMPETITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS "At the plate: Weiss is a bat control artist, selective hitter and tough out. In the field: He has committed more tham 19 errors at SS only once in a decade. On the basepaths: Maximizing average speed, he was 27-for-32 in SB's, 1995-96."

Jeff Cirillo
COMPETITVE CONTRIBUTIONS "At the plate: Cirillo, once lightly regarded, is now an XBH machine and reigns as club's single-season record holder for RBI (83) by a third baseman. In the field: He has outstanding range and one of the better hot corner arms in the game."

Did this pack make me better feeling? Not yet.

I should bust some more, shouldn't I?

The 20 for $40 re-wrap: 1997 Score Series Two Hobby Reserve

1997 Score Series Two Hobby Reserve. That's a mouthful, huh?

So what the hell is this "Hobby Reserve" anyway?

In 1997 Pinnacle Brands reconfigured their base brand Score into two separate, but similar, sets: The retail-exclusive Score, and Hobby Reserve -- which as the name suggests, was Hobby only.

Hobby Reserve is a "parallel brand," similar in concept to Bowman Chrome. Hobby Reserve has the same design as retail Score, and the same 551-card checklist. The only difference was that Hobby Reserve -- known as "Premium Stock" in the first series -- was printed on thicker card stock and hit with a gold foil stamp. There were also inserts that were exclusive to each pack type.

(Sorry, no video today.)

Base

One thing that rocked about mid-90s Score, was that the reverse sides were chock-full of text and stats. (They had fielding stats, for Christ's sake!) To share with you the awesomeness of 1997 Score's backs, here are the reverse sides of each card.

Roberto Kelly
"Roberto delivered a .323 average in his first season with the Twins. A one-time 20-20 man who's been an All-Star in both leagues, Roberto first reached the majors with the '87 Yankees after establishing a reputation as a minor-league speed merchant. After stealing 51 bases for AAA Columbus, he produced a 42-steal season in the Bronx. He's played for five teams since."

Terry Steinbach
"Terry set an AL record last season with 34 home runs as a catcher. He also became the first Athletics' catcher with 100 RBI since Mickey Cochrane in 1932. With 35 homers last year, Terry more than doubled his previous best in that department. He batted .308 with runners in scoring position and .450 with the bases loaded, increasing his career mark in that category to .369."

Mariano Rivera (Rock and Fire)
"Mariano allowed just a .189 BA and 9.1 baserunners per nine innings in 1996, earning the closer's role in New York with John Wetteland's departure."

Ivan Rodriguez (True Grit)
"Pudge led the AL in innings caught (1,222.2) and threw out a career-best 49 percent of baserunners in '96 to win his fifth consecutive Gold Glove. Still just 25, he's still improving, particularly offensively. He also had career bests with 19 homers and 86 RBI last season."

Bubba Trammell (Rookie)
"Bubba, who led Tennessee to an SEC championship as a senior in '94, could be the next great Trammell in the Tigers' lineup. He batted .316 with 33 HR and 99 RBI between Double-A Jacksonville and Triple-A Toledo in '96 and was named the Best Power Prospect in the Southern League in Baseball America's annual managers poll. He was an 11th-round pick in '94 and his exceptional power surfaced with Class-A Lakeland in 1995 when he drilled 16 homers. Already 25, the Tigers took a long look at him this spring and he impressed them with his power and patience. In addition to batting .304 with three homers and 17 RBI, he also drew a team-leading 14 walks in the Grapefruit League."

Graeme Lloyd
"Graeme, a 6-foot-7, left-handed throwing Aussie with a big, rainbow curveball, won the hearts of Yankees fans the hard way in 1996. He started off with a rocky West Coast road trip after the August 23 trade that brought him from Milwaukee and finished up with clutch, late-inning effectiveness in the postseason for the World Series champions. Graeme is the kind of pitcher managers like to use in late innings to get one or two left-handed batters out. Over his career, he's been most effective against left-handers (.221 BA) and although he can be used often, he's noticeably better with at least one day of rest between appearances."

Randy Johnson (R&F)
"Randy is a terrifying sight to hitters with his 6' 10" frame and 100-mph heat. The Mariners have won 38 of the last 43 games the `Big Unit' has started."

Dave Martinez
"Because his average has risen three years in a row, Dave reached a personal peak in games played last summer (146). Highly-regarded for his defensive skills, Dave plays all three outfield positions and first base. He's even made two mop-up pitching appearances. Dave began his career after the Cubs drafted him off the campus of Valencia (Fla.) Community College."

Scott Rolen (RC)
"After streaking through the upper minors last season, Scott was practically handed the starting third-base job in Philadelphia. Baseball America later named him the club's top prospect, while Eastern League pilots picked him as the No. 2 prospect and best third baseman in that Double-A circuit. He made his big-league bow August 1 and hit his first homer vs. Hideo Nomo during a two-homer game Aug. 21. He had two three-hit games, a four-RBI game, and a .325 average in his first 23 NL contests. Scott still qualifies as a rookie because he did not exceed 130 at-bats. (Ed. Note: He had exactly 130 ABs in 1996) He was the Phillies' second-round amateur draft choice in June 1993."

Glendon Rusch (RC)
"Some prospects need adjustment time as they move from level to level. Not Glendon. A 17th-round draft in June 1993 out of a Seattle high school, he overmatched the competition at every level on the way to Kansas City this year, where in his MLB debut on April 6 he allowed just four hits in eight innings, retiring 19 consecutive Twins in one stretch. He first caused a stir in 1994 with only a two-out, seventh-inning walk kept him from throwing a perfect game against Kane County in the Class-A Midwest League. He skipped Double-A ball last season and posted an 11-9 record for Triple-A Omaha in the American Association, whose managers rated him the league's best pitching prospect in Baseball America's midseason poll."

Edgardo Alfonzo
"Edgar started at three different positions for the 1996 Mets: 56 times at second, 21 at third, and eight at shortstop, his original spot. He knocked in six runs in five games from July 23-29. He's had a four-RBI game and two four-hit games during his two-year career in the majors. Edgardo's first big-league homer was an inside-the-park shot vs. Cincinnati's Matt Grott on May 6, 1995. Always considered a good hitter, Edgardo hit .312 over his final 44 games last season. He then hit .340 in the Venezuelan Winter League. He was second in both the league batting chase and its MVP voting. He was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 1991."

Ryan Klesko(TG)
"Ryan, who turned 26 in June, got 500-plus at-bats for the first time last season and led the NL champions with 34 homers while placing third on the team with 93 RBI. A power specialist, he sits on fastballs and gets plenty of loft in his swing."

Rusty Greer (TG)
"Rusty has endeared himself to Texas fans with his competitive nature, clutch hitting and diving catches. He also hits left-handers almost as well as he does right-handers, against whom he batted a sixth-in-the-AL .337 in '96."

Norm Charlton
"Norm led the '96 Mariners in saves (20) and games finished (50) while working a career-high 70 times. He ranked second on Seattle's lifetime saves list (52) when the 1997 campaign opened. He's especially tough on left-handed hitters, who managed a .187 average against him last year. IN his final 23 games of the '96 season, Norm posted a 1.63 ERA. An All-American at Rice, he graduated with a triple major in political science, religion, and physical education."

Ariel Prieto
"The Athletics were encouraged by Ariel's strong finish last fall. While splitting eight decisions over his final 12 starts, the hard-throwing Havana native held hitters to a .248 batting average and recorded a compact 3.08 ERA. The former first-round draft choice (1995) is best in the clutch: with two outs and runners in scoring position last year, he held AL hitters to a .170 average. A member of the Cuban National Team from 1990-94, Ariel had a 20-strikeout game, an 11-0 mark in international play, and a nine-inning average of 9.3 strikeouts, third best in Cuban history. He holds a physical education degree from Cuba's Fajardo University."

Toys R' Us Variety Box

This morning after coaching a 4th/5th grade soccer game, I headed out to Toys R' Us in search of some material for the blog. I'm excited to report that I did not come away disappointed. Actually, they had a very large selection of "Championship Collection" wax pack boxes.

Ten packs, ten bucks, plus a "Free Bonus in Every Box." Awesome, this will keep me going for the next few weeks. All I had to do was steer clear of the store's Geoffrey the Giraffe's Birthday Party Parade that commenced literally the very second I entered the establishment.

What you get from a box like this is a bunch of old wax that appears to be hot glued to central cardboard structure. Really, you have to yank pretty hard to remove each pack. Let's take a look at what else was inside.

Ooh, a Vince Carter Upper Deck mini-Card Clip, featuring his 2000-01 UD MVP card inside a clear plastic holder and attached to a key clip. The suggestions for use on the rear of the packaging is the best part, one of them being, "Hang it from a belt loop." Yes. I will do this.

Also inside were four clear-wrapped packs of either 1998 Score or 1997 Pinnacle Zenith baseball cards. These were all incredibly warped and stuck together. I'm having a hard time even considering them a vital part of the box, so I won't even list who I got here.

Shoot, I changed my mind. There were too many blasts form the past and players wearing unfamiliar uniforms not to comment.

Score Pack #1:
191 Shannon Stewart
169 Bobby Estrella
97 Bobby Bonilla
82 Ryan Klesko
117 Steve Finley

212 Fred McGriff (How can you argue with pulling a Crime Dog? Today is going to be a very pretty day!)
228 Chan Ho Park
74 David Ortiz (Sweet pull of an early card.)
190 Will Clark
49 Ken Caminiti (You can actually tell from his picture that his testicles have retracted several inches into his body cavity.)

Score Pack #2:
102 Brian Rose
157 John Smoltz
133 Rondell White
86 Robin Ventura
118 Jose Canseco (In a Blue Jays uni!)

263 Mike Piazza Spring Training (Looking like a Randy "Macho Man" Savage wannabe.)
265 Scott Rolen Spring Training
154 Shawn Estes (In what is apparently both halves of a Sportflics photograph.)
132 Bob Abreu (Bob?)
39 Larry Walker(Probably biggest stick in the game at time of printing.)

Zenith Pack #1:
6 Mike Piazza
8 Greg Maddux (I get a Maddux in every effing pack! Jiminy Christmas! What did I do to deserve this?)
27 Javier Lopez
38 Jay Buhner
29 Gary Sheffield

Zenith Pack #2:

20 Ken Griffey, Jr. (Awesome shot!)
2 Tony Gwynn (Classy pic for a classy guy.)
49 Scott Rolen
41 Mo Vaughn (What in the world happened to this guy? For a few years there, he could do no wrong. He would regularly hit 40-plus HRs, bat in a ton of runs, save kittens from trees, deliver babies for mothers stuck in elevators, and cure entire Third-World villages with some very strong medicine. Then...he was just gone.)
19 Roger Clemens (You heard it here first: He goes into the Hall as a Blue Jay.)

Not a bad way to kick off the box. Can't wait for the rest!