2009 Icons Box Break

These are the cards from the box of 2009 Icons I posted about last month. This was a lot of fun to open and getting the Ozzie and Markakis cards made it even better. Everything else is up for trade!

First – The Numbered Cards (all numbered to 999)



The Relics


The Lettermen (20/40 and 1/35)


The Auto (80 of 199)

2009 Donruss Americana

I did a pack break of packs I won playing a dice game at last month’s Flea Market. I also won a blaster of 2009 Donruss Americana that my mom and I opened when we got home. I really didn’t want the box and hoped for a baseball blaster but the man at the booth thought I’d like it. I didn’t really like the cards but I did like this card:

John Wayne Relic numbered 33 of 500


I don’t really know who he is but the adults thought it was pretty cool.

Orlando Box Break: 2009 UD Icons

We're home now but here's the last box from Orlando. We gave this box to Dad for Father's Day and he let me open it while we were on vacation. Good box with a Markakis auto and Ozzie Letter Patch.

Dad - Scans when I get back to the office.

2009 Signature Stars Box Break

My dad found a box of this on sale and gave it to me because he lost our bet. He bet me I couldn’t get to 500 reading counts points this year. The previous Third Grade record in my school was 300. I made it all the way to 513 points. Only two sixth graders had more points than me and they were over 600.

This was a bad box: two USA jersey cards, one USA jersey + auto (a repeat player!) and one average MLB auto. At least there were lots of Cardinals and a Lincecum and Markakis.

Trever Bauer and Chad Bettis jersey cards


Chad Bettis (again!) Jersey Autograph


Matt Tolbert Autograph


These are all up for trade.

Lucky Pack Break

Our favorite hobby shop moved last week but my dad took me to the new location yesterday for supplies and a few packs. He didn't have as many packs but I picked up a 2011 Topps Pro Debut, a 2011 Bowman,  and a 2010 Upper Deck Series 1. The new location is also close to a coin shop that sells cards so we stopped there on the way home. The owner is nice and discounts older packs. I got a 2009 Piece of History, a 2009 Icons, and a 2009 Goudey.

Here's the pack break:

2009 Nick Markakis Upper Deck Ultimate Autograph

Here is another Nick Markakis card. It is my only Nick Markakis autograph and its even numbered 10 out of 39! I got this from a group break that my dad signed us up for last year.

Winter Warm Up 2011–Day 2 (The Packs)

My dad let me get more packs to open while standing in line and a few packs to open during dinner that night. The Cardinals had a souvenir booth and had packs on sale. Dad said they were expensive (Dad: Didn't realize they were selling all packs for $2 and $3 instead of the 500000% markup on the stadium price tags.)and were retail packs so I probably wouldn’t be as lucky as the day before. He was so wrong!
From the Retail Packs during the day. They also had 2009 Cereal Boxes for $6! We bought the last one but didn’t get much. The X packs were cool – a Peavy jersey card and some cards for my favorite players binder.

And back to the Hobby Packs at night. Two autos from the Astros and Cubs. Boo!

Crazy Eight

Isaac turns eight today! In honor of this momentous occasion, Isaac opened eight random packs of UD Signature, Topps 2009 U&H, and 2009 T206 during breakfast this morning. Out of those packs, he pulled these… in addition to a few Cardinals. Chicle packs to come later.

How’s that to start the Birthday!

A Few For The Mini Binder

 
Never really got too excited about the Goodwin set or its corresonding mini’s. We’ve picked up a few of the Cardinal mini’s here and there. The black bordered versions are nice but the Gypsy Queen back looks unfinished.to me. A little bit of everything in this one. One for Ikes Cardinal HOF binder, one for his favorite players binder, and two for the random mini binder.

UD Ultimate Break

I don't normally participate in box breaks but decided to take a flyer on a small 2009 Upper Deck Ultimate break. I was hoping to snag some sweet Cardinals for Ike but got the Orioles and Tigers via the randomizer. Luckily, the O's came through and I now have a nice auto of one of Isaac's favorite players... either for a 2010 Dad Pack or for his 8th Bday in May.



I probably could have gotten this for less than the $30 I paid for the break but glad I got *something* Isaac will like. I also got base cards of Miguel Cabrera and Brad Bergesen if any one is interested.

T206 Pujols Mini SP

I can’t remember who mentioned how to check for the mini SP’s by stacking them up and looking for the white card stock (probably dayf?) but we tried it and found two including this Pujols… almost like Christmas.

Straggler Packs

What do you do when you see the last few packs in the box? Do you impulsively pick them up even if they weren’t on your radar? I’m guilty. I pick them up knowing that they’re just like any other pack in the box but I can’t resist the urge to empty that box out *just in case* something in those packs are special. I’ve been lucky enough to perpetuate the myth and did so again last night. I stopped by the hobby shop to pick up a 10 pack of tobacco top loaders & sleeves and four, count ‘em – four, binder pages for a few oddball cards Isaac and I have picked up recently. Total expected cost: $2.50. At the counter, I spy two last packs in the T206 box and one pack in the Ginter box instinctively grab them and instantly more than quadruple my bill. Once again, nothing fancy but enough to perpetuate the impulse.

Cy Young SP Piedmont Mini

The second card didn't scan well at all but was a Conor Jackson x/ 10 silk card!

Run The Bases

We surprised Isaac with the first of seven games under our modest season ticket package last Sunday, April 12. It was part of the Cardinals week long Opening Day festivities with a special slant for the younger fans. Fans 15 years old or younger received a regular sized Ryan Ludwick “Big Stick” bat and were invited to run the bases after the game. Surprisingly, they handed the bats out BEFORE the game and not afterwards. Good thing that Loshe pitched a three hitter and there were no bad calls. Can you imagine hundreds of bats being thrown onto the field after a bad call? Yikes!

The Bat. DVD included as a frame of reference for actual size… and as a symbol of what might be in 2009.

 

The view the Clydesdales have as they trot onto the field in the right field corner.

Isaac’s little sister as she high five’s Fredbird at first base. That’s Isaac’s hand on the left.

Scoreboard. I didn’t get a good shot of it but MLB parks are displaying the player picture and stats on the scoreboard using the Topps flagship design just like last year.

Our seats are in the right field corner, field level, right at the fair pole: two seats in foul territory, two seats in fair territory. Here’s the reverse view of everyone’s favorite Pujols baseball card picture. This was taken in the first inning. Matsui singled on the first pitch of the game. He would be the Astro’s only base runner until the 9th inning. Absent that hit, Loshe would have had a perfect game going into the Ninth!

The Streak Continues…

Another two Quik Trip packs over lunch, another pair of winners… at least if you’re a Cardinal fan.

16 – Chris Perez. 2008 Closer-In-Waiting just suffered bad-mullet-kharma and was sent to the minors yesterday. And yes, that might be the least genuine “action” shot I’ve seen in this set.

368 – Aaron Miles. Another curious example of Topps not airbrushing the new uniforms for a player who switched teams well ahead of time. I like Miles, Isaac absolutely loves him… its a shame he had to go to Chicago. But hey, if someone wants to overpay for my skills, I’d do the same thing.

437 – Zach Duke SP

 

C26 – Vladimir Guerrero Chrome /1960

 

 

NF5 – Fifty Star Flag Insert

All in all, another surprisingly good pair of retail packs from the gas station!

Retail Therapy III

Stopped by the Quik Trip this morning for a cup of coffee, saw the Heritage box and thought, "Why not, let's see how far this goes..."

Two packs. Each pack had an insert and a Cardinal: one Flashback, one News Flashback, and base cards of Ryan Franklin and Yadier Molina.

Sorry for the crappy Blackberry pics; I thought I'd try the post-from-phone-via-email feature. Click on the image for an even better view of BB phone fuzziness. I gotta say that as great as the Curve is, the cam really stinks... especially when compared to iPhone pics I've seen. Ah well, its free... can't complain too much.

Retail Therapy

The local Quik Trips have carried trading cards for the last year or so and the ones I frequent started putting up 09 Heritage a week or so ago. Avoiding the retail vs. hobby debate, the sheer convenience of picking up a pack or two along with the morning coffee outweighs the base card blues found inside. Or does it?

I ended up buying two packs earlier this week and, surprised by the retail goodness, picked up another two packs this morning at a different location. Out of four packs, only one yielded 100% base cards and that one had a Sizemore so Isaac was pretty excited. All in all, 2 short prints, a Flashback, a Berkman /1960, and a Molina /560 out of four retail packs.

2009 Dad Packs!

2009 Dad Packs are live! I travel quite a bit and have been picking up singles here and there of Cardinals, Isaac's favorite players, and the occasional oddball I think he'll like. Isaac is also turning seven soon and has started doing chores around the house. What better way to reward him (instead of an allowance) than homemade Dad Packs?!? Look for auto's, game used, and even 09 Topps and Heritage packs inside!

Can you tell which ones Dad the Engineer / IT guy did and the lone pack designed by Mom the Art Teacher?

Jackpot

Stopped by a small hobby shop over lunch and picked up a box of Heritage for $60 including tax. This will replace a box of 09 Topps for a certain kiddo's birthday. Anyone interested in a 2009 Topps Hobby box? I'll give you a deal on it.