2009 Tristar Obak Hobby Version

Before I get to the cards, I've got to say that Obak wins for Wrapper of the Year. The cards in this particular pack didn't have the picture pixel-ization problems that Wax Heaven wrote about in his review of a box of Obak.

The card stock is a bit thin and those huge green fields in the background of most of these cards gets distracting but overall I really enjoy these cards and I think I am going to give this set a go. It is mainly because I enjoy pulling cards of old time players and minor leaguers who have unique stories of their own. It's clear from these that Tristar put a lot of research into the product and what the set lacks in card quality it more than makes up for in card content.

#104 Stan Musial and Daryl Jones
Team: Springfield/St. Louis Cardinals


#18 Brett Wallace Mini
Team: Sacramento River Cats

#1 Pedro Alvarez
Team: Lynchburg Hillcats


#99 William Howard Taft

President Taft was included here because he was Commander in Chief in 1909 when the first Obak set came out.


Here is what the reverse looks like:

#76 Mike Coolbaugh
Team: Columbus Clippers

This card was very surprising to me. When was the last time you were surprised by a card? Mike was the player that was killed by a line drive while coaching on first base. That incident let to the rule change that coaches on the field have to wear batting helmets.

#15 Neftali Feliz
Team: Oklahoma City Redhawks

More Goodwin...This Time Retail

The retail version has a price point of $1.99 for four cards [three regular size and one mini] which was $1.50 cheaper for one fewer card versus the Hobby version [four regular size and one mini]...so if you are a set builder, go retail.

#136 Roy Oswalt

#62 Yogi Berra

This one is my favorite Goodwin's card that I've pulled so far. I wish they would make an all old-timers set again.

#47 Nick Markakis Mini

#10 Vladimir Guerrero

1994 Donruss Series 2

1994 Donruss: every card was borderless and foil stamped - quite a sign of the times. This also marks the first time Donruss went away from the standard horizontal card backs they established in 1982, where the stats from the last five seasons were displayed on the backs of every card. I especially liked how they would show the players current contract status, something you never saw anywhere else.

568 - Carlos Delgado Rated Rookie (Yes, long before Delgado was an injured Mets first baseman, he donned the tools of ignorance for some team in another country.)

527 - Roger Pavlik

513 - Dave Henderson (I always liked Hendu. He was a max effort guy who had a fair amount of success in his career without getting a ton of accolades.)

374 - Bryan Harvey (You know it's 1994 when you see teal.)

384 - Tom Kramer

409 - David West (Donruss delivered some quality photography in this set.)

340 - Don Mattingly (I've always really liked Mattingly.)

397 - Todd Worrell

490 - Shawon Dunston (I remember Harry Caray and Steve Stone always talking up Dunston like he was the second coming of Ernie Banks.)

55 - Mark McGwire Special Edition (This might be a one-per-pack parallel, but then again maybe it isn't. Beckett's website is down once again, and I'm too lazy to do my own research at the moment. It has shiny stuff on it.)

463 - Dave Martinez

453 - Chipper Jones (Is this Chipper's last year or is he going to sign with the Red Sox eventually or something?)

433 - Tyler Green

2009 PressPass Kiss 360 Degrees

While at Target the other day, I decided to grab a pack of cards to post on here, and for whatever reason, THESE are the ones that jumped out at me.

According to the wrapper, there are 90 cards in the base set plus Rock Star Relics, Kissignatures, Transformation motion cards, Snapshots, a "Blood-Spitting" parallel set and a "Kissed" parallel set.

The pictures themselves are borderline amateur in my opinion. They are out of focus and the "action" shots are blurry.

I got some kind of blood-covered card, but there is nothing that indicates this is one of the "Blood-Spitting" parallels.  I can only assume it is.

I also got one of their album covers.  I had quit listen to KISS long before this album came out, so I don't know much about it.  Though, I could look up the track list and most likely pull one or two out that I would know from my DJ days or from general radio play.

All in all, if you are a KISS fan, buy the boxed set and forget the rest.  Well, okay, the autos and relics might be neat to at least see once, but these will find their way into random packs - probably of the trick-or-treat variety.

Sidenote: I hate the new blogger editor!

1997 Topps Series 2

1997. Somewhere between Aqua and Britney Spears. Somewhere between Hanson and Jamiroquai. Somewhere between, uh... the Foo Fighters and Limp Bizkit? Nevermind, I got nothing. I can honestly say that I don't remember 1997 all that well. Here's some baseball cards that were released during that year.

382 - Livan Hernandez (New pitcher from your eventual World Champion Florida Marlins.)

305 - Sammy Sosa (Some guy in a seriously dumb uniform who looks like he's about to explode out of his skin... for... some... reason.)

383 - Jason Schmidt (Some Pirates pitcher who these days makes an occasional cameo appearance in the Dodgers rotation every season or two.)

473 - Todd Zeile (Some guy who allegedly played for the Orioles at some point in his career. Who knew? I would have lost that trivia challenge.)

414 - Ugueth Urbina (Some guy who pitched 11 complete games in 17 starts in 1996 for the Expos. This "fact" is fabricated by Topps on the back of his card. He then went on to become a closer - true story - and then attacked people with gasoline and a machete. True story.)

315 - Darryl Kile (Some guy who was one of my favorite non-Cardinals pitchers and then became a Cardinal. He died suddenly and tragically. I collect his cards.)

428 - Matt Lawton (Some guy who is waiting for a baseball that will never come down.)

337 - Willie Adams (Some guy who had a moderately successful rookie campaign in 1996 that I'd never heard of until I opened this pack.)

AI14 - Neifi Perez Awesome Impact (Not just some guy... NEIFI PEREZ! AWESOME NEIFI PEREZ!)

349 - Pete Schourek (Some guy who probably has to spell his name outloud to someone every day of his life.)

427 - Bob Wolcott (Some guy who was drafted in the 2nd round by the Mariners in 1992 but did not last in baseball beyond the '90s.)

1997. Somewhere between Frank Black's "The Cult of Ray" and the eponymous debut album from Frank Black and the Catholics.

2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Hobby

First off, I don't think this set is as good as Allen & Ginter. I say this after opening one pack and watching a bunch of boxes being opened on line. Both the relics and the autographs seem to be of a much lower quality and the mini cards might as well have the A & G logo on the back.

At the hobby price point, these cards average $1.00 per. I enjoy the Bucky Dent mini and apparently the silver bordered card is a one-per-box hit but these particular base cards I could do without.

#105 Evelyn Ng


#13 Bill Skowron


#100 Chase Utley Mini Silver Parallel


#118 Bucky Dent Mini

#81 Wayne Gretzky