Ginter Blaster #1

Here's the first of probably many blaster's I'll buy of this stuff this summer, provided that they stay in stock at the local retail giant stores. I probably need to buy at least 3 more boxes before I entertain the idea of putting together a want list.

Pack 1:

293 - Ian Snell

219 - Nate McLouth

225 - David Price (RC) (Has Price taken over the world yet? No? Okay, we'll check back later.)

309 - Kosuke Fukudome (SP)

132 - Anna Tunnicliffe Mini Black Border (These look a lot nicer this year as they did something with the border instead of just making it a solid black. Tunnicliffe apparently won a gold medal in a sailing event in last summer's Olympics.)

NP33 - Hanley Ramirez National Pride (Since these inserts are one-per-pack and there's also always a mini, that leaves you with just four base cards per retail pack. Hopefully I won't end up with a lot of doubles this year.)

Pack 2:

205 - Ryan Braun

235 - Roy Oswalt (The Astros and their second half surges are really annoying.)

AGHS14 - Ichiro Suzuki Baseball Highlights Sketches (I like these cards, probably because of their similarity to the unfortunately defunct UD Masterpieces sets. This also means that there are only 3 base cards in this pack.)

348 - Justin Masterson Mini A&G Back (SP)

NP34 - Nick Markakis National Pride

Pack 3:

78 - Eric Byrnes (It's a good looking card, but he's too obnoxious to show here.)

157 - Jason Motte (RC)

272 - Brad Nelson (RC)

322 - Chris Volstad (SP)

LMT9 - Minotaur Creatures of Legend, Myth & Terror (Minotaur!!! There's no way you'd mess with him.)

NP35 - Manny Ramirez National Pride (Perhaps Manny should have a card in the above insert set.)

Pack 4:

50 - Pat Neshek (The answer to Life, the Universe and Everything, apparently.)

74 - Matt Tuiasosopo (RC) (The only reason I know how to pronounce this guy's name is because I watch a lot of Pac-10 football.)

AGR-RJB - Ryan Braun Framed Relic (Not bad for a blaster! I wonder if I can close my eyes and turn this into a Cardinal, though...)

NH32 - Winston Churchill National Heroes (Yes, kids, you can actually get edumacated through the picture cards.)

NP36 - Yovani Gallardo National Pride (Some call him Yo. Probably my least hated Brewer.)

- Crack the Code ad (Too bad it was cracked before the stuff even hit stores near me.)

Pack 5:

206 - Miguel Tejada

276 - Michael Phelps (The autograph list on the side of the box is pretty hilarious, because it actually says "Michael Phelps, Michael Phelps, Michael Phelps, Michael Phelps, Michael Phelps, Michael Phelps")

289 - Milky Way (If you're gonna collect one galaxy, this is the one to get.)

331 - Jeff Samardzija (SP) (I still don't know why I drafted this guy this year.)

HHB20 - Cold Fusion World's Biggest Hoaxes, Hoodwinks & Bamboozles (Wait, cold fusion isn't real? So much middle school science wasted...)

NP37 - Johan Santana National Pride

Pack 6:

159 - Denard Span

111 - Jason Giambi

34 - Ryan Dempster

168 - Adrian Gonzalez (If the Padres trade him, well... let's just say it would be painful to be a Padres fan right about now.)

93 - David DeJesus Mini

NP38 - Mariano Rivera National Pride

Pack 7:

179 - Trevor Hoffman (This is definitely the Brewers Box.)

265 - Paul Konerko

54 - Carlos Guillen (It seems like there's fewer horizontal cards this year, but this is one.)

301 - Jonathan Sanchez (SP) (AKA that no-hitter guy.)

275 - Vladimir Guerrero Mini

NP39 - Shin-Soo Choo National Pride

Pack 8:

103 - Aaron Harang

79 - Electron (Is there a greater subatomic particle than the electron? There definitely needs to be a SportsCenter Top 10 Subatomic Particles segment.)

213 - Stephanie Brown Trafton (She's a discus throwing champion.)

342 - Sitting Bull (SP)

323 - Derek Jeter (SP) Mini (So, this card is kind of mangled. I wonder if it's worth sending in to Topps.)

NP51 - Albert Pujols National Pride (Great way to end the box!)

I have to be really careful with my baseball card budget here, but I really want more of this stuff. I wonder if I could sleep at night if I bought a hobby box.