One Last Stadium Club Hurrah

Here is the fourth of four blasters that I bought at Target for $2.99. Looking back, I'm really glad I didn't pay much more than $2.99 a piece for these things. It's not that I would have entertained the idea of buying even one of these at the regular price, but if I had I think I would have been fairly disappointed. I decided to play "pack wars" with Erin for this box while she opened one of her own. As it turned out, she won a very close battle because she actually pulled a Cardinal card, while sadly I did not.

Pack 1:
109 - Garrett Mock (RC)
23 - Tom Glavine
142 - Greg Smith (RC) (There have been so many roller imprints on these cards that they remind me of something Upper Deck put out in a hurry this year.)
74 - Rich Harden
105 - Chris Carter (RC) 1st Day Issue (alternate photo)

Pack 2:
38 - Hunter Pence

41 - Adrian Gonzalez (He who stole the Gold Glove from Albert Pujols this year...)
143 - Nick Blackburn (RC)
62 - Joba Chamberlain (The C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett signings could be huge for Chamberlain, who might benefit from hardly being the most talked about Yankees pitcher this season.)
90 - Carlos Zambrano 1st Day Issue

Pack 3:
92 - Mickey Mantle (Does anyone out there actually collect modern made Mantle cards that aren't autographed or relic-laden?)
43 - Felix Hernandez
34 - Brian Roberts
136 - Jay Bruce (RC)

33 - Brandon Webb 1st Day Issue

Pack 4:
5 - Russ Martin (again)
67 - Joe Mauer
28 - Ryan Church
35 - Ken Griffey Jr.
60 - Scott Kazmir 1st Day Issue
- Checklist

Pack 5:
64 - Victor Martinez
16 - Jake Peavy
145 - Clay Buchholz (RC)

44 - Magglio Ordonez (I like the way he sort of blends into the ad on the wall behind him.)
81 - Lance Berkman 1st Day Issue (Bleh!)

Pack 6:

100 - Tom Seaver (It would have been fun to see a few more retired players in this set.)
113 - Jeff Clement (RC)
146 - German Duran (RC)
139 - Jayson Nix (RC)
102 - Daric Barton 1st Day Issue

Pack 7:
70 - Brian McCann
49 - John Smoltz
134 - Wladimir Balentien (RC)

85 - Matt Holliday Photographer's Proof 12/99

In four blasters, this is the only serial numbered card that I got. I'm not sure how that compares to how most of these boxes have been going for others, but the odds printed on the boxes seem to support my luck (or lack thereof.)

18 - Michael Young 1st Day Issue

Pack 8:
140 - Max Scherzer (RC)
137 - Brandon Jones (RC)
122 - Jonathan Herrera (RC)
128 - Carlos Gonzalez (RC)

21 - Jacoby Ellsbury 1st Day Issue
- Checklist

And there you have it. I doubt I will buy any more of this stuff unless it ends up in one of those horrible-but-tempting repack boxes next year. I'd try a hobby pack or two, maybe, if they weren't $25 each or something. Topps did step up their photography a notch for this set, but they still have some work to do. I wouldn't mind seeing Stadium Club again next year, but it would be nice if they got rid of the weird short printing issues.

There's Only Two Blasters in Me

And this is number three.

Pack 1:
43 - Felix Hernandez
34 - Brian Roberts
136 - Jay Bruce (RC) (All of a sudden I have so many Bruce cards.)
5 - Russ[ell] Martin
140 - Max Scherzer 1st Day Issue (alternate photo)

Pack 2:
67 - Joe Mauer
28 - Ryan Church

35 - Ken Griffey Jr. (For some reason I think this card is going to be like seeing Pete Rose in an Expos uniform when all is said and done.)
64 - Victor Martinez
122 - Jonathan Herrera 1st Day Issue (alternate photo)

Pack 3:
16 - Jake Peavy
145 - Clay Buchholz (RC)
44 - Magglio Ordonez
100 - Tom Seaver

132 - Kosuke Fukudome 1st Day Issue (Alternate photo. I'm sensing a theme here. The last card in each pack is an alternate photo 1st Day Issue card. Also, this makes three Fukudomes in three boxes, all 1st Day cards.)

Pack 4:
113 - Jeff Clement (RC)
146 - German Duran (RC)
139 - Jayson Nix (RC)
70 - Brian McCann
147 - Radhames Liz 1st Day Issue (alternate photo)
- Checklist

Pack 5:
49 - John Smoltz
134 - Wladimir Balentien (RC)
140 - Max Scherzer (RC)
137 - Brandon Jones (RC)

112 - Joey Votto 1st Day Issue (alternate photo)

Pack 6:
122 - Jonathan Herrera (RC)
128 - Carlos Gonzalez
47 - Chris Young

86 - Justin Morneau

107 - Clayton Kershaw 1st Day Issue (alternate photo)

Pack 7:
40 - Eric Chavez (Same alternate photo that I got in a previous box. Maybe it's not a variation.)

95 - Honus Wagner
91 - Jackie Robinson (The nearly inseparable pair. For some reason Jackie has 4 season's worth of stats on the back while Honus has nothing but career totals and a blank space.)
121 - Matt Tolbert (RC)
125 - Josh Banks 1st Day Issue (alternate photo)

Pack 8:
71 - Grady Sizemore
127 - Blake DeWitt (RC)
46 - Fausto Carmona

148 - Chris Perez (RC) (Finally, a Cardinal!)
131 - Sean Rodriguez 1st Day Issue (alternate photo once again)
- Checklist

I've got one more of these to go and then I'll be finished torturing you all.

2008 Stadium Club Blaster #2

Here is the second of the four Stadium Club blasters I bought last weekend. Sadly, the price of these things at Target seems to be back to normal now. Since I have several of these to get through, I'm going to keep commentary to a minimum.

Pack 1:
130 - Brian Barton (RC) (Nice to get a Cardinal right off the bat.)
25 - Edinson Volquez
83 - Chipper Jones
112 - Joey Votto (RC)
114 - Michael Aubrey 1st Day Issue (I was reading that the 1st Day Issue cards have thicker stock than the regular cards, but these don't. Maybe the retail ones are different.)

Pack 2:
31 - Carl Crawford

37 - Hanley Ramirez
76 - Johan Santana
115 - Brandon Boggs (RC)
123 - J.R. Towles 1st Day Issue

Pack 3:
68 - Gary Sheffield
11 - David Ortiz
104 - Gregor Blanco (RC) (For some reason I didn't realize Blanco was a rookie. I probably will forever get him mixed up with Henry Blanco for whatever reason.)
101 - Luke Hochevar (RC)
150 - Gregorio Petit 1st Day Issue

Pack 4:
29 - Delmon Young
4 - Todd Helton
116 - Johnny Cueto (RC)
58 - Jose Reyes

69 - Cole Hamels 1st Day Issue
- Checklist

Pack 5:
73 - Greg Maddux

52 - Vernon Wells (Like in the last box, here's another one where I feel like it might be a variation since the pictures on the front and the back don't match, but it's not one of the rookies. Hmm.)

88 - Hideki Matsui
14 - Prince Fielder
66 - Carlos Beltran 1st Day Issue (Another pack with no rookies. Stupid, lying pack wrappers.)

Pack 6:
131 - Sean Rodriguez (RC)
80 - Ryan Braun
82 - Manny Ramirez

56 - Garrett Atkins (Judging by his swing and where the ball is coming in from, I'm guessing Atkins is not about to hit this ball very far.)
129 - Elliot Johnson 1st Day Issue (Alternate photo)

Pack 7:
119 - Jed Lowrie (RC)
1 - Chase Utley

85 - Matt Holliday
50 - David Wright
117 - Hernan Iribarren 1st Day Issue

Pack 8:

53 - Josh Hamilton
133 - Chin-Lung Hu (RC)
125 - Josh Banks (RC)

13 - Alex Rodriguez
132 - Kosuke Fukudome 1st Day Issue

Not a great box overall. I did get one Cardinal, but no retired players and none of the short printed (?) cards. Can you even get those cards in retail packs? This is a weird set.

Buy One, Get Seven Free

Where, oh where, do I even begin? Stadium Club premiered in 1991 as one of the first, if not THE first, premium quality baseball card set. The cards were coated with gloss and contained a full bleed photo design, boasting of Kodak quality photos on the pack wrappers. As far as I can tell, Stadium Club enjoyed a run that lasted until 2003. I'm not sure what motivated the resurrection of Stadium Club this year, but it's back now.

So here's the weird part: packs of this stuff apparently were set for $25.00 a pop at your local hobby store. If you head down to your local big box retailer, however, you can find packs of 5 cards for $2.99 each. I can't recall what the supposed incentive is to buy hobby packs, but I assume it's a big deal, like guaranteed relics/autos or something. When I look at the cards, the overall design isn't bad, but the backs of the cards look pretty cheap. Setting all of this aside, however, I was pretty intrigued when I found out that you can pick up blasters of this stuff at a certain big box retailer for the price of a single pack. This set promises one rookie per pack, but as you can see below, it's not the most reliable indicator.

I ended up buying four boxes, and here are the contents of the first one:

Pack 1:
142 - Greg Smith (RC)
74 - Rich Harden
38 - Hunter Pence
41 - Adrian Gonzalez

132 - Kosuke Fukudome 1st Day Issue

Pack 2:
143 - Nick Blackburn (RC)
62 - Joba Chamberlain

92 - Mickey Mantle
43 - Felix Hernandez
105 - Chris Carter 1st Day Issue

Pack 3:
34 - Brian Roberts

136 - Jay Bruce (RC)
5 - "Russ" Martin
67 - Joe Mauer
90 - Carlos Zambrano 1st Day Issue

Pack 4:
28 - Ryan Church
35 - Ken Griffey Jr.

64 - Victor Martinez
16 - Jake Peavy
33 - Brandon Webb 1st Day Issue
- Checklist

Pack 5:
145 - Clay Buchholz (RC)
44 - Magglio Ordonez
100 - Tom Seaver
113 - Jeff Clement (RC)

60 - Scott Kazmir 1st Day Issue

Pack 6:
146 - German Duran (RC)
139 - Jayson Nix (RC)
70 - Brian McCann
49 - John Smoltz
81 - Lance Berkman 1st Day Issue

Pack 7:

134 - Wladimir Balentien (RC)
140 - Max Scherzer (RC)
137 - Brandon Jones (RC)
122 - Jonathan Herrera (RC)
102 - Daric Barton 1st Day Issue

Pack 8:
128 - Carlos Gonzalez

47 - Chris Young (Annoying.)
86 - Justin Morneau

40 - Eric Chavez (The photo on the front is not the same as the back. Usually this means it's a short print/variation card, but I don't think any such thing happened with this one. All of the listed variations are numbered 101 through 150.)

18 - Michael Young

Kudos to A Cardboard Problem for cluing me in last week on a chance at a super-cheap box. I will post more Stadium Club blasters in the coming days.