Do Not Buy These

I picked up this repack box at Mall Wart a while back, and am just now getting around to cracking it. It promises "Over $18 Value" for $10. I knew when I bought it that I would be receiving a bunch of unsold overstocked junk wax. I had low expectations. But I haven't bought a lot of wax from the past few years, so I figured I'd at least mostly get cards of sets I did not already have a lot of cards from. Let's see what treasure lay within:
In a word: yuck. 1987 Topps? 1989 Star? 1991 O-Pee-Chee? 1991 Studio? Like, for real real?

Interestingly, though the box claimed to contain eight packs, it in fact contained nine. Not that it matters, since four of them are so cheap.

In short, I feel like I was terribly ripped off. I will not buy another repack box from this company, and I would discourage anyone else from trying their luck.

I posted the Star pack over on APAD, if you care to see the gory details.

Sunday Best--July 26th, 2009

The best players at each position in both leagues in 2009:
AL
DH: Lind (o7 fleer)
P: Greinke (08 topps gold)
C: Mauer (09 Topps Turkey Red)
1B: Morneau (09 topps gold)
2B: Zobrist (09 Upper Deck)
3B: Longoria (09 Topps Retro)
SS: Bartlett (08 Upper Deck)
LF: Crawford (09 Spectrum)
CF: Hunter (09 goudey)
RF: Ichiro (09 heritage)
























NL
P: Haren (09 topps finest)
C: McCann (09 goudey)
1B: Pujols (09 topps)
2B: Utley (09 goudey)
3B: Pablo Sandoval (seriously) (09 Upper Deck)
SS: Hanley (07 topps gold)
LF: Ibanez (09 OPC)
CF: Kemp (09 Topps Blackout)
RF: Hawpe (09 topps retro)
























I couldn't find cards of Kemp, Sandoval, or Zobrist, so I ordered some from Sportlots. I will update the pics when they arrive.
EDIT: They have arrived. I updated the pictures, and replaced the Crawford with a newer card.

Is Zobrist really a 2B? Well, he's played more games there than any other position, and no other 2B in the AL is having a better season, so I give him the props.

I wonder what kind of odds you could have received at the beginning of the year that the best 3B in the NL would be Sandoval. 50-1? 100-1? He's having a slightly better year than David Wright and Mark Reynolds, and as a bonus he's also appeared at catcher three times, catching an entire game each time.

Inception

I have an affliction unusual for one born, raised, and living in Alabama. I collect DBacks.

I moved to Tucson in Y2K. The following year was the first time in my life that I followed a single major league team closely throughout a season. That season ended with triumph (jump to 2:36:00 to see the culmination): a bloop single off Mariano Rivera; Luis Gonzalez jumping jubilantly, arms in the air; me jumping out of my chair, dancing around my living room; the Missus wondering if I'd lost my mind. Perhaps I had.



I've been a Snakes fan ever since. I thought the fandom would fade when I returned to the Heart of Dixie in '04, but it hasn't. I can't watch or listen to every game live any more, since those West Coast games end way past my bedtime, but thanks to MLB.com I can see some games the next day, and for those games I just don't have time for, I can catch all the highlights. I thought it would suffice to just keep up with the team by reading box scores, but instead I've been able to keep living and breathing Sedona Red.

And thanks to the blogging community I can trade for all the DBacks I desire. And that's, well, all of them. I'd like to get one card of every player that has ever played for the team. Eventually I'd like one from each DBack from each year. This is an almost trivial goal compared to some of your pursuits out there, who follow teams with a longer history. One of every Met? Doable, but tough. One of every Dodger? Are you kidding me? One of every Yankee? Fuhgeddaboutit.

I also like to, how to put it?, use the baseball cards I own. I pin them to corkboard with thumbtacks. I carry one or two in my wallet. I use them as bookmarks. I write notes on the backs. Or on the fronts. I plan to completely wallpaper a room with them (haven't told the Missus that one yet, so the plan is still tentative). Those of you with weak stomachs who think that baseball cards are meant to be seen and not touched might want to look away from time to time. I'll start you off with an easy one:

More to come soon.