"Well, We're Pitching Here in Allentown"

"And it's hard to keep my fastball down..."

"Out in Lehigh Valley, Rob's Kellin' time..."

"Warning Track Cards and standing in line..."

This #5 card of Rob Kell comes officially from the 2000 Allentown Ambassadors team set by Warning Track Cards. While not a source of notable stars, Allentown's franchise does feature one of my favorite mascots, Uncle Baseball.

It must've been tempting to use baseball jargon and go "Uncle Charlie" here, so I admire their restraint and those striped pants.

Rob Kell hung up his pro spikes after 2000 and the Ambassadors folded soon after, following years of dropping attendance. Their highest-attended event was, in fact, John Mayer's post-game concert in 2003, a curious "achievement" given the state's long baseball history. I prefer to remember PA for its more workmanlike performers, like...

Hat tip to Billy Joel fans who followed my earlier lyrical hacks; here's an "Allentown" original for you.

Baseball's Top 5 Non-All-Stars (Hitting Edition)

Some years, it doesn't take much to be an All-Star. Every team gets at least one rep, after all, even the crappy rebuilding franchises riddled with injuries, inexperience, and low expectations. Toronto's Alfredo Griffin took his 48 OPS+ onto the AL's 1984 squad. Pittsburgh closer Mike Williams was a NL rep in 2003 despite a dodgy 25-of-39 save rate. It happens.

1962 Topps #263, Richie Ashburn

But being a questionable choice doesn't mean the team had nowhere else to go. New York's pitiable expansion Mets still had the privilege of sending future HOF Richie Ashburn to 1962's pair of All-Star games. (More on Richie's performance at Paul's Random Baseball Stuff.) The Seattle Mariners of my youth sent a quality starter each season despite otherwise uninspired play. Mediocre All-Stars seem as likely to be situational picks; Griffin made the 1984 roster as an injury sub because he was already at the game with teammate Damaso Garcia.

What about the guys who post great numbers year-in and year-out, but circumstances otherwise conspire against them? They might play a crowded position (talent-wise), lose a close fan vote, or excel in a year the league coaches didn't like them. Here's my top 5 list of those guys, the men whose "good" was never quite "good enough" for a voting public or team manager (sorted by OPS+).

1. Travis Hafner (12 seasons, 134 OPS+)

2007 Topps Turkey Red #156, Travis Hafner

How does a guy with two 1.000+ OPS seasons (both top-10 MVP finishes) miss the All-Star Game? Oh, he played for 4th place Cleveland? Yeah. :-(

2. Bob Nieman (12 seasons, 132 OPS+)

1960 Topps #159, Bob Nieman

Nieman garnered his own top-10 MVP finish in 1956 and posted a handful of other quality seasons, but might've moved around too much to get consistent respect for his solid hitting (career stats).

Sept 14, 1951: Bob Nieman starts his career with two straight homers, baseball's first hitter to do so. He added a single and OF assist for good measure. The Browns lost anyway.

3. Hal Trosky (11 seasons, 130 OPS+)

1934 Goudey Big League Gum #76, Hal Trosky

Since 100 is "average," Trosky's 130 career OPS+ means he reached base or slugged 30% better than middle-of-the-pack hitters. Hal posted a pair of top-10 MVP finishes and 6 seasons with 25+ homers, so he wasn't invisible by any means, just not able to crack 1930s All-Star lineups in a decade replete with future Hall of Famers.

4. Tim Salmon (14 seasons, 128 OPS+)

2002 Fleer Tradition #323, Tim Salmon

Salmon's known in trivia circles as baseball's career home run leader (299) for guys who never played in the All-Star game, so it's no surprise to also see him here. Tim hit like crazy throughout the 1990s, but suffered by playing in an era crowded with excellent All-Star outfields. Still, a unanimous Rookie of the Year award and two more top-10 MVP finishes makes his exclusion stand out.

5. Oscar Gamble (17 seasons, 127 OPS+)

1977 "Topps" White Sox custom card, Oscar Gamble

It's easy to forget (I sure did) that Gamble was both well-traveled and produced everywhere he suited up. After some early-20s growing pains, Oscar consistently hit .260-.290 with power, despite changing addresses almost every off-season (career stats).

The official Topps sets managed to miss Gamble's monster year in Chicago by airbrushing him into a Yankees uni for 1977 and San Diego for 1978, but Oscar posted 31 homers and a .974 OPS for the White Sox anyway. Because to heck with those guys--All-Star voters included--who don't respect the afro.

It was nice to find some surprises in that list, as I'd never considered Nieman or Trosky as consistent career performers prior to building the post. Are there other All-Star Game exclusions that get your goat? And do you think players should only be judged by their first-half numbers or should performance from other seasons also play a role in voting?

Garvey Garvey Garvey Garvey Garvey Garvey Cey Russell Lopes

I've been a Steve Garvey fan since the early 80s and made him the subject of my first player collection many years ago. Decades later, check out how obscure my "active career" wantlist looks. At this point, I'm lucky to follow more advanced collectors in their pursuit of things like his Gafline Microfiche "card," and Long Beach Telegram cutouts, never mind spending my modest collecting budget on real ones.

1981 Long Beach Telegram, Garvey & Carew (newspaper cutout)

Given that rare shot at vintage hits, I've been happy to expand into modern retro Garveys and who else but GCRL sent a six-pack that arrived yesterday. Check out the shiny!

It's hard to pick one favorite, but I'll go with 2002 Fleer's gold-bordered photo of a classic Garvey batting pose (upper right). The back recalls his 1981 World Series hitting in LA's win over NY.

That 10-for-24 World Series hitting line didn't knock anyone in, but not because Tom Lasorda used Garvey any differently, it was because the 1-2 batters rarely got on base in front of him. Ultimately, Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero, and other late-order guys contributed enough big hits that LA came back with 4 straight wins after starting 0-2.

1981 champs Guerrero, Valenzuela, & Garvey in 2006

1981 also marked my first televised World Series, having been radio-only (and too young to pick a favorite) for the 1979 and 1980 Pennsylvanian championships. I'm sure LA's exciting win had more than a little to do with Garvey (who shared my Little League position at first) becoming a favorite.

Thanks again, GCRL, and go Dodgers!

2004 Upper Deck First Pitch Baseball #5, Miguel Cabrera

Born today, 2012 AL Triple Crown Winner, career 151 OPS+ hitter, and occasional glove man Miguel Cabrera.

Miguel split 2003 between third base and left field, so I assume this photo shows him as an outfielder, fielding something hit low in front of him.

So many players get labeled as "Star Rookies" and so few deliver on those projections, year in and year out, but Miguel sits atop that group for the last ten years. (2013 marks the start of just his 11th season; it feels to me like he's been pounding the ball forever.)

Upper Deck published this 300-card set to coincide with Opening Day, in part to get young guys like Cabrera shown in "real" uniforms as quickly as possible (set checklist).

This card text actually undersells Cabrera, who certainly "bulked up physically" and can hit darn near everything within reach. "FUTURE TRIPLE CROWN WINNER" might've been tough to predict, though.

Want a major flashback? Check out Florida's 2004 Opening Day roster, which still featured "original Marlin" Jeff Conine and future Red Sox title winners Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell. Yeah, I'm old now.

Value: Awesome hitter or not, this #5 costs just $1 on COMC.com and other stars run about the same.

2012 Topps Baseball #5, Desmond Jennings

Closing out 2012 with its own #5, a leaping shot of Demond Jennings heading for home.

Being an obvious game situation, it wasn't hard to locate Topps' source, a Getty newswire photo from July 31, 2011.

Jennings is about to score Tampa's first of 8 runs on an infield grounder by Evan Longoria (box score). A dramatic opposite angle (also newswire) shows Desmond hitting the plate.

There's a whole album of shots from the game, including this grass-flying pic of the Sam Fuld Experience.

These shots reminded me how often guys dive all over the place as fielders and runners. Thank goodness for forgiving MLB outfield turf.

You can follow Desmond Jennings on Twitter at @d_jennings8.

Happy new year, everyone. Hope you get the cards you want and want the cards you get!

Gabe White and The Mile High Club

Happy birthday to former Expos, Reds, Rockies, Yankees, and Cardinals pitcher Gabe White, who turns 41 today.

2001 Topps Gold #681, Gabe White

According to "exhaustive" research--I searched B-R.com and checked HR logs--Gabe belongs to a metaphorical Mile High Club of Colorado pitchers who hit their only career homer at Coors Field. Here's that list of exclusive gentlemen and who they victimized.

• May 7, 1995: Bill Swift vs. Hideo Nomo (LAD), COL lost 12-10
• April 13, 1997: Darren Holmes vs. Carlos Perez (MON), COL lost 8-3
• June 9, 1999: Curt Leskanic vs. Rafael Carmona (SEA), COL won 16-11
• May 26, 2000: Masato Yoshii vs. Francisco Cordova (PIT), COL lost 2-1
• June 10, 2000: Gabe White vs. Matt Perisho (TEX), COL won 12-6
• May 18, 2002: Denny Stark vs. Kevin Millwood (ATL), COL won 7-3
• July 10, 2003: Darren Oliver vs. Brian Powell (SFG), COL won 11-3

Swift and Leskanic both hit 3-run shots in shoot-out games, but Yoshii's added the most Win Probability (.145) because his homer tied a close game in the 6th inning. And hey, each one counts, even if it's 5280 feet up!

2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary Baseball #555, Madison Bumgarner

Hats off to Madison Bumgarner and his SF teammates for a 2-0 win over Detroit last night. That the Tigers managed no runs against a pitcher who posted league-average peripherals (103 ERA+ in 2012) is an ill omen for a (normally) strong lineup that no doubt hopes to feel more comfortable back in Detroit.

HOLY CRACKER BARREL, MY EYES.

This triple-5 card is one of many 2011 Topps parallels. According to a Series 1 checklist, there are several Diamond versions (for their Diamond Anniversary), with some real stones thrown into the mix. Did anyone here wrap one up as a gift for that special collector in your life?

2012 Topps Heritage Baseball #5, NL ERA League Leaders (Halladay, Kershaw, Lee, Lincecum, Vogelsong)

Congratulations to Ryan Vogelsong in pitching San Francisco to a 6-1 victory and forcing game 7 in the 2012 NLCS. Defensive miscues behind opposing starter Chris Carpenter put the Cardinals in a hole early and Vogelsong pitched like he belonged on this League Leader type card.

Heritage sets match what Topps used 59 years ago, so you're looking at primary color backgrounds and floating head designs first seen in 1963, this time with lots of planned variations, subsets, and inserts (full checklist at SportscardRadio). The original version included guys named Koufax, Drysdale, and Gibson.

The 2012 card back lists all 49 pitchers to qualify for the 2011 ERA title by throwing 1 inning per team game played. Pittsburgh teammates Jeff Karstens (3.38 ERA) and Paul Maholm (3.66 ERA) both tossed 162.1 innings to barely make the cutoff. At the other end, our aforementioned Chris Carpenter led NL hurlers with 237.1 innings, despite winning only 11 games and posting a slightly-above-average 108 ERA+. (Halladay and Kershaw turned their 233+ innings of work into 19 and 21 wins, respectively.)

So how did the top 5 ERA guys for 2011 do in 2012?

• Clayton Kershaw led the NL again at 2.53, with a slightly-lower 150 ERA+
• Roy Halladay fell off a cliff to 4.49 and below-average 89 ERA+
• Cliff Lee did everything but win, going 6-9 with a 3.16 ERA and 127 ERA+
• Ryan Vogelsong won 14 games (up 1 from 2011), "despite" a 3.37 ERA and pedestrian 103 ERA+
• Tim Lincecum doubled his ERA to 5.18, worst of all qualifiers, and still led the league in starts.

If the Giants win another World Series, that Lincecum thing will drive SABR people to drink.

2010 Topps Baseball Factory Set Bonus Philadelphia Phillies #PHI5, Jayson Werth

Congratulations to our latest post-season walk-off homer hero, Nationals OF Jayson Werth!

As noted by Jeff Passan, Werth's blast helped in two ways, both distracting Washington fans from fellow OF Bryce Harper's 1-for-18 slump and guaranteeing all four division series would go the 5-game distance. SO MUCH BASEBALL, PEOPLE.

Hot on the heels of Raul Ibanez's heroics for New York, Werth makes it two former Phillies doing good work in the type collection. This particular card's one of the "bonus" subsets, which BaseballCardpedia lays out in their 2010 Topps Factory Sets entry and includes these Phillies, all prefixed PHI.

1. Roy Halladay (167 ERA+ in 2010 vs. 89 ERA+ in 2012)
2. Ryan Howard (127 OPS+ in 2010 vs. 91 OPS+ in 2012)
3. Chase Utley (just 83 games in 2012)
4. Jimmy Rollins (2.3 WAR in 2012 vs. 2.0 in 2010, the only "improved" Phillie)
5. Jayson Werth (now in Washington)

As Phillie fans can unfortunately confirm, there's no sure thing in baseball. And no crying, either!

2012 Topps Museum Collection Jumbo Lumber Baseball # to 5, Raul Ibanez

My mom has a soft spot for Raul Ibanez after his two tours of duty in Seattle (career stats), a place he briefly wore uniform #5...way back in 1999.

New York thinks highly of him right now, too--how often do 9th-inning pinch-hitters end up homering twice, let alone in the post-season? (Story and clip of the walk-off homer at SBNation.)

Today's card isn't technically number 5, but at least it's numbered to 5. Thanks to 14K Phillies for these scans.

This 2012 Topps Museum relic subset includes slices from 75 bats swung by both active players and retired HOFers. SportsCardRadio's checklist lays out the whole set; Miguel Cabrera might be its best pickup this year, given his Triple Crown win.

2000 Upper Deck Gold Reserve Baseball #5, Troy Percival

Born on August 9, Troy Percival, who holds the record for birthday saves with four.

Troy closed this quartet of August 9 games.

• 1997 vs. Baltimore: 1IP, 2R, save #19
• 2001 vs. Chicago: 1IP, 1R, save #31
• 2004 at Kansas City: 1IP, 0R, save #21
• 2008 at Seattle (11 innings): 1IP, 0R, save #26

He wore an Angels cap for the first three, as shown on this 2000 Upper Deck Gold Reserve #5. His 2008 save came as closer for Tampa Bay, the final stop in a 14-year, 358 save career (career stats).

Troy Percival started just once in his career and it was a doozy. Anyone remember the final STL game of 2007? St. Louis and Pittsburgh combined to use 18 pitchers, five different Cardinal relievers logged holds, and the box score is a nightmare of crossed-out names. Full credit, by the way, to Tony LaRussa's ability to find gold in Percival's rehabbed arm--he didn't log any saves that year, but posted a phenomenal 246 OPS+ in situational work.

Upper Deck's "Gold Reserve" is a 300-card parallel to their 2000 standard set, with a double-handful of serial-numbered inserts and relics; Baseballcardpedia breaks them down for you.

Happy birthday to one of baseball's all-time closers!

10 Years Ago Today: Nomar Garciaparra record-setting birthday

On July 23, 2002, Red Sox #5 Nomar Garciaparra celebrated his 29th birthday with three homers off Tampa Bay pitching, including a 4th inning grand slam that put Boston ahead 16-4. They went on score 22 runs on 19 hits, but the game still took under 3 hours to finish (box score).

Nomar's 3HR, 8 RBI, and 12 total bases remain single-game records for a player on his birthday.

2000 Topps Stadium Club Baseball One of a Kind #5, Shane Reynolds

Born on today's date in 1968, workhorse righty Shane Reynolds.

Shane's the only MLB player born on March 26th to win at least 100 games, totaling 114 over 13 years for the Astros (103), Braves (11), and (sort of) Diamondbacks (0). Reynolds started 30+ games for Houston 5 straight years from 1995 to 1999 and ranks 8th all-time in franchise wins.

Topps added this "One of a Kind" gold parallel to their 250-card Stadium Club issue and numbered each to 150. Reynolds only appears in the base set and parallels; bigger stars show up multiple times in the game-used, autographed, and die-cut subsets (checklist and set breakdown at BaseballCardPedia).

Value: Lesser-known players don't cost much, even in serial-numbered sets. (The CheckOutMyCards listing I nicked these scans from listed it at $4.)

Fakes / reprints: Plenty of 2000-era parallels reached the market and don't cost much today, so I doubt anyone would fake this set.

Type Site: Night Owl Cards (and its first look at 2012 Topps)

Props to fellow card blogger Night Owl for an early look at 2012 Topps. His post captures their quantitative leap in player photos, a few of which I borrowed for commentary.

I don't blame collectors who specialize in "cool catcher gear" cards. The so-called tools of ignorance offer some of the coolest evidence of our sports' evolution, as with today's hockey-style protective masks.

This Matt Kemp promo is sort of a number five, as it's cataloged GGC-5. Topps upped the stakes in this year's online unlockable "contest" by manufacturing some (real) gold cards. Everyone loves the precious metals!

SEE YA. BOOM. Better call the Na-police and put out an APB on that baseball.

Color me impressed by this year's first look at Topps handiwork. Will it keep everyone coming to the candy store and (more importantly) attract new customers into the fold? Once our new baseball season ramps up, I wouldn't be surprised.

Was this my first week of all Type Site posts, Mon/Wed/Fri? I think so, but fear not: #5 card profiles will return as normal next Monday. (And as always, find entertaining baseball excellence at Night Owl Cards.)

2001 Sunoco Dream Team #5, Jim Palmer & Frank Robinson

Lots of folks blogged up 2010 Upper Deck's weird handling of MLB logos, which they (supposedly) aren't licensed to display. They do leave off team names, but any avoidance of logos is "casual" at best.

As a well-heeled company focused on the card market, UD might set precedent where past oddball makers didn't see a battle worth fighting. A quick sift through the type collection turned up this ready example.

Card front

With the same players-only license, Sunoco wiped out hat logos and used cities instead of team names. The Orioles become "Baltimore" on the front and "Outstanding O's" on the back.

Card back

Sunoco's set honored 12 combos and doubled up on 2 classic teams, Boston and New York. Links go to any card scans I located.

1. PIT: Willie Stargell and Bill Mazeroski
2. PHI: Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton
3. CIN: Tony Perez and Joe Morgan
4. NYY: Yogi Berra and Don Mattingly
5. BAL: Jim Palmer and Frank Robinson
6. BOS: Carlton Fisk and Luis Tiant
7. BOS: Fred Lynn and Jim Rice
8. DET: Sparky Anderson and Al Kaline (a manager? wow)
9. PHI: Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts (with painted logos)
10. NYM: Tug McGraw and Gary Carter
11. CLE: Lou Boudreau and Bob Feller
12. NYY: Catfish Hunter and Roger Maris

Palmer and Robinson rank among the best O's ever, but are they #1 and 2? Check out Frost King Baseball's "All-Time Best Orioles (Since 1955)" for a stat-friendly answer.

More Jim Palmer posts:

• 1978 O-Pee-Chee #5 - Victory Leaders
• 1967 Coca-Cola Orioles #5

Comparison of Allen & Ginter Retail and Hobby Boxes

Enough of the #5s for now, it's time for a adrenaline rush of brand new cards! This year's Allen & Ginter design and contents very effectively floated my boat, so I picked up a few boxes to check out what can be ripped and enjoyed.

Collectors who spend below $100 per outing (that's me) have two basic options, the "retail" box of 24 packs and the "hobby" box of 24 packs. The hobby packs include 8 cards instead of the retail 6 cards, so the extra $25 you pay approximately evens out.

Retail box: 24 packs x 6 cards per pack = 144 cards (1 gross, as they say on the farm). BIN from eBay (+ postage) for $58 = .40 per card.

Hobby box: 24 packs x 8 cards per pack = 192 cards (1 gross plus, as they say in France). BIN eBay (+ free postage!) for $81 = .42 per card. The box includes a "topper" card, which could be a variety of different insert cards, such as over-sized "cabinets" or N43-style cards with an inset frame. (Mine was an N43 Joba Chamberlain.)

Most packs include an American state card for one of the 50, featuring its flag and an active player from that locale. Some players aren't great, but at least they covered the whole map. (Maybe they'll expand this to all the MLB countries next year?) You also get a parallel card, typically a "mini," in almost all packs. Occasionally, a rarer card comes along, but not frequently--just often enough to keep you going.

Retail box highlights:

1. Arkansas state card w/Torii Hunter: I like the state set quite a bit and Torii's a fine addition. The picture captures him mid-salute, like he knows the flag is just to his right.

2. Jed Lowrie RC: All Red Sox welcome here in Boston.

3. Lisa Leslie: Excellent subject to include in the set, especially with the USA Olympic team capturing gold. (There's a decidedly Olympic theme to the 2008 set, no big surprise.)

4. Rollins / Sizemore / Carlos Pena / Soriano / Derrek Lee in same pack, plus the Swiss mini World Leader card! (You get one or two of those per box.)

5. Mary Shelley a la Frankenstein! I love the writer / philosopher bent in this set.

6. Yadier Molina, the StL catching version of The Flyin' Molinas. All three have World Series rings, unique among sibling trios.

7. Nice throwing pose of Hanley Ramirez. Sadly, the card says "Marlins" instead of "Red Sox."

8. Jeanette Lee, the billiard world's Black Widow. She's got the pool equivalent of the Dave Stewart stare.

9. Feliz Hernandez: Almost makes up for getting Jason Schmidt in the same pack.

10. Magglio Ordonez: Dig the hair! Is it time to watch Shampoo again?

11. Marie Curie: Another in the line of interesting inclusions.

12. Same pack: Lowell / Johjima / Neshek / Pierzynski swatch / Bram Stoker / Trinidad & Tobago World Leader / nice Luke Scott hitting pose

13. Pluto / Charon: This is a cool card; Topps could've expanded the set to include more astronomy.

14. Andrew Miller: Nice cover-the-mouth pitching shot.

15. Mark Spitz contest card! Great timing, with the Olympics still in swing.

16. Jim Thome: One of the best personal poses in the set. You know it's Thome, name on the uni or not.

17. Golden Gate Bridge: The buildings are interesting enough to include a few. "Ancient Wonders" might've been better.

18. James Fenimore Cooper: not enough Natty Bumppos in the world today.

19. Bengie Molina vs. Jered Weaver: the A&G artistic styling isn't uniform and these two show how. Weaver looks mottled and bored with his washed-out speckling. Molina shines smoothly like a smooth-and-shiny thing.

20. Jay Bruce: sharp-hitting Cincy call-up who I saw in Louisville early this year, Mr. Bruce and I share birthdays.

21. David Eckstein: nice post-spinach forearms.

22. Nietzsche: People forget how his thinking on the "now" so permates today's world.

23. B.J. Upton mini: Looks about 15, but can play when he wants to.

24. Kazuo Fukumori RC: Intense pitching pose, something all sets could use more of.

25. Callix Crabbe: That's a heckuva name, pardner.

Retail Box lowlights:

1. Kevin Van Dam, a champion bass fisherman. I'm sure you're very skilled Mr. Van Dam, but I'd trade you for the planet Pluto without thinking twice.

2. Andrew Litz: Air guitar champion on YouTube = entertainment. In my card pack = teh lame.

3. Corey Hart: Any particular reason they didn't put him in sunglasses? I mean, come on.

Totals: 1 swatch, 2 World Leaders, 4 black minis, 6 checklists, 11 states, 18 regular minis, 108 base cards

Hobby Box Highlights:

1. Tim Wakefield: Nice pose for the veteran knuckler

2. Linen Balloon mini: Sweet picture that could've come right out of Oz.

3. James Bowie mini: He of the legendary knife and another famous death at the Alamo.

4. Carlos Guillen: A super-highlight if Seattle hadn't let him go.

5. Nate McLouth: Looks good in the Pirates uni, which can't be said of everyone.

6. Matt Cain "Rip It Card" 16/99: Topps challenges you to rip it open and expose the internal card. Some people will avoid doing so to "preserve the condition" and thus miss out whatever lies within. Ha! I RIPS IT! (Inside is one of the mini parallels, Nick Swisher. It looks to be a little thinner than normal minis.)

7. Takashi Saito mini: I love that the stats include WHIP and Saito's is a sparkling 0.82.

8. Davy Crockett: Both famous Alamo personalities in the same box! Rightfully shown without the eponymous cap.

9. John Maine: Laconic expression is dead-on Joel Hodgson.

10. Holy firetruck! Mark Spitz swatch back-to-back with Bruce Jenner card! Olympic fever!

11. Jim Thome swatch! Evan Longoria mini! Hiroki Kuroda RC! Same pack!

12. Kerri Strugg back-to-back with Bonnie Blair: OK, it's an Olympic year, I gets it.

13. Oscar Wilde mini: now we're talking my kind of sardonic phrase-turnings.

14. Charles Dickens: Another fine writin' machine. (Not to be confused with Charles Dikkens, the well-known Dutch author.)

15. Albert Pujols: and looking very serious about knocking the ball into next month.

16. Last pack has Davey Crockett mini and Albert Einstein!

Hobby Box Lowlights:

1. Carl Crawford: Seriously, is this whole image airbrushed?

2. Carlos Zambrano: Whoa, the eyebrows! He's officially every sci-fi movie villian, ever.

3. Derek Jeter mini: on the plus side, people will no doubt trade for this.

4. Les Miles: College football coaches in my baseball pack? Whaaaa?

Totals: 1 Rip It #/99, 1 N43, 2 contest cards, 2 swatches, 2 World Leaders, 2 black minis, 16 states, 21 regular minis, 146 base cards

Summary: The Allen & Ginter boxes make for good pack ripping. After a few, I've already got most of the base 350-card set. Really, though, it's not so much about the base set, which you can buy for fairly small money. With so many parallels and non-sport subjects, it's easy to pick out specific sub-collections to focus on. It's also tempting to send the cards out en masse for autographs and my first attempt went to Dean Karnazes, the crazy-long distance runner.