2007 Topps Series 3: 15 pack break part 1

Series 3 is out (That's Updates and Highlights to you nitpickers) and I immediately grabbed as many packs as I could. Here's a 15 hobby pack break of this shiny new stuff.

Just as one does not simply rock into Mordor, one can't just open up 15 packs, list them out, scan them all and post everything into one massive post all at once. I'll be breaking this down into three sets of five over the next few days. I'll be updating the posts one pack at a time so you all don't have to wait three days to get the posts polished up before I post them. U&H was already delayed twice, why wait some more? Check out A Pack A Day if you just absolutely can't wait for a pack.

Pack 1:

UH112 Henry Owens
UH81 Kelly Shoppach
UH34 Paul McAnulty
UH159 Jarrod Saltalamaccia RC
UH107 Damion Easley
UH5 Steve Trachsel red
UH200 Brad Salmon RC red
GN522 Curtis Granderson Generation Now Double #3
UH162 Phil Hughes RC
UH227 David Wright NL All Star

Not a terrible first pack. The Salty card is cool and since he's in a Rangers uniform that means Teixeira is going to be in a Braves uni. AT LEAST HE BETTER BE YOU HEAR ME TOPPS. Don't make me smack you. Phil Hughes is a nice card and any David Wright is welcome even though he is one of the enemy. More stupid red parallels mean 30 cards out of these packs are more or less useless to me. Finally, the Curtis Granderson Generation Now card is ridiculous not only in that the insert set is now up to over 500 cards in size, but that Topps deems it essential to honor a double hit off Esteban Loaiza with a trading card.

Pack 2:

UH116 Jason Frasor
UH123 Jack Cust
UH104 Jorge Sosa
UH198 Mike Zagurski RC
UH45 Byung-Hyun Kim
UH173 Kevin Slowey RC red
UH59 Ryan Doumit
UH265 Jorge Posada Gold #0465/2007
UH273 John Lackey AL All-Star
UH268 Carlos Guillen AL All-Star
Checklist one of three

The Posada gold card would appear to be the best from this pack, but you'd be wrong. Mike Zagurski's rookie card takes the prize simply for the fact that he looks like a grown up Engelberg from the Bad News Bears. Walter Matthau version, of course. Nothing much else to speak of in this pack except that Jack Cust once kicked ass for me in an old Front Page Sports '98 sim league I was in a few years ago.

Pack 3:

UH194 Guillermo Rodriguez RC
UH189 Lee Gronkiewicz RC
UH124 Lenny DiNardo
UH322 David Murphy RC
UH69 Claudio Vargas
UH228 Carlos Beltran NL All-Star red
UH311 Josh Phelps red
GN408 Prince Fielder Generation Now Home Run #12
UH157 Andy LaRoche RC
UH218 Derek Jeter AL All-Star

Buncha rookies in this pack. I'm somewhat dismayed to see another rookie card with that cheesy red background that ended up on a ton of Red Sox cards over the past couple of years. Even worse, it's on David Murphy's card which means the red backdrop has infected the Rangers cards as well. Someone call the CDC! Beltran and Jeter All-Star cards are nice to have. I actually like the Gen Now card in this pack. It's Prince Fielder, it's counting down homers instead of catcher's interference or sac flies or some such nonsense, and the card just looks good. The 8th one I pull with the same photo will get tedious though.

Pack 4:

UH106 Ruben Gotay
UH118 John McDonald
UH136 Ramon Vazquez
UH101 Jayson Werth
UH200 Brad Salmon RC
UH138 Sean Marshall red
UH118 John McDonald red
GN543 Curtis Granderson Generation Now Double #24
UH157 Dan Haren AL All-Star
UH218 255 Dmitri Young NL All-Star

Crapped out on this pack. Got my first double in Brad Salmon and yet another Curtis Granderson Gen Now card. So what if the other Salmon is a red parallel and the number is different on the Granderson card. The picture's the same on both and they will end up simply cluttering up my Topps box. How did Brad Salmon get the coveted #200 card anyway? If this was actually Series 3, he'd end up with #861 which seems more appropriate. He's got the stupid beige background instead of the stupid red background. Is the guy at least a decent pitcher for all the aggravation he's giving me? Hrm, average middle reliever. Ok, I'll let it slide this time, but no more annoying cards from you, young man.

Pack 5:

UH209 Troy Tulowitzki Season Highlights
UH115 Casey Janssen
UH134 Reggie Willits
UH185 Nate Schierholtz RC
UH67 Tony Graffanino
UH236 Johan Santana AL All-Star red
UH202 Danny Putnam RC red
Barry Bonds Desecration of History 756
UH286 Prince Fielder Home Run Derby
UH257 JJ Hardy NL All-Star

Lotsa Brewers in this pack. Tony Graffanino has managed to carve out a nice little career for himself. Good for him. If you're going to get a lousy red card, it may as well be of a superstar like Santana. I'll get the base card soon enough once the blasters hit. Tulowitzki's highlight was an unassisted triple play against the Braves. I was watching that game and it was an interesting feeling to be thinking "Holy shit, that was cool!" and "Aw FUCK how did that just happen?!?" simultaneously. I had just about the same reaction to Barry's 756 card. I didn't appreciate just how nice it was not to get any of these damn cards in series two packs.

Up soon... Packs 6-10.