CHRONICLES PACK WAR

I WENT TO TARGET HOPING TO FIND ANOTHER PACK OF CHRONICLES AND A HANGER OR TOPPS SERIES ONE BUT THE TOPPS WAS COMPLETELY WIPED OUT. THE CHRONICLES WAS AS WELL BUT I GOT LUCKY AND FOUND AN ORPHANED PACK HIDING BEHIND SOME BLASTERS. I HAD ENOUGH CASH FOR TWO PACKS SO I TOOK A SHOT AT A BASKETBALL CHRONICLES PACK HOPING TO SNAG A TRAE. I HAVE A HUGE BACKLOG OF POSTS THAT I'M NOT WRITING FAST ENOUGH SO INSTEAD OF TAKING SIX WEEKS TO POST ALL THE CARDS I WILL FORCE THE TWO PACKS TO BATTLE FOR OUR AMUSEMENT

2021-22 BASKETBALL VS 2022 BASEBALL FOR THE TITLE OF CHRONICLES SUPREMACY. EACH CARD WILL FACE EACH OTHER IN ORDER AND WILL RECEIVE A COMPELTELY ARBITRARY AMOUNT OF POINTS IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

PLAYER - WHICH PLAYER IS BETTER

DESIGN - WHICH DESIGN IS BETTER

ASSETS - IS IT A PARALLEL OR INSERT OR AUTORELIC OR HAVE A BUNCH OF SHINY FOIL OR DOES IT HAVE A BIG DONK ON THE CORNER BECAUSE SOMEONE DROPPED THE PACK STUFF LIKE THAT

VIBES - HOW DO I FEEL ABOUT THE CARD, DO I DIG IT OR DOES IT SUCK

LET'S START WITH A BONUS POINT FOR THE WRAPPER ITSELF. I LIKE THE COLORS ON BOTH. BLACK, RED AND YELLOW IS HAWKS COLORS AND THE BLUE ON THE BASEBALL PACK IS VERY SOOTHING. THE PLAYERS ON BOTH PACKS ARE ALL ROOKIES BUT NONE OF THEM HAVE REALLY BROKEN OUT AND BECOME A SUPERSTAR YET. THAT BASKETBALL WRAPPER IS JUST TOO BUSY THOUGH. YOU DON'T NEED SIX PLAYERS ON A WRAPPER, I DON'T CARE HOW WEAK THE DRAFT CLASS IS, PICK THE TOP TWO AND BE DONE WITH IT. BONUS POINT FOR BASEBALL 

BASKETBALL 0 BASEBALL 1

CARD 1: CAMERON THOMAS CHRONICLES BASE RC VS JOAN ADON LUMINENCE RC

BASKETBALL GETS TWO QUICK POINTS AS ADON IS CURRENTLY PLAYING IN TRIPLE-A AND I DISLIKE LUMINENCE. JOAN IS STILL YOUNG AND EVERYONE NEEDS PITCHING SO MAYBE HE GETS A SECOND CHANCE SOMEDAY. CAM THOMAS IS A PRETTY INTERESTING ROOKIE CARD TO HAVE AS HE BARELY PLAYED FOR THE NETS UNTIL THEY BLEW UP THE ROSTER, THEN HAD THREE STRAIGHT GAMES WITH 40+ POINTS SCORED, THEN ENDED UP BACK ON THE BENCH FOR SOME REASON. HE'S GOT ONE OF THE WEIRDEST SEASON GAME LOGS I'VE SEEN. NEITHER CARD IS BEAT UP WHICH IS A BONUS FOR THR FIRST CARD IN A RETAIL PACK BUT THEY AREN'T PRISTINE EITHER. CAM GETS A VIBE POINT JUST BECAUSE IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO WATCH WHAT THE NETS DO WITH A GUY WHO COULD BE A BIG SCORER

BASKETBALL 3 BASEBALL 1

CARD 2: EVAN MOBLEY THREADS RC VS. JUAN YEPEZ LIMITED RC

JUAN YEPEZ IS A FORMER BRAVES FARMHAND THAT GOT TRADED FOR MATT ADAMS A HUNDRED YEARS AGO. EVAN MOBLEY IS A BUDDING STAR THAT WAS ON THE ALL-ROOKIE TEAM TWO YEARS AGO AND THE ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM THIS YEAR. ADVANTAGE: HOOPS. BASEBALL WINS ON THE DESIGN HOWEVER, THIS LIMITED DESIGN'S TAKE ON THE PANINI ANGLES LOOKS SLICK WHILE THREADS LOOKS BORING AND REMINDS ME OF OLD DOLLAR TREE FOUR CARD PACKS OF SHAME. BOTH CARDS ARE SHARP, NO DINGS. I'M GIVING YEPEZ A VIBE POINT BECAUSE I REALLY DIG THAT RED AND BLACK DESIGN BUT MOBLEY GETS TWO FOR BEING A REALLY GOOD ROOKIE CARD

BASKETBALL 6 BASEBALL 3

CARD 3: KESSLER EDWARDS CHRONICLES BASE RC VS. CURTIS TERRY VERTEX RC

KESSLER EDWARDS WAS A SECOND ROUND PICK OF THE NETS THAT SURVIVED A TWO-WAY CONTRACT AND A TRADE TO THE KINGS. CURTIS TERRY NEVER PLAYED A GAME FOR THE TWINS AND IS NOW IN INDEPENDANT BALL.  UNTIL EDWARDS' OPTION GETS PICKED UP THIS IS A TIE. I KIND OF LIKE THIS WEIRDO VERTEX DESIGN, BUT THE POINT IT GETS IS LOST DUE TO A BIG DING ON THE TOP RIGHT CORNER. I'LL GIVE KESSLER A VIBE POINT BECAUSE I WANT HIS OPTION TO GET PICKED UP AND FOR HIM TO BE SUCCESSFUL WITH THE KINGS NEXT YEAR SO THE HAWKS GET SACRAMENTO'S DRAFT PICK

BASKETBALL 7 BASEBALL 3

CARD 4: ZION WILLIAMSON PRESTIGE VS. BRYAN DE LA CRUZ PINNACLE RC

BRYAN DE LA CRUZ IS A DAMN GOOD PLAYER FOR A SURPRISINGLY DECENT MARLINS TEAM BUT ZION WILLIAMSON IS STILL A STAR DESPITE THE INJURIES AND ANGRY BABY MAMAS. THIS MIGHT BE MY FIRST ZION CARD AS WELL? BASKETBALL GETS A POINT. THE 1992 PINNACLE DESIGN WILL NEVER LOSE TO A JUNKY PRESTIGE DESIGN THOUGH. SURE THE PINNACLE DESIGN HAS WEIRD FONTS AND UNNECESSARY FOIL BUT THIS PRESTIGE DESIGN IS EXTRA JUNKY. BASEBALL GETS TWO DESIGN POINTS OUT OF SPITE. BOTH CARDS HAVE NO DINGS AND GOOD VIBES BUT BASEBALL STILL WINS 3-2 ON SPITE

BASKETBALL 9 BASEBALL 6

CARD 5: ZIAIRE WILLIAMS ABSOLUTE MEMORABILIA RC VS. SPENCER TORKELSON CLASSICS RC

ZIAIRE IS A LOTTERY PICK WHO HAS STRUGGLED HIS FIRST TWO SEASONS IN THE LEAGUE AND SPENCER IS A NUMBER ONE OVERALL PICK WHO HAS STRUGGLED HIS FIRST TWO SEASONS IN THE LEAGUE. THE BRAVES ARE ABOUT TO PLAY THE TIGERS AND I DON'T WANT TORKELSON TO SUDDENLY FIGURE IT OUT AGAINST US SO HE GETS THE POINT. I ACTUALLY LIKE THE ABSOLUTE MEMORABILIA DESIGN, IT'S A LITTLE OVERDONE BUT FITS THE BRAND WELL ENOUGH. BUT FAKE RETRO IS MY FAVORITE DRUG SO CLASSICS WINS. NO DINGS FOR DINGS AND BOTH CARDS GET A VIBE POINT CUZ I'M FEELING GENEROUS

BASKETBALL 10 BASEBALL 9

CARD 6: JALEN GREEN LUMINENCE RC VS. VLADIMIR GUERRERO JR. CHRONICLES BASE

JALEN GREEN IS A BUDDING STAR FOR A BAD ROCKETS TEAM AND HIS FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT. HE AIN'T NO VLADDY JR. THOUGH, POINT TO BASEBALL. THE MORE I SEE THIS LUMINANCE DESIGN THE MORE I HATE IT AND I'M BITTER THAT IT'S SHOWING UP IN EVERY SINGLE CHRONICLES PACK I BUY. ANOTHER POINT FOR BASEBALL. I'LL GIVE JALEN A VIBE POINT SIMPLY BECAUSE THIS IS A GOOD ROOKIE CARD TO HAVE. VLAD GETS THREE BECAUSE VLAD. UNFAIR? YES, YES IT IS

BASKETBALL 11 BASEBALL 14

CARD 7: JAMES HARDEN PLAYBOOK VS. SHOHEI OHTANI THREADS

WHOA. LAST CARD OF THE FIRST HALF IS A BLOCKBUSTER MATCHUP OF MVPS. HARDEN AND OHTANI ARE BOTH FIRST BALLOT HALL OF FAMERS AND I'M VERY HAPPY TO SEE THEM IN HERE. THREE POINTS EACH, WHY NOT. AS FAR AS THE DESIGNS GO, I AM NOT A FAN OF THREADS AND WHILE PLAYBOOK IS BUSY AS HELL WITH ALL THOSE LINES GOING EVERY WHICH WAY, I DO LIKE THE LITTLE NBA 75 LOGO UP IN THE CORNER SO HOOPS GETS THE POINT. HARDEN HAS A LITTLE DING ON THE BOTTOM LEFT CORNER WHILE SHOHEI IS MINTY FRESH, POINT TO BASEBALL. SUPER GOOD VIBES ALL AROUND HERE TWO MORE POINTS EACH

HALFTIME SCORE: BASKETBALL 17 BASEBALL 20

BASEBALL LEADS AT HALFTIME BY A THREE RUN HOMER BUT THE SECOND HALF IS WHERE THE SHINIES COME OUT TO PLAY SO IT'S STILL ANYONE'S GAME

CARD 8: JADEN SPRINGER ABSOLUTE MEMORABILIA RC VS. SPENCER TORKELSON CHRONICLES BASE RC

JADEN WAS PHILLY'S FIRST ROUND PICK BUT HASN'T PLAYED MUCH THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS. WE KNOW WHAT SPENCER HAS DONE AND HE STILL GETS THE POINT BECAUSE I'M SUPERSTITIOUS. I'LL GIVE THE DESIGN POINT TO ABSOLUTE THIS TIME THOUGH. NO DINGS AND NO VIBES AS I'M A LITTLE BUMMED I GOT THE SAME PLAYER TWICE IN THE PACK

BASKETBALL 18 BASEBALL 21

CARD 9: TRENDON WATFORD DONRUSS RATED ROOKIE VS. WANDER FRANCO ESSENTIALS RC

TRENDON IS AN UNDRAFTED FREE AGENT THAT TURNED A TWO-WAY CONTRACT INTO A STANDARD ROOKIE CONTRACT AND IS GETTING DECENT MINUTES OFF THE BENCH FOR PORTLAND. IT'S A DAMN SHAME HE ENDS UP FACING AN EXTREMELY SHINY ROOKIE CARD OF ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS ON ONE OF THE BEST TEAMS IN THE LEAGUE. TWO POINTS FOR BASEBALL. THE DESIGN BATTLE IS TOUGH AS WELL, DONRUSS IS MY FAVORITE PANINI BASKETBALL BASE SET BUT ESSENTIALS IS - WELL, IT'S A MESS. WHY IS THE SECOND WANDER A GHOST? WHAT ARE ALL THOSE LINES IS THE BACKGROUND? WHY IS THIS CARD? BUT IT'S SHINY AS ALL HELL AND IT'S A DESIGN I DIDN'T GET IN MY OTHER PACK OF THIS STUFF. SCREW IT, A POINT FOR EACH. WE'RE ALSO FINALLY ABLE TO ASSIGN SOME ASSETS POINTS INSTEAD OF JUST TAKING AWAY FOR DINGED CORNERS. BASEBALL GETS A POINT FOR TEH SHIIIIINY. BASKETBALL GETS THREE POINTS FOR THE RATED ROOKIE LOGO. YOU KNOW IT'S WORTH IT. VIBE CHECK: TRENDON MIGHT GET INCLUDED IN A PACKAGE TO CARDS ON CARDS. THIS IS MY FIRST AND ONLY WANDER FRANCO ROOKIE. TWO VIBE POINTS FOR BASEBALL

 BASKETBALL 22 BASEBALL 27

CARD 10: JEREMIAH ROBINSON-EARL PLAYBOOK BRONZE PARALLEL RC VS. EDWARD CABRERA MAGNITUDE RC

JEREMIAH IS ANOTHER SECOND ROUND PICK WHO HAS MANAGED TO STICK WITH THEIR TEAM AND GET SOME DECENT MINUTES. I RESPECT THAT. CABRERA HAS LOCKED DOWN A SPOT IN THE STARTING ROTATION FOR THE MARLINS AND HAS UPGRADED HIS UNIFORM NUMBER FROM 79 TO 27. THAT'S WORTH A POINT. THIS MAGNITUDE DESIGN CONTINUES TO BEWILDER ME. A CHUNK OF DIRT ON ACETATE? I DON'T GET IT. I LIKE IT, BUT I DON'T GET IT. ANOTHER POINT FOR BASEBALL. HOOPS GETS THE PARALLEL POINT, BUT TO BE HONEST I DIDN'T REALIZE THIS WAS A SUPPOSEDLY ONE PER PACK PARALLEL UNTIL JUST NOW. BASEBALL GETS A VIBE POINT MOSTLY BECAUSE I'M CONFUSED ABOUT THE BRONZE FOIL PARALLEL

BASKETBALL 23 BASEBALL 30

CARD 11: SCOTTIE BARNES MARQUEE RC VS. JOSH LOWE CERTIFIED RC

SCOTTIE'S THE STARTING POWER FORWARD FOR THE RAPTORS AND JOSH IS THE STARTING RIGHT FIELDER FOR THE RAYS. BOTH ARE YOUNG AND PRETTY GOOD. A POINT FOR EACH. I'M HAVING A TOUGH TIME CHOOSING THE BEST DESIGN AS BOTH ARE NOT EXCEPTIONAL. I THINK I'M GOING TO GIVE THE POINT TO MARQUEE BECAUSE IT LOOKS MUCH BETTER THAN SOME OTHER MARQUEE DESIGNS I'VE SEEN (THE 19-20 DESIGN THAT LOOKS LIKE A PINBALL TABLE IS PARTICULARLY BAD) WHILE I'VE SEEN A LOT BETTER CERTIFIED DESIGNS OUT THERE. BOTH GET A SHINY POINT, THEY ARE BOTH EXTREMELY SHINY CARDS. A VIBE POINT TO BOTH TOO, THEY AIN'T SUPERSTARS BUT THEY ARE NOCE ROOKIE CARDS TO HAVE

BASKETBALL 27 BASEBALL 33

CARD 12: LEBRON JAMES MARQUEE BRONZE PARALLEL VS. REISS KNEHR PINK PULSART PARALLEL

THE BEST BASKETBALL PLAYER IN THE HISTORY OF EVER VS. A RELIEF PITCHER NAMED REISS KNEHR. FIVE POINTS FOR BASKETBALL. CRUSADE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SETS, BASEBALL GETS A POINT. THE MARQUEE CARD HAS LEBRON JAMES ON IT. FIVE POINTS FOR BASKETBALL. THIS IS MY ONE PER PACK PINK PULSAR PARALLEL CARD, IT'S SHINY AND PARALELLY. TWO POINTS FOR BASEBALL. I GOT A SECOND BRONZE PARALLEL IN THIS PACK AND IT'S LEBRON FRIGGIN JAMES. FIVE POINTS FOR BASKETBALL. VIBE CHECK: I LIVE OUT OF DIME AND QUARTER BOXES AND EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE A DOLLAR BOX. LEBRON JAMES CARDS ARE NOT IN THOSE BOXES. I ALSO WILL RIP MAYBE A HALF DOZEN NEW PACKS THIS YEAR. TEN IF I GO CRAZY. A RETAIL PARALLEL CARD OF LEBRON IS VERY LIKELY MY HIT OF THE YEAR, IF NOT THE DECADE. FIVE MORE POINTS TO BASKETBALL AND IT SHOULD PROBABLY BE TEN

BASKETBALL 47 BASEBALL 36

CARD 13: ALPEREN ŞENGÜN CRUSADE RC VS. EDWARD CABRERA PHOENIX RC

ALPEREN IS ANOTHER GOOD PLAYER FOR A PRETTY BAD ROCKETS TEAM. I STILL THINK A GUY LOCKING DOWN A STARTING ROTATION SPOT FOR ANY TEAM IN THE BIGS IS MORE VALUABLE NOWADAYS. POINT FOR BASEBALL. CRUSADE'S DESIGN BEATS PHOENIX'S THOUGH, GIMME THEM FLEUR-DE-LIS. BOTH CARDS GET A SHINY POINT FOR THE CHROME BUT BASEBALL GETS AN ADDITIONAL THREE VIBE POINTS AS THEY HAVE CLINCHED THE MOST CARDS WITH DIFFERENT DESIGNS IN THE PACK. THE MAIN REASON I LOVE THIS SET SO MUCH IS ALL THE DIFFERENT DESIGNS AND THE MORE DIFFERENT I GET THE HAPPIER I AM

BASKETBALL 49 BASEBALL 41

CARD 14: JOSHUA PRIMO CLASSICS RC VS. JOSH LOWE CRUSADE RC

ONE IS GETTING ALL STAR VOTES, THE OTHER IS OUT OF THE LEAGUE FOR BAD REASONS. THREE POINTS TO BASEBALL. I LOVE CLASSICS BUT SHINY SHIELDS IS BETTER. ANOTHER POINT TO BASEBALL PLUS A SHINY POINT. NO VIBES BUT BAD VIBES THIS TIME

BASKETBALL 49 BASEBALL 46

CARD 15: JALEN GREEN CLASSICS RC VS TYLER O'NEILL REVOLUTION

WE KNOW ABGOUT JALEN GREEN ALREADY AND I'M GLAD I GOT HIS ROOKIE CARD ON A MUCH BETTER DESIGN. TYLER O'NEILL IS BAD AND HURT FOR A TEAM HAVING A TERRIBLE YEAR. TWO POINTS FOR JALEN. I LIKE BOTH DESIGNS BUT REVOLUTION IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES. ONE POINT FOR HOOPS, THREE FOR HARDBALL. REVOLUTION GETS TWO SHINY POINTS, IT REALLY IS THAT SHINY. AS FOR VIBE POINTS, JALEN GETS ONE FOR UPGRADING THE RC FROM LUMINENCE. REVOLUTION GETS NONE AS I WAS DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED TO SEE MY LONE REVOLUTION CARD WAS A CARDINAL. THIS ONE ALSO MIGHT END UP GOING TO CARDS ON CARDS

FINAL SCORE: BASKETBALL 53 BASEBALL 51

LEBRON JAMES SINGLE HANDEDLY WINS IT FOR BASKETBALL. TO BE FAIR THAT'S WHAT ACTUAL LEBRON JAMES DOES TOO. HONESTLY I REALLY ENJOYED BOTH PACKS AND PROBABLY HAD MORE FUN OVERALL WITH THE BASEBALL PACK. IF THAT PINK PARALLEL OR REVOLUTION CARD HAD BEEN ANOTHER PLAYER THE BASEBALL PACK PROBABLY WOULD'VE WON OUT. NO BRAVES OR HAWKS IS A DISAPPOINTMENT THOUGH. SADLY NEW PRODUCTS ARE IN AND OUT OF STORES IN A MONTH NOWADAYS SO IT'S UNLIKELY I'LL FIND ANY MORE OF THIS STUFF IN A TARGET BUT IF I DO STUMBLE ACROSS A ROGUE PACK SOMEWHERE I WILL BE TEMPTED TO PICK IT UP. I MIGHT EVEN GET DESPERATE AND TRY A FOOTBALL PACK. AT LEAST I KNOW I WON'T GET ANY DOUBLES!

Heavyweight Retro Championship of the World: Card 5

The whole "Every celebrity on the planet dying all at the same time" thing has got my mind messed up so I took most of the weekend off. Time to get back on track with card #5.

#1 Heritage Young Hill Stars

This is a pretty cool card, although I'm almost certain James Shields is pasted in. The original Young Hill Stars card from 1960 featured Jack Fisher, Milt Pappas and Jerry Walker.

4 points

#2 Heritage High Joakim Soria

Forget the fact that this guy has his own trading card set, The best part about this card is on the back:

Cha cha cha!

2 points

#3 Goudey Mark Teahen

Ordinarily the sheer blueness of this card would be good for a high score, but poor Mark got caught up in a bad matchup. Story of this career, really.

1 point

fifth round, yadda yadda, scores...

2009 Heritage 12 - 2009 Goudey 11 - 2008 Heritage High Series 11.

Heavyweight Retro Championship of the World - Card 4

I'm already a day behind on this. Upper Deck's double barrel rack pack give them an advanage on this one.

#1 Ron Santo Ryne Sandberg Derek Lee Aramis Ramirez 4-in-1 Red

Since the Goudey racks are split into two packs of 8 cards each, it's possible to pull an insert or short print out of either half. This Goudey rack has a Cubs 4-in-1 '35 Goudey insert in it. I actually like these cards better than the base set. Not entirely sure why there are four different color variations when there was only red and blue in the original set (oh, yeah, now I remember, more parallels means soaking set collectors for more money) but I don't mind mixing and matching so no big deal. Normally I loathe all things Cub on this blog, but I've got nothing against Santo or Sandberg.

4 points

#2 Heritage Chad Tracy

I greatly appreciate the beard/no beard photo variations on this card. I also like the pinky-orange peach color to the bottom color bar. I'm not fond of pink cards, but I like peach. Go figure. The real genius of this card is on the back:

Chad's charity is responsible for teaching Ed Norton how to read. Nobody gets this reference, do they. You're all thinking about Fight Club now. Sigh, no one studies the classics anymore.

2 points

#3 Heritage High Miguel Tejada

Miggy should have beat Tracy, but I can't see Tejada in any uniform other than A's green without feeling uneasy. Besides, it was just discovered that the copyright was falsified and that this card is from 2006 and not 2008. I feel obligated to give equal time to Tejada's cartoon, but I can't think of a joke that isn't rude.

You guys make up your own captions on this one. After the MJ stuff VOTC sent me yesterday I'm sure there will be some good ones.

1 point

A quarter way through the battle, there are the standings:

2009 Goudey 10 - 2008 Heritage High Series 9 - 2009 Heritage 8.

Heavyweight Retro Championship of the World - Card 3

I have to be diligent about this and post at least one round a day or else I'll be finishing this up around Halloween.

#1 Heritage High Series Dioner Navarro

Catcher's mask and helmet perched upon a regular cap while Dioner sport sthe cool shades and a bad ass look on his face. If this card had come out in 1959 it would have made many straight-laced Eisenhower Era collectors wet their britches.

5 points

#2 Goudey Garret Anderson

Ok, so Braves don't always automatically win. Even if Garret was in a Braves uni and was living up to the absurdly high expectations Braves fans had for an end-of-career stopgap corner outfielder he wouldn't have beat bad-ass Dioner.

3 points

#3 Heritage Brandon Lyon

This one's pretty meh all around. There's a building a I guess. And Brandon's got a goatee. And it's red and blue. Yawn.

1 point

At the end of three:

2008 Heritage High Series 8 - 2009 Heritage 6 - 2009 Goudey 6.

(Don't Forget! Contest!)

Heavyweight Retro Championship of the World: Card 2

Note: Don't forget the contest... You have about a day to get in on it.

Goudey makes a comeback in the second round, and at least two bloggers may make snide remarks on my choice. They won't be that far off the mark to be honest, but I calls 'em as I sees 'em.

#1 Goudey James Parr

I'm the judge so I get to be biased. Braves always win. Even if they're a Gwinnett Brave. Besides, the card is not disgusting like the Guillen and you can read the BEACH patch on Parr's uniform.

3 points

(tie)#2 Heritage Khalil Greene

Anyone else remember when he was on the wrapper of every Draft Pick set? Now he's on his second franchise, playing a new position and is suffering from an anxiety disorder. Prospecting is a fickle business. I don't understand why Khalil's color photo isn't a portrait. That's the point of '60 Topps, you get an extreme close up in color and a tiny action shot in black & white.

1 point

(tie)#2 Heritage High Joe Crede

You know, in the '50s and early '60s pink was a very manly color often worn by men completely comfortable with their sexuality. Then the '80s happened and someone wrote a book about quiche and women started wearing huge shoulder pads and everyone got all uptight about everything and now pink is all messed up in the heads of the poor souls that had to grow up during that nightmarish decade. Poor Joe now has to suffer the brunt of Pink Bigotry. The blue tarp in the background don't help matters at all.

1 point

Two rounds in the books:

2009 Heritage 5 - 2008 Heritage High Series 3 - 2009 Goudey 3.

Heavyweight Retro Championship of the World: Card 1

Ok, let's get this party started. You guys voted that the next pack war be between jumbo packs of Retro products Heritage & Goudey. I threw a curveball at ya and added a jumbo of '08 Heritage High series. Let's see which retro product reigns supreme! (at least until Allen & Ginter comes out)

The Rules: I will be matching up each card as they come out of the pack. I'll rank them in order of who I think is the best and assign 0-5 points to each card. Whichever pack has the highest number of points will be teh winnah. If I am unable to determine the winner of a certain round I'll have you guys decide in the comments.

Let'e start 'er up... Card 1:

#1 09 Heritage Cole Hamels

The man won the NLCS and the World Series MVPs. Not a bad pitcher at all. I like th fact that Topps was able to stay with the '60 Topps mugshot motif and still get an interesting background with the stadium press boxes over his shoulder.

4 points

#2 08 Heritage High Ryan Ludwick

Quad-A player who finally broke through last year. Nice posed swing as he stares off into the distance gazing at his FUTURE. The spring training scoreboard and ads don't hurt neither.

2 points

#4 09 Goudey Carlos Guillen

This card is hideous. I totally understand Carlos isn't Brad Pitt or anything, but did Upper Deck really need to make him look like Quasimodo wearing pajamas? Ugh, this card disgusts me.

0 points

After one round:

2009 Heritage 4 - 2008 Heritage High Series 2 - 2009 Goudey 0.

Jackie vs. Mickey: Teh Winnar

Chris Carpenter won in a rout so as promised, I picked up a pack of series 2 with Robinson on the wrapper when I stopped by the card shop for some bubble mailers today. Here are the results:

453 Javier Valentin

Full catcher's gear throwin out a RUNNER! Awwww yeah.

520 Adrian Gonzalez

Does he have a nickname? 22 homers in two months you need a nickname. Gonzo perhaps? A-Gon? Skippy? Yeah, that sounds right. Skippy with the mighty cut.

583 Francisco Cordero

The joys of cropping. I think part of my obsession with this is that I'm becoming an old geezer very quickly and the eyes (which were never good to begin with) are starting to go.

607 Jarrod Washburn
636 Armando Galarraga
Not interesting enough for scans.

416 Josh Whitesell RC

The red jersey and border and orange dirt make this a nifty looking card. Is he playing on Mars or something? Did the bag get swiped by a Mars rover?

606 Nick Johnson black border #17/58

These black border cards are nifty. I like the sparkly on the border. I've got an autographed minor league ball of Nick in my collection for some reason. It seemed like a good deal at the time.

TTT48 Blech.
536 Khalil Greene
Boring

325 Jim Thome

Posed shot of a 500 home run hitter! Do this more often Topps!

595 Vernon Wells

Crash imminent!

Pretty good pack, it was the last Jackie in the box too. Lots of David Wright packs in the box for some unknown reason.

As for the next war, 17 of you wanted to see Jumbo packs of Topps and UD, 5 of you wanted to see a 1989 Topps 100 card pack fight with a First Edition basketball blaster, 7 preverts wanted me to make love not war and the winner with 25 votes was...

2009 Topps Heritage Jumbo

vs. 2009 Upper Deck Goudey Jumbo

But wait, there's more! A third party has jumped into the ring!!!

2008 Topps Baseball Updates and Highlights presents 2009 Topps Heritage High Number Series with Three Completely Superfluous Updates and Highlights Cards Per Jumbo Pack!!! AND GUUUUUM!!!!!111ONE

A three way battle for Retro Supremacy! I think the High Series pack may have snuck in a FOREIGN OBJECT! Stay tuned for this one folks! But don't hold your breath, I have 46 cards to scan for this thing. I'll start this puppy by Monday at the latest.

2009 Topps Series Two Hobby Packs - Jackie vs. Mickey - Card 10

I have a cold today and I just don't feel like writing anything at all. This is the last card in both the Topps packs though and the winner essentially decides who takes all the marbles. Mickey is up 5-4, but he had a David Wright filler card in there which automatically docks him a half point. Here are your choices, vote for the winning pack:

Jackie Robinson pack last card:
CHRIS CARPENTER

Card front: See what I mean about cropping the photo tight? Would this be a better card if we could see the pitcher's mound? I think not.

Card back: In '07 Chris was the first opening day starter in history to not make another appearance for the team that year. That's somewhat surprising. I think my favorite top o' the card stat is 'Lowest Career OPS Against' just for the crazy low OPS totals. Jack Wilson has an .086 OPS lifetime against Chris. That's like, a full 100 points below his career OPS against everyone else!

*waits for the Pirate hate mail*

Mickey Mantle pack last card:
ERVIN SANTANA

Card front: ANKLE, YAARRRGH. Actually, you can kinda see some dudes hanging out in the dugout so that's cool.

Card back: 'Lowest Career OPS Against' for Ervin: Kurt Suzuki at .118. I'm disappointed he didn't have someone under .100. Ervin was pretty good last year with a 16-7 record, 214 Ks and 3.49 ERA. I hope the arm problems he's suffering don't derail him this year. As far as card back name dropping goes, Ervin's got a pretty good one: Nolan Ryan, who like Ervin, had at least 7 straight starts with 7 Ks.

VERDICT:

Chris is back from a full scale arm blowout and is pitching well. Ervin is an up and comer, but he's got a sore arm. I'll be honest, I'm leading toward Chris (mainly so Madding doesn't get mad at me again) but I'm not going to decide the winner of the pack battle, you are.

Vote for the winner of the battle in the comments. I'll pick up a pack featuring the winner next time I hit the local card shop and rip it for ya'll.

Jackie Robinson 4, Mickey Mantle 4 1/2

2009 Topps Series Two Hobby Packs - Jackie vs. Mickey - Card 9

Jackie's gotta win this one or it's all over despite the extra Gold card in the pack. Let's see what he throws at us when his back's against the wall.

Jackie Robinson pack card 4:
TONY LaRUSSA

Card front: See how good a card looks when it's cropped tight? You don't need to see Tony's ankles. Tony looks crotchety and bedraggled as befits a manager with almost 2500 wins.

Card back: There's a lot of amazing stats in his bio write-up (won 3 straight division titles twice, Won a World Series for both leagues, Third all-time in wins) But the list of 'Most Wins By Cardinals Managers' up on top floored me. Here are the guys behind Tony: Red Schoendienst, Whitey Herzog, Billy Southworth, Branch Rickey, Frankie Frisch. Notice anything about those guys? All Hall of Famers except Whitey, who will get in on the Veteran's ballot sooner or later.

Mickey Mantle pack card 4:
MARK BUEHRLE

Card front: I'm officially obsessed with ankles now. Crop that card!!! This isn't a particularly good picture of Mark, it looks less like he's following through on a delivery and more like he's lumbering around like an idiot.

Card back: I'm struck by how durable Mark is. Eight straight seasons of 30 or more starts for the Sox, and he's pitched very effectively every single year. The back states that his 8 game home winning streak at US Cellular Field is the longest for a Sox pitcher since LaMarr Hoyt. He passed LaMarr this year after winning four decisions at home before losing to the A's. The craziest stat is the 'Lowest Career OPS Against' mark. Jacque Jones has an .074 OPS against Buehrle. Not batting average, not on base percentage, OPS.

VERDICT:

I'm a fan of Buerhle, but he can't beat a guy with almost 2500 career wins. Jackie stays alive going into the last card in the pack.

Jackie Robinson 4, Mickey Mantle 5

2009 Topps Series Two Hobby Packs - Jackie vs. Mickey - Card 8

If you voted in the poll for the 100 card pack of '89 Topps vs. the First Edition Blaster the only blaster I've found so far is a First Edition basketball box. It looks like the '09 options are winning anyway, so there's still time to switch your vote. To the one guy who voted for me to 'make love not war', you really want to see that? I might break the interwebs.

Jackie Robinson pack card 4:
CARLOS GONZALEZ

Card front: Carlos waits for a pop up to come down. I likethe fact that Topps is using more interesting photography, but is it completely necessary to show everyone in a full body shot? It's like there's a photo editor at Topps who feels his mission in life is to document the height players are wearing their socks at in the new millennium. Crop this sucker.

Card back: I had no idea who this dude was until I saw the back and realized it was the guy who played on the A's last year. Series Two is good for all those second tier players who changed teams over the offseason that no one bothered to photoshop a new uni onto him immediately to get him into Series One. Carlos' first seven MLB hits were all for extra bases. Last guy to do that was Johhny Mize.

Mickey Mantle pack card 4:
JASON KENDALL

Card front: I will never, ever get used to Jason wearing a uniform where yellow is not the primary color. I love the full catcher's gear but here's another card that could use a closer crop. We do not need to see the shin guards, but it would be nice to be able to actually see Jason peering out toward the mound.

Card back: Jason's stats eat up the entire back of the card so there's no place to put a "Niche in History"factoid. What scares me about this is that he has only been playing since 1996. I remember when you had to have been playing since the Sixties in order to pull that off on the back of your card. Two names on Jason's "I Own These Pitchers" list that pop out: Mark Buehrle .467 average against and Roy Oswalt .390 average against.

VERDICT:

Jason is on the downward slide of his career while Carlos is just starting his. Right now they're both hitting under the Mendoza line though. In a few years from now, Carlos might be a heck of a player, but right now Kendall has some name recognition and better yet, the tools of ignorance. Jackie Robinson is backed up against the wall with another Mantle victory.

Jackie Robinson 3, Mickey Mantle 5