2011 Allen & Ginter Box Break Part 1: Packaging, Box Topper and the Very First Pack

Welcome to the 5th Annual Cardboard Junkie Allen & Ginter Obsessathon! If you missed any of the previous events, you can find them here:

2007   2008   2009   2010

I didn't kick this off with the 2006 Edition of A&G because a) I wasn't card blogging back then and b) I couldn't find a hobby box to save my soul. If anyone happens to have a spare empty box of  2006 Allen & Ginter lying around I'll be happy to over-analyze it for you in blog format if you wish.

The 2011 Edition has arrived! Time to rip open the box and spill its pulpy guts for all to see! But first... you know what I have to do. Oh yes you do, don't act like you didn't see this coming. First...

THE PACKAGING

Yes you have to put up with me describing all the packing materials for the product before you get to see any cards. And don't try to cheat and just scroll down to the bottom! This blog will know and instead of my box topper you'll see that Italian Spiderman gif again. SO NO PEEKING. Got it? good. Here's the box top.

I must begin by saying that I really like the Ginter nameplate this year. The red, black and gold color scheme is pleasing to my quickly deteriorating eyeballs. I also like the fact that Topps returned to a frame motif on the front. Last year's edition had full bleed borders which was unseemly for a retro product like this. The gilded frame encloses another generic scene of pastoral nineteenth century baseball life. I hazard a guess that the location is Elysian Fields, as the player looks a lot like a mob enforcer from Jersey. Dude's wielding that bat like he's swinging for kneecaps, not curveballs.

Just like last year the inside of the box is just a slight reordering of all the elements on the front to orient it horizontally. The Black Ribbon of Mojo heralding all the things you could have gotten in your box instead of three common relic cards is exactly the same on the front and back with the exception that the right side of the ribbon now wraps behind the frame. Topps chose two autographs of Manny Pacquiao and Ryan Howard and a DNA card of JFK for their sample cards. The three sample mini cards are also the same as the ones on the front. Topps has done this the past two years and it saddens me greatly. I want to see all kinds of mini cards not just two scribbles and a pube. Way back in 2007 and 2008, Topps actually put base minis as the samples on the box. Of course back then they had Bruce Lee and a guy who ate hot dogs quickly as their featured non-baseball subjects.

An extremely disturbing aspect of the inside flap is that the "World's Champions 1887-2011" text has moved, meaning there is now an unencumbered view of bat-wielding creepy guy's package. I just flat out didn't want to know if this guy was wearing a cup or not and it's impossible to avoid finding out if you try to see what hits you won't be getting in your box on the Black Ribbon if Mojo. "Yo buddy! What are YOU looking at??"

Look at that shifty-ass motherscrubber. That man will cut you for a box of Cracker Jack. HE DON'T EVEN LIKE CRACKER JACK. He's a Twizzlers man. A Twizzlers man with a KNIFE. Don't look at his junk.

Let's move on to the side panels before I need stitches.The side panel is the 2011 Ginter nameplate. No more, no less. Very classy looking and I wish I hadn't scanned it cockeyed now.

The front panel is much the same with an added old timey map of the world on the side. The Old Planter security seal betrays the fact that I had this entire box ripped before it came anywhere near a scanner.

The back panel replaces the map with a picture of a ship. The two pictures probably represent the new standard-sized insert sets of famous scientists and ships.

The box bottom is horribly boring now that the grouping within the relic and auto cards have been abolished. Other than the standard legalese, the only important information on the bottom is the odds on box toppers. The short version - Cabinet 1:2 boxes, N43 1:2 boxes, everything else fugettaboutit.

Not even going to make this image super sized it's that boring.

Oh, look. A serial number underneath the packs. I shall scan it and post it, for I am insane.

Umm... Box bottoms don't scan very well. The serial used to be on the cardboard insert thing that kept the packs from shuffling around but it's actually printed on the box itself this time.This shall be tricky...

Ha ha! I unfolded the box!

*Ahem* Oh, look. A serial number underneath the packs. I shall scan it and post it, for I am insane. The highest serial number yet! Although last year wasn't really a number since there were random letters floating around in there.

Checklists! I love checklists! Other people have already scanned the checklists, but I did it anyway BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I DO. I shall recount in this post my initial thoughts upon scanning the checklist.

Lou Holtz... Hope Solo...Dirk Hayhurst? How good would our bullpen look with Tim Collins...CHIPPAH Shmyrev? Uggs... L.L. Zamenhof, don't know who that is but I want it. Prado... Jair... Tim Howard! George Bush? Brandon Beachy RC! Hanson... Freddie Freeman RC! Guy Fieri? Damn, I want a blue shroom burger from the Vortex now...Picabo! RUDY

Good lord, how did I eff up this scan so badly. WHAT'S DONE IS DONE. Back to stream of consciousness reactions.

MAC! Itchy... Minor...Huddy... Smilin' Stan?! Oh Lord, the royal wedding...DLowe...Peter Gammons! Oh crap SPs - HEYWARD. FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU oh inserts. Sketches - J-Hey! Yay! Flora of the World - gimmicky crap Animals in Peril - oooh Zappa lyrics imminent -

Kiss my aura, Dora
That's right -
you know why?
Because it was real angora!
Would you all like some more-a?
Right here on the flora?
How about you Fauna?
You wanna?

Ok back to inserts - Portraits of Penultimacy - how the hell are Igor and Tonto penultimate? Hometown Heroes - J-HEY! Uggs, CHIPPAH! DLowe. To be continued...

Heroes - McCANN! and not much else. Looking for five cards out of a hundred. World's Most Mysterious Figures - any set with Rasputin in it is good enough for me. I hope it's not a case hit or something. Step Right Up - The Human Blockhead: a card about me!! Uninvited Guests - ME GHOSTA. Floating Fortresses - Ships are nice but one's enough for me. The Minds That Made The Future - NERDGASM. MUST. CAPTURE. ALL. SCIENTISTS. and bend them to my will muahahahha The Ascent of Man - SCIENCE! Suck it, creationists. Keep your stickers out of my textbooks

Aw hell, Autograph cards - J-HEY! John McEnroe? Wee Man?? Gore & Olbermann??? W???? ANDRES TORRES????????????

Ok last page of checklists. HOLY CRISPY FISHSTICKS THERE'S A FRIGGING CRAPLOAD OF RELICS. Five freaking Braves relics. great. DNA Relics - must clone nixon Cut sigs - who cares.

TOPPS - Y U NO CHECKLIST BOXTOPPERS

Never tell me the odds - You can see all this crap at Baseballcardpedia. My eyes can't handle the squinty any more.

One bit of commentary though - Why is a card meant to be buried in the dirt inserted at a 1 in 6 boxes ratio? Seriously, why, Topps, why??

The wrapper is interesting this year. Topps has traditionally gone with light, bright, airy colors for their Allen & Ginter wrappers in the past. This one is Dark. I can understand the use of the bronze background as that color is an important design element this year. The Black Death Bar at the bottom and the featured inclusion of Shifty McStabsalot wielding a war club is frightening though. buy this pack if you ever want to see your loved ones again  Maybe Shifty is actually a jolly scamp and we'll all grow to love his antics soon.
 
Ok, you've read all this crap about the wrapper diligently here's the Box Topper Payoff. You good, sweet, attentive readers can skip the next little bit meant for the quick scrollers.

YOU CHEATED!!!

GET BACK UP THERE AND LOOK AT THE PACKAGING  OR NO BOX TOPPER FOR YOU

All right cheater. Did you look at the wrappers? ALL the wrappers? You did? good. Here's a pop quiz before I show off my box topper.

1) What player is Dayf constantly flipping his shit over?
a) George Brett
b) Jason Heyward
c) Kristi Yamaguchi
d) Silky Johnson

2) What album cover does Shifty McStabsalot's junk resemble?
a) The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
b) David Bowie - Diamond Dogs
c) Nirvana - Nevermind
d) Ken - By Request Only

3) How the hell did Dayf screw up the scan of that checklist?
a) He has two checklists and one moved during the scanning process
b) A tragic cut and paste mishap
c) He's an idiot who should not be allowed near electronic equipment under any circumstances
d) That's actually how the checklist looks

4) Are the newfangled bronze wrappers still made of the super sexy sleek silky material that drive all the men wild?
a) Yes.
b) Hell yes.
c) mmmmmm oooooooh yes yes YES.
d) go away, 'batin

EXTRA CREDIT - Create a backstory for our beloved 2011 Ginter mascot, Shifty McStabsalot.

If you got this far, you passed. Here's mah boxtoppah.

N43s make a comeback after two straight years of cabinet cards! The place where I used to find boxtoppers for fifty cents a throw changed ownership so collecting this year's set will be pricey for me. Here's the checklist:

And it's a terrible checklist. It's odd not seeing Ryan Zimmerman in every N43 set anymore. It's also odd that after one of the best rookie crops in forever, that Aroldis Chapman is the one 2010 rookie to get an N43. Yeah this checklist sucks. I'll trade mine for David Price and call it a year. Oh who did I get? You couldn't tell from the card 'number'?

Adam Wainright and his balky elbow. Oh well, I guess it's the closest thing to a Brave in the set. DON'T YOU EVEN SAY IT.

Packaging and bonus card obsessory is complete! Time for...

THE FIRST PACK

119 Nancy Lopez

Dominated the LPGA like Tiger dominated the PGA. BONUS: no skank scandals! I'm digging the AG logo used for the non-baseball subjects.

206 Tsuyoshi Nishioka

Rookie card of another snake-bitten Japanese import. A broken leg is a hell of a way to start your career.

101 Peter Bourjos

Notable only because his recent injury prompted the call up of blue chip prospect Mike Trout.

140 Felix Hernandez

Winning a Cy Young with a 13-12 record - it's good to be da king.

63 Neil Walker

The Pirates have a winning record? What??

158 Billy Butler

Base card in the SP slot means great sadness.

271 Chris Young mini A&G  back

There's a buttpile of mini inserts again this year so the A&Gs might be easier to find than the base minis again this year. The shape behind Old Planter is kind of nifty this year. It resembles to me a depiction of a slice of hallucinogenic ergot-tainted rye bread in a German Expressionist woodcut. You don't care about the art, you care about one thing...

THE FRANKENSET RETURNS

Did Chris Young make it into the Frankenset?
NO - Chris was blocked by a 2006 mini of Hall of Famer Lloyd Waner.

HH100 Travis Snider Hometown Heroes

Whoever designs the A&G set has to be a Font Nerd because the fonts this year are fantastic. I really like the map with the little toothpick flag you get with a sandwich at a diner pushed in.

Well, the first pack was probably the most utterly boring out of the entire box. The next three make up for it though.

2009 Allen & Ginter Box Break Part 1: Packaging, Box Topper and the Very First Pack

Yep, I got you all hyped up over the release of Allen & Ginter, teased my box and the first thing I'm going to do is scan all the packaging. That's just how I roll. The box top has a very familiar looking 19th century gentleman featured but I can't quite place him. I'll figure it out sooner or later. There's also a Mantle relic, Howard auto and Napoleon pube card on there as well. It's all very Allen & Gintery indeed (except the pube).

Here's the inside flap of the box top. Disappointingly, the preview cards are the same, but Old Planter makes up for the lack of originality. Both the inside and outside of the box top has a large warning about choking hazards. There must be an excessive amount of New York Mets cards in the checklist.

The front side of the box has a sheep on it for some inexplicable reason. Maybe the sheep is food for all the mythological monster inserts inside the box. At any rate it's making me want to play a round or two of Worms on the Gameboy. Yes, I still play my Gameboy, mainly because I have the Worms: Armageddon cartridge. As you can see, I got a little rambunctious opening the box up and trashed it a little. I guess I have to buy another box!

The sides of the box have familiar looking guy and the logo. All sides look just about the same excet for the picture on the left.

The back of the box hasplaying cards on it. You never know, this could have to do with the code. Just in case:

9D JC 9S
8C AS 8H

If this is a clue and it holps someone solve the code, please send a Dominique Wilkins auto my way.

Ok, the box bottom is one half legalese and I'm not even going to bother with that. The stuff you want is right here: Relic and Auto group listings. There's also the odds for pulling an N43 auto/relic card. Here's yer chances:

N43 Relic - 1:162 boxes
N43 Autograph - 1:270 boxes
N43 AutoRelic - 1:1,621 boxes

It sure ain't easy, but someone has to pull 'em. I scanned this bit at 300 dpi so if you want a good look, just click on the image. Let's look at the autograph groupings first.

There's only two groups: Group A (1:2,730 packs) and Group B (1:51 packs). You're looking at an autograph in about every other box there. Chris Olds wasn't kidding on that Beckett box break, there really are 8 different Michael Phelps autographs listed which is frankly quite ridiculous. There are only 8 other players in the group! Group B is sort of odd, as the usually short printed non-baseball autos are mixed in with the ones that people usually pull like Carlos Gomez and Alexi Casilla. I'm not sure what's going on there, but if there are short printed autographs it's a bit misleading to lump them in with the 1:51 list. The one card on that list that really messed with my mind was the Will Simpson/Archie Bunker one. First, I had no clue how a fictional character could possibly sign an autograph. I also didn't know who the heck Will Simpson was. Then I Googled it and found this.

SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME THERE ISN'T A HORSE AUTOGRAPH IN THIS PRODUCT.

ON A MINI CARD NO LESS.

AAAAAAH MIND SNAPPED

Ok, enough of autographs, let's move on to the relics. Four groups here:
Group A: 1:100 Packs
Group B: 1:215 Packs
Group C: 1:39 Packs
Group D: 1:17 Packs

Group A appears to be the toughy one. That group has all the oddball subjects (horses and mascots and Phelps, oh my!) along with some high profile players (Pujols, Manny and Mantle) and finally a few low level names that no one will associate with being short printed at all. Tim Hudson and Casey Kotchman are in Group A, but I doubt they will go for a premium at all.

Group B looks like the Big Boy group with A-Rod Pujols and Ichiro with the stars and high odds (1 in about 9 or 10 boxes) but then you realize there's only eight subjects and one of them is Eric Gagne. Group C and D relics are the ones you'll end up pulling out of your box althought there's a good mix of superstars in there - Howard, Chipper, Lincecum, Vladdy, Prince, Wright, Longoria... There's a better than average chance of pulling a superstar relic out of an average box.

Oh, look. A serial number underneath the packs. I shall scan it and post it, for I am insane.

- the hell??

Dear lord, I got TWO serial numbers!

SERIAL NUMBER HOT BOX MOJO!!!

Here's the wrapper. You'll see plenty of these so let's not dwell on it.

Ah, this is what we want, the odds. The possibility of successfully pulling anything good if you're not a case breaker is approximately 3720 to 1. Never tell me the odds! Oh well, here they are anyway in order of "you'll have piles of 'em" to "fuggehtaboudit".

A&G Ad Back Mini Parallel - 1:5 packs
Baseball Highlights Sketches - 1:6 packs
Black Bordered Mini Parallel - 1:10 packs
Ginter Code Parallel card - 1:12 packs
National Heroes Mini - 1:12
Hoaxes, Hoodwinks, Bamboozles & Felonies That Destroyed The Lives Of Thousands Of People Mini - 1:12
Short Print Parallel - 1:13 packs
Creatures of Legend, Myth & Terror Mini - 1:48 packs
A&G Ad Back Mini Short Print Parallel - 1:65 packs
No Number Mini Parallel - 1:95 packs
Black Bordered Mini Short Print Parallel - 1:130 packs
Bazooka Ad Back Mini Parallel - 1:191 packs
Rip Card - 1:257 packs
Framed Mini Cloth Cards - 1: 278 packs
Framed Mini Printing Plates - 1:608 packs
Wood Mini Parallel - 1:2,780 packs
Cut Signature - 1:186,000 packs
Framed DNA Relic - 1:186,000 packs
Autos and Relics are detailed about and are overall 1:8 packs.

Or to put it another way:

A&G Ad Back Mini Parallel - about 6 per box
Baseball Highlights Sketches - 4 per box
Black Bordered Mini Parallel - about 3 or 4 per box
Ginter Code Parallel card - 2 per box
National Heroes Mini - 2 per box
Hoaxes, Hoodwinks, Bamboozles & Felonies That Destroyed The Lives Of Thousands Of People Mini - 2 per box
Short Print Parallel - 2 per box
Creatures of Legend, Myth & Terror Mini - 1 in 2 boxes
A&G Ad Back Mini Short Print Parallel -about 1 in 3 boxess
No Number Mini Parallel - about 1 in 4 boxes
Black Bordered Mini Short Print Parallel - about 1 in 4 or 5 boxes
Bazooka Ad Back Mini Parallel - 1 in 8 boxes
Rip Card - about 1 in 11 boxes
Framed Mini Cloth Cards - about 1 12 boxes
Framed Mini Printing Plates - 1 in 25 boxes
Wood Mini Parallel - 1 in 116 boxes
Cut Signature - 1 in 7,750 boxes or 1 in 146 cases
Framed DNA Relic - ditto

Overall, expect about 25 total inserts and parallels per box not counting normal minis, one per pack National Pride cards and short prints. Oddly enough there is no odds for short prints on the pack. I'm hoping they are still 1:2 packs, or the joy of building this set is going to be greatly diminished.

Here's the full checklist that is included as a box loader in every hobby box. If anyone has a spare checklist from 2006, I could use one. The print is tiny, and quite frankly my eyes are too tired to be staring at it tonight. I will be focusing on a couple of interesting things in it in a future post. The one thing that I was most interested to see was the replacement for the Bernie Madoff card. Card #2 is now "Alabama Changes Value of Pi". This made me smile broadly.

Ok, now for the goodies. Gentlemen, I introduce... THE BOX TOPPER:

(+8 Gint-a-Cuffs)

I got a Cabinet Card. Getting a cabinet card basically means you didn't get an autorelic, but I'd never get one of those anyway. The past three years I've gone back and forth Cabinet, N43, Cabinet. Looks like I'll be getting a 2010 N43 card next year. Let's see who I got:

Now this is a nice cabinet card! The Declaration of Independence featuring the autohor and most recognizable signer. This card would have come in handy for Fourth of July! I'm happy with this, here's the back featuring the Historical checkist:

The set also has the Constitution, NATO, the South surrendering and my favorite, the Space Race.

Ok, I promised it... Here's my very first pack of 2009 Allen & Ginter.



134 Jered Weaver
52 Aaron Hill
173 Francisco Rodriguez
57 Frank Evans +2
85 Jason Jaramillo RC
249 John Higby
15 Alfred Nobel mini

and one more...

NP7 Chipper Jones National Pride +6

Can't do better than Chipper in the first pack. One surprising thing - The National Pride cards are not thick like last year's states cards. They are like a normal card. Maybe they aren't decoys this year but are a one per pack insert? You'd still need over three boxes to complete the set. I'm loving the fact that Negro Leaguers are in the set. Frank Evens is shown in a Birmingham Black Barons uniform and also played with Chattanooga, Detroit, New Orleans and the Kansas City Monarchs. Alfred Nobel is a cool mini and the first 2009 card in my 06-09 A&G mini set, bumping Jeff Francoeur out of the binder and into my Braves team set. And say what you will about oddball characters in A&G sets, that John Higby yo-yo champion card kicks ass.

Damn, I love this set. Twenty three packs to go!

What's in the Rite Aid ad this week?

I got a package from Madding recently. Some assorted Braves, Hawks and Falcons. Good stuff. I've got a bunch of Cards and Blazers I'm hoping to get in the mail today for him. Included in the package was this:

Coolers for $14.99 and Tide for $12.99. Interesting... There's a Rite Aid flyer in with all the cards. Rite Aid recently took over Eckered Drugs so there's one right down the street from me now. Let's see what else they have.

Snapple for 99 cents! Awesome!! I love Diet Peach Iced Tea. Oh wait, there are hard plastic things in here too.. Hey, cards!

The 1979 Topps Robin Yount where he looks more like a bird than Mark Fidrych ever could have dreamed of.

We go from what is probably my favorite Yount card to one of my least favorite Schmidt cards. Mike deserves better than an off kilter half shadow squinchy face portrait. Still, my least favorite Schmidt is still light years above most other cards in my estimation.

Pete Rose, hitting the ball. Doing what he does best. No smartass, he does not do gambling best. He did gambling pretty terribly as a matter of fact. Put him in the Hall already. Make him buy a ticket to see his own plaque if you wish, but put him in the Hall.

Here's a 1992-93 Hawks schedule! I used to have one of these somewhere. I might still have it, but it's certainly not in pristine condition like this one. This brings back a lot of memories. I need good memories right now because the Cavaliers are quickly making the 2008-2009 Hawks a memory.

Pete Rose may have broken the modern NL record for a hitting streak, but guess who broke the streak? Gene Garber and the Braves! W00t!

It's striking how many of the all time leaders on these cards have gone by the wayside in the past 30 years. Nolan Ryan bumped Walter Johnson off the right side of the card, but to be fair some guy named Matt Kilroy technically owns the all time single season strikeout crown. How the hell is is possible to strike out 513 batters in a season? And then lose 34 games that same season??

The Rite Aid package ends with A.L. All*Star George Brett. Now this is a photo worthy of a legendary third baseman. Great stuff from Madding, thanks again. Maybe that Blazers - Hawks NBA final will happen next year.