Group Break Results of Futures Past and One Final Group Break Reminder

The artist formerly known as I Am Joe Collector used to hold  monthly group breaks in the recent past.  I did fairly well for myself during that time (usually with the Mets as a team of choice).  When the monopolizing licensure of Topps took ahold in 2010, the variety of product slackened and so did the group breaks.  Occasionally, he will hold single product case breaks and I was able to participate in a couple of them in the recent (well, recent in the sense of these cards were just scanned) past.

First, there was a 2010 Topps Chrome Case Break.  I claimed two random teams and ended up with White Sox and Rockies.

 Gordon Beckham T206 Chrome:  Honestly, if this entire set were in Chrome, it would have been so much less authentic and so much cooler

 Gordon Beckham Refractor: Anyone else have him pegged for a bounceback season this year.  There's not a Junior Jinx now, is there?

 Jake Peavy National Chicle Chrome: The hand-paintedness of this card really stands out in the chrome form.  This was a great idea for an insert set,

 Eric Young Jr.  Auto: EY Jr. has the speed, but does he have the playing time?

Esmil Rogers Auto:  It's nice that the autos are on-card, but as always wish there were more than rookie autos.

I also paricipated in a 2006 Ultimate case break.  Basically, the breakdown was one hit and a handful of base cards per slot.

Josh Willingham, Russell Martin, Rony Paulino Triple Auto:  These were all catchers at one time; I guess that's the connection. 

And here were my base cards (#d/799)....

High end base cards always have interesting, unexpected, geometric designs.

My first group break only has three slots left.  I will start asking for payment soon.  First scheduled box break will be March 29.

I am Joe Collector February Group Break Results

If you have not yet partaken in any of the group breaks put on by I Am Joe Collector, consider yourself having been missing out. There are standard group breaks by team for baseball usually, and then there are also specialty breaks centering around one product (such as SPA football, Finest baseball, Masterpieces baseball, Ultimate baseball, etc). Check it out and sign up at the beginning of each month and claim your favorite team....for life. Here's a small sampling of what I received from last month.

Cliff Lee row of 2009 Topps Unique: Gold /99, Red /1199, Base.
2009 Topps Unique Tim Lincecum (very popular here in the Bay Area), 2009 Topps Unique Unique Unis David Wright (a very nice insert idea reminiscent of 1994 Score Dream Team cards in concept) and one of the numbered rookies /2699, Fernando Martinez, apparently the next Mets savior?
Here's the daily dose of 2009 Topps Heritage High Series: two Phillies chrome of Cliff Lee and John Mayberry Jr, and a shortprint of the still-scowling, now retired Randy Johnson.

Surprisingly, I now have a lot of Cliff Lee cards in a Phillies uniform for a half season's time.

This short post is brought to you by office moving, where papers meet the floor (seriously, I'm moving to my 4th office in 5 years at work).

Catching Up: 2008 Upper Deck Premier Group Break

I'm finally getting around to scanning cards again. It's a more time consuming exercise than I care to remember.

This is from yet another group break hosted by the esteemed Mr. I Am Joe Collector. This one happened, I believe, two months ago.

2008 Upper Deck Premier (as in awesome, not as in the first showing of a movie) is another high end brand with thick cards and attitude exemplified by Exquisite, UD Black, and the like. This was a break based on hit order with each slot getting a memorabilia or auto card. I also lucked into getting a base card.


Here is the card:

A Chase Utley/Delmon Young dual patch card numbered out of 25. The card is really striking. The dark marbleized background serves as the backdrop for the patches to take center stage. I'm thrilled because it's of one of my favorite players on my favorite team. The choice by Upper Deck to pair Utley with Delmon Young is puzzling since he is neither a second baseman, in the NL, or an all-star. He also wasn't on the Rays at the time of the 2008 World Series. It doesn't matter because Young's patch contribution completes the card vision.

Here's the base card of Jeff Francoeur. I really like base cards from these high end sets. They're almost like the forgotten collectible. Limited in number and really easy to discard.

I don't remember what other people received, so I can't comment on the intense goodness of the set in general. However, I am pleased with what I received in the break.

Exquisite

....definitely describes the accomplishment of the Phillies disposing the Dodgers and winning the NL pennant for the 2nd straight year. They are the first NL team to accomplish this since the 95-96 Braves. Of course, there is one step more to travel!

Well, Exquisite also is another term used by Upper Deck to name its high end line. Clocking in at a substantial price for packs, I would never buy any on my own, so I participated in a group break hosted by Jeff at the always willing to break a box I Am Joe Collector.

As you can you see below, I believe I made out pretty well, and am quite happy with the results. The reason I'm not posting this until now is because the last card was a redemption and just arrived in the mail last week.


First, is a base card (all non-parallel base cards are #d to 99) of Jonathan Papelbon. I'm not sure why products like this have a base set per se. It would nearly be impossible to collect, and the target audience of this product probably wouldn't want to anyway. The base card is just as thick as the autos or relics in this product (that is to say, really thick)

Here is an auto (#ed to 20)of Hector Gimenez, a former prospect, who I had never heard of previously. There are a number of rookie autos in this product, which may or may not lessen the overall appeal of the product, depending on the consumer.

This would be the highlight pull. Yes, it is two Yankees' autos. Yes, it is of pitchers who probably have little discernible chance to make an impact on the MLB scene. But it's my first ever 1 of 1. (I've never pulled a printing plate, parallel, or Topps Moments and Milestones anything). The card is extra-refractive and the foil behind the auto shines with a radiative light (ok, that's an exaggeration), but it is nice.

One problem with all these cards in general is that for such a high end product, the cards chip very easily. The last card came in the mail in that top loader from Upper Deck with that chip already on the card. It must be the dark border colors or something.

So there you have it, 2007 Exquisite.

2007 Sweet Spot Group Break Results

I recently participated in a 2007 Sweet Spot 10 tin group break hosted by I Am Joe Collector. It was a random team drawing, I purchased two teams, and I ended up with the Mariners and Mets...both decent draws in my opinion.

Why would I participate in a group break like this? Well, I really liked the look of Sweet Spot autos in general, and I wanted one. (disappointment on that front,but I'll live) I also would never buy a box of this on my own, though individual box(tin) prices have now fallen below $50.00. The reason is simple, the checklist and autos you receive in a 6 card box just don't have a strong enough checklist to maintain the original price point. I'm not sure who, but someone pulled an amazing Alex Gordon/Billy Butler 1/1 rookie dual auto. Whenever (ifever), the redemption is fulfilled, it will be a card to admire.

Here's my not too modest nor overwhelming haul.

First, is a base card of Adrian Beltre. All base cards are individually numbered to 850...on the front of the card. Way to have an intrusive design element. There's nothing in the base cards that screams to me...rarer than most base cards and also expensive to purchase. I prefer the 2008 Upper Deck design.


Here are the remaining base cards I received: King Felix, Hamstrung Jose Reyes, and the hidden speedster, David Wright. I may be a Phillies fan, but I recognize that the Mets have talented individual players.

I also received a Sweet Swatch Memorabilia card (packed one or two per tin) of Carlos Beltran. Read this site sometime (arguably, the most fun baseball site to read on the net) and search the archives about Carlos Beltran. The man is a natural player and only a Carlos-come-lately Met. Anyone remember the 2004 playoffs?

Here's a shaven Jason Giambi that the kind host bestowed upon me as one of the unclaimed cards. It's a nice bonus, and here in Oakland, Giambi is still well-remembered.

This is the one auto I received. This card is thick....really thick...and that really is a plastic helmet in there. These are packed one per tin. Ryan Rowland-Smith is an Aussie battling back from an injury on rehab at AAA. I expect great things...but only because I have an autographed rookie of him.

2007 Sweet Spot is (or was) a high end product that failed to meet collector's expectations. Though I did enjoy receiving the cards and participating in the group break.

Group Break Haul: B- (no sweet spot auto, didn't beat the odds)
Host Grade: A (cool video, fast delivery)
Collectability of 2007 Sweet Spot: D (numbered base set, limited checklist of not enough stars and too many obscure rookies for the autos)
Reason to come back for more: I only want the Hamels Sweet Spot Auto, avoid boxes if you can and purchase singles.
Reason to avoid: small amount of cards, few worthy big hits to justify price point, this should merge with Sweet Spot Classic into a dual faced product of some kind.
Odds of purchasing a hobby box: 11%

2009 Finest Group Break Results

This was the first group break I ever participated in; it was hosted by Jeff at I Am Joe Collector. I was mildly pleased with the results. I received a good mix of base cards, one numbered refractor, and one autographed manufactured patch. I would never buy a box of 2009 Finest on my own, so this was a good way to get a decent feel for the product without shelling out the $95.00 or so for a hobby box. I did not do as well as some, but I did better than others in the break. The results are pictured below.

Johnny Damon blue refractor: colored refractors look great and have shimmery appeal. This card is for trade for a similar Phillies refractor.

Will Venable manufactured patch #d/175: This is the first one of these I have ever received. Venable at least made the majors last night, going 0 for 4 against the Phillies. The autograph is a little hard to read though. It's an interesting concept, but autographed rookie refractors would probably be more visually appealing.



Here are the base cards. I received some stars and semi-stars. The image of the player really pops out of the background, which doesn't distract from the player image as much as I thought it would. The backs of the cards (as represented by A-Rod) have a trivia question for some reason. I love trivia, but this is not a low-end product. Maybe Topps was tired of always using Finest Moments with the Finest brand.




Group Break Assessment: B
Collectability of 2009 Finest: B- (only shortprints are the manufactured patch rookies)
Reason to come back: Multi-colored refractors, attractive base card design, mystery of the rookie card redemption program.
Reason to stay away: Rookie checklist is weak outside of David Price and maybe Travis Snider and these are the autos you normally get in a box, veteran (Finest Moments) autos are only case hits.
Likelihood of buying hobby box: 11%

2007 Sweet Spot Group Break at I Am Joe Collector

If you want to get some 2007 Sweet Spot cards for a reasonable price, Jeff at I Am Joe Collector is holding two 10 tin breaks.

One of the breaks is for 2007 Baseball and the other one is for 2007 Football. Each slot is $18.50 and will get you a randomized team. This is a great opportunity to get some great cards (with some luck, of course).

I can vouch for him. I participated in a 2009 Finest group break last month; he opened everything on video, and I received my cards within one week (which I will post if I ever install my scanner that is sitting in a box on my desk)

Go to I Am Joe Collector and check it out.