Nearing Completion... Pack #23 of 1994 Pinnacle

We are moving back to 1994 Pinnacle again… We are SO close! Not much time for words and apologies in advance because there are no Shannon Stewart sightings in this pack… Here we go! #477 Pat Borders Toronto Blue Jays (Did I mention that Borders lives in Lake Wales, Florida AND that he is another catcher looking for Jesus?)
#433 Matt Brunson MUSEUM COLLECTION Detroit Tigers (Brunson was the Tigers first round pick in 1993, he was chosen 9th overall and never made it past A ball. He did steal 32 bases for the Yuma Scorpions in 2005)
#300 Mark McGwire Oakland A’s (Big Mac!)
#338 Mike Stanley New York Yankees (Stanley had this bad habit of getting traded right before his old team got good)
#455 Mike Lansing Montreal Expos
#484 Tim Wallach Los Angeles Dodgers (In 17 seasons Wallach went to 5 All Star games but never a World Series)
#453 Kirk Gibson Detroit Tigers
#273 Bob Wickman New York Yankees (Wickman appeared in 835 games over 15 big league seasons… I can’t read lips, but I think they are talking about giving an intentional pass to Shannon Stewart. His catcher agrees and congratulates him on a fine idea)
#510 Brett Boone Cincinnati Reds (Boone hit .320 for the Reds in ’94 in his first full season in the majors… I can’t believe this little dude would go on to drive in 141 runs in 2001)
#507 Bob Ojeda New York Yankees (1994 was Bobby O’s final season. He made two starts, lasted 3 innings and gave up 8 runs, AND THEN he called it a career with a 115-98 record)
#462 Tim Raines Chicago White Sox (The Rock!)
#272 Trevor Hoffman San Diego Padres (With 591 Hoffman is the ALL Time Career saves leader)
#291 Wally Joyner Kansas City Royals (Wally World!)
There is just one pack of 1994 Pinnacle to go! Stay tuned cuz Shannon Stewart STILL says so! Go Rays! Troll out.

An Update Plus Pack #26 of 1997 Pinnacle X Press!

There are 12 teams left for the next break. If all the slots fill up, like last time, all 118 packs featured HERE will be divided up for it (and probably a few more). The slots don’t have a monetary value, you can trade your way in with Rays jerseys, autographs, cards off of my want list, 2009 Topps Heritage SPs, cards from the 50’s or 60’s-anything you think I will like, just email me an offer…
Trying to finish up this break, so here we go with pack #26 of 1997 Pinnacle X Press:
#2 Andy Pettitte New York Yankees (It is a shocker to pull a pitcher out of this product… I think there is one pitcher to 12 hitters. I looked up Pettitte’s career numbers as soon as I yanked this one. The first surprise was not only has AP never sniffed a Cy Young, he has only been an All Star twice. He won 21 games in 1996, in the thick of the juiced ball/juiced player era… His record in the postseason is more than an entire season for most. He is 18-9 in 40 starts including 8 World Series. Wow. His 229 wins are 63rd All Time and his .629 winning percentage is 53rd All Time. He won 14 games for the Yankees last year in the regular season and he was 4-0 in the postseason. At 37 years old, I think he still has a few good years in him)
#20 Rafael Palmeiro Baltimore Orioles (A lot of people have a lot of opinions about Palmeiro-mine is that dude could MASH! 39 bombs and 142 ribs in ’96. You can say the juice bought him all the long balls, but you don’t get 3000 hits in a needle… Question: Are all left handed first basemen required to have a porn star mustache? Are they still or did that rule apply from the 70’s to the 90’s?)
#115 Joe Carter Toronto Blue Jays (I have searched and searched and I can’t find the 1984 Donruss Carter that I was sure I had-anybody got an extra? Carter joined the power party in ’96 himself with 30 bombs and 107 RBI)
#46 Bernie Williams New York Yankees (Did anyone in the AL NOT drive in 100 runs in ’96? Bernie brought home 102… When he hung up his cleats, he picked up a guitar. I saw him perform in Sarasota in November, the guy can pick it!)
#101 Rondell White Montreal Expos (Finally a human! Rondell had a respectable 15 year career, topped 20 homers a few times, was an All Star, but he never put up those sick and crazy triple crown numbers that nearly everyone else in this pack did)
#??? Swing for the Fences Game Card -4
#125 Kevin Orie Chicago Cubs (Orie was the Cubs first rounder in 1993… He made it to the Show in 1997 and had the best year of his short MLB career. He batted .275 with 8 homers and 44 RBI-all career bests. He was named on a ballot for Rookie of the Year, finishing 11th the year that Scott Rolen won it. He broke in with the Cubs, went to the Marlins and returned to the Cubs. He would actually go to the Marlins organization once more and return to the Cubs again. He spent 12 years in the minors with 10 different organizations… He made it back to Chicago briefly in 2002 and finally gave up in ’06)
#143 Mark McGwire Oakland A’s Peak Performers (Perhaps “Peak Performance Enhancer” would be a more appropriate subset title for this card…)
Another pack down… If you haven’t signed up for the next rip yet, please think about doing so. There are about 12 open spots. The break will be 50 packs UNLESS every spot is filled, then it will be around 130 packs. If you are already in and paid up, then turn on your salesperson charm and get these last slots filled up. If you are interested, please email me at bacontowne at yahoo dot com. Stay tuned, I aint gonna sleep until I finish at least one box today… Go Rays! Troll out.

One To Pack #15 of 1997 Pinnacle X Press!

We got a little bit more variety out of this pack… Probably cuz I let my wife rip this one. Here we go!
#131 Damon Mashore 1997 Rookie Oakland A’s (Not gonna lie, I never heard of him)
#64 Craig Biggio Houston Astros (First ballot HOFer for sure)
#??? Swing for the Fences Game Card David Justice Atl Braves (I told my wife that he was married to Halle Barry, she said “Before she was famous, right?”)
#103 Andy Benes St Louis Cardinals (copy #2 of this one)
#24 Rey Ordonez NY Mets (I think this is copy#3 of this one I think…)
#9 Greg Maddux Atlanta Braves (Greg was 15-11 in ’96)
#42 Mark McGwire Oakland A’s (Have I mentioned how ridiculous it is that McGwire is on the pack wrapper as a Cardinal, but in the set as an Oakland A? McGwire hit 52 bombs for Oakland in ’96)
#130 Jason Dickson California Angels (another one I have never heard of)
#45 Ryne Sandberg Chicago Cubs (SCORE!!! This is the first card of Rhino in the break. I can’t believe it took this long to pull one, but I am glad I did. He hit 25 homers in ’96)
Not a bad pack. One Hall of Famer. 2 guaranteed future Hall of Famers. One guy who will always raise the question… Until the next one, troll out!

Pack #13 of 1997 Pinnacle X Press-Guest Ripped by my Dad on Christmas Day!!!

Hope everyone had a super Merry Christmas and I hope no one has to work this weekend. Also, wanted to wish my neighbors to the North and friends in the UK, Nigeria and Australia a very Happy Boxing Day. If any of you want to explain the Holiday in the simplest of terms, I am listening-er, reading… This pack is special to me because it was opened by my Dad-Papa Troll himself. The man who bought me my first wax box (1983 Topps) and unintentionally got me hooked on this hobby… Wanted to keep the pack rippin’ rolling, here is a quick pack of 1997 Pinnacle X Press for your viewing pleasure…Here we go!
#148 Commons Checklist Roger Clemens Toronto Blue Jays (This is at least the second copy of this card I’ve pulled…)
#4 Juan Gonzalez Texas Rangers (Gonzo had a monster year in ’96-batted .314 with 47 homers and 144 RBI)
#60 David Cone NY Yankees (Coney batted left handed, but threw right. I never noticed that…)
#53 Javy Lopez Atlanta Braves (I think I’ve pulled a Javy from every brand in the break now)
#1 Larry Walker Colorado Rockies (A Canadian getting the first card in a set?)
#??? Swing For The Fences Game Card +1 (Seriously, does anyone want these?)
#111 Jason Kendall Pittsburgh Pirates (I was in Pirates camp for about a week during Kendall’s first year-he was AMAZING!!! Fast, powerful, funny, just an all around great athlete and great guy… He will make a great coach when he finally hangs it up-or maybe he’ll just be a beach bum surfer dude, full-time)
#67 Bernard Gilkey NY Mets (Gilkey hit .317/30/117 in ’96)
#143 Mark McGwire Peak Performers Oakland A’s (Okay, I was really psyched to finally pull a Big Mac from this series, BUT he’s in an A’s uniform. If you remember he is the cover boy on the packs in a Cards uniform-doesn’t make sense to me…)
Thanks so much to my Poppa for handling the ripping duties! My carpal tunnel was acting up… I had moved out of my folks house long before '97, but around that time my Dad and I worked together and when we took coffee breaks I would read the sports section and bore him with what was going on in the baseball world, so we talked about nearly every player pulled in this pack and it was really awesome! To Larry Walker-Have a Super Boxing Day Sir!!! Hope everyone is happy and relaxing with family and friends…troll out…