The Joy of a Completed Page-80 of Them!

Nothing is better than completing a page! As it turns out these pages complete the set. I am now the proud owner of a complete 2008 Topps Heritage Set #1-720. It has been a LONG journey and it feels good to be done! Wilson Betemit was the final SP for the High #s series and he came from Jeff D, Frank Thomas was the king of the elusive SPs and lived at the top of my most wanted list. Reader Tony sent him to me. Thanks to everyone who helped out with this set. IT IS DONE!! This is the 4th set I have finished just joining the blog-o-sphere. Go Rays! Troll out.

Ripping Like a Mad Man! Pack #18 of 1997 Pinnacle X Press

Moving right along-upwards and onwards to pack #18 of 1997 Pinnacle X Press. I will waste no time and jump right in…
#139 Ken Griffey Jr Peak Performers Seattle Mariners (The back of the card states “At 27 he (Griffey) is a definite threat to break Roger Maris’ single-season record of 61 homers)
#89 Jeff Conine Florida Marlins (I think Conine cards were seeded 1:2 packs in this product)
#19 Ellis Burks Colorado Rockies (I scanned the back of the card because it shows Burks ’96 stats and shows the at the plate high five he got from the Big Cat so many times that year-1996 was the season that he absolutely exploded and put up HUGE numbers… Batting .344 with 40 homers, 128 RBI, 30 steals, 211 hits, 45 doubles, 142 runs scored and a league leading .639 slugging percentage… If he had duplicated that performance in even 1 other season he would probably get a vote or two for the Hall…)
#47 Albert Belle Chicago White Sox (Speaking of MONSTER power numbers… Belle outdid Burks that year with 48 bombs and 148 RBI)
#5 Frank Thomas Chicago White Sox (Did anyone not hit 40 homers in ’96? The big Hurt chipped in 40 himself along with a .349 BA and 134 RBI)
#??? Swing for the Fences Game Card +4 (Seriously, does anyone want these things?)
#35 Ivan Rodriguez Texas Rangers (Pudge hit .300/19/86 in ’96-I’m surprised he was able to keep his starting job…)
#82 Darin Erstad California Angels (DE was a rookie in ’96 and didn’t get a ton of PT, but he had his monster season in 2000 when he hit .355 with 240 hits! He won a Gold Glove, a Silver Slugger and was an All Star and in 2002 he won a ring with the Angels)
There were a whole bunch of American League homeruns in these 7 cards… They were all juice free, too, to the best of my knowledge. This pack puts us at the halfway point for this box, too. We might just finish this thing! Congrats once again to Hawk Dawson, the only player in the Hall of Fame Class of 2010! He wasn't good enough last year or the year before or the year before, but he is a Hall of Famer now! Let the debate rage on! Troll out!

Pack 2 Rip Results

Okay, who is ready for pack #2? This one was more fun than the first. I was a ripper in ’94 and those were the pre relic and autograph days. That was even before all of the card companies went totally crazy with inserts and big hits. The best you could hope for were star cards. The biggest stars back then were Ken Griffey Jr and The Big Hurt Frank Thomas. I think it was pretty great to pull Chippers and any of the Braves star pitchers. Cal Ripken Jr was golden and the Cleveland Indians young sluggers like Carlos Baerga, Albert Belle and Manny Ramirez were pretty awesome, too. Anyway, please excuse my stroll down memory lane; here is pack #2…
Card #622 Willie Wilson Chicago Cubs (I really don’t like seeing Willie in any uniform other than the KC Royals)
Card # 713 Manuel Lee Texas Rangers
Card #638 Chipper Jones Atlanta Braves
Card #616 Dante Bichette (Dante had just 5 homers in ’92)
Card #645 Randy Bush Minnesota Twins
Card #671 Jerald Clark Colorado Rockies
Card #718 David Nied Colorado Rockies (3rd Rockie in one pack)
Card ??? Stadium Club Membership form (anyone?)
Card #662 Dan Wilson Cincinnati Reds
Card #746 Frank Thomas MEMBERS CHOICE (I thought Members Choice would be a parallel, apparently it is part of the regular series. The scan doesn’t really show it, but this card is a little bit shinier)
Card #602 Jeff Reardon Cincinnati Reds
Card #686 Tim Wallach LA Dodgers
Card #657 Kevin Seitzer Oakland As (I thought for sure that Seitzer was going to be the next George Brett-did anyone else?)
Card #701 John Jaha Milwaukee Brewers
Card #676 Ricky Gutierrez San Diego Padres
Okay, that was pack 2. There were 15 cards total-I guess the Stadium Club membership form didn’t count as a card. Three Rockies in one pack seems excessive, but overall a pretty awesome pack… Pack 3 is coming…troll out.