Tuesday, April 21, 2009

A Fistful Of Frank

Recently, I received an intriguing e-mail in my inbox. It was from a reader named Shawn W., who may be starting a blog soon. He was wondering if I had any spare Ultra cards, between 2000 and 2007, that I'd be willing to trade.

I sure do! I bought two boxes of Ultra SE, before the prices spiraled downward in 2007, due to a retail version released around the same time that was almost indistinguishable from the SE version. Needless to say, I bought boxes around $100 and a few hobby packs for $20 and within weeks, the boxes were under $50 and the packs were nonexistent.

To make matters worse, the two boxes were virtually identical. I received a few of the same "hits" and I was through with Ultra boxes. I couldn't justify the cost. Ultra SE was supposed to be the next big thing, but it was undermined by a cost efficient retail version. The "hits" weren't anything spectacular and the entire line was phased out because of the angry reception that the SE version got. And that is a shame because I loved Ultra!

The whole point being, I had a ton of Ultra lying around from 2007 and some cards from earlier. I was asked for a want list and I provided the link to what I have online. What I received in the mail blew my mind! This box took a big chunk out of my missing Frank Thomas cards and a healthy stab at the rest.

Let's see what Shawn sent over.

1992 Donruss Rookies
10 – Esteban Beltre

1992 Ultra
36 – Greg Hibbard

1993 Bowman
555 – Frank Thomas

1993 Leaf
20 – Dan Pasqua
107 – Steve Sax

1993 Score
541 – Frank Thomas DT

1993 Triple Play
77 Frank Thomas LH

1994 Flair
28 – Wilson Alvarez
29 – Jason Bere
30 – Alex Fernandez
32 – Joe Hall
33 – Darrin Jackson
36 – Frank Thomas
275 – Joey Cora
278 – Lance Johnson
281 – Robin Ventura

1994 Sportflics
161 – Norberto Martin

1994 Studio
204 – Alex Fernandez

1994 Triple Play
269 – Frank Thomas

1994 Upper Deck
284 – Frank Thomas

1995 Bazooka
120 – Frank Thomas

1995 Donruss
504 – Scott Ruffcorn
521 – Scott Sanderson
535 – Craig Grebeck

1995 Emotion
30 – Robin Ventura

1995 Flair
24 – Jason Bere
25 – Ozzie Guillen
27 – Frank Thomas

1995 Fleer
116 – Julio Franco
119 – Roberto Hernandez
122 – Ron Karkovice
128 – Frank Thomas

1995 Leaf
1 – Frank Thomas

1995 Select
22 – Frank Thomas

1995 Select Certified Edition
5 – Frank Thomas
85 – Jason Bere
97 – James Baldwin
110 – Ray Durham

1995 Studio
56 – Wilson Alvarez
91 – Jason Bere
97 – Lance Johnson

1996 Fleer
67 – Roberto Hernandez

1996 Leaf
39 – Alex Fernandez
103 – Lyle Mouton
172 – Robin Ventura
193 – Ozzie Guillen

1996 Metal Universe
35 – Ray Durham

1996 Pinnacle
241 – Harold Baines
356 – Danny Tartabull

1996 Score
21 – Frank Thomas

1996 Studio
60 – Lyle Mouton
87 – Ray Durham
93 – Frank Thomas (2)

1997 Fleer
59 – Ray Durham
73 – Robin Ventura

1997 Fleer Update
726 – Frank Thomas CL

1997 Ultra
35 – Harold Baines
44 – Frank Thomas
420 – Jaime Navarro
503 – Carlos Castillo

1997 Ultra Gold Medallion
41 – Darren Lewis
43 – Tony Phillips

1997 Upper Deck
36 – Wilson Alvarez
38 – Tony Phillips
42 – Chris Snopek
206 – Ozzie Guillen

1998 Bowman
147 – Jeff Abbott

1998 Donruss
66 – Robin Ventura
95 – Mike Cameron

1998 Flair Showcase Row 3
3 – Frank Thomas

1998 Omega
55 – Mike Caruso

1998 Score
111 – Robin Ventura

1999 EX Century
12 – Frank Thomas

1999 Pacific Invincible (Seismic Force)
7 – Frank Thomas

1999 Sports Illustrated
127 – Frank Thomas

1999 Topps Chrome
456 – Top DHs Frank Thomas (Salmon, Justice)

1999 Topps Stars
84 – Mike Caruso

1999 Topps Tek Pattern 1
39A – Frank Thomas

1999 Ultra Gold Medallion
54 – Robin Ventura
64 – Frank Thomas

1999 Upper Deck HoloGrFX
15 – Frank Thomas

1999 Upper Deck Victory
456 – Frank Thomas RF

2009 Topps Wal-Mart Black
30 – Ken Griffey Jr.
70 – Jermaine Dye
149 – Juan Uribe
154 – A.J. Pierzynski
306 – Javier Vazquez

2009 Upper Deck
78 – Nick Swisher
463 – Jim Thome
493 – Carlos Quentin CL

Thank you, Shawn! This box went beyond my wildest expectations! I saw cards of Frank Thomas that I never thought I'd see. There were so many awesome cards, that I stood flabbergasted for awhile wondering how I was going to tackle this post. I chose a Fleer checklist to scan because it features the biggest Frank Thomas smile I could find in there. Your box will be shipping shortly.

4 comments:

BASEBALL DAD said...

WOW! He should fit right into the blogosphere. Nice assortment of cards.

Shawn W. said...

Hey Steve,

I was going to email you to see if you had gotten the box yet. Glad to be of help. Keep up the good work and thanks again for being a great blogger! You actually make collecting fun for me again.

Shawn W.

madding said...

What exactly is the difference between the SE and retail Ultra from last year? I have a small stack of the stuff, mostly from repacks (most likely retail) but I wouldn't know the difference necessarily. I need to add the Cardinals cards to my want list, but I'm hesitant to if I can't even tell what is what.

Steve Gierman said...

Shawn: I'm glad I could make collecting fun for you. That means a lot!

madding: The difference between SE and retail is in the foil around the name on the front of the card. The retail is done in foil and appears shiny but flat looking. The SE version has a rainbow effect to the foil when you hold the card at an angle.

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