2009 Obak Box Break: Packs 16-20

The final five packs in the 2009 TriStar Obak box break.

Pack sixteen:

23 - Buster Posey (San Jose)
88 - Patrick T. Powers (NAPBL President)
46 - Alexander Cartwright mini (Inventor of Baseball)
13 - Tim Beckham (Bowling Green)
8 - Junichi Tazawa (Portland)
36 - Al Rosen (Oklahoma City)
The other Beckham. A few interesting minor leaguers and a couple of history lessons.

Pack seventeen:

7 - Fu-Te Ni (Toledo)
27 - Chris Tillman (Norfolk)
20 - Jesus Montero green parallel (Tampa) (20/25)
62 - Barack Obama mini (Washington D.C.)
52 - Joe Bauman (Amarillo)
85 - Virne Beatrice "Jackie" Mitchell (Chattanooga)
After watching a six part documentary on Monty Python on IFC this week, I could make a joke about Ni, but I won't. It would be so much easier if he played for the Charlotte Knights. Some nice cards in this pack. The first woman to sign a pro contract. A green parallel. An Obama mini. Good stuff!

Pack eighteen:

51 - Monty Stratton (Sherman)
58 - Ron Necciai (Bristol)
68 - Rollie Zeider mini (San Francisco)
72 - Russell "Lena" Blackburne (Rubbing Mud)
17 - Jason Heyward (Myrtle Beach)
25 - Justin Smoak (Frisco)
Two more cards off my list with the Stratton and Blackburne. The Zeider minis are unnumbered like the regular card. The Stratton is a different pose than the previous mini.

Pack nineteen:

32 - Dale Murphy (Richmond)
49 - Gene Rye (Waco)
9 - Madison Bumgarner mini (Connecticut)
76 - Mike Coolbaugh (Columbus)
60 - Joe Wilhoit (Salt Lake City)
48 - Robert Forrest "Spook" Jacobs (Asheville)
My first card of Mike Coolbaugh. Too bad it had to be a card reminding us about his death.

Pack twenty:

94 - Harry & George Wright (Innovators)
91 - Fritz & Louis Rueckheim, Henry Eckstein (Cracker Jack)
75 - Henry Chadwick (Father of Baseball)
57 - Albert G. Spalding mini (Sporting Goods)
19 - Andrew McCutchen (Indianapolis)
66 - Jim Rice (Pawtucket)
Innovators and Cracker Jacks, I don't care if this is the last pack. The last card is probably the most interesting of the pack, Jim Rice. He looked like he had a chip on his shoulder even in the minors.

Well, there you have it. A full box break of 2009 TriStar Obak. Overall, I'm impressed. Sets lie this always sound like a good idea, until you actually see the product in hand. Some of the cards looked better than others. The older subjects tended to look worse, but I'm thinking that it had to do with the quality of photos available than any other factor.

I got pretty much everything on my list, so I don't have to go searching too much on eBay for singles. That's great because I could not find a Hoy card to save my life. For me, it was worth the wait. I'd like to thank my parents for finding a product that I couldn't. This was an awesome birthday gift!

2009 Obak Box Break: Packs 11-15

Continuing on...

Pack eleven:

69 - Bill "Moose" Skowron (Kansas City)
65 - Ron Kittle (Glens Falls)
50 - William "Dummy" Hoy mini (Oshkosh)
50 - Arnold John "Jigger" Statz (Los Angeles)
30 - Josh Vitters (Peoria)
21 - Mike Moustakas (Wilmington)
Wow! The first three cards were on my list. I've already shown a regular Hoy, so it was down to Kittle and Skowron. Kitty is shown in a White Sox affiliate, so the edge goes to Kitty.

Pack twelve:

47 - Joe Hauser (Minneapolis)
42 - Russell "Buzz" Arlett (Oakland)
35 - Brooks Robinson (York)
44 - Johnny Vander Meer (Durham)
28 - Pat Venditte (Charleston)
16 - Tommy Hanson (Gwinnett)
Lots of cool cards in this pack, but I'd be sorry if I didn't show the switch pitcher.

Pack thirteen:

81 - Elias Howe (Sewing Machine)
71 - Emmett Ashford (Umpire)
A21 - Will Middlebrooks auto (Greenville) (1/5)
41 - Gene Conley mini (Hartford)
74 - Alexander Cartwright (Inventor of Baseball)
89 - George H. Rawlings (Sporting Goods)
This pack would have been one strictly for the history books had it not been for the best hit of the box!

Pack fourteen:

70 - Johnny Vander Meer (Durham)
87 - Abner Charles Powell (New Orleans)
41 - Ted Williams variation (San Diego P.C.L.)
65 - Nick Lachey mini (Tacoma)
43 - Walter Carlisle (Vernon)
5 - Brett Lawrie (Wisconsin)
Nick Lachey?! Seriously??!! Nick Lachey???!!!

Pack fifteen:

97 - John W. Heisman (Atlanta)
18 - Austin Jackson (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre)
39 - Joe Wilhoit mini (Salt Lake City)
22 - Jarrod Parker (Mobile)
10 - Michael Ynoa (AZL Athletics)
39 - Tom Seaver (Jacksonville)
A terrific Tom Seaver card!

Really?! Nick Lachey????!!!! More to come.

2009 Obak Box Break: Packs 6-10

Part two of the 2009 TriStar Obak box break.

Pack six:

99 - William Howard Taft (Washington D.C.)
62 - Gene Conley (Hartford)
12 - Austin Jackson mini green parallel (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) (03/25)
90 - Wesley Branch Rickey (Farm System)
83 - Arthur Albert "Foxy" Irwin (Fielding Glove)
80 - Harrison Harwood (Baseball Manufacturer)
A green parallel mini and a president. Nothing too exciting in this pack, but a lot of history.

Pack seven:

77 - William "Candy" Cummings (Curve Ball)
57 - Grover Lowdermilk (Mattoon)
38 - Ryne Sandberg (Oklahoma City)
19 - Dale Murphy mini (Richmond)
63 - Bobby Grich (Rochester)
45 - Oscar "Ox" Eckhardt (Mission)
A Ryno that I was looking for to bolster my friend's future collection. Dale Murphy in a minor league mini. Still pretty nice.

Pack eight:

31 - Brett Wallace (Sacremento)
12 - Gordon Beckham variation (Birmingham, S.L.)
23 - Nolan Ryan mini (Jacksonville)
92 - Frank Shaughnessy (MiLB Playoff System)
100 - Barack Obama (Washington, D.C.)
78 - The Dukes (Industrialists)
Bacon variation! Also, Obama was on my list. The mini Ryan makes this a great pack. The card of the Dukes cracks me up!

Pack nine:

14 - Madison Bumgarner (Connecticut)
4 - Eric Hosmer (Burlington)
A46 - Gary Redus auto (Waterbury) (149/200)
40 - Steve Bilko mini (Los Angeles)
54 - George Brunet (Little Rock)
41 - Ted Williams (San Diego)
This is the auto that I was psyched about. Like I said before, if he wasn't on my list to collect, I would probably be a bit underwhelmed. Finally, a Bumgarner card without an "O" face! Plus, you can't go wrong with Mr. Frozen Head Walt Disney Ted Williams.

Pack ten:

20 - Jesus Montero (Tampa)
26 - Mike Stanton (Jacksonville)
23 - Nolan Ryan mini variation (Jacksonville, I.L.)
33 - Stan Musial (Springfield)
24 - Carlos Santana (Akron)
12 - Gordon Beckham (Birmingham)
A regular Bacon card. Stan the man. A mini Ryan variation. Great stuff!

Halfway through the box. More to come.

2009 Obak Box Break: Packs 1-5

I'll do this box break of 2009 TriStar Obak in four parts featuring five packs in each part. I will show one scan per pack. It will either be something on my own personal collecting list, a hit, or just something that looks cool, in my opinion.

Without any further delay... the first five packs.

Pack one:

11 - Lars Anderson (Portland)
113 - Charles Schmutz (Tacoma, N.W.L.)
33 - Monty Stratton mini (Sherman)
46 - Spencer Harris (Minneapolis)
34 - Satchel Paige (Miami)
6 - Brian Matusz (Frederick)
Not too bad for the first pack. I got a Stratton mini that was on my list. The Schmutz and Paige cards were pretty awesome too!

Pack two:

3 - BJ Hermsen (GCL Twins)
2 - Robbie Grossman (West Virginia)
59 - Gary Redus (Waterbury)
42 - Jim Rice mini (Pawtucket)
98 - Vincent "Bo" Jackson (Memphis)
96 - Sammy Baugh (Rochester)
Two cards that were on my list, Redus and Jackson. The Rice mini was pretty cool. A couple of current players too.

Pack three:

86 - Jack Norworth (Songwriter)
95 - Wrigley (Industrialist)
58 - Ron Necciai green parallel (Bristol, APPY) (24/25)
63 - Dinesh Kumar & Rinku Singh mini (GCL Pirates)
93 - Albert G. Spalding (Sporting Goods)
82 - William "Dummy" Hoy (Oshkosh)
I finally got my Hoy! I also got a pack filled with people behind the scenes.

Pack four:

79 - Bud "John W. Jackson" Fowler (Keokuk)
67 - Phil Rizzuto (Kansas City)
49 - Bud "John W. Jackson" Fowler mini (Keokuk)
61 - Steve Bilko (Los Angeles)
37 - Nolan Ryan (Jacksonville)
9 - Dayan Viciedo (Birmingham)
I seem to be getting something from my want list with each pack. I'm sure that will stop soon, but it's pretty cool. The streak continues with Viciedo. The Ryan looks great too!

Pack five:

55 - Vince Coleman (Macon)
40 - Duke Snider (Fort Worth)
10 - Michael Ynoa black parallel (AZL Athletics) (14/50)
26 - Duke Snider mini (Fort Worth)
68 - Herb Score (Indianapolis)
56 - Bob Crues (Amarillo)
The White Sox related streak continues with Herb Score! This is the second pack in which I got both the regular and mini card of the same person.

More to come.

Dummy Hoy 2009 Card

After writing a few posts about Dummy Hoy, I've run into a few very passionate collectors of Hoy cards. I think that it's fantastic!

The more I learn about Dummy Hoy, the more I am intrigued by his career and life. It's my pleasure to announce to those collectors that there is a new Dummy Hoy card in the 2009 TriStar Obak set. Actually, there are several. Parallels, you know.

While the picture is familiar, this is still a brand new card for the Hoy completists to search for. I would have posted this information when the Obak release first hit shelves, but I've had all sorts of trouble finding the product at any store near me.

Instead of waiting until I have the product in hand, I'll pass the info on now. The Hoy card hunt begins!