2010 OBAK - Packs 5 to 8

Well, this set of packs was chock full of big hits. Let's not waste any time looking.

Pack 5

27 - Denny Mclain
28 - Rube Foster T212 Mini
37 - Joe Riggert
45 - Frank Howard
70 - George Eastman


Having grown up in a Kodak family and being an amateur photographer, this card is one of my favorite base cards. It is a shame that Kodak has fallen on hard times, but I am hoping they come out of bankruptcy a leaner and more successful company.

A80 - Wayne Terwilliger Auto (037/125)


Here is my first autograph card. It is a sticker auto, which I don't mind since it is still a sharp looking card. Ignore the shmutz on the bottom of the left border. My scanner really needs a good cleaning.

Pack 6
37 - Sherry Magee T212 Mini
90 - Ernest Thayer
96 - Louis Sockalexis
101 - Howard "Hopalong" Cassady


Cassady, the 1955 Heisman Award winner played 9 years in the NFL. He never played professional baseball but, as a friend of George Steinbrenner, he was a scout and minor league coach in the Yankees organization.

102 - Dave Debusschere
A33 - Carlos Santana Red Back Auto (2/5)


This is where Baseball Dad is possibly drooling. An extremely rare (number 2 of only 5 printed) Carlos Santana autograph. Actually, here is my one complaint about this set. The difference between the base cards and the various levels of serial numbered parallels and auto cards is the color of ink on the back and maybe the original OBAK tobacco slogan that is printed in large letters across the card back. That is it. It is a minor complaint, though.

Pack 7
35 - Charlie Ward T212 Mini
54 - Lou Bierbauer
65 - Morgan Bulkeley
86 - John Sherman
99 - Jason Heyward and Austin Jackson



Not much to say here. Austin Jackson was a highly touted Yankees prospect until he was traded, along with Phil Coke, to the Tigers for Curtis Granderson. I think the Yankees got the better part of that deal. Both Jackson and Granderson strike out a lot, but Austin doesn't compensate for that with any real power.

108 - Tinker, Evers, & Chance



Definitely nothing to add here. This is one of my favorite cards. I like how they superimposed the players pictures over the Wrigley field sign. Sometimes in this set, the choice of background image defies explanation. This one does not. Perfect.

Pack 8
41 - Jose Canseco
52 - Jim Abbott
58 - Walter "Wally" Pipp
63 - Eberhard Anheuser
69 - Jim Creighton



The card back reads:

Jim is cosidered the first professional ball player and superstar. He is said to have thrown the 1st fastball and completed the first triple play. In 1862, at the age of 21, it is believed that he was not put out at bat during the entire season. Sadly that season, from an unknown cause, he suddenly passed away.

MA9 - Ben McDonald T212 Mini Auto (07/10)



The third auto card in this group of 4 packs. I am only guaranteed 3, so the rest of this may end up being boring. We'll just have to see.

Unsolicited Mail from Vintage Sportscards

I'm going to break in to the series of OBAK posts, because I really don't want this one to get lost. Last week, I recieved an unsolicited package from Chris over at Vintage Sportscards full of cards for the 1976 set I have started building. I was in the midst of a bad week, having been unemployed for the first time in around 30 years. I have traded a few times with Chris over the last year and he sent these, with no strings attached, hoping they would cheer me up. They did. Chris has a very extensive collection of vintage cards and is probably the one collector I would most like to emulate. I hope that I will be able to return the favor in the near future.

My big dilemma was what to show. There was close to 100 cards and included All Stars and Hall of Famers. But, that was the obvious thing to show and I wanted to do something a bit different. As it was, my first trade with Chris was to send him some 1978 Burger King Yankees that I had gotten in a lot I bought on EBay and he needed. It struck me that there might be a fair number of players who took a turn with the Yankees in 1978 in the cards he sent. I was right and that was my theme.


Rawly had gone 2-1 in 8 relief appearance with the Yankees in 1978 before being traded to the Phillies for Jay Johnstone and Bobby Brown.


The 78 Yankees were the last stop in Lindblad's career. He pitched a total of 18 innings over 7 relief appearances without a decision in the regular season and gave up 3 earned runs in 2.1 innings in Game 1 of the World Series against the Dodgers. After the season ended, his contract was purchased by Seattle, but he was released during spring training, ending his 14 year playing career.


Sweet Lou.


Thurman was the first Yankee captain since Lou Gehrig.


Nettles was the next Yankee captained, names so in 1982, three years after Munson's death.


Healy was barely a member of the 1978 Yankees. He appeared in one game and struck out in his only at bat before being released on May 10 of that year.


Tidrow was a back-end starter for the Yankees in 1978, moving into the rotation from the bullpen. His season was unspectacular, but did turn in two decent relief appearances during the World Series.


I don't have much to say about Chambliss, except that he seemed a steady presence on a club that was in turmoil too often.


And last, but not least, Jim Spencer. Baseball Reference shows him a part time first baseman in 1977 and 1978,b ut Chambliss had that nailed down, so I would guess he was actually a part time designated hitter (which is my recollection of the time.)

So, there it is. A small sample of the cards I recieved. Thank you, Chris. It was a welcome pick-me-up.

2010 OBAK - Packs 1 to 4

So, here we go. I'll follow the convention of listing the cards, showing my two favorites from the pack, and perhaps offer a little random commentary.

Pack 1

19 - Hank Greenberg


I like how they put the subject's image on a totally different background. Quirky, to be sure. But appealing, at least to me.

21 - Cal Ripken, Jr.
25 - Eddie Cicotte T212 Mini
31 - David Clyde
41 - Jose Canseco


At least we know someone at Tristar has a sense of humor. Clean-wholesome? Jose Canseco? Okay, sure thing. Whatever you say.

55 - Toby Harrah

Pack 2
16 - Johnny Bench T212 Mini
76 - John Henry Heinz


Damn right, ketchup was a game changer! Especially if you are from Pennsylvania. My father was from Pennsylvania and he put ketchup on everything. Even scrambled eggs, baked beans, and macaroni and cheese. To this day, I still prefer ketchup to mustard on a hot dog.

82 - John McGraw


John McGraw just pointed a bony finger at me and said, 'Right Field.' I jumped up like I was sitting on a spring, grabbed my glove, and trotted out, hoping I wouldn't trip or do anything to attract attention to me.

85 - Alfred "A.J." Reach
93 - Maurice Van Robays
98 - Jim Bouton and Robert C.Nelson

Pack 3
5 - Desmond Jennings T212 Mini
9 - Tyler Matzek Green Parallel (10/25)
52 - Jim Abbott
63 - Eberhard Anheuser
66 - Jefferson Burdick


Old Baseball Cards has a nice set of essays on Burdick, the father of our hobby. They can be found here, here, and here. Well worth your time to read them.

73 - Andy Farkas


I wonder if he is related to Scott?

Pack 4

12 - Austin Romine


Romine has a long shot chance to break camp with the Yankees this year. He was mostly at AA last year, though he did make token appearances at AAA and got a September call up to the big club. My guess is that he'll start the year at AAA, with Frankie Cervelli beign the backup backstop at the start of the season. Cervelli has had a couple of concussions, one of which ended his season last year. I have to think he (and Russell Martin, for that matter) is just keeping a spot warm for Romine, who is expected to be the Yankee's starting catcher in the next few years.

23 - Jefferson Burdick T212 Mini
48 - Tom Paciorek
56 - Ed Kurpiel
59 - Wayne Terwilliger


Oldest man, at the time, to manage a professional team when he led the independent Fort Worth Cats to a Central Baseball League championship in 2005. I believe Jack McKeon was older when he took over the helm of the Florida Marlins for the last half of 2011.

67 - Ray Chapman

Coming up tomorrow: Something likely to get Baseball Dad drooling.

2010 OBAK Overview

As mentioned earlier, I won $50 in a contest at Net54baseball and decided to buy a box with it. I ended up settling on a box of 2010 Tristar OBAK. It is a quirky little set that seemed to appeal to me.

The box contains 20 packs with 6 cards each, 5 modern sized cards and 1 T212 mini. T212 is the designation of the original OBAK tobacco cards. The 120 card modern size base set is made up of a number of mini-series:

History in the Making - 16 cards
History's Great Players - 5 Cards
Heroes and Legends - 7 cards
#1 Overall Draft Picks - 6 cards
Minor League Best - 4 cards
Minor League Players of the Year - 13 cards
Can You Believe? - 9 cards
Game Changers - 38 cards
Future Stars - 2 cards
Multi-Sport - 5 cards
Pop Icons - 1 card
Historic Names - 3 cards
Short Prints - 11 cards

There is a 45 card T212 sized series and a 30 card T4 cabinet card series.

The box promises 11 hits:

4 autographs (numbered to 125 or less)
2 parallels (numbered to 50 or less)
1 T212 mini parallel (numbered to 50 or less)
3 short prints
1 T4 Cabinet card (numbered to 75 or less)

I'll keep track and see how I did in the end. But, let's start out with the cabinet card.





At one per box, I am guessing I'll never complete the whole 30 card series although I will keep an eye out for them. As you can see it is a pretty sharp card. With J-Hey on the front, and the first playing field used by Atlanta's predecessor team, the Boston Braves/Doves/Beaneaters/Red Stockings. My only complaint with this is that, despite being advertised as serial numbered, this card is not. A minor complaint to be sure. So, over the next few days, I'll be reviewing the packs in groups of 4. Stay tuned.

Trade with JABO

This was my first trade with Kyle from Just a Bit Outside. I was able to send him some 2011 Topps Chrome to help him towards completing that set. In return, I got a mixed bag of Heritage from 2008 through 2010, all except one of which were Royals. I am hoping these were duplicates and not cards he pulled from his team sets.





Though I love me some Heritage, this card was the centerpiece of the trade for me:



This is the last card I needed to finish 2011 Update. I can now put 2011 completely behind me. Just in time, you might think, to start on 2012. But, I am happy to report that I have, so far, stuck by my decision to give 2012 flagship a complete pass. I've been in Target twice since it hit the shelf and have had no desire whatsoever to pick any up. Now when 2012 Heritage comes out in a little over a month......

Trade with Baseball Dad

This really didn't start out as a trade. In my infrequent, but much loathed, BOBOC feature there was an 1997 Score Albert Belle that Baseball Dad wanted. Since I really had no use for it, I sent it, along with a few Topps Indians stickers off. No strings attached. But, if any of you know Jack, he is always generous in return. I got a couple of Topps Update I needed. I am not going to show them because I am soooo over Topps Flagship. Suffice it to say those cards got me within striking distance of finishing 2011 Update. He also sent along almost a dozen 2011 Heritage to help me work the old want list down further. Here are a couple:




Dad also sent along a pack of 2003 Estrella's. I guess that is a common thing for him to do as I recall other bloggers posting about the Estrellas. But, having got them in hand, I have to say I really like these cards. If I wasn't working on too many sets I would likely consider building this one. I like it that much. It is a nice, clean design with good photographs.





I think that this Clemente is my favorite card from the trade. A sharp design and one of the greatest ballplayers ever. It may not technically belong in my vintage/relic/auto binder, but that is where I put it.

Thanks Dad!

Starting to Come Back

So, after my morose come-down bullshit (obscure movie reference) the other day, I am starting to climb out of the hole I dug for myself.


About 3 weeks ago, I had a phone interview for a job with a local midstream energy company. That led to a face-to-face interview last Friday, which seemed to go well. Following on from that, tomorrow I have a lunch date with the hiring manager and one of his organization's key internal clients. So, I am guessing I am still in the running. Which is good because, after 3 days of unemployment, I am finding that the role of house frau doesn't fit me well.

Additionally, over the last few days I have received two trade packages and a rather thick, unsolicited package from another card blogger and that has greatly improved my mood.

I am starting to map out some posts in between looking for work and my household chores. It will probably be a few days more before they start to appear. But, for those that have inquired, I'm doing fine and hope to be back in the swing here soon.

And, no, I have no intent of getting any Series 1. Job or not.