Archives by the Numbers - Part 2

Don't forget to vote in the poll to the right regarding the next break. Go ahead, I'll wait...


Ok, now that everything's packaged up I thought I'd throw one last Archives post out there. This one will break down the team distributions so everyone will kind of get a glimpse of what their package will entail. Obviously with a set like Archives, some fared better than others.


I think the columns are pretty self explanatory but here's a breakdown in case its not:
Team = Team (duh!)
Base = Total numbers of base cards
Different = Number of different base cards
Inserts = Total number of inserts
Different = Number of different insert cards
Total = Total number of base cards and inserts (cards in your package)
Total different = Number of different base cards and inserts

A few things I noticed.

• 8 cards X 24 packs X 10 boxes = 1920, so why 1918 total cards? The Gallardo jersey card was the equivalent of 3 base cards in the pack it came in.
• The Yankees had more base cards (146) than the lowest 8 teams combined (142).
• I pulled more Yankees insert cards (34) than total cards of 4 teams (Padres, Astros, Twins, White Sox) and tied the Orioles.
•  The Yankees also had more different insert cards (24) than 28 other teams had total different cards (Phillies had 25 total different cards). I should have sold that team for half the case amount! (Debunked later, see below)
• The Padres and the Pirates had more total inserts (4 and 19 respectively) than total base cards (0 and 17).
• Half of the teams had more different insert cards than different base cards.
• The Padres had 0 base cards.
• The White Sox had 0 inserts, although I believe there were potential autographs that I didn't pull.

I debated on posting the following information. It will probably disappoint some but others may feel like they got a got deal. Thems the breaks of a break, I guess. The chart below reflects each teams total distribution, regardless of whether the card was an insert or a base card. The column labeled "% Distrib." is the total number of cards pulled from that team divided by 1918 (total number of cards pulled). So as you can see, the Yankees represented 9.385% of the cards in the box. The third column is that percentage multiplied by what I paid for the case plus an average of $3.00 shipping and insurance. So, in theory, hindsight being 20/20, this columns represents the amount I should have charged per team, assuming every card had an equal value.

Keep in mind, this does not account for an increase in value for things like the Castro printing plate, Gallardo jersey card or any of the autographs. These are straight, every card has the same value figures. You'll see the Pirates towards the bottom of this list and if you remember, I pulled 3 autographs and a total of 19 inserts vs 17 base cards for them.

One of the things I love about numbers is that they are cold hard facts, yet can be manipulated to be what you'd like to see. In my case, I'd like everyone to feel they got their money's worth!

Today's ATCRCS Card of the Day on Facebook:

HOFer Ralph Kiner