Repack Sunday

Earlier this week, I passed the card aisle in my local Target and couldn't help but take a peak at some of the 2016 issues on the shelf. Flagship. Heritage. Opening Day. Donruss. While I'm mostly a team collector, I really do enjoy ripping open packs.

But brand new product isn't in the budget right now although if you read the title, you can see I couldn't pass up a repack box, this one containing 50 miscellaneous cards and 4 unopened packs for $7.99. On some level, I know there's never really anything great in these but I always like the variety of cards you see, its a nice trip down memory lane and it usually satisfies that pack ripping itch.

When I ran this segment back in the blog's heyday, I had a few recurring themes for these boxes so I'll bring most of those back with maybe a few new ones. Let's see what the box had to offer and get to the part you're all waiting for, the pictures.

Oldest card in the box:

1984 Topps Charlie Moore

As far as "old" cards go, this is probably one of the newest I've pulled. I usually get something a few years older, maybe a first or second year Donruss or Fleer, maybe something from the 70's. Nothing spectacular here although it was a tip top condition. And even though the Brewers are now NL Central division rivals to my Cubs, I find the old glove/hidden MB logo so clever that it is one of my favorites. I think they still use it occasionally but it would be nice to see that come back full time.

Newest card(s) in the box:

2015 Topps Ryan Howard, Adrian Gonzalez and Ian Kennedy

A three way tie with this trio of 2015 Topps. Nothing special here although I'm glad to see this box hasn't been sitting around on the Target shelf for years or anything,

Most copies of one card in the box:

1988 Topps All-Star Matt Nokes

In the dozens of repacks I've bought over the years, I don't think I've ever failed in getting a box with at least one duplicate. I think my record was 4 of one card and I've gotten duplicates of several different cards in one box so two copies of one card isn't terrible.

Most represented set(s):

2000 Topps and 2014 Topps

At four cards each, this is a tie between 2010 and 2014 Topps. The tie goes to the group with the Rookie Cup and future Cub, Rey Ordonez.

Speaking of Cubs...

Former/Future Cubs:

When all was said and done with the 50 miscellaneous cards, there was not a single current (at the time of the card's issue) Cubs player. However, the 3 cards above all feature players with Cubs ties, either before or after the card depicted. Rick Reuschel and Dennis Lamp were former Cubs while Todd Hundley was a future Cub.

Hall of Famer(s):

2006 Topps Rookie of the Week Tony Gwynn

Often, the repacks are chock full of junk wax era Hall of Famers. Not this time as I only came away with this solo, non junk wax Tony Gwynn card. I guess the repackers felt that one insert is better than multiple junk wax base? And I wonder what the Tonys are looking at over there?

Hall of Pretty Good:

The above group of guys all had very nice careers, full of highlights. Without looking, I'd assume these particular players each played in multiple All-Star games. Kid version of me would have put all of these guys in my binders back in the day when the main qualification involved being listed in Beckett (as in, not a common). Hmmmm, sidenote to self, maybe start a Hall of Pretty Good frankenset....

Smallest card in the box:

2008 Topps Heritage T205 Mini
David Ortiz

That was easy as it was the only mini in the box. The caption is bigger than the card.

Largest card in the box:

1990 Best Jack Voight

This card measures very slightly above your standard 2 1/2 x 3/12 baseball card and I do mean slightly. Probably miscut and the only reason I noticed was because it stuck out a bit when I held the cards in a stack. It also pulls double duty as the oddballiest card in the box because the rest of the cards were fairly standard flagship issues.

On to the 4 unopened packs.

Pack 1: 1990 Upper Deck

Steve Sax Collector's Choice, Dave Winfield, Rick Reuschel

Quantity here, not quality. The largest pack by far with 15 cards, but with a pretty underwhelming selection. The Collector's Choice art cards were some of my favorites as a kid and Steve Sax is a Hall of Pretty Gooder. Dave Winfield is a Hall of Famer and Rick Reuschel was a former Cub, playing against the Cubs with what looks like Hall of Famer Greg Maddux (a pitcher) batting.

Pack #2: 2013 Bowman Platinum

2013 Bowman Platinum Cutting Edge Stars
Albert Pujols

The smallest pack coming in at just 4 cards. Three cards weren't worth scanning. The Cutting Edge Stars die cut have odds of being in 1:10 packs so I guess I had that going for me. At least Albert Pujols had moved on from the Cardinals by then...

Pack #3: 2013 Panini Hometown Heroes:

2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Jody Davis

The lone Cub in the entire box and I can barely call this unlicensed Jody Davis a Cubs card. More like Chicago, NL. Also, this whole pack had dinged corners and were weirdly warped so they don't lay flat.

Pack #4: 2014 Topps Opening Day

A Topps Rookie cup and a Rookie Card.

The only two horizontal cards in the whole box.

And a Cardinals insert. Definitely the most "productive" of the four packs in terms of noteworthy/scannable cards (5 out of 7) but still leaves a lot to be desired.

These last two cards caught my attention but for different reasons. The Pujols card is numbered #TB2 on the back and after a little research, it appears that it came from a Back to School set through Target. There are a couple that sold recently on eBay for more than I paid for this whole box so that could be a nice flip. Perhaps another repack is in my future.

This Jerry Reuss card made me stop when flipping through the cards. No offense to him, but he just looks a lot older than your standard Major Leaguer. On closer look, maybe his hair and 'stache are more blonde than gray/white but still. After some quick math (born in 1949, this card is a 1986 issue), how can this guy pictured be 37 years old? I'M 37 YEARS OLD RIGHT NOW! 

That wraps up this edition of Repack Sunday. I forgot how much work scanning and cropping is but it was nice to crank out a post again.