2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Hobby Edition

    Hello all, Today the Pack Rip Cafe jumps on board with the Gypsy Queen craze I bought 2 packs at my LCS so here is one and the other one will be over on The Buffet.

2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Hobby Edition

       First thing I noticed was how thick the packs were.

#46 Thurman Munson (Yankees)

#43 Matt Cain (Giants)

#3 Cole Hamels (Phillies)

   Two Stars and one of my favorite Yankees of that era.

#113 Jose Bautista (Blue Jays)

#149 Adam Jones (Orioles)

#220 Tyler Colvin (Cubs)

   All quality players here.

#240 Fausto Carmona (Indians)

#150 Kosuke Fukudome (Cubs)

Mini #110 Todd Helton (Rockies)

    More quality players including a regular back mini.

Mini Bat Relic #FMRC-TM Thurman Munson (Yankees)

SP #344 Josh Beckett (Red Sox)

  WOW! A Munson bat relic! My first hit of him, I couldn't be happier with any other Yankee hit (except Mantle maybe). A Beckett SP also is icing on the cake for a great pack. An extra card was even inside as I got 11.

Some Backs.

BY THE NUMBERS:
Total Cards: 10 11 extra card

Teams Represented: 9
Rookie Cards: 0
Sub Sets: n/a
Parallels: 1 (Helton mini)
Inserts: 0
SP's 1 (Beckett)

Hits: 1 (Munson bat) 
Keepers for Me: 2 (Munson base and Munson bat card) The rest are for trade.

MY RATINGS:
Front Design: 9 out of 10 Good pictures, nice design, great artwork, good old school cardboard feel, I like the inclusion of the background artwork, no team logo.
Back Design: 6 out of 10 Nice design, team logo, good player factoid, no stats, only 2 colors.
Player Selection: 7.5 out of 10 Good, nice mix of quality players plus the legends.

FINAL OVERALL RATING: 3 RBI Home Run to center field. A Hit, an SP, an extra card, what's not to like. I love the design and the feel of these cards. I am not the retro set kind of collector but this set has me tempted.

   Head on over to The Buffet and see how the other pack was, although I can't see it being much better then this one.

Thanks for Reading!

1974 Fleer Real Cloth Basketball Patches

     Hello all. Today we have a few firsts for The Pack Rip Cafe. It's the first basketball offering, the  first cloth sticker product, and first 1974 pack.

1974 Fleer Real Cloth Basketball Patches 

Boston Celtics

The Shots #14

Washington Bullets

    As you can see, the gum has really taken its toll on these stickers, the Celtics took the brunt of the damage. The stickers became completely detached from the backing while the Bullets is much better with just a few stains.

The Backs

    The Shots card didn't take any damage.

     The card is 1974 but for some reason the wrapper has 1969 on it. I assume that's when the licence agreement was made but I am not sure. I found a great write up on this set at The Fleer Sticker Project blog that describes the set.

BY THE NUMBERS:
Total Cards/Stickers: 3

Teams Represented: 2
Rookie Cards: n/a
Sub Sets: n/a
Parallels: n/a
Inserts: 1
Hits: n/a
Keepers for Me: 2 (Celtics and Bullets) Anybody who wants The Shot card can have it, first comment asking for it gets it from the freebie box.

MY RATINGS:
Front Design: 8.5 out of 10  Great team logos.
Back Design: 5 out of 10 N/A for the stickers, the "Shots" card back is pretty cool.
Player/Team Selection:  9 out of 10 Great, a legendary team and a team that has changed it's name works for me, only thing better would be the Knicks.

FINAL OVERALL RATING: 2 RBI Single up the middle. 2 very cool cards for my team logo collection and being a 1974 product makes a solid hit. The condition keeps it a single.  

Thanks For Reading!

1997 Topps Finest Hobby Series 2

   Hello all. Today we go with a higher end product from the 90's from Topps that has been born, reborn, changed, and is still around today in a premium form.

1997 Topps Finest Hobby Series 2

#180, C45 Walt Weiss (Rockies)

#207, C28 Todd Worrell (Dodgers)

#207, C28 Todd Worrell (Dodgers)

#220, C29 Dan Wilson (Mariners)

   Each card has 2 numbers, the main number first and then the theme number next. A duplicate card is a bummer right off the bat.

#248, C17 Robin Ventura (White Sox)

#231, C36 Kevin Seitzer (Indians)

Refractor #241, A30 Terry Steinbach (Twins)

#196, A35 Orlando Merced (Blue Jays)

   The refractor is nice but it doesn't "refract" nearly as much as today's do but interestingly the back also has a slight refractor finish to it as well.

#271, A20 David Justice (Indians)

#235, A23 Eddie Murray (Angels)

#247, A24 Benito Santiago (Blue Jays)

#253, A14 Matt Williams (Indians)

#240, P27 Albert Belle (White Sox)

 The Acquisitions part of series 2 are players whe were traded during the season. All cards in this pack were commons (bronze).

Some backs.

BY THE NUMBERS:
Total Cards: 13

Teams Represented: 8
Rookie Cards: 0
Sub Sets: 0
Parallels: 1 (Steinbach refractor) 
Inserts: 0
Hits: 0
Keepers for Me 2 (Murray and Steinbach refractor) The rest are available as usual.

MY RATINGS:
Front Design: 6 out of 10 Good in game pictures,  nice chrome like finish when protective film peeled, hard to read players names, bland design, no team logo.
Back Design: 5.5 out of 10 So-so design, good in game player picture, team logo, good player info but hard to read due to some backgrounds, only previous years and career stats.
Player Selection: 6.5 out of 10 Decent, 1 HOFer and a couple of stars of the day.

FINAL OVERALL RATING: Fly Out to right field. A refractor and Eddie Murray makes contact but not enough keepers, a design that doesn't grab me, and a duplicate gets an out. I really find the protective films annoying and too hard to peel.

Thanks for Reading!

1991 Fleer

     Hey again all. Today we go back 2 decades to 1991 here on The Pack Rip Cafe with a pack of Fleer Baseball.

1991 Fleer Baseball

#401 Ricky Jordan (Phillies)

#521 Gerald Young (Astros)

#245 Mel Rojas (Expos)

#469 Mike Devereaux (Orioles)

#626 Gary Wayne (Twins)

#32 afael Belliard (Pirates)

#212 Ramon Martinez (Dodgers)

#190 Ken Williams (Blue Jays)

#666 Andy Hawkins (Yankees)

#55 Jack Armstrong (Reds)

#342 Lance McCullers (Tigers)

#251 Tim Wallach (Expos)

#463 Dave Valle (Mariners)

#28 Curt Young (A's)

Team Logo Stickers (Cardinals Stats on back)

I love the old wrappers with the offers for card related stuff.

BY THE NUMBERS:
Total Cards: 15

Teams Represented: 15
Rookie Cards: 0
Sub Sets: 0
Parallels: 0
Inserts: 1 (Stickers)
Hits: 0
Keepers for Me: 2 (Hawkins, Team Logo Stickers) The rest are up for grabs.

MY RATINGS:
Front Design: 6out of 10 Good pictures of in game action shots, bland design,   no team logo.
Back Design: 8 out of 10 Nice design, team logo, good player info, full career stats, player picture. 
Player Selection: 6 out of 10 Decent mix of players but no big stars.

FINAL OVERALL RATING: Pop Out into shallow right field. Bland design on the front and no big names make an out. A good back design, 15 cards, and 2 keepers put the bat on the ball.

Thanks for Reading!

2011 Topps Opening Day

    Hello all. I am back here on the Pack Rip Cafe after some time away due to being very busy at work and all the activity over on The Buffet but I now return and have a variety of packs to rip here for your viewing pleasure. I start today with the first 2011 product here on the Cafe. I am a big fan of the Opening Day sets and try to build them each year.

2011 Topps Opening Day

#102 Carlos Ruiz (Phillies)

#26 Gaby Sanchez (Marlins)

#194 Delmon Young (Twins)

Mascots #M-23 Rangers Captain (Rangers)

Opening Day Stars #ODS-4 Josh Hamilton (Rangers)

#138 Chris Young (D-Backs)

#212 Vernon Wells (Blue Jays)

BY THE NUMBERS:
Total Cards: 7

Teams Represented: 6
Rookie Cards: 0
Sub Sets: N/A
Parallels: 0
Inserts: 2 (Mascots and Opening Day Stars)
Hits: 0
Keepers for Me: 1 ( Hamilton ODS) The others are available.

MY RATINGS:

Front Design: 8 out of 10 Good pictures, nice design, team logo, same as 2011 flagship with opening day logo, no foil.
Back Design: 7 out of 10 Nice design, no team logo, good player info, full career stats, same as 2011 flagship.
Player Selection: 7 out of 10 Good, all quality players with some stars.

FINAL OVERALL RATING: Single up the middle. A nice affordable pack with 2 inserts (one I needed) gets a hit.

  Don't forget to leave your rating at the bottom of the post.

Thanks for Reading!

2007 Topps 52 Rookies (2 packs for the group break)

   Hello all. It's been a while since I posted a pack here due to time factors with my job, home life, and now the group break I am running over at The Buffet. Today I have 2 packs from that group break to share over here at The Pack Rip Cafe. I will be forgoing the usual format since these are for the break.

2007 Topps 52 Rookies

Pack 1

Michael Bourne RC (Phillies)

Delmon Young RC (Rays)

Alejandro De Aza RC Marlins)

Alex Rodriguez Road to 500 #486 (Yankees)

Danny Richar RC (White Sox)

Patrick Misch RC (Giants)

Pack 2

Chase Wright RC (Yankees)

Joe Smith RC (Mets)

Eulogio De La Cruz RC (Tigers)

Craig Stansberry RC (Padres)

Jorge Posada (Yankees)

Patrick Misch RC (Giants)

  

A couple of the backs.

   There you have it, two more packs for the group break. Without all the detail I usually go into here, I will say that I like the overall design of this set and these two packs have to be an RBI Single in my book. These packs are included in the break counts.



Thanks for Reading!

1980 Cramer Baseball Legends Limited Edition Series 1

   Hello all. Today we go back to 1980 with a pack who's players go back way further. There were four 30 card series that were each released in 4 successive years. These are from series 1 in 1980. I believe Cramer Sports Promotions was the company that later became Pacific Cards and these had a Pacific logo on the back of the wrapper but is mentioned no place on the cards at all.

1980 Cramer Baseball Legends Limited Edition Series 1

 #3 of 30 Rabbit Maranville (Boston Braves)

#4 of 30 Earl Averill (Cleveland Indians)

#5 of 30 Joe Dimaggio (NY Yankees)

#6 of 30 Mickey Mantle (NY Yankees)

    A great start. I never heard of Rabbit but he is one of only a few who batted over 10,000 times. The two guys on the bottom were decent players in their day.

#7 of 30 Hank Aaron (Milwaukee Braves)

#8 of 30 Stan Musial (St. Louis Cardinals)

#9 of 30 Bill Terry (NY Giants)

# 10 of 30 Sandy Koufax (LA Dodgers)

#11 of 30 Ernie Lombardi (Brooklyn Dodgers)

   Look at that, an extra card. I would say that there seems to be a pattern to the way these cards were packed, all in order. Ernie Lombardi is the only player in this back not in the hall of fame but if you look at his numbers, he probably should be. Nobody can complain about the players in this lot at all.

A couple of the backs.

BY THE NUMBERS:
Total Cards: 8 9 (Extra card)

Teams Represented: 6
Rookie Cards: 0
Sub Sets: 0
Parallels: 0
Inserts: 0
Hits: 0
Keepers for Me: 3  (Dimaggio, Mantle, Aaron)

MY RATINGS:
Front Design: 8 out of 10 Good pictures, nice design, very old school look,  no team logo.
Back Design: 8 out of 10 Fun design, good player info, great player tidbits career stats only . 
Player Selection: 9.5 out of 10 Awesome, with 8 out of 9 Hall of Farmers you can't go wrong.

FINAL OVERALL RATING: 2 RBI Single up the middle. I really like these cards for their old school look ans legends checklist. 3 great keepers and still other all time greats make this a real fun pack plus an extra card. Even with no parallels, hits, inserts or any other special cards this set is still great.

Thanks for Reading!

2010 Topps Chrome Football

    Hello again all. I as a Jets fan am getting excited along with fans of the other three remaining playoff teams for tomorrow's conference championship games so I will go with a pack of shiny NFL cards today.

2010 Topps Chrome NFL Football

#C157 Mardy Gilyard RC (Rams)

#C191 Jeremy Maclin (Eagles)

#C81 Clinton Portis (Redskins)

Refractor #C68 Walter McFadden RC (Raiders)

A couple of the backs and a checklist from the pack.

    Not a bad pack but no cards from any of the final four teams.

BY THE NUMBERS:
Total Cards: 4

Teams Represented: 4
Rookie Cards: 2
Sub Sets: 0
Parallels: 1 (Refractor)
Inserts: 0
Hits: 0
Keepers for Me: 0 (All are in the freebie box so just email if you want any.)

Front Design: 8 out of 10 Good pictures, nice design, love the chrome, good use of team colors.
Back Design: 8 out of 10 Nice design, team logo, full career stats, good player info.
Player Selection: 7 out of 10 Good, all relevant players.

FINAL OVERALL RATING:  7 yard screen pass on first down (Infield Single). A refractor and decent players makes this a positive pack. Chromes are one of my favorites so that doesn't hurt.

Thanks for Reading!

1996 Ringside Boxing Series 1

    Hello all. Today we go into the ring for the first pack of Boxing cards here on The Pack Rip Cafe. I have no desire to collect boxing cards but for 50 cents in the Vend-O-Pack machine so I grabbed them for a little variety here today. Any cards I am not keeping are in the freebie box so if you want them just shoot me an e-mail.

 1996 Ringside Boxing Series 1

#13 International Boxing Hall of Fame Maxie Rosenbloom

#2 International Boxing Hall of Fame Willie Pep

#47 Tom Johnson

#35 Luis Ramon Campas

A card with the American flag is a nice surprise. The International Boxing Hall of Fame are inserts.

#36 Ralph Tiger Jones

#7 Alex Stewart

#11 Jorge Gonzalez

#R3 Melvin Foster RC

   The Foster is a rookie card, hence the R in the number.

A couple of backs.

BY THE NUMBERS:
Total Cards: 8

Teams Represented: NA
Rookie Cards: 1 (Melvin Foster) 
Sub Sets: 0
Parallels: 0
Inserts: 3 (Rookie and 2 International Boxing Hall of Fame)
Hits: 0
Keepers for Me: 1 (Johnson flag card)

MY RATINGS:
Front Design: 5 out of 10 Fair, Same background on most cards, not much in the way of action shots.
Back Design: 6 out of 10 OK, decent fighter facts, only one year stats and totals, too much blank space.
Player Boxer Selection: 4 out of 10 Below average.

FINAL OVERALL RATING: Second round TKO (Foul Out).e I haven't heard of most of these fighters and a bland design make for a bad pack. The flag card and an 3 inserts get it to the second round before the TKO.

Thanks for Reading!