Preview: 2010-11 O-Pee-Chee Hockey (It's Looking WAY Better Than Last Year)

In the interest of full disclosure: I probably give the O-Pee-Chee name a little more of a pass than it sometimes deserves. Call it my personal form of Canadian patriotism mixed with equal parts nostalgia. That said, after a handful of jumbo packs, I was extremely apathetic towards Upper Deck's 2009-10 O-Pee-Chee Hockey release. The design was pukish, which for a release geared towards set building, was a kiss of death.

But from the early images for 2010-11 O-Pee-Chee Hockey, it looks like Upper Deck has things back on track. The base card design has a fair amount of white space and is probably the most modern since Upper Deck took over the brand. The picture window on the front may end up being too small for some action photos, but the Jarome Iginla shown on the initial promo materials looks very solid - it feels kind of like 2002 Topps Total or 2003 Topps Bazooka Baseball to me. The Marquee Rookies return once again. Although there's no mention of them being short printed, I'd assume they will be as in years past. In all, the base set will have a whopping 600 cards.

As far as inserts go, there's no guarantees with a guaranteed hit in every box. Overall odds have O-Pee-Chee Signatures and O-Pee-Chee Souvenirs each falling at a rate of three per case, or one autograph or memorabilia card in every other box. O-Pee-Chee Souvenirs are quad jersey cards featuring four different players. I like these odds as it emphasizes the set building as the focus of the set, rather than tossing in a bunch of hits for the sake of having them and only driving up the cost.




2010-11 O-Pee-Chee isn't rocking the boat with a lot of changes. Each pack will contain a Retro parallel. One in every four packs will have a Retro Rainbow parallel, while there will be a Black-Bordered Rainbow Retro parallel or two in every hobby box. Boxes also promise one In Action insert and nine additional inserts, although details on these are not yet available.

Packs of 2010-11 O-Pee-Chee Hockey will have six cards with 36 packs in a box. It is scheduled to be released in December, a little before Christmas.

Topps Steven Strasburg #661 to Be Included in Packs of 2010 Topps Update

Beckett just posted an early preview of 2010 Topps Update Baseball. They mention that the 661 card on the checklist will indeed be Steven Strasburg. The card will feature a different photo of the one on the Million Card Giveaway, however I think it should go a ways in satisfying the many ticked off folks who thought the promotion was about old cards, not gimmicked ones that take a spot in our regular sets.

Source: Beckett

Also of note are player drawn sketch cards done by Major Leaguers, kind of like Topps did with 2009 Topps WWE. However, judging by the sample Topps provided, I think I'd rather have them stick to the game on the field.

Source: Beckett

Random Pack Break: 1992 Bowman Baseball Redux

Not long ago I busted a pack of 1992 Bowman Baseball. It should have been two but a slight mix-up from the online dealer I ordered from missed one. No biggie. They sent it along with a small bonus on my next order. So let's see what the pack brings us, shall we:

574 Steve Finley

33 Edgar Martinez - It's rare that the game's all-time great DH is shown holding a glove. I adore the history of the game, but if there's one reason to support the designated hitter, it's Edgar.

1992 Bowman Baseball 33 Edgar Martinez

255 Ramon Martinez - Back in the day, he was one of the most exciting pitchers to watch. Within a couple of years, though, his brother Pedro would steal his thunder.

1992 Bowman Baseball 255 Ramon Martinez

 82 Pedro Martinez - A kid you not, back-to-back brothers. If it weren't for 1991 Upper Deck Final Edition, this card would be a lot more exciting than it is today. Unless you're first name is Mickey, second-year cards don't have the prestige as a rookie. That said, there was a time when this was a $20 card.

1992 Bowman Baseball 82 Pedro Martinez

92 Jerry DiPoto

200 Jeff Bagwell - Another excellent second-year card. So do Pedro and Bags get the Hall call in a few years? Let the debate ensue.

1992 Bowman Baseball 200 Jeff Bagwell

 682 Michael Tucker (Foil)

324 Dave Righetti

532 Manny Ramirez - Anyone heard of this guy, because I just got his rookie card. His glare makes him look a little intimidating though. But, he is standing in front of either a church or some preppy school that was built following a massive brick backlog to look like a church. Prognosis: I think this guy'll do okay.

1992 Bowman Baseball 532 Manny Ramirez

 523 Roberto Munoz

630 Lou Whitake

96 Donovan "Quit Calling Me Super Dave" Osbourne

518 John Doherty

44 Kim Batiste and a pair of brown Franklin batting gloves that didn't stay in fashion very long, even on the one team where it matched the uniforms.

1992 Bowman Baseball 44 Kim Batiste

 704 Checklist

Ah, when the rookie card was simple to understand and make sense of. You either scored like a Manny or you thought what could have been with a decent second-year pull like Bagwell and Pedro. This is what made Bowman relevant in the hobby again. No gimmicks, no short prints, just every rookie they could get. And some retrospectively ugly fashions.

How the Mighty Have Fallen

When it comes to collecting, I consider myself to be somewhat patient. My budget requires me too. If I want something that's hot today, it might be a decade or more before I finally land it. But when it comes to iconic cards of the hobby, I'm certainly willing to wait.

If you were to go back in time about 15 years you'd find me watching Seinfeld, eating unhealthy amounts of Mr. Noodles, listening to Silverchair and Smashing Pumpkins and dreaming of getting a 1995 Bowman's Best Andruw Jones. At the time, the guy was a stud. There was no limit to what he might do for the amazing Braves. I don't recall exactly the price the rookie card reached, but I'm thinking it was around or over $100. That'd be 20 hours of flipping burgers and burning myself working fries for a single card, albeit a shiny one, of a guy who had a tremendous World Series debut. Add to the fact I lived in Canada where base Topps and Upper Deck were all that was found for the most part, and I wasn't going to be having any of it.

It was probably a good thing I waited. While Jones has put together a solid career overall, he didn't exactly pan out to be the phenom his early card prices demanded. As his strikeouts piled up, his stock in the hobby fell. Today he's bouncing from team to team, playing largely for up-side contract incentives.

Well, I finally got my 1995 Bowman's Best Andruw Jones rookie. The cost: $7.50. And that, friends, is why I don't prospect.

Although the card holds merely a fraction of the value it once did, it is still an important part of baseball card history. It was one of the first "shiny" base set rookies that still have a foothold in today's hobby. It's value plummet is also the thing of legend, comparable to Jose Canseco whose various 1986 cards were once worth more than $100 as well. But while Canseco's fall from grace can be attributed to overproduction as much as his fall in play, Jones is an example of raw, unproven skill that could never reach the hype.

The 1995 Bowman's Best set was at one time the hottest in the hobby. Not only did you have the Jones rookie, but there was Vladimir Guerrero and Scott Rolen as well. I picked up a Bob Abreu the same time as the Jones for an additional $6.00. One of these days I'll pull the trigger on a Guerrero to add to the Expos team set collection. However, I have a hunch if I stay patient for another few months I might save myself a few dollars. 

Basement Treasures: 1994 Upper Deck World Cup Edition

While doing a little cleaning and reorganizing over the holidays, I came across a small box of cards labelled "Other Sports." It's not a slight on the sports that reside within, but rather odds and ends of cards I'd accumulated outside of baseball, basketball, hockey, football, golf and tennis (I loved 2003 NetPro Tennis and my doubles had a box of their own). Three-quarters of the "Other Sports" box was comprised of 1994 Upper Deck World Cup Soccer (or is it football?). I started thumbing through them and remembered what a great-looking set this was.

Honestly, I recognized very few names but there was some great action shots...

...dramatic portraits...

...celebrations

...crazy hair...

...hippies...

...and some head butt and blinking dual awesomeness.

And if all else fails, the set even flashes a little boob.

As I reached the end of the stack, I came across this card and thought, "Hey, I've heard of her."

It turns out Mia Hamm has a rookie card in this set and folks are actually willing to pay for it. I checked some old completed auctions and saw one had sold for $6. Sure, it's not much, but for a soccer card that was otherwise sitting in a box marked "Other Sports," it's not too shabby.

There's currently a few complete 330-card sets listed on eBay for under $20.

Naked Preview: 2010 SPx Baseball

Why the curious title? Upper Deck's gone and released some info on 2010 SPx Baseball but it's a little bare due to the fact that they've started this new trend of not releasing any images to go with them.

Scheduled for release at the start of May, SPx looks like it does just about every other year since 2001. The base set consists of 100 cards plus 50 SPx Materials, 30 SPx Rookie autographs and SPx Rookie Update autographs. The product announcement also mentions regular SPx Rookie Update cards numbered to 350 but it lists them as inserts. I'm checking with Upper Deck to see if they're base cards or inserts. The Rookie Update cards are meant to "celebrate" Upper Deck missing to put 21 guys like Johan Santana and Michael Young in the set a decade ago. Blowout Cards currently has box pre-sales listed at $100.

Each 18-pack box (packs have four cards) has one autograph and five jersey cards, two of which will be dual- or triple-swatch cards.

Autograph sets include (all withvaried serial numbers):

• SPx Rookie Signatures
• SPx Auto Materials
• SPx Auto Patch Materials
• Winning Materials Auto parallel
• Flashback Fabrics Auto parallel
• 2000 SPx Rookie Update Autographs

Each case will also have two SPx Rookie Signature redemptions that will be announced during the season.

Memorabilia cards include:

• SPx Materials 
• Winning Materials
• Winning Combos
• Flashback Fabrics
• Winning Trios

The following appear at a combined rate of two per case and have varied numbering:

• SPx Patch Materials
• Winning Materials Jersey Patch parallel
• Winning Combos Dual Patch
• Flashback Fabrics Dual Patch

Shadow Box inserts appear for the firt time in baseball, falling at a rate of one per case. There's two different levels: Shadow Box Stars and Shadow Box Chase to 56, which is bound to include some sort of connection to Joe Dimaggio, either by pairing him with a current player or offering something that breaks down his record hits streak.


The cross-brand Exquisite program continues with either a regular card or patch card in every case.

When SPx started as a hologram-based set in 1996 I ate it up. I bought as many one-card packs for $5 as I could afford (which wasn't much). They were thick, shiny and gorgeous. But as SPx aged, it changed into a set that focused on rookies and autographs, most of which were rather suspect for the price. I haven't been a fan of SPx since 2001. And while there's some things that have me intrigued, again, the lack of images is a major buzzkill.

I'd also be a little leary on pre-sales from Upper Deck for the next couple of weeks given this whole Konami lawsuit. If the court decides a major fine is in order and puts them to go bankrupt, then what happens to those who've placed their orders already? A ruling is due by the end of the month, which will hopefully clear things up.

But until we get some pictures, here's a couple of polar bears waltzing.

Can Someone Please Explain 2008 Stadium Club Baseball to Me?

All right, so I'm slowly plugging away at my 2008 Stadium Club Baseball set but there seems to be way too many weird things going on. Can someone please correct me if I'm wrong and clarify the base set to me.

Here's what I know:

• Cards divisible by 3 (3, 6, 9, 12, 45, 90, etc.) are #'d/999. Does this hold true for the RC's as well?
• First Day Issue parallels of cards divisible by 3 (3, 6, 9, 12, 45, 90, etc.) are much easier to come by than the rest.
• RCs (#101 - 150) have variations. Are they vertical and horizontal?

Seriously, this is the worst set up of a set I've ever seen. There should be no confusion building a simple base set. And who's stupid idea was it to shrot print every third card? It truly messes up the look when you try to put the cards in a binder.

Random Pack Breaks: 2009 Bowman Jumbo

I'm a sucker for the jumbo pack. It's probably because I'm more into building sets than anything else so they offer me a lot of bang at a somewhat reasonable price. When I was in the city last weekend I had very little interest in 2009 Bowman Baseball, but without any Topps Series Two available in my neck of the woods and an opportunity to buy some new packs as opposed to Walmart repack leftovers, I jumped. Here's a jumbo pack with my random thoughts.

174. Collin Balester, Nationals
114. Aaron Rowand, Giants
46. Brian Roberts, Orioles
17. Ted Lilly, Cubs
130. Josh Johnson, Marlins

Five cards in and I'm not overly enthused. Generic pictures, pretty tame players. Let's continue.

213. David Price (sort-of) RC, Rays

I got a Price out of my only purchase of Bowman last year, except that one was had Chrome, Refractor and autograph goodness going for it. Still, I'll take it.

57. Johan Santana, Mets
102. Chris Iannetta, Rockies

Orange 29. Russell Martin, Dodgers (065/250)

It's always nice to get a card of someone you collect. Inserts make it a little sweeter.

The second half of the top-half veterans were nice. Now onto the guys I've never heard of, 90% of whom I'll never hear of beyond this pack. I've put their draft year and round in brackets, not that that's really any indication of the prospect status, although it helps.

BP79. Will Atwood, Nationals (12th round, 2008)
BP47. Jon Mark Owings, Braves (17th round, 2004)
BP45. Wilson Ramos, Twins (Free Agent, 2004)
BP75. Brett Oberholtzer, Braves (8th round, 2008)
BP63. David Genao, Rays (18th round, 2008)
BP40. Cristian Beltre, Diamondbacks (Free Agent, 2006)
BP88. Jose Barajas, Orioles (26th round, 2008)

The guys who were actually drafted average out around the 16th round. I'm not holding my breath that any Mike Piazza-types will emerge from the Prospects portion of the pack.

And now for a little juicing of the World Baseball Classic:

BW7. Gift Ngoepe, South Africa (Pirates) (Free Agent, 2008)
The WBC subsets are starting to grow on me, but only when I get a Canadian.

Gold BP58. Wilin Rosario, Rockies (Free Agent, 2006)
I saw the purpose of the gold parallels when they were decoy cards. Please retire them or switch back to International Foil.

The time has come for some Chrome.

BCP76. Pat McAnaney, Diamondbacks (8th round, 2008)
BCP42. Marc Rzepczynski, Blue Jays (5th round, 2007)
BCP25. Jeremy Hamilton, Phillies (5th round, 2008)
BCW9. Nicholas Weglarz, Canada (Indians) (3rd round, 2005) - another Canadian!
BCP80. Tommy Johnson, Mariners (27th round, 2008)
BCP3. Greg Veloz, Mets (Free Agent, 2006)

Other than the illustrious 27th rounder, the average round of the Chrome Prospects is definitely a little better. Time to finish with a few more vets.

151. Howie Kendrick, Diamondbacks
4. Chase Utley, Phillies
163. Aramis Ramirez, Cubs
88. Zack Greinke, Royals
179. Nick Markakis, Orioles
111. Nelson Cruz, Rangers
124. Nick Swisher and his ball balancing on the end of the bat trick, Yankees
131. Carlos Zambrano, Cubs

Overall, I think the design of 2009 Bowman Baseball is solid but not spectacular. It reminds me of a mix between 2008 and 1997. The black borders are clean and I definitely like that the design of the veterans and prospects are the same rather than the black and white designs from last year. Let's face it, although the numbering may differ, a true set of 2009 Bowman Baseball includes both the base set veterans and the prospects.

Getting two Canadians in the pack was a definite bonus. Interestingly, in getting Greinke, Lilly and Price, half of my starting rotation for my baseball pool were there to represent.

In-Depth Looksie: 2009 Bowman Chrome or The Set Where the Set Didn't Matter

The Bowman brand has long been about the rookie card. But ever since the MLB Players Association changed the rules for rookie cards, the brand has been in limbo. As a result sales have struggled and the idea of what's a rookie and what's not has been blurred to a point where I know I'm confused.

The long-standing rule was that the first card of a player in a mainstream licensed set was the rookie. So when Ken Griffey Jr. cards came out in the 1989 sets, all his 1989 base cards were rookies. Or something like that. But insert cards couldn't be rookie cards. It sounds a little odd but within a couple weeks of joining the hobby, most anyone could figure it out. The insert "rule" didn't matter much 20 years ago because there weren't many inserts aside from Donruss puzzle pieces and some various rack and jumbo pack exclusives.

The MLB Players Association tried to make discerning a rookie card easier by introducing a rule with its licenses that basically said a player couldn't have a base card until they played a Major League game. I might be off a little, but that's the basic idea. Rookie cards would then be signified by a simple logo. While the idea is sound, in principle, Topps works a little differently because they've been around so long and they sign players to individual contracts.

So what's happened is Topps has continued to insert prospect cards in their Bowman sets as inserts by technicality and numbering but in Major League uniforms on cards that look a lot like the regular base cards. So are the Bowman Prospect cards rookies or not? Therein lies the confusion and one of the major reasons the brand doesn't carry a lot of weight anymore.

But that's not stopping Topps from showcasing the young bucks more prominently than anything else in 2009 Bowman Chrome Baseball. Based on the sell sheet the base set comes across as more of an annoyance than anything else. On the four-page promo flyer, the base set isn't mentioned until page three. Go to the checklist on the back page and you won't find the base set until all the inserts are listed. Gee, I wonder what the focus is here?

It's not that I blame Topps. Bowman has long been about the rookie card. That's what sells the product, even if it isn't as mighty as it once was. But when they stick it to the MLBPA's rules in such a blatant way, it undermines the reasoning in the first place and ultimately hurts the hobby as a whole. The marketplace is already confusing enough. This drives collectors away or causes many to leave prematurely. Upper Deck isn't immune either. They've got pimply high school kids wearing their National duds in pretty much all of their current products (which will likely rise to all now that Strasburg fever has hit).

So if it's prospects and sort-of rookies that you want, here's what's in store for 2009 Bowman Chrome (here's a hint: it looks a lot like 2008 Bowman Chrome from what I can gather).

Base set:
220 cards (190 veterans, 30 rule-abiding rookies)

Base cards are inserted at a rate of two per pack. So five boxes will be the minimum it's going to take to get the set you might be lucky to sell for $25. But wait a sec', Topps doesn't want anyone to care about this part.

Autographed Prospects:
22 cards

Numbered BCP91 through BCP112, none of the prospects featured on the autographs appeared in 2009 Bowman. These mark the first cards they've appeared on in the Major League uniforms. Each autograph card will be hard-signed, so no sticker autographs here. Autographs will fall at a rate of one per box.

Here's the list of autograph signers:

BCP91. Rinku Singh, Pittsburgh Pirates
BCP92. Dinesh Kumar Patel, Pittsburgh Pirates
BCP93, Randall Delgado, Atlanta Braves
BCP94. Pat Venditte, New York Yankees
BCP95. Zack Putnam, Cleveland Indians
BCP96. Robbie Grossman, Pittsburgh Pirates
BCP97. Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves
BCP98. Gift Negope, Pittsburgh Pirates
BCP99. Dylan Lindsay, Kansas City Royals
BCP100. Chris Marrero, Washington Nationals
BCP101. Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
BCP102. Chris Johnson, Houston Astros
BCP103. Jefry Marte, New York Mets
BCP104. Ernie Banks, Florida Marlins
BCP105. Brett Anderson, Oakland Athletics
BCP106. Juancarlos Sulbaran, Cincinnati Reds
BCP107. Ryan Perry, Detroit Tigers
BCP108. Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians
BCP109. Brad Emaus, Toronto Blue Jays
BCP110. Dayan Viciedo, Chicago White Sox
BCP111. Tim Federowicz, Boston Red Sox
BCP112. Allen Craig, St. Louis Cardinals

Prospects:
70 cards (#BCP128 - BCP197)

Like the autographed prospects, none of the regular prospect cards appeared in 2009 Bowman Baseball. Prospect cards will be inserted at a rate of two per pack combined with World Baseball Classic cards.

World Baseball Classic:
40 cards (#BCW21 - BCW60)

You didn't think Topps was done with the World Baseball Classic did you? Of course they're not. There's still some players to be mined that will continue to play international ball for a few more years. Chances are one or two of these players might make the jump to the Majors. Consider these for country collectors primarily. I know I'll be tracking down the Canadians at some point.

There's no repeats in the WBC cards from 2009 Bowman (so that means Topps appears to be showing some restraint on the Yu Darvish train). As noted above, WBC and regular prospect cards will fall at a rate of two per pack.

Parallels

Like all Bowman Chrome sets, you'll have the chance to chase a rainbow with the multiple tiers of refractors. All cards in the set (base, prospect, autographed prospect and World Baseball Classic) will come with the following levels of refractors:

Refractor.
X-Fractor: Numbered to 250.
Blue: Numbered to 150.
Gold: Numbered to 50.
Orange: Numbered to 25.
Red: Numbered to 5.
Super-Fractor:  1/1 (Hobby Exclusive)

I do have to say, I like the design of the cards. The lines are very clean, offering a nice balance between border and image. The on-card autographs are also a huge plus.

But still, there's this major annoyance that extends to both Topps and the MLBPA - the damn rookie card rules. Make it matter. While I'm not a big fan of the idea of an exclusive license for 2010, if it ends up at Topps I hope that part of the terms include Topps laying off the prospects for the duration of the contract and a "catch-up period" so that there's eventually no dispute over what a player's true rookie card is.

First image of a 2009 SPx Baseball Rookie Exchange Autograph (at least that I've seen)

Upper Deck has released the first images of rookie autograph exchanges from 2009 SPx Baseball. At least I think it is. I had no interest in the product so I haven't even looked at the material for it. Here's the Orioles' Hoji Uehara in a card that was pictured on Upper Deck's Facebook page.

Here's a variant that's signed in Japanese (and limited to 25 copies).

Their Facebook page also has other goodies that are worth checking out too.

Random Pack Breaks: 2008 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects

I've got a little to say about this set, but first two packs worth of cards:

Pack One:

 

  

  

 

Pack Two:

 

  

  

 

 How the mighty have fallen. There was a time not too long ago when Bowman Draft Picks was ripped by the case. It offered rookies galore in both basic and shiny chrome finishes as well as rookie autographs. It was a prospectors dream. But when the new rookie rules came along to simplify things, products like this have made it more confusing.

So while half the cards in my 2008 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects may not carry the ugly rookie card logo, they sure do look like rookies to me: MLB licensing, team logos, Major League  uniforms. They're just numbered a little different and they're missing the Players Association logo. I haven't cracked a Beckett in about five years so I have no idea if they list these as rookies, but when I go to eBay and see them listed as rookies, I don't necessarily disagree. And even if they're not, they certainly seem a step above the minor league issues from Tristar, Razor and Donruss.

Even without the confusion over what is and isn't a rookie card, this set is a bungled mess. Or rather all the sets within the set. When Bowman Draft Picks first launched you had your Bowman cards, Bowman Chrome and the appropriate parallels like Gold and Refractors. It was pretty easy to keep track of. Now you've got all those plus the Prospects, their Chrome counterparts and their parallels.

In my two packs I saw they following sets:

• Bowman
• Bowman Chrome
• Bowman Prospects
• Bowman Chrome Prospects

Yes, by "Beckett definition" the prospects cards are an insert set. But I'm sure most of us can agree that they're the selling point for the Bowman brand now. They're not "rookies" by technicality and corporate jargon. So two me, there's four different sets to build from a seven-card pack. And at least one of those cards appears to be set aside for a parallel. I'm fine with two sets in a single product. But this is a little much. I'm confused and don't know who 90 percent of these guys are and I doubt many of the 'prospects' - who seem to share rounds five through eight in common - will pan out to be much.

I'll be tucking these aside for a rainy day a few years from now to see if any of these guys turned into stars but otherwise my pack buying for Bowman Draft is done. Hopefully Topps will see that the demand is no longer there also (I'm guessing this from the stagnant wax prices on everything Bowman baseball related when compared to the stuff from five years ago prior to the new rookie card rules where prices for Bowman Draft wax has appreciated more than most products.

Although Topps may have an advantage with their ability to make "prospect cards" because of their grandfather clause, but they'd be doing the hobby a favor by sticking to the idea that nobody gets a card - prospect or otherwise - until they play a Major League game. There's only one competitor left and the livelihood of Topps is no longer dependant on Bowman. The hobby would benefit from collectors agreeing on what rookies are and we'd probably end up spending more because we'd be chasing rookie while they were establishing themselves rather than going back and tracking down the cards three to five years after they were issued. It works in hockey so why can't it work here?