Pack War!

I haven't done one of these in quite a while.  Let's see what a pack of 2012 Topps Archives brings against a pack of 2013 Allen & Ginter's.

The packs are both cool.  I like the retro look of Archives.  I also like the old timey look of A&G.  Close but I'll give the win to Ginter.  A&G- 1, Archives- 0

On to the cards.

Not much to say.  He's Canadian.

Am I crazy or does Olt look like Lawrie's older brother?  Not dissimilar careers either.  

This is close as well.  Olt played for the Cubs---but he was another third base disappointment, batting only .158 in 95 games.  Ya know, I just can't call this one.  Score remains tied.

Oh boy!  Justin was an All-Star in 2013.

Ben was born and raised in Eureka, Illinois, the town where Ronald Regan went to college.  More importantly he was a back to back World Series champion with the Royals and THE CUBS!

Finally we have a clear winner.  A&G is 2 for 2.

Our first HOFer.  He's a Met but the photo is from Wrigley Field.  Another of Gary's great smile shots in the inset.  Can we just give Archives the point now?

Yes.  Archives is on the board.

Tulo has had a sometimes great but injury riddled career.  Pretty nice shot of Troy forcing out Matt Kemp in the middle of a DP.

I'm one of the folks who buys Allen and Ginter's for the non-baseball cards.  Unfortunately this one doesn't do anything for me.  

It's tied 2-2.

Another Met HOFer.  Who doesn't respect Seaver's career?  He garnered 98.8% of votes as a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee.

Enough with the Mets, OK?  As a Twin Johan was 93-44 over an 8 year period in the 2000's.  He's sporting a Gary Carter memorial patch here.  Not enough to beat Tom Terrific.

Archives pulls ahead 3-2.

I'm not a Sox fan but I am a Paulie fan.  Not a Hall of Famer but Konerko was a fan favorite and a White Sox great.

Metsie! Metsie!  This guy hit .529 against my Cubbies in the 2015 NLCS.  It's a mini but they don't excite me.

It's an easy win and a 4-2 victory for Archives.  And the crowd roars!

Archives adds insult to injury by adding two extra cards of a couple of pretty good players.

I've never considered myself an Archives fan.  This may even be the first pack I've ever opened.  It was a really nice one.  The Allen & Ginter's pack was a dud for me.  These were both bargain packs but I assume they were each $3.00 retail.  At least in this case Archives was the better buy.

My unopened pack count is down by two but I still have about 99.8% of my stash intact. 😉

2001 UD Hall of Famers --National Pastime Part Two

I started sharing this set at the beginning of this season so it's fitting that I post the last twenty cards as the World Series gets underway.  Upper Deck put out some great sets of legendary players.  This one is no exception.

2001 UD Hall of Famers -- Mets to Pirates

I really miss sets like this 2001 UD Hall of Famers.  I picked this one up for $8.00 shipped.  Lets look at them all.

Here's Tom Terrific looking very pleased.

14-2, 2.55 ERA in the 1981 strike year.  Tom pitched pretty well at age 39-40 for the White Sox.  These days you can make a lot of money going 31-22 and averaging 33 starts and 220 innings.

An aside here.  I know this isn't a set of every Hall of Fame member but as we go on I'm starting to notice the omissions.  The next team is a case in point.

Is there anyone out there who doesn't like this guy?

For a 3rd baseman Brooksie's numbers don't really pop.  As the first bullet point indicates he's in the Hall more for he defense and perhaps leadership.  Not that 2848 hits is anything to sneeze at.

This guy was a beast.  He saved his best for my Cubs, most hits, most home runs, most RBIs.  I'm sure he robbed a bunch of Cubs hitters of extra base hits as well.

Mike said if he had taken steroids he would have hit 800 home runs.  I believe him.  Upper Deck made him a .302 hitter.  Sorry Mike, it was a solid .267.

This photo was taken after Roberto's last regular season hit, his 3000th.

Outstanding  but his defensive numbers are up there as well.  No right fielder has more career assists.

The long time Mets broadcaster died last month at the age of 91.

Short but sweet.

If Ernie Banks is Mr. Cub, is Willie Stargell Mr. Pirate?

The Flying Dutchman was one of the original five.

Gaudy numbers.  1732 RBIs with only 101 HRs.