Is when I’m participating in a group break and I’ve claimed them.
Okay, I guess I also cheered along in 2005. I may be anti-South Side, but if anyone’s going to win the World Series, I was happy that it could have been a team in Chicago. Even if it does mean people on my wife’s side of the family can give me crap about it.
And maybe I was pulling for them when Michael Jordan was in their minor league system, but really that’s just because of Michael. So I wasn’t really rooting for the Sox, but rather for His Airness to do well and not become His Pop-Flyness or His Whiffness.
Executive decision: Doesn’t count as team encouragement. Stricken from the record.
What the heck are these? Read on and find out
That leaves group breaks, like the one held by Affordable break master Colbey from Cardboard Collections. I’ve participated in a (personal) record six of them, and it’s not uncommon for me to grab the White Sox to further my Frank Thomas collection. It usually works out well, since I rarely find out about any group break until it’s way too late, and the White Sox tend to go unpicked. So, if the boxes match my needs and the price is close enough to right, I’m in.
I didn't remember that John Kruk played for the White Sox either
This time around there were three products opened. One of them was this Finest Update. 1995, I want to say. Finest was the least of my worries, it was just bonus (as were the Fisk and cool Kittle). I was lucky enough to land one of the refractors with Joltin’ John Kruk as well as doubles of just about everyone you see there. All for trade.
Twin set of Twin sets of Twins
Let’s just say it was a big box for a small set. The gold cards on the right were extras thrown in because that’s the kind of cool guy Colbey is. I don’t need any of my Twins, including the Molitor tin up there so let me know if you do.
I was in it for the Franks
This is known as the Standing version
As you can see the second of three products was 1999 Pacific Invincible. It’s a confusing, convoluted set if you ask me. It seemed like every pack had a couple insert cards and only 1 (maybe 2) from the regular set.
Running version
The inserts have variations, which aren’t labeled anywhere, you’re just supposed to figure it out. I guess you will figure it out when you get 45 inserts in a box and only 20 set cards. I didn’t know this layout when I joined. I was hoping to get a couple of these.
Bzzzz! Smile!
Instead I got both version of both main insert sets. Not as impressive as it sounds. What I didn’t walk away with was the set card. Neither of my teams had a single one, but the scans on his blog looked cool with the little acetate window thing going on.
Bzzzzz! Ground out!
The two horizontal inserts are called Sandlot Heroes. These are Seismic Force. Can’t you tell from the earthquake font? That’s about the only good thing going for these. I’m not a fan of yellow, so there’s one strike. The zoomed-in comic book look doesn’t do the card any favors either. And the variations are annoying.
Reminds me of a wall in my dentist's office
This was the big prize in the box. The Thunder Alley inserts fell in something like 1:2 boxes, maybe more, and not only was there one in there, but it went to me! If my checklist is correct, there’s no variation so I win again. A little bit of shine or selective gloss in the right spots would have gone a long way on this card, but it’s still nice.
Metal containers for cards were big in the 90s
The last, and most exciting for me personally was the 1997 Screenplays box. Frank Thomas has 2 tins/cards in the set. Each tin holds one card and each box of 21 tins has a complete set (presumably) and one of 5 bonus tins. Frank is one of those 5, but in this break I believe it ended up being Cal Ripken Jr. Can’t win them all. Above is the front and paper insert of the tin.
Probably scanned as good as you're going to get
The cards themselves are very thick as to hold all the different frames of lenticular action. This ain’t your typical 3 image sportflics card. This is just about an entire play in one go. In mine, FT is chasing after a foul ball and reaches into the stands to make the catch. How cool is that? It’s even better that they feature some defense instead of the safe slugger standby home run swing.
Thanks again to Colbey from Cardboard Collections. I may not always participate in the group breaks, but I’m always glad I did. Even when you don’t get your home team, they’re fun to root for.
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