Upper Deck Community Break Box #2: 1999 Upper Deck Retro

Are you ready to take a trip back in time?  I hope so, because we’re opening 1999 Upper Deck Retro.

Keep your fingers crossed that our time traveling is more like “Back to the Future” and less like “Blast From the Past.”

How has "cool" not become passe slang by now?

It’s worth mentioning each and every time, all of these boxes are courtesy of our good friends and Community Break Sponsor: BASEBALL CARD EXCHANGE

Your #1 source for older unopened boxes

As always, here’s the video for those able to tolerate my voice for 10 minutes at a time.

And, as always, some pretty pictures as an alternative.  We’ll start with the lunchbox reveal.

Ted looks like he's ready to smack the "It's a hit!" kid. "I'll show you a hit..."

I really like the lunchbox concept.  There are a few with multiple players, but this is all Ted Williams all the time.  This will be going to Daddyoho, who claimed the Red Sox unless he specifically tells me he doesn’t want it shipped out.  I know some people don’t collect or have room for non-card items.

A little sampling

This is what the set looks like.  Unlike Vintage, which knocks-off an older Topps design, this is an original style that’s simple, clean and photo-centric.  There’s a really nice mix of older and contemporary players with some pictures you don’t often see.

inserts

These are the only 2 insert sets with any sort of guaranteed ratio and we basically hit it on the nose.  They’re not bad looking, but the burnt orange isn’t really my thing.  A little color coordination might have helped.

Numbered inserts!

As far as I can tell, these are all total bonuses with no odds given on the packs.  The Biggio “Old School” and the J.D. Drew (who has popped up a lot early on) “New School” are both numbered to 1000.  The Jay Buhner Gold parallel is to only 250.  No wonder he’s smiling.  But that’s not the best part.

Ink-redible indeed!

Congratulations to Dutch Card Guy on landing the first hit of the break.  Looking at the checklist, I can say with certainty that we could have done much, much worse.  It’s a very nice autograph on a cool, large signing area.  Great way to end the recap of a “neat-o” box break.  The best part?  No Brendan Fraser!

Team breakdown so far:
Anaheim Angels – Base:  6 –Inserts/Parallels: 1  –Hits: 0
Arizona Diamondbacks – BUCKSTORECARDS – Base:  3 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Atlanta Braves – Base:  12 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Baltimore Orioles – ANOTHER ORIOLES BLOG – Base:  7 –Inserts/Parallels:  3 –Hits:  0
Boston Red Sox – DADDYOHO – Base:  10 –Inserts/Parallels:  1 –Hits:  0
Chicago Cubs – TIL NEXT YEAR – Base:  5 –Inserts/Parallels:  2 –Hits:  0
Chicago White Sox – MY SPORTS & SPORTS CARDS – Base:  3 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Cincinnati Reds – NICK M. – Base:  4 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Cleveland Indians – BASEBALL DAD – Base:  5 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Colorado Rockies – JOE AVERAGE COLLECTOR – Base:  3 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Detroit Tigers – THE CARD BANDIT – Base:  7 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Florida Marlins – Base:  3 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Houston Astros – FIELD LEVEL VIEW – Base:  7 –Inserts/Parallels:  1 –Hits:  0
Kansas City Royals – Base:  6 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Los Angeles Dodgers – GCRL – Base:  5 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Milwaukee Brewers – Base:  4 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Minnesota Twins – Base:  5 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals – TRICKYANKLES – Base:  5 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
New York Mets – DUTCH CARD GUY – Base:  7 –Inserts/Parallels:  1 –Hits:  0
New York Yankees – DUTCH CARD GUY –Base:  21 –Inserts/Parallels:  1 –Hits:  1
Oakland Athletics – Base:  5 –Inserts/Parallels:  2 –Hits:  0
Philadelphia Phillies – ARFMAX – Base:  7 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Pittsburgh Pirates – Base:  2 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
San Diego Padres – Base:  2 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
San Francisco Giants – Base:  5 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Seattle Mariners – NICK M. – Base:  10 –Inserts/Parallels:  4 –Hits:  0
St. Louis Cardinals – MADDING – Base:  11 –Inserts/Parallels:  5 –Hits:  0
Tampa Bay Devil Rays – Base:  4 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Texas Rangers – PLAY AT THE PLATE – Base: 10  –Inserts/Parallels:  1 –Hits:  0
Toronto Blue Jays – DAVE – Base:  4 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0