the kid's final tributes are all right

if i were to rank the best 'final tribute' cards of all time (and i may eventually do that), the top 3 would be the 1973 topps roberto clemente, 1969 topps mickey mantle, and 1988 score steve garvey.  what can i say, i'm a garvey fan.  and, while i don't own a copy, the 1961 fleer ted williams card would be up there, too.

so many hall of famers didn't get their due the year following their final season since they were no longer active and not included on the set checklists, which is a shame.  in recent years, with the glut of card manufacturers, it was less likely that a marquee player would be overlooked, so modern era hall of famers (and fan favorites) seem to be receiving that final cardboard sendoff.

none may have had it better than gary carter.  take a look at the three mainstream releases he had in 1993.

topps

upper deck

 and score select

carter received a special tribute subset in the 1992 o-pee-chee set, but those cards didn't include his stats from his final season.  these cards do.  here are the backs with the kid's totals.

topps

 upper deck

 score select

he's still got the ball on all three cards, as if there were any doubt.  i love the lurking (colliding) mike scioscia on the select card, complete with the dodger stadium locale, but all three are great.  no spring training posed shots here - it's all action, all the time.  topps might get the nod from me, due in some part to the full career stats on the back, but it's not a slam dunk.

i'll be on a final tribute kick over the next few weeks - i've been doing some organizing.  unfortunately, not all of the cards will be as nice as carter's, which are pretty much perfection on cardboard.  stay tuned, though - i'm interested to know which ones you think are best.

what do you call cards that don't belong to you?

nacho cards.  yes, the joke works better when you ask 'what do you call cheese that doesn't belong to you?' because then the answer of 'nacho cheese' makes sense.  what i am trying to say here is that these cards came to me from chris at nachos grande, and that they do belong to me.  i picked them up in his 2013 topps tribute group break.

for my money i received a sandy koufax card

and an andrew mccutcheon card

i was a big fan of tribute when it first came out in 2001 - i am a sucker for all things retired numbers - but i don't buy packs/boxes of it anymore.  very happy to have a koufax instead of, say, a hanley ramirez.

i just need to figure out what to do with mccutcheon.

thanks for hosting chris!

queen me! and has anyone seen my adrian gonzalez mini?

i recently participated in the 2013 topps gypsy queen group break at andrews baseball cards blog, taking the dodgers (of course).  the only card that i knew for sure i would be receiving after the break was an adrian gonzalez photo variation mini.  turns out, that card didn't make the trip, but these did.

clayton kershaw dealing aces

this reminds me a bit of the 2000 pacific invincible aces inserts.  just in that they both play off of the playing card concept.  i went crazy for invincible that year.

here's the one card i was really hoping to get in the break - sandy koufax no-hitters insert

too bad there weren't four of them in the set!

as for the base, i received a bunch of dodger southpaws - kershaw

koufax

paco rodriguez

and chris capuano

plus rightys josh beckett

and don sutton

it's nice to see sutton in this set.  and thank goodness he's a dodger and not an astro or a brewer.

here's aj ellis

andre ethier

and adrian gonzalez, regular sized

the only mini that was in my mailer was this duke snider

so, for the team set, i was just duke, matt kemp, jackie robinson, and hanley ramirez short.

my random team was the padres, and one of the two cards that fell my way happened to be this hall of famer

if there's no steve garvey card to be had, the next best padre is tony gwynn.

thanks for hosting the break andrew - and if anyone comes across that gonzalez mini, please let me know!

now, i had also purchased a couple of stray packs of gq and wound up with a few nice (dodger) cards.  here's a play at the plate collisions insert of buster posey

with hanley ramirez sliding in.  speaking of hanley, here is his base card that eluded me in the group break

and here is the duke snider base as well

plus jackie robinson!

my pack purchasing skills were right on the money.  i guess that matt kemp base card will be the next one added to the nefarious 9 when a spot opens up.

i also pulled a kershaw white bordered insert

not sure if that is a target exclusive insert or not.  i didn't expect to go after gq this year, but after seeing some of the inserts and sutton on the checklist, i gave in.  i'm mostly glad i did.

1983 fleer stickers group break - four bonus packs, but not really.

as i mentioned before, there were four 'extra' packs in the box.  someone can't count, i guess.

nothing new unfortunately.

pack 49

ken oberkfell - cardinals
al holland - giants
ken landreaux - dodgers
white sox logo - white sox
ron leflore - white sox
manny trillo - phillies

john lowenstein - orioles
dave concepcion - reds
dave kingman - mets
cubs logo (checklist back) - cubs
alan trammell - tigers
scott sanderson - expos

pack 50

rod carew - angels
graig nettles - yankees
jerry koosman - white sox
astros logo - astros
tim lollar - padres
alan ashby - astros
warren cromartie - expos
dwayne murphy - a's
jim clancy - blue jays
orioles logo (checklist back) - orioles

ben oglivie - brewers
gary lavelle - giants

pack 51

floyd bannister - mariners
oliver & rose - phillies (i think - i will confirm)
lou whitaker - tigers
angels logo (checklist back) - angels
rickey henderson - a's
phil niekro - braves

terry kennedy - padres
keith moreland - cubs
nolan ryan - astros
red sox logo - red sox
fernando valenzuela - dodgers
tony pena - pirates

pack 52

dennis eckersley - red sox
bill laskey - giants
ron guidry - yankees
cubs logo (white sox checklist) - cubs
vida blue - royals
tom brunansky - twins

len barker - indians
dan driessen - reds
ed vande berg - mariners
dodgers logo - dodgers
bump wills - cubs
carlton fisk - white sox

here's the stickers that we didn't get

8 willie mcgee - cardinals
13 rollie fingers - brewers
14 pete vuckovich - brewers
22 ted simmons - brewers
23 cecil cooper - brewers
29 geoff zahn - angels
35 brian downing - angels
41 jerry mumphrey - yankees
44 willie randolph - yankees
45 lou piniella - yankees
48 jack clark - giants
49 reggie smith - giants
67 carney lansford - red sox
71 bill madlock - pirates
77 dale berra - pirates
80 mike easler - pirates
83 bob watson - braves
84 bob horner - braves
87 gene garber - braves
88 claudell washington - braves
93 bob walk - braves
100 dan quisenberry - royals
101 willie aikens - royals
115 burt hooton - dodgers
116 bill russell - dodgers
122 ron cey - dodgers
126 dick tidrow - cubs
130 fergie jenkins - cubs
131 leon durham - cubs
135 kent hrbek - twins
136 gary ward - twins
139 bobby castillo - twins
140 baker & murphy - dodgers/braves
147 hume & knight - reds/astros
150 rudy law - white sox
163 charlie hough - rangers
171 tug mcgraw - phillies
173 garry maddox - phillies
174 pete rose - phillies
181 gaylord perry - mariners
198 cal ripken jr - orioles
201 tippy martinez - orioles
204 dickie thon - astros
234 john stearns - mets
235 ellis valentine - mets
236 neil allen - mets
250 tom brookens - tigers
255 lance parrish - tigers
269 george hendrick - cardinals
270 john montefusco - padres

a lot of those stickers, including my dodgers, belong to teams that were claimed.

i think that the collation in this box was horseshit.  so, i have ordered the missing stickers (for claimed teams) from sportlots.  if you claimed a team, you'll get a team set.  this means that i will not be able to send things out until the additional stickers are delivered, but i'll keep you posted.  funnily enough, aside from the ripken, tom brookens was the most expensive sticker.  i'm guessing he must share the panel with cal jr.

thanks everyone for participating, and if i ever do something like this again, i'll be sure to get something that is factory sealed.

1983 fleer stickers group break packs 39 through 48

by my calculations, there are still 7 panels we haven't seen yet.  we've seen some panels 4 times already and are 70 stickers short of a set.  i don't know if that is a collation issue or if there are more nefarious things afoot.  i am a bit worried about the latter as we haven't seen the jewel of the set (cal ripken) yet.  let's see what these packs bring

pack 39

ken oberkfell - cardinals
al holland - giants

ken landreaux - dodgers
white sox logo - white sox
ron leflore - white sox
manny trillo - phillies
john lowenstein - orioles
dave concepcion - reds
dave kingman - mets
cubs logo (checklist back) - cubs
alan trammell - tigers
scott sanderson - expos

some new faces there.

pack 40

tom burgmeier - red sox
chili davis - giants

bob bailor - mets
brewers logo - brewers
woody fryman - expos
bruce bochte - mariners
wayne krenchicki - reds
billy sample - rangers
rick monday - dodgers
mets logo (checklist back) - mets
manny sarmiento - pirates
robin yount - brewers

pack 41

andre dawson - expos
lary sorensen - indians

luis deleon - padres
royals logo - royals
terry puhl - astros
ivan dejesus - phillies
hosken powell - blue jays
ryan & ashby - astros
fred lynn - angels
reds logo (checklist back) - reds
mark clear - red sox
danny darwin - rangers

now only missing 5 panels

pack 42

lamarr hoyt - white sox
charlie lea - expos
rusty staub - mets
rangers logo (checklist back) - rangers

jose cruz - astros
lamar johnson - rangers
richie zisk - mariners
goose gossage - yankees
jerry remy - red sox
orioles logo - orioles
steve howe - dodgers
ul washington - royals

pack 43

duane kuiper - giants
bob forsch - astros
rafael ramirez - braves
mets logo (braves checklist back) - mets

moreno & lacey - pirates
george wright - rangers
dave beard - a's
toby harrah - indians
al oliver - expos
expos logo - expos
hal mcrae - royals
wade boggs - red sox

pack 44

andre dawson - expos
lary sorensen - indians
luis deleon - padres
royals logo - royals

terry puhl - astros
ivan dejesus - phillies
hosken powell - blue jays
ryan & ashby - astros
fred lynn - angels
reds logo (checklist back) - reds
mark clear - red sox
danny darwin - rangers

pack 45

dale murphy - braves
steve rogers - expos

johnny bench - reds
angels logo - angels
gary carter - expos
buddy bell - rangers
paul molitor - brewers
darrell porter - cardinals
joe morgan - giants
pirates logo (yankees checklist back) - pirates
bob stanley - red sox
don baylor - angels

pack 46

rick langford - a's
larry bowa - cubs

dane iorg - cardinals
expos logo (checklist back) - expos
jack morris - tigers
mike flanagan - orioles
al cowens - royals
britt burns - white sox
jim gantner - brewers
royals logo - royals
carl yastrzemski - red sox
ken forsch - angels

pack 47

rick sutcliffe - indians
pat zachry - mets

tom hume - reds
dodgers logo (checklist back) - dodgers
scott mcgregor - orioles
steve carlton - phillies
tom paciorek - white sox
rose, schmidt, knight - phillies (i will confirm that it is the phillies' turn)
willie wilson - royals
tigers logo - tigers
john stuper - cardinals
roy smalley - yankees

pack 48

dennis eckersley - red sox
bill laskey - giants
ron guidry - yankees
cubs logo (white sox checklist back) - cubs

vida blue - royals
tom brunansky - twins
len barker - indians
dan driessen - reds
ed vande berg - mariners
dodgers logo - dodgers
bump wills - cubs
carlton fisk - white sox

so that's 48 packs.  but not the end of the box.  there were 4 extra packs in there.  this is disturbing because it likely means that this box was consolidated from partially emptied boxes which might well have been subjected to searching.  once you know which panel the ripken sticker is on, it would be easy to pilfer the box as the wrapper is not entirely opaque.  at any rate, we have 4 packs left and 5 panels missing.  i don't like our odds.

i'll be back with those last 4 packs and a wrap up.  i'll also contact the dealer and see what he has to say. 

1983 fleer sticker group break packs 29 through 38

10 more packs, coming up.

pack 29 - back to the right side of the box

bruce sutter - cardinals
lee mazzilli - yankees
dave parker - pirates
mariners logo (padres checklist on back) - mariners
steve sax - dodgers
rickey henderson - a's
mike schmidt - phillies
ken singleton - orioles

mookie wilson - mets
twins logo - twins
george brett - royals
dan spillner - indians

pack 30 - right side

rick sutcliffe - indians
pat zachry - mets
tom hume - reds
dodgers logo (checklist on back) - dodgers
scott mcgregor - orioles
steve carlton - phillies
tom paciorek - white sox
rose, schmidt, knight - astros (next one to phillies)

willie wilson - royals
tigers logo - tigers
john stuper - cardinals
roy smalley - yankees

pack 31 - left side

bruce sutter - cardinals
lee mazzilli - yankees
dave parker - pirates
padres logo (checklist on back) - padres

steve sax - dodgers
rickey henderson - a's
mike schmidt - phillies
ken singleton - orioles
mookie wilson - mets
white sox logo - white sox
george brett - royals
dan spillner - indians

pack 32 - left side

rod carew - angels
graig nettles - yankees
jerry koosman - white sox
astros logo - astros
tim lollar - padres
alan ashby - astros

warren cromartie - expos
dwayne murphy - a's
jim clancy - blue jays
orioles logo (checklist on back) - orioles
ben oglivie - brewers
gary lavelle - giants

pack 33 - i'm skipping the left/right stuff from now on. there's no rhyme or reason to the pack placement.

duane kuiper - giants
bob forsch - cardinals
rafael ramirez - braves
mets logo (braves checklist) - mets
moreno & lacy - pirates
george wright - rangers

dave beard - a's
toby harrah - indians
al oliver - expos
expos logo - expos
hal mcrae - royals
wade boggs - red sox

where's cagney?
pack 34

floyd bannister - mariners
oliver & rose - expos (next one is back to the phillies)
lou whitaker - tigers
angels logo (checklist back) - angels

rickey henderson - a's
phil niekro - braves
terry kennedy - padres
keith moreland - cubs
nolan ryan - astros
red sox logo - red sox
fernando valenzuela - dodger
tony pena - pirates

pack 35

tom burgmeier - red sox
chili davis - giants
bob bailor - mets
brewers logo - brewers
woody fryman - expos
bruce bochte - mariners
wayne krenchicki - reds
billy sample - rangers
rick monday - dodgers
mets logo (checklist back) - mets
manny sarmiento - pirates
robin yount - brewers

pack 36

chris chambliss - braves
amos otis - royals
jason thompson - pirates
twins logo - twins
mike hargrove - indians
gary matthews - phillies
steve kemp - white sox
tom seaver - reds

john wockenfuss - tigers
rangers logo (giants checklist back) - rangers
gorman thomas - brewers
steve renko - angels

steve kemp is doing some sort of sumo maneuver.
pack 37

chris chambliss - braves
amos otis - royals

jason thompson - pirates
twins logo - twins
mike hargrove - indians
gary matthews - phillies
steve kemp - white sox
tom seaver - reds
john wockenfuss - tigers
rangers logo (giants checklist back) - rangers
gorman thomas - brewers
steve renko - angels

that's not a misprint

pack 38

lonnie smith - cardinals
davey lopes - a's
larry biittner - reds
braves logo - braves

tim raines - expos
jim palmer - orioles
bell & fisk - i think it's the rangers' turn (i will confirm)
dennis leonard - royals
bob mcclure - brewers
cardinals logo (checklist back) - cardinals
greg minton - giants
bruce kison - angels

back with the rest of the box shortly.