2002 Topps Gallery: Final Statistics and Want List

So today I opened the last four packs of my first ever box: 2002 Topps Gallery. I was not expecting too much besides fill ins for the set; however, I got another hit and a bunch of Mets (both present Mets of the time and what were, at the time, future Mets).

First the statistics:

Hits
1 x Gallery Original Bat Relic - Tony Gwynn
2 x Gallery Heritage
Ken Griffey Jr.
Carl Yastrzemski

I'd be willing to part with the Yaz for another 2002 Topps Gallery Heritage Insert

at least 1 x Veteran Variation - Ivan Rodriguez
(also up for grabs for the right 2002 Topps Gallery price)

Set Completion
143/200 = 71.5%

This is a bit higher than it would have been as I had several singles of players I liked that I bought circa 2002 that I did not get in this box.

Doubles (not all from the box)
None! At least not from the box, I had these three singles which are up for trade: 19, 26, 118

Overall Thoughts
I think this was a really nice box for under $30, and I am glad I made the purchase. I hope I can complete the set, but I also like the inserts I got both the general quantity and particular players. I would recommend it.

Needs (also listed in my want list)
4, 5, 31, 34, 38, 43, 45, 47, 50, 53, 59, 60, 64, 65, 75, 80, 85, 87, 88, 95, 97, 108, 112, 113, 115, 116, 121, 130, 133, 137, 148, 152, 154, 157-162, 165-167, 171-173, 177, 178, 183, 185, 187-189, 193, 194, 197, 198, 199

How quickly a box can turn

It is funny how one's feelings about a box can change from disappointment to excitement in the span of two packs, but that is what happened with my box of 2002 Topps Gallery. My last post was about my first hit of the box. Well, today with only 7 packs left I opened a much larger hit of as likable a player.
Now clearly Gwynn does not have the following that Griffey Jr. does, but I have always preferred the high batting average (and now high on base percentage) players to the big HR guys (see my appreciation of John Olerud and Edgardo Alfonzo). As a kid I used to separate cards that would go in my binder from those that would be filed away in a box by batting average: below .300 and the player went to the box, above .300 and the player had a shot at the binder. Gwynn, of course, was the best of a generation when it came to batting average and contact.

The use of the bat as a palette is kind of interesting, I'm not sure how I feel about it. However, I really like the painting of Gwynn, so this is a keeper. Considering the fact that the odds of pulling one of these was 1:169 packs and that other players in the sub-set included Jaun Gonzalez and Jose Conseco I think I did pretty well. Actually, even the autographs in this set weren't that great with Lance Berkman as the best non-yankee of the group.

This also happens to be the first game used bat card I have pulled from a pack, so I will be holding onto it for that reason as well.

Awesome, now I can open the remaining six packs without any expectation and wait for my box of 2008 UD Masterpieces which I will be breaking in its entirety as part of my Opening Day festivities.

Finally, A Hit

As you may or may not remember I am in the midst of a slow but sweet box break of 2002 Topps Gallery. I was getting a bit impatient, as I only had eight packs left of the original twenty-four and I had not gotten the slightest hit (unless I missed some veteran variation). Finally, today I opened a pack and found this nice looking card:
This might be the best Heritage insert I could have pulled. Most people, including myself, appreciate a good Griffey Jr. card. No offense to Reds fans, but he always looked best in a Mariners uniform as he is depicted on this card.

I am curious to see what other people think of this card, so feel free to weigh in. I like it.

Also, last call on an inexpensive but nice box break: check it out, there are some nice teams left.

My First Box: Topps Gallery 2002

I am in the process of slowly breaking my first ever box (I want to savor it). My brother and I once had a box of 1992 Donruss, but it was not factory sealed as much as it was an opened box filled with the right amount of packs. Of course, in splitting the box my brother had the biggest hit: a Donruss Elite Barry Bonds, and he didn't know how big a hit that was. It was pretty big at the time, certainly the biggest hit possible in 1992 Donruss, maybe not in terms of players but at least in terms of insert seeding.

I actually got this box on ebay along with that previously posted Anderson Hernandez plate for what I think was a really good price. I have always enjoyed the all painted sets. I am on my fifth pack (which is chronicled over at a Pack to Be Named Later) without any hits yet, but I am still enjoying each and every pack. While there was no box topper, there was a checklist and a sticker which I will probably put on whichever binder I decide to build the set in.

I cannot wait for the hits!

Question for anyone who would like to weigh in: I am thinking of getting a box of Upper Deck Masterpieces 2007 or 2008. I need to decide whether to get a hobby or retail box.

It seems like hobby boxes are $35-40 while retail boxes are around $25.

Hobby boxes have box toppers and supposedly better ratios of relics and autos, but only 72 card as opposed to 96 in a retail box.

I would want to build the set if I got either one as I really like the base cards, I think of Masterpieces as Upper Deck's version of Topps Gallery.

Any suggestions?