First Game of the Season and Opening Day Retail 2008 UD Masterpieces Break Results

Thanks in large part to this guy the Mets were able to come away with the win in their 2010 Season Opener (which was also their Home Opener).


I celebrated by opening a pack of 2010 Opening Day and a retail box of 2008 UD Masterpieces as well as cooking some baseball themed food.


The cake is perhaps not my best work, but close enough. The pizza was more on target.



The celebration of Opening Week Continues tomorrow as I travel to the Brewers game to see this man in action (this was the better of my two hits from the Masterpieces box, the other was a GU Jersey of Johjima that is up for trade).


Here are the final statistics from the box break:

Set Completion (non-short print)
84/90 = 93%

Short Prints
4/30 = 13%

Hits
1 x Brown Frame (# to 100) Prince Fielder
1 x Johjima Captured on Canvas (up for trade)

Doubles
4
Yankee Stadium Legacy (up for trade)
6

Needs
17 - Manny
45 - Hunter Pence
59 - Jay Bruce
87 - Michael Young
105 - Tom Seaver

Set of the Month: 2007 Upper Deck Masterpieces

So I broke down and decided to get the entire set of Upper Deck Masterpieces 1-90. I like the set because it combines two of my favorite things about contemporary baseball cards: an all painted set and an interesting material. The material is considered canvas paper, which is like a textured heavy cardstock and had been touted by Upper Deck as "unlike any set ever created before."* The paintings transferred to the cards depicted some of the greatest moments in baseball along with some of the best players and rookies of the year. It is a nice set, so onto some pictures.

This is one of my two favorites. A card worthy of Play At The Plate whose current blog header is also from this particular set.

Here is my other favorite.




















Now these two are both base cards, but the set also had nicely framed versions in various colors which I am sure each had different runs and seeding ratios. Anyway, I got a Jared Weaver, Vlad Guerrero, and Travis Hafner with a green frame, which I believe is the least rare of the parallels, depicted below that are up for trade. I actually also got a game used jersey Matt Holliday insert called "Captured on Canvas" but I already promised that to Madding over at Cards on Cards.




* Check out this press release for more info on 2007 UD Masterpieces

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?