90's Box Breaks

This year really flew by. Usually, it seems that some years drag on, while others make you wonder what happened…this is one of those years.

When I started the blog back in February, I had high hopes. I was going to try writing about box breaks at least once a week if I could, as well as other article pertaining to the 90′s baseball world. Little did I realize that I would slowly get more work for my freelance job; nevermind the fact that the recession was in full swing.

Well, I did my best to keep up while keeping busy with work and life outside of a computer, but that wasn’t enough. I even thought that branching out to basketball, football, and hockey would allow me to post more often. Nope, I became even busier with work. Funny, if I hadn’t started to blog, I bet I wouldn’t have been as busy. Can’t complain though. On top of that, I have an interview on January 5th for a full-time position. I hope I get it.

With that in mind, my goal for 2010 is to write more articles. I’ve said it before but I am forcing myself to do it. That’s my resolution for this blog.

Happy New Year!

Card companies in 1997 were trying new ways to get collectors to purchase their products, and Fleer was no exception. With Ultra, Fleer created just 2 parallels to the base set, with a small twist: The photos were different. Nothing too spectacular though, but it shows that 12 years ago, card companies were willing to do a little extra to get the attention of collectors.

Gold Medallion is nothing new by now with Ultra, considering that parallel has been out since 1994. By now, however, they were inserted at a rate of 1:1, so they aren’t exactly hard to find by any means.

Platinum Medallion was new in 1997, and was inserted at a rate of 1:100. There is no denying when you get one in a pack; the foil on the card sparkles and definitely stands out from the rest of the base set.

1997 Ultra base

This 553-card set is a gold-holofoil-stamped parallel version of the regular Ultra set and was inserted one per pack of both series one and series two cards. Unlike previous Gold Medallion sets, the 1997 edition features different photos than the corresponding regular cards.

1997 Ultra Gold Medallion

This 553-card set is a parallel to the regular Ultra and was inserted one per 100 packs of both series 1 and series 2 cards. Sparkling platinum lettering on front differentiates these cards from their far more common regular issue brethren. No set price is provided due to scarcity. As with the 1997 Gold Medallion set, the Platinum Medallion set features different photos than the corresponding regular cards.

1997 Ultra Platinum Medallion

As you can tell with the Gold and Platinum Medallion cards, those photos were the same image but they did indeed differ from the base version. Also, according to some checklists, the Platinum Medallion had an unofficial print run of just 200 copies per card. They aren’t serial numbered, though.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

Hope everyone enjoys their holiday with family & friends, and that you get what you want this year.

One of my favorite insert sets to chase in the mid-90′s was anything that dealt with refractors. Sure, I love dufex more, but refractors weren’t as common as they are today and so the appeal to them was much greater.

In 1996, Topps created an insert set based on Mickey Mantle. Sound familiar? Well, unlike this decade, there wasn’t an over-abundance of Mantle cards on the market and these cards saw decent premiums if you were lucky to pull one and sell it.

Called “Mantle Finest”, this 19-card insert set was a parallel of the Finest set, which in turn was a parallel of the base set. That is, there was a base set, chrome set (Finest), and then the Refractor set. Whew.

What makes these refractors stand out? Glad you asked.

Randomly inserted at the rate of one in 144 Series two packs and one in 96 series two hobby packs, this 19-card set is parallel to the regular set and is similar in design. It is distinguised from the regular set by the refractive quality of the cards. Just like all the other 96 Mantles, cards 15-19 are printed in 20 percent less quantity than cards 1 through 14.

Could you imagine what might have been, had this technology existed almost 60 years ago?

1996 Finest Mantle Refractor #1 - 1951 Bowman

As this year comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve done this past year as well as what I haven’t. Note, I’m not going on hiatus or leaving the blogosphere anytime soon. However, I’ve realized that I’ve taking on quite a bit and haven’t managed my time as well as I could have.

When I first started this blog, I was excited. I’m a huge 90′s guy in every way possible. Cards, TV shows, and even music in my iTunes library will show that. The ability to go out and purchases boxes to bust and review seemed like a great idea. 15 years ago, I couldn’t afford a box of Finest or Bowman’s Best to just break and enjoy, but I can now thanks to having a job and some extra money to spare. After a few months, I realized that I just couldn’t do that and keep the blog the way it was, as “90′s Box Breaks”. So instead, I decided to start writing about individual cards and inserts, as well as players from that decade, whether or not they made it past rookie season.

Little did I know that this year would also bring me work. I’m a freelance web/graphic designer and so I’m not used to having steady work for a few months. Plus, with the way the economy is and how people are starting to be more careful with their money, I figured I would have some time to spare. Starting in July of this year til now, I haven’t had much of a break. Yes, the money is great and well needed, but I feel like this blog is like a pet fish and has become just an afterthought.

So, I thought a bit and figured I would branch out to other sports and see how that went for me. Well, not so great. I did one article regarding football cards and that was it. I feel like I’ve cheated readers out there. Not that I have much to say really, but hey, you never know who will read and enjoy it.

Here it is, just a few days before Christmas, and I have just a handful of articles, including this one. So, my resolution for the new year is this: To become a little more active in my posting and continue writing. It may not be the best and it may not always be interesting, but I’m going to try harder to keep this alive. I will also listen to any and all comments/suggestions/general feedback and see what readers would like me to post here.

I hope this isn’t the last article of the year, but if it is, at least I made my resolution clear now instead of fighting to post it at the last minute.

And to top it all off, my iPod is playing some early 90′s Alice In Chains while I write.