My First Online Box Break!

Being mainly a player collector, I don't tend to bust open many boxes of cards, other than the random pack I'd pick up at Target here and there. I came home from work on Monday, and found a nicely wrapped package, about the size of a shoebox, waiting for me on the counter. My wife and I were celebrating our 10-year dating anniversary (we've been married for almost 5 years, but dated for over 5 years before that), and she'd gotten me a present!



The shoebox was actually the three blasters above, cleverly taped together to form one large box. I know there's been plenty of blaster breaks posted already, but I since I was now the proud owner of more unopened packs than I'd had in at least 10 years, I thought I'd share my breaks with everyone else.

I decided to open the Heritage first, followed by the Goudey, and finally the Allen & Ginter. The Allen & Ginter cards are my favorite of the three, which is why I waited until the end to open the packs, but also why they will be the first to be posted on the blog.



The first pack that I opened seemed pretty thick, as it contained a total of 8 cards (instead of the expected 6). It was an unexpected surprise to get two minis in one pack, along with a state card and the Dmitri Young short print.

But, my favorite card by far was the Gateway Arch. My grandfather was actually a head electrician during the construction of the Arch, and my parents have a picture of him standing on the top, on the outside! I'd actually like to try and acquire all the different mini-parallel versions if possible, so if anyone has any to trade, let me know and I'm sure we can work something out.



Another good pack, this time featuring Carlos Pena (an ex-Athletic), an Eric Chavez mini, a Coco Crisp SP, and my first World's Greatest Victories card.



The next pack isn't as exciting as the first, but it did have a Frank Thomas mini (with an Allen & Ginter back), my second A's mini in a row.



Another fairly uneventful pack (with only a DeJesus SP), until the Babe Ruth mini that is! This is the first Babe Ruth card I've ever pulled out of a pack, so it was pretty exciting. It definitely looks better as a mini that if it had been a full sized card.



Unlike previous packs, I actually got shorted a card in this one, with no mini to be found. But, the Empire State Building is a pretty cool card, and Mary Shelley just looks creepy.



I really like the angle of the Scott Kazmir card, and the Chase Utley mini is possibly the first Utley card I've ever pulled (I told you I haven't opened many packs lately). This pack ends on an interesting note, with physicist Marie Curie (of radium fame), and Bram Stoker, author of Dracula.



Both the Russ Martin and horizontal Dan Uggla are great looking cards. The Ben Franklin is nice, but is one of the few historic cards that I already had.



The final pack of the blaster was another good one. The Troy Glaus black-border mini is the first one that I've received, and I also got a Mark Ellis state card, which I already had. Although I'm usually a fan of the horizontal cards, the picture on the Luke Scott card seems a little small, with way too much white space around the border.

Most of the above cards are for trade for anyone that is interested. Some cards, such as the Astros and Marlins (Mario, do you already have the Uggla?) are already spoken for, but I'm sure we can work something out. I'm always looking for Rickey cards that I need (of course), but I'd also be interested in trading for Oakland A's cards as well.