2009 Topps T206 Jumbo Pack Rip

Solid pack. Steep in price, but the quality was premium. We'll start with some solid base cards...

Card 1 - Mickey Mantle Checklist 2 of 7
Card 2 - Todd Helton #200

Card 3 - Tommy Hanson #262 (Rookie Card)
Card 4 - Derek Holland #61 (Rookie Card)
Card 5 - Roy Campanella #224
Card 6 - Derek Lowe #45
Card 7 - Luke Scott #152
Card 8 - Alex Gordon #256
Card 9 - Cy Young #143
Card 10 - David Ortiz #24
Card 11 - Troy Tulowitzki #293 (Added to Player Collection)

And Now for the HITS. Yes, HITS. Although this was a jumbo pack, and I never expect to pull much out of them, this one had two solid hits within it.

Card 11 - Josh Outman Framed Piedmont Autograph

I've got a few autos lately, mostly from ebay bargains (see: Dexter Fowler, Jesse Carlson) but I haven't seen a good on-card auto in a long time. Outman has a solid, legible auto, as you can see in the scan, and the sunset background goes well with the blue framed border. Though I had been a fan of Allen & Ginter's Framed sets prior to this pull, I have to side with T206 here, again, as their mini doesn't rattle around inside and worry me of corner dinging.

Card 12 - David Wright #171 CYCLE Mini #/99.

Very solid pull. I was wondering if there would be minis or bronze/gold parallels in the jumbo packs, and now I know they at least have minis. Pulling my first mini T206 short print was great. Now I want more.

One Hell of a Pack

First off - I had been waiting on a purchase of 2009 Topps Allen & Ginter's for a while. My initial forays into '09 vintage sets had been moderately successful - an Aramis Ramirez Goodwin Champions relic (plain gray blandness, of course) and a Porcello short print out of T-206. Goudey didn't show me too much either, so my goal of creating a post solely for the comparison of '09 vintage sets lost steam.

Then I picked up this pack of Allen and Ginter's...which in all reality is the best pack I have ever ripped. Let's go worst to first in terms of hits here:

Card 1 - David Patton - Chicago Cubs Rookie Card. I have paid zero attention to this card thus far - and will continue to. Mediocre prospect from a team I just cannot make myself like (blame: Carlos Zabrano, Alfonso Soriano, etc.)

Card 2 - Charles Goodyear - Entrepreneur. Not a bad looking card, I thought it was a president at first, so I was a bit disappointed when I read the text.

Card 3 - Troy Tulowitzki - Allen & Ginter's Add-Back Mini. As I wasn't well-versed in the add-back variations in this set until just before posting this, I didn't know what I had until I flipped the wrapper over. Topps states odds od attaining this variation at 1:5. Not bad. At this point, as well, I had noticed a hit looming behind this card, which had become impossible to ignore.

Card 4 - Jonathan Sanchez - National Pride (Puerto Rico) insert. I'd just like to say I am a sucker for any card featuring a player's home country in glory like this insert set. Not only is it a great shot/rendition of this years FIRST no-hitter pitcher, but these inserts are just beautifully designed and are a welcome sight among inserts, which have been downhill since the mid-1990's.

Card 5 - MOJO HIT Yovani Gallardo - Framed Uniform Relic. Man, I have some Gallardo luck, and seeing him as one of the fastest rising stars in the game, I am ok with that. These framed cards are great, but this one was kind of scratchy and had some sort of adhesive stuck to it in some parts. Still, a great looking card but my request to Topps A&G for any possible future releases: make the frames fit around the card. It scares me to think some corners are getting dinged up bouncing around in there.

PICTURES!!!: