Upper Deck NPN Program actually works

Wow, here's a first for me....two posts in a single day.

However, after getting today's mail, I couldn't help but post.

Even though this isn't a Padres card, or even related to baseball, today's envelope just blew me away.

If you've been collecting for awhile, you've heard of the No Purchase Necessary (NPN) program. For example, Upper Deck offers a chance to obtain a free insert card (while supplies last). All you have to do is go onto their website and register electronically for that particular set. They even allow you to register for as many different sets and sports as you want.

 

Of course, once you register, you forget about it.

 

At least I did, until I got this card and letter in the mail today from Upper Deck...                  

Dear Collector,

Congratulations! We are pleased to advise you that your Method of Free Entry request from 2013 Upper Deck Football is a winning entry. Accordingly, we have enclosed a card from that set. We hope collector's like you will continue to support Upper Deck products for many years to come.

Please check our website at http://sports.upperdeck.com/npn for more chances to enter.

Regards,

Customer Service Department
The Upper Deck Company

 

Again, just WOW!

 

I know I've heard some of the horror stories about Upper Deck's Customer Service Deparment, but this is totally amazing, in that the NPN program actually works.

 

Without a doubt, I'll be entering again...early and often.

Panini's 2013 Black Friday promotion

Ok, I admit it. I got up early Friday morning and drug my turkey-sated, tryptophan-laden carcass out to take part in a Black Friday shopping spree. But, it's not what you think. The only store I visited was RyansCardz, one of my local brick and mortar card stores here in the Des Moines-area.

I found some sweet discounts, picking up a box of Panini Prizm Baseball, a box of Panini Prizm Hockey and some card supplies. What really sealed the deal, however, was the fact Panini helped sweeten the pot by providing dealers 2013 Panini Black Friday promo packs.

The promo set, consisting of baseball, football, basketball and hockey, has an exclusive base set featuring 49 regular cards and 12 Rookie Memorabilia cards, numbered to 99. Parallels include, Cracked Ice, with a reflective background, single-color Progression Proofs, 2013-14 Select Hockey Red prizm parallel cards, and Tools of the Trade cards, with swatches of colorful towels used at the photo shoots. Other memorabilia cards include NBA Championship cards honoring the Miami Heat, Breast Cancer Awareness and Rookie Materials.

Since Ryan noticed packs with memorabilia cards were thicker, he provided a "thick" pack for every box purchased, as well as a regular pack for every $25 spent on Panini products. I was somewhat surprised I didn't pull a single baseball card.

Not that I give a fiddler's fart, but the Black Friday set also includes "musicians" DJ Kool, Tupac, the Notorious B.I.G. and Snoop Dogg. These HRX cards have a QR code that allows you to access an "exclusive video." Unfortuantely, as you can see, I received one of those wastes of cardboard.

As for the "goodies," here's what I pulled...

A couple of the Red Prizm Hocky cards were pulled earlier that morning. I had the "luck" to pull a  Trey Bryan Tools of the Trade card, with a blue/white towel swatch. To me, basketball is a wuss sport, I'll take hockey any day and I'd ratherhave pulled one of those Prizm cards. The Wes Welker card is considered a Lava Flow card, due to its wavy background. The Flacco has a blue swatch.

These promo packs are supposed to have randomly inserted autographs, but according to Ryan, no one had pulled any of those to that point.

All these cards, except for the Stamkos and Crosby are up for trade, if anyone's interested.

Not too bad for a little early Christmas shopping, eh?

Alas, poor Pluto

 

 

Have you ever wondered how Pluto lost its official planetary status and became relegated to a "minor" planet.

 

Let's just say,  it involved Barry Bonds and a ball that's out of this world.

 

Check out the following video to find out.....

 

 

If you can't open the video, it can be opened on YouTube at http://youtu.be/eUhp8YpZQ_E

100%          

(Blogger's note: Again, this is part of Nacho Grande's blogging contest. Be sure to vote for comatoad at fanofreds.blogspot.com )

Recent E-Bay Padres pick-ups

I want to start out tonight's blog by thanking all the veterans out there for their service. Did you know less than 1 percent of the American population has worn a military uniform?

Here's me as a 2nd Class Radioman on my first Westpac in 1980. The second photo is getting ready for my Iraq deployment in 2010. Gotta love those ballistic goggles.

 

Ok, on to recent E-Bay pick-ups.

 

 

Ok, as most of you know, I collect everything and anything Padres. So, when I had the opportunity to pick up this 1974 San Diego vs. Los Angeles Dodgers program, I jumped at it. It's a very interesting read. While the cover is very slick and exciting, the inside consists of typewritten pages and just a few features. It's totally different from what the teams provide in this day and age. Although, I think you'd be rather hard pressed to pick up a program for 50 cents at your local ballpark -- even at the Class A level.

 



 

 



 

My other great pick-up was a 1/1 printing plate of of a 2006 Artifacts Jake Peavy Printing Plate. Below is what the the actual printed card would look like. I was pretty excited. While I have collected a few printing plates already, this is the first Peavy plate I've received.

 

By the way, if you haven't done so yet, be sure to go to www.fanofreds.bologspot.com to vote for me in the Nachos Grande blogging contest. I'm Comatoad, in Group P. You can read my blog entry in my previous post.

 

Again, thanks to all of the veterans out there. Semper Fi and Hooah!

"The Secret LIfe of Joe Oliver"

On Christmas Day, 20th Century Fox is releasing "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," starring Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig, about a day-dreamer who escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action.

Based on the short story by James Thurber (I told you I was an English Lit major), the film was originally released in 1947 with Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo in the lead roles

Which now brings us to today's card.

In 1990, Joe Oliver was tied for the National League lead in passed balls (16), with Joe Girardi of the Chicago Cubs. Oliver would record double figures in passed balls in 1995 (16, Milwaukee), 1993 (11, Cincinnati), and 1991 (10, Cincinnati). In fact, he would go on to allow a total of 77 passed balls over his 13-year baseball career.

Having been a catcher myself, I had a few balls that passed me by in the day. Sometimes the pitcher will miss the pitch call, throw a different pitch than what was called, or jut uncork a bad throw. Sometimes, you just aren't set up correctly behind the plate, or you may have a lapse in concentration

In Joe Oliver's case, perhaps he's just "Living the Secret Life of Joe Oliver."

 

Oliver, who was born in Tennessee, now resides in Orlando, Fla., where he coaches a high school varisty baseball team at Bishop Moore Catholic High School. What's that phrase, "A bad day of surfing is better than any good day of work." I'm sure he's imagined himself out catching a break or two while toiling behind the plate.

Who doesn't picture theselves as a modern day Superman. Of course, with all those passed balls during his "anonymous life" as a Reds catcher, I believe this may be a bit of a stretch. A catcher can dream, though, can't he? At least he was able to hit .247, with 102 homers and 476 RBIs in 3,367 at bats.

 

 

And here's Oliver's daydream of being a world-famous tight-rope walker, as he makes his way across the Andes Mountains. For some reason, he just can't drop that ball and glove.

 

 

 

However, this is probably Oliver's biggest "Walter Mitty" moment. For that matter, what Reds catcher doesn't imagine himself as Johnny Bench, leading the Reds back to their Big Red Machine glory days.

 

As for me, I'm realatively well-grounded in reality (unless you ask my wife). I think I'll wait for the movie, though.....

 

(Blogger note: This particular blog is part of Nacho Grande's Blogger Bracket Challenge. Please go to http://fanofreds.blogspot.com and vote for Comatoad in Group P in Round 12).

Trevor Hoffman, stealth Ninja

Last month, the Padres named Trevor Hoffman as their newly-created "Upper Pitching Coordinator" and "Special Assistant to the General Manager." The former all-time saves leader will now evaluate and coordinate pitchers at the Double-A, Triple-A and major league levels.

 

“Trevor will be a key part of finishing the development of our younger pitchers,” said Padres general manager Josh Byrnes. “His expertise, passion and communication skills will undoubtedly impact this critical area for us.”

 

Byrnes might be more on the money about Hoffy than he thought. 

 

I've always considered Hoffman a "Thinking man's pitcher." While he had a rather impressive fastball up until his 1994 injury, he developed an intimidating change-up which proved to be equally devastating.

 

You can just imagine Hoffman in his new position, scouting the Padres pitchers and perhaps taking pictures of those pitchers, as pictured on this 1998 Collector's Choice card #222.

 

However, I see Hoffman in an entirely different role -- as Ninja Hoffy.

 

Anyone can be a coach. However, with his newly added Ninja skills, Hoffman can easily transition into stealth mode, appearing almost invisible as he observes and perhaps photographs his young charges.

 

Think of the scouting reports...If you can't see him, is he actually there? The camera never lies.

 

As a matter of fact, Chuck Norris has nothing over Hoffman.

 

Tervor Hoffman and Superman once got into a pitching contest to settle a bet. The loser had to start wearing his underwear on the outside of his pants.

 

Trevor Hoffman doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

 

Trevor Hoffman once got bit by a rattlesnake. After three days of pain and agony, the rattlesnake died.

 

Outer space exists because it was afraid to be on the same planet facing Trevor Hoffman.

 

Beware, young Friars. Trevor Hoffman is coming!

 

 (Blogger note: This particular blog is part of Nacho Grande's Blogger Bracket Challenge. Please go to http://fanofreds.blogspot.com/2013/10/blogger-bracket-challenge-round-0.html and vote for Comatoad in Group G in Round 1.).

Topps MLB ATTAX Showdown?

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

I’m sorry, but the 2011 Topps Attax cards, and this Aroldis Chapman card in particular, just doesn’t cut it for me.

Believe me, it’s all been done before.

Wizards of the Coast, riding the success of its uber-juggernaut series, Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon, released MLB Showdown, a collectible card game, in 2000.  It was kind of like the old Strat-O-Matic card game, only with cooler cards, and distinctly different gaming mechanics. It lasted until 2005, when WoC pulled the plug.

‘Fess up. Admit it. You actually played MLB Showdown with a friend when it first started hitting the shelves, or you reluctantly started collecting the cards. Ruben Rivera here was part of that early MLB Showdown release.

I remember playing in an actual league with eight other duffers (pun intended), at one of our local gaming shops (I think I finished fifth). Our league manager actually travelled to Minneapolis to compete in a regional tournament. He came home with second place and a decent amount of cash and goodies.

Ok, enough tripping down memory lane.

 

What once began as a simple insert set in last year’s Topps cards, has now evolved into yet another full-fledged collectible card game. Again, as a collectible card game, I give Topps Attax about a three-year run before it goes belly up (MLB Showdown enjoyed a five-year run).

1) The cards themselves are not that nice looking. While I have to admit, the 2000 and 2001 MLB Showdown cards left a lot to be desired, they at least featured almost full-length player shots that weren’t blocked out by a box of stats and gaming mechanics. Of course the later sets, such as this Tony Gwynn were pretty sharp looking cards, especially with that big team logo in the background. Plus, check out his sweet hitting numbers via a 20-sided dice.

2) It seems to me that me Topps Attax is geared more toward the younger player/gamers, with it’s cheaper price and number of cards. However, you have to determine whether you’re actually a player or collector; you can’t be both. Where MLB Showdown was printed on playing card stock with rounded corners, Topps Attax, is printed on matte paper with square corners. It won’t take much before you begin dinging the corners, even in a plastic sleeve.

3) One of the issues in playing MLB Showdown was the fact you couldn't just take a team like the San Diego Padres and play a game - there weren't enough Padres players included to make up a team. Even if they did, there was no way they could compete against a team like the Yankees at that time. I haven't seen the checklist for Topps Attax yet, so I don't kow if they have that same problem or not.

4) It’s all about the cards – threfore no dice and strategy cards, making the game fairly simple – that’s why Topps is offering Attax to be purchased as a separate entity, rather than as an insert set.

I may add the Padres from this set to my collection, but I'm not going to go out and buy any packs of this product. In the meantime, I thnk I'm going to go home and break out my MLB Showdown sets for old-times sake.

(Blogger note: I hope you like this particular blog. It's part of Nacho Grande's Blogger Bracket Challenge. He'll post up a card and you and a fellow blogger are supposed to write a post that somehow ties  into the card posted by Nachos Grande. Sounds like a lot of fun to me. Stay tuned to see how it turns out.).