Repack wars: Return of the Ultra

First off, there are still quite a few cards available in my Christmas giveaway.  If you haven't picked your two, then get over there.

I was forced to hit Walmart for a few items. I was forced to go down the card aisle. I was forced to purchase a repack box. When you are told to do something, no matter the voice in your head, you should do it. So, once again, let's show the best card from each pack.

First up is a 2007 pack of Upper Deck Masterpieces. One of those sets I wish I bought more. And this four card pack didn't make picking the best card any easier. I passed over a card of Cal Jr. being honored for his games record, a card of the wizard of Oz mid-flip, and a card of Maris hitting the long ball to come to this great card of Clemente scurrying down the first base line.

 

Next is my bane in repack boxes - 09 O-Pee-Chee. I got two packs again, but somehow there are a couple decent cards to showcase. Here is the first, a nice action shot of Pedroia. It's a keeper.

2007 Topps. Geez, these things are UGLY. And the pack was just as bad. I almost picked the 7 year old gum as the winner, but figured this shot of Gathright reaching high was worth posting.

I have received rack packs in boxes before, but they are usually Goodwin, so not really a deal. This card comes from a rack pack of 08 Topps. So it's almost like getting a bonus pack in the box. Considering this photo of Lou wondering why the hell he took the Cubs job is what I think is the best of the 30 cards, it wasn't much of a bonus.

2008 UD X. I had two diecuts in this pack. The Griffey would have won, except these gold diecuts fall once in every 8 packs. So I beat the odds. Too bad the player on front, though.

2008 Upper Deck Spectrum. A very bland pack. I believe these Jeters are one per pack, so that will give you an idea of the rest of the cards within.

2010 Topps series 1. Nothing too great in this pack, so I have to give the nod to this very cool looking card. Hate the Yankees all you want (with good reason) -  their uniform is iconic.

Not one, but two packs of 2006 Topps were stuffed in the box together. Pack one was nothing exciting, so I am calling home field advantage and giving the win to Podzilla. But it's a shaky win, cuz what genius thought purple would look good paired the the ChiSox uniforms?

 

As I was ripping open pack 2, the back card was Jim Thome. Considering the meh of pack one, I was set to post the Thome, cuz frankly, it's Thome. However, the card just before Jim was this rookie of Prince Fielder. Ok, you win.

Back to a regular pack of 08 Topps series 1. I have to say - many of the packs in this box would have been painful to rip at retail price when you see the magnitude of nothing within. The last card of this pack was this sunset card of Piazza. That sound you hear is Nick from Dime Boxes sending me an email to ask for this card.

2005 Fleer Ultra, the pack that inspired the post title. I have never pulled a pack of Ultra from a repack box, so this was a nice surprise. I love the photos on the later Ultra cards, and this image of the Big Hurt putting the hurt on a ball is no exception.

2009 Upper Deck X. The diecut was Kerry Wood as an Indian, and there was a nice UD Retrospective card of Dave Winfield in the old brown and yellow Padres uniform, but I am going to pick this X2 sunset card of the Big Unit as the best of the pack. And there goes Nick sending off another email. You can hit send now - no more sunset cards, buddy.

2007 Upper Deck. I hate this design. It doesn't work at all, unless the card is horizontal. But that isn't the reason I picked this card over the others, though the others did suck. I love the sheered off bat handle in his hand. There's a binder project - cards showing a player with a broken bat.

2010 Topps Update. SCORE!!!! Strasburg RC. Granted, it's not worth that much, but still a good pull.

2009 UD Icons. Zzzzzzz. What a crappy pack. Only picked this card cuz it be shiny. Moving on...

2010 Topps series 2. Nothing too wonderful in this pack, but if you have been following garvey cey russell lopes' double play dump, this would fit right in. Except that his fascination with the play has inspired me to pull all the DP cards I can find. So sorry GCRL, this one is staying with me.

Another 09 OPC, and thankfully another semi decent card, this of future Triple Crown and league MVP Miggy. The card design itself is pretty bland, but we are talking 09 OPC.

2008 Upper Deck Heroes. I pulled two cards of this design, - the team names with the smaller pic of a player. Decided the black parallel deserved the honor more than the regular version.

We close out the box with two packs of 2008 Upper Deck. We start with a pack of series 2. And yeah, this was the best card out of 18. It was a poor pack, but at least the legacy card shows a Yankee loss to my White Sox. Gotta like that.

Saved the "best" pack for last - 2008 Upper Deck series 1. Yup, that's a hit. Jersey swatch from some player on Team USA. So how has Tyler Wilson done since 2008? Well, he is in the Orioles organization, currently assigned to their level A ball club. Yeah, this card will never be worth much.

And with that, another repack box is said and done.