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  • Field Level Giveaway: 2009 SP Authentic Box Break
  • Field Level Preview: 2009 Upper Deck Exquisite Football
  • Field Level Preview: 2009-10 Panini Court Kings Basketball
  • Field Level Preview: 2010 Topps Finest Baseball
  • Field Level Preview: 2009-10 SP Game Used Hockey

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Exquisite has always been the top of the line product from Upper Deck, only (sometimes) matched by National Treasures from Panini/Donruss.  It’s not often that you pay $500 for seven cards for the ultimate collecting gamble.  In my years of collecting, I’ve only actually bought one Exquisite card (baseball), and they’re extremely nice, and very thick.

New in the final product of 2009 (although released well into 2010) hinged cards, which take the concept of booklet cards that Topps pioneered and give it the Exquisite treatment.  Also, each box will include a bonus pack with an additional autographed memorabilia card, which will either be one of the Exquisite Autobiography or Exquisite Rookie Bookmarks hinged cards.

Release Date: March 24, 2010
Price Point:  $500/pack at Blowout.
Product Loadout: 7 cards/pack, 1 pack/box, 3 boxes/case.
Hit Ratios:  Approximately 5-6 autographs/game-used per pack.

Product Information:

• 100 card base set (1-100)
• Rookie Signatures (101-160)
• Rookie Signature Patch Tier 2 (161-182)
• Rookie Signature Patch Tier 1 (183-190)

Parallels and Game Used/Autographs:

• Patch Single Player (50 cards)
• Combo Patch (25 cards)
• Triple Patch (14 cards) Read more

The majority of Panini’s basketball products since taking over sole ownership of the NBA’s license have been, to be honest, retreads of previous Donruss/Panini products without much in the way of flair or innovation.  Not only that, they’ve all been predominately low and mid-range cards without anything that could truly be considered high-end on the level of Upper Deck Exquisite.

With the announcement of Court Kings, at least one of those two things should be changing.  While not on the level of UD Exquisite, Panini’s upcoming release of 2009-10 Court Kings should be a higher-end product than everything else that they’ve released so far.  Holding at about $100 per pack, each 11 card pack will have four autograph or memorabilia cards, three numbered base, a parallel, a 5×7 box topper and three other cards.

Release Date: June 2, 2010
Price Point:  $100/pack
Product Loadout:  11 cards/pack, 1 pack/box, 15 boxes/case.
Hit Ratios: 4 autographs or memorabilia cards per pack, at least one autograph.  Each case will have one or more of the following autographs:  Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Shaquille O’Neal, Stephen Currey, Tyreke Evans and Brandon Jennings.  Also two 5×7 autographed box toppers.

Product Information:

• 150 card base set (1-150)
• Gallery of Stars (20 cards)
• Artistry (30 cards)
• Hardwood Heroes (20 cards)
• Masterpieces (20 cards)
• Dribble Kings (15 cards)
• Supreme Court (20 cards)
• Portraits (20 cards)
• Il Bello Cinque (5 cards)
• 5×7 Box Toppers (50 cards)
• Kobe Lithos (5 cards) Read more

Topps Finest has been a steady product over the past few years, featuring a decent quality of products, both base, autographs and parallels for a solid price point.  For at least the past five or six years Topps Finest has offered either two or three mini-boxes of products, each with an autograph and a number of parallels for around $40-50 and a full box for around $100.

2010’s product mirrors 2009’s with two notable exceptions.  First, Topps appears to have replaced the usual Superfractor and replaced it with a purple one, numbered 1/1.  Second is that they’ve added In the Name Xfractor Rookie Book Cards, which are also 1/1s.  These are huge foldout books spelling out the player’s complete name, one letter per card.

Release Date:   March 24, 2010
Price Point:   Approximately $8/pack, $50 per mini-box, or $89 per box at Blowout.
Product Loadout:  5 cards / pack, 12 packs / box (6 packs / minibox, 2 miniboxes / master box), 8 boxes/case
Hit Ratios:  2 numbered autographed rookie patch cards, 10 parallels and 1 2010 Rookie Card redemption / master box.  Each minibox contains 1 numbered autograph rookie patch card and 5 parallels

Product Information:

• 125 card base set (1-125)
• 25 rookies (126-150)
• Rookie Card redemption program (10 cards)

Parallels and Game Used/Autographs:

• Base refractor (#’d to 699)
• Base blue refractor (#’d to 399)
• Base green refractor (#’d to 99
• Base gold refractor (#’d to 50)
• Base red refractor (#’d to 25)
• Base printing plate (1/1)
• Base purple refractor (1/1) Read more

Continuing the 2009-10 hockey lineup from Upper Deck, we have 2009-10 SP Game Used Hockey, which is aimed more at the higher-end of the mid-range products, similar to SPx in football or Ballpark Collection in baseball.  Each pack will contain a game-used or autograph card with Upper Deck topping last year’s Fight Strap cards by offering a card consisting of a Jersey, Patch, Tag Patch and Fight Strap on the same card.

Release Date:  March 30, 2010
Price Point:  Approximately $25/pack or $137 at Blowout.
Product Loadout: 3 cards / pack, 6 packs / box, 12 boxes / case.
Hit Ratios:  6 memorabilia or autographs per box (average 1 per pack).  1 autograph and one memorabilia card per box is #’d to 100 or less.  2 rookie cards and 1 parallel also per box.  Each case averages 2 signed manufactured patches.

Product Information:

• Base set (unknown, presumed)
• Rookie cards (unknown, also presumed)

Parallels and Game Used/Autographs:

• Base set parallels (unknown, presumed)
• Letter Marks (40 cards)
• Number Marks (20 cards)
• Marks of a Nation (60 cards)
• Authentic Fabrics (100 cards)
• SIGnificance (90 cards)
• SIGnificance – SP (10 cards)
• Extra SIGnificance (75 cards)
• Triple SIGnficiance (25 cards)
• SIGnificant Numbers (100 cards) Read more

The second box that Tristar provided to me for breaking was a box of 2009 TNA Impact wrestling.  I have watched wrestling off and on, but haven’t really kept close tabs on wrestling as a whole or TNA in specific.  The nice thing about the product, however, is that TNA has a combination of young stars and established stars who were in WCW or WWE previously.  Each box is serial numbered, with this box being 1334/1800. Each box has two autograph cards, numbered 60 or less, a parallel numbered to 20 or less and either a TNA Kiss Card or a 3rd autograph.  Enjoy the box break, and the rules for claiming any of these cards are on the blog.

Tristar has been putting out minor league baseball products over the past few years, often having the first cards of numerous young stars such as Hunter Pence, Evan Longoria and many others.  2009 Tristar Prospects Plus came out in late November and featured 15 0f the top 20 draft picks in the 2009 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.  However, given that Stephen Strausberg was under exclusive contract to Upper Deck, Tristar went with an artist’s rendition of the player.  Each box is serial numbered with only 2400 boxes being produced.  Each box has 20 packs of 6 cards each with each box offering 4 autographs, 2 Crystal Ballers inserts, 2 short printed parallels, 2 numbered parallels and 1 Obak Update card.

Let’s take a look at the box that Tristar provided to me and see what was found.

Release Date:  Approximately November 23, 2009
Price Point: Approximately $4/pack, $68/box.
Product Loadout: 6 cards per pack, 20 packs per box, 2400 boxes produced.
Hit Ratios: 4 autographs, 2 Crystal Baller inserts, 2 #’d parallels, 2 short-print parallels, 1 Obak Update per box

Product Information:

• 100 card base set
• 17 card Crystal Ballers insert set

Parallels:

• Short-Print variations (11 variants)
• 4 retail-only Crystal Ballers insert variations

Autographs and Relics:

• 95 base autographs
• 16 Crystal Baller autographs
• 11 Short Print Variation autographs
• 11 Cut Signatures

Box Contents:

• 99/100 base set, 10 duplicates
• 4 autographs (Dustin Ackley Navy Variation Green parallel 10/25, Robert Stock Green parallel 25/25, Colton Cain Gold parallel 10/50, Neil Medchill 197/199)
• 1 Obak Update (Matthew Hobgood 1911 Back Variation)
• 2 Short Print Variations (#1 Draft Pick Square Gold Variation, Nick Franklin Gold Parallel Circle Righty Variation 5/50)
• 2 Numbered Parallels (Jared Mitchell Green parallel 22/25, Nolan Arenado Gold parallel 16/50)
• 2 Crystal Ballers (Kristopher Hobson, Drew Storen)
• 2 base cards kept for PC (16 Jiovanni Mier and 90 Position Prospects Infielders (Robert Borchering, Jiovanni Mier, Nick Franklin, Matthew Davidson) Read more

The folks at Tristar sent me a couple of boxes recently, one of which is 2009 Tristar Prospects Plus.  This box was serial numbered 2070/2400.  It’s interesting to see these boxes serial numbered, although a drawback of this might be allowing people to know how many total cards are in a set.  Each box promises 11 ‘hits’, including 4 autographs, 2 parallels, 2 Crystal Baller inserts, 2 short prints and 1 Obak update card.  This box delivered exactly what was promised and I was very pleased with just what cards were in this.  My Field Level Review of this product will be coming shortly.

As people know by now, I currently receive product from Tristar, In the Game, Panini and Upper Deck, covering baseball, football, hockey and basketball (with some wrestling thrown in).  My collection is fairly narrow, I’d like to give the rest away, but shipping costs mount up (especially when this isn’t a full time job for me).  So, taking a page from Mario, here’s the new rules:

Anything that I break that I don’t specifically mark as something I’m keeping (read:  Astros and Texans) is open game.  Leave a comment in the box break video post saying what you want, and then email me at fieldlevelview at me dot com with the request.  I’ll give you my address, and you send me a postage-paid SASE, and I’ll put the card(s) in with protection, and drop it in the mail within 24 hours.  You do not have to send me anything at all other than that.  If you want to trade with me outside of that, I’m free for that as well.

This does not just mean autos, game used, inserts.  If you’re set-building, the base are fair game as well.

Let the giving of things away begin!

(Update:)  There’s one caveat to this.  If I open a box and things remained unclaimed for 30 days after the video is posted, I reserve the right to use anything from these box breaks for any purpose I deem fit.  Yes, that includes eBay or trading.  All this means is that if you are a normal reader of the blog, and see something you want, claim it.  I’ll give everything away if people claim it.  Oh, and leaving a comment here doesn’t claim nothin’.  It gives me ideas of people to send things to later, yes.  But if you want something, post in the box break video, please.

I know, I know, so hard to get free things.

Yesterday, Topps announced that they had secured the rights to Team USA cards and would be releasing a boxed set this December.  Apparently Topps did not want to wait until December to give us Team USA cards, as they have just announced that the first cards from their new license will be in the upcoming 2010 Bowman set.

Topps has also mentioned that 2010 Bowman is completely revamped, which makes me very curious.  The set will include the 2009 National Team as well as the 2009 18 and Under team as a Bowman Chrome insert set.  These cards will be seeded 1:4 packs and includes the following parallels:

Refractor Parallel Sequentially numbered to 750.
Blue Refractor Parallel Sequentially numbered to 250.
Gold Refractor Parallel Sequentially numbered to 50.
Orange Refractor Parallel Sequentially numbered to 25.
Red Refractor Parallel Sequentially numbered to 5. Hobby Only
Super-Fractor Parallel Sequentially numbered 1/1. Hobby Only
Printing Plates Sequentially numbered 1/1. Jumbo Box Only

It’s mentioned that this is the only shot people have at getting the 2009 teams in Topps products, so if you’re a player collector of these guys, this is your chance.

The subjects are as follows:

2009 National Team
USA-BC1	Trevor Bauer	P
USA-BC2	Chad Bettis	P
USA-BC3	Bryce Brentz	P/OF
USA-BC4	Michael Choice	OF
USA-BC5	Gerrit Cole	P
USA-BC6	Christian Colon	IF
USA-BC7	Blake Forsythe	C
USA-BC8	Yasmani Grandal	C
USA-BC9	Sonny Gray	P
USA-BC10	Rick Hague	IF
USA-BC11	Tyler Holt	OF
USA-BC12	Casey McGrew	P
USA-BC13	Brad Miller	IF
USA-BC14	Matt Newman	OF/P
USA-BC15	Nick Pepitone	P
USA-BC16	Drew Pomeranz	P
USA-BC17	T.J. Walz	P
USA-BC18	Cody Wheeler	P
USA-BC19	Andy Wilkins	IF
USA-BC20	Asher Wojciechowski	P
USA-BC21	Kolten Wong	OF/C
USA-BC22	Tony Zych	P
2009 U18 Team
USA18-BC1	Cody Buckel	RHP
USA18-BC2	Nick Castellanos	IF
USA18-BC3	Garin Cecchini	IF
USA18-BC4	Sean Coyle	IF/OF
USA18-BC5	Nicholas Delmonico	IF
USA18-BC6	Kevin Gausman	RHP
USA18-BC7	Cory Hahn	OF/LHP
USA18-BC8	Bryce Harper	C/OF
USA18-BC9	Kavin Keyes	IF
USA18-BC10	Manny Machado	IF
USA18-BC11	Connor Mason	RHP
USA18-BC12	Ladson Montgomery	C/IF
USA18-BC13	Phillip Pfeifer	LHP
USA18-BC14	Brian Ragira	OF
USA18-BC15	Robbie Ray	LHP
USA18-BC16	Kyle Ryan	LHP
USA18-BC17	Jameson Taillon	RHP
USA18-BC18	AJ Vanegas	RHP
USA18-BC19	Karsten Whitson	RHP
USA18-BC20	Tony Wolters	IF

2010 Bowman is due out on or around May 12, 2010.

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