Five hobby packs of 2008 Topps Updates & Highlights:

PACK 1

1. #UH6 Yamid Haad
2. #UH310 Kyle Lohse
3. #UH61 Randy Wolf
4. #UH202 Josh Hamilton (Home Run Derby)
5. #UH118 Justin Morneau/David Ortiz (Classic Combos)
6. #UH274 Albert Pujols (All-Star)
7. #UH237 Manny Ramirez
8. #UH84 Julian Tavarez
9. Gold Border #UH271 Brad Thompson (Serial#1300/2008)
10. Gold Foil #UH58 Scott Kazmir (All-Star)

PACK 2

1. #UH326 Kevin Mench
2. #UH120 Angel Berroa
3. #UH140 Dana Eveland
4. #UH119 Ken Griffey Jr. (Season Highlights)
5. #UH88 Dan Haren/Russ Martin (Classic Combos)
6. #UH299 Jolbert Cabrera
7. #UH209 Carlos Guillen (All-Star)
8. #UH46 Kevin Youkilis (All-Star)
9. World Baseball Classic Preview #WBC11 Adrian Gonzalez
10. Gold Foil #UH226 Brian McCann (All-Star)

PACK 3

1. #UH40 Jon Rauch
2. #UH8 Jeff Mathis
3. #UH142 Adrian Gonzalez/Matt Holliday (Classic Combos)
4. #UH143 Chipper Jones (Season Highlights)
5. #UH304 Brad Lidge (All-Star)
6. #UH203 Joe Crede (All-Star)
7. #UH52 Derek Jeter (All-Star)
8. #UH269 Robert Andino
9. World Baseball Classic Preview #WBC24 Chin-Lung Hu
10. Mickey Mantle Story #MMS67 Mickey Mantle

PACK 4

1. #UH217 Willy Aybar
2. #UH7 Josh Anderson
3. #UH19 Johnny Estrada
4. #UH4 Brent Lillibridge (Rookie Card)
5. #UH172 Evan Longoria (Home Run Derby)
6. #UH125 John Smoltz (Highlights)
7. #UH300 CC Sabathia
8. #UH221 J.D. Drew (All-Star)
9. #UH270 Justin Duchscherer
10. Ring of Honor #RH-BS Bruce Sutter

PACK 5

1. #UH170 Greg Smith (Rookie Card)
2. #UH182 Sidney Ponson
3. #UH62 Matt Albers
4. #UH313 Tim Lincecum (All-Star)
5. #UH226 Brian McCann (All-Star)
6. #UH286 Aaron Cook (All-Star)
7. #UH76 Francisco Rodriguez (All-Star)
8. #UH58 Scott Kazmir (All-Star)
9. #UH23 Cristian Guzman (All-Star)
10. First Couples #FC-13 Millard Fillmore/Abigail Fillmore

“Zack is back.  A phenom as a teen, he’s weathered a few rough years and a temporary switch to the bullpen to again become a promising young starter.  After being returned to the rotation last August 24, he compiled a 1.85 ERA in seven starts.  ”I feel like I’m a starter, but other people make that decision,” Greinke says.  Apparently he’s made it for them.”

Zack Greinke will begin the 2011 season on the disabled list, after his fractured a rib during a pick-up basketball game early in Spring Training.

2008 Topps Series 1:

1. #178 Dustin Pedroia (Rookie of the Year)
2. #275 C.C. Sabathia (Cy Young Award)
3. #322 Scott Kazmir/Johan Santana/Erik Bedard (League Leaders)
4. #177 Josh Anderson (Rookie Card)
5. #192 Jim Edmonds
6. #69 Bobby Cox (Manager)
7. Gold #46 Zack Greinke (Serial#1437/2008)
8. #293 Gavin Floyd
9. #102 Ross Ohlendorf (Rookie Card)
10. #132 Ramon Vazquez

I just opened up a fresh hobby box of 2008 Topps Updates & Highlights, so today I’ll start off my post with a box-topper…

My exclusive Chrome Refractor Rookie Card is:

Chrome #CHR9 Josh Banks (Rookie Card)

Josh Banks signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants earlier this year.  He has been ineffective as a Major Leaguer so far.

Now on to the regular pack…

“Called upon to replace departed starter Sidney Ponson, Eric picked up his first Major League victory on June 29, 2008, pitching into the sixth inning of a 5-1 Rangers win over the Phillies.  The former first-round draft pick blossomed in ’05, when he compiled a 12-6 record with Clinton while leading the Class A Midwest League with 152 strikeouts.”

It’s a strange coincidence… Eric Hurley was the Chrome box topper from the previous box of 2008 Updates I opened.  After missing the past two seasons due to injuries, Hurley is back and looking sharp in Spring Training.

2008 Topps Updates & Highlights:

1. #UH163 Miguel Cairo
2. #UH205 Octavio Dotel
3. #UH121 Jacque Jones
4. #UH87 Ryan Langerhans
5. #UH63 Eric Bruntlett
6. #UH45 Eric Hurley (Rookie Card)
7. #UH181 Runelvys Hernandez
8. #UH258 Arthur Rhodes
9. #UH186 Wes Littleton
10. Year in Review #YR176 Moises Alou

Shawn Green retired before the 2008 season as one of the best-known Jewish baseball players ever to play the game.

2008 Topps Series 1:

1. #152 Bronson Arroyo
2. #100 Ryan Howard
3. #98 Ryan Howard/Chase Utley (Classic Combos)
4. #228 Geoff Blum
5. #229 Dustin Pedroia (Topps All-Star Rookie)
6. #303 Jose Lopez
7. 50th Anniversary All Rookie Team #AR47 Shawn Green
8. Gold Foil #318 Ned Yost (Manager)
9. #240 Jim Thome
10. #292 Mark Loretta

Five Hobby packs of 2008 Topps Series 2:

PACK 1:

1. #496 Brad Lidge
2. #348 Craig Monroe
3. #463 John McLaren (Manager)
4. #543 Carlos Lee
5. #458 Brad Hawpe
6. Trading Card History #TCH52 Hanley Ramirez
7. #366 Jeff Weaver
8. Gold Foil #423 Mike Scioscia (Manager)
9. #617 Asdrubal Cabrera
10. #444 Jack Wilson

PACK 2:

1. #526 Juan Encarnacion
2. #367 Khalil Greene
3. #546 Francisco Liriano
4. #563 Ramon Troncoso (Rookie Card)
5. #561 Matt Tolbert (Rookie Card)
6. #466 Miguel Cabrera/Ivan Rodriguez (Classic Combos)
7. Gold Foil #477 Ben Broussard
8. #634 Kenny Rogers
9. #373 Casey Kotchman
10. #542 Adam Kennedy

PACK 3:

1. #342 Matt Belisle
2. #590 Mariano Rivera
3. #572 Adam Eaton
4. #613 Melvin Mora
5. #587 Chris Snyder
6. Gold Foil #624 Joe Torre
7. #576 Dave Bush
8. #625 Greg Maddux
9. #420 Nick Swisher

PACK 4:

1. #413 Wandy Rodriguez
2. #650 Frank Thomas
3. #360 David Ortiz
4. #583 Nick Punto
5. #554 Joe Borowski
6. Trading Card History #TCH66 Torii Hunter
7. Gold Foil #463 John McLaren (Manager)
8. #385 Troy Tulowitzki
9. #581 Kazuo Matsui
10. #524 Raul Ibanez

PACK 5:

1. #410 Alex Gordon
2. #474 Yuniesky Betancourt
3. #423 Mike Scioscia (Manager)
4. #361 Wesley Wright (Rookie Card)
5. #482 Kazuo Fukumori (Rookie Card)
6. Gold Border #421 Brandon Backe (Serial#0970/2008)
7. Historical Campaign Match-Ups #HCM-1936 Franklin D. Roosevelt/Alf Landon
8. #448 Cameron Maybin
9. #544 Chad Gaudin
10. #566 Kevin Millwood

Five hobby packs of 2008 Topps Series 1.  Didn’t find anything I need, but all in all a pretty exciting five packs:

PACK 1

1. #206 Geoff Jenkins
2. #112 Jacque Jones
3. #247 Edgar Gonzalez
4. #14 Lenny DiNardo
5. #173 Jamie Moyer
6. Own the Game #OTG4 Carlos Pena
7. Gold Foil #290 Edgar Renteria
8. #204 Rafael Furcal
9. #283 Jorge Sosa
10. #226 Kurt Suzuki

PACK 2

1. #110 Justin Morneau
2. #249 Chris Sampson
3. #243 Akinori Iwamura
4. #49 Orlando Hernandez
5. #235 Rich Harden
6. #2 Barry Zito
7. Mantle Home Run History #MHR511 Mickey Mantle
8. #43 Ryan Dempster
9. #31 Ronny Paulino
10. #75 Felix Hernandez

PACK 3

1. #99 David Ortiz/Manny Ramirez (Postseason Highlights)
2. #256 Alex Rodriguez (MVP)
3. #181 Joe Borowski/Bobby Jenks/J.J. Putz (League Leaders)
4. #296 Paul Konerko
5. #201 Matt Capps
6. #319 Joey Votto (Rookie Card)
7. Mickey Mantle Story #MMS52 Mickey Mantle
8. Trading Card History #TCH7 Mickey Mantle
9. #318 Ned Yost (Manager)
10. #138 Dan Wheeler

PACK 4

1. #10 Miguel Cabrera
2. #304 Jose Vidro
3. #7 Mickey Mantle
4. #30 Jimmy Rollins
5. #89 Josh Willingham
6. Highlights Relics #HR-DO David Ortiz (Bat Relic)
7. Gold Foil #150 Alfonso Soriano
8. #237 Eric Wedge (Manager)

PACK 5

1. #225 Hunter Pence (Topps All-Star Rookie)
2. #77 Angel Guzman
3. #261 Josh Barfield
4. #294 Brian McCann
5. #186 Lastings Milledge
6. #255 Brandon Phillips
7. Mickey Mantle Story #MMS53 Mickey Mantle
8. Trading Card History #TCH10 Joe Mauer
9. #267 Chris Burke
10. #55 Chris Young

This Sunday of 2011, we’re opening up 5 packs of 2008 Topps Series 2:

PACK 1:

1. #506 Jay Gibbons
2. #574 Scott Baker
3. #630 Chris Carpenter
4. #551 Erick Threets (Rookie Card)
5. #502 Alex Cora
6. 50th Anniversary All Rookie Team#AR73 Carlos Ruiz
7. Stars #TS13 Manny Ramirez
8. #530 Ryan Zimmerman
9. #640 Carlos Pena
10. #369 Luis Castillo

PACK 2:

1. #408 Edinson Volquez
2. #486 Javier Vazquez
3. #394 Mark Ellis
4. Commemorative Patch Relics #CPR-JG Jason Giambi (Serial#071/100) (Manufactured Patch)
5. 50th Anniversary All Rookie Team #AR84 Adam LaRoche
6. #602 Lyle Overbay/Vernon Wells (Classic Combos)
7. Historical Campaign Match-Ups #HCM-1880 James Garfield/Winfield Scott Hancock
8. #380 Grady Sizemore
9. #642 Mark Kotsay

PACK 3:

1. #624 Joe Torre (Manager)
2. #405 Travis Hafner
3. #459 Mike Sweeney
4. #545 Chris Young (Topps All-Star Rookie)
5. #445 Hideki Matsui
6. #476 Johnny Cueto (Rookie Card)
7. Stars #TS25 Matt Holliday
8. #452 Kevin Slowey
9. #646 Rajai Davis
10. #600 Tom Glavine

PACK 4:

1. #393 Michael Cuddyer
2. #504 Conor Jackson
3. #503 Jeremy Bonderman
4. #603 Blake DeWitt (Rookie Card)
5. #539 Clete Thomas (Rookie Card)
6. #417 Brian Bass (Rookie Card)
7. Year in Review #YR103 Ryan Garko
8. #439 Josh Hamilton
9. #464 Rocco Baldelli
10. #559 Jonny Gomes

PACK 5:

1. #568 Jose Guillen
2. #578 Ricky Nolasco
3. #381 Jeff Francoeur
4. #501 Elliot Johnson (Rookie Card)
5. #346 Adam Everett
6. #609 Ted Lilly
7. Gold Foil #348 Craig Monroe
8. #535 Francisco Rodriguez
9. #610 Carlos Beltran
10. #427 Carlos Guillen

“Jim Leyland will miss Andrew, traded to Florida in December.”

2008 Topps Series 2:

1. #635 Michael Young
2. #435 Torii Hunter
3. #498 Matt Chico
4. #488 Mike Gonzalez
5. #510 Justin Verlander
6. Trading Card History #TCH61 Francisco Rodriguez
7. Gold Foil #414 Andrew Miller
8. Stars #TS4 Josh Beckett
9. #505 B.J. Upton
10. #461 Jacoby Ellsbury