Domonic Brown had a breakout season in the minor leagues this past season:

Chad Qualls had a rough 2010 season coming back from knee surgery:

Mickey Mantle died in 1995.  Teammate Yogi Berra is still around and is 85 years old:

Ozzie Smith won 13 Gold Gloves:

And here’s my “Manufactured Bat Barrel”… pretty nice to see in person, though I don’t care for manufactured “relics”.  It’s the thickest card I’ve ever seen – it’s 5mm thick:

2010 Topps Update Series:

1. #US-135 Starlin Castro (Rookie Debut)
2. #US-137 Austin Kearns
3. #US-22 Ty Wigginton (All-Star)
4. #US-208 Jeff Keppinger
5. #US-217 Yorvit Torrealba
6. #US-286 Arthur Rhodes
7. #US-43 Brennan Boesch (Rookie Debut)
8. #US-29 Livan Hernandez
9. #US-318 Domonic Brown (Rookie Card)
10. #US-278 Brad Penny
11. #US-129 Gregor Blanco
12. #US-288 Jonny Venters (Rookie Card)
13. #US-246 LaTroy Hawkins
14. #US-239 Gabe Gross
15. #US-293 Pat Burrell
16. #US-253 Mike Minor (Rookie Card)
17. #US-292 Kelly Shoppach
18. #US-272 Brian Stokes
19. #US-235 Jose Tabata (Rookie Card)
20. Gold #US-112 Chad Qualls (Serial#0582/2010)
21. Attax Code Card #JH Jason Heyward
22. Million Card Giveaway #TMC-23 Bob Gibson
23. The Cards Your Mom Threw Out #CMT122 Yogi Berra/Mickey Mantle
24. More Tales of the Game #MTOG-12 There’s No Tying in Baseball
25. Turkey Red #TR139 Johnny Mize
26. Vintage Legends #VLC-28 Ozzie Smith
27. Legendary Lineage #LL-72 Larry Walker/Justin Morneau
28. Manufactured Bat Barrel Relic #MBB-27 Paul Konerko (Serial#21/99) (Manufactured Bat Barrel Relic)
29. #US-265 Ryan Howard (All-Star)
30. #US-326 Miguel Cabrera (Home Run Derby)
31. #US-274 Stephen Strasburg/Ivan Rodriguez (Merry Stras-Mas) (Checklist)
32. #US-45 David Price (All-Star)
33. #US-124 Chris Young (All-Star)
34. #US-243 Michael Bourn (All-Star)
35. #US-303 Brandon Phillips (All-Star)
36. #US-105 Chone Figgins
37. #US-84 Melvin Mora
38. #US-206 Garret Anderson
39. #US-182 Randy Wolf
40. #US-1 Vladimir Guerrero
41. #US-144 Eric Patterson
42. #US-327 Mike Stanton (Rookie Debut)

And finally, my wild card:

1978 Topps #451 Minnesota Twins (Team Card)

We should see a 31-year-old Rod Carew in his prime in this photo.  In 1977, Rod Carew led the league in Runs, Hits, Batting Average, and Triples… then went on to win the AL MVP Award.

Mickey Mantle hit home run number 240 on August 12, 1958 off of Ken Lehman of the Baltimore Orioles in Yankee Stadium.

2007 Topps Series 1:

1. #294 Mike Rabelo (Rookie Card)
2. #309 Mark Teixeira (Gold Glove)
3. #238 Philadelphia Phillies (Team Card)
4. #39 Jim Edmonds
5. #312 Carlos Beltran (Gold Glove)
6. Mantle Home Run History #MHR240 Mickey Mantle
7. Red Back #210 Kazuo Matsui
8. Red Back #263 Kevin Kouzmanoff (Rookie Card)
9. #19 Alfredo Amezaga
10. #270 Alfonso Soriano

Here’s five hobby packs of 2007 Topps Updates & Highlights:

PACK 1

1. #UH141 Cameron Maybin (Rookie Card)
2. #UH192 Terry Evans (Rookie Card)
3. #UH117 Jeremy Accardo
4. #UH320 Troy Percival
5. #UH51 Zack Greinke
6. Red Back #UH307 Kyle Davies
7. Red Back #UH183 Travis Metcalf (Rookie Card)
8. Barry Bonds Home Run History #738 Barry Bonds
9. #UH280 Carl Crawford/Carlos Guillen (Classic Combo)
10. #UH245 Takashi Saito (All-Star)

PACK 2

1. #UH3 Jason Marquis
2. #UH199 Yoel Hernandez (Rookie Card)
3. #UH169 Micah Owings (Rookie Card)
4. #UH62 Mike Fontenot
5. #UH63 Cesar Izturis
6. Red Back #UH233 J.J. Putz (All-Star)
7. Red Back #UH179 Jesus Flores (Rookie Card)
8. Mantle Home Run History #MHR470 Mickey Mantle
9. #UH275 Mike Fontenot/Khalil Greene (Classic Combo)
10. #UH226 Jose Reyes (All-Star)

PACK 3

1. #UH109 Jason Wood
2. #UH301 Bob Howry
3. #UH307 Kyle Davies
4. #UH103 Antonio Alfonseca
5. #UH156 Matt DeSalvo (Rookie Card)
6. Red Back #UH194 Guillermo Rodriguez (Rookie Card)
7. Red Back #UH253 Derrek Lee (All-Star)
8. Gold #UH135 Jose Molina (Serial#0767/2007)
9. #UH162 Phil Hughes (Rookie Card)
10. #UH218 Derek Jeter (All-Star)

PACK 4

1. #UH69 Claudio Vargas
2. #UH94 Al Reyes
3. #UH82 Rafael Betancourt
4. #UH52 Armando Benitez
5. #UH28 Olmedo Saenz
6. #UH207 Prince Fielder (Season Highlights)
7. Red Back #UH260 Matt Holliday (All-Star)
8. Red Back #UH43 Ubaldo Jimenez (Rookie Card)
9. #UH211 Randy Johnson (Season Highlights)
10. #UH221 Magglio Ordonez (All-Star)

PACK 5

1. #UH56 Jamie Burke
2. #UH186 Kyle Kendrick (Rookie Card)
3. #UH174 Curtis Thigpen (Rookie Card)
4. #UH27 Yusmeiro Petit
5. #UH32 Russ Ortiz
6. Red Back #UH22 Jeff Salazar
7. Red Back #UH266 Justin Morneau (All-Star)
8. Mickey Mantle Story #MMS32 Mickey Mantle
9. #UH271 Dan Haren (All-Star)
10. #UH232 Jonathan Papelbon (All-Star)

“September 20, 1953 – Mickey’s 21st and final home run of the regular season, fittingly enough, topped 500 feet at Fenway Park.  It was a tape-measure year for Mantle.  The Yankees already had clinched the American League pennant, but the first-inning blast helped New York to a 10-8 victory.  It marked the second straight season Mantle topped the 20-homer plateau, a feat he would accomplish 14 times in his career.”

For some perspective, the player with the least career home runs to top the 20-homer mark at least 14 times in his career is Chipper Jones.  Chipper has 436 career home runs.

2007 Topps Series 2:

1. #553 Ramon Martinez
2. #347 Chicago Cubs (Team Card)
3. #614 Bob Geren (Manager)
4. #491 David Eckstein
5. Mickey Mantle Story #MMS26 Mickey Mantle
6. Generation Now #GN237 Ryan Zimmerman
7. Red Back #587 Brian Bannister
8. Red Back #653 Sean Casey/Placido Polanco (Classic Combos)
9. #465 Jhonny Peralta
10. #420 Jeff Weaver

1996 Topps Series 2:

1. #318 Greg Maddux
2. #302 Dave Nilsson
3. #368 Dennis Eckersley
4. Mickey Mantle Sweepstakes Entry Card
5. #227 Ivan Rodriguez (Star Power)
6. #241 Garrett Long (Draft Pick) (Rookie Card)
7. #282 Jeff Cirillo
8. Wrecking Crew #WC3 Barry Bonds
9. #410 Glenn Dishman
10. #231 Jose Mesa (Star Power)
11. #385 Heathcliff Slocumb
12. #309 Moises Alou

Pretty neat pack here.  The Barry Bonds Wrecking Crew card is one of the most valuable cards in 1996 Topps packs.

“Few pitchers can pitch in a hitter’s “kitchen” with any consistency.  And Barry Bonds will turn anything that’s in his attic, basement or living room into a souvenir.  Once he reigned-in a penchant for impatience, Bonds evolved into a three-time MVP, a slugger who also hits for average and commands high walk totals.  His ability to recognize pitching patterns only adds to pitchers’ problems.”

Barry Bonds is scheduled to go to trial for perjury in the BALCO scandal next March.

Then I also found this:

The Mickey Mantle Sweepstakes Entry Card is also pretty neat.  They came only one in every three hobby boxes.  In 1996, Topps gave away 19 original Mickey Mantle cards, one from each year.  They randomly inserted 2,500 Sweepstakes Entry cards in packs for each Mantle card they were giving away.  If you got one, you could fill it out and send it in to enter the drawing for the card that was pictured on the Sweepstakes Entry card (I got the entry card for the 1964 Topps Mantle).  Entry cards had to be mailed in no later than October 15, 1996, so I’m a little too late to mail mine in.  It’s sort of like an early version of the Topps Million Card Giveaway if you think about it.

I don’t have any Jumbo packs of 2007 Topps series 2, so I’ll be ripping 5 hobby packs of it.  Let’s see what treasures lie within:

Pack 1

1. #502 Brian Roberts
2. #448 Fernando Rodney
3. #446 Jaret Wright
4. #464 Omar Vizquel
5. Mantle Home Run History #MHR386 Mickey Mantle
6. Generation Now #GN268 Delmon Young
7. Red Back #617 Ned Yost (Manager)
8. Red Back #425 Tomo Ohka
9. #428 So Taguchi
10. #429 Carlos Zambrano

Pack 2

1. #649 Brian Barden (Rookie Card)
2. #599 Kansas City Royals (Team Card)
3. #476 Aaron Harang
4. #342 Bengie Molina
5. Trading Places #TP15 Aubrey Huff
6. DiMaggio Streak Before the Streak #JDSF8 Joe DiMaggio
7. Red Back #457 Mike Hampton
8. Red Back #383 Jon Lester
9. #391 Kelvim Escobar
10. #485 Tadahito Iguchi

Pack 3

1. #468 Kerry Wood
2. #539 Eric Milton
3. #341 Akinori Iwamura (Rookie Card)
4. #396 Chris Capuano
5. #399 James Shields
6. Hit Parade #HP3 Frank Thomas
7. Red Back #647 Juan Morillo (Rookie Card)
8. Red Back #616 Fredi Gonzalez (Manager)
9. #550 Trevor Hoffman
10. #483 Kris Benson

Pack 4

1. #392 Craig Wilson
2. #594 Angels (Team Card)
3. #610 Jim Leyland (Manager)
4. #473 Xavier Nady
5. Gold #532 Jose Vidro (Serial#0671/2007)
6. 1st Edition #577 Jason LaRue
7. Red Back #418 Boof Bonser
8. Red Back #559 Doug Mientkiewicz
9. #500 Pedro Martinez
10. #398 Jacque Jones

Pack 5

1. #552 Chris Woodward
2. #484 John Maine
3. #355 Oliver Perez
4. #586 Willy Aybar
5. #426 Jeff Francoeur
6. Red Back #625 Josh Hamilton (Rookie Card)
7. Red Back #634 Alex Gordon (Rookie Card)
8. #409 Khalil Greene
9. #350 Chase Utley
10. #459 Jeff Suppan

Today I’m starting up a new feature. Each Sunday, instead of opening up a single hobby pack, I’m going to open up either a jumbo pack of the most recent release or 5 hobby packs of a past Topps release.

2010 Topps Series 2 Jumbo Pack:

1. #444 Yuniesky Betancourt
2. #360 Justin Morneau
3. #517 Cliff Pennington
4. #603 Gerardo Parra
5. #338 Brett Cecil
6. #374 Scott Feldman
7. #403 Jimmy Rollins
8. #569 Jacoby Ellsbury
9. #495 Carlos Pena
10. #437 Luke Hochevar
11. #363 Joba Chamberlain
12. #556 Chicago White Sox (Team Card)
13. #366 Hiroki Kuroda
14. #498 Sergio Santos (Rookie Card)
15. #651 Mike Aviles
16. #496 Rajai Davis
17. #357 Scott Downs
18. #365 Logan Ondrusek (Rookie Card)
19. #512 Scot Shields
20. #492 Brian Wilson
21. #339 Jose Reyes
22. #381 Miguel Montero
23. #555 B.J. Upton
24. #629 Oliver Perez
25. #399 Matt Garza
26. #384 Chris Johnson (Rookie Card)
27. #469 Alex Burnett (Rookie Card)
28. Gold Border #631 Marc Rzepczynski (Serial#0267/2010)
29. The Cards Your Mom Threw Out #CMT60 Mickey Mantle
30. History of the World Series #HWS15 Bob Gibson
31. Million Card Giveaway #TMC-13 Bob Gibson
32. 2020 #T10 Evan Longoria
33. Vintage Legends #VLC25 Honus Wagner
34. Turkey Red #TR63 Nate McLouth
35. Legendary Lineage #LL-38 Cal Ripken Jr./Hanley Ramirez
36. Peak Performance #PP-61 Hunter Pence
37. #616 Franklin Gutierrez
38. #576 Paul Maholm
39. #625 Grady Sizemore
40. #579 Trevor Cahill
41. #540 Sean Rodriguez
42. #483 Daisuke Matsuzaka
43. #334 Jayson Werth
44. #408 Detroit Tigers (Franchise History)
45. #647 Alfonso Soriano
46. #623 Miguel Cabrera
47. #551 Everth Cabrera
48. #422 Vin Mazzaro
49. #383 Derek Lowe
50. Attax #JV Justin Verlander

50 cards, no Nats… I guess Topps realizes that there are about 10 Nats fans collecting cards out there.  Maybe Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper will change that in the future.

I don’t have the Beckett values on Series 2 yet, but I can guess that the Mantle was the best pull out of the pack:

“The hand-painted image of Mantle on his 1953 card depicted a striking 21-year-old coming off a season in which he made the AL All-Star team for what would be the first of 17 consecutive times.  His ’52 rookie is the only more valuable Topps “Mickey.””

Some of the other nice pulls:

And I’m sure you were all wondering what I got from the Million Card Giveaway this time…

1977 Topps #551 Bill North

Not bad, but I still haven’t gotten anything from the 50′s or 60′s yet.

1996 Topps Series 1:

1. #53 Al Martin
2. #139 Steve Finley
3. #136 Hideo Nomo (Topps All-Star Rookie)
4. Mantle #3 Mickey Mantle (Reprint)
5. #84 Omar Vizquel
6. #102 Brian Givens/T.J. Mathews (AAA Stars)
7. #41 Tripp Cromer
8. #194 Alex Fernandez
9. #152 Benji Gil
10. #130 Kenny Rogers
11. #89 Jose Offerman
12. #37 Tony Tarasco

“Many baseball experts say that switch-hitting Mickey is the greatest baseball prospect they’ve ever seen.  He certainly showed why in ’52 finishing 2nd in the American League in Doubles and Slugging (.530).  In ’52 Mickey also set a new Yankee record and led the League with 111 Strikeouts.  He broke in as a shortstop in ’49, hit .383 for Joplin in ’50 and split the ’51 season between the Yankees and Kansas City.”

I think I have like 40 Mickey Mantle cards now because of all these dang reprints and Mantle inserts.