Nostalgic Box Break: 1995 Stadium Club Series Two (Part Three)

16 packs down, 8 left to go. For a Stadium Club set, this is a very well-shot, well-designed, very clean and spiffy set, sort of inching towards the future. Some people, including myself, refer to this one as the last great Stadium Club set, or the last one you could really collect, as the 1996 release on had less packs-per-box, and you couldn't yield a full set from all of that.

Still, we came relatively close with the '95 one, so let's round out the box:

 Pack 17-
Cards I needed: 7/14
Dupes: 7/14
Guys That Would Have Been Great Pulls in 1995: 2/14

 On the left is a reminder that Denny Neagle was on the Pirates before he spontaneously snuck onto a Braves roster that could make him look cool. The Cover Story is the 2nd Marlin in that subset, and it's Chuck Carr, though this one is pretty damn cool.

 Tim Salmon was Mr. Angel this time in 1995, which doesn't bode well for Mike Trout. Also, Mark McGwire, pre-St. Louis career boost.

 Pack 18-
Cards I needed: 4/14
Dupes: 10/14
Philadelphia Legends: 1/14

 Devo recats to a strikeout, Wayne Kirby goofs off while warming up, and John Kruk rounds the bases. By this point in the actual 1995 season, Kruk was rounding out his career in Chicago.

 Pack 19-
Cards I needed: 6/14
Dupes: 8/14
Hall of Famers: 2/14
Stars of Liar, Liar (not really): 1/14

 Tom Pagnozzi is our last (I think) Best Seat in the House subset subject, and it's a pretty nice one. Plus, here Jose Canseco is threatening to beat up the cameraman, a practice that eventually got him kicked off of Celebrity Apprentice.

 Rickey Henderson is just sitting down, waiting to steal another base. Meanwhile, Frank Thomas, in a BEAUTIFUL SHOT, signs some autographs.

 Pack 20-
Cards I needed: 5/14
Dupes: 9/14
Hall of Famers: 1/14

 Aside from Tim Raines', who I didn't pull in this box, Barry Larkin is the one Cover Story insert that still matters 21 years later.
Meanwhile, Wally Joyner's happy to still be a relevant player, even on the Royals.

 Pack 21-
Cards I needed: 7/14
Hall of Extremely Good-ers: 2/14

 Mike Deveraux, who was still an O in '95, holds onto a camera, costing that poor cameraman a few hundred dollars. Mattingly takes a bow for the crowd in one of his last few seasons on the team.

 Valentin I already pulled the Virtual Reality version of, but it's still sooooo cool. Grace's is just as awesome of a close-up shot.

 Pack 22-
Cards I needed: 6/14
Dupes: 8/14
Legitimate Stars in '95: 1/14

 Justice's is a great shot, and this is right before his star began to deflate. Meares' is a really cool field tag shot.

 Pack 23-
Cards I needed: 6/14
Dupes: 8/14
Absolutely Amazing Cards: 1/14
Hall of Famers: 1/14

 Roberto Kelly and Chris Gomez have some nice, well lit shots, but I wanna get to these last two...

 JAIME NAVARRO'S CARD IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. HE IS RIDING...A MOTORCYCLE...ON A BASEBALL CARD. What did I tell you about all the Brewers cards being spontaneously amazing? Do you think I would lie about that? This is legitimately artwork.
Also, nice appearance by HOFer John Smoltz to give a last glimmer of hope to this box.

Pack 24- Only Henry and Baines were ones that I needed, so the box goes out with a whimper.

Still, I got a great deal of the set, and I'll only have to pilfer one or two from other sources, which will probably lead to a want list going up at some point.

Another Nostalgic Box Break is coming in a few days, when this one has some time to breathe. It's...not too different from this one.

Custom Card of the Morning: Schimpf Edition

I really don't have much to say about the Padres, other than the fact that their main choice at second base was a guy named Schimpf.

I mean, yeah, great player, but...my how this team has fallen.

Coming Today: Another Box Break post, and a custom with more substance.

Put the Ketel On

The Mariners' story just keeps changing on me. First they're great, then they're terrible, then they're trying, then they have a shot at the playoffs, then they're nothing. This was a team that kept having the picture change on them just as they finished installing the newest one.

It's been a scattered team- the lineup was mostly ineffective, save for the usual array of bats like Cruz, Cano and Seager, plus some rookies like Dae-Ho Lee and Ketel Marte. The pitching staff started out strong, but the better arms got injured and couldn't come back as healthy, save for the usual ferocity from Felix Hernandez.

They had this way of fighting back and forth from second and third over the course of the season, contending with the Astros for 2nd place while both weren't great enough on their own. And while it looked like one of them would enter into the Wild Card debate...no, not really. The Tigers, Orioles and Jays took that away from them.

Still, at least the Mariners had a season they can be proud of, as well as work towards topping for next year.

Coming Tomorrow- One last sorry look at the San Diego Padres.

Kang Lives?

On paper, the Pirates' season achieved everything it set out to be. We knew, thanks to the departures of AJ Burnett, Pedro Alvarez, J.A. Happ and Neil Walker, that they weren't going to be half the team they were in 2015, and by the end of the season...yeah, they were in third.

But...throughout the season there were moments where the Pirates were making some serious progress with whatever they had lying around, and bringing up the new youth like Jameson Tallion and Chad Kuhl.  Plus, with Andrew McCutchen slumping, Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco stepped up big time, and performed pretty damned well.

Yes, this team still has a ways to go before they can full-on compete with someone like the Cubs, and they're probably going to make a lot of progress this offseason, but enough was there this season that they weren't absolutely embarrassed. Gerrit Cole, Jeff Locke and Ivan Nova did pretty well in the rotation, and people like Sean Rodriguez, John Jaso and Jung Ho Kang hit pretty well off the bench, and eventually in the lineup.

The Pirates aren't out of it yet, and hopefully they'll be back in a big way next year (so that someone other than St. Louis can take 2nd).

Coming Tonight: After an up-and-down season, the Mariners are going for the Wild Card, with help for their trusty rookie shortstop.

Custom Card of the Night: Morneau Edition

This isn't exactly a sight I expected to see, but okay.

A few years ago, thanks to a waiver deal, Justin Morneau ended up leaving his beloved Minnesota Twins to join the pennant-contending Pirates. It was a move met with anguish from Twins fans, and surprise from most baseball fans.

It's a few years later, and now that Justin Morneau is now a member of the White Sox, the novelty has faded. He's been bopping along ever since, and while he hasn't exactly been effete, you can tell that the end of his career is coming zoo. Yes, a few years ago he had a career season in Colorado, and he hasn't done too badly for himself as a DH/bench player in Chicago. But you can tell that his best days are behind him, mostly because his best days were hitting for average in Minnesota and robbing Derek Jeter of an MVP.

I'm still happy to see he's still hitting, even if it's for a team like the White Sox who won't be contributing anything to the playoff race. I'm glad Ken Williams gave him a chance, or more of a chance than Jimmy Rollins at least. I don't know what the future holds for the guy, but I'm glad he did this much.

Coming Tomorrow- They played valiantly but they're being mourned, not celebrated. Tomorrow, a member of those battling Pittsburgh Pirates.

Nostalgic Box Break: 1995 Stadium Club Series Two (Part Two)

In the first eight packs of this incredibly 1995 box of Stadium Club, we saw some great photography, some not-so-great collation, and one of the most ridiculous inserts I've ever pulled out of a pack.

And of course I go back for more. Packs 9 thru 16, coming right up.

 Pack 9-
Dupes: 4/14
Cards I needed: 10/14
Hall of Famers: 1/14
Guys Who Were Really Big in the Mid-90's: 2/14

 Genuinely nice static photography- Eddie Zambrano reminds me how cool the 90's Cubs alts were. Willie Greene shows off the white Reds caps, which is always nice, against an even whiter background.

 Our 'Best Seat' subset is of HOFer Kirby Puckett, which is always nice.

 Our quartet of awesome horizontal shots. Mo Vaughn probably has the best one, just for that angle, but Morandini and Kelly have some great in-field-scuffle shots. Juan Gone's is a standard, and plainer by comparison, Cover Story card.

 Pack 10-
Cards I needed: 8/14
Dupes: 5/14
Cover Story Subsets: 2/14
Guys I'll Collect 'Til the Day I Die: 1/14

 DeShields and Alou have some pretty nice behind-the-scenes shots, and Jobias Manza...something has a nice tip-of-the-cap shot.

 Dykstra is our Virtual Reality insert, and maybe in that reality Dykstra would have saved his career. E-Mart, one of the greatest DHs of all time, seen here hitting one out for sure.

 Ken Hill and Rick Aguilera are the Cover Story inserts here. That is all.

 Pack 11-
Cards I needed: 9/14
Dupes: 4/14

 Not a ton of flair in this pack, so Tom Gordon, Brad Radke and VR Tommy Greene were some of my few highlights.

 Also, 90's superstar Albert Belle even gets the 'league leader' emblem.

 Pack 12
Dupes: 8/14
Cards I needed: 6/14
LA heroes: 2/14

 Chuck Finley was still a huge standout in LA back then- heck, HE even gets a League Leader emblem. Also, Karl Rhodes was still trying to stick with a squad in '95.

 Karros' is a great shot, even if it's a bit close. Greg Vaughn adds more traction to my theory that the Brewers just got the best photos in this set.

 I evidently didn't do a Group Shot for Pack 13, so here's two photography icons, Geronimo Pena and Bip Roberts, with some pretty bland photos.

 These two will make up for it- that Conine Cover Story is a pretty great one, and Bernie Williams always livens up a pack.

 Pack 14-
Cards I needed: 9/14
Dupes: 3/14
Generally Cool Inserts of Players That Haven't Aged Well: 1/14
Hall of Famers: 1/14

 Some pretty cool batting shots from Seitzer and Lankford.

 Though the landscapes are where this set is at- Brian Hunter's card goes behind the plate, and Mike Lansing's catches him just evading the tag. Just some really cool, well-zoomed stuff.

 Subset time! Hentgen's is our VR insert, right around the time he popped up big time in just about every product.

 Our Clear Cut Insert, which is indeed one of the most fun inserts in the set, is of Sammy Sosa, so there goes the joy. At least there's Almost-HOF-er Alan Trammell and Actual-HOFer Frank Thomas at Comiskey to make the pack work it.

 Pack 15-
Dupes: 6/14
Cards I needed: 8/14
Cards I already pulled but I can add to the set now: 2/14

 Sluggo's back there, in the middle of a backstop foul ball. Also, there's a very cool shot of Ellis Burks waiting for the call to the plate.

 These two you have already seen, but these are the NON-VR versions. Into the set they go.

 Matt Williams is this pack's Best Seat, trying to say good things about Candlestick Park (and failing). Kenny Lofton was the league leader in saves from 1994, which is always a nice little stat.

 Pack 16-
Dupes: 6/14
Cards I needed: 8/14
Guys I already pulled but can actually add to the set: 2/14
Guys Who Should be in the Hall of Fame: 1/14

 You've seen them, but now they go into the set.

 And to end this post, here are two really nice sideways shots, one of Tim Raines sliding, what he does best, and one of Greg Gagne fielding. Good stuff.

The last eight packs will go up...soon. Relatively soon.