Nostalgic Box Break: 1996 Collector's Choice Series Two (Part Four)

Right. Onto my SECOND order of business after picking the blog back up. Last month I started a box break. Now, as we're literally a few days away from the MLB season, I figure we should probably finish it.

We have thirteen packs left in this 40-pack box...mainly because I originally thought it was a 36-pack box. Remember, 'You Crash the Game' inserts are abound, and I'll be judging whether or not you would have won something for each one we pull. Other than that, not much else that needs to be set up.

 Pack 28-
Team Heroes That Will Never Be HOFers: 3/14
Team Heroes that have been HOFers for 10 years: 1/14

 Les Norman seems pretty happy to be coming home, while Bernie Williams is equally passionate about this particular run.

 Sammy Sosa's card, in 1996, would be a pretty big deal. It's 2017, and steroids are a thing. Shame, as this is a cool card.

 Joe Carter was still a force in Toronto in 1996, and garnered a checklist.

 And the cover card for the Cal Ripken Collection, going around UD products in 1996, is this one. Very simple. I prefer the other cards in this set.

 Pack 29-
Hall of Famers: 1/14
Relatively Good Pitchers of the 90s: 3/14

 Brian Johnson (NOT the lead singer of AC/DC, reaches for a signed ball, while Scott Karl throws in an odd fashion.

 Chuck Finley and Kevin Brown. Ah, the 90s.

 And, of course, one of the greatest Cubs of all time, Ryne Sandberg, in his first full season back from a brief retirement.

 Pack 30-
Rookies: 3/14
Hall of Famers: 1/14

 Not a lot notable from this pack, so here's an awesome shot of Tom Glavine.

 Pack 31-
Overwhelming Amounts of Teal: 2/14
Awesome Closers: 1/14

 John Wetteland won a World Series MVP with the Yankees in '96. Pat Rapp lost 16 games in 1996. Both sides of the coin.

 Yet another amazing card of Ricky Bones, and the Mets' checklist. I can't tell who that is. Bobby Bonilla? Jeff Kent? Rico Brogna?

 Pack 32-
Fun With Shadows: 2/14
Rookies: 3/14

 A very dramatic, low-angle shot of Chris Haney.

More reminders that Raul Mondesi was still a very big deal in 1996, after the Rookie of the Year win and some general awesomeness. Honestly, I think Yasiel Puig's taking after him a bit.
Also, Roberto Kelly was on the Twins. I did not know this.

Pack 33-
Award Winners: 2/14
Insanely Cool Horizontal Shots: 3/14
Hall of Famers: 1/14
Hall of Insanely Awesome: 1/14

A pretty bulky shot of Ron Coomer taking a swing. Dwight Smith is just happy to be on a card, after being a bench player on the '95 Braves team.

And two deserving pitching accolades. Greg Maddux nailed one of his many Cy Young awards, whole no one else but Hideo Nomo was gonna win ROY in 1995. Both are proud presences in my collection.

Pack 34-
Annoying Dupes: 13/14
Cards I need but do not want: 1/14

My only dupe is full-bleed, but it's Rafael Palmeiro. Ugh.

Pack 35-
Gold Parallels: 1/14
Hall of Famers: 1/14
Rookies: 3/14

Julio Borbon is my gold parallel...which is nice, I guess.

Greg Maddux is the checklist for the Braves, because...I mean, come on, who else was it gonna be? I do like the little 'World Series Champs' logo in the corner.

I dunno, if this is the late 90's, I'd say getting a Joe Randa rookie is a pretty decent pull. I think.

Pack 36-
Hall of Famers: 2/14
Really, Really Big Guys with bats: 3/14

Greg McMichael and Luke Thomas, both throwing pretty hard.

Albert Belle's card is a You Crash the Game card, which means we get to play WOULD YOU REALLY CRASH THE GAME?
So, did Albert Belle hit any home runs between August 2nd and the 5th of 1996?
YES! He hit one on August 2nd against Scott Erickson. So, you would INDEED have crashed the game.
Meanwhile, this was one of Roberto Alomar's first cards as an Oriole, and goes back to that awesome 1996 Spring Training photo shoot of him that Upper Deck did. So many great photos came from this.

Pack 37:
Indians: 2/14
Rookies: 3/14

Jim Thome is our SECOND STRAIGHT Indians You Crash the Game. So, let's see if JIM THOME, one of my heroes, actually did crash the game, between September 23rd and 25th of 1996.
No, he didn't. Bit of a weak few days for the Indians in general. Hell, the guy on the right, Albert Belle, had a better few games than the big guy did.

Pack 38
Award Winners: 2/14
Team Heroes that Haven't Aged Well: 2/14

Todd Stottlemyre was still pitching in 1996. How about that. Also, it's great seeing the Cards try to fit his whole name on a Spring Training uniform.

John Valentin was a big deal in Boston in 1995, and this is a pretty damn great, especially as a Night Card.

Okay, I'll say it. Randy Johnson looks so freaking weird here. Like he's trying to be a rapper or something, and it's falling apart at the seams. Marty Cordova's just trying to ignore it.

Pack 39-
Incredibly 90's People: 3/14
Guys I Still Collect: 1/14

Brett Walbeck has a nice catching shot here, while Todd Van Poppel is just a reminder of what can happen when prospectors maaayyybe overestimate a bit.

Jim Edmonds is, well, YET ANOTHER YOU CRASH THE GAME!
So, did HE get any home runs during September 20th-22nd of 1996?
Nope. Again, week series for the Angels, as they were being battered by the playoffs-ready Texas Rangers.
Jeff Conine's card is a really cool Spring Training shot. Palm tree in the background and everything.

Pack 40-
Orioles Heroes: 2/14

The Cal Ripken is another issue from the Cal Ripken collection, and this one is actually pretty cool. Moose, however, is cool all the time.

And our last card of this long, tiring box break is a Sammy Sosa...YOU CRASH THE GAME insert. So, between Sept. 2nd and 4th of 1996, would you actually crash the game?
Nope, none there either. Sorry if this was a disappointing end to the break, but...that's 1996 for ya.

So, that was 1996 Collector's  Choice. Great set, but...to be honest, I'm a bit more interested in 2017 baseball. And, as luck would have it...it starts very, very soon.

Nostalgic Box Break: 1996 Collector's Choice Series Two (Part Three)

And so we soldier on with the 1996 Collector's Choice break. With the added element of 'YOU CRASH THE GAME' inserts, as well as the insane amount of great base card, there's enough to tide us over for another two posts. After that...we're going to explore a very, very dark set. Don't say I didn't warn you.

But for now, on with the next nine packs:

Pack 19-
Steroids: 3/12
Hall of Famers: 1/12
Deceased Pitchers: 2/12

Surhoff had some okay years with Baltimore, mostly backing up Chris Hoiles until he somehow got a starting gig. Ruben Sierra was good for DHing gigs and a killer 1992 Stadium Club card.

The dearly departed...in the same pack. Damn, '96 CC.

Frank Thomas' is a YOU CRASH THE GAME! So...WOULD YOU HAVE CRASHED THE GAME?
Let's see, did the Big Hurt hit one out in between Sept. 2nd and 4th? YES. He had a nice one on the 4th. So...if this were 1996, SEND IT IN!
Also, Jermaine Dye's rookie card was in this set. Huh.

Tim Salmon was the checklist poster boy for the Angels this year. I guess it makes sense.

Pack 20-
Hall of Famers: 1/12
Guys I'll Collect til I die: 1/12
Padres: 2/12

Pensive fielding shots- Darrin Fletcher's is dramatic, while Keith Lockhart's has a bit more 'OHHHH NOOOOOO!' balanced in.

RAAAAAAUUUUUUUULLLLLLL! The Rookie!
Tim Salmon is our latest You Crash the Game. WOULD YOU HAVE CRASHED THE GAME?
Did Salmon hit one out from Sept. 9th-12th? No, he did not. Down series for Salmon evidently.

As an added bonus, an autograph-hunting Frank Thomas is the checklist for the South side.

Pack 21-
Hall of Famers: 2/12
Former Managers: 1/12
AL West: 4/12

Tony Pena's splitting, in preparation for...uh, being the Indians' backup for 1996.
Chris Gomez' swing shot is a pretty damn cool one.

PEDRO MARTINEZ...true to character, he gets a pretty powerful base card. Jason Kendall's RC one is a bit too dull and static for me.

Another checklist shows a nice, full bleed autograph shot of the great, powerful, and LEGENDARY Cal Ripken.

Pack 22-
Hall of Famers: 1/12
Wrong Things to do with Baseball Bats: 2/12

Sid Fernandez somehow on the Phillies? The Loretta is evidence that maybeeee the Brewers' mid-90's uniforms needed a few more tweaks.

Ernie Young just seems jazzed to be here. Shawn Estes' is a pretty nice action shot.

The Cal is one of the set-encompassing CAL RIPKEN COLLECTION, giving a ton of great photos a season after his record-breaking tear. Also, Richard Hidalgo looks like he's here for a golf demonstration.

Because it was 1996, Gary Sheffield was the Marlins' checklist. Here, it looks like he's about to give a Tarantino-esque final blow to someone's face.

Pack 23-
Blah: 12/12

Our only highlights here were a Cecil Fielder checklist and a nicely-done Edgar Renteria rookie.

Pack 24-
People Really Happy to be Sitting Down: 3/12
Rookie Class: 3/12

Ellis Burks was still an offensive threat, even away from Boston. Also, Marvin Benard looks really, really happy for some reason.

Delino DeShields makes a great catch, while Rick Aguilera seems to be yanking off several people's arms at once.

What seems like the thousandth full-bleed checklist in this set, of Juan Gonzalez.

Pack 25-
Rookies That Didn't Age Well: 1/12
Yankee Catchers: 2/12
SUPER COOL HIDEO NOMO INSERTS: 1/12

Steve Finley furiously runs, while a slightly-less furious Antonio Osuna laughs from the sidelines.

Hey, remember when Brooks Kieschnick was supposed to be this huge rookie phenom for the Cubs??

No?

Well, thank God for Kris Bryant, then...

Rich Becker makes a long-lunge to warrant a pretty cool horizontal shot.

The most undeserving one-and-done Hall of Fame balloters- Hideo Nomo, in yet another Scrapbook insert, and a close-to-rookie card of the great Jorge Posada.

The 90's Brewers were so bad that all they could get for a checklist was a smiling, posed Greg Vaughn.

Pack 26-
Rookies: 3/12
Phillies: 2/12

A smiling Jim Eisenreich, and an aggravated , pointing Mike Bordick.

The Phillies' situation was so dire in 1996 that they could only get Mickey Morandini to be their checklist...instead of Curt Schilling, for some reason...

Probably one of the only Arizona League subset cards that's actually worth anything, here's a rookie-ish card of Johnny Damon, which is always a nice get.

Pack 27-
California: 4/12
Rookies: 3/12

A seriously throwing Paul Assenmacher, and a relatively graceful late-career card for Brett Butler.

Plus, here's a fun card of Ismael Valdes waiting for the outcome of the throw.

On one-hand...three-billionth checklist. But still, there's a Billy Wagner Rookie Class card we get to have, so it's not all bad.

The last fourth will be up very soon.