Things That A.J. Hinch Might Have Forgotten

Here in Oakland, 1998, A.J. Hinch has forgotten something so important that he's slapped himself upside the head. Now, eighteen years later, and thanks to this issue from 1999 Fleer Ultra, we must ask aloud...what exactly did he forget?

• His catcher's mask
• His cleats
• It's actually an away game, and he's showed up at home...on the day of a Raider game.
• He's actually forgotten his pants and underwear, but luckily the name logo of the card is covering his privates.
• His Chumbawumba CD (1998, remember?)
• He was supposed to give Jason Giambi a lower back massage at 4
• He forgot to wipe the superglue off of his helmet
• He's actually wearing a Jets jersey instead of an A's one.
• He's forgotten to pinch Jake Marisnick in Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS
• To call his mom before the game.
• Whatever Mark Loretta was pointing at.
• To raid Miguel Tejada's sock drawer
• That he's on a last place A's team
• Fritos

Any suggestions as to what A.J. might have been forgetting? Hopefully they're slightly funnier than mine.

Nostalgic Box Break: 1999 Ultra (Part Three)

Two thirds gone. One third left. This box has been really fun so far, as it's always pretty nice to see a product in peak form, and the very late 90's were the peak years of Ultra. Last eight packs coming up.

 Pack 17- Man, those futuristic rookie card designs sure do stand out...

 AJ Hinch's reaction when he realized he had to manage the Diamondbacks a few years ago.
(Thankfully he's in a much better place right now.)

 Matt Williams, already mowing 'em down in Arizona, and Bobby Abreu, in one of his first few seasons as a Phillie.

 Carlos Baerga, who never really did anything out of an Indians uniform, looks stoic as a Met. And Jeff Bagwell hits another one out.

 Pack 18- Lots of very odd positions here.

 Edgar Martinez, world's greatest DH, squats in the batter's box, because...well, he's Edgar. He's allowed.

 Before Rafael Palmeiro took steroids, this card was not gold.

 Shawn Green, immediately before his trade to LA that would make him a hard-hitting superstar, and a The Book On insert of Chipper Jones.

 Maybe it's me, but Jay Powell's glove looks huge here.

 Pack 19- MULTIPLE FUTURISTIC SURFBOARDS!

 Both ends of the age spectrum. Alex Rodriguez, already ruling the league in his early 20's, and Rickey Henderson, still stealing bases at age 40.

 Two of the greatest third basemen of all time? And they both played in the same decade? Man, gotta love baseball.

 Two reminders of the 1997 ALCS. Man, the Yankees were close that year, but the Indians were a better squad. They should have won a World Series that decade.

 Pack 20- The horizontals take over!

 A bit blurry, but two hitting 90's stars, Bernie Williams and Todd Helton. I think Helton has a better HOF case than Bernie though.

 People tend to forget how powerful Mike Mussina was as an Oriole. This card cements it. He just looks beastly warming up.

 Pack 21- Some team heroes in this one.

 Two extremely 1998 figures. The Book on insert of Juan Gonzalez, still a Texas standout, and a futuristic surfboard of Kerry Wood, who had an OUTSTANDING rookie season in 1998.

 Derek Jeter, my once and future favorite player of all time. Robin Ventura's sliding next to him, and they'd combine their efforts for a World Series attempt in 2003.

 Of course, here's the closest thing they have to a modern diety on the South Side, Frank Thomas.

 Pack 22- Winding down but still some cards pop.

 I bet you forgot both of these guys played for these teams. Either way, Dean Palmer seems pretty happy about it.

 Trevor Hoffman's rushing to work, equipment in hand. Meanwhile, here's one of the few good rookies in the set with Eric Chavez.

 Freddy Garcia auditions for Cliffhanger 2.

 Pack 23- Another nice insert here, as well as some more cool shots. It still looks new and the box is nearly over.

 Rico Brogna reaching for a helmet. Such a cool shot.

 Raul Mondesi, right before being traded to Toronto and essentially whittling down the rest of his career. Also, Kerry Wood nabs a Season Crowns insert.

 This guy was intimidating even as he bled in front of you. Remind me why he's not a Hall of Famer yet?

 Pack 24- The last hurrah. We do get one last rare insert here though.

 ...you know.

 Two hard-hitting Hall of Famers. Gwynn's is a really cool Gold Medallion. Frank's is the box's last futuristic surfboard.

Our big insert is a World Premiere one of Richard Hidalgo, who was just starting out in Houston in '98. Not the greatest subject, but still a very cool design, and it's incredibly shiny.

So that was 1999 Ultra. Wasn't that fun?

I might get back to some actual posting, and hopefully I'll nab some 2016 Topps soon.

Nostalgic Box Break: 1999 Ultra (Part Two)

Well, as it's the season, I haven't been as consistent as I would have liked on the blog, as there's not a ton to blog about other than the last few remaining free agents nabbing teams and such. At least I have these old boxes to post the results of. Today, we nab Part 2 of 3 of the box of Fleer Ultra 1999. Lots of fun, cool photography in this set, so we'll get back into the next 8 packs.

 Pack 9- Already you can see UD's poster boy, though surprisingly not Fleer's this year, from the rafters.

 Two great horizontals. Kevin Brown's is cropped a bit wide for me, like the photo's been chopped in half. Boggs' is wonderful, as are most of his cards as a Tampa Bay Devil Ray.

 Of course, Greg Maddux is our highlight, for being ultra-cool and awesome. And for the photo being the exact right moment in the windup.

 Three more huge 1999 stars. Craig Biggio ready to field, Sammy Sosa waiting for the call, and Ken Griffey Jr. at BP, carrying his checklist-surfboard

 Pack 10- Lots of very 90's people here.

 Juan-Gone and Grace were rounding out their tenures with their most notable teams. Gary Sheffield was juuust getting used to life in LA.

 Jamie Moyer was hitting 40, and also just becoming one of the best players in Seattle with his amazing age-defying pitching stuff. Johnny Damon was still mowing 'em down as a Royal.

 Pack 11- Very Met-heavy, this one.

 Charles Johnson landed in LA as one of the guys touted to replace Mike Piazza behind the plate. He didn't last long.

 One of my favorite photos in the set. Just Butch Huskey toweling off, looking really pissed.

 Double-Piazza Action. This was his first full season in Queens, and he quickly became one of the biggest stars in New York, and the case for his Cooperstown membership grew.

 Two great hitters who will probably never make the Hall of Fame. Giambi had some strong seasons in Oakland, and El Grande Gato hit well wherever he played.

 Pack 12- Lots of little oddities in this one, guys in unfamiliar uniforms.

 RANDY JOHNSON AS AN ASTRO. Not something you see everyday.
Meanwhile, Cal Ripken was still a standout in Baltimore in 1999.

 Hideo Nomo only played for the Mets briefly, but he's Hideo Nomo. He's pretty awesome. This Gold Medallion shot makes him look even awesomer.

 Pack 13- More than halfway through, and the box still has a lot of charm left.

 Remember Quinton McCracken? Wow.

 Robby Alomar's a landmark 2nd-baseman, and because of that I'll let it slide that he should have been pictured as a Cleveland Indian this card. Thankfully Jim Edmonds had one more year of being an Angel left before turning to the dark side.

 Pack 14- Lots going on here. Man, Fleer could really make a good product back in the day.

 Man, Ray Durham looks really excited.

 Not too many cards exist of Kenny Rogers as an Oakland A, but I love this one. He's wielding a bat and having fun, backwards-cap and all. Just so much character.

 Here's our Gold Medallion of Miggy Tejada, as well as a cool reminder of how nice the 90's Angels uniforms were.

 Of course I'm showing Orel. He's one of those guys I just started collecting out of admiration. Plus, he's a Giant here. Very rare sight.

 Pack 15- Ton of fun stars in this one.

 First, here's some cool shots of pitchers. Darryl Kile, focused as hell, and Bartolo Colon taking a breather. How the heck is Barty still playing 17 years after this card?

 Two Borderline HOFers. Vizzy has more of a chance though, as he's one of the best defensive players of the 90's. Larry of course also has a case as a hitting machine.

 Olerud's a sentimental favorite. He's not a Hall of Famer, but he's a fun little 90's player who played on some great teams ('93 Jays, '00 Mets, '01 Mariners, etc)

 And of course, here's Fred McGriff. Because it wouldn't be Mint Condition without him.

 Pack 16- Some great photography and a pretty rare insert.

 I love this card. The hell is Dustin Hermanson laughing at??

 Also, here's John Wettleland having a serious conversation with I-Rod.

 Our SUPER-AWESOME INSERT is a Thunderclap insert of NOMAR Garciaparra. When I said he was all over card products in 1999, I was not kicking.

 Here's the UD poster boy, Ken Griffey Jr, making another outstanding catch in center.

And here's the big rookie from 1998, Magglio Ordonez, looking cool.

I'll post Part 3 sometime before Friday, because Friday I'll be going out of town. For something pretty big that has to do with something pretty obvious going on next weekend.