With spring training now just days away and not weeks away (most camps open by Feb. 14), it's a great time to look at some of the young ballplayers in the minor leagues by busting a box of:
2008 Playoff Contenders Baseball (Feb. 4 release)- 5 cards/pack
- 24 packs/box ($115)
The draw in this box is to get cards of "rookies" in one of their first years in the minors. The autographs are the big draw, as you never know who will be the next David Price or Cole Hamels in the years ahead.
There are also parallels and limited inserts such as Roll Call, Round Numbers and Draft Class. There's also a Legendary Rookies insert made up of five players.
Here is what we pulled:
Rookie Ticket Autos (5, the box average):
Robbie Grossman (Pittsburgh)
Brad Mills (Toronto)
Brad Hand (Florida)
Ike Davis (Mets)
Angel Morales (Minnesota)
Playoff Tickets (all numbered to 199)Byron Wiley
Jared Bolden
Brandon Crawford
Roll CallIsaac Galloway (numbered to 1,500)
Round NumbersBuster Posey and Gordon Beckham (numbered to 1,500)
Draft ClassJon Jay and Lance Lynn (numbered to 1,500)
Legendary RookiesCal Ripken Jr. (numbered to 1,500)
All in all, not too bad - considering we'll have to see how these players progress.
Monday, February 02, 2009 9:15:57 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)