Group Break Pack Wars: Revenge Times Three!

Seeing how there are only five packs left before I get to the last ten packs in each box - it's the perfect time to do one last pack wars!  Once again, 1997 Collector's Choice (Packs 25 and 26) will be pitted against 1999 Pacific (Packs 24, 25, and 26) with the same rules as before.  At this point, Pacific has won two of the three Pack Wars - and the overall total is Collector's Choice:  34  -  Pacific:  38 -  Ties:  11.

If Collector's Choice can pull off a large win, they will be named Pack Wars Champion - otherwise Pacific will complete the surprise domination!  Who will end up victorious?  Only one way to find out.

As always, the Collector's Choice is the first card listed, Pacific is second.

Jason Schmidt - Pirates vs. Pedor Martinez - Red Sox
I never was a fan of Pedro - but at least he spent most of his time not pitching against my Reds...point Pacific.  0-1-0.

Cecil Fielder - Yankees vs. Pat Mears - Twins

The Pacific set hasn't exactly produced a lot of great photos - so when I see a picture that catches my eye, I have to make sure to reward it.  Pacific wins.  0-2-0.

Steve Cooke - Pirates vs. Dave Martinez - Rays

Once again, Pacific earns a victory based on the photo.  Cards of players bunting are generally more exciting than the generic pitching shot.  0-3-0, Pacific seems intent to dominate the final Pack War and leave no doubt as to which set is superior.

Mo Vaugn - Red Sox vs. Bobby Jones - Mets
Finally, Collectors' Choice trots out a Ken Griffey Jr's Hot List star and trounces Pacific to get on the board.  1-3-0.

Ramon Martinez - Dodgers vs. Otis Nixon - Twins
The full bleed photo of Ramon is nicer than the Nixon shot, 2-3-0, Pacific's lead narrowing.

Alex Gonzalez - Blue Jays vs. Curtis Goodwin - Rockies
The Gonzales card shows Alex tagging out a Pirate - that must be either a spring training shot or an interleague shot - and either way that's better than the Goodwin card.  All tied up!  3-3-0.

Gary DiSarcina - Angels vs. Jeff Abbott - White Sox
A pair of boring cards - no good way to break the tie, so let's keep it a tie.  3-3-1.

Brooks Kieschnick - Cubs vs. Troy O'Leary - Red Sox
Gotta give it to Brooks making his 1996 Rookie Debut - he didn't last all that long in the majors, so this is a minor victory for him!  4-3-1.

Joe Randa - Pirates vs. Dave Burba - Indians
A pair of guys who also played for the Reds, my recollections of Randa are much more positive than my memories of Burba.  Point Collector's Choice:  5-3-1.

Mark Clark - Mets vs. Javy Lopez - Braves
Gotta go with Lopez here, easy choice.  5-4-1.

Carlos Garcia - Blue Jays vs. Andruw Jones - Braves
Back-to-back Braves wins, too bad they couldn't do that in the NLDS this year for Bobby Cox.  5-5-1.

Steve Karsay - Athletics vs. Kevin Millwood - Braves
Sheesh, another Brave, another win.  That's three wins for the Braves in Pack Wars - one more than the NLDS this year...  5-6-1.

Julio Santana - Rangers vs. Wilson Alvarez - Rays
Who and who?  Tie, that's who.  5-6-2.

Chuck Knoblach - All-Star Connection - Twins vs. Hideo Nomo - Mets and Bob Tewksbury - Twins
Knoblach turned out to be crazy bad at making throws (or was it just crazy?)...that said, his card is still more interesting than the Nomo/Tewksbury combination.  6-6-2.

Mark Johnson - Pirates vs. Darryl Kile - Rockies
Gotta give it to the Pirate, 7-6-2.  Can Collector's Choice go on a bit of run here in the last few cards to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat or will the end up sinking under the pressure?

Dante Bichette - Crash the Game insert - Rockies vs. Kevin Young - Pirates

The Bichette card wins - and extra points for being a card I didn't previously own...  I've got a whole bunch of the Crash the Game cards but the Bichette was new.  It almost lost though simply for the goofy expression on Dante's face.  8-6-2.

Emil Brown - Pirates vs. Jose Guillen - Pirates
It's a Pirate conspiracy, one of them has to win!  I guess I'll give it Emil, mostly because Guillen's antics really turned me off to him.  9-6-2.

Lee Smith - Expos vs. Armando Rios - Giants
I got Smith to sign one of my Reds hats when I was a kid (back when he pitched for the Reds briefly).  For that reason alone, Smith wins to continue Collector's Choice's dominance.  10-6-2.

Manny Ramirez - Indians vs. Armando Rios - Giants

Welcome back Rios, you still lose.  Manny wins:  11-6-2.

Shane Mack - Red Sox vs. Greg Maddux - Braves
Another Brave in the Pacific packs, and another good one.  Maddux ends the Upper Deck run of dominance.  11-7-2.

James Baldwin - White Sox vs. Quilvio Veras - Padres
Uhm, I don't know much about either player...and I'm too lazy to look them up.  Call it a draw.  11-7-3.

Jeff Fassero - Mariners vs. Wilton Guerrero - Expos
Wilton's the wrong Guerrero - Fassero wins.  12-7-3.

Bill Swift - Rockies vs. Gary Sheffield - Dodgers
I might not like Sheffield, but he still wins this one easily.  12-8-3.

Jason Isringhausen - Mets vs. Fernando Vina - Brewers
Izzy for the win, 13-8-3.

Shawn Green - Blue Jays vs. Ken Hill - Angels
Green wins this one easily to extend Collector's Choice's lead.  14-8-3.

Tony Batista - Athletics vs. Dennis Eckersley - Red Sox
Gotta give this one to the Eck himself.  14-9-3.

Juan Guzman - Blue Jays vs. Cliff Floyd - Marlins
Both players were solid, but I think Floyd had a slightly better career...Floyd wins.  14-10-3.

Jim Thome - All-Star Connection - Indians vs. Ellis Burks - Giants
Easy win for Thome, and a convincing win for Collector's Chocie:  15-10-3.

Final standings:
Pack Wars tied at two victories each.

Individual pack scores:
Collector's Choice:  49
Pacific:  48
Tie:  14

Wow, in the end Collector's Choice did just enough to be named the champion...even if neither pack managed to produce a single Cincinnati Red that time!  And now, stay tuned for the final 50 packs of the group break!