It's time for the second half of the Pack Wars for the first round. This time, it's 2000 Topps Stars duking it out against 2000 Stadium Club. These two sets should be fairly evenly matched since both came out in 2000 - Topps Stars has the advantage of a few older stars in the set...but Stadium Club has decidedly more inserts and chase cards. Who will prevail? Let's find out!
Since both sets have six cards per pack, I'll pit two packs of each set against eachother. Topps Stars will be listed first. I'm going to leave off the card number to make the Pack War easier to read...
Pack Wars:
2000 Topps Stars (Packs 4 and 5) vs. 2000 Stadium Club (Packs 3 and 4):
Scott Downs (Cubs) vs. John Valentin (Red Sox)
A bit of a clunker to get us started eh? I don't really like either player or team all that much so I'll give it to Valentin since his photo is (marginally) better. 0-1 Stadium Club out front.
Jeff Bagwell (Astros) vs. Orlando Hernandez (Yankees)
Another pairing of teams I don't care for - though I must say, I like the Astros a lot more than the Yankees so this is an easy choice...not to mention it's yet another Bagwell that I've pulled! Tied at 1 each.
Corey Myers (Diamondbacks) vs. Jeff Bagwell - Bats of Brilliance Die-Cut (Astros)
Remember how I said twice already that I pull a lot of Bagwell cards - well, here's another! This card, however, is the die-cut version of the Bats of Brilliance insert set and is seeded 1:60 packs! It's a great pull for the Astros and makes my choice simple for the pack winner. 1-2 Stadium Club back in front.
Barry Bonds (Giants) vs. Craig Biggio (Astros)
Ok, I'm sick of pulling Astros. It's almost enough for me to give the win to Bonds...almost, but not quite. 1-3 Stadium Club pulling ahead now!
Greg Vaugn (Rays) vs. Scott Rolen (Phillies)
An ex-Red versus a current Red. Rolen helped the Reds reach the postseason, Vaughn didn't help with much at all during his stint. Stadium Club wins again, 1-4.
Raul Mondesi (Blue Jays) vs. Dave Nilsson (Brewers)
The Nilsson card features a nice play at the plate - good enough for me. 1-5 Stadium Club in a romp!
Kip Wells (White Sox) vs. Jose Canseco (Rays)
According to the back of Wells' card, he gets five stars for Savvy. If there is one thing we know for sure, it's that Canseco is no where near five stars for Savvy. Advantage Topps Stars. 2-5.
Carl Yastrzemski (Red Sox) vs. Sammy Sosa (Cubs)
This is a microcosm of the relationship many baseball fans have with the players of different eras. Yaz is mostly beloved while Sosa is mostly scorned... That continues here: 3-5 Stadium Club still ahead but Topps Stars has mounted a valent comeback attempt.
Brian Jordan (Braves) vs. Sammy Sosa - Onyx Extreme - Die-Cut (Cubs)
Hah, Sosa showed me! He comes back swinging (a corked bat perhaps) with a die-cut insert card. Even I can't deny that nabbing another die-cut (with odds of 1:60 again) is a sweet deal! This has been a great box of Stadium Club so far! 3-6 Stadium Club.
J.D. Drew (Cardinals) vs. Tim Hudson (Athletics)
I'd be hard pressed to give a victory to the Cardinals. Hudson wins since he isn't pictured as a member of the St. Louis squad. 3-7 Stadium Club clinches the overall victory! That said, tie-breakers will be determined by total win count so every win still matters!
Warren Morris (Pirates) vs. Brad Ausmus (Tigers)
Initially, I was going to give the win to Morris but the "Bottom Line" on Ausmus' card uses the word exquisitely. That's too awesome to ignore. Stadium Club wins once again: 3-8 now in a romp.
Gibson (Cardinals), Martinez (Red Sox), and Ankiel (Cardinals) - Topps Stars Progression vs. Reggie Sanders (Padres)
I like Reggie Sanders quite a bit, but he doesn't have any chance against a card featuring Gibson, Pedro, and a not-yet-wild Ankiel. The Progression cards are seeded 1:13 packs. 4-8 final score, Stadium Club in a romp! I will random the insert off at the end of the group break - either the Cardinals or Red Sox pile will get it (2 out of 3 chance it ends up in the Cardinals pile based on the players represented).
Since both sets have six cards per pack, I'll pit two packs of each set against eachother. Topps Stars will be listed first. I'm going to leave off the card number to make the Pack War easier to read...
Pack Wars:
2000 Topps Stars (Packs 4 and 5) vs. 2000 Stadium Club (Packs 3 and 4):
Scott Downs (Cubs) vs. John Valentin (Red Sox)
A bit of a clunker to get us started eh? I don't really like either player or team all that much so I'll give it to Valentin since his photo is (marginally) better. 0-1 Stadium Club out front.
Jeff Bagwell (Astros) vs. Orlando Hernandez (Yankees)
Another pairing of teams I don't care for - though I must say, I like the Astros a lot more than the Yankees so this is an easy choice...not to mention it's yet another Bagwell that I've pulled! Tied at 1 each.
Corey Myers (Diamondbacks) vs. Jeff Bagwell - Bats of Brilliance Die-Cut (Astros)
Remember how I said twice already that I pull a lot of Bagwell cards - well, here's another! This card, however, is the die-cut version of the Bats of Brilliance insert set and is seeded 1:60 packs! It's a great pull for the Astros and makes my choice simple for the pack winner. 1-2 Stadium Club back in front.
Barry Bonds (Giants) vs. Craig Biggio (Astros)
Ok, I'm sick of pulling Astros. It's almost enough for me to give the win to Bonds...almost, but not quite. 1-3 Stadium Club pulling ahead now!
Greg Vaugn (Rays) vs. Scott Rolen (Phillies)
An ex-Red versus a current Red. Rolen helped the Reds reach the postseason, Vaughn didn't help with much at all during his stint. Stadium Club wins again, 1-4.
Raul Mondesi (Blue Jays) vs. Dave Nilsson (Brewers)
The Nilsson card features a nice play at the plate - good enough for me. 1-5 Stadium Club in a romp!
Kip Wells (White Sox) vs. Jose Canseco (Rays)
According to the back of Wells' card, he gets five stars for Savvy. If there is one thing we know for sure, it's that Canseco is no where near five stars for Savvy. Advantage Topps Stars. 2-5.
Carl Yastrzemski (Red Sox) vs. Sammy Sosa (Cubs)
This is a microcosm of the relationship many baseball fans have with the players of different eras. Yaz is mostly beloved while Sosa is mostly scorned... That continues here: 3-5 Stadium Club still ahead but Topps Stars has mounted a valent comeback attempt.
Brian Jordan (Braves) vs. Sammy Sosa - Onyx Extreme - Die-Cut (Cubs)
Hah, Sosa showed me! He comes back swinging (a corked bat perhaps) with a die-cut insert card. Even I can't deny that nabbing another die-cut (with odds of 1:60 again) is a sweet deal! This has been a great box of Stadium Club so far! 3-6 Stadium Club.
J.D. Drew (Cardinals) vs. Tim Hudson (Athletics)
I'd be hard pressed to give a victory to the Cardinals. Hudson wins since he isn't pictured as a member of the St. Louis squad. 3-7 Stadium Club clinches the overall victory! That said, tie-breakers will be determined by total win count so every win still matters!
Warren Morris (Pirates) vs. Brad Ausmus (Tigers)
Initially, I was going to give the win to Morris but the "Bottom Line" on Ausmus' card uses the word exquisitely. That's too awesome to ignore. Stadium Club wins once again: 3-8 now in a romp.
Gibson (Cardinals), Martinez (Red Sox), and Ankiel (Cardinals) - Topps Stars Progression vs. Reggie Sanders (Padres)
I like Reggie Sanders quite a bit, but he doesn't have any chance against a card featuring Gibson, Pedro, and a not-yet-wild Ankiel. The Progression cards are seeded 1:13 packs. 4-8 final score, Stadium Club in a romp! I will random the insert off at the end of the group break - either the Cardinals or Red Sox pile will get it (2 out of 3 chance it ends up in the Cardinals pile based on the players represented).
Final tally:
Pinnacle 4
Topps HD 4
Overall Records:
Stadium Club: 1 - 0 - 0
Pinnacle: 0 - 0 - 1
HD: 0 - 0 - 1
Topps Stars: 0 - 1 - 0
Win/Loss/tie (for tie breaker)
Pinnacle: 4/4/0
HD: 4/4/0
Stadium Club: 8/4/0
Topps Stars: 4/8/0
These are some fun breaks. I am enjoying watching them.
ReplyDeleteThat die cut is insane.