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Ripping FOUR Rip Cards!

A few weeks ago, I offered up a number of 1998 Zenith 5x7 rip cards for trade.  While I did get a couple of bites, most of the cards went unclaimed and unwanted.  Since 5x7 cards are both difficult to store and a pain to ship, I've decided that I ought to simply rip into the remaining cards and see what's inside each one!  

At the moment, I have eight remaining 5x7s, I think I'll rip four of them today...and leave the other four for another day (and possibly trade bait in the meantime)!  Let's see what each of the four cards holds, shall we?

First up:


We'll begin with #Z29:  Jose Guillen.

Inside Guillen, was #24:  Scott Rolen.  


You can see a nice similarity between the design of the regular sized cards as compared to the 5x7 rip cards.  Of course, the regular sized cards are much easier to store so I definitely prefer them (even though the rip card idea is kind of fun).

Next, #Z48.  Jason Giambi

Inside Giambi popped out a #50.  Jose Cruz, Jr.  


Ugh.  So far, not super impressed with the two base cards (I don't trade with a lot of Blue Jay fans) but I do think that I've upgraded players overall going from Guillen/Giambi 5x7s to Rolen/Cruz Jr. regular-sized cards.  It's not much of an upgrade, but I do think I've come out ahead on the first pairing...barely.

Let's see if I can do better with the second pair of cards:



#Z74:  Abraham Nunez

Inside Mr. Nunez was this #16.  Alex Rodriguez.  


Say what you will about A-Rod, there's no doubt that this card is an upgrade over any of the four rip cards that I started with!  I fully expect that there will be some trade interest in this one!

And finally, we have rookie #Z73.  Derrek Lee

Hiding inside Lee was this #70.  Hideo Nomo card.  


Yep, definitely ripping was a good plan overall!  That's a pretty sweet Nomo and with all of the Dodger collectors out there, this one probably won't remain in my collection for too much longer.  

Well, that was fun - and if nothing else now I have some "regular-sized" trade bait!  For the record, here are the remaining 5x7 Zenith cards that I have available (while supplies last since I'll be ripping what remains of this stack soon)!

Z26.  Brady Anderson
Z64.  Roberto Alomar
Z67.  Travis Lee
Z29.  Jose Guillen (Impulse parallel)

As for me personally, I'm still looking for a number of Barry Larkin cards that reside in 1998 Zenith including the following:
  • Epix Emerald
  • Epix Orange
  • Epix Purple
  • Z-Gold
  • Z-Silver
  • Zenith 5x7 Impulse
  • Zenith 5x7 Gold Impulse #/100
It'd be super sweet if one of those remaining rip cards holds a Larkin I need (assuming, of course, that I end up ripping that card and not trading it away)!

Finally, let's end with the carnage:


Yeah, it does feel a bit bad ripping up baseball cards but hey, that's what they were meant for in this case so I guess that makes it okay!

Comments

  1. Rolen is heading towards a Hall of Fame nod, making him a pretty decent upgrade over Guillen. I think Giambi to Cruz was the only real downgrade.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, but Giambi as an A and Cruz as a Blue Jay is basically a wash...almost no one collects either team as it is! I agree though, Cruz was one of those guys so prevalent in cards of that era but he never really became the star that card companies thought he'd be.

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  2. Yep, the second group had the better results. I was wondering if you would really rip them or try to surgically open them.

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    Replies
    1. I straight ripped them! In all actuality, the cards are often "stuck" inside so I've found that ripping the 5x7 to shreds is sometimes the only way. Also, I'd rather ruin the 5x7 to the point of trashing it than risk damaging the inside card (knowing my luck, the one time I damage an inside card it would be a Barry Larkin I need)!

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    2. There's is a risk to damaging the inner card for sure... but I've sliced open a lot of these over the years (mostly hockey) and only damaged one or two (out of hundreds). The key was tapping the card to make sure the card was towards one side (example top) and then slicing towards the bottom. There's definitely a pocket in each card and after a few practice slices you can get an idea where to cut on every card.

      On the other hand... the only point to slicing it would be if you wanted to keep the 5x7... and if storage is a burden, then I'd say tear away. I mean... Pinnacle did dare their collectors to tear these.

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  3. Yes, very nice Nomo. But shame on folks who make people rip up baseball cards.

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  4. Hopefully if you do rip the others, you'll find something other than base cards in at least one of them.

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