Card of the Day: Tomas Hertl 2011-12 OFS Plus Rookie Auto

Card of the Day: Billy Hamilton 2009 TRISTAR Prospects + Auto

Flashback Product of the Week: 1997 ScoreBoard All Sport PPF Plus

You can’t talk about the 90’s without bringing up the now defunct sports card manufacturer ScoreBoard.  I think many of us remember waking up early on a Saturday morning, turning on the Shop At Home channel and seeing Don West and Kenny pitching some kind of sports related product.

Like a lot of products made at the time, All Sport PPF Plus was extremely overproduced.  Each (36) pack box guarantees (2) vintage cards, plus you can look for redemption cards that are for autographed memorabilia.  I wouldn’t trust the authenticity of any of the memorabilia that came from ScoreBoard.  Their COAs are way too easy to fake, plus when someone is throwing around that amount of “high-end” memorabilia it really makes you wonder.

ScoreBoard is one of the worst card companies of all time.  It wouldn’t surprise me if most of their memorabilia is fake.  Their cards are barely worth a thing in today’s market.  That’s why watching their infomercials are so much fun.  Enjoy!!!

Card of the Day: Dustin Ackley ’09 Prospects + Auto

2009 TRISTAR Prospects + Blaster Break & Review

TRISTAR sent over an early Thanksgiving present yesterday and supplied me with a blaster of their new 2009 Prospects + product.  You can find these at many retail outlets such as Wal-Mart and Target.  For full hobby boxes be sure to check your local card shop or favorite online dealer.

Design:

TRISTAR has really improved the design of this year’s Prospects +.  Last year’s base cards seemed a little over done with the chrome like finish and what looked from a distance like a die cut design.  ’09 Prospects + returns to a simpler design that contains color in the background versus just plain white which has been done before.

Price:

You should be able to find these blasters for between $10.00 and $20.00 at places like Wal-Mart and Target.  That seems about right for the average blaster box.

Hit Quality:

You can’t expect to get a ton of hits, if any, from a blaster box.  Have blasters been known to yield big hits in the past?  Sure.  Is it possible to pull autographs and relics from blasters?  Absolutely.  But it is much harder than your standard hobby box, especially a decent hit.  Hobby boxes of ’09 Prospects + yield 9 hits on average.  Blasters on the other hand don’t guarantee anything.  You get one pack with 20 cards.  I didn’t pull any autographs or relics but thats what you expect from a blaster.  I like the Stephen Strasburg Crystal Ballers which are retail exclusive and can be found in 5 different color variations.  I pulled the green version from my blaster.  For some reason they remind me of an insert that could have been pulled from the 90’s.  They also have that sketch card look to them.  Be sure to look for Obak update cards within this product too.  Obak was probably my favorite retro product this year.

Overall:

Overall, I give this product 3 baseballs out of 5 (1=poor & 5=perfect).  Prospects + will always be a great contender against other prospect based products like Bowman.  If your looking for guaranteed hits, I would suggest spending the extra money for a hobby box.  These blasters are great for that prospect collector who is looking for that quick fix.

2009 TRISTAR Prospects Plus Preview

Due to be released on 11/27/09, TRISTAR returns with its popular Prospects Plus product.  Each hobby boxes yields 11 hits: (4) autographs, (2) parallels, (2) Crystal Ballers, (2) Short Prints, and (1) Obak Update.  You can also purchase “hot” boxes that contain 26 hits.  From what I’ve seen so far, TRISTAR really has updated the design of these cards.  Collectors have the chance of pulling 1/1 cut signatures of legends such as Johnny Bench and Reggie Jackson.  You can even find cut autographs of some of the high draft picks too.  I’m not sure if the cut signatures will look like their Signa Cuts product or not.

Card of the Day: Buster Posey 2008 TRISTAR Prospects Plus Auto

Card of the Day: Tim Beckham 08 TRISTAR Prospects Plus Die-Cut

2008 Tristar Prospects Plus Blaster Review

On Thursday I received my first package from Tristar.  Inside was a blaster box of 2008 Tristar Prospects Plus.  There are 5 packs per box with 6 cards per pack.  Lets review it!

Key:
1 Baseball = Poor

5 Baseballs = Perfect

 

Design: 

The borders have a chrome or foil finish which makes them visually appealing.  The border design looks as if every card is die-cut, but when you move in closer you’ll find thats not the case.  There are a variety of die-cut parallels in this product, but I don’t think the base cards should have a design that resembles the parallels.  I do like how each team’s color is worked into the borders.

Price: 

A blaster box of 2008 Tristar Prospects Plus can be picked up for $19.99.  If you’re looking to make your money back its not likely going to happen.  You could get lucky and pull an autograph of Tim Beckham or Buster Posey, but there will be a bunch of lesser known players collectors are going to pull.  The hit I pulled has an eBay value of about $1.00.

Hit Quality:  

Every blaster box guarantees 1 autograph.  I got the stated average and pulled an autograph of Edwin Quirarte who is a RHP for the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes.  Last year he went 3-3 with a 2.12 ERA.  The autograph is on a sticker, but I am glad to see that Tristar used a white background which really makes the signature standout.  The Farm Hands set seems to be popular with collectors.

Overall: 

I give my blaster box 2.5 baseballs out of 5.  I got the stated average, but there wasn’t a big hit.  If you pick up a box at Wal-Mart or Target, you’ll probably get the same results.  If you enjoy collecting prospects, you should have a blast opening one of these boxes.

___________________________________________________________

On Wednesday Tristar sent me an e-mail saying that they will be sending a box of 2009 Tristar PROjections Series 1 for me to review.  For more Sports Card Info videos click here.