If you happen to stop by my Indians blog, you will notice that I am playing "Scratch-off Mania" like Thorzul did a while back. Well, I am so hooked on the scratch-offs and having "interactive" games, I decided to snag an eBay auction for some 1993 Triple Play packs in an unopened box.

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Every pack comes with 12 cards plus 1 ruboff game card. In this pack, we find Junior kissing a ball goodbye for the Mariners. At least, I think that's Junior. If not, feel free to correct me. He's come a long way since this home run...

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The cards themselves have black borders on the front with the "Triple Play" logo in one corner (usually the lower-left). The player's last name is in silver (not foil) all-caps lettering across the top of the card. The player's full name (in all-caps) appears in red at the bottom of the card (again usually in lower left) with the position in white lettering next to the full name. The team logo appears in the lower right corner. I like the layout because the photos take up a LOT of card real estate! I'm old school, I like big pictures. It's the reason I "read" all those girlie magazines as a teen... I digress... The backs of the cards are black with a 2nd player photo on the left side. The right side of the card has the card number, the player's jersey number in silver with his name in red lettering across it. Biographical info is below the number/name in yellow. there is a bit of trivia on each card in white that takes up the bulk of the center-right of the card back, then some stats in a gradient filled orange-to-yellow table at the bottom.

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First up in the pack is Gary Sheffield (Padres) - "Gary's run at the triple crown earned him a lot of attention in 1992. Who was the last NL player to win the Triple Crown, leading the league in homers, RBI and batting average?" (answer below)

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Next up, we have Awesome Action - "Pitchers try to thwart the top base stealers by stepping off the pitching rubber and throwing to first base, hopefully catching the runner too far off the bag."

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After that, we have Cal Eldred (Brewers) - "Don't cheat yourself and always work hard to be successful." -himself

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Todd Zeile (Cardinals) - "Todd met his wife, Olympic gold-medal winning gymnast Julianne McNamara, in a folk literature class when they were both students at UCLA."

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Brett Boone (Mariners) - "Bret is the grandson of former major leaguer Ray Boone and the son of longtime catcher Bob Boone, making them the first family in history to have major leaguers from three generations."

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Curt Schilling (Phillies) - "Tough times don't last, tough people (who rat out their peers) do." --himself, modified slightly...

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Jeff Montgomery (Royals) - "Who was the last National League pitcher to win the MVP award?" (Dang, this guy didn't get his own quote or family history or anything on his card....) (answer below)

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Al Martin (Pirates) - "Al attended USC on a football scholarship before he was drafted and signed by the Braves in 1985..."

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Vince Coleman (Mets) - "I believe in the three d's: determination, dedication and desire." -himself

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Edgar Martinez (Mariners) - "Edgar won the AL batting crown in 1992, becoming the first Mariner ever to win the award. Third basemen have won nine of the last 13 batting titles in the AL, including five by Wade Boggs and two by George Brett."

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Frank Thomas (White Sox) - "Pick positive role models to follow, like those who say no to drugs." -himself

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President Clinton (Astros hat) - "This lefty made a pitch for the White House and became our 42nd president. He's only the fourth left-handed president in history. Can you name the others?" (answers below)

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Okay, are you ready for the answers to the trivia questions? Well, too bad! Here's how we're playing the game: first person to answer ALL the trivia questions correctly wins a 1957 Topps Bob Hale card and a pack of 1993 Triple Play. Rules are simple: Answer the questions as they would have been answered in 1993. You must be the FIRST responder to correctly answer the NL Triple Crown question, the NL pitcher MVP winner *AND* the three lefty presidents question (according to the answers as provided on the cards). Pretty easy, right? Have fun!

I dropped into the local hobby shop for three packs of Heritage yesterday (coming soon), and just couldn't pass up an impulse buy from the cheapo rack. 25 cents for 15 cards? Count me in! Let's rip my first-ever pack of 1992 Donruss Triple Play. I do have a small stack of these that were passed on from my friend Joe, who had a brief collecting phase around the age of ten. I remember him complaining about all the Jay Bell cards he used to pull. Are there any Jays lurking in this pack? Let's find out!

Triple Play Game scratchoff - Single, Home Run, Triple Play, Triple Play. Sweet! I won three packs of Triple Play. Now to set my time machine for March 1993 and cash this baby in...
149 Carlton Fisk - Starting off with a Hall of Famer is always nice.
123 Royce Clayton - His brother Royal was a Yankee minor leaguer. What an awesome name.
27 Chili Davis
142 Todd Van Poppel - In reference to the huge contract he signed after being drafted #1, I remember reading an article that used the phrase "Todd Van Poppel money". I try to work this into everyday conversation as often as I can.
148 Andy Van Slyke - "Don't ever try to be somebody you're not. The real you is the one people will like." That's an actual quote on the card back. Aww, I didn't know he cared.
154 Bobby Witt
160 Shawon Dunston - That's Shawon, not Shawn. Or Shaun. Or Sean. Or Shawne. Or even Chone.
75 Felix Jose - Holy jheri curl, Batman!
81 Robin Yount - As a kid, I pronounced his name "YOONT". Ah, the innocence of youth.
87 Fred McGriff - An action shot, with Crime Dog catching a pickoff throw as Milt Thompson lunges back to the bag.
93 Jeff Johnson
87 Fred McGriff - Aww, dip!
121 Awesome Action! - White Sox first baseman Matt Merullo catches a pickoff throw, nabbing a Toronto runner leaning too far.
115 George Brett - Third Hall of Famer in the pack. This would've been a fine showing in a Pack War.
109 Reggie Sanders - This is when he was a rookie with the Reds, the first of his fifty-four teams.

I can honestly say that I got my quarter's worth from this pack. And no Jay Bell!

Let's play America’s favorite pack opening game, Sox Or No Sox.

The following pack was donated by John from the UK.

The rules are simple. We take one unopened pack of baseball cards that was randomly selected by yours truly. We then go through the pack card by card looking for those hard to find White Sox cards.

Our player in tonight's game is a 1993 Donruss Triple Play pack. The pack contains 12 cards and features a fiery baseball shooting through outer space. Let's begin.

#1: Awesome Action – 12 – Angels/OriolesDavid Segui and Luis Polonia.
Now I know I’m in 1993!

#2: Cal Eldred – 18 - Brewers
A future White Sox with a screw in his elbow.

#3: Todd Zeile – 24 - Cardinals
I pulled for Zeile when he was with the Cards. By the time he made the Cubs, it was all over.

#4: Steve Avery – 30 – Braves
I loved Avery when I was a kid. He made me feel like anyone could play, since he looked younger than I was.

#5: Bryan Harvey – 225 – Marlins
Well that breaks the every sixth card sequencing.

#6: Chuck Knoblauch – 48 – Twins
Take it on the run, baby. If that’s the way you want it baby. Then I don’t want you around. I don’t believe it. Not for a minute. You’re under the gun, so you take it on the run.

Not that much to the pack. No trap cards. No White Sox cards. A weird sixth card sequencing. I guess Chuck was hiding from the feds inside this pack. 6 cards left to go. Let’s see if we can get a White Sox card!

#7: Steve Hosey – 54 - Giants
The sixth card sequencing is back!

#8: Ruben Sierra – 60 - Athletics
Yes, the sixth card sequencing is definitely back.

#9: Chris Sabo – 184 - Reds
There is no mistaking Chris Sabo!

#10: Luis Polonia – 190 – Angels
Two Polonias in a pack? Plus, a variation on the sixth card sequencing. I always knew Luis was trouble. He was the thorn, und his mudder’s side.

#11: Awesome Action – 196 – Dodgers/Phillies?
It’s definitely Mike Scioscia, but I have no idea who the runner is. Mike blocks the plate as well as the runner’s identification.

#12: Rob Deer – 137 – Tigers
Why did I think Rob Deer was a superstar? Maybe it was the 32 homers in 1992. It certainly couldn’t have been because of his average.

OK, our pack opening is complete. Very interesting pack. No trap cards and no White Sox cards. It also came with a scratch off card game featuring the Phillies Vs. the Mets (2 of 30). I’m not going to play it. I pulled out the victory in Thorzul’s game, so I’m quitting while I’m ahead. This pack was a nice flashback to my youth.

So, that’s ½ point for each card in the pack.

Final score: 6 points

No White Sox cards in this game, but there's always next time on Sox Or No Sox.

First off, I must admit that I'm a little miffed about not being given the heads up that this was indeed Profanity-Laced Tirade Week. Here's my favorite. Lee Elia is awesome. (The video header is a bit misleading. This wasn't during a press conference. There was actually a reporter in the locker room secretly taping this, so Elia was probably operating under the belief that everything was off the record.)

Anyways, here's a fun pack of cards to rip. (Don't rip the players!)

Let's tear in. (...and PRINT IT!)

Top to Bottom:
26 Action Baseball Game: Twins vs. Angels (Reminds me of a child's Valentine's Day card.)

204 Steve Olin
263 Roger McDowell: Fun at the Ballpark (Nice.)

257 Charlie Hayes
251 Sandy Alomar, Jr.
106 Rick Sutcliffe (Patriotic. Proud. Happy to no longer be a Cub.)

100 Craig Biggio

94 Albert Belle
82 Kirk McCaskill
105 Dave Nied (Ooooh, you just got your s*** traded [expanded] from the Braves to the Rockies. Hope you have a good 15 years in that arm, 'cause that's how long it'll take to get back to the playoffs.)

111 Dean Palmer
92 Mickey Tettleton
98 Juan Bell

Grade: B
Biggio has turned into one of those guys who makes you somewhat happy anytime you get one of his cards. His presence in any pack raises it half a grade.
The McDowell is obviously the highlight of the pack. The back is even more bizarre. Just what exactly is he trying to show us? Bullfrog cheeks?
Dangly earrings?
Goiters?
Mumps?


Quote of the day:
"...a whole shoebox full of 'em...dangly ones."

Name the movie. If you know this one, you are awesome.