andrewcstein
02-14-2009, 09:59 AM
I'd like to first thank our sponsor, Donruss, for providing us with this box to review.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/andrewcstein/Contenders/PlayoffBox.jpg
2008 Playoff Contenders Baseball
Release Date: Feb 04, 2009
Pack SRP: $6.00
Master Configuration: 5 cards, 24 packs, 12 boxes
Direct Configuration: 5 cards, 24 packs, 6 boxes
VIDEO BREAK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwCe7OavrEI
PER BOX ITEMS
5 Autographs
5 Inserts or Parallels
(parallels, Round #'s, Draft Class, Legendary Rookies and Rookie Roll Call)
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Very Limited Premier Edition with Five Autographs per display
Featuring Rookie Tickets
2008 1st Round Picks:
Allan Dykstra, Andrew Cashner, Anthony Hewitt, Buster Posey, Carlos Gutierrez, Christian Friedrich, Daniel Schlereth, Gordon Beckham, Ike Davis, Ryan Perry
Top Prospects:
Angel Morales, Derek Holland, Greg Halman, Logan Morrison, Michel Inoa, Mike Jones, Mike Stanton, Neftali Feliz, Pedro Baez, Rick Porcello, Mike Montgomery, Rafael Rodriguez, Wilmer Flores, Yamaico Navarro
Round #s Combo Signatures:
Buster Posey/Gordon Beckham, Daniel Schlereth/Ryan Perry, Allan Dykstra/Anthony Hewitt
Legendary Rookie Autographs:
Cal Ripken, Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, Robin Yount, Willie Mays
CARD SETS
Season Tickets (50)
- This 2008 Playoff Contenders Baseball base set captures the game’s top prospects on 50 Season Ticket and 80 Rookie Ticket silver-foil cards. There are also autographed parallels.
Rookie Tickets (80)
- A parallel to the base set highlighted by silver foil on metallized film board, these tickets feature numerous former first-round draft selections and many of the game’s elite youngsters.
Playoff Tickets (130)
- This tremendous parallel to Season Tickets contains some of baseball’s top prospects and is accented in holographic silver foil and numbered to 199.
Season Tickets Autos (50)
- Featuring an autograph.
Championship Tickets (50)
- Featuring an autograph and numbered to 1.
Championship Rookie Tickets (80)
- An autograph spotlights this out-of-this-world parallel to Rookie Tickets with an autograph sticker numbered to 1.
Round #s (5)
- Top rookies selected in the same round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft are featured with gold foil on metallized film numbered to 1,500.
Round #s Gold (5)
- Parallel numbered to 250.
Round #s Black (5)
- Parallel numbered to 100.
Round #s Black Autos (5)
- Parallel numbered to 25 or less.
Draft Class (5)
- The recent draft classes of several big league clubs are featured with gold foil on metallized film numbered to 1,500.
Draft Class Gold (5)
- Parallel numbered to 250.
Draft Class Black (5)
- Parallel numbered to 100.
Draft Class Black Autos (5)
- Parallel numbered to 25 or less.
Rookie Roll Call (5)
- This unique insert includes five of the top prospects in the minor league ranks, sure to become future big league stars and is numbered to 1,500.
Rookie Roll Call Gold (5)
- Parallel numbered to 250.
Rookie Roll Call Black (5)
- Parallel numbered to 100.
Rookie Roll Call Black Autos (5)
- Parallel numbered to 25 or less.
Legendary Rookies (5)
- The greatest rookies in baseball history are recalled, several of which were named Rookie of the Year before going onto Hall of Fame careers, this magnificent insert in numbered to 1,500.
Legendary Rookies Gold (5)
- Parallel numbered to 250.
Legendary Rookies Black (5)
- Parallel numbered to 100.
Legendary Rookies Black Autos (5)
- Parallel numbered to 25 or less.
WHAT WE PULLED:
Two complete 50-card base sets, with some doubles.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/andrewcstein/Contenders/Base.jpg
The base cards feature a rather simple design - a shot of the player with the word ROOKIE superimposed on top, and the player's name at the bottom. The cards all have the same brown background, which makes the cards rather distinctive. Unlike some sets, these cards are very uniform, and all the focus is on the actual player.
Parallels - we received two:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/andrewcstein/Contenders/Parallels.jpg
Both of these are numbered to 199, and both are shinier versions of the base cards.
Inserts:
Mat Gamel Rookie Roll Call Gold #/250
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/andrewcstein/Contenders/RollCall.jpg
The gold foil makes this card really stand out, and the design is nicely understated, giving it a somewhat retro look at the same time. The back also has a small blurb about Gamel.
Willie Mays Legendary Rookies #/1500
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/andrewcstein/Contenders/Mays.jpg
This was the only non-prospect in the set. Again, Donruss does a good job with their design by toning it down and giving it a retro look. The colors are consistent with Mays' Giants uniform, and the back has a paragraph about his rookie year. I liked that Hall of Famers were in the set, but since it is a rookie-themed product, only their rookie years were recognized.
Buster Posey/Gordon Beckham Round Numbers #/1500
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/andrewcstein/Contenders/RoundNUmbers.jpg
The design of this card is great, as it shows two players side-by-side with no overlapping design. The set features players drafted in the same round, in this case the first. The card features two of the hottest prospects in the set, and the back has a litle blurb about the players also.
Clark Murphy/Chris Davis Draft CLass #/1500
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/andrewcstein/Contenders/1500.jpg
These set features two players recently drafted by the same team, in this case the Texas Rangers. The front has lots of gold foil, and two nice-sized areas for the pictures of the players. As usual, the back has a paragraph on both players.
Now, the autos.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/andrewcstein/Contenders/Autos.jpg
Rafael Rodriguez, Daniel Schlereth, Shane Peterson, Cole St. Clair, and Mike Jones.
These cards have the same design as the base cards, but with sticker autographs above the player's name. While none of these autographs were numbered, there are many parallels of these autos in the product, including some 1/1 parallels. There are also combo autographs and legendary autographs, like Ripken, Rose, and Mays.
Final Ratings (Out of 5):
Base set: 5/5
Fun: 4/5
Overall design: 5/5
Value: 3.5/5
Re-buy: 3.5/5
Overall: 21/25 (84%)
Once again, Donruss came out with a nice, understated product with the focus squarely on the players. Their insert sets stay with the overall theme of the product, but also feature attractive designs. I like the multi-player cards as well, and the fact that there are parallel sets to all the inserts is something I've always liked about Donruss.
One complaint I have is about the player selection for the autographs. While I did get a couple of high round picks, I also got an undrafted free agegnt, and someone drafted in the 29th round. I feel this product would have been stronger without the lower-tier players. Also, unlike with the Elite Extra Edition and Threads autographs, the majority in this set seem to be un-numbered.
I think overall, the first thing I would change is the size of the base set. Having a box with 124 cards and only 50 in the base set means you're going to come away with a lot of duplicates. In this case, we had two complete base sets and some extras to boot. I realize this product is mostly an autograph product (and with 5 per box, you certainly get those), but I think a larger base set would have been beneficial.
Thanks again to our friends at Donruss for supplying this product to us and giving us the opportunity to review it.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/andrewcstein/Contenders/PlayoffBox.jpg
2008 Playoff Contenders Baseball
Release Date: Feb 04, 2009
Pack SRP: $6.00
Master Configuration: 5 cards, 24 packs, 12 boxes
Direct Configuration: 5 cards, 24 packs, 6 boxes
VIDEO BREAK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwCe7OavrEI
PER BOX ITEMS
5 Autographs
5 Inserts or Parallels
(parallels, Round #'s, Draft Class, Legendary Rookies and Rookie Roll Call)
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Very Limited Premier Edition with Five Autographs per display
Featuring Rookie Tickets
2008 1st Round Picks:
Allan Dykstra, Andrew Cashner, Anthony Hewitt, Buster Posey, Carlos Gutierrez, Christian Friedrich, Daniel Schlereth, Gordon Beckham, Ike Davis, Ryan Perry
Top Prospects:
Angel Morales, Derek Holland, Greg Halman, Logan Morrison, Michel Inoa, Mike Jones, Mike Stanton, Neftali Feliz, Pedro Baez, Rick Porcello, Mike Montgomery, Rafael Rodriguez, Wilmer Flores, Yamaico Navarro
Round #s Combo Signatures:
Buster Posey/Gordon Beckham, Daniel Schlereth/Ryan Perry, Allan Dykstra/Anthony Hewitt
Legendary Rookie Autographs:
Cal Ripken, Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, Robin Yount, Willie Mays
CARD SETS
Season Tickets (50)
- This 2008 Playoff Contenders Baseball base set captures the game’s top prospects on 50 Season Ticket and 80 Rookie Ticket silver-foil cards. There are also autographed parallels.
Rookie Tickets (80)
- A parallel to the base set highlighted by silver foil on metallized film board, these tickets feature numerous former first-round draft selections and many of the game’s elite youngsters.
Playoff Tickets (130)
- This tremendous parallel to Season Tickets contains some of baseball’s top prospects and is accented in holographic silver foil and numbered to 199.
Season Tickets Autos (50)
- Featuring an autograph.
Championship Tickets (50)
- Featuring an autograph and numbered to 1.
Championship Rookie Tickets (80)
- An autograph spotlights this out-of-this-world parallel to Rookie Tickets with an autograph sticker numbered to 1.
Round #s (5)
- Top rookies selected in the same round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft are featured with gold foil on metallized film numbered to 1,500.
Round #s Gold (5)
- Parallel numbered to 250.
Round #s Black (5)
- Parallel numbered to 100.
Round #s Black Autos (5)
- Parallel numbered to 25 or less.
Draft Class (5)
- The recent draft classes of several big league clubs are featured with gold foil on metallized film numbered to 1,500.
Draft Class Gold (5)
- Parallel numbered to 250.
Draft Class Black (5)
- Parallel numbered to 100.
Draft Class Black Autos (5)
- Parallel numbered to 25 or less.
Rookie Roll Call (5)
- This unique insert includes five of the top prospects in the minor league ranks, sure to become future big league stars and is numbered to 1,500.
Rookie Roll Call Gold (5)
- Parallel numbered to 250.
Rookie Roll Call Black (5)
- Parallel numbered to 100.
Rookie Roll Call Black Autos (5)
- Parallel numbered to 25 or less.
Legendary Rookies (5)
- The greatest rookies in baseball history are recalled, several of which were named Rookie of the Year before going onto Hall of Fame careers, this magnificent insert in numbered to 1,500.
Legendary Rookies Gold (5)
- Parallel numbered to 250.
Legendary Rookies Black (5)
- Parallel numbered to 100.
Legendary Rookies Black Autos (5)
- Parallel numbered to 25 or less.
WHAT WE PULLED:
Two complete 50-card base sets, with some doubles.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/andrewcstein/Contenders/Base.jpg
The base cards feature a rather simple design - a shot of the player with the word ROOKIE superimposed on top, and the player's name at the bottom. The cards all have the same brown background, which makes the cards rather distinctive. Unlike some sets, these cards are very uniform, and all the focus is on the actual player.
Parallels - we received two:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/andrewcstein/Contenders/Parallels.jpg
Both of these are numbered to 199, and both are shinier versions of the base cards.
Inserts:
Mat Gamel Rookie Roll Call Gold #/250
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/andrewcstein/Contenders/RollCall.jpg
The gold foil makes this card really stand out, and the design is nicely understated, giving it a somewhat retro look at the same time. The back also has a small blurb about Gamel.
Willie Mays Legendary Rookies #/1500
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/andrewcstein/Contenders/Mays.jpg
This was the only non-prospect in the set. Again, Donruss does a good job with their design by toning it down and giving it a retro look. The colors are consistent with Mays' Giants uniform, and the back has a paragraph about his rookie year. I liked that Hall of Famers were in the set, but since it is a rookie-themed product, only their rookie years were recognized.
Buster Posey/Gordon Beckham Round Numbers #/1500
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/andrewcstein/Contenders/RoundNUmbers.jpg
The design of this card is great, as it shows two players side-by-side with no overlapping design. The set features players drafted in the same round, in this case the first. The card features two of the hottest prospects in the set, and the back has a litle blurb about the players also.
Clark Murphy/Chris Davis Draft CLass #/1500
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/andrewcstein/Contenders/1500.jpg
These set features two players recently drafted by the same team, in this case the Texas Rangers. The front has lots of gold foil, and two nice-sized areas for the pictures of the players. As usual, the back has a paragraph on both players.
Now, the autos.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/andrewcstein/Contenders/Autos.jpg
Rafael Rodriguez, Daniel Schlereth, Shane Peterson, Cole St. Clair, and Mike Jones.
These cards have the same design as the base cards, but with sticker autographs above the player's name. While none of these autographs were numbered, there are many parallels of these autos in the product, including some 1/1 parallels. There are also combo autographs and legendary autographs, like Ripken, Rose, and Mays.
Final Ratings (Out of 5):
Base set: 5/5
Fun: 4/5
Overall design: 5/5
Value: 3.5/5
Re-buy: 3.5/5
Overall: 21/25 (84%)
Once again, Donruss came out with a nice, understated product with the focus squarely on the players. Their insert sets stay with the overall theme of the product, but also feature attractive designs. I like the multi-player cards as well, and the fact that there are parallel sets to all the inserts is something I've always liked about Donruss.
One complaint I have is about the player selection for the autographs. While I did get a couple of high round picks, I also got an undrafted free agegnt, and someone drafted in the 29th round. I feel this product would have been stronger without the lower-tier players. Also, unlike with the Elite Extra Edition and Threads autographs, the majority in this set seem to be un-numbered.
I think overall, the first thing I would change is the size of the base set. Having a box with 124 cards and only 50 in the base set means you're going to come away with a lot of duplicates. In this case, we had two complete base sets and some extras to boot. I realize this product is mostly an autograph product (and with 5 per box, you certainly get those), but I think a larger base set would have been beneficial.
Thanks again to our friends at Donruss for supplying this product to us and giving us the opportunity to review it.