Upper Deck Community Break Box #3: 2002 Upper Deck 40-Man

So far, so good.  I’m keeping the one box per day promise going.  I think I’ve narrowed my computer shutting itself off issues down to either a RAM or Registry problem.  I unfortunately have no time and little know-how to fix it for a while.  Hopefully my computer continues to cooperate well enough to keep posting.

Save early & often.

Despite looking like this, all the cards seemed fine

It’s worth mentioning each and every time, all of these boxes are courtesy of our good friends and Community Break Sponsor: BASEBALL CARD EXCHANGE

Seriously, if you haven't visited the store and you buy boxes of cards, you need to correct that behavior

The video is about 20 minutes long.  Consider yourself warned, but appreciate the views if you choose to do so.

I’m assuming most of you are skipping the video and going right to the scans.  Have at it!

All your favorite players!

There aren’t any inserts per se in the set.  There are several horizontally oriented subsets. I’ve included an example of the four I can remember finding above.  I’m not sure a 1000+ card set needs subsets on top of everything, but at least most of the designs look good.

The bottom three are the regulars.  Big, easy to read names and the backs carry that trend over to the card number.  There may be a tad too much border and I don’t like the position followed by the jersey number under the 40-Man logo.  It looks like a separate card numbering system smashed together like that.

Parallels and insert

I can’t imagine anyone trying to complete the full foil parallel set.  We only got 6 in this box.  You’d think they’d be one per pack with a set this large.  The best of the bunch has to be the Victor Martinez card.  “No MLB Experience” as a stat line indicates rookie or prospect status which adds to the appeal.

To add insult to the set collector’s dream, the Mark McGwire insert set is 40 cards long and come one per box.  Good luck with that.  By the way, I say this in the video, but if Madding who claimed the Cardinals, wants it, it’s his.  Oakland wasn’t claimed and I don’t need a Big Mac no matter what the meaning of the term.

Shiny numbers!

Here are the two hits of the box.  Yeah, I’m counting the Girardi Electric Rainbow as a hit due to the low numbering.  You’d be even crazier to try for this entire set.  Congrats to Til Next Year on the shiny manager.

The Shawn Green is a nice looking jersey card for GCRL’s Dodgers.  Sure the jersey is obstructed, but that’s what makes it “super,” right?

Team breakdown so far:
Anaheim Angels – Base:  14 –Inserts/Parallels: 1  –Hits: 0
Arizona Diamondbacks – BUCKSTORECARDS – Base:  10 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Atlanta Braves – Base:  19 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Baltimore Orioles – ANOTHER ORIOLES BLOG – Base:  15 –Inserts/Parallels:  4 –Hits:  0
Boston Red Sox – DADDYOHO – Base:  17 –Inserts/Parallels:  1 –Hits:  0
Chicago Cubs – TIL NEXT YEAR – Base:  16 –Inserts/Parallels:  2 –Hits:  1
Chicago White Sox – MY SPORTS & SPORTS CARDS – Base:  7 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Cincinnati Reds – NICK M. – Base:  16 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Cleveland Indians – BASEBALL DAD – Base:  12 –Inserts/Parallels:  1 –Hits:  0
Colorado Rockies – JOE AVERAGE COLLECTOR – Base:  9 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Detroit Tigers – THE CARD BANDIT – Base:  14 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Florida Marlins – Base:  12 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Houston Astros – FIELD LEVEL VIEW – Base:  12 –Inserts/Parallels:  1 –Hits:  0
Kansas City Royals – Base:  12–Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Los Angeles Dodgers – GCRL – Base:  10 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  1
Milwaukee Brewers – Base:  9 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Minnesota Twins – Base:  11 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals – TRICKYANKLES – Base:  12 –Inserts/Parallels:  1 –Hits:  0
New York Mets – DUTCH CARD GUY – Base:  13 –Inserts/Parallels:  1 –Hits:  0
New York Yankees – DUTCH CARD GUY –Base:  28 –Inserts/Parallels:  1 –Hits:  1
Oakland Athletics – Base:  13 –Inserts/Parallels:  3 –Hits:  0
Philadelphia Phillies – ARFMAX – Base:  16 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Pittsburgh Pirates – Base:  9 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
San Diego Padres – Base:  12 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
San Francisco Giants – Base:  14 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0
Seattle Mariners – NICK M. – Base:  18 –Inserts/Parallels:  5 –Hits:  0
St. Louis Cardinals – MADDING – Base:  20 –Inserts/Parallels:  5 –Hits:  0
Tampa Bay Devil Rays – Base:  16 –Inserts/Parallels:  1 –Hits:  0
Texas Rangers – PLAY AT THE PLATE – Base: 18  –Inserts/Parallels:  2 –Hits:  0
Toronto Blue Jays – DAVE – Base:  13 –Inserts/Parallels:  0 –Hits:  0