Gint-A-Cuffs VIII: Boxtopper and Packs 1-6

Here we go.  The last time I participated in Gint-A-Cuffs was 6 years ago during the contest’s second year.  Back then we got 205 points, which was not enough to win (scoring was different then).

I actually bought two boxes of A&G this year but my other box was about as basic as you can get.  It would have scored 80 points this year, and although I haven’t added this box up all the way, I can safely assume it should be higher than that.  I would venture to guess that 80 is close to what a base line score would be.  The Mendoza line if you will.  Here’s hoping this is more of a Tony Gwynn line type box.

Every participant had to pick a favorite player and team.  Obviously I chose the Cubs and since I still don’t have a current Cub that I collect actively, I decided to play the odds a bit and picked Anthony Rizzo as my favorite player.

Let’s cuff it up!

Box Topper

Mike Trout Box Loader (+4)

Unlike in past years, 2016 Ginter only offers the player cabinet cards.  There are no (to my knowledge) non-sport box toppers or N43 sized cards.

Pack Total: +4

Pack 1

Andre Dawson (+1 Favorite Team) – Starting off strong!
Whitey Ford – Baseball Legends (+2 BL Insert, but -1 for decades of hate against the Yankees = +1)
Buster Posey – Numbers Game (+2 Numbers Game)
Kasim Reed – Atlanta Mayor (+2 for governing the city my brother lives in)

[Quick Update 8/7/2016 – The Commish says that Numbers Game are worth +2 each, so I’ve now gone back and updated all the pack scores to reflect that.]  The scan lines in the backgrounds are annoying in these scans, but I really didn’t notice them too much in person.  Odd how that works out.  I would even say that I enjoy the faux texture they bring to the set.  By the way, just about all these cards are going to be for trade, and I have doubles of a lot of these since my base cards were just about the same in both boxes….

Pack Total: +6
Running Total: +10

Pack 2

Clayton Kershaw (+2 Favorite Players list)
Ben Revere (+3 non-SP Black border mini)

I really don’t like the icons in the upper right hand corner for the non-sport people.  It’s nice to see that representation, I guess, but my mind tells me that all the cards should have an icon or logo in the corner if some do.  Put that team logo up there for consistency or remove them all.

Pack Total: +5
Running Total: +15

Pack 3

Greg Bird (-1 for breaking into the big leagues with the wrong team)
George Springer (+2 Numbers Game)

I scanned the backs of most minis just to show they aren’t SP or special backs or anything point-worthy.  I do enjoy the Sklar brothers’ comedy, but find it odd that Randy and Jason are split up when they’re known as a pair and perform as such.

Pack Total: +1
Running Total: +16

Pack 4

Dellin Betances (-1 for wrong colored pin stripes)
Corey Kluber (+2 Favorite Players list)
Dexter Fowler (+1 Favorite Team)
Ngorongoro Crater (+2 Natural Wonders)
Max Scherzer (+2 A&G Back mini)

Dang, the evil empire cancelled out my Chicago hype.  But the pack is a success, because we all know that as Fowler goes, we go.

Pack Total: +6
Running Total: +22

Pack 5

Marcus Stroman Framed Autograph (+7 for some blue ink squiggles)
Adam Wainwright (+2 Numbers Game)

The only scoring card in the pack (only 7 cards instead of 8 – not sure if that’s common for framed autos/relics) is a pretty nice one! [Now two cards thanks to the rule change] Our first hit of the box is a framed auto.  I don’t know much about Stroman, but I think he’s good?  I don’t follow the AL very closely.

Pack Total: +9
Running Total: +31

Pack 6

Joey Votto (+2 Favorite Player list)
Brian McCann (-1 for making me say “Brian McCann’s still playing?”)
John Lackey (+1 Favorite Team mini)

We end the first of four parts with a small scoring pack, but at least it did score something.  Overall, having only one negative and no zero point packs is pretty good.  If this trend continues, I’ll end over 100 (I honestly don’t know what my total is at this point) and I’ll be happy with that.  But, the odds of the trend continuing is low since I’m not going to hit all framed autos all the time.  Or will I?  Wait and see.

Pack Total: +2
Running Total: +33