Pack Rip - 2011 Gypsy Queen Value Pack

I've seen 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen busted on just about every baseball card blog I read, but until this week there wasn't any available at the local Target. When I was there grabbing the last 2 rack packs of Pinnacle hockey, I picked up a "Value Pack". In case you've been living under a rock, this consists of 3 retail packs and a bonus 3-card pack of green framed cards.

My apologies for subjecting you to Gypsy Queen for the millionth time in recent weeks, but as usual I'm going to show every card in the pack. Let's start with the green framed pack:

#55 - Evan Longoria

#80 - Stephen Strasburg

#39 - Johnny Mize

Alright, well I can see why there's been so much hype around the framed cards. I don't have much to add that hasn't already been said, the cards look great in person. This Johnny Mize is the nicest looking baseball card I've pulled from a pack in some time.

Here are the 3 packs:

Pack 1:

#94 - Buster Posey

#217 - Adrian Beltre

#204 - Neftali Feliz

#229 - Alex Gonzalez

Mini #311 - Hisanori Takahashi

#FS-13 - Future Stars - Stephen Strasburg

Does anyone know if the mini cards numbered 301-350 are short prints as well?

Pack 2:

#273 - Chad Billingsley

#113 - Jose Bautista

#279 - Josh Thole

I have to admit I'd never heard of Josh Thole. I only catch a handful of NL games a year, what can I say...

#SF10 - Sticky Fingers - David Wright

Mini #199 - James Shields

#339 - Omar Infante - SP

I really like the Sticky Fingers inserts, I will be collecting that set for sure.

Pack 3:

#28 - Tony Gwynn

Finally, a base card of a Hall-of-Famer.

#275 - Ruben Tejada

#224 - Drew Stubbs

#GQA-GG - Gio Gonzalez - Autograph

Believe it or not I was actually pretty excited by this one. As someone who doesn't bust any high end wax, I hardly ever pull autos. When I do, they're usually someone I've never heard of with little to no MLB experience.

Gonzalez is a solid pitcher though, another example of Oakland's ability to find and groom quality starters. Last year he went 15-9 with a 3.23 ERA, 171 strikeouts to 92 walks, and a WHIP of 1.311. So far this year he's been even better than that, sitting at 5-2 with a 2.31 ERA, 48 strikeouts to 21 walks, and a WHIP of just 1.164! Plus, the autograph itself is fantastic.

I might be willing to part with this one but it would take a good card for me to consider giving it up.

Mini #323 - Shin-Soo Choo

#HH4 - Home Run Heroes - Mark Teixeira

Well, that was fun. The base cards are solid, but nothing spectacular. Maybe I'd be more excited about them had I pulled more retired players (Gwynn was my only one in 3 packs). I could do without the Future Stars and Home Run Heroes inserts, but I do like the Sticky Fingers cards. These value packs are all about the green framed parallel cards though. Even though I didn't get a single Red Sox card, those framed parallels and the Gio Gonzalez auto made this one a winner.

The value per card may pale in comparison to the Pinnacle pack I posted yesterday, but these are a lot of fun and I can see why there's been a lot of hype around this set. I will likely pick up some more, if I can find them...