Pack Rip - 2009 O-Pee-Chee Retail

A month or two ago I put in an order at Dave and Adam's Card World to re-stock my unopened wax shelf in my office/hobby room.  One of the items I picked up was a blaster of 2009 O-Pee-Chee baseball:

Yes, there is a $20 sticker on the front of this box, but no, I did not pay $20.  Thanks to a Memorial Day weekend sale this entire blaster set me back just $7.95.  In retrospect I wish I would have picked up a couple more, given that it comes to about 50 cents a pack at this price.  I wasn't big on this product when it first hit the shelves for some reason, but as the years have gone by I've come to appreciate it more and more.  I could see myself trying to complete the 600-card set someday.

The back of the blaster contained a nice omen for a Red Sox fan like myself, in the form of Dustin Pedroia's fantastic base card from the set.  Unfortunately the packaging was damaged enough that even using my wife's paper cutter (she's into cards of a different sort, greeting cards) I was unable to salvage Dustin.  Maybe I'll pull the card from one of the 15 packs inside and it won't matter...

I like spreading things out over time, so I'm only going to rip and post the first pack for today.  Six cards in each, with one being a black-bordered parallel.  Let's see what's inside...

2009 was the final year in probably the best four-year stretch of Morneau's career.  He hit at least .270, had at least 23 home runs, at least 30 doubles, and at least 100RBI every year from 2006 (when he won the AL MVP award) through 2009.  He's with the Rockies now, and seems to be enjoying Coors Field as most hitters do.

To me, the cards that feature in-game action are far more interesting.  The portrait shots have grown on me some though.  This one, however, is pretty lackluster.

I think these parallels are a big part of the reason the product tanked overall.  They were initially supposed to be a retro O-Pee-Chee design but I seem to recall some legal snafu, and the end result was the parallels that collectors were super excited about ended up being nothing but base cards with black borders.  Chris Volstad is apparently playing in Korea now, this one is definitely off to the trade box.

Normally I'm irked when a multi-set insert like this one takes up one of the cards in my pack, especially in a pack with just six cards to begin with.  In this case, I'm pumped.  What a great shot of the Splendid Splinter in mid-swing at Fenway Park!  A great new addition to my Red Sox collection for sure.

First it was Pedroia on the back of the box, and now I've pulled back-to-back Red Sox cards in the first pack.  I think this is going to prove to be a winning box for this Sox fan, even if this particular card is a double...

Closing out the pack we've got a nice horizontal card, which I think work particularly well in this set.  I was shocked to see how many teams Nady has signed with since this card was released (Cubs, Diamondbacks, Nationals, Giants, Royals, Rockies, Padres and Mariners!).  His career may be over as he's currently a free agent after exercising an opt-out clause in his contract with Seattle just last month.

A great start to this blaster, I'll be sure to show at least a few more packs in the coming weeks and months...