Upper Decks bits and bobbleheads

Upper Deck's fun range, known as 'Collector's Choice' had a few gimmicky things like bobbleheads and various competition giveaways. Let's start with the second 'bobblehead' to feature on this blog and then go back in time to see some other bits and bobs...

Card Number 1021: Upper Deck Collector's Choice "push out", 1998; #23

I have some of the little bobblehead cards from 1999 (including one that has been pushed out), but I didn't realise that Upper Deck made these inserts in 1998 as well until Glenn sent me this a couple of weeks back. 

Upper Deck made sure Tony had his game face on for this bobblehead. It was only when I realised that Tony's disembodied head was in a batting helmet, that I realised the 1999 version is meant to show Tony fielding!

On the back are the intructions on how to assemble the bobblehead for display. 

These bobbleheads were in Series 2 of the Collector's Choice set and only appeared in 1 in 3 packs.

Upper Deck sometimes included odd things in their regular sets as well. In 1996, collectors had the chance of winning a shiny foil card.

Card number 1022: Upper Deck Predictors Redemption, 1996; #R57

There were 60 cards that could be exchanged for instant win cards found inside Upper Deck packs. 

For some reason I haven't got an overhead scan of this card in my folders, so this dirty desktop scan will have to do. Some of the marks on this card are dust and fluff on the scanner surface.

The back is relatively plain, but neatly laid out. The write up begins with Tony's incredibly low strike out rate. 88 times in 5 years!

This card arrived in a small box of cards from Gawain way back in November 2021. Six months later - thank you, Gawain!

Card Number 1023: Upper Deck Collector's Choice You Crash the Deck game piece, 1994; #unnumbered

You Crash the Deck (later Game) was a scratch off and win redemption thing that ran in Collector's Choice (with some adpatations) for several years.

There were 15 different varieties of this "game piece" each featuring two players. Tony shared the spotlight on this with Andres Galarraga from the Rockies.

This card sized 'game piece' folds out to reveal a large number of scratch off areas. The most important one is the one saying whether it's a winning card. That is the only bit that has been scratched off. 

And on the back are the huge list of terms and conditions in a tiny font.

Why were Canadians set a relatively simple maths question? I presume there is some rule about giveaway competitions that meant there has to be a quiz question. Otherwise that's just weird!

Total: 1023 cards

Monday Mixer from scratch

Three random cards today, starting with a prediction that didn't come true.

Card Number 253: Upper Deck, 1997; #P23 (Predictor scratchcard)

There's a debate to be had, is a scratchcard worth keeping if it's been scratched off? Well, yes, if it's got a picture of Tony Gwynn on. 

That's a generic background picture of a batter - it's the same on all 30 Predictor cards in the range.

Here are the notes on this card from Trading Card Database: "Inserted 1:5 into Series Two packs, could be redeemed for a prize if the scratched-off feat was accomplished by the player." So, basically whoever scratched off the last bat there might have been waiting for Tony to bat in three runs in a single game. 

It was a poor prediction to scratch off - Tony's final RBI tally of 1,138 currently places him at 192nd on the all time list. However, 1997 was the only time he scored more than 100 RBI and the only time he finished in the National League top ten for RBI, with 119 - so if there was any season when he might have got 3 in a game, it would be that one.

I also asked a question on the TCDb forum about it and found out that the targets that Tony had to hit for a scratchcard scratcher to win were different to other players, but all the cards featuring Tony had the same targets. I can't find out what the other 'predictions' are on the card without scratching it, so I'm going to wait until another one crosses my path and then I might scratch the rest off this one. 

Card Number 253: Score, 1996; #378

Due to an error in counting, there were two cards in my collection numbered 253 in this post, which I only discovered months later. This card has been renumbered as 514 in the collection

If you want to read about it, then check out my post on 2 December!

Card Number 254: DonRuss, 1998; #410

Another insert card to round off this Monday Mixer. It also has stars in the background.

The photo on the front really shows off the retro sleeve patch featuring the Swinging Friar mascot. That automatically adds several points to the card's coolness factor.

The photo on the back looks like it was taken during the national anthem. The little write up mentions Tony receiving the Branch Rickey Award in 1995. Branch Rickey was the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers who signed Jackie Robinson in 1948, thus breaking the colour barrier in Major League Baseball. He also started up a scheme to help disadvantaged children attend baseball games. The Award was presented between 1992 and 2014 by the Rotary Association, initiated by the Rotary Club of Denver. The Award was given annually to a player for their activity on behalf of good causes.

Alongside all the other things that Tony won, this award recognises his activity beyond baseball and it's nice that it's been commemorated on this baseball card. 

Total: 254/394