This product is an interesting one. First off, each box is guaranteed to contain one PSA-graded card, with a 9 or 10 grade. Before you get too excited, those graded cards are from previous Team Best releases. You aren’t going to find vintage gems. Secondly, there aren’t actually any 2000 Team Best Graded cards. The packs contained in this product are also from previous Team Best releases.
I honestly couldn’t tell you if the pack mix is the same in every box. This one happens to have six packs each of 2000 Team Best Rookies, 1999 Team Best Player of the Year, and 1998 Team Best Signature Series. The variety could certainly add to the fun of this one.
2000 Team Best Graded Baseball Box Break
Packs per box: 18
Price paid: $13
2000 Team Best Rookies
Pack 1 highlights:
Bubba Crosby
Crosby was a first round draft pick in the 1998 draft. He didn’t pan out, though, playing just 205 major league games.
Pack 2:
Ben Sheets & Marlon Byrd
Pack 3:
Josh Hamilton
Hamilton was the first pick in the 1999 draft. He was also the top-ranked prospect in baseball prior to the 2001 season.
Pack 4:
Austin Kearns Autograph
Pack 5:
Corey Patterson
Some of the fun of minor league products are the team names. Here, Patterson is proudly sporting his Lansing Lugnuts jersey.
Pack 6:
Chip Ambres
1999 Team Best Player of the Year
Pack 7:
Nick Johnson & Willie Martinez Autograph
Willie Martinez appeared in exactly one major league game. He pitched three innings, allowing one run.
Pack 8:
Aaron Rowand, Corey Patterson & Adam Kennedy
Pack 9:
Rick Ankiel, Carlos Pena & Jayson Werth
Ankiel was an ace right out of the gate, posting ERAs of 2.63 and 2.35 as a teenager.
Pack 10:
Joe Crede & Jason Tyner Autograph
Pack 11:
C.C. Sabathia, Josh Hamilton & Jack Cust
Remember Jack Cust? From 2007-2009, Cust hit 84 home runs for Oakland.
Pack 12:
Alfonso Soriano & Jay Gibbons
1998 Team Best Signature Series
Pack 13:
Santiago Perez Autograph & Kerry Wood Autograph order form
How much did it cost to obtain the Wood autograph pictured? $49.99.
Pack 14:
Ramon Hernandez
Pack 15:
Jimmy Rollins, Gabe Kapler & Lance Berkman
Kapler put together a monster 1998 season in Double-A, hitting .322 with 28 home runs and 146 RBI.
Pack 16:
Matt Clement
Pack 17:
Mike Lowell & Vernon Wells
Vernon Wells rose to the fourth ranked prospect in baseball prior to the 2000 season.
Pack 18:
Troy Glaus, “Rich” Ankiel & Ruben Mateo Autograph
Lastly, the promised graded card. A Darin Erstad 1995 Best PSA 9. That was worth the wait, right? 415 copies of this Erstad card have been graded and 233 have received Mint 9 grades.
This was actually a fun rip. Not only was it extremely inexpensive, but the variety of the packs added to the fun. Multiple years of minor leaguers. I am not sure if they released anything like this in other years, but I am going to try to find them if they did.