2008 Playoff Prime Cuts Icons MVP Triple Relic

Year: 2008

Manufacturer: Donruss

Set: Playoff Prime Cuts

Card Number: 22

Card Type: Insert Relic Parallel

Insert Set: Icons 

Parallel Set: Materials MVP

Card Attributes: Relic, Serial Numbered

Relic Type: Jersey

Serial Number: 13/15

Donruss put out a couple unlicensed sets in 2008.  The one I remember best was the Donruss Threads set, but they also put out a couple last gasp Playoff brand sets.  The Prime Cuts was a mix of active, rookie, veteran retired, and hall of famers.  The set itself was not licensed by the MLB or MLBPA, but rather Donruss contracted directly with the player to use their likeness for the set.  Donruss also skirted the legality of using partial logos and team colors and in doing so the set isn't half bad.  There are also a ton of inserts, parallels, relic and autograph parallels, and just lot of variations to sort through.  It's a homage to the crazy sets Playoff put out in the mid-2000s.  

The card featured to day is part of the Icons insert.  The set is called the Icons Material MVP relic set.  The MVP part comes from the die-cut MVP relic windows on the card.  For an unlicensed card it's a nice looker.  The plain gray swatches aren't much to look at, but it's a fairly rare card being numbered to just 15.

2005 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia Tools of the Trade Red

Year: 2005

Manufacturer: Donruss/Playoff

Set: Playoff Absolute Memorabilia

Card Number: TT-173

Card Type: Insert Parallel

Insert Set: Tools of the Trade

Parallel Set: Red

Card Attributes: Serial Numbered

Serial Number: 029/250

2005 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia is one of those mid-2000's sets that really pushed the envelope in how many insert parallels you could put in a set.  It is a Donruss product after all and like so many of their products it's mind numbing to try and keep track of just how many parallels there are.  But that's what the Trading Card Database and Beckett are for.   Anyway, presented here is Robin's Red Parallel.  Actually this might be considered the base for Tools of the Trade, I'm not sure. There are at least two other base color parallels, blue and black, and they have lower serial numbering.  

Like so many of these base parallels from the mid-2000's it was designed with the relic and autograph parallels in mind.  So we get a small photos of Robin off to the left side.

2008 Playoff Prime Cuts Icons Quad Relic

Year: 2008

Manufacturer: Donruss/Playoff

Set: Prime Cuts

Card Number: 22

Card Type: Insert Relic

Insert Set: Icons Materials - ICON

Relic Type: Quad Jersey

Card Attributes: Jersey Relic, Serial Numbered

Serial number: 7/9

I'd have to double check, but I'm pretty certain I don't own any 1 of 1 Yount cards, that includes printing plates. That might be surprising knowing that I super collect Robin's cards and he is by far my primary collecting focus for my entire trading card collection.  But honestly printing plates hold no more collecting value to me or emphasis than the card it was used to print.  That's mainly because I'm admittedly cheap and there are plenty of fellow Yount collector's that will pony up for those cards.  I'm not saying they wouldn't have a place in my collection, it's just not a focus of mine to chase those cards.  But that being said I do have a nice smattering of low numbered cards in my collection.  One of those is this quad relic from the Donruss/Playoff Prime Cuts set.  The Icons insert set has a ton of relic, autograph and relic autograph parallels.  This parallel is called the ICON parallel for the obvious reason the relic windows spell out ICON.  It's really a shame the swatches weren't more interesting on a card numbered to just 9.  Interestingly enough Donruss also skirted the licensing rules about logos.  You can clearly see the classic Brewers MB glove logo on Robin's helmet and he's in true team colors.   Upper Deck would pretty much put an end to this type of  card that walks the fine line when it got sues over it's 2010 Baseball set.  So now we get baseball cards from Panini that have zero logos and photoshopped false uniform colors.  

2005 Playoff Prestige - Prestigious Pros Silver Material Bat Relic

Year: 2005

Manufacturer: Donruss/Playoff

Set: Playoff Prestige

Card Number: PP-19

Card Type: Insert Parallel

Insert Set: Prestigious Pros

Parallel Set: Silver Material Bat

Card Attributes: Relic, Serial Numbered

Relic Type: Bat

Serial Number: 03/50

I was hoping to be able to post checklist of National Treasures, but Panini still hasn't released the official checklist. So I'm not sure if Robin is even in it, but history tells us that he most likely is.

So lets highlight a really shiny relic card from the middle of the last decade.

The Prestigious Pros insert has a rainbow of parallels, as well as, a few relic sets and an autograph set.  Interestingly enough the base set for this product is pretty bland, but the Prestigious Pros are so shiny!  If my count is right there are 14 total parallels of this set.  That's a lot of cards to chase down.  Besides the bat relic set there is also a jersey relic and patch relic. 

2005 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia Team Tandems Spectrum

Year: 2005

Manufacturer: Playoff

Card Set: Absolute Memorabilia

Card Number: TT-11

Card Type: Insert Parallel

Insert Set: Team Tandems

Parallel: Spectrum

Card Attributes: Serial Numbered

Serial Number: 135/150

2005 the year of the Yount! The Trading Card Database lists of 1000 cards for Robin that year, 1011 to be exact.  Beckett.com lists 1020.  I'm curious which ones are missing from the database?

Anywho, 2005 marked the zenith of inserts, parallel cards and insert parallel cards.  Seriously even by todays standards it was a little insane.  Upper Deck and Donruss went back and forth trying to one up each other with the number of variations and parallels sets would contain. In this set alone Robin has almost 100 cards to chase.  That's pretty insane.

I like this Team Tandem set not because I like the look of the card or the layout, which was designed with the relic versions in mind.  But I love the fact that this card includes my two favorite Brewers of all time.  Anytime I get a card that has both Molly and the Kid together it's a great card.  Factor in that the base card from this insert set is numbered to just 250 and the chase is one.  This card is the Spectrum parallel which is very shiny.  

2005 Playoff Prestige Prestigious Pros Blue Parallel

Year: 2005

Manufacturer: Donruss/Playoff

Set: Prestige

Card Number: PP-19

Card Type: Insert Parallel

Insert Set: Prestigious Pros

Parallel: Blue

Card Attributes: Serial Numbered

Serial Number: 854/900

The 4th card of the 8 new Yount's I got from COMC's Black Friday promotion.  Oh the colorful rainbow that are the Prestigious Pros parallels.  So many to chase.  I won't complain though.  This is only the second Prestigious Pros color parallel I have in the collection, I also have a Red version.

My favorite color is blue so I guess this has to be my favorite parallel of the set.  I also like that it was one of the cheapest cards I picked up for Robin during my Black Friday shopping and a welcome edition to the set.  I actually think this counts as the base card for the insert as there is no unnumbered version of this card and this card has the highest production.  This insert set also features relic and autographed version both of which Robin has cards in.

2012 Panini Playoff Prime Cuts Hats Off Relic card

Year: 2012

Manufacturer: Panini

Card Set: Playoff Prime Cuts

Card Number: 8

Card Type: Insert Relic

Card Attributes: Relic, Serial Numbered

Relic Set: Hats Off

Relic Type: Hat (I think)

Serial Number: 09/99

Been a on a bit of break.  I was recently down in Wisconsin for my brothers wedding and then as soon as I got back I had some field work.  And I was suppose to have another 2 weeks of field work, but I ended up pulling a muscle in my lower back, which sucks by the way.

Anyways I'm back and feeling better, somewhat. 

Here's one of my latest pickups. Robin has a few different cards in this set, but this relic is by far the least rare of the bunch and hence affordable.  I like the look of the cards in the set other than the fact that Robin looks like a North Korean factory worker.  I also have a soft spot for odd ball relics.  We get a ton of jersey/pants and bat relics, but rarely do you see hat relics. At least I think this is a hat relic, why else would you call the insert Hats Off?  Although no where on the card does it state what kind of relic it is.  

2005 Playoff Prestige Prestigious Pros Red parallel

Card Manufacturer: Playoff/Donruss

Year: 2005

Card Number: PP-19

Card Set: Playoff Prestige

Card Type: Insert Parallel

Insert Set: Prestigious Pros

Parallel: Red Foil

Card Attributes: Serial Numbered

Serial Number: 639/700

If you're a player collector and are lucky, or maybe unlucky, enough to have had a player featured in some the products from the mid-nineties there are endless parallels and variations to chase.  Take Robin's 2005 Playoff Prestige Prestigious Pros insert.  There are at least 10 color parallels, not to mention the relic parallels and autographs.  I keep finding new stuff out about these sets all the time. 

According to my spreadsheet this is the only Prestigious Pros I own currently, so I have lots to chase.

2005 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia - Absolute Heroes

Card Manufacturer: Donruss

Card Set: Playoff Absolute Memorabilia 

Year: 2005

Card Number: AH-28

Card Type: Insert base

Insert Set: Absolute Heroes

Card Attributes: Serial Numbered

Serial Number: 086/250

It's probably a toss up, but if I was to make a bet I would bet on 2005 as being the year with the most parallels ever issued.  There were just so many.  With all the Donruss and Upper Deck sets with color, relic and autograph versions of many of there base and insert cards it can be pretty daunting.  Hard to believe that Topps was probably the one card maker that wasn't going overboard, yet.

That being said Robin's 2005 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia - Heroes card is no exception to the parallel beast.  We have here the plain old, bottom of the barrel base card.  This card has foil board spectrum parallels, relic parallels, autograph parallels and relic autograph parallels.  And this base card is low numbered to boot.  

Like most of the inserts from the time that had all those parallels the card was designed with relic and autograph placement in mind.  Not that this is terrible card it's just that with out any bling most of the card is kind of wasted space.