A winner is you (plural) - GAC VIII

After spending hours looking at the entries, my crack accounting team has determined that the scores presented are accurate and that Brad's score of 153.5 is the winner of Gint-A-Cuffs VIII.

Congrats.  I had to triple check the rules about that double rip card.  The stars aligned in your favor when you bought that box.  Good choice on Kenta Madea as your Favorite Player.

Brad, a 2016 Topps Allen & Ginter Hobby Box, graciously provided by our sponsor, Topps, will be headed to you.

Now, the last place participant that offered points is the Ginter Godfather.  With a name like that, and a blog that surfaces but once a year to be involved with Gint-A-Cuffs, you'd think that points would be flowing.  Not this year.  But they were just low enough to earn you the consolation prize of a 2016 Topps Allen & Ginter Hobby Box to be sent your way.

Now, for the mystery winner.  I took the remaining participants that entered a score, randomized them eight times (GAC VIII) and the magic numbers selected Faith.  I'll be sending something special from my personal collection of hoo-haw.

Winners, please send me your current mailing address and I'll get the items out this next week.

Thank you all for participating.  I look forward to next year.

Fact Checking

Gint-A-Cuffs is officially closed.  Now is the time for the Commissioner to wake from his slumber and fact check the scores that have been posted, possibly make corrections, wait for the bribes to come flooding in, then declare an actual winner.

The contestant with the highest total will be receiving a hobby box of 2016 Topps Allen & Ginter, thoughtfully provided by our sponsor, Topps.

The contest with the lowest total will also be receiving a similar hobby box.  By similar I mean the same darn thing.

I'll randomize the other contestants who submitted a score and they'll be receiving something out of my own stash of collectibles.

Thanks for participating.

This is how you bribe

Several weeks ago I was approached by a contestant. They said that they wanted to send me a bribe.   I told them that I absolutely could not accept a bribe.  That would go against everything that Gint-A-Cuffs stands for.  Fair play.  Impartiality.

Ah, heck.  Send it.  Who am I to buck tradition?  This is what the contestant sent.

But wait.  There's more.  Look at all that tobacco card goodness.

If you'd like to see your bribe posted here, contact me and I'll give you my address.

Note: this bribe may, or may not, influence my decisions about scoring.  Probably not.  Do you want to chance it?

More letters and letters answered

This is what I was dealing with.

When dealing with a dessert from the Cheesecake Factory, one does not trifle with numbers and scoring.


B Man asks:

Dear Comish what value if any do the Full Size Numbers Game inserts have?

And the Commissioner answers:

Full Size Numbers Game inserts are a 1:2 pack card.  They will have a value of +2.

B Man also asks:

Ditto for Full Size SPs?

And the Commissioner answers:

Are Full Size cards #301-350 short printed?  Based on 2015, they aren't.  No ruling at this time.  Try again later.

boots~ asks:

Pulled a box loader (+4) of Rizzo.  Would I get a bonus since he's on the favorite player list?

And the Commissioner answers:

Most definitely.  I am going to rule that box loaders are 'hit' cards, therefore in this case you'd get the 1.7x multiplier.  If your Rizzo is BL-AR, then you'd get +4 for the box loader x 1.7 for being on the FP list, equaling 6.8 points.

--David asks:

I pulled a FSRA - Full-sized Relic of a comedian... Seriously... What are the points for relics that aren't ball players?

And the Commissioner answers:

The MISC section of the rules states: +5 Full-Size Relics Version A 1:24 (#FSRA-xxx)  (Jersey / Pants / Bat / etc)  (Hit Card - divide by 2 if Yankee)  To be safe, I'd go with that one.

boots~ commented:

I like this commish way more than Bud Selig!

And the Commissioner replied:

A.  Who wouldn't?   B. Thanks.  C. Flattery is not a bribe substitute.

Jedi Jeff asks:

Does the Fav Player bonus point translate into the Numbers insert?  Would I get the 2 bonus points because I pulled a Numbers Game of Kershaw?

And the Commissioner answers:

Fair question.  I didn't specifically detail that one out.  So it would be +2 for Numbers Game card, +2 for Favorite Player.  4 points total.

The Commissioner is going on a three day family vacation.  I'll be back to answer your questions on Wednesday.  Maybe sooner but don't hold your breath.

I'll be folding these answers into the official 2016 Rules page later.

Letters, we get letters...

And so it begins.

Questions about scoring are starting to roll in.  For those of you who are new to Gint-A-Cuffs, this is nothing new.  Be aware that the good Commissioner can't immediately answer all the questions that come pouring in due to poor explanations of scoring on his part.  Give him time.

I haven't made rulings on these, but I did want to get them out so you wouldn't think I'm a total slacker.

B Man asks:

Dear Comish what value if any do the Full Size Numbers Game inserts have?

And the Commissioner answers:

I'm at dinner.  I'll think about it.

B Man also asks:

Ditto for Full Size SPs?

And the Commissioner answers:

Still at dinner.

boots~ asks:

Pulled a box loader(+4) of Rizzo. Would I get a bonus since he's on the favorite player list?

And the Commissioner answers:

Dessert is coming up soon.  Please hold.

--David asks:

I pulled a FSRA - Full-sized Relic of a comedian... Seriously... What are the points for relics that aren't ball players?

And the Commissioner answers:

Seriously?  The second round of dessert is due.  Come on, man.

I'll be mulling these over some TUMS and will have answers for you shortly.

I'm on the edge of my seat

Great art work by Spankee.

And what should arrive at my house earlier this week?

The good folks at Topps sent two hobby boxes to be used as prizes for this year's Gint-A-Cuffs.

So, we're now live.  Start ripping, showing, and scoring.

Yeah, I'm sure that I missed something.  Please bring it to my attention.

All the standard stuff applies.  No cheating.  No more participants will be allowed to enter.  The Favorite Players have been locked.  Bribes are gladly accepted.  Please see the rules.

Go.

What are the odds?

Contestant Matt, of Bubba's Bangin' Batch of Baseball Bits, recently purchased a case of this year's A&G.  He posted a close up of a hobby pack which includes the "Approximate odds per pack of finding" specific card subsets.

With much arm twisting I was able to wrangle permission from him to present that image here.

*Base Card Glossy Parallel 1:3,626

Base Card Mini Parallels
Allen & Ginter Back 1:5
Black-Bordered 1:10
No Number 1:73
*Brooklyn Back 1:146
*Wood 1:1,900
*Glossy 1:4,258
Short Print 1:13
Short Print Allen & Ginter Back 1:65
Short Print Black-Bordered 1:130
*Metal 1:2,219
*Printing Plate 1:415
*Cloth 1:433

Full-Size Relics
Version A 1:24
Version B 1:24

Framed Mini Relic 1:122
Ancient Rome Relic 1:1,110
*Ancient Rome Relic Silver Coin Parallel 1:70,496
Framed Mini Autograph 1:48
*Framed Mini Red Autograph 1:1,295
*Black Framed Mini Autograph 1:382
*Framed Allen & Ginter Originals 1:6,679
*Dual Player Book Card 1:6,475
*Single Player Book Card 1:1,627
*Cut Signature 1:45,319
*Rip Card 1:180
*Double Rip Card 1:720

Full-Size Inserts
Baseball Legends 1:5
Natural Wonders 1:5

Mini Inserts
U.S. Mayors 1:11
Subways and Streetcars 1:25
Laureates of Peace 1:38
Ferocious Felines 1:25
Skippers 1:288
Greenland Explorer 1:26,436

Framed Employee Edition Autograph 1:14,100

key: * = Sequentially Numbered

So, there you go.  This will help me greatly when I start to put together the points and complete the rules, which will probably happen at about 10pm this Sunday.  Maybe 11pm.

We have a sponsor!

Once again, Topps has agreed to sponsor this little thing called Gint-A-Cuffs.  And by "sponsor" I mean that they'll be supplying some of the prize material. 

A BIG thanks to them for that.

Last week they released the checklist (pdf file).  If history has taught us anything it is that the checklist is not complete.

I've started to work on the official 2016 rules.  Of course, I'll be needing some help.  A high resolution scan of the back of a hobby pack would be helpful.  You know, to get the odds.

Here's some relevant info on the start and stop of GAC.

The 2016 Gint-A-Cuffs contest will officially start at 12:01am, Eastern,  Monday August 1, 2016.  Participants can join until then.  The participants are to provide their own hobby box of Topps Allen & Ginter cards.

All cards that score points, either positive or negative, are to be shown on the participant's blog.  The participant shall keep a per pack score and a running total.  After having scored their whole hobby box, they shall comment on the Leader Board page.  Final scores shall be submitted no later than 11:59pm, Eastern, Friday, September 30, 2016.

So, I declare Gint-A-Cuffs VIII sign up officially open.  Hop over to the 2016 Participants page and leave a comment that you're in, the name of your Favorite Player and your Favorite Team.  I'll be updating the side column when you all start signing up.

And bribes are back.  Well, they never really went away.  Matter of fact, some relative of an Olympian still owes me.  Promises, promises.  And the Commissioner never forgets.  Well, I rarely remember.  Yeah, that's the ticket.

Did I already thank Topps for being a sponsor?  I did?  Okay.  It never hurts to do it again.

Ginter is Coming

Ginter is coming.  That means it is time for the eighth installment of Gint-A-Cuffs.

Since just after the first of the year hobby sites have been sharing the press releases and info about Topps' 2016 Allen & Ginter product.

Let's see what Topps says.  Unfortunately they led their story with an image of  Maria Sharapova's signed card.  In March of  2016, Sharapova revealed she had failed a drug test at the 2016 Australian Open, admitting to testing positive for meldonium, a substance banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency at the start of 2016. On June 8, 2016, she was suspended from playing tennis for two years by the International Tennis Federatio.  Oops.

Sports Collector's Daily previews the set a bit more, including some of the mini inserts:

• U.S. Mayors (35 subjects) – Featuring the most notable mayors in the United States
• Subways and Streetcars (15 subjects) – Depicting famous modes of transportation in the U.S.
• Laureates of Peace (10 subjects) – Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize
• Ferocious Felines (15 subjects) – Cards of cats, big and small

Kevin Costner has signed some cards, depicting him as Ray Kinsella from Field of Dreams. I can't tell from his signature if he signed it as Kevin or Ray.

So, what about Gint-A-Cuffs VIII?  Heck, yes, we're doing it.

The product is supposed to hit the street on July 20, 2016.  If that date holds true then I'll probably have the competition begin on August 1, 2016, running through the end of September.  Dates may vary.