Cheap Wax Wednesday Box Breaks: 2000 Upper Deck PowerDeck Baseball
Upper Deck debuted the PowerDeck brand in 1999. The cards are actually CD-ROMs that could be played on most computers at the time. When played, disc would bring up photos, stats, and highlights of the pictured player.
2000 Upper Deck PowerDeck Baseball is more simplified compared to the original release. While the 1999 release had a standard card that went with each CD-ROM, that’s not the case here. 2000 is discs-only.
The checklist was also cut in half, now with just 12 cards as opposed to 25 the year before. There are a couple of inserts, but those checklists are also very limited. Power Trio has just three players, while Magical Moments are available for only two players.
One thing 2000 has that 1999 did not is autographs. Cal Ripken Jr. and Ken Griffey Jr. each signed 50 copies of their Magical Moments insert card. As you can imagine, these are extremely tough pulls.
2000 Upper Deck PowerDeck Baseball Box Break:
Cards per pack: 1
Packs per box: 11
Price paid: $48
Shop for 2000 Upper Deck PowerDeck Baseball boxes on eBay.
Pack 1:
Drysdale contest entry & Ivan Rodriguez
There are contest entry cards in every pack. I won’t call them all out, but they are pictured.
Pack 2:
Mark McGwire with Jeter & Griffey Power Trio (1:7 packs)
Each Power Trio card has the same three players, with each player getting their own chance to be highlighted, like McGwire is on this one.
Pack 3:
Chipper Jones
Pack 4:
Cal Ripken Jr.
Pack 5:
Mike Piazza
Pack 6:
Cal Ripken, Jr. Magical Moments (1 per box)
Cal recorded his 3,000th hit on April 15, 2000.
Pack 7:
Manny Ramirez
Pack 8:
Mark McGwire
Pack 9:
Derek Jeter
Pack 10:
Nomar Garciaparra
Pack 11:
Sammy Sosa
And that is it. The only base cards not found in this box were Griffey, Alex Roriguez and Pedro Martinez.
While I do find these really cool, even considering the antiquated technology, I feel as though the 2000 release was just way too simple. The checklist has a total of only 17 cards, inserts included. There’s not a whole lot going on. Having said that, the possibility of pulling one of the very rare autographs will certainly be intriguing for many collectors.
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Want more installments of Shane Salmonson’s Cheap Wax Wednesday? Check out his other breaks in the archives.
