Chris Harris of Stale Gum on 2010 Upper Deck

Yesterday, in these pages, I wrote about baseball’s rogue card set: 2010 Upper Deck. While interesting to me — and perhaps to, like, three readers — there are some decided gaps in my understanding of The Hobby. I asked Chris Harris of Stale Gum to help fill in said gaps, and he was nice enough to answer my dumb questions.

Q. Upper Deck released only Series 1, yes? Did they release ALL of Series 1? Baseball Card Pedia reports that Wave 2 wasn’t released. Is that different than Series 2?

Chris Harris: To answer your question: Yes and no. 2010 Upper Deck Series One Wave 2, was to have included all 600 cards of the regular Series One set PLUS an additional fifty cards (cards 601-650). It was then expected that UD would release Series Two later that year, but never did. The reasons why Wave 2 and Series Two were not released are explained in the BCP article. (I wrote it.)

Q. What sort of cards get distributed in Series 2 of a set usually? Is it the case that, if I buy a Series 2 pack, there will there be NO Series 1 cards?

CH: Generally, Series One is released before the season while Series Two around the All-Star break. 2012 Topps Series One, for example, is being issued this week. Series Two cards usually contain those players who changed teams in the off-season and rookies who made the opening day roster, as well as other players not included in Series One.

S1 packs will yield exclusively S1 cards, and S2 packs S2 cards.

Q. Are the 2010 UD cards likely to be more valuable than cards from other sets?

CH: Not necessarily.

Q. What’s the difference between a Retail and a Hobby box? How do I know which is which?

CH: Retail packs are sold at mass-market outlets (i.e. Target, Wal-Mart, and the like) and Hobby packs at baseball card shops. The base cards are the same, but the inserts are different and/or seeded at different rates. Usually the pack/box will have in small type either “HOBBY” or “RETAIL.”