Archives blastin'

I was finally fortunate enough to find a blaster of Archives when I had to make an unexpected Wal-Mart run last weekend. It would have been cool to stumble on a box of Bowman Platinum, but I didn’t see any.

As fate would have it, the Archives blaster was a complete dud, again reminding me why I shouldn’t spend $20 on retail. You’d have thought I’d learn by now that I just don’t have good luck busting packs.

I was glad to snag two Jeter Retrospectives, including his ’93 RC reprint.

I was hoping to get a Peach parallel, which I did. Of course, it was of a Blue Jay. Between them and the Astros, I feel like that’s all I pull these days. It also came in the first pack, and I had a feeling it would probably be the best card I pulled.

See what I mean? Blue Jays and Astros.

As for my coins, they couldn’t have been less exciting either.

Pretty boring box, overall. However, I like the product, and at least now won’t wonder “what if” like I was before I was able to bust a blaster of this stuff.

I wish every day was Opening Day...in May

Without a doubt, the most enjoyable product I've opened this year is Opening Day. I've never been a huge fan of it in the past, as it's annoying to basically add the same exact cards (minus foil) to your collection. The inserts never appealed to me much either.

This year, I've had a change of heart. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I appreciate that they are $.99 a pack and a blaster costs $9.99, unless you are Night Owl.

Maybe it's that the inserts bring me back to the '90s and my early collecting days. There are flames and colors and illustrated cards.

The blue parallels are some of the finest looking cards this year, as well. They are gorgeous.

I bought a blaster a few weeks ago and didn't pull much, but still enjoyed opening the cards. So much so, that I recently made a Target run for the new baby girl (diapers, wipes, etc), and I treated myself to five packs. Five packs, and it was $5. That's refreshing, both on my wallet and my brain. As a father of two small children, I feel slightly less guilty when I only spend $5 on cards for myself.

What did I pull? A few really nice cards, including the Derek Jeter and Matt Harvey blue parallels shown above. Honestly, although #'d to a whopping 2014, I think this may be the first #'d Jeter I've ever pulled from a pack. No joke.

Here's the best of the rest. I'll definitely be buying more of these to satisfy the pack-busting need.

 

 

Cool surprise from Weston

A few weeks ago, Weston of Fantastic Catch and I struck up a trade. I sent a bunch of Cardinals his way, and received a bunch of Yanks in return. Most were Bowman cards, including a Ty Hensley I needed.

However, the coolest thing he sent was this broken down Bowman blaster box featuring Michael Pineda. At first I thought it was cardboard to keep the cards safe, but Weston clearly was very thoughtful to include this. It's really cool!

Thanks, Weston!

A nice pull from a Heritage Blaster

I've seen a lot of folks having some nice success with Heritage blasters this year. I've seen a good amount of relics pulled, and when you consider that a hobby box has only one relic guaranteed (I think this is the case - keep me honest), it seems that blasters are providing a good value. I had been ducking into Modell's after work each night to see if their Heritage blasters arrived, and finally on Tuesday there was a fresh stack. I grabbed one (as well as an Opening Day blaster). I'll provide all those results/tradebait in a later post.

Truth be told, this pull came on the eighth and final pack of the blaster. True story. You know that feeling when your hope for a good pull dwindles and dwindles until there are only one or two packs left? That's how I felt. Buyer's remorse. I has hoped for a relic - of anyone. Didn't matter who it was. As I opened the last pack, I saw a little bit of shininess peeking thought. To my surprise, here is what was there:

Wow! A Curtis Granderson Chrome Refractor. But look closely. The borders. They are BLACK. It's a not just a normal Refractor! I checked the back of the pack to see the odds, and this was a cool 1:690 pull! The card is numbered 59/63 and is certainly the rarest card I've pulled since I got back into collecting over a year ago. The fact that this is a Yankee makes it even better. The scan was quick and came out crappy - my apologies. But the card really is beautiful.

I'm tempted to buy another blaster, but I know this was a luck pull and I'll probably stay away and just collect the Yanks.

Lineage Blaster w/ HOFer Relic

I've been wanting to get my hands on Topps Lineage, but hadn't come accross any until I stopped by a Modell's over the weekend. Since I refuse to step foot in my rip-off LCS and Target is a bit of a hassle to get to, I stop in Mo's once a week to see if they have any new cards. Most of the time they don't, but once in awhile I'll find a fresh shipment of blasters or packs. This was one such occasion.

I eagerly opened the box and expected a lesser relic. It's just how I've been conditioned. I was extremely delighted and surprised to find this:

Nice! A HOFer! And the orange jersey is particularly cool. This was the first time I had actually seen one of these up close, and I love them. The "Game Used Memorabilia" words are a little too small and blend together illegibly, but otherwise I think these are a great set. I like that it's a mini relic, but is unframed.

I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to do with the card just yet. I could easily use it as trade bait. I could sell it on eBay and use those funds to contribute to a vintage Mantle that I want. Or, I could just keep it because it's a cool little card and I don't have any relics of HOFers. As a baseball fan, the third option is enticing.

I enjoyed the rest of the box. I hoped to pull an auto (which I didn't), but I did a decent job of beating the odds a few times considering there were only seven packs in a blaster. I didn't get a pop-up, but I did get some nice inserts and a bunch of Yankees (including two inserts). I also really like the base cards, and it was fun to open a pack where every player was either a past or present star for the most part. I wish there were stats on the back instead of the write-ups, that's my only real disappointment. This is by far my favorite set of the year, which shows how different my taste is than most collectors. Many went gaga over A&G while I hated it and thought it was awful, and many hate Lineage while I think it's great.

Pack 1:
67 - N. Cruz
74 - Brooks Robinson
84 - Kershaw
TV4 - Zimmerman Venezuelan (nice! I didn't even know I got this until I looked at the card for this post)
189 - Jaime Garcia
114 - An elf named Dustin
120 - Ichiro
166 - Gallardo

Pack 2:
7 - Mantle
42 - Jackie Robinson (not a bad first two guys to get)
56 - Victorino
154 - Fergie Jenkins Diamond Anniversary shiny
14/20 - Nishioka Rookie
138 - Prince Fielder
167 - Corey Hart
178 - Pujols

Pack 3:
48 - Fisk
34 - K. Drabek
25 - Whitey Ford
16 - Walter Johnson
82 - Ike Davis Mini
125 - Mark Teixeira
117 - Torii Hunter
109 - Latos

Pack 4:
82 - Ike Davis
91 - Morel (I pull this dude's cards in like every pack)
99 - Honus Wagner
52 - Andre Dawson
140 - Albert Belle Platinum Diamond (it's kind of cool to see him back in a set)
23 - A crazy person whose last name starts with the letter Z
141 - Ozzie (or Ozzy to Topps) Smith
131 - Carlos Lee

Pack 5:
38 - Carpenter
24 - Nishioka
12 - Andrus
50 - Gehrig Mini (awesome!)
152 - D. DeJesus - wait, this isn't autographed?! Does he have cards that aren't autographed?!
169 - Cliff Lee
142 - Haren
133 - Greinke

Pack 6:
2 - Jeter
19 - Larry Walker (good to see him recognized here too!)
26 - Grady Sizemore
37 - J. Upton
49 - Matt Kemp Diamond Anniversary shiny
124 - F. Gutierrez
116 - Pedro Alvarez
108 - Hank Aaron

Pack 7:
45 - Ryan Howard
57 - McCovey
71 - Kurt (If Ichiro Suzuki can go by his first name, so should Kurt Suzuki)
Jeter 3D!!!!!!
164 - Beachy
181 - Frank Thomas
177 - Hughes
197 - Andre Dawson Rookie Cup

How did I do against the odds? Each blaster had seven packs:
Diamond Anniversary 1:4 (got 2)
Platinum Diamond 1:4 (got 1)
Minis 1:4 (got 2)
3D 1:12 (for 1)
Cloth Sticker 1:12 (none)
Topps Venezuelan 1:12 (got 1)
Rookies 1:6 (got 1)
Stand-ups 1:12 (none)
No autos or additional relics.

So, overall it was a pleasant experience. I wanted to run out and get another blaster, but I decided against it. I'm not a set builder, but I'm tempted here because I really like the mix of players. Hmmm, I'll think it over. In the meantime, if you see any non Yanks you really like/need, let me know and we can work something out.

My Disappointing Heritage Blaster

On my way home from work on Thursday, I stopped my Modell’s really quickly to see if they had 2011 Topps Heritage yet. They have a puny card display that is usually pretty empty. Lo and behold, they had Heritage - blasters, loose packs, and packs that came in cardboard packaging…but had the same number of cards as the loose packs (9). I don’t really get it. Based on other bloggers' reviews of the blasters, I should have just gotten a pack to see the cards, and been done with it. But I got greedy and bought a blaster. I know I’m due for a good hit soon…a relic or an auto, so I figured this would be it. Not true. Should have trusted my gut.

Now, I must say I really like the base cards. The card stock is great. The design from 1962 is cool, and the packaging is awesome. Love the green wrappers (1987 Topps anyone?), and I love the feel of the cards. Cardboard is good. The problem is, it’s boring opening these packs. Nothing shiny or off-colored sticks out. It really did feel like I was opening a pack of 1987’s with the 1962 design. It was just that boring. I guess I like inserts/parallels more than I thought I did. Have you ever bought a box or blaster, and about two packs in you know it wasn’t a good idea? That’s how this was. I did get some nice base cards, and I’ve highlighted each pack below. The odds of SPs are 1:3, and I got three (woohoo, beat the odds) but they don’t feel very special. I did manage to get two inserts – a Harmon Killebrew Flashback and a Ramon Hernandez Chrome #'d to 1962. Both are completely available for trade.

On a side note - is this set sponsored by Nike? I feel like every other player has the swoosh in a very prominent place.

I also managed to get three Yankees and a couple Babe Ruths. The Yanks I got were Teixeira, Pettitte, and Hughes. I’d like to get the rest of them (especially the Russell Martin – I like cards of new acquisitions), but probably won’t be buying any more packs.

Pack 1:
340 Billinglsy (did a double take, he looks like Kevin Brown in this pic)
421 K Rod
83 Carpenter
229 Ciriaco
486 Prado SP (really? Prado is an SP?)
384 A's Team
98 Twins Team
223 Theriot
222 Franklin Gutierrez

Pack 2:
42 N Cruz
308 Bay
60 NL Strikeout Leaders
162 Alex Gordon
133 Torres
408 Coghlan
138 Babe Ruth The Famous Slugger
506 Colvin
158 Braves
5 of 6 Checklist

Snoozefest so far. This box was a bad idea.

Pack 3:
299 Descalso
240 Nady
181 Gee
473 Sporting News All Star Joe Mauer SP
257 Kazmir
199 Aroldis Chapman
15 Carmona
267 BJ Upton
34 Bieber Kinsler

Pack 4:
316 Mauer Sends One Into Orbit
19 McGee
392 Sporting News All Star Ryan Zimmerman
152 Riggleman
260 Cain
188 Freddy Sanchez
271 Jeffress
234 Josh Hamilton Rangers Retaliate
205 Rolen

Pack 5:
201 Beckett (someone take this from me)
400 Teixeira (woohoo!)
273 Chris Perez
61 Brewers
50 Pujols
491 Torii Hunter SP
355 Matusz
275 Butler
4 Zobrist

Pack 6:
136 Babe Joins Yanks
368 Arencibia
46 Hamels
309 Alonso
104 Domonic Bfrown
49 Jordan Brown
331 Bronson Arroyo Mike Leake
254 Chris Carter
179 Latos

Pack 7:
287 Feliz
255 Edwin Jackson
204 Bogusevic
166 Slowey
394 Sporting News All Star Ryan Braun
Flashbacks Killebrew
156 Conger
310 Pettitte
102 Capps

Last pack:
173 Peralta
376 Huuuughes!
345 An Elf named Dustin
47 Fukudome
C47 - Chome Ramon Hernandez 654/1962. Meh.
361 Wolf
62 Inge
180 Thome
177 Happ

There it is. Overall, a massive waste of $21. Glad to trade any of these away, just let me know what you need!