Monday, November 30, 2015

2015 Panini Contenders blaster box 2 of 2

Pack one
#35 Zack Erwin
#28 Cody Poteet
#20 Brandon Koch
#22 Donnie Dewees - Game Day Tickets insert
#40 Braden Bishop - School Colors insert

#46 Tyler Jay - Old School Colors insert

Pack two
#11 Anthony Hermelyn
#1 A.J. Minter
#31 Dansby Swanson

#1 Yoan Moncada - Passports insert
#17 Jake Lemoine - School Colors insert
#4 Craig Biggio - Old School Colors insert

Pack three
#10 Andrew Stevenson

#91 Tony Gwynn
#83 Robert Refsnyder
#9 Jon Harris / Tate Matheny - Collegiate Connections insert
#5 Andrew Benintendi - School Colors insert
#14 Tony Gwynn - Old School Colors insert

Pack four
#76 Pete O'Brien

#70 Michael Conforto
#1 Dansby Swanson - autograph; Draft Ticket blue foil parallel
#23 Scott Kingery - Class Reunion insert
#29 Mikey White - School Colors insert
#29 Kyle Schwarber - Old School Colors insert

Pack five
#65 Luke Weaver

#61 Mike Schmidt
#58 Tyler Beede

#20 Alex Young - Game Day Tickets insert
#8 Breckin Williams - School Colors insert
#39 Breckin Williams - Old School Colors insert

Pack six
#56 Jon Harris
#19 Braden Shipley

#27 Triston McKenzie - autograph
#9 Yoan Lopez - Passports insert
#31 Anthony Hermelyn - School Colors insert
#10 Bo Jackson - Old School Colors insert

Pack seven
#9 Richie Martin

#99 Will Clark
#90 Thomas Eshelman
#6 Dansby Swanson / Rhett Wiseman - Collegiate Connections insert
#47 Zack Erwin - School Colors insert
#20 Kevin Newman - Old School Colors insert

Saturday, November 28, 2015

2015 Topps Heritage hanger box recap II

I bought this earlier in the year and finally ripped it open - hoping to see some sort of big hit pull or redemption for one

I was in a bored stupor going through these 35 cards - as is, I probably could have left this unopened for a bit longer.

#366 Alex Cobb
#26 Ryan Zimmerman
#306 Rafael Ynoa / Jackson Williams
#411 Ryne Sandberg
#362 Carlos Beltran
#246 Kyle Gibson
#312 Jon Singleton
#278 Mike Morse
#174 Neftali Feliz
#67 Dilson Herrera / Erik Goeddel
#410 Rajai Davis
#158 Trevor Cahill
#135 Conor Gillaspie
#160 Michael Pineda
#467 Paul Goldschmidt - SP
#NAP-18 Troy Tulowitzki - New Age Performers insert
#TN-1 Harmon Killebrew / Nelson Cruz - Then and Now insert
#THC-34 Todd Frazier - Holofoil parallel
#THC-437 Josh Hamilton - Holofoil parallel
#THC-462 Felix Hernandez - Holofoil parallel
#THC-60 Matt Holliday - Holofoil parallel
#THC-477 Ian Desmond - Holofoil parallel
#280 Howie Kendrick
#359 Steve Cishek
#138 Tony Gwynn Jr.
#125 Jon Jay
#389 Shin-Soo Choo
#217 Giancarlo Stanton / Anthony Rizzo / Lucas Duda - National League Home Run Leaders
#262 Huston Street
#140 Aroldis Chapman
#78 Joe Panik
#39 Marcus Stroman
#132 Travis Ishikawa
#194 Nationals 1st Place NL East Division
#341 Terry Collins

Thursday, November 26, 2015

2015 Panini Contenders blaster box 1 of 2

I wanted to see what these cards look like so I picked up a two-box blaster of lot - to mainly pull assorted cards of players drafted this past year.

Because this product is currently $130 per hobby box on Blowout Cards, it may not be a heavily broken down product like Bowman Draft - where there might be hand collated base sets available left and right.

Maybe I'm missing something, but this lot might be a reasonable purchase - especially with two autos [even if they are the $2 variety] per box as sort of a bonus to whatever else I'm going to pull.

The design and images are fairly sharp - as far as player content, in addition to 2015 draftees, there are players from previous drafts, international players and also retired MLB stars / legends who played in college.

Though this product isn't licensed by MLB/MiLB, Panini has an agreement with the Collegiate Licensing Company - so while college baseball isn't followed as strongly as football or basketball, cards of players who came out of college can be tied back with their particular schools.

Pack one

#45 Grayson Long
#39 Drew Smith
#32 Dave Winfield
#23 Yairo Munoz - Passports insert
#24 Brett Lilek - School Colors insert
#23 Aaron Judge - Old School Colors insert

Pack two
#24 Carson Fulmer
#15 Blake Trahan

#5 Alex Bregman
#21 Russell Wilson / Trea Turner - Collegiate Connections insert
#38 Blake Trahan - School Colors insert

#44 Ozzie Smith - Old School Colors insert

Pack three
#95 Tyler Jay
#86 Skye Bolt

#78 Philip Pfeifer
#13 Cody Poteet - Class Reunion insert
#1 Dansby Swanson - School Colors insert
#2 Reggie Jackson - Old School Colors insert

Pack four
#71 Michael Matuella
#49 Ian Happ

#21 Eric Jenkins - autograph; Draft Ticket blue foil parallel
#10 Kevin Newman - Game Day insert

#3 Dillon Tate - School Colors insert
#12 Paul Molitor - OId School Colors insert

Pack five
#44 Garrett Cleaviger
#38 Donnie Dewees

#31 Dansby Swanson
#21 Teoscar Hernandez - Passports insert
#27 Andrew Suarez - School Colors insert
#27 Hunter Dozier - OId School Colors insert

Pack six
#23 Brent Lilek
#14 Barry Larkin

#42 Bryan Hudson - autograph

#19 Aaron Judge / Taylor Ward - Collegiate Connections insert
#6 Carson Fulmer - School Colors insert
#37 Carson Fulmer - OId School Colors insert

Pack seven
#4 Aaron Nola
#94 Tyler Beede
#85 Scott Kingery
#11 Richie Martin - Class Reunion insert
#46 Tate Matheny - School Colors insert
#42 Andrew Suarez - OId School Colors insert

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Topps [1978-present] card run

I finally went through the cards I had for all 30 MLB teams and listed them in a Google Sheets file - this projects seems to be a little tedious because I have to try and make a wantlist for cards I may not be interested in chasing after at the moment, though I do want a showcase of Topps cards for each of the current MLB teams.

The goal is to find a player's card for each team, for each of the years - anything highlighted in red means I need the particular card, anything listed in black is the card I already for the team/year and any blank spaces are spots I still have to figure out with regards to selecting a card.

For whatever reason, I chose 1978 as the starting year for this project since I figure that is already at least 37 years worth of cardboard to pore over - even if I'm not going all the way back through the old-school/vintage Topps years.

While 1978 is the starting point, the plan is find cards for the present year going forward - for as long as I have this itch for this particular project.

One rule for this project is not having a player represented more than three times - as much as I'd like certain players from particular teams represented as much as possible, I want a variety of different players.

Another rule [I may actually about to break starting from 2015] is only using cards from flagship Topps sets - I actually found some 'stragglers' that were part of update sets that I removed.

However, I'm missing a 2015 Houston Astros card and while I can fill it with a random Astros card - I think a 2015 Topps Update Carlos Correa would fit in perfectly.

Saturday, November 07, 2015

Featured autographs - Garrett Richards and Sonny Gray

2015 Topps Triple Threads Garrett Richards UAJR-GR - Unity Autograph Jumbo Relics Sepia serial #'d 14/75

2015 Topps Triple Threads Sonny Gray UAJR-SG - Unity Autograph Jumbo Relics Sepia serial #'d 06/75

Certified autograph cards of MLB players seem to be a dime a dozen and within a product like 2015 Topps Triple Threads - maybe there one too many variations of basically the same type of card, with just a different color scheme and serial numbering.

These cards will never be worth more than what I paid for them since they are not considered big hit pulls from the product - however, for about the price of a blaster box, I like the idea I was able to pick up a pair of nice looking cards featuring a couple of pitching aces.

Friday, November 06, 2015

2015 Bowman Chrome Miguel Sano #PP 8

I picked this Prospects Profiles Minis insert up for a dollar because it's shiny and it pictures a guy who had quite a rookie season - the card probably doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but I don't like that it's kind of odd-sized and doesn't quite look like a 'stand alone' card.

I want to say there may have been some novelty in the idea this maybe an early card - but Sano has had at least several years worth of prospect and minor league cards.

Thursday, November 05, 2015

Featured autograph - Ryan McMahon

It looks like McMahon has had certified autograph cards since 2013, so this 2015 Bowman Inception card probably just another miscellaneous card - it did catch my eye and I picked it up for $4 since I thought it was a nice looking card serial #'d 17/99.

McMahon appears to be a solid hitting prospect who may get a boost if he gets to play in Colorado - even with Nolan Arenado entrenched at third base, he could probably reach the Major Leagues at some point within the next couple of years.

Wednesday, November 04, 2015

Collecting projects - and the beat goes on

I've had flings with starting an Angels frankenset, tinkering with my award winners collection and trying to tweak my personal collections list - while I'm not a kid anymore and maybe the hobby of trading cards has been 'over' a long time ago, I'm still thinking up various ways to mess around with my cards.

Other card projects I have on my mind include:

1.) Topps year-to-year card run [1978-present] for each 30 MLB teams - this has been a dormant project for me, though I’d like to go through the cards I have and create a wantlist so I have some cards to chase after like a 1978 Topps Johnny Bench and a 2016 Topps Buster Posey [when next year's cards come out] for their respective team runs.

2.) Collecting topics / mini-collections - I want to be able to list the various mini-collections cards I've picked up this year like this 2014 Topps Chrome Yosmil Pinto [awesome action] as 'yearly achievements' and occasionally account for cards I've picked up from previous years but haven't really bothered to list.

A problem I have is my mini-collections spreadsheet seems to have gotten too bloated to upload to Google Sheets - while I want my mini-collection information in one database, I'm thinking about listing 'prominent' mini-collections in separate 'stand alone' files.

3.) Building up my A-Z singles collection as sort of a refined showcase of sorts - I'd like to list cards that fit my 'A-Z singles' criteria [not quite PC cards, probably more like random pulls and finds that may have some appeal depending on what the player does] and also physically have the cards together in one place as opposed to being scattered around.

Maybe having a collection of 'A-Z singles' is kind of like fantasy sports - where I try to keep up with players' performances to see which guys are hot and not.

4.) Angels Opening Day sets - maybe inspired by at least a card blogger or two, maybe I want to put together a collection of cards featuring Angels opening day lineups.

Maybe my Angels cards are just kind of 'loose' all around - so much like with my frankenset project, maybe a goal is really to use up much of my base and ‘lesser’ insert cards for something relevant.

Tuesday, November 03, 2015

2015 Topps Update hanger box break

Even though it's just a bunch of cards to me at this point - though there maybe an eclectic mix of players past and present found here.

#US-38 Michael Lorenzen
#US-30 David Phelps
#US-325 Matt Kemp
#US-205 Andres Blanco
#US-157 Noah Syndergaard
#US-122 Marlon Byrd
#US-263 Pedro Strop
#US-296 J.B. Shuck
#US-179 Adam Liberatore
#US-352 Jose Reyes
#US-112 Conor Gillaspie
#US-200 Adam Jones
#US-132 Gerardo Parra
#US-12 Travis Ishikawa

#FHR-1 Ernie Banks - 1st Home Run insert / gold foil
#FHR-26 Kennys Vargas - 1st Home Run insert / gold foil
#US-318 Phillippe Aumont
#US-13 Tommy Pham
#US-223 Kevin Jepsen
#US-81 Pat Venditte
#US-326 Jonathan Herrera
#US-256 Danny Dorn / Darrell Ceciliani
#US-28 Miguel Cabrera
#US-121 Alexi Ogando
#US-377 Taijuan Walker
#US-40 Sam Dyson
#US-149 Thomas Field
#US-201 Jose Altuve
#US-314 Rafael Betancourt
#US-290 Zach Britton
#US-49 Mark Canha
#US-27 Nathan Eovaldi
#US-5 Ryan Vogelsong
#US-379 Cameron Maybin
#US-32 Blake Swihart
#US-382 Dan Uggla
#US-35 Justin Bour
#US-390 Donovan Solano
#US-334 Clint Barmes
#US-354 Brandon Finnegan
#US-63 Kelvin Herrera
#US-88 Marc Rzepczynski
#US-391 Clayton Richards
#US-209 Prince Fielder
#US-3 Tyler Wilson
#US-70 Vance Worley
#US-140 Mark Melancon
#US-322 Mat Latos
#H-68 Bob Lemon - Highlight of the Year insert

#US-290 Zach Britton - Rainbow Foil

#RS-18 Derek Jeter - Rookie Sensations insert

#US-64 David Price - Pink parallel serial #'d 19/50

#TMB-1 Jose Canseco - Tape Measure Blasts insert
#PP-2 Curtis Pride - Pride and Perseverance insert

#518 Rajai Davis - Target Throwbacks parallel
#US-156 Colby Rasmus / Jake Marisnick / George Springer - Amazing Astros
#US-242 Kris Bryant

#US-251 Carlos Correa - Rookie Debut subset
#US-253 Trevor Rosenthal 
#US-79 Kris Bryant / Addison Russell - Rookies Rising
#US-109 Anthony Ranaudo
#US-143 Tommy Hunter
#US-241 David Ortiz / Pablo Sandoval / Hanley Ramirez - Sluggers Supreme
#US-50 Alex Guerrero
#US-85 Justin Nicolino
#US-43 Randall Delgado
#US-11 Evan Gattis
#US-55 Hank Conger
#US-174 Carlos Correa
#US-327 Ryan Webb
#US-123 Felix Hernandez
#US-168 George Kontos

Monday, November 02, 2015

2015 Topps Chrome Update box recap #2 of 2

Box two

Topps Chrome Update packs 

Pack one
#US-286 Francisco Lindor
#US-324 Carlos Rodon
#US-362 Rick Porcello
#RSC-18 Derek Jeter - Rookie Sensations insert

Pack two
#US-16 John Axford
#US-280 Mike Bolsinger
#US-388 Kevin Pillar
#US-46 David Price

Regular Topps Update

Pack one
#US-10 Bobby Parnell
#US-183 Justin Turner
#US-3 Tyler Wilson
#US-70 Vance Worley
#R-7 Anibal Sanchez - Rarities insert
#US-253 Trevor Rosenthal
#US-79 Kris Bryant / Addison Russell - Rookies Rising
#US-184 Sean Rodriguez

Pack two
#US-36 Roberto Perez
#US-161 Jeff Samardzija
#US-140 Mark Melancon
#US-322 Mat Latos
#H-67 Red Schoendienst - Highlight of the Year insert
#US-109 Anthony Ranaudo
#US-170 Mike Foltynewicz
#US-388 Kevin Pillar

Pack three
#US-328 Brandon Morrow
#US-285 Josh Rutledge
#US-87 Zack Greinke
#WW-13 David Ortiz - Whatever Works insert
#US-169 Max Scherzer
#US-108 Adonis Garcia / Jeffry Marte - Rookie Combos
#US-207 Chris Young
#US-103 Joey Gallo

Pack four
#US-331 Orlando Calixte
#US-309 Howie Kendrick
#US-218 Pedro Ciriaco
#US-305 Ryan Tepera
#US-125 Ben Revere - Gold parallel serial #'d 0133/2015
#PP-3 George Springer - Pride and Perseverance insert
#US-234 Noah Syndergaard
#US-141 Glen Perkins

Pack five
#US-387 Jonny Gomes
#US-31 Gordon Beckham
#US-366 Kelly Johnson
#US-273 Justin Upton
#MLB-7 Joe Panik - MLB All-Star Game Access insert
#US-213 Mike Trout / Albert Pujols - Home Run Halos
#US-378 Devon Travis
#US-392 Odrisamer Despaigne

World Series champs Kansas City Royals

I wouldn't have thought Christian Colon would get the opportunity to come through and get game-winning hit to lead the Kansas City Royals to their first championship since 1985 - even though Colon had been obscured as a utility guy, I guess it should be no surprise since he's just another valuable cog the Royals were able to trot out.

Though I probably wanted the New York Mets to stretch out the World Series to at least a Game 6 - the Royals were relentless and were not going to be denied, while the Mets kind of just ran out of magic.

Though I take no particular interest with the Royals, in the aftermath of their accomplishments in 2015 - it's kind of fun searching for what was written in the last five years when it came mocking and/or deriding the organization's apparent non-commitment to building a winning franchise.

Maybe with the Royals getting to the World Series in 2014, some of the doubt from the baseball pundits kind of went by the wayside - however it's much more interesting to read some of the doom and gloom now, with the Royals actually winning a championship, rather than when they fell short of their run last year.

Sunday, November 01, 2015

2015 Topps Chrome Update box recap #1 of 2

I picked a couple up for $14.99 each even though, the way the Chrome Update cards are distributed seems stingy on Topps' part - at least a couple more Topps Chrome Update packs would make these boxes less of a feast or famine purchase.

Box one

Topps Chrome Update packs - apparently a 'Bubble/Pulsar Refractor' finish to these cards is the standard and I sort of like it.

Pack one
#US-238 A.J. Cole
#US-392 Odrisamer Despaigne
#US-319 Will Harris
#RSC-4 Mike Piazza - Rookie Sensations insert

Pack two
#US-319 Will Harris - nice collation Topps
#US-398 J.T. Realmuto
#US-257 Josh Hamilton
#RSC-14 Jose Abreu - Rookie Sensations insert

Regular Topps Update - eight card packs

Pack one 
#US-84 Sean O'Sullivan
#US-78 Kris Bryant
#US-250 Danny Valencia - Rainbow Foil parallel
#RSC-5 Carlton Fisk - Rookie Sensations insert
#US-307 Hector Santiago
#US-193 Angel Castro / Arnold Leon 
#US-50 Alex Guerrero
#US-85 Justin Nicolino

Pack two
#US-204 Jeff Francoeur
#US-196 Paulo Orlando
#US-271 Mike Leake
#US-310 Clayton Kershaw
#MLB-4 Yadier Molina - MLB All-Star Game Access insert
#US-100 Andrew McCutchen
#US-59 Rafael Martin / Matt Grace
#US-43 Randall Delgado

Pack three
#US-381 Sergio Romo
#US-120 Brandon Cunniff
#US-97 Josh Ravin
#H-68 Bob Lemon - Highlight of the Year insert
#PP-5 Jason Johnson - Pride and Perseverance insert
#US-114 Jason Garcia / Scott Copeland
#US-380 Buster Posey
#US-398 J.T. Realmuto

Pack four
#US-395 Dexter Fowler
#US-131 Jordan Pacheco
#US-29 Ben Paulsen
#WW-15 Alex Gordon - Whatever Works insert
#US-154 Paul Goldschmidt
#US-159 Darren O' Day
#US-138 Dellin Betances
#US-117 Enrique Hernandez

Pack five
#US-38 Michael Lorenzen
#US-30 David Phelps
#US-360 Joc Pederson
#US-192 Albert Pujols
#US-8 Alex Claudio - Gold parallel serial #'d 1853/2015
#US-52 Cody Anderson / Phil Klein
#US-134 Steven Matz
#US-25 Byron Buxton