2013 Topps Albert Pujols #350 variation

This Out of Bounds Pujols card was in a random bubble mailer after I picked it up several years ago - a card like the Pujols can be added as a showcase piece in my Angels frankenset, since unlike other team collectors, I really have no set collection of Angels cards I'm chasing down.

Fairfield assorted 20 pack repack mix #2

This box didn't end up having as much juice as the first repack box - though the cards may not be worth much individually, the nicer cards came out of the five 2013 Topps Archives packs.

2008 Upper Deck Spectrum
#69 Nick Swisher
#84 Felix Hernandez
#85 Ichiro
#DJ 91 Derek Jeter - Retrospectrum insert

2009 Upper Deck Spectrum
#82 Tim Lincecum
#98 Vernon Wells
#95 Ian Kinsler
#SS-TH Tim Hudson - Spectrum Swatches insert / jersey card
#65 Derek Jeter
#33 Troy Tulowitzki

2012 Topps 
#10 Jon Lester
#154 Ty Wigginton
#TM-35 Zack Greinke - 1987 Topps minis insert
#TT-17 Joe Morgan / Brandon Phillips - Timeless Talents insert
#42 Drew Pomeranz
#283 Brandon Allen
#285 Drew Storen
#131 Ian Desmond
#27 John Buck
#194 Danny Duffy

2013 Bowman Platinum
#BPP 91 Michael Wacha
#54 Josh Hamilton - Gold parallel
#68 Johnny Cueto
#BPP 90 Marcel Ozuna

2013 Bowman Platinum
#44 Jarrod Parker
#BPCP 94 Ty Hensley - refractor
#60 Will Middlebrooks
#BPP 67 Joey Gallo

2013 Topps Series I
#54 Jaime Garcia
#236 Joe Nathan
#308 Desmond Jennings
#43 R.A. Dickey
#277 Brendan Ryan
#4 Yadier Molina
#268 David Lough
#247 Luis Perez
#TM-42 Willie Mays - 1972 Topps minis insert
#146 Kyle McClellan
#102 Denard Span
#237 Brandon Lyon

2013 Topps Series I
#44 Anthony Rizzo
#275 Johnny Cueto
#135 Eric Hosmer
#255 Josh Johnson
#23 Jemile Weeks
#100 Mike Moustakas
#231 Melky Mesa
#TM-18 Carlos Santana - 1972 Topps minis insert
#32 Craig Breslow
#180 Casey Kotchman
#258 Doug Fister
#159 Felipe Paulino

2013 Topps Series I
#329 Rafael Soriano
#38 Brian Wilson
#133 James Shields
#120 Ian Desmond
#207 Matt Holliday
#330 Ryan Raburn
#266 Albert Pujols
#CD-18 Chris Sale - Chasing the Dream insert
#221 Heath Bell
#312 Scott Hairston
#71 Kyle Kendrick
#208 Kurt Suzuki

2013 Topps Series I
#16 Andre Ethier
#52 C.C. Sabathia
#137 Edinson Volquez
#34 Felix Hernandez
#179 Detroit Tigers - 2012 ALCS Game 4
#35 Justin Verlander
#288 Starling Marte
#183 Drew Hutchison
#241 Jacoby Ellsbury - Emerald parallel
#164 Lucas Harrell
#56 Joe Blanton
#250 Jon Niese

2013 Topps Series I - die-cut pack designed as a hanger
#141 Carlos Santana
#22 Clayton Kershaw
#213 Alex Rodriguez
#263 Ted Lilly
#85 Sean Doolittle
#187 Nick Maronde
#111 Casey Kelly
#CD-25 Mike Moustakas - Chasing the Dream insert
#215 Gordon Beckham
#279 Vicente Padilla
#168 Kyle Farnsworth
#211 Jarrod Parker

2013 Topps Series I - die-cut pack designed as a hanger
#28 Prince Fielder
#155 Mat Latos
#113 Starlin Castro
#115 Tim Hudson
#17 Shin-Soo Choo
#149 Yovani Gallardo
#254 Sean Burnett
The Million Dollar Chase info card
#56 Joe Blanton
#250 Jonathon Niese
#152 Jose Contreras
#177 Elliot Johnson

2013 Topps Archives
#27 Manny Machado
#88 Derek Holland
#102 Matt Moore
#169 Pedro Alvarez

#83-BH Bryce Harper - 1983 All-Stars insert
#178 Giancarlo Stanton
#1 Babe Ruth
#69 Eddie Mathews

2013 Topps Archives
#182 Andre Ethier
#35 Adam Dunn
#74 Miguel Montero

#MT-DJ Derek Jeter - Tall Boy insert
#66 Tim Hudson
#125 Kyle Lohse
#199 Eric Hosmer
#33 Corey Hart

2013 Topps Archives
#77 Tony Cingrani
#144 Paul Molitor
#184 Kyle Seager

#MT-BP Buster Posey - Tall Boy insert

#GH-JR Jackie Robinson - Gallery of Heroes insert
#154 Yovani Gallardo
#4 Marco Scutaro
#78 Johan Santana

2013 Topps Archives
#163 Hyun-Jin Ryu
#15 Mike Morse
#58 Cole Hamels

#MT-DM Denny McLain - Tall Boy insert
#142 Willie Stargell
#175 Yogi Berra
#18 Jon Lester
#62 Jacoby Ellsbury

2013 Topps Archives
#182 Andre Ethier
#35 Adam Dunn
#74 Miguel Montero
#117 Carlos Santana

#83-BP Buster Posey - 1983 All-Stars insert
#70 Ozzie Smith
#147 Hiroki Kuroda
#155 Wilin Rosario

2013 Topps Chrome
#67 Ryan Vogelsong
#132 Ricky Nolasco
#155 Adam Eaton - refractor
#49 Andrew McCutchen 

2013 Topps Chrome
#189 Alfredo Marte
#CC-MH Matt Harvey - Chrome Connections insert
#55 Mike Olt
#122 Adrian Beltre

2013 Topps Chrome
#160 Ian Kinsler
#177 Mike Moustakas
#213 Gio Gonzalez - refractor
#166 Jackie Bradley Jr.

2013 Topps Opening Day
#172 Manny Machado
#93 Justin Upton
#SC-8 Ryan Zimmerman - Superstar Celebrations insert
#35 Justin Verlander - blue parallel serial #'d 1666/2013
#24 Tommy Milone
#160 Johan Santana
#43 Pedro Alvarez

The one hit included with the 20 packs was a 2003 Flair J.D. Drew Diamond Cuts jersey card #DC-JD - Drew was a fine ballplayer when healthy but was more than a little detached, so he wasn't a traditional fan favorite.

Fairfield assorted 20 pack repack mix #1

I'd read blog posts talking about the hits pulled from the 20 pack boxes at Target and was feeling impulsive, so I grabbed two $19.99 boxes for myself - in the window of a couple of boxes I saw, there were multiple Topps Allen and Ginter's packs, multiple Topps Chrome packs and multiple Archives packs.

I thought these boxes might be worth a gamble, even though the packs inside are probably still retail discards and I don't think I was going to pull anything good - while there were no loose 1988 Donruss or 1989 Topps sticking out, that told me nothing.

The one hit included with the 20 packs was a 2011 Bowman Sterling Nolan Fontana Team USA jersey card #USAR-NF - very random, but it's a hit.

I pulled a 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Jake Peavy mini serial #'d to 50 which I thought was my best hit - so this break was probably par for the course until I looked closer at a couple of other cards.

2007 Upper Deck
#46 Juan Salas
#308 Matt Holliday
#391 Jeff Conine
#8 Josh Fields
#328 Jose Garcia
#395 Cole Hamels
#126 Shane Costa
#129 Mike Sweeney
Scoreboard Challenge info card

2009 Upper Deck Spectrum
#23 Carlos Quentin
#39 Dan Uggla
#85 Ichiro
#17 Alfonso Soriano
#1 Brandon Webb
2013 Topps Series II
#633 Victor Martinez
#530 Wade Miley
#459 Jesus Montero
#407 Juan Pierre
#408 Coco Crisp
#549 Huston Street
#TM-62 Paul O'Neill - 1972 Topps Minis insert
#384 Jake McGee
#540 Michael Bourn
#642 Austin Jackson
#492 Jose Molina
#613 Jhoulys Chacin

2013 Topps Series II
#560 Yunel Escobar
#575 Justin Morneau
#471 Trevor Cahill
#486 Jason Kubel
#517 Pedro Alvarez
The Million Dollar Chase info card
#CD-15 Giancarlo Stanton - Chase it Down insert
#338 Mike Trout
#483 Yordany Valdespin
#378 Joe Kelly
#554 R.A. Dickey
#577 Matt Harvey

2013 Topps Series II
#416 Jordan Lyles
#452 Raul Ibanez
#417 Blake Forsythe
#544 Tyler Chatwood
#597 Marco Scutaro
#456 Pablo Sandoval
#492 Jose Molina - Emerald parallel
#422 Alfredo Marte
#609 Scott Baker
#409 Logan Morrison
#539 Phil Coke
#356 Greg Dobbs

2013 Topps Series II
#333 Santiago Casilla
#342 Matt Dominguez
#499 Billy Butler
#383 Matt Harrison
#518 Nolan Reimold
#364 Carlos Pena - red border parallel
The Million Dollar Chase info card
#590 Liam Hendriks
#354 Casey Janssen
#538 Brett Wallace
#572 Lorenzo Cain
#431 Blake Beavan

2013 Topps Series II
#506 Andy Pettitte
#563 Nate Eovaldi
#389 Phil Hughes
#548 John Lackey
#637 Ben Revere
#388 Justin Turner
#MM-6 Ike Davis - Making Their Mark insert

#331 Jose Reyes - short print / variation
2nd Chance Vintage Card Giveaway contest card
#421 Jordy Mercer
#490 Cody Ross
#528 Darin Mastrianni
#398 Mike Fiers

2013 Topps Series II
#644 Ryan Lavarnway
#397 Mike Aviles
#525 J.P. Arencibia
#633 Victor Martinez
#570 Devin Mesoraco
#TM-62 Paul O'Neill - 1972 Topps Minis insert
#521 Evan Scribner
#384 Jake McGee
#368 Chris Young
#643 Matt Garza
#607 Chris Carter
#339 Nick Swisher

2013 Topps Series 2 hobby
#377 J.D. Martinez
#404 Ryan Madson
#559 Travis Snider
#532 Todd Helton
#WBC-11 Pablo Sandoval - World Baseball Classic insert
#393 Andres Torres
#418 Evan Gattis
#463 Jason Hammel
#566 C.J. Wilson
#378 Joe Kelly

2013 Topps Allen and Ginter's
#142 Garrett Jones
#241 Matt Cain
#275 Josh Beckett
#10 Sandy Koufax
#221 Salvador Perez - mini
#ATY-JR Jim Rice - Across the Years insert

2013 Topps Allen and Ginter's
#200 Dustin Pedroia
#157 Adam Jones
#295 Dan Uggla
#CAP-IN Inca - Civilizations of Ages Past insert
#81 Al Kaline - mini
#303 Wade Miley - short print

2013 Topps Allen and Ginter's
#154 Mike Morse
#179 Bonnie Bernstein
#300 Bud Selig
#185 Guillaume Robert-Demolaize
#HHH-AUG Augustus - mini
#ATY-JV Joey Votto - Across the Years insert

2013 Topps Allen and Ginter's
#273 Alcides Escobar
#261 Dwight Gooden
#134 Roy Halladay
#PS-PP Peterhof Palace - Palaces and Strongholds insert
#4 Ty Cobb - mini
#310 Brandon Phillips - short print

2013 Topps Allen and Ginter's
#188 Bill Buckner
#288 Chris Davis
#239 Craig Kimbrel
#MM-AP Apache - Martial Mystery insert
#147 Ian Desmond - mini
#349 Jason Dufner - short print

2013 Topps Archives
#81 Will Middlebrooks
#119 Ian Kinsler
#194 Yadier Molina
#45 Chase Headley
#83-TG Tony Gwynn - 1983 All-Stars insert
#46 Justin Morneau
#91 Brandon Beachy
#128 Mark Trumbo

2013 Topps Archives
#193 Jim Palmer
#3 Carlos Beltran
#97 David Wright
#69S-WRYC Ted Williams, Frank Robinson, Carl Yastrzemski, Miguel Cabrera - 4-in-1 Sticker insert
#RC-BH Bryce Harper - 1989 All-Stars insert
#18 Jon Lester
#62 Jacoby Ellsbury
#133 Jurickson Profar

2013 Topps Gypsy Queen
#44 Evan Longoria
#307 Shelby Miller
#NH-PH Philip Humber - No-Hitters insert
#219 Jake Peavy - mini sepia serial #'d 20/50
#285 Matt Garza
#96 Mike Fiers

2013 Topps Gypsy Queen
#194 Brandon Phillips
#291 Howie Kendrick
#CP-SP Salvador Perez - Collisions at the Plate insert
#37 David Wright - mini
#327 A.J. Pierzynski
#251 Doug Fister

2013 Topps Gypsy Queen
#139 Shaun Marcum
#162 Bruce Sutter
#SS-AJO Adam Jones - Sliding Stars insert
#74 Josh Rutledge - mini
#141 Alex Gordon
#176 Tony Perez

2013 Topps Opening Day
#168 Miguel Montero
#32 Jered Weaver
#SC-6 Adam Jones
#79 Tyler Colvin - blue parallel serial #'d 0355/2013
#154 Nelson Cruz
#107 Lance Berkman
#200 Evan Longoria

Meanderings generated from quarter box digs

At a card shop, I maybe picking up scrap cards at some sort of premium, so the penny pincher I seem to be - I always cap my purchases up to a certain amount.

At times, I feel like I'm going to be back at the same place soon enough - poring over the same cards, making another redundant, small purchase [when perhaps I can spend $20 or so on cheapo cards and not come back to the card shop for at least a couple of months].

I wasn't looking for anything specific when I dug out 12 cards from the quarter boxes - I feel like the MLB season is creeping closer towards the end and I'm not sure if I should be looking for cards depth of random MLB players I might not be seeing until next year [though I'll have to do it at some point between now and next season].

2013 Topps Jordy Mercer #421
2013 Topps Alfredo Marte #422
2013 Topps Brian Roberts #515 - Bryce Harper cameo/bonus baby
2013 Topps Hector Santiago #620

2013 Topps Austin Jackson #642 - retro uniform
2013 Topps Miguel Cabrera #374 - Emerald parallel
2013 Topps Heritage Grant Balfour

Deviating from the norm I picked up some oddball [as in I don't collect non-baseball] cards just for giggles - maybe a smarter collector can make sense with these cards but for now, they are impulsively mine.

2013 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Tim Tebow #37
2013 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Roman Gabriel #67

2013 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Abraham Lincoln #108
2013 Topps Finest football J.J. Watt #27 - refractor parallel

2013 Topps Finest football Drew Brees #70 - refractor parallel

Collecting topics focus No. 1 - the facial hair guys

I'm not prone to collect baseball cards [except to try and get autographed], but I still like flipping through all sorts of cards, especially with a unique focus - in recent years other collectors / card bloggers have been more proficient in hoarding and showcasing a variety of baseball cards that showcase a unique, sometimes quirky view of the game through baseball card images.

If I feel a little behind on all things related to actual baseball card collecting, I like the idea I can still build up my collecting topics collection - even though right now I'm trying to focus on only cards of players / coaches with facial hair.

This means for an indefinite period of time, I'm basically keeping an eye out for facial hair cards I've added this year - as well as trying to figure out if I have 100 percent of the cards listed in my database in-hand.

Once I figure out how to keep all the facial hair cards I have together - then I'll move into another collecting topic to swim in for a while.

My official position as far as cards out I don't have in my collection is I don't have to have them all - but I'd like to be able to discover and add 'new' cards here through pack breaks, quarter box digs, et al.

Quarter box finds - what else is new?

2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Evan Longoria #44
2006 Topps Turkey Red Joe Blanton #434
2010 Topps Pro Debut Randal Grichuk #147 - x3
2013 Topps Jason Grilli #174 - gold serial #'d 1711/2013
2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Jose Quintana #42
2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Salvador Perez #136

2013 Topps Gypsy Queen George Brett #230
2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Dustin Pedroia #275
2013 Topps Heritage Memorable Moments #MM-TR

2013 Panini Totally Certified Jeremy Lin #129

Building card 'depth' through the quarter box

2013 Topps Brandon Inge #76
2013 Topps Adam Eaton #79
2013 Topps Tony Cingrani #142
2013 Topps Carter Capps #157 x2
2013 Topps A.J. Ramos #175
2013 Topps Tyler Cloyd #197
2013 Topps Melky Mesa #231
2013 Topps Lucas Luetge #244
2013 Topps Adam Greenberg #253
2013 Topps Trevor Rosenthal #261 x2
2013 Topps David Lough #268
2013 Topps Craig Breslow #32 - gold parallel serial #'d 1291/2013
2013 Topps Matt Carpenter #193 - gold parallel serial #'d 0637/2013
2013 Topps Ryan Theriot #205 - gold parallel serial #'d 0210/2013
2013 Topps Addison Reed #285 - gold parallel serial #'d 1936/2013
2013 Topps Allen Craig #321 - gold parallel serial #'d 0307/2013
2013 Topps Cameron Maybin #324 - gold parallel serial #'d 1188/2013
2013 Topps Joey Votto #TM-16 - Topps 1972 mini parallel

Mail day - 2013 Topps Paco Rodriguez Camo parallel

I don't know much about Rodriguez but looked for a 'nicer card' to hopefully get autographed some time this year - just be eyeballing him, he looks like another Javier Lopez or Jeremy Affeldt, two veteran lefty relievers for the Los Angeles Dodgers' main rivals, the San Francisco Giants.

Rodriguez was a second round pick by the Dodgers in 2012 and after making his professional debut - was the first player from last year's draft to reach the Major Leagues.

The Braun Advantage

I pulled a card of Ryan Braun from a break recently and was going to include the following, though it's been about a year since his PED flap and people stumbling onto the blog might consider the comment uncouth, so I edited it out - it might be unfair but the only differences between clean PED free athletes and dirty ones is when they take their meds and whether their law firms can beat the rap if their test results are found suspect.

I was kind of shocked [or took some delight in the schadenfreude] when I heard Braun was caught up in another PED flap - but kind of pissed I took out my prescient jab just a day or so earlier.

Comparing Braun to A-Rod, at the very least the guy in his late 20's still had his MLB career ahead of him - unlike the guy in his mid 30's whose baggage has out for everyone to see and whose career is towards the bitter end.

Still, I find this whole thing sad for Braun and in the same boat - there is a part of me that is ambivalent towards apparent PED use, thinking fan sentiment is kind of stupid about guys suspect but are playing for their home team or are media, golden boy jocks.

However, past the supposed Steroids Era from the early 1990's to the early 2000's - it makes me feel some authenticity and transparency is still missing, that regardless of hardships in playing through a full 162-game season, I can't trust in MLB players in general as far as the numbers they put up and how they go about things.

2013 Topps J.J. Putz

I'm still on a 2013 Topps Series I kick and bought another blaster [recap to come at some point] - I pulled an otherwise unremarkable common card of J.J. Putz and I found it interesting Topps noted Putz' notable trading card pull from last season featuring pop star Justin Bieber.

Among my collection of 15-20 collecting topics cards is a small group featuring cards with interesting backs - usually I'll put aside a card if there is an unique factoid about the player besides the usual stats on the back of card.

The backs usually mention some achievement on the field or about the player's playing career, but it can be anything - especially when a card refers to something off-beat that gives some insight into a player when the card was printed.

A-Rod's road to irrelevance

With his latest hip surgery, I thought Alex Rodriguez's career was probably over - in a sense where he's not going to have anymore full seasons as a dominant player [this has probably been the case for the last three or four years] and even if he came back some time in 2013, it's going to take a long, painful process to get things going again just to have him playing well.

Then a new set of PED allegations came out this past week and it's ugly to read about and think A-Rod's career has been a sham - as an admitted frontrunner who 'rooted' for A-Rod since he was the best MLB player at points of his playing career, I don't know if he is someone to still believe in as a ballplayer.

Other players have been suspected of being PED cheats and others have failed tests but with his career winding down - it seems like A-Rod is more like Jose Canseco than an active or former player with PED baggage you can still judge on some sort of merit like a Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens.

Edit [2/1/13] - and the details keep getting ickier and ickier.