Featured autograph - Shane Victorino

I don't know what Victorino was doing in an Angels uniform in 2015 but he appeared in 34 games and had 84 official at-bats with the team - I picked up this 2015 Donruss insert for $4 because I just needed the most random of Victorino autograph cards to put in my all-time Angels autograph collection.

Because Panini baseball products are not licensed by Major League Baseball - maybe it's a more suitable card for my collection than a comparable card plastered with another MLB team's logo, whether it's on the player's image and/or somewhere on the card.

Assorted finds from a card shop

A numbered Freese parallel - hopefully Freese has a better season as an Angel this season after being pedestrian in 2014.

I find like finding the odd base card or two from a $50 pack in the quarter box - because they are a little thicker, a little shinier than most cards I'd usually find, these mean a little bit more to a cardboard scavenger I fancy myself as.

A couple of guys who got late season opportunities with the Angels in 2014 - Diaz is now with the Colorado Rockies and O'Malley is with the Seattle Mariners.

Greinke is a little awkward and the guy doesn't like to sign autographs interact unless obligated to do so - but he gets paid to be a starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the last I checked, has enjoyed a fairly successful run as one of the better starters in Major League Baseball.

Gonzalez is a pretty good player who can occasionally turn it up a notch - even though as a guy in his mid 30's now, he's really more steady than spectacular

More 2015 Donruss pack breaks - x4

It's nice to pull any autograph from loose packs and while the retired player shown is not exactly the type of guy I'd associate with a 2015 baseball card product - it's a card I can add to my award winners collection, since Horner was the 1978 National League Rookie of the Year.

Pack one
#189 George Brett
#185 Frank Thomas
#47 Mark Trumbo
#91 Dallas Keuchel
#135 Ryan Howard
#130 David Robertson
#23 Hisashi Iwakuma - Elite Series
#4 Dustin Pedroia - Diamond Kings

Pack two
#153 Brandon Belt
#149 Hunter Pence
#54 Nelson Cruz
#101 Albert Pujols
#105 Adrian Gonzalez
#96 James Shields
#39 Byron Buxton - Preferred insert

#172 Edwin Encarnacion - Stat Line parallel serial #'d 259/400

Pack three
#166 Alex Cobb
#69 Alexei Ramirez
#63 Anthony Rizzo
#131 Josh Donaldson
#126 Ichiro
#70 Bob Horner - Signature Series auto serial #'d 18/49
#36 Francisco Lindor - Preferred insert
#7 Johnny Cueto - Diamond Kings insert

Pack four
#176 Bryce Harper
#171 Rougned Odor
#84 Nolan Arenado
#76 Aroldis Chapman
#80 Yan Gomes
#73 Devin Mesoraco
#27 James Loney - Elite Series insert
#206 Adam Wainwright - 1981 Donruss

2015 Donruss Yasmani Tomas Preferred

I guess I've been on sort of a Donruss kick - the base cards are bland and seem like filler, but the parallels and inserts give the product a little bit of life.

If Tomas plays, he'll have his share of cards, ones that will actually picture him in an Arizona Diamondbacks uniform - but I figured to pick one this VIP Reserved insert, serial #'d to 99, just to put away for now.

There have been rumblings that Tomas isn't going to be a particular great player especially if the Arizona Diamondbacks are insistent he stick at third base - he could have a season like fellow Cuban Jose Abreu in 2014 or might find himself with no immediate place to play, despite his immense power potential.

2015 Donruss Dominator Joc Pederson #23

This doesn't really fit into my collection but I picked up to complement a 2012 Bowman Chrome autograph I pulled several years ago - even though the card is unlicensed, it's nice and shiny.

Turning it over though, I see one big mistake - the highlights listed are not about Pederson at all, but Kennys Vargas of the Minnesota Twins.

2015 Donruss Jimmy Rollins #136

I was leafing through some 2015 Donruss base cards and found this Jimmy Rollins - he is sort of depicted as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball club and actually has him hitting at Dodger Stadium even though he hasn't played one single game there as a Dodger.

It's not a big deal, it's originally an image of Rollins as a Philadelphia Phillies player - but I do think it's kind of odd to see the on-deck batter in the background with a red undershirt, wearing a red batting helmet.

2015 Donruss pack breaks #3 of 3

Pack nine
#86 Justin Verlander
#78 Corey Kluber
#105 Adrian Gonzalez
#96 James Shields
#175 R.A. Dickey
#170 Leonys Martin
#11 Maikel Franco - Donruss Preferred insert
#81 Troy Tulowitzki - Statline parallel serial #'d 262/340

Pack 10
#48 Patrick Corbin
#46 Paul Goldschmidt
#73 Devin Mesoraco
#80 Yan Gomes
#195 Ernie Banks
#194 Bo Jackson
#18 Zack Wheeler - Elite Series insert

#198 Andrew McCutchen - 1981 Donruss insert

Pack 11
#52 Justin Upton
#49 Alex Wood
#97 Alex Gordon
#88 Victor Martinez
#149 Hunter Pence
#147 Ian Kennedy
#146 Everth Cabrera
#14 Daniel Norris - Donruss Preferred insert

#14 Clayton Kershaw - Diamond Kings insert

Pack 12
#104 Clayton Kershaw
#95 Eric Hosmer
#120 Danny Santana
#113 Jose Fernandez
#185 Frank Thomas
#180 Stephen Strasburg
Dummy card
#21 Jimmy Rollins

#24 Bob Gibson - All-Time Diamond Kings insert

2015 Donruss pack breaks #2 of 3

Pack five
#119 Brian Dozier
#112 Henderson Alvarez
#124 Matt Harvey
#117 Francisco Rodriguez
#159 Kolten Wong
#155 Mike Zunino

#4 Nolan Ryan - Donruss Preferred insert

#13 Christian Walker - The Rookies insert

Pack six
#119 Brian Dozier
#112 Henderson Alvarez
#131 Josh Donaldson
#126 Ichiro
#192 Pete Rose
#189 George Brett
#6 Javier Baez - Donruss Preferred insert
#43 Christian Walker

Pack seven
#60 Dustin Pedroia
#72 Todd Frazier
#66 Jake Arrieta
#193 Tony Gwynn
#191 Ryne Sandberg
#28 Eric Hosmer - Donruss Preferred insert / VIP Reserved serial #'d 52/99
#2 George Brett - Donruss Preferred insert

#4 Dustin Pedroia - Diamond Kings insert Press Proof parallel serial #'d 006/199

Pack eight
#71 Joey Votto
#65 Starlin Castro
#87 Miguel Cabrera
#79 Carlos Santana
#165 Kevin Kiermaier
#160 Yadier Molina
#28 Leonys Martin - Elite Series insert

#6 Jose Abreu - Diamond Kings insert

2015 Donruss pack breaks #1 of 3

Last week was all about 2015 Topps Heritage, but I got my fill through retail - so I when I finally stopped at the card shop this week, my interest in Heritage was kind of sated.

I heard 2015 Donruss was coming in and I bided my time just long enough [after already making a small purchase of loose quarter cards] - so the owner could get his shipment in and open up a box.

My gut tells me to stick with Topps because it's MLB licensed - but I grabbed a dozen loose packs of 2015 Donruss because as a baseball card collector I'm not going to be denied checking out some new product.

The handful of the inserts I pulled kind of pop and maybe the lure to picking up loose packs here and there - the Donruss insert sets that recycle designs from its past incarnation as a baseball card company are 'cute,' if not something to really put together.

The base card design look a little calmer than 2015 Topps - the cards are printed with a glossy surface with no foil stamping.

The red colored backs that almost resembles 1990 Donruss.

The cards still sort of feel a step below a MLB licensed product, but I like it when there are no logos on uniforms / caps on cards of players who have recently switched teams - bonus points added if and when the new team is listed on the card as well.

Pack one
#103 Jered Weaver
#125 Bartolo Colon
#135 Ryan Howard
#130 David Robertson
#169 Yu Darvish
#164 Evan Longoria

#26 Everth Cabrera - Elite Series insert
#34 Daniel Norris

Pack two
#111 Marcel Ozuna
#142 Starling Marte
#139 Gregory Polanco
#179 Doug Fister
#174 Melky Cabrera
#1 Andrew McCutchen - Jersey Kings insert; while not a patch, the dirt stained material swatch used gives this particular card character.

#13 Michael Taylor - Donruss Preferred insert

#200 Yu Darvish - 1981 Donruss

Pack three
#118 Joe Mauer
#145 Seth Smith 
#144 Gerrit Cole
#188 Mariano Rivera
#184 Mark McGwire

#164 Evan Longoria - Press Proof parallel serial #'d 94/99
Dummy card
#23 Matt Adams - Elite Series insert

#10 Alex Gordon - Long Ball Leaders

Pack four
#104 Clayton Kershaw
#95 Eric Hosmer
#109 Dee Gordon

#100 Mike Trout
#190 Wade Boggs
#187 Kirby Puckett
Dummy card
#19 Jacoby Ellsbury - Elite Series insert

#1 Tony Gwynn - Tony Gwynn Tribute