2023 Series 1 Topps Super Box recap

I didn't know what this was and it maybe the last thing I needed, but I was influenced by a TikTok clip to pick up a couple - it was still in stock at Target.com when I browsed around three weeks ago and I figured I might rip one and save one so I have this unopened baseball card display package in hand to look at.

The warehouse randoms that pack out the trading card packages for Target always does a shoddy job and more than likely, there will always be at least one box [when usually buying a couple] with noticeable blemishes or even dents - I quickly looked over the two boxes I got and it made it easier where to justify ripping through the box with the cardboard display that was crushed and less presentable.

The 10 packs [two sets of five] were bundled together with adhesive sticky dots and may have stuck to the Julio Rodriguez header / cover card - but if there wasn’t the cover, there might be damage to the oversized card, which was Aaron Judge.

I was kind of bummed the oversize was not Shohei Ohtani - Judge maybe the top card to get at the moment though, so there is that.

I checked the little ziplock baggie that had the enamel trading card pin insert - thankfully, it was Ohtani for the win.

I found the normal types of base cards and inserts out of the 16-card packs - I pulled a Home Run Challenge code card of Austin Riley, which I scratched off and entered; go figure it was a winning card for me as Riley hit a home run on 4/17 against the San Diego Padres.

2017 Bowman Platinum fat pack breaks

I hadn't seen these Walmart exclusive cards all year long and I assumed the display box put out in the card section with a set number of fat packs, value boxes and collector's boxes - were either wiped out as soon as they were stocked on the shelvesor just never made it to the few Walmarts I kept hitting up.

People who looked to resell on eBay saw Bowman Platinum as the equivalent of 2017 Bowman Mega Boxes available at Target - especially when the Mega Boxes were pulled due to some undisclosed 'snafu' and were hard to find.

Bowman Platinum are nice looking cards because they are shiny and modern but not quite the definitive product collectors chase year after year - however the Aaron Judge / Cody Bellinger rookie hype drove current year products to new heights as far as demand.

On a random Walmart stop, I finally saw a couple of loose packs - people may have moved on already, but I still hadn't seen this year's cards up close, so I had to get the two lousy packs in my grubby hands.

Pack one
#49 Giancarlo Stanton
#41 Andrew McCutchen
#66 Craig Kimbrel
#40 Jon Lester
#72 Alex Reyes
#62 Reynaldo Lopez

#RR-AJ Aaron Judge - Rookie Radar insert

#TP-BR Blake Rutherford - Exclusive Prospect card
#TP-ZC Zack Collins
#TP-AK Alex Krilloff
#TP-VR Victor Robles

#TP-JJO Jahmai Jones

Pack two
#51 Matt Strahm
#24 Trevor Story
#10 Aledmys Diaz
#48 Freddie Freeman
#15 Gregory Polanco
#53 Nolan Arenado
#RR-JC Jharel Cotton - Rookie Radar insert
#TP-JJ Joe Jimenez - Exclusive Prospect card
#TP-RR Raudy Read
#TP-FW Forrest Whitley
#TP-KT Kyle Tucker
#TP-MKO Michael Kopech

2017 Topps Stadium Club blaster recap I

I picked up a couple of blasters online in case the big box stores ran out - or I'd be a little self-conscious about buying cards in-person.

Pack one
#46 Trayce Thompson
#170 Ryne Sandberg

#SCC-31 David Price - Chrome

#33 Yadier Molina
#155 Corey Seager

Pack two
#293 David Dahl
#298 Dan Vogelbach
#CS-JV Joey Votto - Contact Sheet insert
#9 Greg Maddux

#265 Matt Shoemaker

Pack three

#64 Aaron Judge
#15 Jorge Soler
#SS-JA Jake Arrieta - Scoreless Streak insert
#147 Kyle Zimmer

#76 Hunter Pence

Pack four
#113 David Price
#48 Tanner Roark
#23 Yasmany Tomas - Gold

#290 Jon Gray
#214 Max Scherzer

Pack five
#75 Eduardo Nunez

#294 George Springer
#141 Omar Vizquel - Sepia parallel
#292 Alex Dickerson

#274 Ian Desmond

Pack six
#263 Freddie Freeman
#115 Logan Forsythe
#PZ-MMC Mark McGwire
#18 Fernando Rodney

#277 Billy Hamilton

Pack seven
#1 Albert Almora
#49 Masahiro Tanaka

#159 Johnny Bench
#BT-MM Manny Machado - Beam Team insert
#191 Cole Hamels

Pack eight
#31 Salvador Perez
#166 Javier Lopez
#239 Chris Davis
#127 J.J. Hardy - Black foil parallel
#276 Martin Prado

Featured autograph - Aaron Judge

This was a card given to me by my buddy when I didn't have anything for Judge to get signed after a game in Scottsdale during the Arizona Fall League - my quick impression of Judge is he's a gentle giant, maybe just a humble sort who is fairly down to earth [for a prospect].

However, there is no mistaking the fact that Judge is one large human being and sort of similar in stature the Miami Marlins' $325 million man Giancarlo Stanton - as is, looking the part is one thing, but Judge isn't quite projected to be the slugger Stanton has been.

If things fall into place, Judge maybe more of a very good MLB player [or even trade bait if it comes to that point for him as a New York Yankees' prospect] - rather than a player who can be a franchise player the Yankees can build around for years to come.