2015 Topps Series I pack breaks

When it comes to loose packs, I'm more inclined to pick them up at my card shop, since there is peace of mind that the packs haven't been searched - even if the box isn't entirely 'new' and there have been multiple packs pulled already, I'll take my chances as opposed to a gravity feed at Target and/or Walmart.

Results vary, but I cling to the the idea hobby packs gives me a better chance to pull a card of note - regardless of actual value since flagship Topps costs $2 a pack.

Pack one
#184 Melvin Upton
#15 Joey Votto
#320 Shin-Soo Choo
#269 Jordy Mercer
#343 Shane Greene
#H-19 Mike Schmidt - Highlight of the Year insert
#237 Lucas Duda
#89 Michael Choice
#266 Brandon Phillips
#274 Ryan Zimmerman

Pack two
#178 Christian Yelich
#52 Fernando Rodney
#29 Brandon Belt
#190 Zach Britton

#CRH-FF Freddie Freeman - game used memorabilia card
#133 Daisuke Matsuzaka
#95 Junior Lake
#236 Zack Wheeler

Pack three
#37 Arismendy Alcantara
#169 Adam Jones
#197 Glen Perkins
#160 Washington Nationals team card
#288 Chris Parmelee
#50 Yu Darvish

#FP-13 Suzy - First Pitch insert
#100 Clayton Kershaw
#249 Jose Reyes
#157 Ubaldo Jimenez

Pack four
#74 Tyler Skaggs
#53 Nathan Eovaldi
#24 New York Mets team card
#38 Jordan Zimmerman
#48 John Axford
#FP-09 Tom Willis - First Pitch insert
#179 Jason Vargas
#164 Brian Schlitter
#152 Michael Pineda
#172 Didi Gregorius

Pack five
#16 David DeJesus
#252 Travis Wood - it's just a base card, but there is peeling on the upper right hand corner.
#263 Dillon Gee
#25 Jose Bautista
#9 Hunter Pence
#232 Andrew Susac
#H-18 Willie McCovey - Highlight of the Year insert
#39 Salvador Perez
#69 Justin Upton
#293 Zach Duke

Ranking the 30 MLB teams on my watch - Atlanta Braves #9 of 30

It's been impressive how they've turned out players to contribute to winning teams - but maybe they just don't have the means to get a few more impact players to get them further in a playoff run.

The Braves have me feeling a little meh - first baseman Freddie Freeman has developed into a young star at 23, but guys like Jason Heyward, Justin Upton and B.J. Upton leave something to be desired.

Some of their established veterans have moved on or may not be with the team in 2014 - Chipper Jones retired after the 2012 season, Tim Hudson got hurt in 2013 and may need to prove himself on another team for next year while catcher Brian McCann maybe someone else's big free agent signing.

2011 Topps Factory Team Set - Atlanta Braves

I received a 2011 Atlanta Braves factory team set from a blog contest by being closest to guess Atlanta Braves pitcher Julio Teheran's pitching line in his Major League Debut - I don't usually pay attention to these factory team sets because even with the minor modifications made to make the cards different from the flagship versions, these team sets seem redundant.

However, with a rookie like Freddie Freeman [who does have a card in Topps Series I] - a different image used means a new variation of his official MLBPA rookie logo card to chase, even though these team sets are not that too difficult to find.

Topps should do its part to slip in a rookie or two in these team sets - to make them just a little bit more than just another baseball card souvenir to pick up at a retail outlet or stadium.