2011 Topps Update J.D. Martinez RC #US186

I picked up a loose 2011 Topps Update J.D. Martinez RC #US186 [$10] off a card show table and while he started too late to be a serious Hall of Fame case - Martinez has been a slugging star with a rookie that comes from 2011 Topps Update set.

After 11 years there might be some 'pedigree' that trickle down to notable cards from the set because it features Mike Trout's rookie card - the values doesn't confirm any extra allure however, where copies of the Martinez actually goes for about $2-$5 on eBay, which makes the card I grabbed a peculiar overpay after the fact.

Martinez may symbolize the definition of ironically picking up a single of a player I'm 'iffy' about otherwise - go figure the same day I got my card in my grubby paws, he hit a grand slam in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, so that was a nice pick to click.

2021 Topps Home Run Challenge prize card - J.D. Martinez

Off some early 2021 Topps breaks, I pulled Home Run Challenge inserts for Freddie Freeman, Gleyber Torres and J.D. Martinez - pick a date when a player would hit a home run, enter the code on the Topps contest Web site [you have to be registered at Topps.com] and see if the player connects on the game chosen.

Martinez was the only 'winner' out of the group and I felt pretty smart trying to guestimate when he would hit his home run - after seeing I had a winner, it probably took a couple of months for Topps to ship the winning [serial #'d to the number of correct entries] card to me.

I think I've only entered a single Home Run Challenge card before 2021 and didn't know much about the actual prize cards before - going through a box of cards at a show, I think saw a similar Martinez card from a previous year and I guess most of the winning cards printed from the contest are fairly common.

I'd like to point out, Martinez is not a favorite at all, but the slugger has put up significant hitting numbers - while putting together a collection of loose cards together in a page, I made sure to save space for Martinez's 2021 Topps Home Run Challenge card.

2019 Donruss 30 card value pack

I wanted to like Donruss as a ‘niche’ baseball card product years ago, but for the most obvious of reasons - it’s just not something I’ll go out of my way to get a look at.

#96 Mallex Smith
#49 Steven Duggar
#110 Luis Severino
#82 Austin Meadows
#54 David Peralta
#88 Clayton Kershaw
#47 Ramon Laureano
#66 Sean Manaea
#98 Kyle Schwarber

#205 Grayson Grenier - Breast Cancer parallel serial #’d 16/25
#62 J.D. Martinez - Holo Red parallel
#N5 Juan Soto - Vector parallel / Nicknames insert
#231 Framber Valdez - faux 1985 Donruss style
#168 Hunter Pence
#238 Bryse Wilson - faux 1985 Donruss style
#147 Freddy Peralta
#243 Matt Boyd - faux 1985 Donruss style
#171 Matt Carpenter
#246 Eric Haase - faux 1985 Donruss style
#140 Kevin Pillar
#209 Tanner Rainey - faux 1985 Donruss style
#239 Ryan Tellez - faux 1985 Donruss style
#181 Blake Snell - ‘Zilla’ variation
#21 Christian Yelich - Diamond Kings
#185 Trevor Story
#192 Matt Chapman
#9 Yoan Moncada - Diamond Kings
#165 Javier Baez
#198 Sandy Alcantara
#157 Gleyber Torres