Digging through an MIA card show pile

This might be a 'I'm still here' post for whoever is reading - where I want to churn out blog posts on the regular and think about cards on a day-to-day basis, but maybe content to let things be, where collecting has become really a personal and solitary deal.

I've let this $30 card show pile sit around loose for the past four years and maybe my intent was to list the cards out in a Google Docs file - where I would have listed my purchases over the course of a couple of months at a time.

I am trying to be a little bit more proactive in picking up for myself, so these cards have to be sorted further - I took some photo ops in order to tie certain cards to a this stack purchase.

Maybe one of the hot cards then was a 2023 Topps Chrome Shohei Ohtani #17 - he was the presumptive MVP and Topps was buying base cards [and corresponding parallels] back from participating card shops, where you could get $20 store credit for the base card.

I wasn't clued into any of that buypack business, but may have wanted Ohtani's card anyway - now the card might be just another $5 and a whatever reminder of a guy that was once an Angel.

I also found what I assume is a 2018 Topps Opening Day Stadium Signatures Mike Trout Angels SS-MT - on social media, I occasionally see collector accounts who post a value box find, with the tag line / cliche, “this is why you dig.”

I’m pretty sure this Trout find falls under that category - but I thought it was just a cool Trout card with him signing autographs.

Sadly, as far as durability and production goes, the Trout of the mid 2010s is long gone - I didn't think he would have ever had a decline, but each year he gets hurt again is a reminder of the fragility of a playing career, notably for an all-timer.

Maybe the idea of trying to round up bulk cards of star players [like a Mookie Betts] ends up silly past a certain collection age - but maybe tied to idea I'm obligated to be on the perpetual bandwagon of anyone remotely good and hoard their cards for cheap.

Through 2026, maybe Betts isn't the same superstar player four or five years ago - but he's had an excellent [probable Hall of Fame] career and instrumental in World Series winning teams, notably with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Maybe the idea of trying to round up bulk cards of star players [like a Bobby Witt Jr.] at some point ends up being a way to cover my bases - where I want to be aware of the good young players, even if it just means grabbing their random cards to have them.

Through 2026, maybe Witt Jr. has just been a very good player at shortstop, not quite that step above superstar - now it looks like he got hurt and is going to miss some time.

I didn’t realize there was a 2021 Topps NPB Roki Sasaki #112 in the pile - I know I once bought a copy for $20 online at some point when he was really hyped up, but with his share of MLB cards out, and batting some growing pains, the card might be a $5 curiosity.

The Topps Silver Pack cards like the Mike Piazza end up pretty common coming out of bonus packs in Topps hobby and jumbo boxes - but I've made it a mission to make any 'decent' ones in the wild keepers if they end up being like a dollar or less.

When I was building up a pile at the card show, I didn't know how much it might cost per card - I usually stay away from unmarked boxes or bins, but I literally get lured in by the cheap stuff I assume isn't going to cost me much to start with.

Most of the time, the cards are not going to mean much - but they are more cards I make keepers, to sort them towards my hierarchy of interests, whether it's for my mini-collections, decade / binder stars material or for miscellaneous themes.

2025 Topps Series 1 blaster box breaks

Box one

Pack one

#218 Zack Wheeler

#120 Cristian Mena RC

#240 Will Brennan

#58 Dylan Cease

#159 Philadelphia Phillies team card

#136 Lourdes Gurriel Jr. 

#53 Christ Taylor

#225 Tyrone Taylor

#288 Evan Carter - Future Stars

#332 Riley Greene

#15 Mitch Haniger

#SMLB-21 Rafael Devers - Stars of MLB insert

Pack two

#39 San Diego Padres team Card - Spring Training base card parallel exclusive to value boxes

#193 Michael McGreevy

#329 Paul Blackburn

#2 Thairo Estrada

#289 Michael Siani

#280 Ky Bush RC

#200 Mike Trout

#81 Carlos Correa - Checklist

#114 Ryan O'Hearn

#104 Yilber Diaz RC

#299 Yainer Diaz

#T90-100 Shohei Ohtani - 1990 Topps Baseball insert

#SMLB-19 Brooks Lee - Stars of MLB insert

Pack three

#293 Tyler Phillips RC

#182 Brandon Pfaadt

#146 Clayton Kershaw

#306 Sonny Gray

#100 Bobby Witt Jr.

#41 Alec Burleson

#80 Jace Jung RC

#279 Trevor Larnach

#342 Davis Schneider

#298 J.P. Crawford

#184 Aaron Judge / Juan Soto / Alex Verdugo - Checklist; Rainbow Foilboard parallel

#SMLB-5 Julio Rodríguez - Stars of MLB insert

Pack four

#305 Max Schuemann - Spring Training base card parallel exclusive to value boxes

#89 Zach Dezenzo RC

#8 Seth Brown

#57 Nick Gordon

#183 Taj Bradley

#64 Ian Happ

#331 Brandon Nimmo

#151 Tarrik Skubal / José Berríos / Seth Lugo - 2024 American League Wins Leaders

#23 Jorge Soler

#188 Zach Eflin

#310 Jose Miranda

#GH15 Juan Soto - Greatest Hits insert

#SMLB-12 Gunnar Henderson - Stars of MLB insert

Pack five

#99 Cincinnati Reds team card

#21 Nick Lodolo

#147 Bryson Stott

#337 Ben Rice RC

#210 Nolan Schanuel - Future Stars

#295 Elly De La Cruz - Checklist

#224 Reese Olson

#335 Sandy Alcantara

#9 Luis García Jr.

#234 Chris Sale / Zack Wheeler / Shota Imanaga - 2024 National League Wins Leaders

#37 Spencer Steer - Holo Foil parallel

#SMLB-24 Christian Yelich - Stars of MLB insert

Pack six

#330 Jake Burger - Spring Training base card parallel exclusive to value boxes 

#270 Andrés Giménez

#175 Ha-Seong Kim

#161 Bradley Blalock RC

#242 Logan Webb

#246 Sean Reynolds RC

#117 Josh Jung

#60 Chicago Cubs team card

#207 Ronald Acuña Jr.

#93 Rhys Hoskins

#ATT-8 Jarren Duran - 2024 All-Topps Team insert

#T90-40 Tony Gwynn - 1990 Topps Baseball insert

#SMLB-30 Dylan Crews - Stars of MLB insert

Pack seven

#311 Charlie Blackmon

#232 Jake Cronenworth

#249 Brooks Baldwin RC

#44 Brenton Doyle

#301 Cal Quantrill

#215 Manny Machado

#24 Jhonkensy Noel RC

#228 Geraldo Perdomo

#176 Teoscar Hernández

#281 Corey Seager

#39 San Diego Padres team card

#SMLB-15 Corbin Carroll - Stars of MLB insert

Box two 

Pack one

#101 Nolan Arenado - Spring Training base card parallel exclusive to value boxes 

#193 Michael McGreevy

#329 Paul Blackburn

#2 Thairo Estrada

#293 Tyler Phillips RC

#165 Joey Ortiz

#33 José Berrios

#244 Yordan Alvarez

#105 Dylan Moore

#54 Austin Riley

#28 Trevor Megill

#ATT-6 William Contreras - 2024 All-Topps Team insert

#SMLB-22 Juan Soto - Stars of MLB insert

Pack two

#182 Brandon Pfaadt

#146 Clayton Kershaw

#306 Sonny Gray

#89 Zach Dezenzo RC

#96 Seattle Mariners team card

#46 Tanner Houck

#149 Jeff McNeil

#97 Will Warren RC

#261 Mike Tauchman 

#130 Nathan Eovaldi

#123 New York Yankees team card

#SMLB-29 Matt Chapman - Stars of MLB insert

Pack three

#67 Trey Sweeney - Spring Training base card parallel exclusive to value boxes

#8 Seth Brown

#57 Nick Gordon

#183 Taj Bradley

#254 Kyle Finnegan

#184 Aaron Judge / Juan Soto / Alex Verdugo - Checklist

#190 Miguel Vargas

#185 Jazz Chisholm Jr.

#220 Jackson Holliday - Future Stars

#128 Ketel Marte

#1 Shohei Ohtani

#T90-18 Hurston Waldrep - 1990 Topps Baseball insert

#SMLB-2 Aaron Judge - Stars of MLB insert

Pack four

#99 Cincinnati Reds team card

#21 Nick Lodolo

#147 Bryson Stott

#337 Ben Rice RC

#7 Alec Bohm

#320 Drew Thorpe RC

#227 Ty France

#28 Nico Hoerner

#286 Edwin Díaz

#252 Pedro Pagés

#348 Brant Hurter RC

#SMLB-13 Elly De La Cruz - Stars of MLB insert

Pack five

#275 Carlos Correa - Spring Training base card parallel exclusive to value boxes; Spring Training Green Foilboard parallel, serial #'d 11/99

#270 Andrés Giménez

#175 Ha-Seong Kim

#161 Bradley Blalock RC

#311 Charlie Blackmon

#113 Marco Gonzalez

#36 Greg Jones RC

#138 Ceddane Rafaela - Future Stars

#237 Marcell Ozuna - Checklist

#209 Taylor Ward - Pencil bat card

#135 Maikel Garcia

#FP-9 Lauren Alaina - First Pitch insert; Country singer

#SMLB-26 Shota Imanaga - Stars of MLB insert

Pack six

#232 Jake Cronenworth

#249 Brooks Baldwin RC

#44 Brenton Doyle

#350 Francisco Lindor

#139 Jordan Beck

#125 Jackson Merrill

#83 Anthony Rendon

#65 Gunnar Henderson

#40 Joe Ryan

#101 Nolan Arenado

#179 Ryan Pepiot - Rainbow Foilboard parallel

#SMLB-24 Coby Mayo - Stars of MLB insert

Pack seven

#257 Korey Lee

#287 DJ Herz RC

#138 Isaac Paredes

#35 Anthony Volpe

#341 Ronel Blanco

#338 Mitch Garver

#84 Kameron Misner RC

#119 Daulton Varsho

#79 Aaron Judge / Juan Soto / Anthony Santander - 2024 American League Home Run Leaders

#67 Trey Sweeney RC

#257 Korey Lee

#T90-56 Rece Hinds - 1990 Topps Baseball insert

#SMLB-4 Fernando Tatis Jr. - Stars of MLB insert

Shohei Ohtani marches onto greater heights

He's not a ride-or-die guy for me anymore, but I had to get a copy [on eBay] of Shohei Ohtani's Topps Now card commemorating his 50 home runs / 50 stolen bases feat - understanding he just wasn't going to end up anywhere with his old team, a little part of me will be real excited in a couple of weeks when he is playing in the postseason for the first time in his MLB career.

I was passing through the duty free shops at an airport earlier in the year - here is some 'signage' of Ohtani being a face for a skincare product in Japan.

A new reality realized - collecting Shohei Ohtani

It is a thing where I try not to pick up any old team cards of notable players who end up on new teams for at least a year, until new, updated cards show up - I like to occasionally hoard binder material cards of decade stars guys, but it makes it easier if I can hold off in the meantime for guys who sign or are traded from one team to another.

In Shohei Ohtani's case, it becomes more of a sensitive point, where I do not want to be reminded by his defection to the Dodgers - I would probably prefer to keep him out of sight, out of mind, where I barely acknowledge what he does going forward with his new ride or die team.

I understand Ohtani has always been a special case and will to continue making his random cards [like a no MLB logo 2022 Panini Capstone Velo insert] keepers out in the wild more often than not - I can appreciate the player for what he is, but it's just different when he is now a Dodger and not an Angel anymore.

Thank you Shohei Ohtani and good luck

I did not want to get caught up in the news cycle of Shohei Ohtani signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers on social media - because in my own little way, I tend to want to share my two cents, interjecting my thoughts, where it ends up like trying to cope after he's left my home team.

It was a business decision on his end and strangely, I'm kind of glad he is still in So. Cal, where I wonder if the fandom for Ohtani supersedes the idea he is a Dodger - ideally, maybe it was better to see him in some far away place like Toronto, where he maybe he gets to be out of sight, out of mind.

I could understand where it was just about inevitable and logical - where it was always going to be the Dodgers or bust.

I’m probably not collecting his old team cards for one year where they are now dated, while my existing PC ends up being off cards from his old team - I can see where my interest in collecting Ohtani ends up being muted, until things settle down where softly remains one of those universally popular, easy guys to collect.

I abruptly cut the cord on the company that broadcasted Angel games late in 2022, where just before one of Ohtani's pitching starts, I found out there was no Angel channel to watch games anymore - the current streaming TV package that replaced the old cable TV one has the company that broadcasted Dodgers games locally, even though I barely ever tuned in through 2023.

Going forward, I’ll probably be glued into more Dodgers games due to Ohtani alone - even though the Angels are my team.

1.) Maybe said I would cease to be an Angels fan if and when Ohtani leaves - that probably won’t be the case, but losing this larger than life megastar it’s a whole new deal to process.

The Angels have been a bad organization for the past decade where as a fan, I can be a free agent too - but maybe I need to chill with my one lousy team and hope Ohtani defecting to the Dodgers ends up forcing the Angels to be more creative, where they need to do something radical.

2.) $700 million for a DH in the foreseesable season is ridiculous, but while I've always believed in the talent to come back - it softens the blow where Ohtani is only going to be doing one thing [and not two things at once].

3.) There is no reason to think that Ohtani will not have at least multiple seasons where he is pitching and hitting to his full capabilities - but maybe there is a part of me that wants to believe his first MLB team got his best three seasons ever.

Some odds and ends from the card show

This was from the same show, I ended up buying these cards from - after going around the room at least once, I stopped at this one table again to rummage through the person's bins.

I grabbed this 2023 Topps All Aces Shohei Ohtani #AA-11 because it seemed like a harder to find single or a random card that I might be paying a little more than I would like [at least for the time being] - I bit on this copy of the card just to be able to put it away in-hand without worrying about needing it.

I might be prepared for the idea Ohtani will be making the free-agent circuit this upcoming off-season - maybe the fact that he won't be doing his two way thing in 2024 softens the blow of him going somewhere else, but damn if he actually leaves the Angels.

I found a pair of unique Ken Griffey Jr. cards - maybe the Panini card on the left ends up being a no brainer, because it's just so shiny.

As much as I'd gush over finding the Panini Griffey Jr. card that jumps out at you above - I'm not sure whether the two Mark McGwire cards and the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. card pictured are just as cool or just end up being weird looking misfit cardboard that challenges my good taste in aesthetics.

I ended up grabbing these Mickey Mantle cards - I don't know if I really paid attention if there were any left in the box, but I wasn't looking to take them all.

I have to look the cards up, but I think they were from a Mickey Mantle X set Topps put out a couple of years ago - Mantle has been in countless card sets long after he played and long after he passed in 1995, where they are fairly common and not as sought after like a living 'here and now player.'

I like to tell myself to make some of The Mick's miscellaneous retro cards keepers - where it is fascinating he was this larger than life baseball player to a generation [before my time and place].

Maybe I'm a little more tuned in to making cards from oddball issues keepers - though I'm not sure whether this 2021 Topps x Derek Jeter Captain's Crew #41 has the charm of an oddball or is just another card from another mainstream set.

I thought the sleeved but unmarked cards from my stack were dollar each, so my total came out to $23, but when I presented the cards to the seller, I was charged $15 - maybe the sleeved cards were actually $0.50 and after my total came out to $19, the seller took a little something off my stack.

Feeling down and out with Ohtani and the Angels

I got these cards from a purchase a day after news broke Shohei Ohtani’s UCL crapped out - I'll probably continue picking up random cards that catch my eyes, but there might be less FOMO over Ohtani's real high end cards or at least some of the nicer ones that might have been a little easier to get when he got hurt the first go-around.

Ohtani's future on the mound seems murky at best and it's buyer beware for the impending free agent - where the Angels probably got his best years as a two-way player.

I guess it's just how the passage of time all goes, where maybe it's not our reality to be a pro athlete of the highest magnitude - but it’s fleeting to be this larger than life figure, only to be broken [again] and perhaps the great times don't last.

Unless Ohtani just won’t be allowed to, I still see him DH’ing and finishing possibly his last season as an Angel - but it’s likely that Ohtani is going to have his arm rebuilt, where there will be uncertainty whether he makes it back to the mound in 2024 or even through 2025.

Unless proven otherwise, I'm just as convinced that the Angels franchise is nothing but hexed or cursed - it's laughable and depressing where the Angels end up being this big league franchise that can’t get anything right, where everyone hates the owner now and every misstep is magnified.

Mike Trout is back on the injured list and it is probably realistic that he might as well be out for the season - where whatever is lingering with him drags on and the only real solution is putting him on the shelf for rest.

Looking for some PWE cheap thrills

I have not been at an in-person card show in two months but that doesn't mean there has been a stoppage in fiending out on picking up cardboard - it's gotten to a point where everything just sits once I get it in-hand and maybe there has not been the ability to make sense of it all, much less blog about any hauls from social media commerce.

The cards I picked up [for $3 shipped] might just be the least important out of things I've bought lately - but gives me seemingly an easy task to talk about or to show off as proof of life goes.

I thought this was a real 2001 Bowman Heritage Miguel Cabrera peeking out from a seller's sale picture - I figured it wasn't a rookie card, but maybe early career prospect cards of eventual big league greats have some novelty where it's a cool find.

Go figure, the seller asked me if I was still OK claiming the card since it was actually a reprint - it might have been $0.50 or a dollar, so I just went with it since I didn't want to seem like I just had no idea what I was looking at.

A shiny foil card of Shohei Ohtani is never a bad thing to make a keeper out of - the Panini issue from a couple of years ago might be unlicensed by MLB, but he might be changing teams in the off-season, where that 'Los Angeles' on the card could mean the Angels or the Dodgers.

I like Vladimir Guerrero [Sr.] as much as the other guy and he actually played for my home team, so it's more natural for me to gravitate towards any of his cards with lingering nostalgia - this shiny card is from his Montreal Expos days is a loud one and and before he played for the Angels, I used to follow him a little bit because he was a fun player to watch.

I'm not sure I like how Fleer / Skybox mirrored Guerrero's image on the front with a reversed image on the back of the card - but maybe that just adds some fun to a card that is nearly 25 years old.

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.

2023 Topps oversized box toppers pickups

I was watching a YouTuber go through some of newest hauls and he showed off one of these cards - I didn't know what they were, but they are apparently bonus cards in 2021 Topps Series 1 jumbo boxes.

I ended up doing some browsing on eBay and ended up putting a bid and winning an Ichiro card from the set - regardless of the other players on the checklist, I can't go wrong with this all-time fan favorite.

The fronts are very generic and make me think these cards are MLB team issued cards from the 1970s or 1980s perhaps - though that is how the originals might have looked.

I'm not that collector who nitpicks at how faithful the details are replicated - when it comes to modern cards mimicking past designs.

I do like how Topps made good use of the colors on the back of the cards - where it's not as sleepy as the fronts.

Besides a copy of the Ichiro, it was kind of a no brainer to look for the Angels on the checklist - which ends up being Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout obviously.

In-hand, the cards end up being smaller [3.5 x 5 inch] than I assumed, but larger than a regular sized card - for the most part I want regular sized cards, though I may have to make exceptions for odd-sized stuff like these box toppers.

I picked up a fugazi Shohei Ohtani card

Off a random table towards the end of a card show run weeks ago, I saw what I thought to be a 2013 BBM Shohei Ohtani of some sort displayed on a seller's table and the price seemed to be right [$25] - how cool would I be, if I picked up a Japanese era Ohtani for about the price of a blaster?

Maybe I can pick up this card as a big splash out of a relatively lower-end purchase - without trying to trip over myself, I had to take the chance and couldn't wait to pull out some money to pick up this card.

Of course after getting the lousy card in-hand, I wanted to look it up to figure out what card it exactly is - it's a dual image card of Ohtani with nothing else to indicate anything else.

I found a link to an eBay listing selling the card as part of a lot basically saying they are fake with a warning - not buy the card for investment purposes.

I think if it was priced any higher, I would have ignored it as just another card that ended up not being real after all - but the card was put there on a tee, where I fell for the bait.

2022 Topps Series 1 blaster recap - 2 of 3

Pack one

#189 Michael Pineda

#187 Jarren Duran RC

#269 Jose Ramirez

#80 Mitch Haniger

#46 Raimel Tapia

#328 Keegan Akin

#59 2021 NL Batting Average Leaders - feat. Trea Turner, Juan Soto and Bryce Harper

#110 Liftoff - feat. Yordan Alvarez and Yulieski Gurriel

#225 Harrison Bader

#103 Mike Yastrzemski

#53 Hanser Alberto

#311 Chris Flexen

#SMLBC-12 Byron Buxton - Stars of the MLB insert; Chrome parallel

#SMLB-19 Yadier Molina - Stars of MLB insert

Pack two

#183 Ji-Man Choi

#252 Victor Reyes

#322 Joey Gallo

#313 Brady Singer

#11 Jesus Luzardo

#132 Ryan McMahon

#229 Double Bath - feat. Xander Bogaerts and Christian Vasquez

#105 2021 NL Wins Leaders - feat. Julio Urias, Adam Wainwright and Walker Buehler

#68 Alex Bregman

#300 Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

#234 Garrett Hampson

#324 Mike Zunino

#WTTS-13 Hank Aaron - Welcome to the Show

#SMLB-21 Joey Gallo - Stars of MLB insert

Pack three

#150 Juan Soto

#237 Albert Pujols

#220 Gerardo Parra

#36 Jorge Alfaro

#244 Shane McLanahan

#326 Miami Marlins team card - feat. Jorge Alfaro

#330 Jacob deGrom

#293 Mike Foltnewicz

#26 Cesar Hernandez

#34 Adam Wainwright

#290 Joey Votto

#185 Justin Dunn

#192 Eduardo Rodriguez - Royal Blue parallel

#SMLB-18 Buster Posey - Stars of MLB insert

Pack four

#161 Jon Gray

#39 Andrew Miller

#242 Anthony Rizzo

#100 Fernando Tatis Jr.

#63 Christian Vasquez

#201 Reid Detmers RC

#165 2021 AL Batting Average Leaders - feat. Yuli Gurriel, Michael Brantley and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

#164 Atlanta Braves team card

#199 Michael Brantley

#33 Danny Jansen

#50 Mookie Betts

#7 Bobby Dalbec

#T87-27 Ke'Bryan Hayes - 1987 35th Anniversary insert

#SMLB-14 Aaron Judge - Stars of MLB insert 

Pack five

#250 Bryce Harper

#166 Patrick Mazeika RC

#72 Pedro Severino

#95 Chad Pinder

#219 Washington Nationals team card - feat. Josh Bell

#9 Eliezer Hernandez

#90 Enrique Hernandez

#105 Pavin Smith

#139 Omar Narvaez

#186 Jake Burger RC

#173 Raisel Iglesias

#32 Taylor Rogers

#243 Brandon Marsh - Rainbow Foil parallel

#JNM-JV Joey Votto - Commemorative relic card

#SMLB-7 Jose Ramirez - Stars of MLB insert

Pack six

#20 Jake Cousins RC

#75 Christian Walker

#37 Michael Conforto

#325 Max Kranick RC

#245 Whit Merrifield

#126 Bo Bichette

#133 Zac Lowther RC

#122 Minnesota Meet Up - feat. Shohei Ohtani and Kenta Maeda

#38 Mason Thompson RC

#74 Merrill Kelly

#267 Edwin Diaz

#184 Hoy Park RC

#TT-8 Willy Adames / Kolten Wong - 6-4 Stars insert

#SMLB-27 Kris Bryant - Stars of MLB insert 

Pack seven

#41 Clayton Kershaw

#29 Jose Berrios

#62 Luke Williams RC

#65 Austin Hedges

#205 Yadier Molina

#270 2021 AL Wins Leaders - feat. Gerrit Cole, Chris Flexen and Steven Matz

#159 Angels team card - feat. Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout

#175 Tyler Stephenson

#8 Xander Bogaerts

#180 J.T. Realmuto

#227 Zach Thompson RC

#147 Willson Contreras

#105 2021 National League Wins Leaders - feat. Julio Urias, Adam Wainwright and Walker Buehler; Pink parallel serial #'d 11/50

#SMLB-24 Shohei Ohtani - Stars of MLB insert

2022 Topps Series 1 blaster recap - 1 of 3

Pack one

#198 Jake Rogers

#57 Kyle Gibson

#55 Robbie Grossman

#172 Nick Solak

#83 Will Smith

#253 John Means 

#352 Greg Holland

#87 Nolan Arenado

#70 Ryan Weathers

#190 Emmanuel Clase

#206 Kyle Lewis

#169 Kyle Freeland

#T87-56 Bo Bichette - 1987 35th Anniversary insert

#SMLB-9 Mookie Betts - Stars of MLB insert

Pack two

#116 Alicides Escobar

#24 Trevor Rogers

#197 Alex Kirilloff

#265 Keston Hiura

#315 Pete Alonso

#298 Drew Ellis RC

#321 Bryce Harper - City of Walk-Off Love

#181 2021 NL RBI Leaders - feat. Adam Duvall, Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies

#145 Joey Wendle

#223 Martin Maldonado 

#297 Hyn-Jin Ryu

#76 Nicky Lopez

#HRC-17 Matt Olson - Home Run Challenge game card

#SMLB-4 Rafael Devers - Stars of MLB insert

Pack three

#30 Kyle Muller RC

#86 Kris Bryant

#188 Ha-Seong Kim

#157 Bruce Zimmerman

#127 2021 National League Strikeout Leaders - feat. Zach Wheeler, Max Scherzer and Corbin Burnes

#109 Toronto Blue Jays team card - feat. Marcus Semien, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette Jr.

#260 Trevor Story

#318 Josh Reddick

#296 Ryan Zimmerman

#240 Corbin Burnes

#215 Wander Franco (RC)

#288 Christian Yelich

#GN-17 Cody Bellinger - Generation Now insert

#SMLB-30 Dante Bichette - Stars of MLB insert

Pack four

#179 Zach Eflin

#108 Zach Pop RC

#195 Drew Smyly

#291 Sean Manaea 

#131 Luis Gil RC

#49 Brett Gardner

#302 Tyler Glasnow

#134 Tylor Megill RC 

#119 Walk-Off Water - feat. New York Yankees / Gleyber Torres

#264 Jackson Kowar RC

#21 Shane Bieber

#91 Kyle Seager

#SMLBC-5 Javier Baez - Stars of the MLB insert; Chrome parallel

#SMLB-25 Nolan Arenado - Stars of the MLB insert

Pack five

#273 Luke Weaver

#35 Gerrit Cole

#113 Brock Holt

#219 Salvador Perez

#216 Kyle Schwarber

#202 2021 American League RBI Leaders - feat. Salvador Perez, Jose Abreu and Teoscar Hernandez

#138 2021 American League Strikeout Leaders - feat. Robbie Ray, Gerrit Cole and Dylan Cease

#285 Ben Gamel

#141 Yermin Mercedes

#73 Johnny Cueto

#291 Lucas Giolito

#209 Buster Posey

#JNF-FF Freddie Freeman - Commemorative relic card

#T87-45 Casey Mize - 1987 35th Anniversary insert

#SMLB-13 Jacob deGrom - Stars of MLB insert

Pack six

#257 Justin Turner

#193 Dom Nunez

#305 Starling Marte

#6 Jazz Chisholm Jr. 

#45 Sonny Gray

#142 Aroldis Chapman

#233 Cristian Pache

#97 Curtis Terry RC

#2 Craig Kimbrel

#317 Colin Moran

#3 Huascar Ynoa

#176 Matt Chapman

#293 Mike Foltynewicz - Royal Blue parallel

#SMLB-2 Ronald Acuña Jr. - Stars of MLB insert

Pack seven

#241 Tommy La Stella

#284 Yasmani Grandal

#117 Brandon Crawford

#192 Eduardo Rodriguez

#146 2021 National League Home Run Leaders - feat. Fernando Tatis Jr., Adam Duvall and Pete Alonso

#204 2021 National League ERA Leaders - feat. Corbin Burnes, Max Scherzer and Walker Buehler

#121 New York Yankees team card - feat. Aaron Judge

#44 Didi Gregorius 

#258 Andre Jackson RC

#275 Ketel Marte 

#256 James McCann

#12 Gavin Sheets RC

#WTTS-50 Mike Piazza - Welcome to the Show insert

#SMLB-28 Clayton Kershaw - Stars of MLB insert

Some card show material to dwell on

Through last year, the promoters of the monthly show I attend have tried to branch out into a hotel venue - the first couple of 'new' shows were held at a hotel about 10-15 minutes away from my house compared to the 'flagship location' each month, which takes about 35-45 minutes through traffic.

However the promoters may have had to change things up to a different hotel location [same chain though] - not as close to my house but only really a couple of cities over. 

I ended going to the first hotel show of the year, which is just a little different than being in a gym - though it's still about finding that accessible table where I can dig around for some stuff rather than be idle.

I ended up at a table with a younger guy [maybe at least 25-30] who partners up with an older, guy whose booth at another card show was actually a go-to outlet for me through the late 2000s - I know it's the same person, but I don't know how he is still around and still looks virtually the same.

I was setting aside random dollar cards, because I saw a 2021 Bowman Blaze Jordan #BP71 and found at least four in the table's dollar bin - I'm not a serious prospector, but I've been really out of the loop the last couple of years.

I haven’t really harvested as many loose prospect cards of the younger guys where it's almost 'out of sight, out of mind' - until guys break through to the big leagues for the most part. 

I was going through a row of cards that had some rookie year Shohei Ohtanis and I found a 2018 Topps Gallery #116 and a 2018 Topps RC #700 for $10 each - there were other Ohtanis from Panini branded products, but I wanted to dig for some licensed singles.

I might have the Topps Ohtani since it’s fairly common, but if I didn’t, it might be worth picking up [along with the Topps Gallery] - where I’m would be trying to some squirrel away cheap rookie cards for my regional PC.  

I grabbed those cards and built up a miscellaneous stash of dollar cards - as long as I had a couple of Jordans in-hand, then I was good. 

I spent $15 on dollar cards [and a $3 Nolan Ryan insert], which were from the younger guy’s portion of the table - while the pair of Ohtani’s cost me $15 and were actually from the older guy’s boxes. 

The top row features 2019 Bowman Heritage, which I assume was an on-demand product that wasn't too popular - the second year cards of Ronald Acuña Jr. and Juan Soto off the set are kind of 'oddballs' in my book.

Even though numbered prospect parallels are a dime a dozen it seems and end up cards no one really wants - I bit on cards of Triston McKenzie and Ethan Hankins because I don't know any better.

At least McKenzie has reached the big leagues with some promise - while Hankins is a Tommy John case who looks to be on a mound pitching in some games again.

The second row features some serial #'d Topps Heritage Chrome parallels - maybe the values don't reflect it at all, but for me, it maybe a case where contemporary cards [from the last 10-15 years] turn into old school material where enough time has passed to make them novelties depending on player and card type.

I might have left a Josh Hamilton behind and would have left the Felix Hernandez - the last part of big league career stalled, but King Felix was a pitching superstar at his peak and deserves some post career love.

The last row featured a 2021 Topps Archives 1989 Big Foil Ryan #89BF-6 - it might be a case where I'd be getting one card for $3 instead of three more random dollar cards, but I had to put a newer shiny card of an Angels legend in my pile.

I've lost track of the Topps Stadium Club releases since 2014 where they don't have that same impact for me - but any loose TSC cards I think I might not have are nice finds, like this 2019 Topps Stadium Club Jackie Robinson #70 where he is inking it up over the dugout.

Finally, I don't know if it's a personal vow or anything, but any loose Satchel Paige cards should be made keepers - like a 2021 Panini Diamond Kings Gallery of Stars insert #GS3.

COMC mail #2 - Angels material

The 30-35 cards I picked up through 2021 came in one bubble mailer where they were sleeved and packed into a team bag, sandwiched between two cards in top loaders - then packed into a larger, team set bag.

I usually do not worry about their packaging regardless of service - they do a pretty good job packing things up.

Go figure, Mike Trout, Tim Salmon, Vladimir Guerrero and Shohei Ohtani are on my Mt. Rushmore of Angels players I collect - I'm not really into odd sized cards like the ones modeled after tobacco cards, but I grabbed the itty-bitty Trout just to have something different in-hand.

The 1993 Donruss Dominators Salmon has been a curiosity though I must have been aware of the card only through the past 5-10 years, not when it was first issued - searching for different, random things down the COMC maze, I looked up the Salmon and figured I'd finally grab it for $5 and change.

Maybe odd sized non-card items are even less of a thing for me, but I found a seller with an oddball Vladimir Guerrero coin / medallion - it gimmicky, but the shine was undeniable where this item [picturing the elder Guerrero as an Angel] should be a no brainer pick up at less than a dollar.

With the Shohei Ohtani's, I tried to pick up some decent looking inserts / parallels regardless of value - where it's strictly $1 or $2 'fun and games' material rather than something higher brow other collectors are chasing after.

I believe in Jo Adell can still be a star for the franchise - it's a matter of when his prospect pedigree and natural talent translate into a breakout season he can build upon.

The 2020 Bowman's Best Franchise 2020 Die-Cuts Adell is too shiny, too funky to ignore - I'll take it all day for about a dollar.

I may have grabbed the 2021 Topps Stadium Club Adell RC because it is an 'awesome outfield' card - but it never hurts when it also pictures a young player for my 'home team' with star potential.

The Andres Galarraga is an on card autograph though it identifies him as a Colorado [Rockies] player - I had a few opportunities to get his autograph during his last years as a player but this packed pulled autograph gives me something I can file away in my Angels all-time autograph collection outright.

Finally I grabbed a photo variation of Anthony Rendon - besides the guys that have that modern day pro athlete personality, I can appreciate the low-key, metronomic types like Rendon, who I hope bounces back from an injury shortened 2021 season.