2025 Topps value box recap

Pack one

#484 Andrew Walters - High numbered short prints Chrome variation Pink Sparkle 

#187 Cole Ragans

#173 Luis Castillo

#284 Raisel Iglesias

#277 Hunter Feduccia

#264 Patrick Bailey

#NS-59 J. Robert Oppenheimer - Notable Americans insert

#212 Giancarlo Stanton

#38 José Berríos

Pack two

#105 Michael King

#255 Colt Keith

#250 Edmundo Sosa

#200 Seth Lugo / José Berríos / Tarik Skubal - 2024 AL Victory Leaders

#380 Aaron Judge

#425 Nick Gonzalez - SP

#129 Cody Bellinger

#172 Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Pack three

#53 Grant McRae - Dark Green border 

#194 Juan Soto / Anthony Santander / Aaron Judge - 2024 AL Home Run Leaders

#128 Dansby Swanson

#311 Mitchell Parker

#245 Colton Cowser

#181 Rhett Lowder RC

#TTY-20 Mike Trout - Through the Years insert

#100 Jordan Hicks

#341 Willie Mays - The Topps News All-Time All-Stars

Pack four 

#359 Max Muncy

#32 Heliot Ramos

#335 Framber Valdez

#207 Joey Ortiz

#278 Mark Vientos - This was a 'backwards' card out of the pack and ends up being an image variation

#484 Andrew Walter - High numbered short prints Chrome variation 

#213 Rob Refsnyder

#319 Justin Wrobleski RC

Pack five

#497 Matt Waldron - High numbered short prints Chrome variation Pink Sparkle

#203 Zack Wheeler / Dylan Cease / Chris Sale - 2024 NL Strikeout Leaders

#184 Porter Hodge

#146 Mitch Keller

#4 Jose Miranda - Record Breakers

#103 Masyn Winn

#273 Nolan Schanuel

#358 Yuki Matsui

#197 Brice Turang / Shohei Ohtani / Elly De La Cruz - 2024 NL Stolen Base Leaders

Pack six 

#254 Lake Bachar RC

#331 Vaughn Grissom

#99 Michael Massey

#46 Tyler Stephenson

#309 Zebby Matthews RC

#413 Andrew Vaughn - SP

#27 Ryan Mountcastle

#227 Kyle Tucker

Pack seven

#198 Jazz Chisholm Jr. / José Caballero / José Ramírez - 2024 AL Stolen Base Leaders - Dark Green border

#97 Jorge Polanco

#346 Hank Aaron - The Topps News All-Time All-Stars

#39 Luis Arraez

#191 Luis Arraez / Marcell Ozuna / Shohei Ohtani - 2024 NL Batting Leaders

#318 Lance Lynn

#219 Cade Povich RC

#149 Jared Jones

#3 Aaron Judge - Record Breakers

Pack eight

#365 Ozzie Albies

#71 Jace Jung

#52 Nico Hoerner

#362 Shay Whitcomb RC

#328 Mike Burrows RC

#160 Sean Reynolds - Chrome variation

#257 Chris Sale

#94 Andy Ibáñez

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

2024 Topps Update blaster recap

Pack one
#US35 Jonatan Clase RC
#US40 Nate Pearson

#US205 Seiya Suzuki / Shota Imanaga, Chicago Cubs - Veteran Combos subset
#US104 David Peterson
#US144 Tyler Black RC
#US200 Luis Arraez
#US195 Carson Kelly
#US86 Heston Kjerstad - Rookie Debut subset

#US123 Shohei Ohtani - Season Highlights subset
#US152 Alex Verdugo
#US4 Jorge Alcala
#SMLB-69 Royce Lewis - Stars of MLB insert

Pack two
#US328 Ramón Urías - Holiday parallel
#US72 Colton Cowser - Rookie Debut subset
#US215 Adam Frazier
#US7 Alan Trejo
#US3 Tyler Nevin
#US256 Alec Burleson
#US15 Reynaldo López
#US84 Graham Pauley RC
#US179 Mason Black
#US224 Carlos Santana
#US268 Naoyuki Uwasawa RC - Royal Blue parallel
#ASG-19 Corbin Burnes - 2024 All-Star Game insert
#SMLB-63 Cody Bellinger - Stars of MLB insert

Pack three
#US257 Joey Ortiz
#US350 Elly De La Cruz - Rookie Debut subset

#US301 Jesse Chavez
#US65 Joey Loperfido RC
#US118 Carlos Carrasco
#US228 Jose Trevino
#US106 Porter Hodge RC / Jake Wong RC - Rookie Combos subset
#US108 Andy Pages - Rookie Debut subset
#US199 Brett Harris RC

#US16 Joey Votto
#89US-46 Paul Skenes - 1989 Topps Baseball insert; go figure, a little speck on the back.
#SMLB-71 Davis Schneider - Stars of MLB insert

Pack four
#US223 Junior Caminero - Rookie Debut subset; Holiday parallel
#US31 Brandon Crawford
#US221 Andy Pages RC
#US37 Kyle McCann RC
#US214 Kevin Pillar
#US182 Matt Moore
#US196 Blake Treinen

#US281 Shota Imanaga - Rookie Debut subset
#US299 Tobias Myers RC
#US188 Eduardo Rodriguez
#US133 Matt Carpenter

#MYS-30 Freddie Freeman - Mystical insert

#SMLB-81 Shota Imanaga - Stars of MLB insert

Pack five
#US274 Matt Thaiss
#US172 Colin Holderman
#US100 Paul Skenes RC - go figure, maybe the best 'base' card and there is a blemish on the top.
#US288 Paul Skenes - Rookie Debut subset
#US331 Cody Bradford
#US210 Jackson Merrill RC
#US150 Tyler Black - Rookie Debut subset
#US169 Jackson Merrill - Rookie Debut subset
#US5 Mitchell Parker RC
#US125 Jordan Westburg - Rookie Debut subset; Rainbow Foil parallel
#ASG-21 Garrett Crochet - All-Star Game insert
#SMLB-61 Juan Soto - Stars of MLB insert

Pack six
#US308 Fernando Cruz - Holiday parallel
#US260 Luke Raley
#US53 Randy Rodríguez RC
#US323 Jon Singleton
#US247 Eugenio Suárez
#US121 Ryne Stanek
#US50 Jackson Holliday RC
#US117 Eddie Rosario
#US315 David Bañuelos RC / Matt Krook RC - Rookie Combos subset
#US90 Adam Duvall
#US227 Chandler Seagle RC / Mason McCoy RC - Rookie Combos subset
#US156 Jack Leiter RC
#SMLB-78 Anthony Rizzo - Stars of MLB insert

Pack seven
#US92 Tyler Rogers
#US336 Addison Barger RC
#US340 Gavin Stone
#US176 Lucas Giolito
#US226 Michael Lorenzen
#US192 Colt Keith - Rookie Debut subset
#US327 Dinelson Lamet
#US334 Mookie Betts - Season Highlights
#US310 Oliver Dunn RC
#US28 Mitch Spence RC
#89US-7 Darryl Strawberry - 1989 Topps Baseball insert
#SMLB-72 Curtis Mead - Stars of MLB insert

A couple of retail value packs of 2024 Donruss

I have not busted anything unopened for the longest time where I just don't do it anymore - especially at the retail, big box store level with $30 blasters and $50 mega boxes.

I would normally stay away from breaking Donruss baseball in any form - where the 2024 Donruss base cards in particular look to be bland and boring at first glance, where it's not particularly appealing.

The product feels so off-brand, but the assorted shiny parallels end up teasing some fool's gold finds - where I relented to pick up a couple of value packs where my curiosity got the best of me.

I figured out at least a couple of things that may end up more as footnotes - where "that's kind of interesting."

1.) There was a distinct pattern of collation where a run of cards pulled were in numerical order - so within a smaller set, maybe the chances were pretty good I end up pulling a duplicate run of cards out of two ‘random’ packs.

2.) There are active MLB players sprinkled in - where presumably Panini did individual card deals with certain MLB players' marketing agents, but obviously nothing with the MLBPA that covers all their players.

3.) I pulled the same types of inserts in my two packs - a serial #'d Optic Green Velocity parallel, a Green Laser parallel and a Red and Blue parallel.

Pack one
#98 Edgar Martinez
#97 Buster Posey
#96 Nolan Schanuel
#95 Willie Mays
#94 Jordan Lawler
#93 Masyn Winn
#92 Mike Piazza
#91 Everson Pereira
#90 Jose Canseco
#89 Ronny Mauricio
#88 Emmet Sheehan
#87 Don Mattingly
#86 Ryan Braun
#85 Pete Crow-Armstrong
#84 Johan Santana
#83 Zack Gelof
#82 Seiya Suzuki
#81 Mariano Rivera
#80 Masataka Yoshida
#79 Bill Madlock
#78 Quinn Priester
#77 Luis Matos
#111 Ty Floyd - Rated Prospect
#109 Alex Ramirez - Rated Prospect
#108 Ralphy Velazquez - Rated Prospect
#107 Tommy Troy - Rated Prospect
#87 Don Mattingly - Optic
#47 David Ortiz - Optic Green Velocity parallel; Serial #’d 030/149
#65 Pedro Martinez - Green Laser parallel
#178 Dillon Head - Rated Prospect; Red and Blue parallel

Pack two
#6 Alex Rodriguez
#5 Willie McCovey
#4 Cool Papa Bell
#3 George Brett
#2 Henry Davis
#1 Bobby Witt Jr.
#100 Bobby Valentine
#99 Joe Torre
#98 Edgar Martinez
#97 Buster Posey
#96 Nolan Schanuel
#95 Willie Mays
#94 Jordan Lawler
#93 Masyn Winn
#92 Mike Piazza
#91 Everson Pereira
#90 Jose Canseco
#89 Ronny Mauricio
#88 Emmet Sheehan
#87 Don Mattingly
#86 Ryan Braun
#85 Pete Crow-Armstrong
#153 Colt Keith - Rated Prospects
#152 Luke Keaschall - Rated Prospects
#151 Brock Porter - Rated Prospects
#150 Enrique Bradfield Jr. - Rated Prospects
#95 Willie Mays - Optic
#23 Tim Wakefield - Optic Green Velocity parallel; Serial #’d 57/149
#83 Zack Gelof - Green Laser parallel
#102 Jackson Merrill - Rated Prospect; Red and Blue parallel

A retail value pack of 2023 Donruss

Without any licensing from either MLB or the MLBPA, Panini went ahead and made a 2023 Donruss set featuring only retired players and prospects - it's basically a flood of legends' cards that has served as boring evergreen content over the years and redundant prospect cards that are not ever going to be first year cards or true rookie cards.

The design is pretty basic, but kind of upbeat and colorful - the shiny parallels and inserts within a random pack makes these cards fun, where I guess I don't mind seeing the same old guys on newish cards.

Seeing retired player cards of guys like Ryan Zimmerman and Dustin Pedroia makes me feel older than ever - but it's not like I've kept up with them in years and that is how the passage of time goes I guess.

I haven't bothered to keep up with prospects where I don't know what to do with these cards - it might still be dime box fodder, but there is a Jordan Walker '90 Retro subset card and the St. Louis [Cardinals] outfielder is having a solid big league rookie season.

2021 Topps Big League blaster recap

Buying a gift card for my niece at my local Target, I found a relatively stocked card section - though it was mostly 2021 Topps Big League blasters [there might have been fat packs as well] and maybe some 2022 Topps Series 1 blasters.

I ended up picking up a '21 Topps Big League blaster and maybe there was three boxes with Mike Trout as the box panel card, so that wasn't too hard to find - I was thinking about picking up a couple of boxes to save an intact Trout box panel and cut up the other, though Topps Big League has never been that serious for me.

Maybe I like the idea of a Topps flagship alternative though I feel products like Topps Big League and Topps Opening Days are simply lesser versions of regular Topps - where it might be a trap to have any sort of emotional investments in these cards.

Reading through a forum thread, I knew this product was held back for the longest time - so for all I knew, it was never going to come out.

When I busted through the packs, I was expecting to find images that made this product more like Topps Stadium Club lite - however, the images were from the 2020 pandemic season and were real tight shots that kind of got to be the repetitive.

The best images came from the Highlights subset with more opportunities to see cards with more emotion and action - the Brett Phillips is a classic.

The cards themselves aren't too bad and kind of remind me of the various Topps Bazooka releases from the mid 1990s and the mid 2000s - where you have a colorful design elements that ideally should attract more beginning collectors than collecting veterans.

Pack one
#175 Dylan Bundy
#154 Tony Gonsolin
#124 Tyler Glasnow
#187 J.T. Realmuto
#182 Ke’Bryan Hayes
#117 John Means
#213 Eric Hosmer
#286 Highlights - Los Angeles Dodgers World Series Champions
#250 Big-League Best N.L. ERA Leaders feat. Bauer, Darvish, Lamet - Blue parallel
#SO-10 Luis Robert - Souvenirs insert
#289 Highlights Shane Bieber - Orange parallel

Pack two
#63 Mike Soroka
#172 Keston Hiura
#214 Nelson Cruz
#242 Mike Yastrzemski
#75 Justin Verlander
#15 Victor Robles
#70 Carlos Santana
#82 Marco Gonzalez
#WT-11 Mike Yastrzemski - Wanted insert
#29 Lucas Giolito - Orange parallel

Pack three
#160 Ian Anderson
#72 Josh Hader
#3 Teoscar Hernandez
#64 Rhys Hoskins
#4 Kwang-Hyun Kim
#104 Christian Yelich
#296 Brett Phillips
#100 Francisco Lindor
#33 Adam Wainwright - Blue parallel
#ATG-SS Sixto Sanchez - Art of the Game insert
#13 Isaac Paredes - Orange parallel

Pack four
#162 Brailyn Marquez RC
#48 Andres Gimenez
#131 Nico Hoerner 
#139 Andy Young RC
#110 Carlos Correa
#1 Mike Trout
#141 Khris Davis
#263 Big-League Best AL Wins Leaders feat. Bieber, Cole and Gonzalez
#DW-11 Luis Robert - Defensive Wizards insert
#229 Shane McClanahan - Orange parallel

Pack five
#161 Luis Robert
#22 Gary Sanchez
#250 Big-League Best N.L. ERA Leaders feat. Bauer, Darvish, Lamet
#149 Franmil Reyes
#128 Paul Goldschmidt
#54 Trent Grisham
#89 Joey Votto
#88 Clarke Schmidt
#182 Ke’Bryan Hayes - Blue parallel
#SO-3 Shohei Ohtani - Souvenirs insert
#93 D.J. Lemahieu - Orange parallel

Pack six
#34 Trevor Bauer
#27 Ramon Laureano
#262 Big League Best N.L. Wins Leaders feat. Darvish, Davies and Fried
#76 Anderson Tejada RC
#43 Mitch White RC
#282 Award Winners Randy Arozarena - ALCS MVP
#255 Big-League Best N.L. HR Leaders feat. Ozuna, Tatis Jr. and Machado
#19 Nick Madrigal RC
#WT-15 Juan Soto - Wanted insert
#24 Fernando Tatis Jr. - Orange parallel

Pack seven
#151 Tarrik Skubal RC
#55 Manny Machado
#276 Liam Hendriks
#42 Jose Berrios
#256 Big-League Best NL War Leaders feat. Betts, Freeman and Machado
#281 Award Winners Corey Seager - Willie Mays World Series MVP Award Winner
#80 Deivi Garcia
#252 Big-League Best N.L. Strikeout Leaders feat. deGrom, Bauer and Nola 
#22 Gary Sanchez - Blue parallel
#ATG-TA Tim Anderson - Art of the Game insert
#127 Kyle Seager - Orange parallel

Pack eight
#173 Yordan Alvarez
#102 Wil Myers
#285 Award Winners Freddie Freeman - Players Choice Player of the Year Award Winner
#280 Award Winners Marcell Ozuna - Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award Winner
#98 Jeff McNeil
#157 Max Fried
#146 Yu Darvish
#49 Michael Conforto
#DW-12 Byron Buxton - Defensive Wizards insert
#251 Big League Best A.L. ERA Leaders feat. Bieber, Keuchel and Bassitt - Orange parallel

Pack nine
#113 Brady Singer
#35 Evan White RC
#294 Highlights Mike Brosseau - HR to Win the ALDS
#242 Mike Yastrzemski
#182 Ke’Bryan Hayes RC
#170 Yadier Molina
#46 Austin Hayes
#114 Shohei Ohtani
#30 Dustin May - Blue parallel
#SO-8 Kris Bryant - Souvenir insert
#277 Award Winners Devin Williams - Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award Winner

Pack 10
#126 Joc Pederson 
#51 Paul De Jong
#129 Tyler Stephenson RC
#7 Kyle Schwarber
#133 Austin Meadows
#143 Keibert Ruiz RC
#92 Walker Buehler
#194 Blake Snell
#WT-7 Aaron Judge - Wanted insert
#219 Zach Plesac - Orange parallel

2022 Topps Heritage hanger box recaps

During a Target stop I didn't plan to make, I saw a couple of couple of 2022 Topps Heritage hanger boxes - maybe the only baseball unopened left along with scattered 2022 Topps Big League blasters and other non-baseball miscellany.

Sometimes it is relatively stocked, but most times my card section ends up being wiped out - I still believe unopened retail baseball won't be the No. 1 trading card type to hoard and flip from big box stores, but it doesn't mean I can count on coming back to blasters or loose packs of something, where hoarders take it all.

Who really knows if it is a recipe for success as far as actually getting new cards in-hand or simply an impulsive, on a whim directive to keep me buying retail in-person - but the past three years have taught me to grab anything remotely interesting when available, even when it seems like the stock maybe down to that last hanger or blasters on the shelves.

I was inspired to do some Wander Franco hunting here - where I might end up pulling a base or even a parallel.

Box one

#295 Luis Robert

#20 Triston McKenzie

#91 Alex Dickerson

#247 David Fletcher

#57 Jake Cronenworth

#22 Anthony Alford 

#355 Kolten Wong

#246 Tyler O'Neill

#210 World Series Game 6 Freddie Freeman

#392 Max Kranick RC

#42 Adam Wainwright

#46 Willson Contreras

#64 2021 Stolen Base Leaders Trea Turner / Whit Merrifield

#90 Vidal Brujan RC - the wrong card to pull of a young Tampa Bay Rays infielder

#174 Lorenzo Cain

#150 Shohei Ohtani

#142 Logan Gilbert 

#214 Tony Santillan RC

#133 Dallas Keuchel

#250 Jacob deGrom

#62 2021 Runs Batted in Leaders Adam Duval / Salvador Perez

#181 Gavin Sheets RC

#35 Dustin May

#166 Gerrit Cole

#159 Lane Thomas

#21 of 25 Freddie Freeman - Candy Lid insert

#NAP-4 Shohei Ohtani - New Age Performers insert

#191 Carlos Santana

#95 Brandon Crawford

#356 Ian Anderson

#302 Freddy Galvis

#348 Patrick Corbin

#339 Joey Gallo

#400 Yu chang

#243 Harrison Bader

Box two

#217 Ronnie Dawson RC

#17 Justin Upton

#242 Jose Ramirez

#121 Nick Pivetta

#304 Myles Straw

#312 Chris Taylor

#378 Ozzie Albies

#323 Jon Lester

#400 Yu Chang

#243 Harrison Bader

#195 Eric Haase

#11 Mike Yastrzemski

#278 Harold Ramirez

#152 Yusei Kikuchi

#288 Wil Myers

#399 Jose Berrios

#128 Kyle Tucker

#265 Matt Duffy

#373 Luis Gil RC

#109 Carson Kelly

#55 Randy Arozarena

#41 Yoshi Tsutsugo

#249 Connor Wong RC

#310 Tyler Glasnow

#402 Matt Carpenter - SP; facing backwards

#ROA-OC Orlando Cepeda - Real One Autograph

#NF-3 London Bridge Opens - News Flashbacks insert

#328 Seth Brown 

#84 Jose Abreu

#51 Cal Quantrill

#29 Raimel Tapia

#237 Luis Arraez

#286 Marcus Semien

#360 Cole Irvin

#370 Joe Ryan RC

It's just all so random I pull a certified autograph of Cepeda - he was literally all over my mind prior to this break, since I just got a TTM response from him, maybe I was looking up his cards online and even saw another copy of the very card I pulled, hours before making the Target run.

Maybe I'll try to conjure up thoughts about a Shohei Ohtani or Mike Trout pack pulled autograph - then see if something happens the next time I cave into bust random products where it's possible to pull their autographs.

2021 Donruss hanger box recap

  I find 'some' 2021 Topps Heritage blasters at a Target one day, the next day, I find the shelves wiped out in the card section - however a straggler hanger box got put back on the shelf by a Target employee.

I don’t like Donruss, but I’m desperate enough these days to pick up anything that is a baseball product - good thing I haven’t seen anything put out by Leaf or I may fold under pressure.  

Flippers are still going to take it all if product is sitting around, though I tend to feel like interest in hoarding retail stock is really in NBA, NFL or non-sport cards - despite my anecdotal evidence not playing out most of the time, I might be able to find baseball cards [maybe unopened blasters or loose packs] ‘once in a while’ where I would be shut out entirely if I primarily focused on the other stuff.  

For obvious reasons, recent Donruss cards are so basic and an eyesore [for obvious reasons] - maybe their ‘tributes’ to the brand’s sets [from the mid 1980s] are pretty hollow, where it’s hard to get nostalgic over ‘new takes’ that feel more like uninspired knock offs.

A redeeming factor that may not actually mean much, but give credit where credit is due are the parallels and inserts - they have a lot of shine to them and if nothing else, amuse me for a moment where I’d like to imagine actually caring enough about them to chase.   

#148 Eloy Jimenez

#106 Jose Abreu

#64 Marcell Ozuna

#122 Matt Olson

#80 Cavan Biggio

#137 Adam Wainwright

#160 Patrick Corbin

#118 Austin Meadows

#76 Carlos Correa

#133 Zac Gallen

#90 Lucas Giolito

#147 Marco Gonzalez

#105 Clayton Kershaw

#252 David Ortiz - Retro 1987; would have been nicer if the black borders on the originals were used; might be even more interesting if the surface wasn’t glossy and the card stock was more faithful to the originals. 

#210 Miguel Rojas

#231 Ozzie Smith - Retro 1987

#164 Jose Berrios

#255 Dale Murphy - Retro 1987

#188 Brandon Woodruff 

#234 Cal Ripken Jr. - Retro 1987

#167 Hyun-Jin Ryu

#258 Andre Dawson - Retro 1987

#191 Luke Voit

#227 Larry Walker - Retro 1987

#185 Brad Keller

#251 Steve Garvey - Retro 1987

#209 Anthony Santander

#52 Keibert Ruiz - Independence Day parallel

#135 Ramon Laureano - Holo Orange parallel

#92 Jeimer Candelario - Holo Orange parallel

#182 Aaron Judge - Holo Orange parallel

#248 Andy Pettitte - Retro 1987; Holo Orange parallel

#26 Cody Bellinger - Diamond Kings; Holo Orange parallel

#51 David Peterson - Holo Orange parallel

#ES9 Trevor Story - Elite Series insert; Diamond parallel

#UNL26 Frank Thomas - Unleashed insert; Diamond parallel

#54 Deivi Garcia

#50 Triston McKenzie

#253 Alex Rodriguez - Retro 1987; 14x All-Star variation

#3 Vladimir Guerrero - Diamond Kings 

#36 Joey Bart

#206 Max Scherzer

#17 Starling Marte - Diamond Kings

#52 Keibert Ruiz

#67 Mike Yastrzemski - Yaz nickname variation

#4 Anthony Santander - Diamond Kings

#37 Dylan Carlson

#200 Christian Yelich

#239 Sammy Sosa - Retro 1987; .534 Slugging Pct variation

#30 Ketel Marte - Diamond Kings 

2021 Topps Heritage blaster box recaps

Experiencing a case of a little FOMO a couple of weeks ago, I picked up a $30 blaster off Topps.com that is still processing in limbo - however, I also found a stash of about 10-15 blasters on a random Target stop, so I wasn't completely left in the cold.

I ended up eventually grabbing a couple of blasters despite the posted policy [which seems to vary for different Target locations or on different visits to my nearest Target store] - being a limit of one item per trading card brand / product. 

The last time I tried to buy cards off Target, a cashier knew a bit too much and wouldn't let me get multiples of any one product - I was buying two lousy blasters of baseball cards, not hoarding an entire stock for myself, so it's weird to wonder if I was going to be able to take home what I had in-hand.   

As for the actual breaks, I didn’t know what I was expecting but it doesn’t look like I pulled anything of note - maybe a couple of SPs between the pair of boxes, some dual player rookies, but no parallels or hits.  

The MO for Topps as far as Topps Heritage goes has been to these posed spring training images over and over - the cards get boring real fast, regardless of any of  'quirks' inspired by the originals and pointed out by other collectors who have an eye to compare.

Box 1 

Pack one

#311 Miguel Castro

#244 Tim Anderson - In Action

#272 Myles Straw

#230 Byron Buxton

#200 Michael Taylor

#179 Joey Gallo

#215 J.P. Crawford

#130 Brady Singer - In Action

#339 Wil Myers

Pack two

#50 Joey Bart - In Action

#293 Bo Bichette

#170 Mike Trout - In Action

#163 Alex Bregman

#218 Tyler Chatwood

#49 2021 Rookie Stars - feat. Joey Bart, Daulton Varshaw and Ryan Jeffers

#243 Tim Anderson

#110 Luis Garcia - In Action

#127 Hanser Alberto

Pack three

#76 Alec Mills

#312 Jesus Sanchez - In Action 

#400 2021 Texas Rangers Rookie Stars - feat. Anderson Tejeda and Leody Taveras

#395 Josh Hader

#82 Rafael Montero 

#GO-7 Roberto Clemente - The Great One insert

#469 Raimel Tapia - SP

#10 Miguel Rojas - In Action

#279 Jeff Samardzija

Pack four

#399 Kolten Wong

#18 Yadier Molina - In Action

#123 Matt Chapman

#343 Mauricio Dubon

#395 Josh Hader

#86 2020 AL Batting Leaders - feat. D.J. LeMahieu, Tim Anderson and David Fletcher

#389 Jeimer Candelario

#310 Josh Bell - In Action

#3 Raisel Iglesias

Pack five

#114 Jose Berrios - In Action

#199 Zach Davies

#184 Trea Turner - In Action

#72 Miguel Andujar

#390 Jake Cave

#112 Ryan Yarbrough

#129 2021 Kansas City Rookie Stars - feat. Brady Singer and Nick Heath

#128 Hanser Alberto - In Action

#158 2021 New York Yankees Rookie Stars - feat. Estevan Florial and Clarke Schmidt

Pack six

#345 Zack Godley

#240 Andrew McCutchen - In Action

#213 Mike Soroka

#205 Nathan Eovaldi

#39 Freddie Freeman

#115 Jalen Beeks

#456 Miguel Sano - SP

#194 Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - In Action

#315 2021 Rookie Stars - feat. Jorge Mateo and Edward Olivares

Pack seven

#27 2020 World Series Game 2 - feat. Brandon Lowe

#48 Shane Bieber - In Action

#270 Cesar Hernandez

#137 Fernando Tatis Jr.

#214 Chris Bassitt

#15 2021 Miami Marlins Rookie Stars - feat. Sixto Sanchez and Jesus Sanchez

#NF-P10 Pioneer 10 Spacecraft Launched - News Flashbacks insert 

#138 Fernando Tatis Jr. - In Action

#19 Rhys Hoskins

Pack eight

#38 Clayton Kershaw - In Action

#153 German Marquez

#32 Pete Alonso - In Action

#323 Steven Souza Jr.

#181 Max Scherzer

#291 Gleyber Torres

#219 Jaime Barria

#107 Miguel Cabrera

#168 Mookie Betts

Box 2

Pack one

#378 Alex Cobb

#52 Javier Baez - In Action

#258 Thairo Estrada

#277 Nick Solak

#85 2020 NL Batting Leaders - feat. Juan Soto, Freddie Freeman and Marcell Ozuna

#309 Josh Bell

#336 D.J. LeMahieu

#87 2020 NL RBI Leaders - feat. Marcell Ozuna, Freddie Freeman and Manny Machado

#252 Christian Yelich - In Action

Pack two

#34 Luis Robert - In Action

#303 2021 St. Louis Cardinals Rookie Stars - feat. Kodi Whitley and Roel Ramirez

#394 John Means

#235 Pedro Severino

#225 Julio Teheran

#379 Howie Kendrick

#483 Kyle Hendricks - SP

#308 Nelson Cruz - In Action

#238 Jose Peraza

Pack three

#368 Rookie of the Year Award - maybe use these subset cards as headers in my award collection.

#293 Bo Bichette

#37 Clayton Kershaw

#109 2021 National League Rookie Stars - feat. Luis Garcia and Christian Pache

#241 Brandon Lowe

#6 Adam Wainwright

#BFB-JM Joe Morgan - Baseball Flashbacks insert

#44 Jose Altuve - Baseball Flashbacks insert

#61 Danny Mendick

Pack four

#227 Michael Chavis

#132 Starling Marte - In Action

#91 2020 NL ERA Leaders - feat. Trevor Bauer, Yu Darvish and Dinelson Lamet

#281 Shane Greene

#155 2021 New York Mets Rookie Stars - feat Ali Sanchez and Franklyn Kilome

#211 2021 Houston Astros Rookie Stars - feat. Enoli Paredes, Blake Taylor and Taylor Jones

#387 Lance Lynn

#36 Juan Soto - In Action

#185 2021 American League Rookie Stars - feat. Ryan Mountcastle and Bobby Dalbec

Pack five

#300 Ronald Acuña Jr - In Action

#189 Albert Pujols

#165 Salvador Perez

#344 Michael Wacha

#84 Yandy Diaz

#94 2020 AL Pitching Leaders - feat. Shane Bieber, Gerrit Cole and Marco Gonzalez

#470 Victor Robles - SP

#365 Cy Young Award

#161 Dexter Fowler

Pack six

#298 Jose Ramirez - In Action

#278 Adam Eaton

#108 Miguel Cabrera - In Action

#375 2021 American League Rookie Stars - feat. Kris Bubic and Triston McKenzie

#251 Christian Yelich

#245 Shohei Ohtani

#236 Kevin Pillar

#297 Jose Ramirez

#116 Tommy Milone

Pack seven

#232 Trent Grisham

#22 2020 AL Postseason - Rays Are AL Champs - feat. Mike Brosseau

#381 Evan Longoria

#229 Chris Taylor

#320 Dylan Moore

#295 2021 Rookie stars - feat. Dylan Carlson and Evan White

#GO-2 Roberto Clemente - The Great One insert

#180 Joey Gallo - In Action

#301 2021 Toronto Blue Jays Rookie Stars - feat. Nate Pearson and Tom Hatch

Pack eight

#174 Cody Bellinger - In Action

#198 Josh Donaldson

#54 Michael Brantley

#330 Yuli Gurriel

#239 Andrew McCutchen

#237 Eduardo Escobar

#492 Brad Boxberger - SP 

#104 Paul Goldschmidt - In Action

#284 Josh Staumont