Are these the wrong plastic pages to use?

For my decade stars / binder collections, I’ve been gathering just enough cards for individual players to see if I can display them in a page - maybe my decade stars collections is meant to be more of a passive project, but it's fun to churn out new pages to see loose cards come together by player.

During a card show pit stop last weekend, I wanted to buy some random supplies and there was an opened box of BCW plastic sheets for a quarter each - my go-to pages are usually Ultra Pro, but I'd used up my last box of 100 and to bide my time a little bit, maybe I'll try the BCW pages in case I end up liking it more.

To see if I can get something done through the afternoon this past Friday, I wanted to see if I can finally start displaying some loose cards for a number of subjects - my loose Tom Seaver cards were probably next in line to be displayed in pages since he was at the top of my current list of 'legends' with 12 cards.

I started to pull the loose cards out of penny sleeves to fit them into the pages one-by-one - though it feels like the BCW pockets are a little stiffer and tighter where they just barely cover the cards.

I still remember getting a box of Ultra Pro plastic sheets on eBay back in 2016 with a bad batch of pages - where the middle 4,5,6 pockets seemed ‘short’ and didn’t have a lip where there is a little gap ‘up top’ to cover the cards in their entirety.

For the most part however, the Ultra Pro pages give my binder cards a heftier, snugger fit most of the time - I don't know if I can leave these Seaver cards 'as is' in a BCW page without worrying the cards being subject to the conditions.

I might have wasted $5.00 on a 20 count of BCW nine-pocket pages that doesn’t give me peace of mind - the problem maybe obvious for the cards that have colored borders, but they seem to be spilling out of the page and I guess that is the risk I took in trying these BCW pages out.

A common sense solution for some peace of mind was using penny sleeves for each card, to add a little bit of ‘lip’ that might be missing up top - I just had enough 'still in package' penny sleeves to see if I can rejigger the page with an extra layer of protection of each card.

Maybe the cards end up being a little more secure, but after taking some pictures, the top portions of the cards really spill out a little bit - where these sheets look a little sloppy.

Where these BCW designed for sports cards or gaming cards where the dimensions might be a little smaller [?] - I might be able to use these BCW pages for smaller, odd-sized cards but the plan wasn’t to pick up loose sheets and prioritize all those itty-bitty stragglers unless there was a pressing need to put them away somewhere in the first place.

I might keep trying to play around with these BCW pages - but these are no good for me.

2018 Topps Update hobby jumbo pack x2

I had to make a late afternoon run to get some Topps Updates at some card shop I stopped at - I’m looking for anything Juan Soto [note, didn't pull any] and took the plunge with two jumbo packs; I used to try to get a single jumbo pack of every Topps release, but I haven’t really done so in recent years.

Maybe I could get a retail blaster box somewhere, but while it is a little different - I’d rather get something ‘hobby’ as far as roughly getting the same number of cards [but maybe a better chance of pulling something of note].

No pics, they are plastered all over eBay listings anyway - this took roughly five minutes [cut and paste from a Google Docs file where I list my pack breaks].

Pack one
#US50 Andrew Cashner
#US192 Daniel Palka
#US3 Jordan Lyles
#US121 George Springer
#US95 Dustin Fowler
#US88 Daniel Mengden
#US75 J.A. Happ
#US37 Javier Baez
#US206 Neil Walker
#US278 Yan Gomes
#US149 Leonys Martin
#US240 Gerrit Cole
#US231 Jesse Biddle
#US295 Yonny Chirinos
#US238 Matt Harvey
#US70 Brad Hand
#US277 Ryan Tepera
#US82 Eric Lauer
#US27 Christian Yelich
#US140 Clay Buchholz
#US118 Evan Longoria
#US292 Brandon Drury
#US189 Shohei Ohtani - checklist
#US110 Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
#US25 Willy Adames
#US136 Starlin Castro
#S-41 Didi Gregorius - Game Changers insert
#IA-50 Gleyber Torres - An International Affair insert; maybe something up my alley
#DB-7 Ichiro - Don’t Blink insert
#83-41 Hyun-Jin Ryu - 1983 Topps Baseball
#AST-JH Josh Hader - All-Star Stitches; this is probably the equivalent of a manufactured relic pull from a blaster
#US103 Luis Guillorme / Gershon Bautista - Rookie Combos
#US151 Matt Kemp
#US65 Christian Yelich / Lorenzo Cain - Throw Your Hands in the Air
#US247 Marcus Walden
#US214 Ariel Jurado
#US18 Mike Soroka
#US81 Sean Doolittle
#US38 Jose Berrios
#US87 Joey Votto / Billy Hamilton - Thunder & Lightning; should have put Scooter Gennett and Votto together.
#US249 Wander Suero
#US216 Max Stassi
#US39 Freddy Peralta
#US228 Colin Moran
#US46 Carlos Gomez
#US225 Mike Fiers
#US125 Carlos Santana
#US178 Danny Farquhar

Pack two
#US270 Dereck Rodriguez
#US93 Daniel Winkler
#US130 Austin Meadows
#US284 Arodys Vizcaino
#US186 Lorenzo Cain
#US243 Marco Gonzalez
#US76 Salvador Perez
#US254 Tommy Kahnle
#US60 Yadier Molina
#US55 Mike Moustakas
#US150 Eric Hosmer / Cody Bellinger - Get Off My Base
#US58 Jordan Hicks
#US173 Tyler Wade
#US276 Hector Santiago
#US146 Blake Treinen
#US210 Kirby Yates
#US113 Jesus Aguilar
#US144 Lou Trivino
#US259 Stephen Piscotty
#US157 Francisco Lindor
#US199 Francisco Lindor / Jose Ramirez - All Smiles
#US286 Shane Carle
#US54 Denard Span
#US262 Sam Gaviglio
#US233 Tommy Pham
#US59 Kyle Schwarber
#US89 Justin Verlander
#US250 Ronald Acuna Jr. - his actual RC
#S-48 Edwin Encarnacion - Game Changers insert
#US161 Seranthony Dominguez - Rainbow Foil
#SE-10 Andy Pettitte - Storybook Endings insert
#83-31 Gerrit Cole - 1983 Topps
#US29 David Hess / Pedro Araujo - Rookie Combos
#US282 Brian Flynn
#US128 Scott Kingery / Rhys Hoskins - Philly Fives
#US273 David Bote
#US191 Gleyber Torres - Rookie Debut
#US9 Nick Kingham
#US185 Corey Kluber
#US255 Max Muncy
#US53 Seung Hwan Oh
#US45 Bartolo Colon
#US164 Jefry Marte
#US22 Tyler Chatwood
#US35 Dan Otero
#US158 Justin Upton, Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout - Next Stop, Stardom
#US166 Juan Lagares
#US5 James Paxton
#US280 Ross Stripling
#US147 Matt Moore

2017 Topps Heritage Minors pack breaks

Pack one
#165 Sean Reid-Foley
#155 Thomas Szapucki
#18 Ryan Helsley

#203 Nick Gordon - SP
#71 Anfernee Grier
#161 Josh Staumont
#156 Matt Thaiss
#44 Shed Long

Pack two
#131 Braxton Garrett

#1 Amed Rosario
#167 Francisco Rios
#65 Nick Williams
Make Your Pro Debut code / info card
#151 Keegan Akin
#30 Greg Allen
#24 Eric Lauer

Pack three
#127 Jorge Ona
#83 Ryan Mountcastle
#115 Kyle Funkhouser
Make Your Pro Debut code / info card
#186 Nick Neidert
#34 Logan Shore

#126 Keibert Ruiz
#7 Jazz Chisholm

Pack four 
#165 Sean Reid-Foley
#155 Thomas Szapucki
#18 Ryan Helsley
#220 Victor Robles - SP

#156 Matt Thaiss
#44 Shed Long
#132 Tomas Nido
#27 Meibrys Viloria

2017 Donruss hobby two pack break

With a look inspired by an updated take on 1990 Donruss, the base cards are sharp, though still otherwise feel generic - maybe my small sample size of two packs doesn't quite tell the entire story, but it's hard to buy into these cards when they don't really stand out.

Pack one
#117 Ryan Braun

#74 Kyle Schwarber
#131 Odubel Herrera
#89 Nolan Arenado

#TP-2 Austin Meadows - The Prospects

#RV-24 Khris Davis - Retro Variation
#194 Yu Darvish

#RV-15 Mike Trout - Retro Variation

Pack two
#116 Giancarlo Stanton
#73 Jon Lester
#130 Marcus Semien

#88 Tyler Naquin

#29 Edwin Encarnacion - Diamond Kings subset
#158 Adrian Beltre

#RV-29 Johnny Cueto - Retro Variation
#149 Matt Holliday

2017 Topps Heritage 7-pack break

I'm not exactly a fan of Topps Heritage because it has been played out card product to me - I feel like there should be more effort to come up with something original when it comes to baseball cards as opposed to dipping into your 'heritage' as sort of a crutch to stand on.

I do appreciate some 'old school' elements in baseball cards, so it's not like I don't get what these cards are about - I grabbed 7 random packs from a card shop and also a blaster box from a Target to see if I can get into these new cards for a little bit.

It may not feel authentic, but the thinner card stock is cleaner and the cards look fairly sharp - it seems like there was no effort to make the cards look like the originals, which may not be something people who collect Heritage seriously may like.

I read a little primer on the original 1968 Topps cards - but despite the inconsistent pattern scheme on the borders, I'm okay with the cards looking a little bland and maybe lacking a little imagination [just considering the cards themselves and not the wrinkles and gimmicks that come with a 2017 release].

The card backs are bright and bold - so that makes them easy to read.

I realize 1968 Topps wasn't a set that used facsimile autographs of the players as part of the design - so the fronts of these 2017 Topps Heritage cards look less cluttered.

Pack one
#280 Chase Headley
#283 Pittsburgh Pirates team card
#301 Martin Prado
#358 San Diego Padres team card
#NAP-14 Kyle Hendricks - New Age Performers

#307 Yordano Ventura - R.I.P.
#373 Nolan Arenado - All-Topps subset
#272 Wei-Yin Chen
#336 Colorado Sluggers - feat. LeMahieu/Blackmon

Pack two
#224 Matt Szczur
#58 Tony Watson
#62 Nick Markakis
#144 Ryan Zimmerman

#491 Jason Hammel - SP
#30 Tyler Flowers
#353 Zach Britton
#297 Ezequiel Carrera
#278 Jeurys Familia

Pack three
#286 Dellin Betances
#394 Texas Rangers team card
#225 Francisco Rodriguez
#165 2017 Detroit Tigers Rookie Stars - feat. JaCoby Jones/Dustin Molleken

#412 David Ortiz - SP/Color Swap variation?
#63 Alex Wilson
#42 2017 Miami Marlins Rookie Stars - feat. Austin Brice/Yefri Perez
#124 Chad Qualls
#378 Max Scherzer - All-Topps subset

Pack four
#188 Jedd Gyorko
#51 Derek Norris
#218 Jim Johnson
#111 Tanner Roark

#Topps Tan-10 Juan Marichal/Clayton Kershaw - Then and Now insert
#231 Matt Garza
#241 Travis Jankowski
#388 Yonder Alonso
#181 Corey Kluber

Pack five
#80 Eddie Rosario
#319 Washington National Rookie Stars - feat. Brian Goodwin/Spencer Kieboom
#132 Cheslor Cuthbert

#117 Chicago White Sox Rookie Stars - feat. Carson Fulmer/Yoan Moncada
#497 Kevin Gausman - SP
#243 Byron Buxton
#393 Toronto Blue Jays Rookie Stars - feat. Matt Dermody/Danny Barnes
#35 Anthony DeSclafani

#368 Manny Machado - All-Topps subset; it's totally not obvious who is partially pictured on the back of Machado's card.
Topps info card/Bunt pack code card

Pack six
#201 Martin Maldonado
#219 Pedro Alvarez
#107 Roberto Osuna
#105 Adam Lind

#149 1987 Topps Ray Searage - Rediscover Topps; damn, this is just what I wanted from a pack of 2017 Topps Heritage.

It's going to be another 19 years for 2036 Topps Heritage to come out featuring 'Today's Stars in The 1987 Design' - where pulling a buyback card from 1987 Topps would make sense, though I probably could have pulled any junk wax era card from this latest Topps promotion.

#77 Yadier Molina
#345 Jarred Cosart
#210 Carlos Rodon
#343 Marcus Semien
#104 Carlos Santana

Pack seven
#220 Joe Mauer
#275 2017 Philadelphia Phillies Rookie Stars - feat. Jake Thompson/Roman Quinn
#389 D.J. LeMahieu

#372 Anthony Rizzo - All-Topps subset; it's totally not obvious who the smiling mug on the back of Rizzo's card belongs to.

#26 Gary Sanchez - 1968 Topps Game insert
#221 Toronto Blue Jays team card
#66 Kyle Hendricks
#192 Zack Cosart
#158 Cubs Fly the W

2017 Topps Series I hobby jumbo pack

I picked up a jumbo pack of 2017 Topps Series I for my yearly breaking ritual of at least one jumbo pack of Series I, Series II and Update - with a nameplate eating up the lower portion of the front of the card and bright colored card backs, these flagship cards may take a little getting used to, but are otherwise passable.

#74 Brett Lawrie
#93 Matt Joyce
#9 Chris Sale
#12 Jerad Eickhoff
#286 Drew Pomeranz
#296 Tyler Clippard
#139 JaCoby Jones
#282 Tyler Flowers
#155 Jacob DeGrom
#274 Matt Strahm
#51 Jake Barrett
#151 Jonathan Villar

#20 Mike Trout
#221 Adam Wainwright
#331 Jake Lamb
#315 Carlos Beltran
#260 Stephen Piscotty
#158 Tommy Pham
#55 Mark Trumbo
#81 D.J. LeMahieu
#270 Jake Arrieta
#159 Justin Verlander
#S-61 Jackie Bradley Jr. - Topps Salute insert

#5T-16 Wil Myers - Five Tool insert; I like these cards and while maybe too radical, wouldn't mind seeing the multiple picture in a collage element be used as a Topps flagship design instead of the more pedestrian looking base cards issued like usual.

#72 Chicago Cubs team card - Negative Back and White parallel
#FP-21 Jon Lovitz - First Pitch insert
#87-53 Yu Darvish - 1987 Topps Baseball insert
#1984 Topps Don Mattingly - reprint / Topps info card
#251 Justin Turner
#253 Tucker Barnhart
#133 Jace Peterson
#272 Pat Neshek
#332 Huston Street
#173 Chicago White Sox team card
#230 Northern Highlights / Toronto Blue Jays - feat. Tulowitzki / Saunders?
#39 Aroldis Chapman
#125 Yangervis Solarte
#227 Byron Buxton
#183 Wade Miley
#150 Miguel Cabrera
#187 Sean Manaea
#126 Miguel Sano
#121 Carlos Santana
#239 Rajai Davis
#241 Chris Young

#135 Jered Weaver
#41 Paolo Orlando
#75 Carlos Correa
#115 Joaquin Benoit
#311 Tyler Chatwood

2016 Panini Elite Extra pack break

Did I really want to buy a pack of cards that cost as much as a blaster box [?] - the configuration for this year's EEE product is there are only five packs in a box with less base cards to fiddle with, but more hits to sort out, presumably for case breakers who may end up doing group breaks.

I broke down to try at least one pack, though I wasn't impressed with how the cards look - especially with the bright shiny foil board [normally a plus] clashing with images of players in logo less uniforms [at least for the ones not pictured in college or in Team USA uniforms]; the nameplates at the bottom reminds me of the 1961 Golden Press set cards.

#161 Connor Walsh - serial #’d 040/999

#8 Cal Quantrill - Aspirations parallel serial #’d 37/75; I've always liked the handful of Aspiration singles I've found over the years and it's a change that these are not die-cut anymore.
#FTSA-JL Jesus Luzardo - Future Threads Silhouette Autographs Emerald Red serial #’d 28/49; I like the jumbo patch swatch, but Luzardo is just an 18-year old pitcher and who knows if he’ll get to the big leagues.

I thought Luzardo was just another Dominican or Venezuelan international signee, who may have been in pro ball for a few years already - but he went to high school in Florida and was a third round pick this last June...he is Venezuelan, though he was born in Peru and came to the United States when he was a year old.

#170 Brody Koerner - another auto; I’ve almost never heard of him except I actually got his autograph in-person, so this is a redundant pull [unless he does something within the next year or two].

#178 Nestor Cortes - serial #’d 526/999

2016 Bowman Draft jumbo pack recap

I'm sure it makes sense for those who bust this stuff heavily, but the $3-$4 single pack of Bowman Draft are no more - there are these 32-card jumbo packs [$13 at my LCS] and there is a super jumbo pack [$45 at my LCS] containing 120 cards with an autograph.

During an LCS trip, I wasn't really tempted by the $45 super jumbo pack because there was some sticker shock - but maybe I take a shot if I'm feeling a little adventurous, during my the next card shop trip.

#BD-35 Joey Wentz
#BD-130 Bradley Zimmer
#BD-117 Joe Rizzo
#BD-184 Brent Honeywell
#BD-101 Bren Rortvedt
#BD-192 Jack Flaherty
#BD-37 Drew Harrington 
#BD-171 Nick Neidert
#BD-89 Corbin Burnes
#BD-127 Dylan Cease

#BD-169 Marcos Diplan - Green border parallel serial #’d 52/99
#BDC-126 Christian Arroyo - Chrome
#BDC-54 Nick Hanson - Chrome
#BDC-65 Kyle Muller - Chrome
#BDC-175 Brett Phillips - Chrome
#BDC-6 Dakota Hudson - Chrome
#BDC-13 Taylor Trammell - Chrome

#BSI-ZC Zack Collins - Chrome Bowman Scouts’ Fantasy Impact

#BDC-57 Eric Lauer - Chrome refractor

#BDC-192 Jack Flaherty - Chrome refractor
#BD-11 Anfernee Grier
#BD-121 Austin Meadows
#BD-107 Connor Jones
#BD-168 Anfernee Seymour
#BD-2 Thomas Jones
#BD-186 Rhys Hoskins
#BD-6 Dakota Hudson
#BD-174 Chase De Jong

#BD-110 Matt Thaiss
#BD-94 Daniel Johnson

#BD-20 Cal Quantrill
#BD-21 Javon Shelby