I think it would be fun to make keepers out of young players who are going to be the next decade stars guys in my binder - why always go on about picking up cards guys who played 5, 10, 15 or at least 20 years ago?
Maybe I got lucky and found cards picturing some of the 'here and now' guys for the next five years - maybe on a speculative pace, other collectors have been in on these guys, but in due time I anticipate the more casual collectors gushing over these players and making them their new favorites.
Bobby Witt Jr. - he played in 150 games as a rookie in 2022 and while he was up and down with the bat, showed potential as a second generation big leaguer where some of the hype entering the 2022 season was warranted.
I think at his age, he can be expected to be in a off-season lab / hitting cage somewhere - where he really works on pitch recognition so maybe he walks more, strikes out less and makes more contact.
Wander Franco, Logan Gilbert, Andres Gimenez - Franco seemed to be the most hyped young player coming into 2022 and frankly he was a bust where he didn't live to expectations due to various injuries that kept him off the field.
This isn't to say that he can't or won't bounce back where he is still a 21-year old 'kid,' but he certain disappointed - where maybe his cards ended up being fool's gold.
Gilbert may have been the Seattle Mariners' top pitching prospect for the last two or three years and he had a good run in his first full MLB season - where he has shown ace potential on the mound or at least a very good No. 2 starter.
Gimenez ended up having a fine season and started in the All-Star game at second base - maybe he's not quite a hobby star, but has the potential to be 'baseball good' for the next five years.
Jazz Chisholm, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Oneil Cruz and Jarren Duran - Chisholm is an electric player who may have put up bigger numbers this past year, if he wasn't injured.
Crow-Armstrong enjoyed a breakout year in the minors - who knows if he can build on that, but he's on the radar as a top prospect now.
Cruz has gotten to the big leagues and there might be hype with what he can do because he is such a large human playing a premium position - I kind of think he is a toolsy guy who is a work in progress, though I guess the potential is undeniable.
Duran has had some time in the big leagues and while he might be a decent player - maybe more of a semi-regular, fourth outfielder type or starter for a second division, non-contender.
Adley Rutschman, Spencer Strider, Spencer Torkelson and Anthony Volpe - as a catcher who can hit, Rutschman may have been as good as advertised in his 2022 MLB debut season, while Strider was a pitching star as a rookie and earned a $75 million contract with the Atlanta Braves.
Torkelson was hyped up as a slugger entering the 2022 season, but struggled for much of the year - where maybe his potential is a bit uncertain, depending on whether he can adjust to big league pitching in 2023.
Volpe is still in the minors and while he didn't match the great, breakout season he did in 2021 - he had a season where he is still on pace to reach the big leagues within the next couple of seasons.
Ke'Bryan Hayes, Riley Greene, Jonathan India and Julio Rodriguez - Hayes and India went through some sophomore slump issues this past year, Greene got his first taste of the big league this past season, while Rodriguez might MLB's next superstar.
At card shows, I like the idea of cobbling cards together that make sense to me - my take home stash may not be worth much all together [charged $10 in this instance], but depending on what I find, I can exercise a certain nuance in picking out my keepers off a particular table.
Angels material - 3 for $1 - the Angels are my team to collect them through rain, sleet or snow, but I can't help but feel there is a janky quality that lingers from the top of the organization down to the product on the field.
2021 Topps Chrome Shohei Ohtani #159 - he really hasn't had that all-world season with the bat and on the mound, has had some uneven performances in recent starts.
2021 Topps Finest Shohei Ohtani #54
2021 Topps Finest Mike Trout #57 - was in an 0-for-26 hole, may have busted out off that until his groin gave out.
2021 Topps Finest Finest Legacies Mike Trout, Vladimir Guerrero #FL-MT
2021 Topps Gallery Shohei Ohtani #96
$1 each
2016 Topps Chrome Mike Trout #1
2021 Topps Archives Snapshots Jo Adell #19 - he's had to step in where it seems like he's as bad as some Angels fans want him to be, where the 23-year old's abilities just doesn't translate into skills that make him a legitimate big leaguer.
$1 each
1960 Fleer Baseball Greats Zack Wheat #12
1960 Fleer Baseball Greats Dazzy Vance #51
1961 Fleer Baseball Greats Chuck Klein #51
1962 Post Cereal Richie Ashburn #186
$0.50 each
1961 Topps Don Mossi #14
I was able to scrounge up some vintage cards and while they came from the depths of some cheap-o boxes and not showcase material - maybe having some 60 year old pieces of cardboard in hand should be some sort of accomplishment.
$2 each
2021 Bowman's Best Refractor Marco Luciano #20 [x2] - whoever knows with some of these top prospects, but looks like this shortstop prospect is having a good year in Single-A.
2021 Bowman's Best Refractor Andrew Vaughn #21 - he had an unspectacular rookie season in 2021, but has shown better production with the bat so far.
There are interesting names to go through among the prospect portion of the cards, though it makes me wonder if some of the parents naming these young guys are running out of ideas - though maybe it's just unfamiliarity over the players like Rikelvin De Castro, Fran Alduey, Jhonkensy Noel, Lenyn Sosa, Mahki Backstrom, Jheremy Vargas or Arol Vera.
Someday they might be household names in the big leagues - with some likely being 'never has beens' where their pro careers might stall out after reaching a certain level.
Bowman has been typically out of sight, out of mind for the most part - but there is a bit of FOMO where if I don't jump on trying a blaster or two when I can, I might not be able to get the opportunity see them sold through a retail outlet.
I saw these on the Target Web site and wanted to try a couple even though I didn't realize they were $30 now - it seems like I've been in the dark with Bowman releases especially with the box prices being jacked up across the board.
Gone are the days where I can buy loose hobby packs for $4 each and maybe loose jumbo packs for $12 each - I don't know if it's ever been a serious thing, but prospecting has passed me by where I don't care about guys still in the minor leagues.
With a premium placed on the first year autos [and related parallels] found in Bowman products, Topps makes it where they get cards signed by largely unproven players for $5 each in quantity - then seed them one per $300 box for regular hobby and maybe a couple per $600 jumbo boxes.
Maybe retail blasters are slightly more sane alternative but it seems like there are too many players [including MLB veterans], too many parallels and filler inserts - where as much as I think I can pull something of value, it's all too saturated where random blasters are an all-or-nothing deal.
Pack two
#17 Jake Burger RC
#97 Jesse Winker
#99 Javier Baez
#55 Nick Madrigal
#77 Matt Chapman
#14 Dylan Carlson
#BTP-54 Luis Matos - Bowman Top 100 insert
#BP-22 George Valera - FY - dinged corner
#BP-18 Alvin Guzman - FY - dinged corner
#BP-116 Jeter Downs - dinged corner
#BCP-112 Joshua Baez - Chrome FY
#BCP-51 Robert Dominguez - Chrome FY
Pack three
#75 Charlie Blackmon
#29 Bobby Dalbec
#65 Otto Lopez RC
#44 Reid Detmers RC
#51 O'Neil Cruz RC
#70 Ronald Acuna Jr.
#94 Christian Yelich - Blue Pattern parallel serial #'d 099/125
#BP-17 Oswaldo Cabrera - FY
#BP-32 Euribiel Angeles - FY
#BP-127 Victor Lizarraga - Neon Green parallel serial #'d 355/399
#BCP-90 Yhoswar Garcia - Chrome FY
#BCP-94 Pedro Pineda - Chrome
Pack four
#69 Paul Goldschmidt
#31 Alec Bohm
#20 Ryan Mountcastle
#2 Aaron Judge
#21 Aaron Ashby RC
#11 Luke Williams RC
#HIFI-16 Blaze Jordan - HI-FI Futures insert
#BP-96 Ian Lewis - FY
#BP-26 Anthony Rodriguez - FY
#BP-68 Niko Kavadas - FY
#BCP-14 Roberto Campos - Chrome FY
#BCP-11 Dauri Lorenzo - Chrome FY
Pack five
#61 Giancarlo Stanton
#45 Nolan Arenado
#57 Cody Bellinger
#1 Joey Votto
#43 Bo Bichette
#B3D-2 Henry Davis - Bowman in 3D insert #BTP-71 Noelvi Marte - Bowman Top 100 insert
#BP-146 Bobby Witt Jr.
#BP-102 Pete Crow Armstrong
#BP-38 Alexander Ramirez #BCP-70 Andry Lara - Chrome FY
#BCP-145 Shalin Polanco - Chrome
Pack six
#100 Ryan Vilade RC
#72 Luis Gil RC
#78 Edward Cabrera RC
#37 Jose Abreu
#25 Mookie Betts
#5 Ha-Seong Kim
#ROYF-6 Jake Burger - Rookie of the Year Favorites insert
#BP-93 Braylin Minier - FY
#BP-80 Junior Sanquintin - FY
#BP-63 Noelvi Marte
#BCP-82 Aeverson Arteaga - Chrome FY
#BCP-83 Roismar Quintana - Chrome FY
There are interesting names to go through among the prospect portion of the cards, though it makes me wonder if some of the parents naming these young guys are running out of ideas - though maybe it's just unfamiliarity over the players like Orelvis Martinez, Llover Peguero, Euribiel Angeles, Yhoswar Garcia, Dauri Lorenzo, Andry Lara, Shalin Polanco, Noelvi Marte, Roismar Quintana, or Aeverson Arteaga.
Someday they might be household names in the big leagues - with some likely being 'never has beens' where their pro careers might stall out after reaching a certain level.
Through the dog days, I don't really know if my 'card show summer' is coming to an end, where in reality it will just roll over into 'card show fall' and so forth - but maybe I need some time to recap and organize all the cards I've picked up over the past couple of months, where I need a little bit of time I can justify being able to rummage for more random cards.
I'm trying to break down a 125 card purchase to make multiple posts in a more managable way - where I don't get overwhelmed about trying to cram everything into one post that will come and go.
My 'oddball mall' material pick ups were made to see if I can get into these types of cards - maybe I can consider them cutesy or unique pick ups on the down low like the Jimmy Dean's Ken Griffey Jr., but there is something missing with the cards with no logos.
These cards [there's only five of them], were mostly from the junk wax, so it's not like these are hard to find test issues or something of that ilk -the Don Larsen is actually from a 45-year old card set, but I have a tendency to disassociate any retro cards not issued during a player's career as something lesser, regardless of age.
The Pete Rose is from 1986 Leaf set - cards from reprinted Canadian versions of Donruss or Topps [O-Pee-Chee] can be considered oddballs, right?
The Kirby Puckett and Ryne Sandberg was from a boxed set - which may have been selling for $2 at the neighboring table where the card shop's [the host of the card show] bargain material was displayed.
These are my shiny card hauls and while the players are not necessarily outright favorites [maybe except Ichiro] - the cards maybe squirreled away in various loose card projects just because they 'pop.'
As much as possible, I'm never going to catch myself picking up any Panini Donruss cards [unopened packs or boxes] - but I'll pick up any loose parallels, where any Pink Fireworks parallel cards [they might not be apparent but like the Eugenio Suarez and Gerrit Cole shown] are simply keepers.
These are prospect / rookie material - for a moment I thought the Nate Lowe rookie was of Brandon Lowe, so I grabbed it.
The others have had Bowman cards before, so these aren't they first-year 'paper' cards and/or parallels - but Alek Manoah looks to be a probable decade stars / binder guy once I have enough cards of the big league pitching rookie, while the Grayson Rodriguez and Josh Jung are still working their way up the minor league ladder.
Even though I've only started going back to attending shows through this year - I don't know if there are 'go to' regular sellers I've sort of latched onto.
I always expect different sellers to get my fix in the meantime and at times it isn't as clear - where I'm going end up getting my game face on to start rummaging through the most random cards.
It may always be a case of stumbling onto a table and maybe going through a few cards to see if it's my type of material - during my latest card show trip, maybe I was a little desperate to find that first table to start off with.
I did find myself at one such table to pull some dollar cards [or 6 for $5] - that I maybe interested in and then started to go through the assorted quarter boxes.
I think the same seller had a setup 14-15 years ago at the more prominent collectible show in the area - he had that mix of assorted quarter boxes that made his spot a regular stop, even though his booth was sort of tucked away at the back of show warehouse.
It’s been a long time, but this person still looks the same - he doesn't seem like he has aged or maybe he was still fairly younger back then.
With visions of finding multiple dollar and under boxes off other tables, I'm afraid that I maybe spending too much time at this one place - but this could literally be the table with the most variety of loose baseball cards [in addition to a mix of other spots], so I had to make it count here before moving on.
This Topps Now Find was probably my most random find and the most unique card I've found for a quarter - I didn't even realize there was a card for the first professional team to wear braille jerseys to honor the blind.
I have seen the Naquin card in various forms and while I never know if it's a baserunning card, hats-off card or something else entirely in my collecting topics subset collection - it's a nice image that pops a bit more done refractor style.
I try to grab assorted cards to fill out in my decade stars collections - if a player makes it to my decade / binder stars collection, that may mean I collect them [as I find their cards], though there certain players will end up being more 'my guys' as opposed to other notable players.
There are 2020 Panini Prizm cards of Yu Darvish, Ozzie Albies and Matt Chapman I probably spent an hour on an idle afternoon looking up - it made my head hurt trying to figure out what parallels these card were...apparently they are Cosmic Haze parallels, inserted in MJ Holdings mega boxes...
More binder material guys - a random Bo Jackson football card, an Adrian Beltre shimmer refractor, another Jacob deGrom and some father and son Vladdy Daddy action.
These were thrown into my pile as various finds for the collecting topics subsets I try to keep up with - no matter how prominent or obscure the subjects are.
Some rookie stuff - when dealing with the quarter boxes, I take what I can find; I grabbed a 2018 Topps Nick Williams just because I thought it could be a mini-collection add, but I already had the card.
Some prospects from the past couple of years - with the cost of prospect products [Bowman, Bowman Chrome, Bowman Draft] at a premium, maybe I don't get much exposure to loose cards of young players, despite the idea I don't like them just the same, if they aren't first-year cards.
Some cards might be keepers just because I want to be able to keep up - where I'm not completely clueless about more than a few of these players.
My other sports pile - there is a Reggie Jackson [NBA] card I'll end up pairing with a card of Reggie Jackson [the MLB legend].
My 6 for $5 pile - nothing here that really pops out, but I like the 2020 Bowman Mega Box prospect parallel card of Alek Manoah.
After being a spectator at my niece's soccer doubleheader to close out her season and having lunch with my parents - maybe I got my one chance go back to the show / card shop I'd previously visited.
While I didn’t know how it was during the morning - I want to say there were only 5-10 tables when I got the show and still a lot of empty space in the storefront.
There was one table with a box of loose dollar cards - I was digging around, but it was more ‘here and now’ stuff from just past couple of years and not a deal where I found keepers outright.
I made it to one other table with a display of top loaded cards and loose sleeved cards for $0.50 each - I probably spent about 45 minutes just rummaging through the rows of cards, while another person had already been doing the same before I got there.
I think the setup was primarily other sports, but there were assorted ‘runs’ of baseball to be found just the same - maybe I was a little unsure of what I may find, but I thought this might be my only table, so maybe I should be patient and see if I could make something of my time.
The other person was really into it and was looking to he could get a discount for something like 200 cards purchased - not that I particularly cared, but I was trying to make sure to stay out of his way as he dug into another row of cards.
With no rhyme or reason, I started to get on a mission myself - I didn’t know if I’d have the time to go through the cards I'd pulled and there was a little anxiety about weeding out certain ones while making others my keepers.
I don't want to dilute my decade stars collections, so by default the star cards I pull or find are sorted into my decade stars collection - however mini-collection quality cards finds picturing legitimate stars should end up as highlights out of my various collecting topics subsets, rather than really just ending up my 30th or 31st random card of a certain player to squirrel away somewhere.
I try to stay away from any non-MLB licensed Panini products on principle, but any loose shiny and/or unique parallels / inserts are fair game - notably when there is star power involved.
I would have ignored the random Beltre otherwise as just another low end pack pulled minor league insert - but it's a now a nearly 25 year old card that chronicles the future hall of famer's time in the minors, just as he was getting to the big leagues at 19.
The Maddux isn't worth much more than what I paid, but it's an insert I've never seen before - it looks pretty sharp as a binder material card.
Maybe I was aiming for adding some odder looking cards and while the way the cards look a little beat up in-hand [or at least the sealed holders that hold the cards] - I found a pair of 1996 Danbury Mint cards of Duke Snider and Bob Feller, which features a gold leaf surface.
Maybe I lose something in the moment, when I make some of the same rookie cards keepers, maybe multiple times over - however, current year rookies don't always make it to the boxes I'm looking at, so I'll grab them as I find them.
When rummaging through random boxes, I like to do a little GOAT hunting, where I like to make believe that the most basic cards of legendary and iconic pro athletes are keepers - regardless of actual value or relevance.
I don't really concern myself with other sports, because if I get serious about it - I feel like the best I can aspire to build on a 'repack collection,' but it's a tease to see all these assorted cards for the taking featuring all these pros I'm casually aware of, except they do not play pro baseball.
I grabbed a second year card of Aaron Rodgers because it just happens to be the closest thing to his rookie year - while he is otherwise holding out so far, he has just been one of these top flight quarterbacks who is tough to go against.
I grabbed a Steve Young card because it was shiny and die-cut - I remember not being able to throw a football at all and even though I was a roly poly kid, I would imagine being able to take the ball [in touch football games] and scramble around like Young did during the years where he was QB1 for the San Francisco 49ers through the mid 1990s.
I found some 1990 Leaf cards and while I'd have to pay a pretty price to get any of them actually inked up - it was nice dig out a Ken Griffey Jr., Nolan Ryan [I ended up with two, because I wasn't paying attention] and a Clemens [which I may have already].
Maybe there was some overlapping interest in star cards from the early 1980s and older, even as the junk wax era was at its peak through the early 1990s - maybe a copy of the Ryan was loose among a one-time friend's collection that his mother kept nagging on him to clean up and in passing, I wanted a copy for myself.
The Ozzie Smith maybe a misfit find, from a fugly 1981 Fleer set that is hard to take seriously - however there is something quaint about the card, picturing a younger, smiling Smith as a member of the San Diego Padres.
I almost consider Smith just about a one team guy with the St. Louis Cardinals - but The Wizard established his reputation as a slick fielding magician as a Padre.
I found one card each of a couple of probable decade stars / binder guys for the 2020s - Alex Kirilloff is an outfielder who became the first player to make his MLB debut in the postseason, penciled into the starting lineup, while Adley Rutschman is probably the top catching prospect in the minors.
Finally there are a pair of Shohei Ohtanis - obvious keepers if I don't have them, even basic, no MLB logo cards from Panini.
Maybe my second pit stop at this card show didn't turn out to be a 'full blown' experience for me, but I was able to dig around and do my thing for a short time - to have some loose cards to take home and dwell on.
I stumbled upon what would be my last table of the day, where I started going over dollar box cards - unlike the dollar box collection I stumbled upon in recap #2, maybe the cards here didn't have that nostalgic pull to them.
But maybe it's kind of like looking up cards on COMC, where I may not be interested in one specific card - but going down the rabbit hole, maybe I see a run of cards, where it's random and I want it.
After the fact, part of the challange was looking up and trying to figure out what exactly I had in-hand - whether it's an insert, parallel or a base card.
2010 Bowman Chrome Prospect J. D. Martinez #BCP165 2014 Topps Chrome Jose Ramirez RC #45 2018 Topps Factory Set Rafael Devers #18 2019 Bowman's Best Austin Riley RC #4 - x2 2019 Panini Elite Extra Edition OptiChrome Riley Greene #5 2019 Topps Independence Day parallel Aramis Garcia #659 - serial #’d 61/76 2019 Topps Update Vintage Stock parallel Tommy La Stella #US29 - serial #’d 57/99 2019 Topps Update SP Variation Tony Gwynn #US56 2019 Topps Update SP Variation Robin Yount #US168 2019 Topps Chrome Update Will Smith #47 2020 Bowman Chrome Sapphire Prospects Kody Hoese #BCP4 2020 Bowman Sterling Prospects J.J. Bleday #BPR-43 2020 Topps Archives 1955 Bowman insert Bo Bichette #B55-9 2020 Topps SP Variation Bob Gibson #508 2020 Topps SP Variation Dave Winfield #556 2020 Topps Vintage Stock parallel Nick Markakis #156 - serial #’d 15/99 2020 Topps Chrome Sapphire Edition Spencer Turnbull #445 2020 Topps Chrome Update Sapphire Edition Jason Castro #U-232 2020 Topps Pro Debut Chrome Dylan Carlson #PDC-142 - gum card 2021 Bowman Jasson Dominguez #BP-13 - it's nothing notable, but my first card of the teenage prospect nicknamed 'The Martian.'
I went through a table that had a ‘5 for $1’ box and started grabbing loose 2021 Topps Home Run Challenge contest / code cards - I don’t think they were scratched, so maybe I can use them, even though I consider them throwaways after I've used the cards for the codes.
I scratched off cards of Pete Alonso, Eugenio Suarez, Nolan Arenado and Giancarlo Stanton last week - Alonso and Stanton ended up being winners for me, so I await my prize cards in several months.
I missed on using a code for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - not that I would have picked the right date, but he's been on an absolute tear and hit 3 straight home runs over the weekend.
Star power - I started to pull cards including some cheap binder material cards to add shine to my indidivual player collections.
2020 Donruss Optic Carolina Blue and White Prizm Anthony Rendon #155
2020 Donruss Optic Holo Prizm Anthony Rendon #155
2020 Donruss Optic Diamond Kings Lime Green Prizm Juan Soto #23
2020 Panini Optic Lime Green Prizm Max Scherzer #138
2020 Panini Prizm Numbers Game insert Shohei Ohtani #NG8
2020 Panini Optic Lime Green Prizm Bryce Harper #183
2020 Topps Chrome Aaron Judge Sepia refractor #50
2020 Topps Chrome Kris Bryant Prism refractor #53
2020 Topps Chrome Kris Bryant Sepia refractor #53
2020 Topps Chrome Max Scherzer Sepia refractor #139
2020 Topps Stadium Club Chrome Clayton Kershaw Emperor of the Zone insert #EOZ-11
2021 Topps Series 1 Jacob deGrom Rainbow Foil #200
Legends and icons
2020 Panini Donruss Optic Retro 1986 Holo Prizm Don Mattingly #R86-16
2020 Topps Stadium Club Chrome Cal Ripken Jr. #106
2020 Topps Stadium Club Chrome Stan Musial #187
2020 Topps Stadium Club Chrome Ken Griffey Jr. #270
2020 Topps Stadium Club Chrome X-Fractor Roberto Clemente #159
Miscellaneous
2020 Bowman Chrome Mega Box Mojo refractor Noah Song #BCP161 - he was the prospect who had to fulfill obligations to go to Navy flight school. 2020 Donruss Optic T-Minus insert Deshaun Watson #TM-10 - I thought this NFL card was pretty neat looking, though it's probably an 'infamous' add. 2020 Topps Chrome refractor Andrew Heaney #28 - I'm sure I have my share of Heaney's but this parallel goes towards my Angels Opening Day starters set. 2020 Topps Chrome X-Fractor Scott Kingery #64 - maybe some base running, dirt fetish or hats-off add. 2020 Topps Stadium Club Chrome Mitch Garver #20 - gum card 2020 Topps Stadium Club Chrome Xfractor Justin Turner #45 - honestly, he's not a decade stars / binder guy for me, but might as well be. 2020 Topps Stadium Club Chrome refractor Salvador Perez #206 - tools of ignorance 2021 Topps Series 1 History of Topps insert Sy Berger / first complete set #HOT-3 2021 Topps Series 1 History of Topps insert Topps Receives MLB Exclusive #HOT-7
Miscellaneous prospects - it's a little confusing and redundant [even if the checklist was actually different], but intriguing to see there were Mega Box Mojo refractor cards for both 2020 Bowman and 2020 Bowman Chrome; unlike the cards from recap #1, these loose cards came from 2020 Bowman Chrome Mega Boxes.
2020 Bowman Chrome Mega Box Mojo refractor Kyle Isbel #BCP-165
2020 Bowman Chrome Mega Box Mojo refractor Brandon Marsh #BCP-166
2020 Bowman Chrome Mega Box Mojo refractor Francisco Alvarez #BCP-198
2020 Bowman Chrome Mega Box Mojo refractor Marco Luciano #BCP-213
2020 Bowman Chrome Mega Box Mojo refractor Michael Toglia #BCP-225
2020 Bowman Chrome Mega Box Mojo refractor Trevor Larnach #BCP-249
2020 Bowman Chrome Mega Box Dawn is Glory insert Adley Rutschman #DG-13
2021 Bowman Chrome Prospects Brennen Davis #BCP-65
2021 Bowman Chrome Prospects Carson Tucker #BCP-77
2021 Bowman Chrome Prospects Brandon Marsh #BCP-112
2021 Bowman Chrome Prospects Drew Romo #BCP-126
Pictured is the Pelican case I bring to hold all my pick ups - I store it in a drawstring bag I lug around as I try to make deals for key showcase money cards at different card show venues, always ready for some action.
Seriously however, much of what I value are cards that may be dated, too plentiful and never going to be valued - I hunt the type of cards I do in the meantime, to have my own inspired smorgasbord to aspire to as a card collecting lifer.
I made it to another card show, a different one from the last post, though they were on back-to-back weeks - knock on wood, maybe the plan through the summer is to get to as many local card shows as I can as something to get me out of the house until I get tired of going to the same promoted places with the same stuff.
This latest show was held inside a gym with lots of tables and lots of foot traffic, so this was already looking better, even if what I actually find at various tables may not be line up with my ideals - it was actually little cramped all around as I tried to snake my way through the rows and find the first accessible table.
I landed on a table where I started to dig through the quarter boxes and was starting to pull cards out that interested me - even though I could have ended up with more different cards, I tried to grab multiples of certain basic rookie cards as I found them.
Miscellaneous - maybe a few more rookie cards of rank-and-file guys and other cards I picked up on a whim.
Angels content - I found a couple of 2018 Leaf Shohei Ohtani cards and I relented to make them keepers, even if Leaf branded cards from the past 10 years through present have no place in my collection.
Miscellaneous prospects - it feels like it has been at least a couple of years since I had any loose Bowman prospect cards in-hand, especially Mega Box stuff from 2020, so while related, pictured cards may not be actual first-year guys, they are shiny cards of hopefuls.
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].
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