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

Some online rummages - the deeper cuts

Maybe I have not dwelled too much on doing a round up for a bigger order of cards that comes from online purchase - but it's kind of a thought exercise and maybe I don't get the same joy if I do not pore over my assorted claims.

2007 Upper Deck 1989 Reprints Roy Campanella #89UD-RC - I'll make keepers of cards I find loose in the wild since there is lingering sentiment over the 1989 Upper Deck set design.

2003 Topps Postseason Highlights Gold Troy Glaus #721 - Serial #’d 1128/2003 - Angels Top 100 fuel; now I might need the regular card to pair this with.

1998 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr's Hot List Roger Clemens #17 - I wanted this card at some point, actually picked up a copy but that might be MIA or counted in my cheat sheet leaderboards for my decade / binder stars collections.

1998 Topps Jeff Montgomery #184 - not as showy as his 1995 Topps Stadium Club card #266, where he is posed in front of a fire truck, the one-time closer from the 1990s is posed with a fire extinguisher.

1998 Topps Jim Edmonds #75 - I have the Minted in Cooperstown version in my Angels all-time Top 100 cheap-azz keepers collection, so I figured I'd pair it with the base card, even though the Minted in Cooperstown is really separate set and not a parallel.

1989 Score Paul Gibson (Hand on Crotch in Background) #595 - x2 - I made claims on a couple of copies posted and I actually got both cards; I found the MIA copy I once lost years ago and put in one of my all-time Top 100 cheap-azz keepers collection, but the copy I got from a last year [from the same seller go figure] might still be bundled with an MIA purchase I have not sorted further.

1998 Fleer Tradition Golden Memories Hideki Irabu #316 - this was a freebie claim, but ends up being subset rather than a real insert; it's hard to think not to dwell on the idea that Irabu was a sore disappointment, but he was a human interest story as well, where he might not have gotten resolution in his life.

2023 Topps Finest Flashbacks Finest Phenoms Masataka Yoshida #55 - I grabbed this rookie year card, where it teases a retro design.

1996 Upper Deck Juan Guzman #474 - I don't know whether I had a copy of this card, but claimed it because it's a big glove card.

1998 Fleer Tradition '63 Vintage '63 Jay Buhner #54 - a game face Buhner with a wad in his cheeks looks a little dejected as he throws his batting gloves to someone; maybe he just ended an inning like he struck out.

1998 Upper Deck Jamey Wright #82 - Pitchers hitting

1998 Upper Deck Armando Reynoso #167 - I'm not sure whether this goes into my men at work collection, where the pitcher working on laying down a bunt or in my pitchers hitting collection; this would not count as a bunt card since it's not a game action card.

2003 Topps Chrome Scott Spiezio #407 - I might be looking to make the random Angels card keepers, where maybe I want to come up with enough cards for certain guys to make a page for or to use as needed for a regional loose card project.

2005 Topps Total Adrian Gonzalez #249 - Stadium card

2023 Choice Portland Sea Dogs Niko Kavadas Card #14 - he made his MLB debut a day after I claimed this minor league team set card.

1998 Upper Deck Todd Worrell #113 - I'm not sure what to do with a card like this where Lee Smith makes a cameo; the two may have been junk wax era contemporaries, they might have been teammates at one point.

Smith is the one eventually inducted in the Hall of Fame so maybe it's a bonus baby card - even if it could be a star-on-star cameo card.

1988 Mother's Cookies Oakland Athletics Stadium Giveaway Matt Young #21 of 28 - he is a lefty, but he is having fun with a righthander's glove, posted in a fielding position.

1996 Fleer Jim Edmonds #46 - the random Angels bulk card for my player collection.

2003 Topps Bazooka Bobby Kielty #137 - Hats-off; National anthem

2003 Upper Deck MVP Mike Lieberthal #304 - Retro uniform

2003 Upper Deck Victory Bobby Abreu #68 - Retro uniform

2012 Topps Adron Chambers RC #90 - this has a cut on the surface

1998 Fleer Tradition Jay Bell #121 - a fun card where it looks like he is pictured with presumably his son.

1998 Fleer Tradition Kevin Brown #27 - the same image was used for his 1998 Fleer Tradition '63 Vintage '63 insert; this looks like the uncropped, horizontal image of Brown sliding headfirst into a base.

1998 Fleer Tradition Jay Buhner #68 - the same image was used for his 1998 Fleer Tradition '63 Vintage '63 insert.

1999 Pacific Crown Collection Orlando Palmeiro #8 - a dependable, fourth outfielder type from the mid 1990s through the early 2000s, I want to be able to add a card of his to an Angels all-time Top 100 cheap-azz keepers collection.

1998 Fleer Tradition Alan Benes #141 - Pitchers hitting

1999 Pacific Crown Collection Norberto Martin #6 - needed a card of Martin for my Angels Opening Day starters collection.

1998 Fleer Tradition '63 Vintage '63 Jason Dickson #1 - Pitchers hitting

1976 SSPC Brian Downing #141 - this is an 'old school '70s cool' card of a player who would eventually be a consistent bat for the Angels through the 1980s.

1981 TCMA The 1960's Billy Martin (Black Back; No MLB logo) #1981-364 - just an old-timey looking card from a retro, tribute set from the early 1980s.

1999 Topps Stadium Club Bruce Smith #89 - this might be UV era bulk fodder from a long time ago, but I grabbed this NFL card because of the great action shot of Smith taking quarterback Steve Young to the ground.

2021 Super Products Pieces of the Past George Washington #3 - I may bite on cards of no-context non-sport subjects on a whim.

Some online scavenging - the gimmes

I don't want to say I'm paying some kind of premium to fuel the illusion of engaging with someone else on social media in a more meaningful way - but it's been a thing where there are individuals who have these sale marathons where they spit out so many f/s posts.

Even if the low end material ends up stale at times, such posts gives me something to look at - where I end up making another run of odds and ends claims that starts up another tab.

My feed gets lonely at times where there isn't anything apparently going on - but then it gets busier, when there are three or four sales going on at the same time.

These end up being part one of my claims resulting in a purchase - maybe I can spend an hour or two rummaging around in a dollar and under box in-person and have better results perhaps, quality and quantity wise.

At times maybe it's a favor for sellers to be digging out bulk material that cater to odds and ends interests - where your mileage may vary depending on number cards claimed within a purchase.

2021 Topps Stadium Club Chrome David Ortiz #278 - since he's a decade / binder stars guy, he ends up a 'gimme player,' where it's easier to bite on a random card that catches my eye.

1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Then & Now Darryl Kile #102 - Pitchers hitting; occasionally sellers will throw out a freebie post with cards to claim and I jumped on this one.

This card was curled but maybe I can attempt to flatten it out.

1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Then & Now Covers Harmon Killebrew #3 of 12 C - within these social media sales, maybe I’ve tried to claim cards outright if it catches my eye off the bat.

1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Then & Now Covers Eddie Mathews #4 of 12 C - within these social media sales, maybe I’ve tried to claim cards outright if it catches my eye off the bat.

1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Then & Now Covers Willie Mays #5 of 12 C - within these social media sales, maybe I’ve tried to claim cards outright if it catches my eye off the bat.

1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Then & Now Tony Gwynn #90 - I might still be trying to make keepers out of nicer, if dated base cards as binder material for decade / binder stars guys.

1998 Upper Deck 10th Anniversary Preview Retail Eddie Murray #60 of 60 - I have no lingering sentiment for Murray cards in his odd-team stint with the Angels that didn't last a season, but there might be a little novelty.

1998 Fleer Tradition Chipper Jones #10 - hats-off; it might be a case where I decide to divert a binder material card as a mini-collections card.

1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Then & Now Scott Rolen #128 - I might still be trying to make keepers out of nicer, if dated base cards as binder material for decade / binder stars guys.

1998 Donruss Elite Scott Rolen #81- I might impulsively key in on a player like Rolen and make claims if I see at least two or three different cards posted.

1998 Score Barry Bonds #5 - within these social media sales, maybe I’ve tried to claim cards outright if it catches my eye off the bat.

1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Then & Now Jim Thome #135 - I might still be trying to make keepers out of nicer, if dated base cards as binder material for decade / binder stars guys.

1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Then & Now Frank Thomas #134 - I might still be trying to make keepers out of nicer, if dated base cards as binder material for decade / binder stars guys.

1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Then & Now Tim Salmon #129 - Angels material

1998 Fleer Tradition '63 Vintage '63 Tim Salmon #2 - Angels material

1998 Fleer Tradition Tony Gwynn #250 - inking it up; it might be a case where I decide to divert a binder material card as a mini-collections card.

1998 Fleer Tradition '63 Vintage '63 Kevin Brown #25 - pitchers hitting; Baserunning

2000 Topps Stars Spotlights Vladimir Guerrero #152 - with other collectors kind of making him their guy, maybe it ends up being a cliche where Vlad is the 'gimme player' for me, where I'll make one more random card I may or may not have keepers.

2019 Topps Finest Aaron Judge #51 - he's a 'here and now' superstar, where it's easy to bite on a random base card I may or may not have.

1994 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes Ted Williams #50 - he's a GOAT level 'gimme player' for me, where it's easy to bite on one more random retro card I may or may not have.

2004 Upper Deck Alex Rodriguez #541 - there is lingering sentiment, where I've resigned myself to bite on one more random card I may or may not have.

2005 Upper Deck Alex Rodriguez #134 - it might still be fun to make the occasional scattered base cards keepers.

2021 Super Products Pieces of the Past Babe Ruth #SP1 - he's a GOAT level 'gimme player' for me, where it's easy to bite on one more random retro card I may or may not have.

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.

Card show finds - Miscellaneous dollar box pulls

For card shows I have to pay some type of entrance fee / premium for upfront, before even spending money at actual seller tables - is it a failure to dig around for smaller types of purchases?

I get self-conscious about having to think a little more 'big time' in order to justify a card show day - maybe it's just a case where I still have do my thing, even if I might not have clearly defined goals other than being loosey-goosey wandering and rummaging around.

The following were a results of a rummage in mostly a dollar box except for one card - in a case where I have to pay to gain admittance to a card show, maybe a game I want to play is staying away from sellers I know I've bought from before and end up seeing at the more typical 'free' card shows I go to.

As it goes however, that idea only lasts so long when I end up looking for that first accessible table where I start digging around bins - I ended up being charged $20 for about $26 worth of cards off a seller who puts out bins of $1, $2, $5 cards among other things he might tease at his table [maybe other odds and ends, a higher end showcase].

I've bought from this seller multiple times over the past two or three years at different places - though at the same card show event the year before, I was trying to be smart about staying away from someone relatively local.

1999 Topps Finest Split Screen Refractor Right Alex Rodriguez / Ken Griffey Jr. #SS2 [$2] - I'll pick up the occasional A-Rod card where there might be lingering nostaglia over the player, regardless of his mistakes in his professional baseball career and regardless of the things he is up to now to try and stay relevant, like working in the media and trying to own a professional sports team, etc.

I am not familiar with these Topps Finest inserts, though looking them up - there might be versions where the Griffey Jr. side is a refractor or a version where both sides are refractors.

I'm the peculiar collector who spends an hour rummaging through value box cards at one table where I have my game face on - I might not be digging through high brow stuff, I might be flagging odds and ends, but it's a thing to kind of keep going card-by-card, stack-by-stack and row-by-row.

While the seller has probably combed over his value boxes, I like the idea where I find all sorts of stuff - oddballs, shiny, old-school player card (s) and even newer retro cards of Hall of Fame legends.

Some of the odder stuff for me includes - a 1993 Upper Deck World Cup 94 Preview English / Spanish From The Sidelines Tony Meola #149, where he is signing for Reggie Jackson, 1992 Sports Illustrated for Kids Series 2 Dawn Staley #67 and a 2005-06 Topps Chrome Christie Brinkley #216.

I really have no lingering sentiment for the player, but I grabbed a 1999 Fleer Mystique Pat Burrell RC #134 - Serial #’d 2486/2999 - since it might have been his 'hot' mainstream rookie when he may have gotten hobby hype 25 years ago.

Making the odd Angels cards keepers is still fun, where I need that one MLB team to bang the drum for - idly digging where I was ready to check out, the 1964 Topps Angel Backstops Buck Rodgers (Bob Rodgers) / Ed Sadowski #61 might have been a last minute find.

I fished out these cards out of a vintage set-filler portion of mostly commons - 1970 Topps Jim Kaat #75, 1970 Topps Juan Marichal #210 and 1970 Topps Tony Oliva #510.

Besides baseball, the seller really has all sort of odds and ends where it's not jumbled up like a tub or bucket - but you never know what you might find.

I want to be narrow minded where I'm picking up baseball cards I'm familiar with for the most part - but to add some more wrinkles to my stack, I made a 1995 Panini Smash Hits Album Stickers Steven Tyler #3, a 1995 Panini Smash Hits Album Stickers Bono #137 and a 1995 Panini Smash Hits Album Stickers Madonna #79 keepers.

Card show finds - Miscellaneous vintage #2

I'm not so well versed in vintage cards, where it is sort of a 'no-context' collecting theme for me - but to follow in other collector's footsteps, I want to dabble in picking up random cards, so it's not always the new stuff I end up with in card show hauls.

Even if I'm never getting close to possessing particularly valuable and/or the coveted vintage that are slabbed up and rest in serious collectors' hands - I want to able to say that I can tease some old school / vintage baseball cards that adds some character to my collections.

Doing some blind digs in a vintage bin at a card show booth - it is hard to figure out what I am looking for, but maybe I try to see if there are cards that catch my eye or really players and/or specific cards other collectors have talked about.

I decided to splurge on a 1954 Bowman Larry Doby card #84 - I liked how he is posed on the dugout steps on a bright, sunny day with the stadium behind him.

The only thing was I did not bother to pay closer attention to the back of the card - I did not realize there were some writing that may have had me putting card back.

1954 Topps Ed O'Brien & Johnny O'Brien #139 - a unique twin brother duo who played on the same Pittsburgh Pirates teams in the big leagues.

1955 Topps Harry Agganis #152 - I was scrolling on Instagram two or three years ago when I learned about this card and the player, a two-sport athlete who ended up passing away prematurely.

1963 Fleer Albie Pearson #19 and 1962 Topps Baseball Bob Rodgers #431 - it may depend on what I find, but I might be apt to make keepers out of vintage cards of one-time Angels players, either to fill out my Angels Opening Day Starters collection or my all-time Angels register project.

Dollar vintage - the 1961 Topps Zorro 'Zoilo' Versalles RC #21 goes into my award winners collection, while the 1967 Topps Jose Cardenal #193 and 1967 Topps George Brunet #122 probably end up in my Angels Opening Day Starters collection or my all-time Angels register project.

Featured autograph - Caden Dana

I have been hearing updates about the 20-year old pitching prospect on social media / X through this past year - so for future considerations, where I expected to add this card to my Angels all-time autograph collection, I picked up an on-card prospect auto back in May.

He made his Major League Debut on 9/1 against the Seattle Mariners and got the win - going 6 IP, 2 ER, 2H, 4K and 4BB.