Fairfield assorted 20 pack repack mix #2

This box didn't end up having as much juice as the first repack box - though the cards may not be worth much individually, the nicer cards came out of the five 2013 Topps Archives packs.

2008 Upper Deck Spectrum
#69 Nick Swisher
#84 Felix Hernandez
#85 Ichiro
#DJ 91 Derek Jeter - Retrospectrum insert

2009 Upper Deck Spectrum
#82 Tim Lincecum
#98 Vernon Wells
#95 Ian Kinsler
#SS-TH Tim Hudson - Spectrum Swatches insert / jersey card
#65 Derek Jeter
#33 Troy Tulowitzki

2012 Topps 
#10 Jon Lester
#154 Ty Wigginton
#TM-35 Zack Greinke - 1987 Topps minis insert
#TT-17 Joe Morgan / Brandon Phillips - Timeless Talents insert
#42 Drew Pomeranz
#283 Brandon Allen
#285 Drew Storen
#131 Ian Desmond
#27 John Buck
#194 Danny Duffy

2013 Bowman Platinum
#BPP 91 Michael Wacha
#54 Josh Hamilton - Gold parallel
#68 Johnny Cueto
#BPP 90 Marcel Ozuna

2013 Bowman Platinum
#44 Jarrod Parker
#BPCP 94 Ty Hensley - refractor
#60 Will Middlebrooks
#BPP 67 Joey Gallo

2013 Topps Series I
#54 Jaime Garcia
#236 Joe Nathan
#308 Desmond Jennings
#43 R.A. Dickey
#277 Brendan Ryan
#4 Yadier Molina
#268 David Lough
#247 Luis Perez
#TM-42 Willie Mays - 1972 Topps minis insert
#146 Kyle McClellan
#102 Denard Span
#237 Brandon Lyon

2013 Topps Series I
#44 Anthony Rizzo
#275 Johnny Cueto
#135 Eric Hosmer
#255 Josh Johnson
#23 Jemile Weeks
#100 Mike Moustakas
#231 Melky Mesa
#TM-18 Carlos Santana - 1972 Topps minis insert
#32 Craig Breslow
#180 Casey Kotchman
#258 Doug Fister
#159 Felipe Paulino

2013 Topps Series I
#329 Rafael Soriano
#38 Brian Wilson
#133 James Shields
#120 Ian Desmond
#207 Matt Holliday
#330 Ryan Raburn
#266 Albert Pujols
#CD-18 Chris Sale - Chasing the Dream insert
#221 Heath Bell
#312 Scott Hairston
#71 Kyle Kendrick
#208 Kurt Suzuki

2013 Topps Series I
#16 Andre Ethier
#52 C.C. Sabathia
#137 Edinson Volquez
#34 Felix Hernandez
#179 Detroit Tigers - 2012 ALCS Game 4
#35 Justin Verlander
#288 Starling Marte
#183 Drew Hutchison
#241 Jacoby Ellsbury - Emerald parallel
#164 Lucas Harrell
#56 Joe Blanton
#250 Jon Niese

2013 Topps Series I - die-cut pack designed as a hanger
#141 Carlos Santana
#22 Clayton Kershaw
#213 Alex Rodriguez
#263 Ted Lilly
#85 Sean Doolittle
#187 Nick Maronde
#111 Casey Kelly
#CD-25 Mike Moustakas - Chasing the Dream insert
#215 Gordon Beckham
#279 Vicente Padilla
#168 Kyle Farnsworth
#211 Jarrod Parker

2013 Topps Series I - die-cut pack designed as a hanger
#28 Prince Fielder
#155 Mat Latos
#113 Starlin Castro
#115 Tim Hudson
#17 Shin-Soo Choo
#149 Yovani Gallardo
#254 Sean Burnett
The Million Dollar Chase info card
#56 Joe Blanton
#250 Jonathon Niese
#152 Jose Contreras
#177 Elliot Johnson

2013 Topps Archives
#27 Manny Machado
#88 Derek Holland
#102 Matt Moore
#169 Pedro Alvarez

#83-BH Bryce Harper - 1983 All-Stars insert
#178 Giancarlo Stanton
#1 Babe Ruth
#69 Eddie Mathews

2013 Topps Archives
#182 Andre Ethier
#35 Adam Dunn
#74 Miguel Montero

#MT-DJ Derek Jeter - Tall Boy insert
#66 Tim Hudson
#125 Kyle Lohse
#199 Eric Hosmer
#33 Corey Hart

2013 Topps Archives
#77 Tony Cingrani
#144 Paul Molitor
#184 Kyle Seager

#MT-BP Buster Posey - Tall Boy insert

#GH-JR Jackie Robinson - Gallery of Heroes insert
#154 Yovani Gallardo
#4 Marco Scutaro
#78 Johan Santana

2013 Topps Archives
#163 Hyun-Jin Ryu
#15 Mike Morse
#58 Cole Hamels

#MT-DM Denny McLain - Tall Boy insert
#142 Willie Stargell
#175 Yogi Berra
#18 Jon Lester
#62 Jacoby Ellsbury

2013 Topps Archives
#182 Andre Ethier
#35 Adam Dunn
#74 Miguel Montero
#117 Carlos Santana

#83-BP Buster Posey - 1983 All-Stars insert
#70 Ozzie Smith
#147 Hiroki Kuroda
#155 Wilin Rosario

2013 Topps Chrome
#67 Ryan Vogelsong
#132 Ricky Nolasco
#155 Adam Eaton - refractor
#49 Andrew McCutchen 

2013 Topps Chrome
#189 Alfredo Marte
#CC-MH Matt Harvey - Chrome Connections insert
#55 Mike Olt
#122 Adrian Beltre

2013 Topps Chrome
#160 Ian Kinsler
#177 Mike Moustakas
#213 Gio Gonzalez - refractor
#166 Jackie Bradley Jr.

2013 Topps Opening Day
#172 Manny Machado
#93 Justin Upton
#SC-8 Ryan Zimmerman - Superstar Celebrations insert
#35 Justin Verlander - blue parallel serial #'d 1666/2013
#24 Tommy Milone
#160 Johan Santana
#43 Pedro Alvarez

The one hit included with the 20 packs was a 2003 Flair J.D. Drew Diamond Cuts jersey card #DC-JD - Drew was a fine ballplayer when healthy but was more than a little detached, so he wasn't a traditional fan favorite.

Damn

Top prospect Oscar Taveras and his girlfriend killed in a car accident.

Fairfield assorted 20 pack repack mix #1

I'd read blog posts talking about the hits pulled from the 20 pack boxes at Target and was feeling impulsive, so I grabbed two $19.99 boxes for myself - in the window of a couple of boxes I saw, there were multiple Topps Allen and Ginter's packs, multiple Topps Chrome packs and multiple Archives packs.

I thought these boxes might be worth a gamble, even though the packs inside are probably still retail discards and I don't think I was going to pull anything good - while there were no loose 1988 Donruss or 1989 Topps sticking out, that told me nothing.

The one hit included with the 20 packs was a 2011 Bowman Sterling Nolan Fontana Team USA jersey card #USAR-NF - very random, but it's a hit.

I pulled a 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Jake Peavy mini serial #'d to 50 which I thought was my best hit - so this break was probably par for the course until I looked closer at a couple of other cards.

2007 Upper Deck
#46 Juan Salas
#308 Matt Holliday
#391 Jeff Conine
#8 Josh Fields
#328 Jose Garcia
#395 Cole Hamels
#126 Shane Costa
#129 Mike Sweeney
Scoreboard Challenge info card

2009 Upper Deck Spectrum
#23 Carlos Quentin
#39 Dan Uggla
#85 Ichiro
#17 Alfonso Soriano
#1 Brandon Webb
2013 Topps Series II
#633 Victor Martinez
#530 Wade Miley
#459 Jesus Montero
#407 Juan Pierre
#408 Coco Crisp
#549 Huston Street
#TM-62 Paul O'Neill - 1972 Topps Minis insert
#384 Jake McGee
#540 Michael Bourn
#642 Austin Jackson
#492 Jose Molina
#613 Jhoulys Chacin

2013 Topps Series II
#560 Yunel Escobar
#575 Justin Morneau
#471 Trevor Cahill
#486 Jason Kubel
#517 Pedro Alvarez
The Million Dollar Chase info card
#CD-15 Giancarlo Stanton - Chase it Down insert
#338 Mike Trout
#483 Yordany Valdespin
#378 Joe Kelly
#554 R.A. Dickey
#577 Matt Harvey

2013 Topps Series II
#416 Jordan Lyles
#452 Raul Ibanez
#417 Blake Forsythe
#544 Tyler Chatwood
#597 Marco Scutaro
#456 Pablo Sandoval
#492 Jose Molina - Emerald parallel
#422 Alfredo Marte
#609 Scott Baker
#409 Logan Morrison
#539 Phil Coke
#356 Greg Dobbs

2013 Topps Series II
#333 Santiago Casilla
#342 Matt Dominguez
#499 Billy Butler
#383 Matt Harrison
#518 Nolan Reimold
#364 Carlos Pena - red border parallel
The Million Dollar Chase info card
#590 Liam Hendriks
#354 Casey Janssen
#538 Brett Wallace
#572 Lorenzo Cain
#431 Blake Beavan

2013 Topps Series II
#506 Andy Pettitte
#563 Nate Eovaldi
#389 Phil Hughes
#548 John Lackey
#637 Ben Revere
#388 Justin Turner
#MM-6 Ike Davis - Making Their Mark insert

#331 Jose Reyes - short print / variation
2nd Chance Vintage Card Giveaway contest card
#421 Jordy Mercer
#490 Cody Ross
#528 Darin Mastrianni
#398 Mike Fiers

2013 Topps Series II
#644 Ryan Lavarnway
#397 Mike Aviles
#525 J.P. Arencibia
#633 Victor Martinez
#570 Devin Mesoraco
#TM-62 Paul O'Neill - 1972 Topps Minis insert
#521 Evan Scribner
#384 Jake McGee
#368 Chris Young
#643 Matt Garza
#607 Chris Carter
#339 Nick Swisher

2013 Topps Series 2 hobby
#377 J.D. Martinez
#404 Ryan Madson
#559 Travis Snider
#532 Todd Helton
#WBC-11 Pablo Sandoval - World Baseball Classic insert
#393 Andres Torres
#418 Evan Gattis
#463 Jason Hammel
#566 C.J. Wilson
#378 Joe Kelly

2013 Topps Allen and Ginter's
#142 Garrett Jones
#241 Matt Cain
#275 Josh Beckett
#10 Sandy Koufax
#221 Salvador Perez - mini
#ATY-JR Jim Rice - Across the Years insert

2013 Topps Allen and Ginter's
#200 Dustin Pedroia
#157 Adam Jones
#295 Dan Uggla
#CAP-IN Inca - Civilizations of Ages Past insert
#81 Al Kaline - mini
#303 Wade Miley - short print

2013 Topps Allen and Ginter's
#154 Mike Morse
#179 Bonnie Bernstein
#300 Bud Selig
#185 Guillaume Robert-Demolaize
#HHH-AUG Augustus - mini
#ATY-JV Joey Votto - Across the Years insert

2013 Topps Allen and Ginter's
#273 Alcides Escobar
#261 Dwight Gooden
#134 Roy Halladay
#PS-PP Peterhof Palace - Palaces and Strongholds insert
#4 Ty Cobb - mini
#310 Brandon Phillips - short print

2013 Topps Allen and Ginter's
#188 Bill Buckner
#288 Chris Davis
#239 Craig Kimbrel
#MM-AP Apache - Martial Mystery insert
#147 Ian Desmond - mini
#349 Jason Dufner - short print

2013 Topps Archives
#81 Will Middlebrooks
#119 Ian Kinsler
#194 Yadier Molina
#45 Chase Headley
#83-TG Tony Gwynn - 1983 All-Stars insert
#46 Justin Morneau
#91 Brandon Beachy
#128 Mark Trumbo

2013 Topps Archives
#193 Jim Palmer
#3 Carlos Beltran
#97 David Wright
#69S-WRYC Ted Williams, Frank Robinson, Carl Yastrzemski, Miguel Cabrera - 4-in-1 Sticker insert
#RC-BH Bryce Harper - 1989 All-Stars insert
#18 Jon Lester
#62 Jacoby Ellsbury
#133 Jurickson Profar

2013 Topps Gypsy Queen
#44 Evan Longoria
#307 Shelby Miller
#NH-PH Philip Humber - No-Hitters insert
#219 Jake Peavy - mini sepia serial #'d 20/50
#285 Matt Garza
#96 Mike Fiers

2013 Topps Gypsy Queen
#194 Brandon Phillips
#291 Howie Kendrick
#CP-SP Salvador Perez - Collisions at the Plate insert
#37 David Wright - mini
#327 A.J. Pierzynski
#251 Doug Fister

2013 Topps Gypsy Queen
#139 Shaun Marcum
#162 Bruce Sutter
#SS-AJO Adam Jones - Sliding Stars insert
#74 Josh Rutledge - mini
#141 Alex Gordon
#176 Tony Perez

2013 Topps Opening Day
#168 Miguel Montero
#32 Jered Weaver
#SC-6 Adam Jones
#79 Tyler Colvin - blue parallel serial #'d 0355/2013
#154 Nelson Cruz
#107 Lance Berkman
#200 Evan Longoria

2014 Topps Update jumbo pack recap

I figure I'll end up busting at least one loose hobby jumbo pack of the latest Topps / Bowman offerings - whether or not the odds are in my favor picking up only one lone pack, I assume there is still a better chance to pull anything of note in hobby.

As I flipped through the boring base cards and thought who would want another card of some of these guys - I pull a redemption card for a Jorge Posada Strata autograph.

I don't know what relevance a Posada insert of any sorts has in 2014 Topps Update - but it sure made me feel better about my little 'do or die' gamble.

#US-63 David Murphy
#US-37 Leury Garcia
#US-33 Grady Sizemore
#US-59 Brandon McCarthy
#US-58 Raul Ibanez - Angels cut him when he was hitting .150 and even though he's not on the active roster, he is the one at the 2014 World Series.
#US-69 Dellin Betances
#US-319 Ricky Nolasco
#US-127 David Phelps
#US-251 Ike Davis
#US-3 Tom Wilhemsen
#US-134 Tony Cruz
#US-302 Tom Gorzelanny
#US-165 Justin Morneau
#US-248 Brayan Pena
#US-180 Chris Taylor
#US-168 Austin Jackson
#US-145 A.J. Pierzynski
#US-141 Chris Dickerson
#US-130 Tony Watson
#US-286 Brandon Barnes
#US-142 Jon Lester
#US-74 Antonio Bastardo
#US-12 Brian McCann - gold parallel serial #'d 0765/2014
#PPA-AW Adam Wainwright - Power Players insert
#US-57 Jacob DeGrom - Red Hot foil parallel
#FF-MM Mark McGwire - Fond Farewells insert
#TM-RA Roberto Alomar - 1989 Topps Die-Cut minis insert
Jorge Posada Strata Signature Relic redemption card 
#US-324 Alexi Amarista
#US-225 Luis Avilan
#US-274 Chris Withrow
#US-117 John Lackey 
#US-35 Marcus Stroman
#US-113 Oscar Taveras
#US-268 Matt Shoemaker
#US-153 Kurt Suzuki
#US-103 Starlin Castro
#US-283 Tyson Ross
#US-11 Robbie Ross Jr.
#US-252 Adrian Nieto
#US-95 Vidal Nuno
#US-24 Tony Sanchez
#US-150 Jon Singleton
#US-263 Kyle Seager
#US-282 Glen Perkins
#US-155 Devin Mesoraco
#US-238 Giancarlo Stanton
#US-156 Ronald Belisario
#US-179 John Baker
#FN-GP 2 Gregory Polanco - The Future is Now insert

2014 Topps Heritage Minors two pack break

Pack one

#41 Josh Bell

#35 Chris Stratton

#27 Mike Foltynewicz

#11 Trevor Story

#FB-MF Maikel Franco - Baseball Flashbacks insert

#187 Tanner Rahier

#196 Justin Nicolino

#42 Brian Goodwin

#158 Jake Westbrook

Pack two

#18 Max Fried

#65 Richie Shaffer

#78 Patrick Wisdom

#81 Jose Rondon

#217 Mookie Betts - short print

#165 Wyatt Mathisen

#188 Dilson Herrera

#199 Arismendy Alcantara

#164 Rangel Ravelo

I like to hoard assorted cardboard II

Last week, I impusively bought a box of 2014 Topps Stadium Club - I should have waited until this week, when a row of the base cards were in a 3,200 count box, waiting to be poached at my LCS.

1982 Topps Dave Bergman #498

1982 Topps Dave McKay #534

1982 Topps Dave Rosello #724

1983 Topps Lance Parrish #285

1984 Topps Lance Parrish #640

1990 Leaf Lance Parrish #195 - x2

1990 Score Lance Parrish #35

1991 Upper Deck Lance Parrish #552

1992 Fleer Lance Parrish #66

1992 Fleer Ultra Lance Parrish #28

1992 Score Lance Parrish #298

2014 Topps Stadium Club Shane Victorino #6

2014 Topps Stadium Club Stephen Strasburg #8 - x2

2014 Topps Stadium Club Ivan Rodriguez #20

2014 Topps Stadium Club Roy Halladay #21

2014 Topps Stadium Club Jose Reyes #29

2014 Topps Stadium Club Ernie Banks #32

2014 Topps Stadium Club Jordan Zimmermann #34

2014 Topps Stadium Club Rickey Henderson #46

2014 Topps Stadium Club Justin Upton #70

2014 Topps Stadium Club Ian Kinsler #71

2014 Topps Stadium Club Ty Cobb #72

2014 Topps Stadium Club Evan Longoria #82

2014 Topps Stadium Club Jose Altuve #90

2014 Topps Stadium Club Victor Martinez #98

2014 Topps Stadium Club Mike Napoli #101

2014 Topps Stadium Club Johnny Bench #113

2014 Topps Stadium Club Jason Heyward #115

2014 Topps Stadium Club Torii Hunter #126

2014 Topps Stadium Club Dustin Pedroia #131

2014 Topps Stadium Club Eddie Butler #135

2014 Topps Stadium Club Koji Uehara #139

2014 Topps Stadium Club Evan Gattis #141 - x3

2014 Topps Stadium Club Jean Segura #143

2014 Topps Stadium Club Adam Wainwright #168

2014 Topps Stadium Club Yadier Molina #174

2014 Topps Stadium Club Felix Hernandez #179

2014 Topps Stadium Club Carlos Gomez #183

2014 Topps Stadium Club Gerrit Cole #191

2014 Topps Update David Ross #US-60

2014 Topps Update Pat Neshek #US-192

2014 Topps Update Cole Figueroa #US-203

2014 Topps Update Roenis Elias #US-220

2014 Topps Update Josh Harrison #US-80 - Camo parallel serial #'d 55/99

I like to hoard assorted cardboard

I picked up 110 assorted cards in a card shop's '8 for $1' monster boxes - I'd made one other trip to this card shop and was bored because I saw the cards were a little older [from the late 2000's].

From what I heard is the card shop buys up boxes of cards on the cheap from box busters [everything except the actually hits] and then dumps most of the cards out for people to digest in the spring time - whatever newer cards he has bought, he may still need to sort in anticipation of next year because that is when people tend to come into the store.

I may have forgotten a few cards here and there, even ones I'd already planned on picking up, though I tried to be decisive - trying to figure out whether or not I can add cards to my mini-collections or maybe I just liked the card (s) at the moment and wanted to top off the brick of cards I had built.

There was a bunch of 2006 Topps Turkey Red cards and while I wanted some variety in my haul - I tried to grab the ones featuring mostly players I maybe able to see in-person at some point.

1991 Topps Shane Mack #672
1993 Hostess Ken Griffey Jr. #25
1994 Pinnacle Chuck Knoblauch #83
1997 Donruss Chris Hoiles #342
1998 Donruss Darryl Kile #3
1998 Donruss John Jaha #176
1998 Donruss Lance Johnson #200

1998 Fleer Sports Illustrated Edgar Renteria #30
2001 Topps American Pie Dean Chance #112

2001 Upper Deck Hall of Famers Satchel Paige #74
2002 Fleer Tradition Ray Durham #293
2002 Fleer Tradition Carlos Lee #413
2002 Topps D'Angelo Jimenez #428
2003 Fleer Tradition Luis Aparicio #67
2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Lance Parrish #69
2003 Topps Chan Ho Park #463

2003 Topps Dmitri Young #582
2003 Topps Heritage Mike Sweeney #267
2003 Upper Deck Shane Halter #346
2003 Upper Deck Vintage Troy Glaus #1

2004 Fleer Tradition Ramon Hernandez #113
2004 Fleer Tradition Mike Matheny #147
2004 Fleer Tradition Kelvim Escobar #174
2004 Fleer Tradition Jason LaRue #210
2004 Fleer Tradition Terrence Long #279
2004 Fleer Tradition Scott Spiezio #319

2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Reggie Jackson #63
2004 Topps Bazooka Frank Thomas #7
2004 Topps Heritage Yadier Molina #355
2004 Topps Opening Day Marcus Giles #8
2004 Topps Opening Day Jason Phillips #52 
2004 Upper Deck First Pitch David Bell #234
2004 Upper Deck Timeless Teams Brooks Robinson #40
2004 Upper Deck Timeless Teams Mike Scioscia #202
2004 Upper Deck Timeless Teams Jim Rice #245
2005 Donruss Brandon Phillips #157
2005 Fleer Ultra Jermaine Dye #29

2005 Fleer Ultra Corey Koskie #105
2005 Fleer Ultra Bret Boone #106
2005 Fleer Ultra Eric Munson #150
2005 Fleer Ultra Lance Berkman #10 - RBI Kings insert
2005 Topps Mark Ellis #614

2005 Topps Heritage Kevin Mench #39 - uncorrected error card / pictures David Dellucci
2006 Fleer Ultra Joe Mauer #163
2006 Topps 52 Rookies Brian Wilson #87
2006 Topps 52 Rookies Eric Stults #106
2006 Topps Turkey Red Casey Kotchman #56
2006 Topps Turkey Red Omar Infante #243
2006 Topps Turkey Red Stuart Pomeranz #295
2006 Topps Turkey Red Oliver Perez #327
2006 Topps Turkey Red A.J. Burnett #335
2006 Topps Turkey Red Mike Sweeney #336
2006 Topps Turkey Red Nomar Garciaparra #346
2006 Topps Turkey Red Jeff Weaver #353
2006 Topps Turkey Red Chipper Jones #360
2006 Topps Turkey Red Mark Loretta #362
2006 Topps Turkey Red Coco Crisp #378
2006 Topps Turkey Red Brad Penny #384
2006 Topps Turkey Red Jermaine Dye #391
2006 Topps Turkey Red Joe Nathan #398
2006 Topps Turkey Red Mark Mulder #407
2006 Topps Turkey Red Bobby Crosby #417
2006 Topps Turkey Red Vinny Castilla #423
2006 Topps Turkey Red Dmitri Young #428
2006 Topps Turkey Red Sean Casey #435
2006 Topps Turkey Red Rafael Furcal #456
2006 Topps Turkey Red Bartolo Colon #462
2006 Topps Turkey Red Curtis Granderson #468
2006 Topps Turkey Red Jeremy Reed #472
2006 Topps Turkey Red David Eckstein #473
2006 Topps Turkey Red Huston Street #478
2006 Topps Turkey Red Phil Nevin #480
2006 Topps Turkey Red Jason Giambi #482
2006 Topps Turkey Red Torii Hunter #487
2006 Topps Turkey Red Garret Anderson #488 - x2
2006 Topps Turkey Red Kameron Loe #496
2006 Topps Turkey Red Chris Young #498
2006 Topps Turkey Red Dan Johnson #507
2006 Topps Turkey Red Mike Cameron #514
2006 Topps Turkey Red Doug Mientkiewicz #534
2006 Topps Turkey Red Chris Capuano #544
2006 Topps Turkey Red Chris Duffy #547
2006 Topps Turkey Red Bengie Molina #548
2006 Topps Turkey Red Steve Finley #563
2006 Topps Turkey Red Shawn Chacon #567
2006 Topps Turkey Red Barry Bonds #573
2006 Topps Turkey Red Brad Ausmus #574

2006 Topps Turkey Red Orlando Cabrera / Adam Kennedy 'Avoiding the Runner' #577
2006 Topps Turkey Red Derek Jeter #580
2006 Topps Turkey Red Jeff Mathis #594
2006 Topps Turkey Red Sean Marshall #604
2006 Topps Turkey Red Kendrys Morales #607
2006 Topps Turkey Red Jason Kubel #621
2006 Topps Turkey Red Fausto Carmona #624
2006 Topps Turkey Red Michael Pelfrey #628
2006 Upper Deck Ovation Miguel Cabrera #ON-MC - Ovation Nation insert
2007 Fleer Ultra Todd Helton #55
2007 Topps Heritage Richie Ashburn / Ichiro #TN7 - Then and Now insert
2008 Topps Moments & Milestones Robinson Cano #70 - serial #'d 044/150
2008 Topps Moments & Milestones Jim Thome #85 - serial #'d 148/150
2008 Topps Opening Day Jeff Francoeur #143 - Gold parallel serial #'d 1753/2199
2008 Topps Opening Day Aramis Ramirez #169 - Gold parallel serial #'d 1805/2199
2009 Upper Deck Jon Garland #189
2009 Upper Deck Icons Daisuke Matsuzaka #28
2009 Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee Carlos Lee #371
2011 Topps Heritage Edinson Volquez #171
2012 Topps David Murphy #385 

2012 Topps Justin Verlander #TM-55 - 1987 Topps Minis insert

2014 Topps Update blaster recap

Commemorative patch card 
#WSP-RF Rollie Fingers - manufactured 1974 World Series patch; I can't complain about these cards when they are pretty sharp.

Pack one
#US-296 Tyler Moore
#US-46 Jake Marisnick
#US-84 Brandon Maurer - Red Hot Foil parallel
#US-64 LaTroy Hawkins - Target Red parallel
#US-231 Brendan Ryan - Target Red parallel
#US-7 David Price
#US-24 Tony Sanchez
#US-150 Jon Singleton

Pack two
#US-83 Brandon Hicks
#US-85 Daniel Descalso
#US-164 Joe Kelly
#FF-OV Omar Vizquel - Fond Farewells insert / do I really need a flipping Omar Vizquel card in a 2014 product?
#US-20 Gregory Polanco - Target Red parallel
#US-100 Jose Abreu - Target Red parallel
#US-252 Adrian Nieto
#US-95 Vidal Nuno

Pack three
#US-244 Daisuke Matsuzaka
#US-73 Francisco Cervelli
#US-86 Cesar Ramos
#TM-PF Prince Fielder - 1989 Topps Die-Cut minis insert
#US-266 Drew Smyly - Target Red parallel
#US-221 Gregory Polanco - Target Red parallel

#US-49 Willie Bloomquist
#US-11 Robbie Ross Jr.

Pack four
#US-70 Jarrod Saltalamacchia
#US-93 Troy Patton
#FN-MW1 Michael Wacha - The Future is Now insert
#US-293 Troy Patton - Target Red parallel
#US-272 Mark Ellis - Target Red parallel
#US-206 Chris Perez
#US-103 Starlin Castro
#US-283 Tyson Ross

Pack five

#US-218 David Carpenter

#US-194 Hector Santiago
#US-237 Jorge Polanco - Gold parallel serial #'d 1781/2014
#PPA-JB Jose Bautista - Power Players insert
#US-13 Andrew Heaney - Target Red parallel
#US-14 Justin Grimm - Target Red parallel
#US-250 Yu Darvish

#US-153 Kurt Suzuki

Pack six
#US-248 Brayan Pena
#US-34 Gavin Floyd
#US-107 Josh Collmenter
#WSH-SC Steve Carlton - World Series Heroes insert
#US-7 David Price - Target Red parallel
#US-325 Jose Abreu - Target Red parallel / I pull two Abreu cards and neither one is the actual rookie card, even though both have a MLB rookie card logo [his actual rookie card appeared in Topps Series II, btw]; why does he need two different debut cards?
#US-57 Jacob DeGrom
#US-191 Yoenis Cespedes

Pack seven
#US-302 Tom Gorzelanny
#US-165 Justin Morneau
#US-78 Reid Brignac
#US-206 Chris Perez - Target Red parallel
#US-49 Willie Bloomquist - Target Red parallel
#US-94 Tuffy Gosewisch
#US-177 Dee Gordon
#US-55 Jon Lester

Pack eight
#US-3 Tom Wilhelmsen
#US-134 Tony Cruz
#US-323 Chase Headley
#FN-MB1 Mookie Betts - The Future is Now insert
#US-57 Jacob DeGrom - Target Red parallel
#US-250 Yu Darvish - Target Red parallel

#US-54 Mike Trout
#US-288 Aroldis Chapman

Pack nine

#US-127 David Phelps
#US-251 Ike Davis
#US-138 Asdrubal Cabrera
#US-326 Joaquin Benoit - Red Hot Foil parallel
#US-212 Randy Choate - Target Red parallel
#US-94 Tuffy Gosewisch - Target Red parallel
#US-212 Randy Choate
#US-48 Scott Hairston

Pack 10
#US-319 Ricky Nolasco
#US-117 Bryan Holaday
#FF-RH Roy Halladay - Fond Farewell insert
#US-300 Miguel Cabrera - Target Red parallel
#US-169 Chone Figgins - Target Red parallel

#US-169 Chone Figgins - looks like there are some Dodgers lurking as bonus babies but they are too blurry to make out / I assume the guy on the dugout railing is manager Don Mattingly.
#US-276 Rougned Odor
#US-284 Robbie Ray

2014 Topps Update Value Pack recap

I wanted to get my initial fix out of the way, so I impulsively grabbed a blaster box and a value pack about a week ago - not that it matters, but this pack configuration was 36 cards in single hanger pack as opposed to a two section rack pack.

#US-244 Daisuke Matsuzaka
#US-73 Francisco Cervelli
#US-83 Brandon Hicks
#US-84 Daniel Descalso
#US-296 Tyler Moore
#US-116 Brett Anderson
#US-112 Aflredo Simon
#US-111 Emilio Bonifacio
#US-287 Mike Bolsinger
#US-19 Bronson Arroyo
#US-38 Jason Giambi
#US-107 Josh Collmenter
#US-93 Troy Patton
#US-86 Cesar Ramos
#US-164 Joe Kelly
#US-46 Jake Marisnick
#US-2 Derek Jeter - Gold parallel serial #'d 0005/2014
#US-280 Cole Gillespie - Red Hot Foil parallel
#FN-NC 2 Nick Castellanos - The Future is Now insert
#WSH-BSA Bret Saberhagen - World Series Heroes insert
#US-7 David Price
#US-325 Jose Abreu
#US-13 Andrew Heaney
#US-14 Justin Grimm
#US-293 Tom Koehler
#US-174 Jace Peterson
#US-267 Jonathan Diaz
#US-237 Jorge Polanco
#US-17 Yangervis Solarte
#US-330 Daniel Webb
#US-52 Chase Anderson
#US-154 Yu Darvish
#US-18 Aramis Ramirez
#US-258 Matt Carpenter
#US-30 Elian Herrera
#US-224 Jared Burton
Security card

Assorted card shop pick ups

Wasn't as geeked up digging around a particular card shop I can only really visit maybe a few times in the fall - but found some loose odds and ends to put away in my pocket.

I paid $5 for a 2014 Panini Prizm Evan Longoria #65 - serial #'d 10/42; maybe a $1-$3 card on eBay but I suppose adding s/h costs even things out.

When digging for random singles, maybe I have a 'handful' of guys whose cards to look for - Longoria might be one of those MLB players that pique my interest from time to time.

The rest of the cards were a dollar each - I like numbered parallels when I can find them.

1993 Fleer Ultra Top Glove Greg Maddux #1 - an old insert featuring him wearing batting helmet, so I might as well grab the card now for my pitchers hitting collection or else I might as well forget it.

2002 Upper Deck Plus Mike Hampton #UD 99 - serial #'d 0142/1125; Hampton is not a player whose cards I'd usually find as keepers, but it's neat to find cards of him as a hitter.

2012 Topps Heritage Minors Matt Den Dekker - black border parallel serial #'d 61 / 96; I'll grab serial #'d cards all day even if the players aren't quite notables.

2012 Topps Pro Debut Garin Cecchini #23 - gold parallel serial #'d 24/50; maybe I've been on a numbered cards kick and it's fun to look for them, even though they aren't worth as much as I'd assume.

2012 Topps Pro Debut Tyrell Jenkins #130 - gold parallel serial #'d 08/50.

2013 Topps Update Series Ryan Kalish #US 108 - Camo parallel serial #'d 60/99; a seemingly limited card featuring awesome outfield action is a keeper.

2014 Panini Prizm Alex Gordon #42 - serial #'d 39/99; for the 2014 World Series, I'm hopping on the Kansas City bandwagon unless the San Francisco Giants snuff the Royals' World Series championship run out rather decidedly.

2014 Topps Series I Trout jumbo pack recap

During a week long sojourn in Arizona, my buddy and I stopped at a Surprise Walmart - when I saw there were 2014 Topps Series I jumbo packs still hanging up at the trading card section, I dug around to see if there was one marked with an exclusive Mike Trout card inside.

I've never heard of a 2014 Topps Mike Trout card available in Topps I Walmart jumbo packs until I read the Angels in Order blog - I was vaguely aware of the particular Trout card, though I thought it was just another base card variation / short print.

I actually spotted one marked pack and started taking the packs off the hanger to grab the 'Trout' pack - I do wonder why the card was only available in Walmart packs and why Topps had to mark the pack the card was actually in?

Maybe it would have been better if the cards were randomly inserted into unmarked packs - so the allure of the hunt remains instead of a certain number of packs being poached while the rest remain unsold on the shelves.

Maybe Topps should have created a more unique bonus card - besides the image, the Trout photo variation card doesn't really feel like it's all that jazzy

I was also thinking that a special Trout card should be one per pack instead of this wild-goose chase - but that would make the cards more 'bargain box' fodder, than something to fish for.

Top section
#35 Trevor Cahill
#182 Carlos Ruiz
#57 Yadier Molina
#123 James Paxton
#301 Shane Victorino
#47 Chris Davis
#218 Matt Dominguez
#61 Nick Markakis
#224 Michael Saunders
#231 J.R. Murphy - Gold parallel serial #'d 1976/2014
#1 Mike Trout
#248 Travis d'Arnaud
#282 Rex Brothers
#8 Coco Crisp
#173 Brandon League
#134 Josh Donaldson
#211 Dioner Navarro
#268 Don Kelly

Bottom section
#252 Kevin Pillar
#288 Julio Teheran
#292 Aaron Hill
#143 2013 National League Runs Batted in Leaders - feat. Paul Goldschmidt, Freddie Freeman and Jay Bruce
#259 David Ortiz
#321 Mariano Rivera - Green parallel
#UC-45 Ryne Sandberg - Upper Class insert
#FN-18 Wil Myers - The Future is Now insert
#RCT-3 Joe Morgan - Topps All Rookie Cup team insert
#1 Mike Trout - Gatorade bath SP
#289 Matt Thornton - Walmart blue parallel
#102 Matt Lindstrom - Walmart blue parallel
#238 Alberto Callaspo
#151 Bruce Chen
#236 Joel Peralta
#256 Abraham Almonte
#75 Brandon Barnes
#209 Carlos Quentin

My cool story bro time with Mike Moustakas

I remember trying to get Moustakas' autograph as a Surprise Rafters player in the Arizona Fall League - I think it was after a day game in Mesa and I remember him storming across the field, maybe with his headphones on headed to the team bus.

I kept calling out to him but he just flat out ignored me - he might have had a bad game, wanted to get to the team bus ASAP and didn't want to sign anything.

One of his teammates caught up with him and kind of gestured towards my direction - but Moustakas was oblivious.

No, I wasn't about to freak out or anything, but I was perplexed - I must have gotten him to eventually sign, but I want to always remember my 'non-moment' with Moustakas, who turned around another miserable season by emerging as a postseason hero for the upstart Kansas City Royals this year.

I haven't had problems with getting things signed by Moustakas when he comes home to So. Cal with the Royals to play the Angels - he pretty good about signing, even though he can be a Sharpie killer [someone who presses hard and deliberate when he signs, so the tip of the pen dulls / wears out real quick] and his autograph can be messy.

Josh Hamilton

Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Hamilton are the three 'money guys' in the Angels' lineup but at least Trout and Pujols have put up some numbers - take it how you will but this post has finally come to fruition.

I don't think Hamilton has been a very good baseball player with the Angels and with him, you never know what is going on in his head - his first year, it was supposedly losing weight that deflated his numbers.

This past year he gained back the weight and was off to a good start, but then he got injured sliding into first base and was never the same - as is, the Angels were stupid enough to pay him $25 million a year and as a fan, I just have to go along with the roller coaster ride.

What bothers me the idea there are still fans out there who think he is great and think you are spitting on his face - when the guy is just a professional baseball player who hasn't lived up to the hype of a big contract.

While I'm down on this guy because he hasn't performed, no I'm not rooting him to fail - fans who are mesmorized by his journey as a man and his faith seem to think otherwise.

Albert Pujols pick ups

Where was my man Pujols, who I hoped would have a big postseason - he hit one lousy home run and one other RBI base single in the American League Division Series, but nothing else.

As is, he played in 159 games in 2014 and posted decent offensive numbers - even though his on-base/slugging wasn't up to par with what he has done before.

The small lot of Pujols cards features his 2014 Topps Chrome Topps Shelf insert - his base 2014 Topps Chrome, a 2014 Topps Chrome 1989 Topps reprint refractor and also a 2014 Topps Red Hot foil parallel.