Box Break: 2015 Diamond Kings- NLCS Standout Edition

The 2015 Diamond King set (manufactured by Panini) had an interesting checklist because they could freely mix retired players and current players without the MLB license.  The checklist has 200 cards (the last 50 are rookies) with some interesting, not oft-used names like Bobby Murcer, Bobby Thomson, Bobby McGee (ok, that one's not real), Elston Howard, Roger Maris, Jim Gilliam, Carl Furillo.....and all other non-HOF players who ever played for the New York Giants, New York Yankees, or Brooklyn Dodgers.

The best part about the product (first world perspective alert) is that there are no SPs in the base set, making it easily collectible.  The worst part about the product is that there are only 12 packs per box, making it virtually uncollectible.

In terms of presentation, each card has a quasi-impressionist background with a brush stroked enhanced player superimposed.  The feeling of rifling through the cards took me back to a time when I used to play with the easel canvas in 7th grade art class.  Seriously, these cards would be works of art if they had the full trappings of licensed cards.

Let's go through the highlights, lowlights, and other types of illumination possibilities that came from the box.

The game  for this card is what makes this a parallel?  The answer is the shiny logo in the middle.  There are so much better parallels in the product than this.

These minis only fall twice per box, which means they're more like afterthoughts in the product, though I do appreciate a good mini with a large crown.

These framed parallels are what all the parallels should be (reminiscent of 2007-2008 UD Masterpieces).  I was happy to pull the O'Doul as both a Bay Area resident and Phillies collector.

Here are examples of the standard inserts that each fall 2 per box.  Some are better than others.  My favorite is the "Also Known As" as represented by Lou Gehrig.

There were two "hits" per box.  One is a relic only, and one is an auto.  I pulled this Aaron Sanchez dual relic.  There are opportunities to pull HOF relics, though they are much rarer (usually #d to 99 or less).

This was my auto pull of Javier Baez, the  newly minted co-MVP of the NLCS.    It's also a rookie card.

From the box, I received all the required cards that were promised and 82/200 cards of the base set.  Overall, I would recommend it at a lower price point (~$50-60 if you can find it) than originally offered (which was $90 per box) because of the variety of the base set and of the possibility of getting a HOF relic exists within the realm of possibility.    Plus, I like paintings.

2013 Topps Chrome Triple Box Break: Dreaming Ahead to Summer

With winter in full swing upon most of the country (except for where I am and the Southern Hemisphere), it's time to present cards that remind us of a time when sunglasses were the norm.  All baseball cards have that type of effect, but none more so than Topps Chrome because they're all about the shine.

Don some shades as we reflect and refract our way to a warmer, more bucolic location where there are no worries except making sure all the packs are ripped, the cards are sorted, and the shine blinds us from the cold reality outside.

Yasiel Puig is happy that summer is coming soon.  The refractory spirit is evident as he runs from the Mattingly-filled past.

2007 Goudey: A Set of Strangely Magnetic Appeal

Who remembers 2007 Goudey? Back in the days of multi-company licensing, this was the Upper Deck response to the Topps retro set proliferation. This was the first iteration of the set, and the design wasn't based off a Goudey design per se.

 It seemed to be more of an amalgam of Goudey designs and the Diamond Stars set from the '30s. Where it really shined was in the duplication of the card size (they weren't minis, like in later sets) and in the art deco stylings of each of the player backgrounds. In the aggregate,  it was a memorable set that had a buzz about it.

I recently opened a box of the product and was struck by how easy it was to interpret which cards came out of each pack.  There were no unnumbered variations, unannounced insert sets, or parallels upon parallels.  The only misstep (a major one) was the forced inclusion of two essentially equal and parallel sets of different colored backs, usually evenly distributed within each pack.

This causes the completist in me want to complete each 200 card set, though they're exactly the same except the ink color on the back (green and red).  And I set out to do just that.  Additionally, the insert sets were numbered as part of the base set, also making me want to complete them.  And I set out to do that as well....Fortunately, the insert sets are of retired and modern players (like Kei Igawa and Ken Griffey Jr).  The Heads-up set even parallels itself....with different numbers.....to make a long story short, there are 488 cards to collect.  I now need 19, of which only 2 are considered SPs/inserts.

Shown below are some of the other results of the box.

Sport Royalty is a boxtopper.  You get a wrapped card in every box!  I bought a box because there was an off-chance (one in 12 boxes) or receiving an original Goudey card.  Instead, I received Greg Maddux in the well-remembered threads of his halcyon Padre days.

Goudey relics are inserted one per box and have the relics in the shape of a "G".  This stands for gazillion.

Autographs are also inserted one per box and are all on-card.  They are called Goudey Graphs (without the apostrophe in front of Graphs).  I at least received a one-time AL ERA leader.

Are there any simple sets out there anymore? And do we want them to be?  What does retro mean to you?  Why is being a completist such a curse?  (Curse you, card 277, you have evaded me for too long).

Gintacuffs VI: Packs 21-24: The Grand Finale

Pack 21
94 Lou Brock
193 Tom Glavine
8 Bob Feller
307 Cliff Lee (FT) +2, +1
Fields of Yore Griffiths Stadium: home of the Senators +2
Mini 165 Brad Miller
15 Matt Williams
100 Queen Victoria

Pack Total: +5
Box Total: 138.6

Pack 22
126 Willie Stargell
253 Rickey Henderson
19 Pablo Sandoval
11 Nick Franklin
Pastime's Pastimes Dustin Pedroia +2
Mini A&G Back 289 Kyle Seager +2
143 Eddie Mathews
238 Bert Kreischer
Code Card

Pack Total: +4
Box Total: 142.6

Pack 23
246 Dwight Gooden
41 Lou Gehrig -1
147 Mark McGwire
155 Yogi Berra -1
327 Brett Lawrie +2
Mini Athletic Endeavors Shovel Racing +5
Air Supremacy EA-18G Growler +2
50 Orlando Hernandez -1

Pack Total:+6
Box Total: 148.6

Pack 24
215 Johnny Bench
92 Ernie Banks
Pastime's Pastimes Albert Pujols +2
Mini Black Border 295 Ryan Braun +3
221 Adam Eaton
259 Jim Calhoun
Fields of Yore Relic Griffith Stadium 011/250 +30

Pack Total: +35
Box Total: 183.6

Bonus: Here's a selfie of me with the high point card, which is my favorite.  It;s a piece of a stadium that no longer exists, and I'm ok with holding ghosts most of the time.  Did you know it's hard to take a selfie without a smart phone or tablet?

Final Total: 188.6

GintaCuffs VI: Packs 17-20: I Like Bats and Paul Bunyan

Pack 17
202 Jim Rice
20 Babe Ruth -1
257 Adrian Beltre
190 Kolten Wong
341 Barbed Wire +2
Natural Wonder Iguazu Falls +2
Into the Unknown Francisco Pizarro +3
152 Vince Gilligan

Pack Total: +6
Box Total: 116.6

Pack 18
132 Ted Williams
2 Don Mattingly -1
86 Randy Johnson
300 RA Dickey
Pastime's Pastimes Julio Teheran +2
Mini 147 Mark McGwire
277 Trevor Rosenthal
45 Nomar Garciaparra

Pack Total: +1
Box Total: 117.6

Pack 19
29 Shelby Miller
201 Paul ONeill -1
44 Ty Cobb
309 Hunter Pence +2
World Capitals Berlin, Germany +2
Larger than Life Paul Bunyan +3
289 Jose Abreu
89 Chuck Todd

Pack Total: +6
Box Total: 123.6

Pack 20
76 Cal Ripken Jr
299 Enny Romero
60 Ryan Zimmerman
Pastime's Pastimes Clay Buchholz +2
Full Size Relic Matt Adams +8
Mini 180 Ryan Reiss
169 Dale Murphy

Pack Total: 10
Box Total: 133.6

GintaCuffs VI Packs 13-16: Where are the Phillies cards? Not here.

Pack 13
163 Paul Molitor +2 (FP)
292 Andre Dawson
174 Ben Zobrist
318 Jason Kipnis +2
Air Supremacy AC-47 Spooky +2
Mini 265 Sam Calagione
23 Snoop Lion -1
176 Anthony Robles

Pack Total: +5
Box Total: 99.6

Pack 14
19 Pablo Sandoval
11 Nick Franklin
170 Matt Holliday
140 Matt Moore
Pastime's Pastimes Paul Goldschmidt +2
World's Deadliest Predators Hippopotamus +3
188 Jordan Oliver
25 Joe DiMaggio -1
Code Card

Pack Total: +4
Box Total: 103.6

Pack 15
148 Bryce Harper
208 Al Kaline
2 Don Mattingly -1
202 Jim Rice
304 Matt Cain +2
Worlds Capitals Moscow, Russia +2
Mini A&G Back 300 RA Dickey +2
Desmond Jennings

Pack Total: +5
Box Total: 108.6

Pack 16
34 Felix Hernandez
12 Jed Gyorko
94 Lou Brock
132 Ted Williams
Pastime's Pastimes David Ortiz +2
Mini 70 James Andrews
191 Jordan Burroughs
118 Adam Schefter

Pack Total : +2
Box Total: 110.6

Gint-a-Cuffs VI Packs 9-12: Midway Blues

Pack 9
53 Sandy Koufax
298 Deion Sanders
123 Matt Carpenter
339 Jeff Samardzija +2
Fields of Yore Sportsman's Park: Home of the Browns +2
Mini SP 304 Matt Cain +3
122 Craig Biggio (FP) +2
234 Roberto Clemente

Pack Total: +9
Box Total: 80.6

Pack 10
90 Roy Halladay
151 James Paxton
108 Nolan Ryan
129 Hank Aaron
Pastime's Pastimes Chris Davis +2
Mini Black Border 282 Salvador Perez +3
24 Jorge Posada -1
33 Alex Avila

Pack Total: +4
Box Total: 84.6

Pack 11
174 Ben Zobrist
60 Ryan Zimmerman
68 Gio Gonzalez
316 Ken Griffey Jr +2
Air Supremacy Sopwith Camel +2, +2
Mini 259 Jim Calhoun
217 Jose Iglesias
128 Bill Rancic -1

Pack Total: +5
Box Total: 89.6

Pack 12
226 Bob Gibson
71 Wade Boggs
20 Babe Ruth -1
181 Jose Reyes
Pasttime's Pastimes Starlin Castro +2
Mini Black Border 284 Will Clark +3
267 Kevin Clancy
271 Chuck Klosterman +1

Pack Total: +5
Box Total: 94.6

Gint-a-Cuffs VI: Packs 5-8: The Hits Keep Coming

Pack 5
117 Yu Darvish +2 (FP)
134 Jordan Zimmermann
215 Johnny Bench
Pastime's Pastimes Adam Jones +2
Mini 37 Wil Myers
124 Jonathan Schoop
Printing Plate Paul ONeill +14/2=+7 (Yankee plate)
Note: This plate is of number 389, which is only found in rip cards, so even with the point docking, it's a pretty nice card.

Pack Total: +11
Box Total: 51.6

Pack 6
36 Yadier Molina (again) +2
77 Stan Musial
223 Tony Gwynn
332 Victor Martinez +2
Air Supremacy F-15 Eagle +2
Mini Where Nature Ends Raphael +3
209 Vlad Guerrero
46 John Sullivan +1

Pack Total: +10
Box Total: 61.6

Pack 7
232 Ozzie Smith
18 Ryne Sandberg
64 Taijuan Walker
90 Roy Halladay
Pastime's Pastimes Anthony Rizzo +2
World's Deadliest Predators Honey Badger +3
272 Tim Raines
158 Carlton Fisk

Pack Total: +5
Box Total: 66.6

Pack 8
201 Paul Oneill -1
44 Ty Cobb
111 Frank Robinson
183 Jim Palmer
Pastime's Pastimes Freddie Freeman (FP) +2, +2
Mini A&G Back 220 Josh Hamilton +2
287 Chuck Zito
228 Orlando Cepeda

Pack Total: +5
Box Total: 71.6

Gint-a-Cuffs VI: Packs 1-4 and BoxTopper: The Hits Begin

It's time to join the party that has passed me by about a month.  What's the old saying?  A Ginter saved is a Ginter earned?  Or for all those about to Ginter, we salute you?  It has to be something like that....on to the packagings of wrappers and cardboard and other strange things.

Box Loader Pack

Oversized Base Card of Yasiel Puig +8

Pack 1

123 Matt Carpenter
64 Taijuan Walker
35 Brooks Robinson
345 Yasiel Puig +2
Festivals and Fairs La Tomatina +2
9 Koji Uehara
164 Jenny Dell
Mini A&G Back 278 CC Sabathia +2, -1

Pack Total: +5
Box Total: 13

Pack 2
147 Mark McGwire
155 Yogi Berra -1
93 Willie Mays
105 Cole Hamels +1 (FT)
324 Adam Wainwright +2
World Capitals Athens +2
Mini 66 Roger Clemens
52 Kevin Smith

Pack Total: +4
Box Total: 17

Pack 3
181 Jose Reyes
96 Madison Bumgarner
182 Starling Marte
Pastime's Pastimes Manny Machado +2
Full Size Relic Joey Votto (FP) +13.6
Mini SP 333 Stephen Strasburg +3
Austin Wierschke -1

Pack Total: +17.6
Box Total: 34.6

Pack 4
295 Ryan Braun
151 James Paxton
36 Yadier Molina +2 (FP)
330 Joe Kelly +2
Natural Wonder Socotra Archipelago +2
Mini 63 Bill Buckner
125 Glen Waggoner
6 Laura Phelps Sweatt

Pack Total: +6
Box Total: 40.6

2012 Topps: A Last Look of the First Look I Had or Jumbo Boxes are Full of Cards

We're all looking forward to the 2013 collecting season (coming January 30th or so to a theatre near you).  The 2013 Topps set offers the promise that the upcoming collecting season will be full of familiarity and twists as well as nostalgia and commemoration.

For the first time, I opened a jumbo box of the ubiquitous flagship product; I will not be doing this again.  I was swung by the siren song of gold rush wrapper redemptions (check out my wantlist; I actually am trying for that set!) and promise of inserts, inserts, and gold....delicious gold. Gold like honey to drizzle all over the collection boxes and leave them begging for more.   That might have been gratuitous, but you get the idea.

Here is how opening a jumbo box goes:

1. Hey, look at the size of those packs; I can make a new Bay Bridge with those packs.
2. There's a relic....that card is thick.  Check out all the metal on that card; I wonder if it's magnetic.
3. How many more timeless talents inserts are there?  Can't I make a mural of these instead of collect them.
4.  Halfway through the box now,  I only have 5 pack rips left.  That makes a sad.
5. I'm noticing a theme with the insert cards.  Why are they all erased at the bottom?
6. A duplicate?  From a box in this house?  30 duplicates in a row from the same pack?  You go back in there and sit in the naughty corner until you change into non-duplicates.  Think about being individualist in the post-modern sense....that should do the trick.
7. It's over....there's a big stack of cards.....and no set to chase.....the end.
8.  What do you mean I need 4 more wrappers for the wrapper redemption?!?

Here's what came out of the pack ripping thoughts....

 

Trevor Cahill Golden Moments Auto: First thought: It's an A's auto of a player not on the A's....I prefer Jarrod Parker.

Elvis Andrus Golden Moments Relic: First thought: You are not a Phillie, why do I care about a relic like this?

Derek Jeter World Series Pin: First Thought: Cool card; I'm glad a star like Jeter is one my collection haunter

Trevor Plouffe Black Parallel: Low numbered card alert! Break out the bacon fat!

Minis!!-but not as fun as the Kimball champions from the year before; I will not be getting all 150 this time.

Timeless Talents insert: They were both Chicago team shortstops and are Latino....third straight year of an unliked concept.

Mike Moustakas Gold Futures: A prospect laden set to show that Bowman isn't the only game in town.  What's that? Bowman is the same game? Well, forget it then.

Phillies mini!  The quest is at an end.  Plus, retro uniform!

Mini photoed minis!- These are nice cards, almost wish they were the base cards from this year....I've probably said that already.

Roy Halladay mini-I had a similar reaction with the Howard except I might have jumped left instead of right.

Joe DiMaggio Golden Greats:  This was the most annoying insert set of all.  Redundancies and a large card set makes for it being largely incollectible.

Paul Molitor Gold Standard: 3000 hits is a gold standard.....even used to be good enough to get in the HOF on the first ballot.

Howard Gold Sparkly: I like shiny Phillies.

Polanco Gold Sparkly: I like shiny Phillies redux.

Ichiro Golden Moments: Correction, this was the most annoying insert.  Is that floating team logo for real?  Also, there were 3 series and a mini card version of this insert set?  Can we get these all stricken from the record?

I didn't show any base cards, but I do have them all...

Anyway, time to look forward, not backward....happy collecting season 2013....