I have been itching to get my hands on some of these boxes ever since they began to emerge a few weeks ago. Topps Chrome Update is a retail exclusive to Target - which theoretically would be great for me. There's a Target about a mile from my home and it's on the way to and from work. They do a great job of stocking cards there as well, so I felt like my chances would be decent. I stopped in often but it was to no avail.
I started to lose hope. How many times can I stop in a Target for baseball cards? In addition to stopping in to the store, I also stayed tuned to the Target App. I finally got lucky and some boxes popped up late last week. Not only that, they were on sale for $17.99 each. Being a RedCard member gives me free 2-day shipping. I wasn't planning on grabbing more than a box or two, but the killer price inspired me. I pulled the trigger on three, totaling $55 delivered to my door.
I'm not going to go pack-by-pack here. Just the highlights. I only hit one Pirate - #87 Josh Bell ASG. I was really hoping to hit #29 Bryan Reynolds. I'd love to trade for it if anyone has one.
I was fortunate and hit on most of the top rookies. #38 Keston Hiura, #22 Carter Kieboom, #86 Pete Alonso ASG, and #54 Fernando Tatis Jr. Rookie Debut.
More rookies, #42 Cavan Bigio, Vlad Guerrero Jr. Family Business Insert, and #62 Keson Hiura.
Now, on to the "hits," if you will.
On the left is a Griffin Canning x-fractor, #/199. x-fractors fall 1:93 packs, so I beat the odds here and was fortunate to pull this. On the right is Lane Thomas refractor #/250. Refractors fall 1:74 packs so I beat the odds here too. Interestingly, you have the best odds on hitting an autograph, which fall 1:40 packs, which are awesome odds for retail.
I also this pulled beauty. Walker Buehler x-fractor #/199. I really love this card. Buehler is a super likable guy and already one of the best pitchers in the game. Add in the ASG graphic and the All-Star Rookie graphic - icing on the cake!
Overall, this was tons of fun. I'm big on Update and I'm a chrome guy so this is one my favorite releases of the year. I really love that refractors and x-fractors are serial numbered. I'd rather pull one of these for a decent player than a no-name auto. Lots of great stuff to stash away to re-visit in a few years.
