Busting Open a Hot Corner Box from Excel Marketing

I've been intrigued by these packs for a while, and today I picked one up. The package is certainly unspectacular - the artwork kind of looks like... something us bloggers would throw together. 

One of these boxes will run you $15. I believe they're exclusive to Target. The box promises two hits, a hobby pack, and three other packs (retail packs). I really like variety so these are really tempting. 

Front and back of the box if you're interested.

Here are the four packs that were inside. Left to right: 2019 Bowman, 2008 Donruss Elite (Hobby), 2019 Topps Series 1 Jumbo, and 1988 Donruss.

Not... awful. I went in super low expectations. 2008 Donruss is certainly a bummer for the hobby pack but I wasn't expecting to find Bowman Chrome. 

And here are the two hits. The cards are just free-floating in the box, tucked between packs. No penny sleeve, no top loader - but they were in good shape so no complaints.

The Adam Dunn bat piece is definitely cool and I love the framed Ginter Relics. Thumbs up. As for Nolan Fontana...  I had to look him up. He's a former prospect that had a cup of coffee in the majors. Fun fact: He has only two career hits and they're both home runs. That's pretty cool.

The Series One pack wasn't too spectacular and sadly didn't have any Buccos. It did contain a couple nice rookies. I'm super high on Kopech and I've been stockpiling his rookies.  

Is this enough to call in Kopech hot box?

The Bowman pack was much more generous with Pirates. The Seinfeld duo showed up! Funny enough, they were consecutively stacked in the pack as well. Maybe the pack-filling machine at Topps has a sense of humor. 

Overall, this was fun. I don't see myself getting another one of these again any time soon, but I don't regret it.

I'm curious... Have you ever opened an Excel marketing product? What did you think? If not, have you thought about it? 

Trade with Sports Cards from the Dollar Store

I’ve gradually grown more interested in the NHL and the game of hockey in the past year, and I’ve become a big fan of the Columbus Blue Jackets and thus have started up a Blue Jackets PC.

As I get more into hockey, I’ve started to pay more attention to hockey cards on the blogosphere. If you’re into hockey cards, there’s no better place to check out than Sports Cards from the Dollar Store. Doug runs a great blog that covers all sports cards, and it’s great change of pace from the baseball-only card world. A few weeks ago I was browsing his blog reading through a post of his and came across this Pierre-Luc Dubois Card:

I shot Doug a note about trading for the card. I was thinking something simple, maybe a PWE swap. Doug replied with some additional Blue Jackets cards he had, as well as some Syracuse basketball and Knicks cards. With the exchange of a few emails, our potential PWE swap grew into a larger conversation. Doug was super generous with what he sent, spanning three professional sports:

We’ll start out by showcasing the Jackets cards. Lots of awesome stuff here. Top left is a really O-Pee-Chee Sergei Bobrovsky many patch. The Boone Jenner patch/auto is a beauty, especially because it’s multi-colored. It’s always great to see a patch that isn’t plain white. We’ve also got a sweet Oliver Bjorkstrand. He’s been a great piece of the Jackets offense this year. Doug was also gracious enough to throw in an auto from now-Predators alternate captain Ryan Johansen, who is one of the more talented players to ever wear a Blue Jackets Jersey.

Moving on to basketball, Doug threw in lots of Knicks cards from recent Panini releases. Two Mitchell Robinson Rookies, and the rest from Kevin Knox. Knox is one of my favorite players on the Knicks. I honestly expected much more out of him by this point in his Sophomore year but he’s still super young. One-and-done’s from Kentucky often take some time to develop – because, ya know, playing in the NBA at age 19 can be tough. I’m hoping that’s the case with the Knox and there are better days ahead. 

A pair of Pirates cards for good measure.

Back to basketball with some awesome Syracuse Orange cards. Oshae Brissett entered the draft this year after his Sophomore season and was chosen on draft night. His dreams came true soon after when he was signed by his hometown Toronto Raptors. He was lucky enough to earn himself a two-way contract out of camp. He made his debut on 11/18 and saw very limited action in four games before being heading back to the G-League. I absolutely loved watching him at Syracuse the past two years and I hope he can make a nice career for himself in the league. 

As for the MCW, that’s a bit of a different story. He was another two-and-done at Syracuse and another guy that I loved watching. It looked like his good fortune would continue when he was drafted #11 overall in 2013 and went on to win Rookie of the Year (in a very diluted rookie class) with the Sixers. 

Nowadays, when you Google “Michael Carter Williams,” the top two results under “People also ask” are:

• Did Michael Carter Williams win Rookie of the Year? (as if so many people google it because they don’t believe it when they hear it)
• What happened to Michael Carter Williams? (as if he was kidnapped or disappeared from planet earth)

Either way, another great additional to my Orange PC. But that’s not all. I saved the best for last…

My first ever booklet, in the form of a Nike Swoosh! 

This card is awesome, with two different pieces of memorabilia AND an autograph. Wow.

Malachi Richardson was also a first round bust – taken back in 2016 – and now he’s playing professionally in Israel. He only played one year at Syracuse, but it was super memorable. In 2016 he helped a #10 seed ‘Cuse team make it to the final four by dropping a career high on #1 seed Viriginia in the Elite Eight. I’ll never forget that game, and I’ll be forever grateful to Malachi for that magic.

Doug, I can’t thank you enough for the trade. Looking forward to many more in the future.

Farewell to Captain Luck

As you've heard by now, Andrew Luck announced his retirement last night. When you take into account his injury history - torn abdomen, lacerated kidney, torn labrum, his recent calf issue, and probably a host of concussions - it's hard not to respect his decision. Congrats to Andrew on a great seven years in the NFL, and congrats to him for his bravery and for making a decision that he feels is best for his life.

I have a sports card association with Andrew Luck, and it's not sunshine and rainbows. Is there a certain card, or cards, in your collection that you entirely regret purchasing, for whatever reason? So much so that you don't even looking at them?

Looking back at 2012, I can't recall an NFL draft where the #1 pick was so certain. From the last day of Andrew Luck's college career right to the minute that Roger Goodell called his name, the world knew who was going number one. Number two wasn't in much doubt either as Luck and RGIII went back to back. 

And that doesn't happen too often. As the card below says on the back: Luck and Griffin going 1-2 was the first time since 1999. It may have started a trend, as we've seen it twice since then - 2015 with Jameison Winston and Marcus Mariota again in 2016 with Jared Goff and then Carson Wentz. 

All of that hype is exactly why, in 2012, I found myself needing to add these two guys to my collection, and there was a lot of dual cards out there of these guys. Autographs were insanely priced, and memorabilia cards were still cool. 

So what did I do? Right when these cards started to come out I picked up a 2012 Topps Prime Dual Jersey /25 ... for an absolutely insane price tag. 

I wish I was kidding, but I can't even look at this card without smirking and shaking my head and muttering to myself, "You're such an idiot." 

Enough self-deprecating It is a nice card. It's fine. But you know the phrase "The one that got away?" Whatever the opposite of that is... that's what this card is to me. The one that didn't get away, but I sure wish it did. 

All in good fun. The collector's plight, I suppose. Again, congrats to Andrew Luck on a short, but excellent career.

The Most Epic Trade

It all start when I was reading through a blog post from Brian over at Collecting Cutch.

In a blog post two weeks ago, Brian included a bit about his #1 most sought-after card – a 2014 Topps Opening Day Andrew McCutchen variant. I was super active in scooping up every Pirates card I could find between 2013-2015, and tucked away deep in my giant box of mostly-useless Pirates cards, I have a small stack of short prints and variants.

Sure enough, I had what Brian refers to as his unicorn. I am happy to say that it’s been delivered to a more deserving owner. As you’re about to see, this card must have really meant a ton to Brian, because OH MY GOODNESS did he deliver in return.

This is without question the largest trade package I’ve ever received – over 100 unique Pirates cards. A common theme will be “This is my first auto of this guy!” and “I’ve always been meaning to pick up a card like this.” There is some seriously incredible stuff in here. This is recap of some of the “highest highlights” – and there’s still a ton that I left out.

Yeah. Five envelopes, all with instruction/detail about how to dig in and enjoy. We’ll start out light and pick up the fun as it goes along:

A pair of Frankie Liriano’s to kick it off. He’s been in his prime on about three separate occasions in his career – the first being his early years with the twins. If you didn’t know, he’s back with the Pirates for his second stint. The 2019 Buccos are abysmal in every way that’s not named Josh Bell or Brian Reynolds – although Liriano has actually been a quality bullpen piece.

While exchanging trade ideas, Brian had asked me for some of my favorite players. Gerrit Cole, in a sad way, is one of them. A #1 overall pick that actually panned out for the Pirates. I wasn’t opposed to trading to him to Houston because I was 100% certain he wouldn’t sign a second deal with the Pirates. So any return was a good one. What he’s doing now in Houston would have never happened in Pittsburgh… but that doesn’t make it sting any less. I still root for him, quietly.

How sweet are those cards? All numbered /99 or less.

Continuing on the Cole train and now joined by his friends Pedro Alvarez and Mark Melancon. The patches are this card are so bad ass. Melancon has enjoyed a small revitalization of his career thanks to Shane Greene immediately imploding in Atlanta’s closer role. As for Alvarez… man, it seems like just yesterday that he was swinging for the fences in the 2013 home run derby. After failing to make the Marlins Opening Day roster (ouch), he’s out of the majors.

Back to Liriano: a Case Hit from 2016 Topps. This baby has a metal border on it. It feels like a dang paperweight and is officially the only metal card that I own. Numbered to only 16.

Printing plates, anyone? 2011 Topps Jose Tabata and Joel Hanrahan, and 2012 Jeff Locke.

Everyone remembers Jose Tabata a little differently. The word “Bust” comes to mind. I've written about this before: I remember Jose best for failing to move his elbow out of the path of a two out, 9^th inning fastball… that broke up a perfect game.

2014 Topps Supreme Oscar Taveras/Gregory Polanco Dual Auto /25. Wow… to think what could have been. Polanco still has a chance to make something of his career, and Taveras sadly does not. Beautiful card.

Three brand new players to my auto collection. Believe it or not, I’m a Pirates fan that didn’t previously own a Freddy Sanchez auto. That has now changed! Clay Holmes and Jose Osuna are two guys that have bounced between AAA and the majors for two years now. I’m a sucker for a nice Bowman Chrome Auto – especially a refractor.

Another awesome patch, this one capturing the corner of the buccaneer bandana on the Pirates logo. /99. Marte has been a staple in the Pirates lineup for six plus seasons now. I’ve collected him heavily and I’m happy to add several more awesome cards to the collection.

Almost an entire team set of 2017 Topps Chrome Blue Refractors.

Some great humor here from Brian. But seriously, he’s not kidding. He sent me enough printing plates to open my own card factory.

Yet another first auto for me: Pedro Alvarez. I never bought any Alvarez autos because A. They were always overpriced B. He never signed for a licensed product. I’m somewhat of a snob when it comes to certified autos, but this one I can get down with. This is also my first jersey letter patch card, from any player. 

Also pictured is a beauty – 2015 Gypsy Queen. Tri-color patch /5.

A couple more Marte autos, a Gerrit Cole Leaf auto, and a Cutch auto from the Cutch Collector himself.

And for the grand finale, an incredible Tyler Glasnow patch from Panini Immaculate. This might be my favorite card of the bunch, capturing what looks like the “S” in Pirates. You’ve probably heard of Glasnow by now due to his insane April/May with the Rays. If he stayed in Pittsburgh, you probably wouldn’t know who he is. His career was becoming somewhat of a mess but he’s clearly figured it out in Tampa. Like Gerrit Cole, I’ll quietly root for him as long as he’s not pitching against the Pirates.

Brian, again, I can’t thank you enough. It took me a solid 30 minutes to work through each package and enjoy each card. Carefully looking over each card for serial numbers and looking through each package to come across another note from was more fun than any hobby box I’ve ever opened. Your generosity is unparalleled.

Thanks for reading!

Pirates PC Additions

A quick post on this Saturday afternoon to demonstrate that I do, in fact, still collect baseball cards.

One of my goals as a Pirates collectors is to have at least one certified autograph of player on the active roster. It's not always easy- finding certified auto's can be tough, especially with all the roster change in baseball.

This season, I was in luck. The three major acquisitions all certified auto's out there.

I'm a huge fan of Sean Rodriguez, as well as this card. He has a very elegant signature, and I was able to pick this up for a very affordable price (as it should be, he's only a bench guy). 

Another card that I was very happy to acquire. Remember when Upper Deck had an MLB license? This may have been the last year. This card was probably a great pull back when Corey Hart was a complete, 5-tool player for Milwaukee. The story is much different now, as Hart is used only in pinch hitting roles, with a rare start mixed in.

I really enjoy this card. The gold parallel look blends well the jersey color (even though it's Milwaukee). A plain white jersey, with a clean sticker signature... and short printed /99. Solid!

I have yet to find an affordable Cervelli auto. He's having a great year which of course I love, but I can't bring myself to shell out $15 bucks just yet. In all reality, he's very unproven as a professional, so I'm surprised his cards are calling for such a pretty penny. 

So, this A&G bat piece will have to do for now! It fell nicely into my budget. I was happy to see him in a Pirates jersey in 2015 Topps Series 1, and I'm hoping to see some more cards with him in the black and gold this year.

CONTEST! Rookies, Relics, and Your Favorite Player

Good evening fellow bloggers, I've decided to run another contest! My last one was a pretty big success, so I'd like to continue running them monthly, ideally.

Here's what's up for grabs!

Quite the odd assortment, I know. A couple of nice rookies up top, as these two guys will have a legitimate chance to make an impact this year. Also a funky-looking die-cut insert of Matt Holliday and a Jeff Francis jersey relic from 2010 Heritage. Winner takes all!

Here are the guidelines:

1 Entry: In a comment, let me know who your favorite ACTIVE baseball player is, and why.

1 Entry: Also in your comment: Do you collect football cards, and would you enter a contest similar to this if the prizes were football cards? 

2 Entries: Post about this contest on your blog. Please let me know if you've done so so I can cadd that your tally. 

So, each participant can achieve a maximum of 4 entries. All entries will be tallied and randomized 14 times through random.org on Wednesday, April 9th. Whoever is in the #1 spot after all 14 randomizations wins!

Good luck, and thanks for participating!

Three Random Cards for Your Viewing Pleasure

Salvador Perez. Ever heard of him? Well I hadn't until a few days ago. I was reading an article about the KC Royals, and how they had a real breakthrough season last year- very similar to my Buccos. 

I heard very little about KC here on the east coast, probably because they get so little national media coverage. From my reading, it seems like the team's made up of some real gritty blue-collar type of guys. My kind of players. One of them is Salvador Perez, who is probably one of the most underrated players in the entire MLB.

After some reading, he's what I'd learned about this guy:

-23 years old

-He was never a top prospect, or regarded as a realistic MLB talent 

-His first mjaor league homerun was off of Max Scherzer (nice) and in that same game, he was a triple away from the cycle (figures)

-He's a career .301 hitter. ........ .301

-2013 All-Star and a Gold Glover

...So I had to have a card of his. eBay presented me with this, for $12 shipped:

Shiny! And numbered to 15! 

For some reason, WBC cards are generally very affordable. I've got to assume it's the lack of MLB logos, jerseys, etc. Maybe it's just a cheap product overall? I've never dabbled.

Either way, I couldn't care any less, I've landed this beauty! Next up...

A Pirates PC addition of course! For $7, I was able to get my hands on this Travis Snider Rookie auto. Travis is currently competing for the right field position, which is as wide open as the Grand Canyon. Seriously. You could probably walk on and try out for the spot. 

Unlike Perez, this guy was once a highly touted prospect (back in '07), which is probably why a fellow collector sent this to be graded. He's struggled to find his niche in the majors since. I'm not one to collect graded cards, but it was the bang-for-my-buck Snider auto out there, so I pulled the trigger. Welcome home, Travy!

Last is the most random card ever. Over the weekend I hopped in a group break of Panini Titanium because why the hell not. I was randomly assigned the Cavs, which was exciting because of the Kyrie Irving potential. Instead I landed this. I'm not complaining, because group breaks often leave us with nothing. The swatch is purple because it's from Bynum's days as a Laker. Lol.

For whatever reason, I just start laughing hysterically and maniacally when I see this card. I have no idea why. I guess that's just the affect that Andrew Bynum has. Aside from comic relief, I have noooo use for this card. So if anyone wants to trade for it, please speak up!

Thanks for reading, as always.

My Dormant Blog Comes Alive with a Topps Redemption!

Yes you read that correctly. I received a redemption from Topps! It's really possible- more on that to follow.

We all have our reasons for our week long blogging hiatuses. My reasons are no different than any you've heard or written about- work, school, significant other, other hobbies- etc. Therefore I will not bore you with monotonous details of my unexciting life. 

Although I haven't been writing, I've been actively reading and pursuing upgrades to my Pirates PC. As I've mentioned in previous posts, one of my unwritten goals for the year is to acquire a certified autograph of every Pirates player, however realistic that may be. I've made some awesome progress in the past few weeks:

First up is Gaby Sanchez from 2012 Topps GQ. I've mentioned before that I'm a big fan of Gypsy Queen auto's, mostly based on design. The blue ink on card and the fading area for the auto looks really smooth. I got this bad boy for under $5 shipped.

Gaby is currently the only true first baseman on the Pirates roster with a major league contract. He's a guy who mashes lefties (.333 in 102 AB in '13) but can't see the ball against righties (.204 in 162 AB), which evens out to a subpar .254 last year. He saw his playing time against lefties, and as a defensive replacement. Hopefully he can come around this year, as it looks like the position lies in his hand for now.

Next up is Clint Barmes from 2006 Upper Deck Artifacts, numbered to 800. Although this card is a sticker, it actually works quite well. The sticker itself is transparent and doesn't look entirely miserable on the card. It's also numbered which is always a bonus for me. This was right around $5 bucks shipped.

Clint's known as an excellent defensive shortstop with a below-average bat. He, much like Sanchez, is often inserted into the lineup in the 7th inning or later as defensive replacement. He's known as a great guy around the locker room and a true "veteran presence." If I reacll correctly, manager Clint Hurdle brought him to Pittsburgh after being impressed with Clint's character in Colorado.

Here's Russell Martin, 2007 Bowman's Best. A simple card for sure, but I don't ever mind that. I have some beef with those silver auto stickers, but it was the only affordable option for Russ. The sticker honestly doesn't look that bad because most of the card is silver anyhow. I grabbed this card for $10 shipped.

Russ is much more of a household name than the other guys, so I'll save my comments regarding his offensive ability. What I love about him most is his ability to throw out base runners. More importantly, the threat of his cannon prevents opposing teams from running on him in the first place. According to the 2013 Fielding Bible, Martin saved the Pirates 16 total runs last year. He was also runner up for the Gold Glove Award for his position. Not too shabby.

Lastly, a redemption came through from Topps- Gerrit Cole 2013 Bowman Platinum, Jersey and Auto /199. I actually bought this redemption back in the fall, and it came through in only four months, which I am NOT complaining about.  I picked up the redemption card for around $30 dollars, which seemed like a good deal at the time- and I have no regrets.

As for the card itself, it's nothing amazing. The jersey swatch is a simple plain white, and the auto is a sticker (boooo). I love the fact that it's a blue parallel numbered to 199, giving it some rarity. I also like how Cole is wearing number 75, which was his minor league number. He's been wearing 45 in the majors and most likely will continue to do so for the remainder of his career. Overall, a nice card.

Thanks for reading! 

Nate

2 Jumbo Packs of 2010 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects

Today's stop on WallyWorld meant the inevitable trip down the card isle. I wasn't too impressed with what I saw, however I was able to find some discounted packs. My favorite. 

Those glorious, glorious red stickers. I simply can't get enough. 

I was really happy to see some familiar faces in these packs... you never know with Draft Picks and Prospects. I really like the design of these cards. Simple and crisp.

I had the luck of pulling a jersey card out of one of the packs, and this guy actually isn't a total no name. He's ranked as the 19th prospect in the Indians system. He's a lefty, and he's only 19. Could be worth hanging onto. It's also numbered out of 949. A nice little hit, but not my favorite card that I pulled...

This is. I laughed out loud at this one, for one reason only: That 'stache. Not only does this guy have an electric arm, he seems to have the personality to match it. Only a goofball would rock that type of facial hair in this era. If you didn't catch this 4-minute clip of Mr. Harvey back during the All-Star break, give it a watch, you'll appreciate it.

2013 Topps Chrome Hobby Box Break and Review

Topps Chrome is hands down my favorite baseball card. I'm a big fan of 2013 Topps, and the chrome versions are just beautiful cards. I pre-ordered a box back in August, along with a box of Bowman Chrome which I'll review next. I've been waiting for this moment for a while, so this was an exciting break for me. Without further ado:

 The box

I'll start off with the base cards as usual, with Yu Darvish as an example. On the right is the normal base card, on the left is the refractor version of the same card. Both cards look great. I had a total of 4 refractors in this box.

Some more base card comparison here. On the right is Robinson Cano's base card, at left is the X-factor version. these look fantastic as well. I also had 4 of these in the box.

Here are the die-cuts, which I am not a fan of. I'm not huge on die-cuts in general, aside from 2013 Topps Cut to the Chase, which I'm building set of. These die-cuts are a little too much for me, they just have too many edges.

A nice Machado die-cut refractor. These ones aren't so bad. Not awesome, but a cool pull.

1972 Topps Chrome refractors. A nice addition. 

 This one's a beauty. Chris Sale blue parallel /199. I love parallels, and I really love when they're numbered. Chris Sale is always a great pull with his Cy Young potential.

 On to the auto's!

Two rookies, and two nice names! Both of these autos look great, due to the blue ink and because they're on-card. The Hoes card is just a regular base auto. The Brantly card is a refractor numbered /499. Unfortunately neither one of these cards carries much value, probably due to their commonality.

Here's the real gem! Adrian Beltre camo parallel numbered /15. A fantastic pull. Nothing is more exciting than pulling a low numbered card, and there are few players that I'd rather see. This was an awesome surprise.

REVIEW

Overall Design: These cards look superb. I'm a huge fan of chrome, specifically Topps. The look of these cards simply does not disappoint. The players really pop off the card. 

Box contents: These boxes have of a ton of potential. A guaranteed two autographs is a good number for the price. There's also great variety in these boxes. There are parallels of all colors. Add refractors, X-fractors, memorabilia cards, and a bevy of inserts, and you've got a very diverse hobby box.

The Hits: 2 autographs for 70 bucks is pretty decent. I also appreciate that Topps has stayed away from memorabilia cards for the most part. In my mind, there are few things worse than "Guaranteed 2 autos/memorabilia cards."

Positives: Design, value, price, variety, autos on card.

Negatives: The only downside to Topps chrome is the card's tendency to warp. For whatever reason, these cards always seem to bend if they're not in top loaders. 

Rating: 9.5 out of 10. These cards are just awesome. So much so that I've already ordered another box! Stay tuned.