Blog Bat Around: Best 5 Pack Pulled Hits

I'm way late on this Blog Bat Around that I believe was originally going around this past spring.  I like the concept of them since it can help cure writer's block and I enjoy reading all of the different perspectives on the selected topic from fellow bloggers.  I'm going to cheat a bit and have 6 of my best pack pulls over the years.  Here goes:

2023 Topps Series 1 Stars of MLB Red Parallel Adley Rutschman #d 5/75.  

A lot has been said about the Stars of MLB inserts into flagship over the last few years.  Honestly, when I pulled this Red Parallel, I didn't know that there even were parallels of Stars of MLB!  I don't really mind the design of the insert set but I just wish there weren't as many of them.  I don't think they need to be one per regular retail pack, or a whole pile of them out of the value or hanger packs.  I was pretty damn happy when I pulled a rare card of a hot rookie on my favorite team and also because I only opened 2 hanger packs of 2023 Topps series 1 total. 

2017 Topps Fire Autographs Green Parallel #d /75 Cody Bellinger.  

I don't open nearly as much product as I did back in 2017.  2017 Topps Fire was in its maiden voyage (even though it was an insert set in 2016) as a retail only product and I bought a couple blasters.  2017 was a busy year because we moved our family from one side of town to the other twice so it didn't leave much time to "play" with cards. Most of them were in stacked in a corner at my in-law's house and I didn't have much time to even think about baseball. I do remember hearing off and on about Cody Bellinger's rookie season.  I did end up selling the card on my COMC account but I don't remember exactly for how much.  I can only imagine if I pulled a parallel autograph #d to 75 of one of today's hot rookies, and how much it would go for.  

2024 Topps Chrome Jackson Merrill Blue Raywave #d 130/150

This is my most recent best pull from this past summer.  I went into Dick's Sporting Goods to buy some new shoes and also came out with a Topps Chrome blaster and some fishing tackle.  They had the Topps Chrome blasters sitting right on the checkout counter so I couldn't resist.  Dick's knew exactly what they were doing.  Crazy thing this blaster also had a Elly de la Cruz pink refractor and a no name A's Chrome Rookie autograph.  I made out like a bandit on this blaster where most of my breaks these days end in self-loathing and tears. This Merrill is on its way to the upgrade shop (PSA) so I can maximize the value. 

2010 Bowman Chrome Prospects Purple Refractor Stephen Strasburg #d out of 250(?)

I had to dig deep into the archives to find this scan.  Strasburg was the original player that started cardboard hysteria.  I was that guy who called out of work and drove all around town snatching up all of the 2010 Bowman I could find to resell on ebay.  I "got high on my own supply" and opened a few of the rack packs when I got back home and pulled this beauty.  The Purples were retail exclusive so it was a big pull that I sold for about 200 bucks IIRC.  I profited big time on 2010 Bowman to say the least.

2013 Topps Chrome Red Hot Rookies autograph #d to 25. 

 Long time readers of the blog may remember that I once did group breaks.  I used to type out every card.  I had a metric shit ton of time on my hands in 2013 I guess.  Either way I pulled this during the group break that featured 2013 Topps Chrome and couldn't have been more excited.  The odds of pulling this card were astronomically low and I don't want to think about it too much.  Just take the W's when you get 'em.  Bundy was a top 5 MLB prospect at the time and I can only imagine what I could have gotten for it at the time.  Bundy was good but fizzled a bit at the end of his career. The most recent sale on COMC was for $6.28.

WOMP WOMP.  2022 Bowman Chrome Green Refractor Rookie Autograph Wander Franco #d 94/99.

This is where the tragedy of this countdown begins.  When 2022 Bowman first came out in May of 2022 Wander was the about hottest player on the planet at the time.  I went down to Target on my lunch break to buy a blaster if they had any.  Cards were really hard to find in retail outlets at the time (still kind of are) so to my surprise, they did have blasters and a box of loose retail packs.  I had worked some OT that week so decided to treat myself. I stuck to the plan and bought 1 blaster, and the treat was 4 (big spender) of the 24 packs in the fresh retail box. Checked out, and ran back to my car in a total downpour.  It wasn't safe to really leave the parking lot and drive right back to work so I sat there and opened the 4 retail packs.  First pack and BOOM: Wander Green Auto.  I texted my closest card collecting buddies with shaking fingers.  The main dilemma was how to protect the card 'til I got home.  This card is the reason I now carry a team bag full of penny sleeves and toploaders in my car and truck! It was really tough to focus on getting work done for the rest of the afternoon.  I did the math and to Pull a green Wander was like 1 in 596,000 packs.  I estimated at the time I could have sold it for about ~$2000 and the wife said we could go on a nice vacation off the profits.  (sighs, DEEP sighs).  I remember telling her the sky is the limit for him.  No reason to sell because I learned my lesson by selling my 2011 Topps Update GOLD Mike Trout FOR ~$80 back in 2012.  (Deep Breaths).  Fast forward to 2023 Wander was one of the best players in the league, an All-Star and on his way to stardom. THEN the foot of destiny kicked me in the ass.  The only stardom Wander can hope for now is the Dominican Republic Penile League Hall of Fame.  Then maybe I can take the wife on a nice vacation to the Burger King drive thru. (hyperventilation ensuing)

So there you have it, every good pack pulled card I've held onto has turned into a pumpkin.  I'll probably be selling the high dollar stuff as soon as I pull them from now on and just buy the cards I want with the profits.  Anybody interested in a Jackson Merrill Blue Raywave? (Passes Out)

November 9th Regency Mall card show: From the Penthouse, to the Dump and Back

I went to the local card show last weekend at Regency Mall.  The mall itself actually used to be named Regency Square back when I was a kid and I remember going back to school shopping quite a few times there.  When I was a kid, we were probably about an hour and a half away and going to Richmond was a big deal.  Regency Square was awesome back then like most were back in the late 80s and early 90's.  

The Penthouse if you will.

It's no secret that shopping malls have slowly declined in the last 15 or so years and Regency has not been an exception.  Regency actually started to decline in the mid 90's with new malls springing up in the area and the changing consumer tastes. Not that Regency became a Dump by any means but it definitely went into a steep decline until it was redeveloped a few years ago.  It has been turned into somewhat of a mixed use development but it still is around.  Not quite the Penthouse it once was but at least its not totally gone.

What does the history of the mall have to do with baseball cards? Not too much but it does somewhat tell the story of my experience on Saturday. I apologize for the weird mix of phone pics and scans.  I'm lazy today.

I arrived around 11ish since I had a few errands to do beforehand (blowing leaves, free document shredding.. to name a few).  The first table I came to had an assortment of  dime, quarter and dollar boxes. My kind of table.  I started off with these from the dime box:

We don't leave rookies of star players to rot in the dime boxes.  The Big Unit insert is the blue bordered parallel that definitely wasn't going to be left for other vultures. Most any of these cards pictured can be had in trade if you'd like to strike up something.  

I also picked up these 3 cards of Japanese players.  I recently started a binder of only MLB Japanese players and these will fit nicely into it.  For a dime a piece I'm happy.

I moved through the show being a bit choosy with my smaller budget.  I picked up the trio of cards for 3 bucks at another table.  It seemed the seller was just more of a football and basketball guy and really just wanted rid of the baseball stuff.  I'll take a rookie card of Mike Cuellar and two numbered Orioles HOFers for 3 Washingtons anyday.

The next table I came to was a guy who I'd never seen before at local shows.  He says he only sets up to get rid of his excess cards and that Regency has the most affordable table cost.  We talked for a bit and I found out that he was also an Orioles fan.  He is a big Jackson Holliday fan, whereas I've taken a liking to Jordan Westburg.  He was very reasonable on prices on his other Orioles cards.  I picked up the following for 10 bucks:

I think the Hobby Rip Night Gunnar is somewhat rare. The Hobby Rip night cards are only issued at special events at official Topps Hobby Shops as far as I know and haven't seen many in the wild.  Maybe its because there has been no official Topps Hobby Shops in Richmond for quite some time, but I believe that is going to change with Graybo's opening recently. The other cards in the scan are the red parallel Gunnar SC rookie, Chrome Cosmic Adley, Rainbow Foil Grayson, and a black parallel '88 of Moose.  Cannot complain for 10 dollars.

The next batch of cards is a culmination of pickups during the day.  The All-Aces insert from 2023 Topps flagship products caught my eye and decided to collect the entire run much like Chris of Nachos Grande.  The guy running his table wanted $5 a piece but I talked him into 6 dollars for the trio and another 2 for the Harper Black Gold from 2023 Topps Update.  The 2024 Topps Update Black Gold set is pretty much hot off the presses and I found the 7 you see here for a buck a piece.  What luck knocking some of the biggest names off the WANTLIST in one fell swoop. With Judge, Ohtani, Soto, Jackie, Mantle, etc off the list early I might finish 2024 before either of the past 3 years of sets!

I also found this beauty in the same row as the all of the Black Gold inserts.  I had been seeing Yamamoto rookies all day and I knew this one was different.  SSP different.  We don't leave cards like this behind!  

The show had begun to wind down for me at least and I wandered back over to my bathrobe Blakes table and hung out and helped him run his table for the rest of the afternoon.  Blake's good buddy Tom who also helps him out was also there and we talked sports and random stuff between the spurts of business coming by the table.  Tom had cracked a box of 2024 Stadium Club baseball and a box of 2024 Donruss football. and was kind enough to give me the stack of base cards he didn't want.  He also gave me the Chrome Orange parallel of Felix Bautista that he pulled. I'll hand the Donruss Football cards off to my nephew.  I can safely say Tom is now my friend too!  I'll keep on the lookout for good Cubs stuff for him .  

One of Blakes customers brought a stack of cards for sale and I cherry picked the following two cards for my last 5 bucks in my pocket.  

The show wound down and as I was helping break down the table, I noticed a table near the mall entrance had a small sign that said FREE.  Right in my price range.  I tried to not be greedy but once again, I could't resist some of them.  I've removed them from the top loaders so you can see them.

These toploaders are literal toast (worse than a Crackhead Gary toploader) but will be fine for me shipping out Sportlots Orders. Check out my store HERE.

Also at the same FREE table, I there was a showcase that had a small hole in the bottom wood that was up for grabs.  Once again, as a bottom feeder, I grabbed it and carried it to my car for my nephew.  He's setting up at card shows in his local mall (in Roanoke, VA.) selling his excess cards to fuel his cardboard card addiction.

I had not planned on staying for trade night but I was Peer Pressured into it by Tom and Blake.  The Card Show and Trade night was put on by Three Point RVA, the card shop in Regency mall. The had free pizza.  How could I resist free pizza and trading sports cards?

I helped Blake go through the pickups that he purchased to fuel his business and even did a trade myself.  I was able to trade the Yamamoto SSP for this card to a younger guy who had some killer cards in his trade box.  He went to the National this past summer and got a free pack of '24 Topps Heritage. I need to hang out with him because maybe his pack ripping luck will rub off on me.  This is the card he traded to me for the Yamamoto:

I'll take an autograph of a PC guy for a buck (my purchase price of the Yamamoto SP)!  

So, overall, a great show for me.  I spent about 40 dollars total and ended up with a bonanza of pickups.  It feels great to be in the Penthouse of card collecting and having some good people to share it with.  A big thanks to Three Point RVA for the show and trade night, Blake and Tom for putting up with me Saturday and you readers for checking out my card show haul.