Box Break: 2011 Topps Update

Alright, there's no need to bore you to death with a review of this years Topps Update.  Everybody's seen the design since last fall and we're all familiar with the inserts.  I just want to show the cards I got in case anybody is interested in trading for them.  Here's what I got out of my Hobby box, Hanger box, and Jumbo Rack Packs:

A couple of Cognac shiny legends.  Note the Morgan,  I actually pulled the regular, non-liquor shortprint from my series 2 box bust.

The rightful home run king got pulled from a later retail purchase after I scanned the other 2.

My vintage legend shortprint.  I'm not a Strawberry fan.

My vintage legend shiny shortprint. Not a bad looking card I suppose.

The Hope Diamond shiny.  I'm not really a fan of adding a parallel from past releases into packs.  What if Topps came out with a new parallel for 2009 Topps that was inserted into 2012 Topps Tribute.  Where does the madness end?

Here's my promised big jersey hit.  Clifton Pfifer Lee. Woo!

I was pleasantly surprised to pull a silk card.  These are more rare than the Black or Hope Diamond parallel.

Also, here's the list of the regular subset insert cards that were not worthy of pictorial representation:


Cognac Parallels: 5 Votto, 16 Ramirez, 39 Kennedy, 40 J. Upton, 43 Ryan, 72 Jurrjens, 74 Clippard, 90 Y. Molina, 119 Bay, 127 Volstad, 166 J. Johnson, 171 G Jones, 174 Oswalt, 186 Pavano, 203 Gee, 220 Helton, 226 J. Guillen, 227 McLouth, 232 Moyer, 234 Montero, 245 Walker, 273 D. Lee, 277 Hoffman, 287 Cousins, 297 Jaramillo, 301 S. Smith, 304 Thome, 305 Loney, 312 G Sanchez, 328 Price, 403 F. Hernandez, 445 Talbot, 455 Morrison, 612 Tigers, 651 K. Morales, US4 McCann, US6 Fielder, US31 Granderson, US58 Lincecum, US128 M. Rivera, US131 Keppinger, US146 Walden, US211 Moseley, US229 A.Cabrera, US238 C. Beltran, US242 Holliday, US302 Torres, US306 Phillips, US309 Konerko, US319 Patterson

Diamond Anniversary: US15 Heilman, US43 Quentin, US49 Weeks, US61 Masset, US72 Rasmus, US85 Halladay, US86 Furcal, US101 Downs, US140 Kershaw, US146 Walden, 176 Nady, US230 M. Cabrera, 281 Melancon, US302 Torres

Gold Borders #d to 2011: US3 Beavan, US23 Ruffin, US59 Kemp, US88 O. Cabrera, US95 Overbay, US108 U. Jimenez, US130 Robertson, US134 Bourn, US143 Kimbrel, US145 Colon, US154 C. Lee, US195 Votto, US204 B. Wilson, US268 Y. Molina, US275 Cuddyer, US292 Adams, US294 Jackson, US297 d'Arnaud

Red Bordered: US39 Sanchez, US126 A. Gonzalez

Blue Bordered: US128 M. Rivera, US242 Holliday

Kimball Champions: 106 G. Carter, 107 Uggla, 116 Mize, 120 F. Robinson, 124 F. Thomas, 129 Sisler, 130 A. Gonzalez, 137 J. Morgan, 138 Hornsby141 Dawson(2), 142 R. Howard, 143 Drabek, 145 Hosmer, 149 Cy Young

Diamond Duos: DD1 Hernandez/Pineda, DD-6 Anderson/Cahill, DD-11 Dunn/Konerko, DD-20 Aaron/Bautista, DD-21 Price/Shields, DD-28 Phillips/Kendrick

Topps 60: 104 A-Rod, 105 Hornsby, 110 Fisk, 113 McCovey, 118 Morgan, 121 Reese, 122 Alomar, 124 Henderson, 127 Snider, 128 Thomas, 130 Gehrig, 136 Blyleven(2), 137 Garvey, 138 Maris, 139 Uggla

ToppsTown: TTU-23 Rollins(2), 37 Scherzer, 46 Beltre, 49 Cain(2)

Box Break: 2011 Bowman HTA Jumbo

Since I am a big Bowman Collector, I pre-ordered a Jumbo box of the 2011 iteration way back in January. I always enjoy reading the backs of the prospect cards and gleaning out which are are the true Major League quality prospects and the set filler guys. Probably my favorite section on the back is the "Up Close" section. There are always interesting tidbits of information on the player that any self respecting Jeopardy fan would love (I'm addicted to the show!).

I know a lot of collectors that arent' huge fans of Bowman for various reasons (crazy-ass numbering system, prospects that never pan out, etc...) but I look forward to it year after year. I'm not a "Rookie Card Investor" by any means but I do like to see the next wave of players on the way to the show. So, here's the goods from my box:

I got loads of base cards, prospects, golds and Chrome prospect cards. It's a good start on the set. Nobody wants to see anymore of these so I'll spare you. But if you have needs, let me know and I'm sure we can trade.

Chrome Prospect Refractors seem to be a little more rare this year. I got two: Chris Dennis, Brandon Guyer. Guyer already made the majors this year and jacked a homer in his first At-Bat.

Gold Refractor: Everett Teaford 17/50. I did get some color in this box (more farther down) so that's exciting I guess. I don't know if Teaford is a hot prospect for the Royals or not. They have so many nice young players down on the farm to keep track of.

The box also produced the promised amounts of regular parallels too. I got one Orange Border; Adam Dunn and three blue borders; Josh Hamilton, Michael Spina and JA Happ. No Orioles but I'll take'em for trade bait. I also got one International Parallel of Jack Shuck. I'm happy to see these back after a 10+ year lay-off. I wish they were one per pack though in place of the gold bordered parallels

I feel that this year there are a couple too many inserts. I like the Topps 100 Prospects, Bowman's Best and Finest Futures but I think I could go with out the others. I don't even remember the names they are so forgettable. The one notable Bowman's Best card I got was Bryce Harper. Again, everyone has seen this card before. It is interesting to note that this was my only Harper I got out of the entire Jumbo box though. I'm a little disappointed.

Printing Plate: Bowman Prospects Nate Freiman. Well what can I say about Printing plates... I just don't see the point in Topps putting them in products. Yeah they are one of a kind but I don't even consider them "Hits". They are worthless pieces of junk to me.

Bowman Chrome Prospect Autograph Matt Hague. According to the back of the card, Matt is not a bad Prospect. We'll see how he turns out in a few years. First Base Prospects haven't panned out well for Pittsburgh recently. Rico Washington, Brad Eldred, Walter Jones or Steve Pearce ring any bells?

Orange Refractor Autograph Sean Coyle 2/25. This is a pretty rare card I believe. Leave it to me to pull a BIG MOJO HIT of an AL East rival of the Orioles. It's either dumb luck on my part or that Topps is swayed towards the Red Sox and Yankees that I keep pulling these cards. I haven't decided whether or not to hang on to this card or not.

Here is my third promised autograph card of the box. I don't get really upset with pulling redemption cards. I understand their place in the hobby. I know that the players have lives and don't have all day to sit around autographing cards all day long and that Topps has printing deadlines that must be met. It's a minor inconvenience to type in the redemption code or mail the card in but I think it's worth it in the long run.

From doing a little bit of research, I have found out that the three possible rookie autographs I could possibly get are Freddie Freeman, Aroldis Chapman and Lars Anderson. I would really be thrilled to get Freddie, happy with Chapman and disappointed with Anderson. Since Anderson plays in the Red Sox Organization, I wouldn't be surprised if I got him!

Well there you have it. I'm pleased with what I got but not overwhelmed. I didn't get a Chrome or base Harper prospect so I'll have to buy some retail to hopefully get lucky. I've already started my retail binge of Rack Packs and I've already got some nice cards to show off from those packs at another time.... Until then I will leave you in suspense.

Thanks for reading!

Trade with Mike from BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffet

I was checking out one of BA Benny's great posts not too long ago and stumbled on his wantlists. I especially focused on his 2010 Topps lists and was able to find a lot of great cards for him. He sent me a nice return package so let's check it out:

First and Foremost he sent me a few cards I needed for my 2009 Upper Deck and 2010 Topps Update sets. I am getting really close to finishing these off, so check my wantlists and see if you can help.

I am making a pretty big push to find Topps Gold cards of Orioles lately. I am having mixed results but am having fun chasing them down.

Shiny Markakis! A Blue Refractor from 2009 Topps Finest. I'm really digging this card!

I don't know if I congratulated Aubrey Huff on winning the World Series with the Giants this year but I really liked him as an Oriole. I wonder if the thong he wore during the W.S. is going to Cooperstown?

Here is another card of a former O that ended up in the NL West. He was in San Diego to end the season and has since joined Aubrey in San Fran. If their pitching holds up this year, they will have as good a shot as any to repeat.

Thanks for the Great Trade, Mike! Maybe we can do it again some time!