Topps Just Announced This! MUST READ!

Topps just announced that anyone that has any of the SP Sparkle variation cards from 2014 Topps Series 1, should start ripping them open to find exclusive 1-of-1 parallels.  These are similar to the 1-of-1's that were included in the box tops of 2013 Topps Allen & Ginter!  These special 1-of-1's are actually smaller than the early 90's Topps micro cards. I think they are calling them Nano-fractors and they are actually colored shit brown. 

 I have also heard reports that you can find the SP sparkle variations by their smell.  It smells eerily similar to the Sparkles from 2011, which in turn actually smell like shitty baby diapers and Desitin.

Trade with Tom of Waiting 'til Next Year

As I'm slowly getting back into the swing of blogging, I'm remembering all of the good people/bloggers that I've met over the last couple of years.  Trading is something I miss the most about blogging as it's a great way to network with other collectors.

Tom from Waiting 'til Next Year is one of the aforementioned good people/bloggers that I've traded with a couple times over the last few years.  He sent out a cry for help to complete the 1987 Topps set over the blogosphere and I was happy to help out.  I was able to help him with a couple of his other set projects too.

He always seems to find some good cards for me.  He knocked off a few cards from my 2013 Topps set as well as a few Cubs extras that will fit nicely into my 1979 Topps set.  But that's not all he sent.

For my One Card of Every Oriole binder he sent me this 1956 Chuck Diering.  If you aren't familiar with my OCoEO binder, I'm working on getting a card of every Oriole to ever play a game for the Orioles.  I'm probably about 75% (rough estimate) of the way there but I still need (mostly vintage) help!

I do have a small Boog Powell PC.  This 1970 Topps All-star will fit nicely into that collection.  Boog doesn't get that many cards these days so most were from when he was an active player.

Finally, We have a Matt Wieters card from panini.  I'm going to let Tom off the hook here since he is correct that Matty Ice doesn't have a lot of cards.  Maybe panini will grow on me in time like the late 80's/early 90's oddball unlicensed food issues but I doubt it.  I just think overall panini is a waste of paper.  I was at Target the other day in the card aisle and there were several boxes of panini packs sitting there on the shelf.  Out of 5 boxes (Hometown Heroes, Pinnacle, USA Baseball Legends, Prism, and Cooperstown) not a single pack was missing.  I think that says something about how the general public feels about unlicensed product.

Thanks Tom for the trade!

Trade with Judson of My Cardboard Habit

I've been away from regular blogging for nearly 6 months now and I can't say that I'm back to continue regular posting.  There's a variety of reasons that I haven't been more visible but you can read my previous post and pretty much figure it out.  Unless anybody begs me to elaborate on those reasons, I'm not really inclined to write about them.  But I am here right now while I have a few minutes to give thanks for a trade that I recently completed with Judson of My Cardboard Habit.

I will say that 2013 wasn't a banner year for my collection.  I didn't buy as much new product as I had over the past 3 years or so.  That's probably the reason I missed out on adding simple base cards of Orioles like the above Manny Machado card from Bowman Platinum.

Can you believe I actually didn't have this card yet?  I only purchased a couple of packs of Ginter when it was released in August.

Topps Archives is a set that I've never bought a pack of so there's no way I could have obtained this card on my own.  Archives makes me sick to my stomach because it's a lazy product by Topps.  Just mailing it in and resting on their past laurels.  What's going to happen 5 20 years down the road when they need to reprint cards from 2013?  About half of the cards they produced are reprints and the other half only rich people saw (Five Star, Museum Collection, etc.)!

We can't really say that the modern iteration of Allen & Ginter is reprinted.  I guess it is just "reimagined" with all of the modern gimmicks innovations like rip cards and seeds embedded inside.

Judson also made a full frontal assault on my set wantlists.  He knocked quite a few cards off my 2013 Bowman, Topps, and Topps Update lists.  After I finish these 3 sets, I won't build any more modern sets from scratch.  From here on out (or until I change my mind), I'm just going to buy the sets from ebay.  It's cheaper that way anyways.  Busting hobby boxes to build sets is for suckers especially when you are guaranteed a jock strap "relic" card in each box.  No thanks.  

I hate to sound like such a cynical asshole in this post (or maybe not).  I fully realize that I might lose readers by sounding like a Debbie Downer but the state of the hobby and baseball right now is just depressing to me.  If it weren't for blogging, I would have mothballed or even trashed my collection long ago!

So lost in all of my ranting was Judson who I apologize to for hijacking our trade post to spread libel about Topps.  I sincerely thank Judson for trading with me.

A List of Stuff I've Been Thinking About

1. I'm busy doing other things I'm enjoying more than collecting cards right now.

2. Panini: Please stop wasting paper and killing trees with your unlicensed baseball crap.

3. Topps: Please stop resting on your laurels and make some original designs for your cards.

4. Topps: Please use a little more common sense.

5. Orioles: Please stop being cheap or you're going to end up in last place in the division this year.

6. Maybe I'll be back one day to bore you all more with my lame writing.

2013 Topps Chrome Group Break Box #2

It's hard to believe we're halfway home in the group break already!  I guess thats what happens when there's only 2 boxes to bust!  I'm not going to scan any regular refractors in this box since they aren't really that rare.  So without further ado, lets bust 'em!

Box 2, Pack #1
183 Matt Holliday - Cardinals
102 Brandon Maurer - Mariners
189 Alfredo Marte  Refractor - Diamondbacks
153 Dan Straily - A's

Pack #2
47 Jake Peavy - White Sox
68 Paul Konerko - White Sox
214 Eric Hosmer - Royals
167 Brandon Phillips - Reds

We're off to a bit of a slow start for box #2. I hope the luck starts to turn around.

Pack #3
30 Adam Warren - Yankees
107 Carlos Martinez Refractor - Cardinals
93 Brandon Boggs - Astros
201 Adam Dunn - White Sox

Pack #4
154 Nick Franklin - Mariners
177 Mike Moustakas Refractor - Royals
190 Adam LaRoche - Nationals
130 Kyuji Fujikawa - Cubs

Pack #5
67 Ryan Vogelsong - Giants
132 Ricky Nolasco - Marlins
39 Mike Zunino Refractor - Mariners
41 Jayson Werth - Nationals

Still kinda blah packs right now. We're only 5 packs in.

Pack #6
156 Mike Kickham - Giants  I saw Kickham pitch here in Richmond for the Flying Squirrels (Double-A farm team for the Giants)
85 Bruce Rondon - Tigers

189 Alfredo Marte Rookie Autograph - Diamondbacks
Nice hit for the D'backs.  They weren't claimed so somebody got a random autograph!
33 Marcell Ozuna - Marlins

Pack #7
118 Mariano Rivera - Yankees

CC-JR Jose Reyes Chrome Connections - Blue Jays
27 Rob Brantly - Marlins
106 Jered Weaver - Angels

Pack #8
1 Mike Trout - Angels
175 Clayton Kershaw - Dodgers

72C-SS Stephen Strasburg 1972 Topps Chrome - Nationals
Judson is hogging all the '72 Topps Chromes!
110 Matt Magill - Dodgers

Pack #9
70 Josh Hamilton - Angels
I still can't get used to see him in an Angles uni.
10 Derek Jeter - Yankees
19 Adrian Gonzalez - Dodgers
92 Dustin Pedroia - Red Sox
There's a lot of big money players in this pack!

Pack #10
86 Angel Pagan - Giants

CC-YD Yu Darvish Chrome Connections - Rangers
196 Jarrod Parker - A's
176 Wilin Rosario - Rockies

We are still looking for some colored refractors somewhere in this box and the whole break for that matter!

Pack #11
129 Jason Kubel - Diamondbacks
126 Anthony Rendon - Nationals
149 Yonder Alonso - Padres
123 Todd Frazier - Reds

Pack #12
150 Justin Verlander - Tigers
133 Will Middlebrooks - Red Sox

72C-DB Dylan Bundy 1972 Topps Chrome - Orioles
Almost halfway thru the box I finally get an Oriole card
49 Andrew McCutchen - Pirates

Pack #13
210 Gerrit Cole - Pirates
125 Dylan Bundy - Orioles
5 Lucas Duda Refractor - Mets
151 Justin Wilson - Pirates
Back to back packs with the young Orioles ace-in-training!

Pack #14
164 Alex Wood - Braves

RHR-DB RED HOT ROOKIE DYLAN BUNDY AUTOGRAPH #D 18/25........
HOOOOO LLLLLEEEEEEEEEE SSSSSMMMMMMMMOOOOOOKKKKEEEEEESSSSSS.  I seriously cannot beleive my eyes and I have goosebumps.  At the beginning of the break I was hoping for a Bundy or Machado autographed rookie card but this is even better!  I hope this doesn't count
as our second autograph from the box since is kind of an insert card.  BTW, the Red Hot rookies fall 1 in every 4945 packs.  So that means since there are 10 subjects in the set the already astronomical odds of pulling a Bundy becomes in in every 49,450 packs!  I will probably never pull a better card in my lifetime!
83 Shin-Soo Choo - Reds
207 Miguel Montero - Diamondbacks

Pack #15
208 Cliff Lee - Phillies

142 David Wright Blue Refractor #d 118/199
Wow a really nice looking card for the Mets.  I like that the Blue border isn't quite as dark this year!
145 Jose Reyes - Blue Jays
96 Yoenis Cespedes - A's

Pack #16
136 Albert Pujols - Angels
179 Aaron Hicks - Twins
54 Brett Lawrie Refractor - Blue Jays
192 Jake Odorizzi - Rays

Pack #17
81 Starling Marte - Pirates
48 Andre Ethier - Dodgers
195 Curtis Granderson Refractor - Yankees
36 Jim Johnson - Orioles

Pack #18
69 Brad Zeigler - Diamondbacks

172 MARK TEIXEIRA RED REFRACTOR #D 3/5 - YANKEES
Wow, I'm no Yankees or Teixiera fan but you can't deny the fact that there are only 5 of these in the world!
88 Tyler Skaggs - Diamondbacks
182 Paco Rodriguez - Dodgers

Pack #19
60 Jonathan Niese - Mets
29 Shane Victorino X-fractor  - Red Sox
140 Alex Gordon - Royals
144 Alex Rios - White Sox

Pack #20
61 Jonathan Papelbon - Phillies
74 Michael Bourn - Indians
206 Joey Votto Refractor - Reds
188 Martin Prado - Diamondbacks

4 more packs to go.

Pack #21
159 Chris Johnson - Braves

DY-AW Adam Wainwright Dynamic Diecuts - Cardinals
203 Desmond Jennings - Rays
168 alex rodriguez - yankees

Pack #22
165 Ryan Howard - Phillies
104 Roy Halladay Xfractor - Phillies
155 Adam Eaton - Diamondbacks
178 Jedd Gyorko - Padres

Pack #23
14 Josh Rutledge - Rockies
107 Carlos Martinez Refractor - Cardinals
193 Nelson Cruz - Rangers
99 Craig Kimbrel - Braves

Pack #24
21 Carlos Santana - Indians
39 Mike Zunino X-Fractor - Mariners
22 Khristopher Davis - Brewers
184 Prince Fielder - Tigers

So the group break comes to a close. I hope everyone has enjoyed it.  I love busting packs and I love interaction with other bloggers so I love doing group breaks.  Dave and Adam's always gives away free packs of cards with any order over $75 so I decided to get the 4 2010 Upper Deck Hobby packs.  I'll be including those in the packages.  I'm not going to list them here so there will be a little surprise in your packages when you get them.

I'm going to be very busy this weekend building my workshop/shed but I hope to get all of the packages mailed out on Monday.

2013 Topps Chrome Group Break Box # 1

UPS delivered the 2 hobby boxes to my home this morning so know it's time to start busting some packs since the sun has gone down and I can't cut lumber and nail them together without night vision goggles.  Unfortunately, the wifey will not be helping me with this first round of packs.  Maybe we'll get some toilet humor tomorrow.

It's pretty sweet that Manny Machado is on the box!


Here we go:

Box 1, Pack #1:

213 Gio Gonzalez - Nationals
These look more like the Walmart Black background parallels from a few years back when they are scanned.  I probably won't scan anymore regular base cards from here on out.
205 Ben Zobrist - Rays
158 Anthony Rizzo - Cubs
135 David Freese - Cardinals

Pack #2
37 Madison Bumgarner - Giants
211 Carlos Beltran - Cardinals

DY-AP Albert Pujols Dynamic Diecuts - Angels
A Really nice looking card.  These are seeded 1:24 packs so we probably won't get another in this box.
75 Robinson Cano - Yankees

Pack #3
64 Tim Lincecum - Giants

216 Pablo Sandoval Refractor - Giants
50 Stephen Strasburg - Nationals
124 Aroldis Chapman - Reds

Pack #4
198 Tommy Milone - A's

2 Hunter Pence Refractor - Giants
The Giants are off to a good start!
199 Yu Darvish - Rangers
191 Dexter Fowler - Rockies

Pack #5
143 Justin Upton - Braves

112 Allen Webster Autograph - Red Sox
38 Joe Mauer - Twins
18 Kris Medlen - Braves
A good pack for the Braves but the real winner are the Red Sox with the first autograph of the break!

Pack #6
28 Hiroki Kuroda - Yankees
209 Jeremy Hellickson - Rays

72C-YC Yoenis Cespedes 1972 Refractor - A's
I think all of the 1972's are refractors because this one as well as the 2 I got in my Target packs today are refractors
51 Sergio Romo - Giants

Pack #7
54 Brett Lawrie - Blue Jays
195 Curtis Granderson - Tigers

127 David Price Refractor - Rays
90 Ben Revere - Phillies

Pack #8
43 Adam Wainwright - Cardinals
220 Bryce Harper - Nationals

CC-DO David Ortiz Chrome Connections - Red Sox
A sharp card (literally!) for the Sox.  The Red Sox weren't chosen by anyone but I'm sure Jason will be happy to have this card and the autograph
95 Austin Jackson - Tigers

Pack #9
9 Trevor Bauer - Indians
100 Miguel Cabrera - Tigers

26 Carlos Ruiz Refractor- Phillies
166 Jackie Bradley Jr. - Red Sox

Pack #10
53 Derek Holland - Rangers
186 Oswaldo Arcia - Twins

72C-BH Bryce Harper 1972 Topps Collection - Nationals
Nice Hit for Judson!
5 Lucas Duda - Mets

Pack #11
148 Evan Gattis - Braves
8 Matt Cain - Giants
24 Nick Maronde - Angels
32 Jose Fernandez - Marlins
I finally get on the board with a card from my random team.  The weird part is that the logo is the Mariners!  I checked his regular Topps card and the mini and they correctly have the the Marlins logo.  How does that get screwed up for Chrome? WTF?

Pack #12
139 Wade Miley - Diamondbacks

74 Michael Bourn Black Refractor #d 26/100 - Indians
Congrats Baseball Dad!
56 Carl Crawford - Dodgers
4 Jon Jay - Cardinals

Pack #13
152 Adam Jones - Orioles (Finally in lucky #13)
45 Salvador Perez - Royals

202 James Shields Refractor - Royals
66 Avisail Garcia - Tigers

Pack #14
119 Michael Wacha - Cardinals
16 Wil Myers - Rays

217 Justin Morneau Refractor - Twins
78 Nolan Arenado - Rockies

Pack #15
13 Yovani Gallardo - Brewers

CC-BH Bryce Harper Chrome Connections - Nationals
The Second Harper insert in the box.  Lucky Judson!
55 Mike Olt - Rangers
122 - Adrian Beltre - Rangers

Pack #16
174 CC Sabathia - Yankees

20 Matt Kemp Xfractor - Dodgers
163 Ryan Braun - Brewers
142 David Wright - Mets

Pack #17
7 Lance Lynn - Cardinals

2 Hunter Pence Xfractor - Giants
87 Kyle Gibson - Twins
72 Victor Martinez - Tigers

Pack #18
103 Chase Utley - Philles
58 Asdrubal Cabrera - Indians
215 Domonic Brown - Phillies
46 Mike Napoli - Red Sox
Kind of a bad pack there.  No refractors or true superstars in there.

Pack #19
194 Kevin Gausman - Orioles

89 Russel Martin Sepia Refractor #d 51/75 - Pirates
No "color" refractors yet but we've had 2 of lower numbered refractors in the product so no complaints.  Congrats Nate on the Pirate hit!
217 Justin Morneau - Twins
202 James Shields - Royals
Come On Topps!  They still have the Rays logo on the card.  (check out the Refractor above) The sad part is that Shields has appeared on cards as a Royal in Heritage, Gypsy Queen, and Allen & Ginter among others and had all the logos right.  sigh....

Pack #20
113 Brian McCann - Braves
89 Russell Martin - Pirates

85 Bruce Rondon Autographed Refractor #d 11/499 - Tigers
Congrats to Roger!  The Autographed refractors fall 1 in 83 packs.
206 Joey Votto - Reds

Pack #21
160 Ian Kinsler - Rangers
177 Mike Moustakas - Royals

120 Jason Kipnis - Indians
105 Casey Kelly - Padres

Pack #22
189 Alfredo Marte - Diamondbacks

204 Jacoby Ellsbury Xfractor - Red Sox
108 Rickie Weeks - Brewers
172 Mark Teixeira - Yankees

Pack #23
181 Ian Desmond - Nationals
187 Chris Sale - White Sox

126 Jonathan Pettibone Refractor - Phillies
126 Jonathan Pettibone - Phillies
Yep back to back.  A good pack for Pettibone collectors!

Pack #24
11 Evan Longoria - Rays
216 Pablo Sandoval Xfractor - Giants
120 Jason Kipnis - Indians
44 Billy Butler - Royals

We end up the box right where we started with another Pablo Sandoval refractor card!

I don't think I'm going to do the card count this time since this break is only going to last 2 rounds.  Hopefully I can get box #2 opened up and posted tomorrow night.  I probably won't scan all of the regular refractors and xfractors to speed things up.

I hope everyone is liking the break so far!

The Topps Chrome Group Break Starts Tomorrow

(Hopefully!)  I actually got my shipping info from D&A yesterday and UPS is supposed to deliver the cards tomorrow (Wednesday).  I'm not sure if I'll be able to do an entire box at a time because quite frankly, I'm going to be busy over the next few weeks.  Today I had my storage shed delivered by 84 Lumber.  The only problem is that I have to put it together!  So yeah, theres a big stack of lumber sitting in my driveway that I hope is non-existent in a few weeks.

Anyways, I might have the wife add some of her commentary during the pack busting process since it was seemingly a hit during the Minis group break last month.  We've all seen the base cards plenty this year and really the only thing that is different is that they are all Chromed up this time.

Before we get to busting though, go back and check the previous thread to make some trades.  I think there are several trade offers out there and they just need to be confirmed.  Also, to make it easier for trades to happen, go ahead and check the box that emails you when new comments are posted.

That's all for now, see you all tomorrow night!

Topps Chrome Group Break 2nd Team Randomization

Here we go:

List Randomizer

There were 15 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. Red Sox
2. Rays
3. Diamondbacks
4. Yankees
5. Brewers
6. Giants
7. Twins
8. Phillies
9. Astros
10. White Sox
11. Mets
12. Cubs
13. Marlins
14. Mariners
15. Padres

Timestamp: 2013-09-19 23:52:29 UTC

You have randomized this list 3 times.

And the Participants:

List Randomizer

There were 15 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. Joe Average
2. Chris Ross
3. GCRL
4. Chris Mays
5. Chris Rasmussen
6. Baseball Dad
7. Nate Bell
8. Baseball Dad
9. PATP
10. PATP
11. Joe Average
12. Judson
13. Ryan H
14. IDK3B
15. Chris Rasmussen

Timestamp: 2013-09-19 23:53:04 UTC

You have randomized this list 3 times.

So Here's the Pairings:

Name                     1st Team                      Random Team

Joe Average           Rockies                        Red Sox

Chris Ross             Royals                          Rays

GCRL                   Dodgers                        Diamondbacks

Chris Mays            Braves                          Yankees

Chris Rasmussen   Blue Jays                      Brewers

Baseball Dad         Indians                         Giants
Nate Bell                Pirates                         Twins

Baseball Dad          Reds                           Phillies

PATP                     Rangers                      Astros

PATP                     Angels                        White Sox

Joe Average           Cardinals                     Mets

Judson                    Nationals                    Cubs

Ryan H.                 Orioles                        Marlins

IDK3B                  Tigers                          Mariners

Chris Rasmussen    A's                              Padres

If you wish to trade your teams, please do so in the comments below.  I will leave team trading open until the first packs are busted.