My first look at 2024

 I preordered two blasters of 2024 Topps Baseball.  One to rip and one to put away for Christmas 2024.  I have three blasters of different product to put under the tree come December.

I got a bunch of cards for my City Connect collection.  First cards I have seen with the Red Sox, Mariners and Reds City Connect uniforms.  I need to sort through my city connect cards and see what teams I don't have yet.

 A couple more City Connect cards and Bobby Witt doing Superman into the base.  Of course it wouldn't be a box for me if I didn't get a Bobby Witt, Jr. card.

Nick Fortes presents Easter Bunnies.  I have no clue what is behind Corbin Carroll.

Kerry can pick a game for Nolan Arenado to go yard.  I still haven't figured out what is in the background of Gonsolin and Schanuel.

Some more inserts.  The blue print card reminds me of a Nike Tony Gwynn Hitting Machine poster from the 80's or 90's.

The lone Padre card in the box is no longer a Padre.  The Betts card is a chrome card.  

Overall I like the design of the 2024 cards.  I like the parallels that seem to have metallic ink on them.

unboxing box 21, the final box, Costco big box

This box was available at Costco.  It contains one oversized card, 2 packs of series 1, 3 packs of series 2, 5 packs of update and three exclusive packs. 

Like the box I got at Target this had a oversized card and and a regular size card along with it.  Unlike the Corbin Caroll card from the Target box, this Francisco Card had a different number from the regular base card, CTC something.

These are the cards that were in the silver packs.  Different design, different pictures and different stock.  Each of these is thicker than a normal card. I thought I had scanned the back of one of these but I can not find it.  There are no stats just a write up about the player.

Inserts from the series 1 packs

Inserts from the series 2 packs.  I haven't seen the Legends of the Game insert before. I will have to pick up a copy of the Tony Gwynn card.

And the inserts from the update packs.

So exactly two months from the date I got them I have completed opening all the boxes I got for Christmas.  They are all sorted and will be going out to people in the next couple of weeks.

 

Unboxing Box 20, the Penultimate Box, 2023 Topps Update Target Big Box.

 My granddaughter and I were in Target looking for something, right after Christmas, when I saw this and picked it up for right around $30.  Upon opening the strangest thing was that all the packs were glued together lightly to maintain that fanned appearance.  

I was going to do a bunch of individual scans but I decided to do this to show the relative sizes of the big card and the pin.  The pin is of Yordan Alvarez of the Astros.  I didn't catch the difference in the two Actions Stars cards until I looked at the scan.  I don't know why they are different.  I don't what the wording is supposed to mean on the Bo Bichette card.  But it looks like a card I will send to Cards as I see Them for his mini collection.

In all the Stars of MLB cards I have seen I don't think that I have seen anyone from the Padres featured.

I am not sure if the Brice Turang card is what sort of parallel but the colors work well with the Brewers color scheme.   I still like the 1988 homage cards especially the Carlton Fisk.  More stars of the MLB including a chrome of Matt Olsen.

The five silver cards were in the special silver pack in the box.  The Bobby Miller card is numbered out of 199 and came out of a regular pack.  

This card is noteworthy because it was loose in the box, hidden behind the big card.

Just one more box to go.

Unboxing Box 19, 2023 Topps Heritage High Numbers

 

Starting with the inserts.  I remember the Bat Slam HR.  Davey Lopes is one of my favorite non Padres, he was a Padre for a while as a coach.  I haven't heard of Taj Bradley.  I like the combination of players on the stamp sheet.

 A couple of Padres, Seth Lugo had a really good season and signed a two contract with the Royals.  David Dahl played in four games for the Padres and signed a minor league deal with the Philllies for this year.

Luis Campusano has played for the Padres for the last four seasons, while the team tries to figure out what to do at the catcher position.

Tom Cosgrove made his made league debut last year for the Padres.  I think he will be a valuable part of the teams pitching staff.

A trio of cards for my City Connect collection.  

A hand numbered relic insert of Johnathan India to close out the box.

Unboxing Box 18, 2023 Topps Update box 2

Starting off with parallels and inserts.  One halloween parallel, three chevron parallels, a numbered green parallel of Eury Perez, a black gold homage and two 1988 Topps homage cards.

Eight stars of MLB, five are rookies and one of the rookies is Chrome.

A bunch of rookies. I like the Bachman and Miller cards because of the intensity of the delivery.  Zach Neto has a big leg kick as he hits. Hicks and Bachman will go into my city connect mini collection.

I like the Triston Casas card cause I don't believe I have seen very many cards of that pose.  Maybe I'll start another mini collection.

Michael Fulmer is a parallel, any card with Clemente on it is a winner.  Castro and Wacha will go into my City Connect mini collection.  

Ohio Tim email me your address at padrographsatlivedotcom.  

There are just three more boxes to go.

 

Unboxing Box 17, 2023 Topps Archives

It's kind of weird to see Willie Mays and Ted Williams on the 2003 design, but these are some good action shots.

1956 yields another Bobby Witt Jr. card and a city connect card.  My Bo Bichetter card was on a different stock and a completely different color.

The design from 1965 (when I was eight years old) is one of my favorites.  A bunch of Hall of Famers, old, now and soon to be.

The inserts.  Verlander is a double header and Max Scherzer with the Rangers is on the other side.  The Tony Gwynn is based on the 1957 Hit Stars set.  I have built that set twice.  It is from the year I was born.  I have enjoyed chasing the people in the set.  McGwire is based on a something else.  Thomas, Ripken, and Smith I think are supposed to be based on the 1969 poster inserts.

 

Unboxing Box 16, 2023 Topps Heritage First series

Not a whole lot in this blaster.  I had forgotten about the Angels city not being on the cards in the first series.

I did get three Padres from the box.  I didn't have any cards of Liberato before. 

The Only other card of note that I got in this box.

 

Unboxing Box 15, 1st Box Topps Flagship update

I realized as I was going through my boxes that I had two boxes of Update.  These are from the first box.  I got one pretty rare card in this box.  But first we start off with the not at all rare Stars of MLB.

I got three cards for my city connect mini collection, which will need updating soon as I read the Dodgers are getting new City Connect uniforms along with the other eight teams that will be debuting City Connect uniforms this year.  Also got a Gavin that was new to me, but not to Baseball Card Breakdown.

A few different inserts and parallels along with a Padre that wasn't in a City Connect uniform.

And here is the rare card from the packs.  Ji-Man Choi SSP Mirror Image card.  Would have liked to see it in a Padres uniform since that is where he finished the season.  

 

Unboxing Day 14, 2022 Stadium Club Chrome

Stadium Club photography is the attraction.  I don't know how I feel about Chroming it.  The Yaz will go into my City Connect mini-collection, I hope Kepler actually caught the ball and it is cool to see a future Hall of Famer pitching.

The Gavin Sheets card is what is wrong with Chroming Stadium Club.

Two Hall of Famers and a Future Hall of Famer.

A parallel and an insert.

Jacob Cronenworth goes for a ball in the Crone Zone.  I don't think I have ever seen this picture of Campy.  

I have doing well getting autographs of Rookies.

And we finish with a couple of inserts of a member of the New York Yankees.

I am of a divided mind when it comes to Stadium Club of Chrome.

 

Unboxing Day 13, 2023 Topps Chrome Update

I got two pink parallels, ununumbered

Two 1988 Inserts

Two Sepia inserts

One refractor

One Action Star insert

I got one insert numbered to 99.