Unboxing Day 4, Topps Chrome,Box 1

I got two boxes of 2023 Topps Chrome for Christmas. The packs promise four cards but in some of them I got five cards.

No Padres in this box.

The Miranda is an un-numbered parallel.  The photography varies in the set.

The Baez card is another un-numbered parallel.

These three cards caught my eye for a couple of reasons.  Kody Clemens is the son of Roger Clemens, I like the 1988 design especially since it features the throwback uniform and as does the Matthew Liberatore card.

This is as close to a Padres card as I got in the box.  MacKenzie Gore went to the Nationals in the trade for former Padre Juan Soto.

The Michael Massey card is another un-numbered parallel.  

I am wondering where Clayton Kershaw will be next year, home, with the Dodgers or somewhere else.  This pack also yielded the good card I spoke of.

This is part of the Topps buyback program.  I am told (by the Topps website) that this card is worth $100 in store credit at a Local Card Store.  So next Saturday I will be traveling to Hoody's Collectibles in Beaverton to see what I can get.

Next up will be a second box of Chrome.  

 

Unboxing Day 3: Bowman Mega Box

In a Bowman Mega Box you get 4 regular packs and 2 special packs

I am featuring two regular cards and the two Chrome cards from each regular pack and four of the five cards from the special packs.

Not a bad way to start with the newest Dodger and a Red star.  I have never heard of either of the other chrome players.

I think I got Night Owl's box with the number of Dodgers I got.  I wonder about the crowd behind Martinez, some Topps magic.

Another Dodger, another one that the Padres missed out on and only the second Padre in three boxes.  Montesino played in 2021 in the Dominician League, missed 2022 due to injury and played last year in the Arizona Complex League.  He is just 19 years old.

There was another regular pack but I seem to have lost the scan. I am learning to use my camera as a scanner and these cards from the special backs are a little hard to see. I have't heard of any of these guys.  

I have heard of all of these guys.  Oswald Peraza is a parallel numbered out of 175.  

Up Next 2023 Topps Chrome Box 1 in which I get a good card.

 

Topps Heritage High Number Padres team set

We interrupt the unboxings to bring you this recently acquired Topps Heritage High Number Padres team set and complain about the choices made by Topps.   

Seth Lugo and Xander Bogaerts made contributions throughout the season.  Lugo is signed with the Royals now and X is still with the Padres.  Brett Sullivan made his major league debut after 8 years in the minors, when too many catchers got injured, playing in 33 games for the Padres.  Matt Carpenter appeared in 76 games hitting .176, he along with Ray Kerr was traded to the Braves on December 15 and the Braves released him on December 18.  

Tom Cosgrove made his major league debut last year appearing in 54 games for the Padres.  Luis Campusano missed two months of the season due to surgery on his hand.

These three guys played in 63 games for San Diego in 2023.  David Dahl played in 4 games and was granted free agency by the Padres on June 9.  Odor played in 59 games and was released by the Padres on July 23.  Jose Urena was never even signed by the Padres, I checked several reference sources and could not find any evidence he was even in the Padres system at all.  

The lone short print in the Padres team set played in exactly ZERO games for San Diego.  He was in the minor league system from July 7 to August 21.

I think I could have made better choices about whom to include in this team set than Topps did.

I am looking forward to Heritage paying tribute to Night Owl's favorite set next year.  
Topps please make better choices.

Unboxing day 2

Yes, I am a wrestling fan and yes I know it's scripted, but I find it very athletic.  Years ago we lived next door to a midget wrestler and once in a while I would drive to Eugene with him when he was on the card there.  Got to know all kinds of people and all kinds of things before the death of kayfabe.

I got three of the Green Pulsar Prizms in my box.  I got a total of 24 cards in the box, but I only knew who 14 of them were, those are the cards I am going to share.  I don't collect wrestling cards, I accumulate them to use as bookmarks in my library books, I just leave them in the books when I turn them around.

These are my three green prizm cards.  I have no idea who Wendy Choo is, Matt Riddle is gone from the WWE and Asuka is part of a mostly Japanese faction in the WWE.  The Asuka card is also a refractor and is numbered 20/25.

The Miz on the far left is a refractor and you can tell because it says Prizm on the back.  The A Lister has come a long way from MTV's Road Rules.  AJ Styles just returned from an injury and is really jacked.

There were even some horizontal shots in the box.  Cedric Alexander hasn't been seen on TV in awhile.  Shotzi looks much different now. Her hair looks a germ as seen in an electron microscope.  Bron Breaker is still in NXT, but will probably make it to the main roster this year.  He is the son of wrestling veteran Scott Steiner.

Bruno Sammartino is a certified wrestling legend.  Big E is recuperating from a broken neck in 2022, it is not clear whether he will ever wrestle again.  Brock Lesnar, only shows up on big dates or pay per views, it is always a big deal when he does.

I know of Roderick Strong, but nothing about him.  Sonya Deville has been absent from TV for awhile and Mandy Rose was released due to the content she was sharing on Fan Time.  Deville and Rose were at one time a tag team known as Fire and Desire.  Bobby Lashley is currently a champion and wrestles weekly on TV.

 

Unboxing Days begin

 One of my Christmas presents was 19 blasters of baseball and 2 of the WWE.  I will be presenting one per day for a couple of weeks.

The first one I opened was a Happy Little Box of Bob Ross Baseball.

You get 13 cards per box in two packs, sort of.  The one exclusive Easel Parallel is package separately in a clear cellophane wrapper.

I got my one parallel/SP card.

Yaz is hitting in the dark of night, Miggy is getting ready to catch a salmon and if Big Papi hits in the woods is there a sound.

Jazz is about to get drenched in the surf, Gabriel is at least in the right desert state.

Ryan Mountcastle is the Easel parallel, Manny is mired in a swamp (much like the Padres were last season) and Jordan Walker is fleeing from a bear.

Vlad is angrily shaking his finger at a bird that just missed him, Carlos Rodon is gigantic and Jose Altuve is watching something happening in the distance.

I managed to get a second Jordan Walker RC and my parallel SP was Esteury Ruiz of the A's exiting a lake.  It is numbered 97/99.  I don't think the combination of Bob Ross and baseball does much for me.  

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all.

I'm still here.

The last six months have been interesting.

My wife had bone spurs on a hip and was in a great deal of pain so I was taking care of her and then in October she had hip replacement surgery.  So there was more care involved.  I now work at a toy, games and puzzle store at a local mall so we have been busy. 

I plan on getting back to blogging in the new year.  I have some things in mind.  I know what one of presents is so some of you will be receiving some things after the new years.  
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

 

My 2 cents worth of 2023 Heritage

 I have all the Heritage base cards since 2001.  It is one set I look forward to and have kept collecting.  1974 was one of my favorite sets looks wise.  A couple of years ago I made a 74 set of all fifty governors in the US and sent them out to get signed.  I got 25 back signed and some with gifts.  

I knew that I needed the Ray Kroc card to make this complete in my head.  Tatis is playing the outfield and is not a shortstop any more. Eguy Rosario is playing at AAA El Paso. Nelson Cruz is about to return to San Diego from a rehab assignment in El Paso.  Jurickson Profar is now a member of the Rockies.  Trent Grisham is hanging around the Padres, hopefully he gets hot again like he did in the playoffs last year.  Matthew Batten is playing in El Paso.  Adrian Morejon is also playing in El Paso, I got his auto back in 2017 when he was playing at Tri Cities.  Luis Liberato is also at AAA.  

Jake Cronenworth has been playing all over the right side of the infield this season.  Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove and Blake Snell are all having good years but they need some run support.  Manny is featured on two cards.  Somehow the Padres were evidently in the American League playoffs last year.  How long has Topps been making cards?   I would like to see Soto return to his pre trade form.  Awesome Kim has really been doing well defensively and showing occasional glimpses of the power he had in Korea.   

Sean Manaea is pitching for the Giants this year.  The rest are all customs that I made and have sent to someone in San Diego to get signed.  I have one of the Brandon Dixon 1B cards set aside for GCRL.  Dixon has pitched for every team that he has played for in the majors.  

I was disappointed to see no Washington Nat'l League cards and so many guys who aren't even on the Padres in the team set.  

World Series Heroes

 Last weekend I went to the card show at Lloyd Center.  I sold a Daniel Bryan autographed card, so I bought a few things.  Mostly packs so I will be showing the packs and what was in them.  First off is a World Series Heroes pack from 2002. 

World Series Hero Mickey Mantle adorns the cover of the pack.  I got his autograph once at a show here in Portland.  I did not pull one of the Classic World Match-Up Jersey that were inserted 1:240 packs.

Each back features a write up like this.

First up is Chuck Knoblauch of the Minnesota Twins.  I forgot about Knobbers heroics in the 1991 series.  I seem to remember that he got a case of the yips that ended his career.  I remember going to a card show that he and Fred Biletnikoff were signing at.  

Next is the Crime Dog and new Hall of Fame member Fred McGriff.  I remember Fred as a member of the Padres from 1990-1993.  He then went on to become a vital part of the Braves and their World Series win in 1995 over the team formerly known as the Indians.

Pat Hentgen performed his heroics against the Phillies in the 1993 series.  He pitched in one game in the series, going six innings for the win.

Lou Boudreau had six hits in the World Series in 1948, four of them for extra bases as Cleveland defeated the Boston Braves.  

Bernie Williams helped the Yankees to a four game sweep of the Braves in 1999. The Yankees were 11-1 in the postseason that year.  I was still upset with the Evil Empire after they swept the Padres in the series the year before.  

 Next up will be a pack of 1992 Stadium Club Football I picked up.

Wallet card update

I decided to get in on the wallet card fun. So I have chosen this Tony Gwynn card

It has accompanied me to work at go! toy, games and puzzles at Clackamas Town Center

It went to church with me to Shepherd's Gate.  I sit in the very back and run the sound board for the service.

Then we got a foot of snow and it went out with me when I shoveled the driveway.

Later this week we are going to the coast for my wife's birthday so I will take it to the Pacific Ocean.  

 

I finished Roberts 70th Birthday present last night

 I only needed one card to finish off Robert's birthday present, card #70 from 2023 Topps flagship and here it is.

I ordered a box of 2023 Topps from Dave and Adam's card world with next day delivery.  It came yesterday.  Every Hobby box has a silver pack in with 1988 Chrome cards and I got one guy from Oregon State University and three other guys.

I got my promised autograph in amongst a bunch of other inserts.

That is probably the last of my 2023 Topps purchases.  All to get one card.