Group Break Spoils courtesy of Nachos Grande

Yesterday I received the flat rate box that contained the haul from my first ever group break. I must say thanks to Chris over at Nachos Grande blog for hosting this. While I have no frame of reference, I really enjoyed the whole experience of being a part of his break. I found myself looking forward to watching the videos, filled with anticipation at what might be revealed from each pack. I've been eagerly anticipating each posted update with the highlights of each box as well(especially since it was hard to get a great look at some of the cards on the videos).

On to the contents of the box. The base additions brought my set needs down to 80 to complete the 350-card set(slowly but surely getting there). I'm still deciding which insert sets I'll try to complete(if any), but it was really great to check out the write ups on the Yankee and Cubs players that were sent my way. Chris also kept things interesting by throwing in a few unexpected bonuses for me to find as I was opening the multiple team bags within the box, like these:

Here are two of the Munnatawket custom minis that I've read so much about. I'll take whatever Jeter's I can find, so it was a nice surprise to see this fall out of the middle of a stack. Also included was this Chipz of CC Sabathia:

This is the first of these that I've laid hands on. They're an interesting idea, but I'm not sure that I'd actually buy packs of these. It's probably better that way, one less product to find funds for.

I won't lie, I was hoping that a gold parallel of one or the other of DJ's cards would be pulled, but no luck there. However, I am happy with the Tanaka and Gardner golds and I really like the gold Cubs team card. That was not the end of the parallel goodness either. These two were also pulled:

The Junior lake is one of the snow camo parallels numbered /99. I like the design, but more than likely this one will eventually find a new home elsewhere. I really haven't been a fan of the pink parallels in the past, but this one does look a little better than previous attempts. It doesn't hurt that it is a Yankee and...

There are only 50 of them! I've got big hopes for Pineda this coming season, if he can stay healthy and keep his hands out of the pine tar!

As I watched the videos, I kept seeing the Gallery of Greats inserts being pulled, but never a Yankee. I believe it was the final box and finally I saw that one would be coming my way!

This set truly is beautifully done. I'm glad to have one in the collection. It's a long way to complete that set, but I may have to tackle that task.

When I took the Cubs and was able to add the Yankees a bit later, I had visions/daydreams that one of the relics pulled would be a Mariano Rivera or Ernie Banks auto(I couldn't even dream that one of the 1/1 cut sigs would be pulled), but in the end, I'm just happy that one of the hits made its way to my collection. It turns out that it was one of my favorites out of the entire break.

I think Topps has done a really good job withe the manufactured relics this year. I like the design of the retail First Home Run relics(looking for the Jeter, Deion Sanders, Longoria, and Mattingly). These Future Stars pins are very well done too! This looks even better in person. I guess I'll have to start the search for a Tanaka to add to this Betances. 

I saved the best for last. Above are all of the cards from the actual break. Here is the final bonus card that I received:

Awesome! It's not a super rare, blogger relic/auto, but it is the first example of the creativity this blogosphere has to offer. This gets my gears turning. I'll have to try to produce my own little insert to send out in packages. This is going straight into one of those tobacco sized top loaders I found a few weeks ago!

Really great job overall, in my opinion, Chris. Thanks for hosting this break. I hope to join another of yours sometime in the future. 

Set Collecting in 2015 - Topps style

It's happened. For the first time since 2001, I've decided that I'm going to put together the Topps Flagship set. There's not a lot that I can say that hasn't already been said. I like the design, there are some solid rookies in series one, and it has final tribute cards to The Captain.

I previously discussed my decision to take the plunge into my first group break with this set as the product. So, with those cards soon to be en route, I couldn't wait to get my hands on some new cards. Once I finally found some at my local Target, I had to settle for a hanger box. No big inserts, but it was great to have my first taste of the new set. Over the next few days, I found some packs here and there, but my search for a blaster or two had come up empty until yesterday. I happened to stop in to a different local Target and I was able to pick up two of these.

I got home from work late last night, so I spent the little bit of time with my daughters that I could before tucking them into bed for the night. After they were asleep, I had some additional work to do, so I was able to wait until this morning to crack these open. With my goal being primarily to put together the set, I did fairly well with these blasters. In regards to great parallels or inserts, I'm on the fence. Without further delay, let me share the highlights so you can decide.

Of my two manu-relics, the one I prefer is the Goldschmidt shown above(the other is Adam Dunn). Hands down, the best card from either blaster was this gold parallel Paul Konerko send-off card. I'm not a Chi-Sox fan, but he was a great player and like many others, I think this will be a contender for card of the year. Of course, I would have been happier if this had been either Jeter's base or checklist card, but I'm definitely happy with this one. The Stanton comes from one of my favorite insert sets of this product. Great shot, great defensive play, great player, what else can you ask for?

I am also quite find of the Target-only, Jackie Robinson insert. I pulled three of the 10 from the set, so I'm on my way. Honestly, I was disappointed that I didn't pull the card of him playing college basketball. I do like the one of him holding his HOF plaque though. I think it's a clean design and the subject matter is great. I'll also be putting together the Babe Ruth Story insert, but I haven't decided if I will do all 10 cards or just 6-10(skipping his Boston years). The last noteworthy card is the Matt Kemp. If you look closely at his right pinkie, you may see that this is the 'sparkle' variation. I'm not a Dodgers or Kemp fan, but it is the first sparkle card I've pulled since they began doing them. I don't really care for them, but I thought I'd share since it is kinda a tough pull. If anyone out there is interested, I would listen to trade offers.

So, that's it. Two blasters down, though I did OK on base card collation, I'm still a ways off from the complete set. I'll at least pick up a few loose packs so I can use my Target coupons that came in the blasters, but I'm not sure how much more money I'm going to sink into busting packs. It sure was fun cracking packs of the first product of the year though. Sadly, my search for that Jack White will have to continue...for now.

From Super Bowl to Spring Training

Oh, what a difference a week makes! Last Sunday, Seahawks QB Russell Wilson came thiiiis close to winning back-to-back Super Bowl titles, but instead of celebrating another championship, he'll be turning his attention towards BP and taking grounders during infield practice. Let me just say, I am not a Seahawks fan. Nor am I a Rangers fan. However, I DO like Russell Wilson for a few reasons.

1. He is a former NC State guy(my alma mater). Granted he did transfer to Wisconsin, but he's got Wolfpack ties.

2. He's a great player and has no quit in him. At 5 feet 11 inches and just a hair over 200 pounds, he's not your prototypical quarterback. Though he's often been an underdog due to his size, he's worked hard and accomplished a great deal in his short career.

3. Most importantly, he is a class act! Yes, I just said that about an NFL player. He has handled himself with great composure and dignity despite throwing the interception that sealed their loss in the biggest game of the season. He didn't make excuses or try to place blame on the coaching staff that made the call. 

He is truly one of the great role models in today's professional sports landscape. It's a shame that he's not likely to join modern-day, former two sport stars like Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, and Brian Jordan by playing in MLB. With the retirement of Derek Jeter after this past season, there's plenty of room for a classy guy like Russell. 

For the record, I don't own the card shown above(though I'd like to), but I do own this one:

Searching for a New Local Card Shop

I don't really have a 'local' card shop, but the one that I've most recently considered that(about an hour and 15 minute drive away) and visited a handful of times over the past 6-8 months announced that it would be closing its doors at the end of this week. It is always sad to hear of a shop closing up, but I especially liked the atmosphere of this place. The owner even shipped a box to me at no additional cost when I had driven out to pick it up and it wasn't in hand due to a shipping delay. It was always worth the trip to check it out. SO, with this news in mind, wallet Wool E. and I decided to check out another shop located in a mall the other day... Now, I've never been a fan of mall shops because they're typically overpriced due to their high overhead, but we had to explore options.

I'm not fond of malls in general, and it had actually been several years since I had set foot in this one. I had no idea what to expect. We began by documenting our visit with the above pic, and once I stashed Wool E. safely back in my wallet, I went inside and did a quick lap around the shop. It's about the size I would have expected and most of the singles' sticker prices were, in fact, quite high. However, it was very well stocked with supplies and I was able to find a few singles to add to my collection without breaking the bank.

I completely avoided the display cases and was rewarded with some $2 boxes to search. A few cards in, I came across this DJ to add to my PC. Somehow I hadn't picked up a copy of this parallel. After that,  I ran across a number of cards from Collector's Choice and early 2000's Fleer base, stuff that would be more welcome in dime or quarter boxes. 

Next I found this Jeter that illustrates 'The Flip' play. I probably overpaid, but I needed to add this card as well. It's one of the plays that I'll always remember watching.

Towards the end of the final row of the box, I came upon this card of the reigning AL MVP. It's hard to tell from the scan, but it's the refractor version. I don't collect Trout, but I had to pick this one up to make it seem like the trip was worth my while..

Next to the $2 box was a small 'priced as marked' box. Not much of interest in that box, except this:

I'm not the biggest fan of the UD Goudey product, but this Kershaw was marked at $8. I couldn't pass up the chance to add another Kershaw RC to my collection at that price.

There was a decent amount of product devoted to pack sales, some of which dated back 10 years or more. Unfortunately, the pricing was through the roof. I'm pretty sure that if I decide to open product, I'm gonna have to order it online somewhere.

As I mentioned, the shop was well stocked with supply options. I had not seen these tobacco size top loaders before and had to pick up a few packs.

All told, I wasn't blown away by this shop, but I was able to find enough value that I didn't feel like it was a wasted trip(all of the above cost me $20). I probably won't make frequent trips here, but it is certainly better than having no option at all. At least wallet Wool E. finally got a chance to get out for a moment.

Waiting for Topps

I am (im)patiently waiting to crack some packs of Topps series one. Unlike some other folks, my local Target and Walmart stores not only didn't have any product out early, but here we are on the official release date and still no packs or blasters to bust. So, I took to eBay to at least see what I'm missing.  So far, I've resisted the urge to place impulse bids on some of the parallels I eventually want to end up with. I'm betting on the prices being lower on some of them once the initial buying frenzy subsides.

I happened to do a quick search for the first pitch inserts because they caught my eye in the pre-release info. I particularly want these two:

Eddie Vedder and Jack White. Two of my favorites from the music biz. What I found was that apparently there is quite the demand for these two right now. One Jack white auction was at $21 plus shipping with 4 hours left, a whopping 26 bids so far(as I'm writing this draft)! A few Eddie presales topped $18 and most of the auctions ending in the next few hours were hovering around $10-15. Fortunately enough, I have a decent chance of getting at least one of the EV cards since I've got the Cubbies in a jumbo case break that should be happening pretty soon. Hopefully finding a Jack White for the collection won't end up breaking the bank.