30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Monday, December 23, 2013

The Grand Finale

Okay... maybe it wasn't exactly "grand".  But yesterday I busted the final two boxes from my Black Friday haul.


I started off with the box of 2009 Topps 206 and was pretty impressed with what I pulled.  Each box guarantees two autographs and/or relics per box, 20 minis, and 20 bronze parallels.

I pulled a few Oakland A's minis for my collection and this pretty cool Thurman Munson SP Variation mini:


It was definitely a New York Yankees hot box, because I also pulled short prints of Jeter, A-Rod, and The Mick:


And if that wasn't enough... I beat the odds and pulled a Yankee printing plate of Mark Melancon:


It's a shame it wasn't Jeter... it would have helped pay for this little shopping spree... because the autograph I pulled definitely won't:


Thankfully the other hit in the box will make a nice addition to my Ichiro collection...


I'm a huge fan of Ichiro.  And I love framed relics.  Combine the two and I'm pretty content with the contents of this box.

Next up... my 2011 Topps Lineage box:


I saved this box for last, because it's the one I was most excited about.  For some reason, I thought the base design was like Topps Archives and based on past designs.

So you can imagine my disappointment when I saw this:


Actually... I can live with the front of the cards... but I'm not a fan of these card backs:


Where are the stats?  Topps definitely dropped the ball in this area.  Fortunately, they made up for it in the area of inserts:


My favorites are the stand-ups, cloth stickers, and 3D inserts.  The 75 minis are pretty cool too.

And the hits?  Well you get two autographs and one relic per box.  After twelve boxes, this was my last chance to hit a home run and pull something epic for my collection.  Let's see how I fared:


A home run... this was not.  But I didn't necessarily strike out either.

Tim Lincecum is a fan favorite in the Bay Area and I've already found a nice home for him.  The Rodney isn't anything special... but damn did he have an amazing season two years ago.

And finally... I was fortunate enough to pull an on-card autograph of an old-timer.  Based on what I've read, Yost was a solid leadoff hitter known for drawing a lot of walks.  Unfortunately, he passed away just over a year ago at the age of 86.  I haven't finalized what I'm going to keep or trade away... but his autograph was the highlight of this box and is definitely a keeper.

Happy Monday and sayonara!

18 comments:

buckstorecards said...

It's never a good sign when you see a hit for one of your favourite teams, and you're going "Evans. Evans. Who was that? Jeremy? No. That's a basketball player. Help me out, COMC..."

Ana Lu said...

I love the T206 cards. I got a framed signature card one in a value box. I think that's lucky. I usually don't get relics/autographs because I buy packs or value boxes.
I trully enjoied your posts of the Black Friday cards. Hope you show more basic cards. I like those if they have great photography or are simply beautiful like those T206 cards.

The Lost Collector said...

I think you did ok. Hope you had fun busting the boxes.

Anonymous said...

I bought a bunch of Lineage back in 2011 because I loved the inserts - especially the 3D cards - and was OK with the base set... but now every time I look at the base cards, I wonder whether I should keep them... and that makes me feel guilty, because I'm usually the guy who's all about the base cards and the inserts are just along for the ride.

View From the Skybox said...

I absolutely love the Piedmont framed relics. They look so damn good.

gcrl said...

i agree about lineage. i bought a couple of packs thinking the same thing and then gave up on the set. still, i could use that 75 mini sandberg if you don't want to hang on to it...

Play at the Plate said...

Fun fun...thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

as a yankee fan, i am happy for the content you received in your T206 box. PLUS, great job on pulling another printing plate.

Baseball Nut said...

Ah, yes. Those boxes were from when Topps was still Yankee heavy. Great for me but I know a lot of collectors were not happy about that.

As far Lineage is concerned, I wish you had looked at my review. That's one of the reasons I try to make them scan heavy as the cards speak for themselves.

http://booboosue.blogspot.com/2011/08/2011-topps-lineage-baseball-box-break.html

Still, your assessment was very close to mine. At the very least I hope you had fun ripping boxes again even if the results were not what you had hoped.

Fuji said...

I had never heard of the guy. My go to site is baseball reference. In the case of Evans... it didn't make me feel any better.

Fuji said...

I'll make a conscious effort to try to scan some of the base from those box breaks. They got the shaft mainly because of time. I figured people would rather see the hits... but it's nice to know that the base cards receive some love too.

Fuji said...

Loved it. The boxes weren't exactly loaded with huge hits, but the thrill of busting packs is hard to put a price tag on.

Fuji said...

The insert sets are pretty amazing in this product. I agree... the 3D cards are my favorite too. I'll build or buy base sets too if I like the base card design... but this set didn't make the cut (for me at least).

Fuji said...

Yeah... I like framed relics in general. I was extremely excited to pull that Ichiro. It's the first relic of him that I've pulled myself for the PC.

Fuji said...

It's yours.

Fuji said...

Had a blast. Looks like you had some fun with your boxes too. Congratulations on those nice pulls.

Fuji said...

Thanks... I definitely was happy to see two printing plates. Didn't really know much about either guy, but happy nonetheless.

Fuji said...

Over the years, I've learned that the results rarely equate to what I have hoped... which is why I equate it to gambling. Every time I go to the casino... I have no expectations of walking away a winner. I enter with the sole intention of being entertained and if I win something, it's a beautiful bonus. I try to do the same with cards.