30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Monday, August 7, 2017

The 2,000 Mile Blaster Box Journey

Last week I flew up to Portland, then back down to Las Vegas, then came back home.  During the five day journey, I flew over 2,000 miles and had fun visiting friends and hanging out with my parents.

But I'm sure playing Dr. Brown Bear with my nieces is the last thing you want to read about on this blog, so I'll get straight to the point.

My mother needed some stuff at Target, so I drove her there and discovered these sitting in their card section:


I realize these products are old news to most of you guys, but I haven't been able to find any of these blasters in San Jose.  Even though I didn't want to lug them around on the airplane, there was no way I was going to let these slip through my fingers.

Sadly, I didn't bring any of the gift cards my students gave me, so I had to buy them with my own money.  But that's okay.  Unlike my other blaster box experience, I was very pleased with what I pulled.

Here are some of my favorite pulls...


Even though he's cooled off quite a bit... I was really hoping to pull a Judge for my collection.  I ended up pulling two.  One for my collection and the other for the set I'm trying to build.

Outside of the Judge, the only other card I was really hoping to pull was the Raines:


I've wanted a copy after the first time seeing it on one of your blogs.  This card is the epitome of Stadium Club and why so many of us love the product.


I was also excited to see several big names with their complete bodies intact.  Thank you Topps for not hurting The Professor and Ryno.

As most of you know, I love my fair share of inserts.  However when it comes to this product, they're the thing I least enjoy.  The one exception was this Stadium Club Chrome refractor I pulled:


I love the old school shine... and like Raines, Maddux, and Sandberg... Topps did a great job with photo selection for this card.

On the other hand, my favorite things about Ginter are the minis and the interesting insert sets.  I absolutely love this Revolutionary Battles insert I pulled from my first pack:


This card looks like it should be hanging up on a museum wall.  I'm a big fan of the symmetry of the flags and the overall layout of this card.  Great job Topps!


I was also excited to pull this Harriet Tubman mini from a pack.  It's an honor to have a card of her sitting in my collection.

The last card I wanted to show off was a sign from the Cardboard Gods...


On Saturday, I wrote a post on Rod Carew and was debating on whether or not I wanted to start collecting his cardboard.  It's not wise to argue with the Cardboard Gods.  I'm officially going to start collecting one of the greatest hitters from my childhood.

Moving on to less positive news, I was saddened to hear that two fan favorites have lost their battles with cancer over the past two days.


Rest in peace Dutch and Groove.  You will be missed by millions of baseball fans around the world, but the memories you've provided us will live on forever.

Well that's it for now.  On Wednesday, I'll have my first Flea Market Find post in a month, so stay tuned.

Happy Monday and sayonara!

6 comments:

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

RIP! Let me know what cards you need on the TSC.

Collecting Cutch said...

The retired players in TSC are my favorite each year. That Bo is awesome

Man said...

You will be missed Dutch, and I really remember big Don as the only Angel I really followed. The SC photos are unbelievable. Really the early issues not so much but since the late 90s fantastic.

BobWalkthePlank said...

I still haven't found any TSC in my area. My Target seems to sell a lot of cards so I think it just sold out before I had a chance to buy. Congrats on pulling two Judge cards.

SumoMenkoMan said...

I'm going to rip some 2107 A&G to try and land the sumo dude card. Might pick some packs up during National Baseball Card Day this Saturday.

Fuji said...

john miller - thanks john! in the process of putting together a want list.

collecting cutch - me too. i love the b&w photos

brady - i'll even take those early 90's tsc sets. i'd love to bust a few boxes, but over the years those cards have become stuck together

matthew scott - me either. i'd actually buy more to help with my set... if i could find some.

sumomenkoman - good to know they celebrate national baseball card day in germany too