Blessing in Disguise

Yesterday I went to the sports card wholesalers intending to spend less than $20 on a variety of top loaders, some monster pads, and a few baseball holders... but ended up spending a lot more than that.

Usually when I go there... it's strictly for supplies.  However... this school year has been a little rough and by the end of the week I figured I'd buy myself a little treat with some of the birthday cash I had burning a hole in my wallet.

I ended up grabbing a pair of 2014 baseball boxes:

2014 Finest Baseball $89

2014 Chrome Baseball $58

As you can see... my wholesaler's prices are roughly the same as the major online dealers... although DA Cardworld and Steel City Collectibles are selling Finest in the $86 range this weekend.  Oh well... win some, lose some.

Let's see what I ended up pulling.  I decided to bust the box of Chrome first since it was cheaper.  And overall I was pretty happy with the purchase.

Let's kick things off with a card I was hoping to pull:

My craving for Chrome began last Saturday when a vendor at De Anza had a gorgeous Tanaka refractor for sale. I figured it was a long shot to pull the parallel, so I'm completely happy with the base version.

Next up...

I'll probably be ostracized from the cardboard community for saying this.  But I actually love the colored refractors in Chrome.  Although I can't say the same for the atomic refractors.

Up next is one of my favorite cards in the box:

This card looks awesome!  And although I can't confirm it... I think the All-Time Rookies inserts are one per case.

Finally let's wrap this box up with the two guaranteed autographs:

Or in my case... an autograph and a redemption card.  No... I'm not complaining.  I completely realize that the Abreu is worth more than all of the other cards combined.  Overall I'd say my 2014 Chrome box break was pretty solid.

I probably should have stopped while I was ahead.  Of course... I didn't.  Here are the highlights from my 2014 Finest box:

This is easily my favorite card in the box.  Ironically... I wasn't a fan of this subset back in the 90's.  But for some reason, this card really stood out among the crowd.

I also pulled three numbered refractors:

A pair of beautiful autographed rookie cards:

And a Springer base rookie card:

I was a little disappointed that I didn't pull the Tanaka or Abreu rookie cards, but that's the risk you take when you bust wax.  Which leads me to the title of today's post.

This hobby box purchase was sort of a blessing in disguise, because it reminded me why I typically stay away from box breaks.  I completely understand the entertainment factor that plays into tearing into packs.  When I was a kid, there are only a handful of things that could compete with sitting on my porch busting packs with my buddies.

But right now... I'm at a point where I'm okay with busting two or three hobby boxes a year.  Don't get me wrong.  I have zero regrets.  It was an entertaining thirty-plus minutes.  The only thing I'd do differently is probably wait until Black Friday when these boxes will probably be a fraction of the price.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!