30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Saturday, September 13, 2014

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!

13 comments:

Wrigley Wax said...

Re; All Time Rookie Reprints...I saw a tweet from Brent Williams that said in his 12 cases he got 12 All Time Rookie refractors...https://twitter.com/brentandbecca/status/504742096449048577

Man said...

Great pulls-Abreau has fallen off now but the sky is the limit for him. Love the Chrome cards this year as well as the Finest-the Finest this year is far cooler than last year-I am so looking forward to the Black Friday Sale. Though I doubt my wallet is.

arpsmith said...

Love that McCovey, bummed they are 1 per case as mine for my Stretch collection will probably be costly. That was a great Chome break, congrats!

Daniel Wilson said...

Chris Owings and Matt Davidson in the same box! Must be a D-Backs hot box! You're one lucky guy! Oh....and the Abreu is nice...I guess...if you like that sort of thing.

Kyle said...

Awesome cards! I'll be sending you an email about that Stroman - would love to add it to my collection! (If it's for trade, of course)

Play at the Plate said...

I'm interested in Finest Rangers. :)

Tony L. said...

Nice pulls from both boxes, Mark!

Zippy Zappy said...

Nice breaks. The Stroman is a pretty nice pull considering how he was a top prospect coming into the season.

BobWalkthePlank said...

That Chrome box was crazy good!

cynicalbuddha said...

Great googly moogly! Hopefully you get that Abreu. You didn't happen to pull any base Brewers out of that finest?

Eric Bracke said...

Great pulls. I especially love the Stroman. I saw him pitch a few times at Duke and USA Baseball. Great talent and a fun follow on Twitter.

Mark Hoyle said...

Great stuff Fuji

Unknown said...

I've actually never tried Finest before. I got a box....maybe two boxes of Chrome but didn't do that great on them. Maybe they don't send the "good" boxes to New York? Haha.