However every now and then, I get the urge to rip open packs. Luckily my local Targets never have any Topps baseball blasters sitting on their shelves.
Well earlier in the month, I went up to Portland and found Stadium Club and Allen & Ginter blasters at my friend's local Target, so I grabbed two of each. Then the following week, I discovered Topps Chrome blasters in Las Vegas. I purchased three of them and when I got back to the Bay Area, I had myself a little blaster box busting session.
I didn't really have any expectations, but was hoping to pull some of the key rookies from this year's crop. And maybe... just maybe... I'd be lucky enough to walk away with an autograph or relic card.
Well folks... I beat the odds and ended up pulling three autographs, a memorabilia card, plus a few decent rookies, and a ton of inserts and parallels.
In an effort to save time, I've decided to narrow things down to my five favorite cards and a pair of honorable mentions from the break...
Honorable Mention #1
2018 Stadium Club #131
This is my obligatory Oakland Athletics card and it's a beauty. I actually don't mind that Topps cropped off Chapman's right arm.
Honorable Mention #2
2018 Allen & Ginter Indigenous Heroes Mini #MIH-21
Kudos to whoever came up with the idea for this set over at Topps. I've seen a few of these inserts on other blogs and have enjoyed every one of them. I kicked off my blaster box bonanza with Ginter and this was in the first pack I opened.
Okay, here's the cream of the crop...
Favorite Pull #5
2018 Allen & Ginter Framed Relic #MFR-BS
I don't make a habit of cheering for the San Francisco Giants, but there are a few guys I enjoy watching play. Buster Posey is one of them. This relic card completes my Sports Card Trifecta of him.
Favorite Pull #4
2018 Allen & Ginter World Talent #WT-26
From the moment I laid eyes on this insert set, I knew that I'd one day need to go out and buy the Ichiro for my collection. Now I don't have to. I totally beat the odds when I pulled this card.
Favorite Pulls #3
2018 Topps Chrome #150
2018 Allen & Ginter #100
Didn't pull a Stadium Club Ohtani, but I managed to pull one out of each of the other products. I can live with that.
Favorite Pull #2
2018 Topps Chrome Refractor #193
I was secretly hoping to pull an Ohtani refractor, but I'm not going to complain about this Acuna. I'm pretty sure this is my first card of him... and it's definitely a keeper.
Favorite Pull #1
2018 Stadium Club Autograph #SCA-GT
August has not been kind to Torres or the Yankees, but there's no way this card isn't #1 on my list. It's hands down the most valuable card I've ever pulled from a blaster. And as much as I'd like to see this card rise in value... I'm totally okay with seeing the New York Yankees struggle a little longer.
By the way, here are the other two hits I pulled:
2018 Topps Chrome Refractor Autograph #RAJD
2018 Topps Chrome Autograph #RABV
Seven boxes. Four hits. Maybe I should go to Portland and Vegas more often.
Anyways... I won't be keeping either of these autographs. The Davis is headed to Christopher (The Raz Card Blog) and the Valera will be going to my buddy Brady (St. Louis Cardinals' Cardboard).
I've also found a home for a lot of the inserts I pulled out of these blasters. I've spent the last week or so putting together care packages for fellow bloggers, which should go out on either Tuesday or Wednesday. Until then...
What's the coolest card you've pulled from a 2018 pack?
Happy Saturday and sayonara!
20 comments:
i haven't found anything like that torres, but i have found a few ohtanis in different products, and i did pull a jose berrios auto out of a gypsy queen pack this year.
Nice! That Torres card is a beauty!
Those are some killer pulls! I’m glad you got some big hits considering all the cash you spent on retail products. I haven’t seen any Chrome at my local Target yet, and I’ve had crappy luck with Stadium Club. But I did manage to pull some nice Jackie Robinson cards out of flagship, an Ohtani Opening Day RC, and a Justin Smoak auto out of Big League.
Torres! Wow! If I ever pulled a card like that. Best card I think I've ever pulled was a Griffey Jr. jersey relic but that was a couple of years ago. This year, in the stuff I've opened... I pulled cards others would be excited about... which honestly filled me with satisfaction.
I'm jealous of that Torres auto. I'd like to cash in all of the goodwill I've accumulated with you over the years for that lol (half serious, half joke).
I thought this was going to be about the A's potentially overtaking the Astros for the AL West this year. Shades of 2012!!!
You know, I hadn't thought about it until now, but I haven't pulled many major hits this year... Granted I haven't bought as much as some people. The best card I can remember is a mascot relic from Opening Day.
I have had the best of luck the last 2 Mondays busting blasters. 2 Ohtani autos! From 2 different Walmarts' in 2 different states, and 2 different products. The last one was numbered to 25 and was a mini A&G so that one would fit the biggest pull, I guess. I'm heading to Target this coming Monday to see if I have any luck there. I've never really gotten a hit from any Target though. Pretty lucky at Walmart though. I may hit up both this coming Monday.
Those are some great pulls. That Acuna Refractor is nice!
I pulled a camo Wade Miley, an Independance Day Nelson Cruz, and black relic parallel of Clayton Kershaw from Flagship this year, as well as the Ohtani rookie from Opening Day.
Ah man Fuji..that Gleyber is SLICK..i love it! Well as you know well i spend way too much on wax..my top card pulled was the Lonzo Ball Auto Patch Rookie i pulled out of national treasures..i doubt I'll ever pull a card that valuable again..but since i sold that..my 3 coolest cards i pulled that i kept are a Jeter Auto numbered to 15 and a Ichiro triple patch auto #1/1 both from a loaded Topps Tier Case..and an Ohtani Rated Rookie Auto numbered to 12 from Optic
I haven't opened some product this year and haven't had much luck recently in pulling hits from packs (be it retail or otherwise). While probably not the best things I've ever pulled, I did get a hit (Nathan Eovaldi auto) from a random Gypsy Queen pack stuffed in one of the 4-pack/50-card repack jobs from Target. A few years ago, I pulled a John Franco autograph from an Archives blaster I picked up on a whim during a trip to Walmart.
My favorite overall pulls ever though came out of the same pack of 2015 Heritage ... first was a Mike Trout action image variation card, then right behind it, was a Juan Marichal relic card numbered to 50.
I'm hoping I might get at least something from the Archives haul I got from Target the other night.
Got my first ever "hits" this year (I never pulled anything great when I was a kid either but my sister apparently pulled the 1990 Upper Deck Ben McDonald Orioles Logo error out of like the one pack of cards she opened ever and I only found it this summer when I found her mini binder of cards mixed in with mine). Hits is in scare quotes since they're all of the "only of interest to team collectors" type unlike that Gleyber pull.
Heritage hobby pack: Joey Gallo base relic.
Big League blasters: A Steven Souza Jr auto and a red 1/1 Stat Kings parallel.
As for "coolest" card this year I might have to go with the McCovey Cove Big League card.
You really made out on the blasters. Buy a lottery ticket for me!
I only bought two packs of 2018 baseball but I got an autograph in one of them. It was a Dodger so I sent it to some random Dodger fan. I've never pulled a big 'hit' and the best card I ever got was a signed Eric Davis a few years ago from Stadium Club. I was always a fan so that was nice to find.
I went and checked and it's too bad Charles Bender isn't included in that A&G subset. He sould be included in any conversation of Native American 'hero' athletes.
Nick that Ben McDonald card was the one that drove me out of collecting cards! I was completing Orioles team sets and that card was going for $75 or so at the time. I got disgusted and stopped collecting baseball cards for a very long time.
Nice pulls! I could not imagine myself going on a buying binge like that. I did get the Red Foil Frank Thomas ballpark card from Big League (did a triple take on that one...best card I ever pulled). That pack will make it's way to A Pack To Be Named Later eventually.
Oh dang, you beat the Vegas odds. Sweet Ichiro for sure. Congrats. To answer you question, I am going to go old school and sticking with my collecting roots. My favorite pulls have been the base set from the 2018 BBM Rikishi Set. Nice looking cards you snagged though.
I pulled Tyler Wade autos out of hobby Stadium Club and the one random Big League pack I tried.
But the absolute best one was my Acuna auto from SC. Sold for $107. I NEVER pull stuff like that. Didn't even spend the money on another box of SC...
I always pick up Chrome blasters and want to try them, but they're just so expensive I can never justify the value...only half the number of cards in anything else.
sorry if these comment replies seem brief, but I just spent 20 minutes replying and somehow everything i wrote vanished. i've got so much stuff on my plate with the new school year starting, i don't have the time to invest another 20 minutes
gcrl - when berrios is on, he's on. nice pull
john sharp - thank you sir!
chris - yeah... i don't like to think about spending $140 on blasters
peter - that blackburn you pulled was especially nice ;) thanks again
zippy - just wrapped up your package today. unfortunately the torres wasn't included. hope you like the other stuff though
shlabotnik - those mascot relics are very nice pulls
john miller - go out and buy a lottery ticket today! those pulls were insane
jeremya1um - that kershaw relic sounds sweet!
chris - i live vicariously through your box breaks
adam - best of luck on the archives blasters. i'm hoping to find some in my area
nick vossbrink - super jealous of that mcdonald. that card was red hot back in the day
commish - bender definitely should have been on the checklist
jafronius - looking forward to reading the post
sumomenkoman - the 2018 bbm rikishi set is beautful! possible set of the year
gca - congratulations on pulling and flipping the acuna.
I pull diddly from retail
Congrats on the Torres! I want it lol
sport card collectors - 99% of the time, i pull diddly myself.
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