Three Packs of Archives and a Stadium Club Blaster

Well, after my last disaster with Archives, I thought I would give it another shot.  It is not as if I am in danger of pulling a bunch of Red Sox doubles.  I bought three fat packs, 18 cards apiece.  Maybe, just maybe I will pull a Fan Favorites autograph.  One of the few Red Sox autos I have ever pulled was from the 2004 Fan Favorites set: George Scott.

Here is the current wantlist:

2018 Topps Archives: Andrew Benintendi, Andrew Benintendi/Mookie Betts, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Wade Boggs, Jackie Bradley Jr., Roger Clemens, Bobby Doerr, Jimmie Foxx, Nomar Garciaparra, Dustin Pedroia, Chris Sale

2018 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs: Marty Barrett AU, Rafael Devers AU, Keith Foulke AU, Derek Lowe AU, Rico Petrocelli AU, Dave Roberts AU

2018 Topps Archives Coming Attractions: Rafael Devers

On to the break:

PACK 1:

Odubel Herrera (Phillies: 1)
Blake Snell (Rays: 1)
Andrew Miller (Indians: 1)
Andrew Benintendi (Red Sox: 1)
Julio Teheran (Braves: 1)
Andrew Stevenson (Nationals: 1)
Hal Newhouser (Tigers: 1)
Barry Larkin (Reds: 1)
Roger Clemens (Red Sox: 2)

Don Sutton (Dodgers: 1)
Enos Slaughter (Cardinals: 1)
Squints Sandlot (Other: 1)
Amed Rosario Coming Attraction (Mets: 1)
Elvis Andrus (Rangers: 1)
Corey Kluber (Indians: 2)
Dustin Pedroia (Red Sox: 3)
Sean Newcomb (Braves: 2)
Tomas Nido (Mets: 2)

That was a pretty good pack.  Three Red Sox cards out of 18 total is pretty impressive.

PACK 2:

Bernie Williams (Yankees: 1)
Warren Spahn (Braves: 3)
Justin Upton (Angels: 1)
Edwin Encarnacion (Indians: 3)
Christian Yelich (Brewers: 1)
Felipe Vazquez (Pirates: 1)
Chris Archer (Rays: 2)
Francisco Lindor (Indians: 4)
Mookie Betts (Red Sox: 4)

Chris Davis (Orioles: 1)
Teoscar Hernandez Silver (Blue Jays: 1)
Cal Ripken Jr. Topps Rookie History (Orioles: 2)
Dustin Fowler Coming Attraction (Athletics: 1)
Willie Stargell (Pirates: 2)
Mike Trout (Angels: 2)
Jose Ramirez (Indians: 5)
Starlin Castro (Marlins: 1)
Gregory Polanco (Pirates: 3)

One more Red Sox card.

PACK 3:

Bobby Doerr (Red Sox: 5)
Carlton Fisk (White Sox: 1)
Cal Ripken Jr. (Orioles: 3)
Albert Pujols (Angels: 3)
Adam Duvall (Reds: 2)
Jose Berrios (Twins: 1)
Josh Bell (Pirates: 4)
Tommy Pham (Cardinals: 2)
Teoscar Hernandez (Blue Jays: 2)

Carson Fulmer (White Sox: 2)
Buster Posey/Andrew McCutchen (Giants: 1)
Jack Flaherty Coming Attraction (Cardinals: 3)
John Smoltz (Braves: 4)
Nolan Ryan (Rangers: 2)
Ian Kinsler (Angels: 4)
Joey Votto (Reds: 3)
Cody Bellinger (Dodgers: 2)
Ervin Santana (Twins: 2)

And another one.  These packs worked out nicely.  Five Red Sox out of 48 total cards.  Plus, only one Yankee card.

I also decided to pick up a blaster of Stadium Club.  There are still several base cards I needed as well as a bunch of inserts.  One of the base cards I need is the Tzu-Wei Lin.  The Stadium Club blaster contains eight packs of five cards each.  Since Stadium Club is well-known for excellent photography, I will identify my favorite photo from each pack.

Here is that wantlist:

2018 Stadium Club: Xander Bogaerts, Wade Boggs, Tzu-Wei Lin, Chris Sale, Chris Sale VAR, Ted Williams

2018 Stadium Club Autographs: Tzu-Wei Lin AU

2018 Stadium Club Beam Team: Andrew Benintendi, Mookie Betts, Rafael Devers

2018 Stadium Club Instavision: Rafael Devers

2018 Stadium Club Never Compromise: Andrew Benintendi, Rafael Devers

2018 Stadium Club Power Zone: J.D. Martinez

PACK 1:

Greg Bird (Yankees: 2)
Jose Quintana (Cubs: 1)
Justin Smoak (Blue Jays: 3)
Orlando Arcia Black (Brewers: 2)
Willson Contreras (Cubs: 2)

FAVORITE: Well this one is pretty easy.  Despite the intriguing shots of Arcia and Smoak, Willson Contreras wins this hands down.  I love play at the plate shots.

PACK 2:

Johnny Bench (Reds: 4)
Mack McGwire (Athletics: 2)
J.T. Realmuto (Marlins: 2)
Josh Hader (Brewers: 3)
Bob Gibson (Cardinals: 4)

FAVORITE:  As much as I love the Bob Gibson card, this one has to go to Realmuto with one of the best play at the plate shots I have seen in awhile.

PACK 3:

Noah Syndergaard (Mets: 3)
Joey Gallo (Rangers: 3)
Chipper Jones Never Compromise (Braves: 5)
Marcell Ozuna (Cardinals: 5)
Andrelton Simmons (Angels: 5)

FAVORITE:  Gallo.  Easily.  I love that the shot includes the home run celebration in center field.

PACK 4:

Rickey Henderson (Yankees: 3)
Tim Beckham (Orioles: 4)
Aroldis Chapman (Yankees: 4)
Matt Kemp (Dodgers: 3)
Albert Pujols (Angels: 6)

FAVORITE:  Despite the fact that it is a Yankee, I kind of love this Rickey Henderson card.  Of course, you can't not love Rickey.  The Pujols is great too, but Rickey is the winner.

PACK 5:

Javier Baez (Cubs: 3)
Trevor Story (Rockies: 1)
Nolan Arenado Power Zone (Rockies: 2)
Zack Greinke (Diamondbacks: 2)
Dansby Swanson (Braves: 6)

FAVORITE:  This one is actually sort of tough because I love the Baez and the Greinke, but the Dansby Swanson is definitely special.

PACK 6:

Hunter Renfroe (Padres: 1)
Justin Upton (Angels: 7)
Jackson Stephens (Reds: 5)
Dustin Pedroia (Red Sox: 6)
Charlie Blackmon (Rockies: 3)

FAVORITE:  Unfortunately, the Pedroia is a double, but it is the winner for the goofy shot with the giant autographed glove.

PACK 7:

Dillon Maples (Cubs: 4)
Austin Hays (Orioles: 5)
Kris Bryant (Cubs: 5)
Aaron Judge Special Forces (Yankees: 5)
German Marquez (Rockies: 4)

FAVORITE:  Hays.  The others are rather conventional shots.

PACK 8:

Trevor Bauer (Indians: 6)
Andy Pettitte (Yankees: 6)
Ian Kinsler (Angels: 8)
Kenta Maeda (Dodgers: 4)
Dallas Kuechel (Astros: 1)

FAVORITE:  Keuchel.  Just a terrific angle that is not seen often.

Ugh.  I should have just stuck with the Archives packs.  Only one Red Sox card and it was a duplicate.  Some nice photos, but most of these cards will be gathering dust unless someone else wants them.

Well here is the updated breakdown for cards pulled by team:

NEW YORK YANKEES: 35
CHICAGO CUBS: 34
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 30
BOSTON RED SOX: 29
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 29
ATLANTA BRAVES: 23
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 23
SEATTLE MARINERS: 23
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS 23 (21 NATIONALS/2 EXPOS)
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 20
HOUSTON ASTROS: 20
CINCINNATI REDS: 19
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 19
TEXAS RANGERS: 19
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 18
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 18
COLORADO ROCKIES: 17
NEW YORK METS: 17
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 17
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 16
MINNESOTA TWINS: 15
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 15
DETROIT TIGERS: 14
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 14
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 14
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 11
MIAMI MARLINS: 10
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 7
OTHER: 6
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 5
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 5

Well, the Yankees finally took over the top spot.  I have no illusions that that will not last.  The Red Sox have rebounded nicely after a rough break from the last post.  Seriously, what is the deal with the Padres and Diamondbacks?