Opening Day and Heritage Pack Breaks

I was bored the other day and was itching to open up some packs.  I am still looking for Donruss.  For some reason the Walmart near me does not seem to be getting it in.  That's unfortunate.  If anyone has any versions of the Brock Holt Highlights card, I really want that one.

Well onto the breaks.  First up was two jumbo packs of Opening Day.  Those resulted in three Red Sox cards, including two parallels:

Now, I am not a big collector of the mascot cards or ballpark cards.  I keep them in my collection when I get them, but I do not go out of my way to get them.  Porcello was the only base card I received.  I really like this Pedro Martinez insert showing him hoisting the 2004 World Championship trophy.

Up next was a hanger pack of Heritage:

Once again, three (actually four but one was a double) Red Sox cards.  It included this cool insert of Yaz and Mookie Betts.  It also included a World Series Highlight card of Steve Pearce and a League Leaders card with J.D. Martinez on it.

The highlight of the day though was this:

I have been pretty lucky with packs this year.  This is the third auto or relic I have pulled and I really have not been buying much.  And they have all been pretty good too.  An Albert Pujols relic, the Bud Selig rare auto that I recently traded, and now this.  Once again, I am holding out for something decent for my Red Sox collection, but it is available.

Here is the team-by-team breakdown from the breaks:

BOSTON RED SOX: 7
ATLANTA BRAVES: 6
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 5
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 5
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 4
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 4
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 4
NEW YORK METS: 4
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 4
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 3
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 3
HOUSTON ASTROS: 3
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 3
MIAMI MARLINS: 3
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 3
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 3
TEXAS RANGERS: 3
WASHINGTON NATIONALS: 3
CHICAGO CUBS: 2
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 2
MINNESOTA TWINS: 2
NEW YORK YANKEES: 2
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 2
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 2
CINCINNATI REDS: 1
DETROIT TIGERS: 1
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 1
SEATTLE MARINERS: 1
COLORADO ROCKIES: 0
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 0

The Red Sox came out on top for the second time in a row.  That is nice to see after having so many struggles with Topps Series 1.

Here is the updated team-by-team breakdown for the year:
ATLANTA BRAVES: 28
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 24
BOSTON RED SOX: 22
NEW YORK YANKEES: 20
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 20
CHICAGO CUBS: 19
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 19
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 18
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 18
HOUSTON ASTROS: 17
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 17 (16 Nationals/1 Expo)
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 16
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 16
SEATTLE MARINERS: 15
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 15
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 15
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 14
NEW YORK METS: 14
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 14
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 14
TEXAS RANGERS: 14
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 12
MINNESOTA TWINS: 12
DETROIT TIGERS: 11
COLORADO ROCKIES: 10
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 10
CINCINNATI REDS: 9
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 9
MIAMI MARLINS: 8

SAN DIEGO PADRES: 7

With two straight strong showings, the Red Sox have vaulted their way into third place.  The Braves are just insane this year.  The Padres will likely make up ground once Manny Machado cards find their way into packs.  I always seem to pull a bunch of cards of him.  

And Here it Is

As promised, this is the monster.  I traded my Bud Selig autograph I pulled from Heritage awhile ago for all of the cards yesterday and this one.  This is an amazing autographed patch card of David Price, who I still think should have been the World Series MVP last season.  Price made me a huge fan with his postseason performance.  I love this card.

A Monster at the End

Here we have Part 1 of a two-part trade.  The monster is coming in Part 2 tomorrow.  Part 1 is a whole bunch of wantlist hits, including a bunch of prospects, at least some of whom may never end up playing for the Red Sox.

Here is the first scan:

Of particular note in this scan is three of the Red Sox' top five prospects.  I expect Michael Chavis to be called up to Boston at some point during the season.  Bobby Dalbec is probably another year away with the possibility of getting the call late in the season.  Jay Groome needs to start showing some results after being a potential #1 overall pick a few years back.

Here we have a number of pitching prospects who could make appearances in Boston at some point during the season, including Darwinzon Hernandez, Tanner Houck, Durbin Feltman, Bryan Mata and Mike Shawaryn.  Triston Casas was Boston's first-round pick last year.

And here we have Josh Ockimey and some other prospects.  We also have a Hall of Famer and a couple of current stars.

And here is the last scan for now.  Just wait until tomorrow...

Throwback to 1954

Just a one-card post today.  This is a trade I did on the forums recently:

This is one of those Throwback Thursday cards.  It is always nice to find someone trading these because you have to buy them from Topps in sets of five and they cost $20 each.  This is a 1954 Topps design with hopeful 2019 breakout Rafael Devers. 

Topps Now Postseason Auto

I have done four autograph team sets for Topps Now.  The first two times, I received Chris Sale autos, which I am happy about, but I would have liked someone else the second time through.  Then I got a Brock Holt auto from the World Championship set.  This set had three auto possibilities: Sale, Andrew Benintendi and David Price.  Honestly, I wanted Price. 

And I got...

Yep, my first David Price auto.  Though not my last.  Wait until you see something coming in the next few days.  I am thrilled with this card.  Price was electrifying later in the postseason last year.  I hope he keeps it up this season.

Finally

I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to get this.  I placed an order for the autograph version of the Red Sox postseason Topps Now set back in early October.  I got the World Championship set back in like December, but still had not received this one until last week.  So here is the basic set, and I will get to the autograph card tomorrow:

No real huge surprises with the player selection there.  Brock Holt and Ian Kinsler are mildly surprising, though I am thrilled both were there.  Kinsler will go down as a one-year wonder and Holt is a big fan favorite.

And here are the rest.  I am a little surprised at Nunez being there.  I feel it may have made a little more sense to get a bullpen guy or two in the set.  Someone like Matt Barnes, or even better, Ryan Brasier would have been welcome additions.  I'm just glad the set finally arrived.

Zippy-Zapped from the Land of the Rising Sun

In the midst of the big flooding I received a package from the great Kenny, the Zippy-Zapper himself.  This one was full of a bunch of new stuff for me, including a few wantlist hits.  Just a terrific package.

The first three cards include a failed prospect in Lars Anderson (who has remained in the public eye with some truly funny musings on baseball for various sites), a refractor of Adrian Gonzalez, and a minor league card of an even bigger bust in Kolbrin Vitek, one of the worst first-round picks Boston has made in a long time.  The rest of the cards are the truly interesting part of the package.  You might notice the colors seem just a little bit off.  I did, and came across quite the shock after turning them over.  This is the back of the Pedro card:

Yes, all of the rest of the cards, and the first three in the next scan, are Topps cards from Japan.  Specifically listed as Kanebo cards.  I think these are my first Kanebo cards in my Red Sox collection.  That is what makes the Zippy Zappings so great is finding stuff like that in them that can only be found in Japan.

Here are the rest of the cards.  Among the highlights are minor league cards of Xander Bogaerts, Travis Shaw (who has turned into a nice player for the Brewers), Will Middlebrooks and Anthony Ranaudo.  And then there is Henry Owens who has washed out as well.

Thanks a lot for the package Kenny!

Time to Catch Up

In the last few weeks, I have had a three-day trial, argued in front of the Nebraska Court of Appeals, drafted my fantasy team, and then escaped the flooding that has affected the entire Northeastern corner of Nebraska.  Yes, I'm safe, and so are my cards.  And so now, it is time to play catch-up again.  Here is a package I received earlier in the week.

This was the main card in the package and the only one I expected:

This is card #99 in my Tzu-Wei Lin collection.  This is the Gold version of the Legacy of Baseball autograph set that is still the only card he has in 2019.  I was hoping he was going to be in Heritage, but that did not work out.  I figured he would not be in Donruss, which I still need to find.

Then there were a bunch of extra Bowman's Best singles from last year and lo and behold two of them were Red Sox.  Since I did not have any of the Bowman's Best cards from last year, that's two new Red Sox cards.  Awesome.

We have Andrew Benintendi, who I still have issues recognizing without his long hair, and J.D. Martinez.  So two good ones.  I will have a few more posts coming up very soon.

2019 Heritage Blaster

I was looking forward to new releases.  Pulling Red Sox out of Topps Series 1 was like pulling teeth.  I do not really know why.  So I got frustrated after a little while and decided to stop buying.  So when Heritage dropped, I decided to jump on it.  I was a little disappointed by the checklist.  Heritage has usually been my go-to set for good player collection.  This year it seems a little too into the stars on the team.  The only non-stars on the checklist are Mitch Moreland, Brock Holt, Christian Vazquez, Steven Wright, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Steve Pearce.  No Sandy Leon.  No Matt Barnes.  No Ryan Brasier.  No Nathan Eovaldi.  And perhaps most importantly, no Tzu-Wei Lin.

Well, this break worked out pretty well for the Red Sox.  Here is the new damage:

Well it certainly helps that there were a bunch of World Series and postseason highlights cards.  I pulled three Red Sox that way.  I also pulled a base Mookie, an insert Mookie, and the short-printed Xander Bogaerts.  Not too shabby. 

Here is the tradebait:

A Chrome Refractor of new Phillie Jean Segura, a couple of short-prints, a cloth Kershaw, and a Nolan Ryan insert.

Then there was this:

Yep, a Bud Selig autograph.  I don't know if anyone has interest in it, but I am definitely willing to move it for a Red Sox auto.  It is apparently pretty rare though, so come strong.

Here is the breakdown by team for pulls:
BOSTON RED SOX: 6
ATLANTA BRAVES: 4
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 4
NEW YORK YANKEES: 4
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 4
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 4
WASHINGTON NATIONALS: 4
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 3
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 3
NEW YORK METS: 3
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 3
SEATTLE MARINERS: 3
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 3
TEXAS RANGERS: 3
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 3
CHICAGO CUBS: 2
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 2
CINCINNATI REDS: 2
COLORADO ROCKIES: 2
HOUSTON ASTROS: 2
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 2
MINNESOTA TWINS: 2
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 1
DETROIT TIGERS: 1
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 1
MIAMI MARLINS: 1
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 1
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 1
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 0
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 0

So, Boston wins this time.  Like I said, the postseason highlights definitely helped.  Here is the updated yearly totals:

ATLANTA BRAVES: 22
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: 20
NEW YORK YANKEES: 18
CHICAGO CUBS: 17
CLEVELAND INDIANS: 16
BOSTON RED SOX: 15
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: 14
HOUSTON ASTROS: 14
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: 14
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: 14
SEATTLE MARINERS: 14
WASHINGTON NATIONALS/MONTREAL EXPOS: 14 (13 Nationals/1 Expo)
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 13
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: 13
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: 13
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: 12
TAMPA BAY RAYS: 12
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: 11
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: 11
TEXAS RANGERS: 11
COLORADO ROCKIES: 10
DETROIT TIGERS: 10
MINNESOTA TWINS: 10
NEW YORK METS: 10
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: 9
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: 8
CINCINNATI REDS: 8
SAN DIEGO PADRES: 7
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: 6
MIAMI MARLINS: 5

The Red Sox move up quite a bit but are still well behind the leading team, which is oddly the Braves right now.

Trade With a Dodgers Fan

I have not been posting lately.  I apologize.  Things have been busy at work.  Working on a trial right now and going to be arguing in front of the state Court of Appeals in less than two weeks.  I have not been buying a lot of cards lately either and even fewer trades.  It has been a bit frustrating.  So that is why it came as such a nice surprise when Jason contacted me to set up a trade.  Jason is a Dodgers fan and is getting back into collecting after several years' absence.  As such it was fairly easy to hook him up with some Dodgers cards and he had a few of my 2019 Red Sox wantlist needs.

Here is what he sent:

Here we have a nice assortment of stuff, including a few inserts.  I love the 150 Years inserts.  This one celebrates Pedro Martinez's 2000 season.  It is nice to be able to say that I got to experience that season unfolding.  He truly was a marvel.  I like the 150 Years stamped cards too.  David Price is a player that I intend to pick up more cards of this year.  I was blown away by his postseason performance.  I hope he keeps it up.

And here is the rest of the stuff.  These are several base cards that I needed to complete my base team set.  I still have a few more out there to get, but Jason certainly helped where buying packs was simply not working out for me any more.  We have another nice World Series highlight card from new fan favorite Steve Pearce as well as base cards from Bogaerts, Moreland and Devers.

Thanks a ton for the trade, Jason!  Hope to deal with you again.