Carl Yastrzemski 1997 Donruss Significant Signatures Autograph

1997 Donruss Signature Significant Signatures:  There have been players who have passed away and I thought why didn't I grab an autograph while they were still alive.  A weird thought I know but that got me to chasing a Yaz auto.  He's my favorite Red Sox player and #2 overall of my favorite players.  Trying to choose one auto amongst all his was tough but my budget helped narrow it down and I decided on this one.  I like the photo and look of the card.  I didn't want just any auto.  Had to be a card I liked visually.  The cards in this subset aren't that expensive but the Yaz auto trended higher than the others so I settled in and figured patience would be my best option.  I grabbed this one at $55 ($65 w/shipping and taxes) which made me very happy.  It was exciting and tough at the same time to wait this out but I'm very happy. Happy Friday!

2021 Playoff Football

2021 Playoff Football:  The NFL draft starts tonight so what better way than to show off some football cards.  Found this 2021 Playoff in February but wanted to show it off today with the draft kicking off.  Cause what are all the teams trying to do?  Reach the playoffs?  The Rams nailed that with a Super Bowl win after picking up Matthew Stafford last year.  Love the former Georgia Bulldog and really happy for him.  It also got him a nice contract in the off season so things are good for Stafford right now.

You know what you get with Playoff football - a simple but good design.  This year is no different.  I like the design which has some "layers" to it which are subtle but nice.  The pull in this first pack was great.  Always a nice way to start off new cards.

I like the RC cards.  The muted backgrounds set them apart and the player "action" photos are good.

Retired greats!  You know I love retired greats and this set has plenty. 

Shiny card thing going on with these Behind the Numbers cards. Not a bad look. A few more inserts might help the set some.  They don't have to go overboard but I basically got two inserts and a few parallels out of 40 cards. 

The backs are fine.  I'd like more stats but outside of Topps cards we'll never get more than the last season and totals lines anymore.  The packs of these have 40 cards each which is really nice.  I don't feel quite as "fleeced" as I do with some other sets.  

I'm really digging this set.  It helps that I pulled so many stars of the league but I'm enjoying the design as well. Hope your team does well in the draft.  We all have hope starting tonight.  

BREAKDOWN:

40 – Total Cards

6 – RC

5 – Retired Greats

3 – Kickoff Parallel

1 – Call to Arms

1 – Behind the Numbers

2021 Topps WWE Women's Division Hobby Box with Auto

2021 Women's Division:  First pack in and I pull this beauty.  I love Alexa Bliss so this is a great pull.  Normally with an pull like this I'd start checking eBay but how do I sell this?  This 5th Anniversary Championship Autograph Green #/50 is a great way to kick off this box.

This set is always fun.  Lots of great photos and the ladies of wrestling are lots of fun.  I always caveat these with I don't pay near enough attention to wrestling but I still love the cards.  This year's design is a good one.  Simple but it works.

Plenty of horizontal offerings in this set.  The set is highlights broken up amongst the different WWE platforms and events.  

The WWE lends itself to great photos with the showmanship the wrestlers give every time.

The roster cards give us good looks of the ladies though not in action.  Though in wrestling I think since they are always performing, they are always in action.

One of the knocks on these cards are the full bleed photos which is also what makes them so nice.  It would help if the stock wasn't so thin.  Too easy to have issues on the corners.  I really like this photo.

I like that they have the dates on the fronts.  This set was delayed mightily.  I happened to order it with another product delayed just as long and then cancelled last week so I was finally able to receive my box.

Really glad Topps breaks out the Women's Division into their own set or some of these gals may not get much if any time on wax.  I hope Panini keeps does something similar now that they have the license.

Two of the Diamond Cuts (diecuts) inserts as well as my Mat Relic which is a pink parallel #/150.

Another good shot and we get to see the fans "in the stand" as it was in 2020.  The NBA was also able to do something similar with fans "zoomed" in or whatever the technology was they used.

Not that you can tell but these are holofoil parallels.

These are all good shots for different reasons.

This brand is so much fun.  The ladies of wrestling are so good and entertaining and I think it is something that translates well to cards.  I'll show off more of these card in another post later this year.

BREAKDOWN: 
168 – Total Cards
48 – Roster 
12 – Rainbow Foil
3 – Diamond Cuts
1 – Authentic Mat Relic Pink Parallel #/150
1 - 5th Anniversary Championship Autograph Green #/50

2022 Donruss NASCAR Hobby Box with 2 Autos

2022 Donruss NASCAR:  The NASCAR boys and girls are at Talladega this weekend so let's turn left with my hobby box I received this week.  We'll kick it off with this Action Packed Kyle Larson who is the reigning NASCAR champ.

No secret I'm not a fan of this year's Donruss design but with NASCAR that isn't an issue.  I say it all the time but the variety makes this release a winner each time.

This Retro '81 design is another design I don't care for but no reason to get stuck on that.  I do like the large car numbers on the front of these.  So there is a positive.  Plenty of other cards to get to.  Zane Smith is my favorite truck series driver and that card is a silver parallel.

Forty-four of the 192 cards are retired greats which is awesome.  Rusty is my all-time favorite driver.  Jeff Gordon returned to cardboard last year which is a win for collectors and fans.  I can't say I remember him with that hair though but I'm digging it.

This Hailie Deegan Under the Lights holographic parallel is #/199.  Deegan hasn't seen any success this year but she's gotten caught up in some messes that weren't her doing.

You'll find Rated Rookies here like in the other sports.  Couldn't not show of Carson Hocevar and that hat.

Plenty of inserts to go around.  I like all of these. Victory Laps is my favorite but Elite Series and Contenders are good looking cards too.

Car shots are always good as this is how we see these guys 90% of the time.

Always a Race Kings fan and I do like the design this year though it really doesn't have that classic "Kings" vibe.

The Action Packed are cool looking cards. Another win as far as I'm concerned.  Sweet 16 inserts which allude to the 16 playoff drivers is another good looking insert.  Inserts overall are good this year.  

Not one but two autos in this box to beat the odds!  Already threw that Hocevar up on eBay which will work out well.  I don't think I've ever had a hobby box over deliver.

A couple of relics.  I'm a Danica fan so I'm pretty happy with my pull.

You get plenty of Optics so shiny card lovers will be happy.

Championship Drive inserts are good looking cards.  It's nice when you like all the inserts.  I wouldn't mind some cards that are specific to each track.  Might be hard to do that and still get a good car shot in it but I'm sure someone smart could figure it out.

Some of the parallels.  Silver, blue (#/199), red (#/299), and purple (#/49).  I really enjoyed this box.  They do this brand right.  Good inserts, lots of variety and plenty of numbered cards.  Seems like I say that every year. 

BREAKDOWN:

192 – Total Cards

44 – Retired Greats

26 – Optic

19 – Race Kings

12 – Rated Rookie

8 – Cars

8 – Silver Parallel

5 – Under the Lights

5 – Red Parallel #/299

4 - Elite

4 – Round of 16

4 – Action Packed

4 – Blue Parallel #/199

2 - Contenders

2 – Victory Laps

2 – Green Parallel #/99

2 – Championship Drive

1 – Base Optic Auto

1 – Race Day Relic

1 – Retro 1981 Relic

1 – Purple Parallel #/49

1 – Holographic Parallel #/199

1 – Signature Series Auto Red Parallel #25

2022 Topps Baseball Blaster

2022 Topps Baseball:  This is surprisingly my first post about Topps flagship.  It's been a busy two or three months.  It hurt when this guy left the Braves but couldn't be more grateful for what he brought to the team.

I do like the design this year.  I also like the larger font.  They heard the fans.  The photos also seem to better.  Maybe I just like the design, so the photos seem to follow.

About a fourth of the cards are dedicated to young players.

I really like these Stars of MLB inserts.  They have a nice look to them in hand.

Team cards are fun.  You get another chance to see the stars and the backs have stats for last season.

More youngsters.

Still haven't figured out what to do with the Wander Franco card.  I do like the 1987 35th Anniversary cards as well.  Didn't care for them back in the day but they work a little better on new cardboard.  Welcome to the Show are nice cards.

That Amburgey is a rainbow foil.  My relic is a player number medallion relic.  Home Field Advantage are good cards.  I'd like to see more to know exactly what I think.

League Leaders cards are always a good thing.

I feel like there are lots of good photos.  These are a few that stood out.

A nice Generation Now insert.  Robert had a really good season last year but was only able to play 68 games.

I like this year's design and this was a good box.  Nice to be looking forward to picking up more.  I purchased plenty last year but just wasn't a big fan.

Back of the Astros team card.  I nice recap of the year but it must have been submitted right after the season since there's no mention of the World Series.  That the Braves won...

BREAKDOWN:
99 – Total Cards
15 – RC
7 – Team Cards
7 – Stars of the Game
2 – Future Stars
2 - 1987 Topps Baseball 35th Anniversary
1 - Checklist
1 – Now Generation
1 – All-Star Rookie
1 – League Leaders
1 – Rainbow Foil Parallel
1 – Home Run Challenge
1 – Welcome to the Show
1 – Home Field Advantage
1 – Player Number Medallion Relic