Random Wax: 2019 Topps Opening Day

2019 Opening Day:  Picked up this pack as part of a recent Blowoutcards purchase.  Ronald Acuna Jr. is injured again this year which hasn't helped the Braves' offense that has struggled all season.  Can't wait to get him back on the field next year.

I'm a fan of Opening Day and I miss it.  I know it's simplistic and a faux copy of the flagship set but still there was something about it I really enjoy.

Andujar didn't work out in New York but is having a good season for the A's.  Hudson had some good seasons in St. Louis before cooling off and ending up in Colorado.  Torres is struggling this season but has been solid for the Yankees.

150 Years of Fun inserts are just that - fun.  And getting to see Gary Carter in action is always great.

Evan Longoria's 16-year career yielded 1900+ hits and 342 homeruns.  He was Rookie of the Year as well as a 3X All-Star and Gold Glove award winner.

Nice shot where you see all three watching the ball take off.

Andrelton Simmons was an excellent defender.  Billy Hamilton was a speedster and favorite of mine.  He never could figure out the hitting thing but he was still exciting.

Opening Day inserts are nice and appropriate.

We'll finish it off with more Atlanta Braves.  Another former Braves shortstop, every fan liked Dansby Swanson.  And then you have the GOAT, Hank Aaron.  I never get bored looking at his stats.  That man could hit like nobody's business and, combined with the power he brought to the plate it's so easy to appreciate his career. 

BREAKDOWN:

24 – Total Cards

3 – Topps All-Star Rookie Cup

2 - RC

2 – 150 Years of Fun 

1 – Opening Day

Random Wax: 2019 Tops Opening Day Blaster

 2019 Topps Opening Day:  I've lost the breakdown for this one but I think it was one of a few very random 2019 blasters I randomly found in 2020.  I'm an Opening Day guy so there was no way I was going to pass these up. 

Looking back on these is so much fun.  Even better when the stars from 2019 still hold up today.  Freeman just reached 250 home runs for his career.  deGrom has started crazy good this year and Matt Olson is having a really good year so far as well.

Mascots are always fun and the 150 Years of Fun are fun inserts as well.  And pulling Ichiro cards is always fun.  I'll stop saying fun now...

Lindor is struggling in New York but he is still having fun cashing the mongo paychecks he is getting from the Mets.

More Acuna more better.  Torres is trying to get back to his 2019 self, and stats, while Hudson has had a good career as a Cardinal starter.  

Photos like this are always cool.  Not the standard photos we get used to.  

Plenty of star power in this box.  Always a good thing.  

We'll end it right here with this great photo.  That's a great way to celebrate..  I really like these cards and this box.  

 

Random Wax: 2019 Opening Day Blaster

 2019 Topps Opening Day:  So two of these blasters randomly showed up on my Wal-Mart shelves a few months ago.  Literally one showed up one week and the other the next just out of the blue.  I'm a big Opening Day so I wasn't about to turn either of them down.  This one gave me my first Acuna from the set which was a nice surprise.  Gotta love the fun he brings to the game.  And lots of great stats for the Braves.

This set offers plenty of opportunities for stars with it's smaller size. The 2019 design is one I like but I'll admit it had to grow on me some.  And the Opening Day logo makes all designs look better.  

Love this photo.

Plenty of fun inserts in this set always help make it a set I look forward to. 

I always enjoy Opening Day and this blaster was no different. Good players and good cards.  I'll show off that other blaster at a later time.  And I pulled a Trout!  Not my first of this particular card but it's always fun when you grab him.

BREAKDOWN:

77 – Total Cards

5 – RC

5 – 150 Years of Fun

4 – All-Star Rookie

3 – Mascot

2 – Opening Day

1 – Blue Foil OD Parallel

1 – Team Traditions and Celebrations

Random Wax: 2019 Topps Opening Day

A little baseball in honor of the Red Sox winning their first series of the year.  I still have a 2004 Red Sox World Series Championship t-shirt and hat.  I also had a hoodie with the design Pedro is wearing.  That championship was so special.  To the cards - these 2019 Topps Opening Day still keep on delivering for me.  I love this Pedro Martinez card.  He was so fun to watch and a character off the field - in a good way.  Great way to start this off.

    Some Red Sox mascot fun!

Those 150 Years of Fun inserts are great though the "fun" part is lost in some of the photos.

I was happy with my pull.  Plenty of fun cards and stars to keep me happy.

Great card and photo!

BREAKDOWN:

24 – Total Cards

4 – RC

2 – 150 Years of Fun

1 – Mascot

2019 Topps Opening Day Hobby Box Post #2

Today I'm just showing off more of the 2019 Topps Opening Day hobby box I first looked at yesterday.  This Yoan Moncada card is great.  The throwback uni with the helmet coming off makes for a great shot.  On to more Opening Day goodness...

Dee Hamilton in his new Royals uni.  I love speed and he epitomizes speed.  Gotta have Mike Trout in here somewhere and he is a good focus for a 150 Years of Fun card.  For some reason I didn't show off a mascot card yesterday so here is Sluggerrr in Kansas City.

Plenty of retired greats here in 150 Years of Fun.

A nice photo of Dee Gordon getting out of the box and a different take on the Opening Day insert.

Edwin Encarnacion also in his new uni.  I like the photo and the shoes of Shin-Soo Choo.  I'm hoping Clayton Kershaw can stay healthy this year.  He's been so great and I'd hate to see his career get derailed by injuries.

Lots of Royals love today for some reason. 

The Wizard and a great shot of Javier Baez not only playing good D (I want to think so anyway) but Baez also looking cool doing it!

A couple of the the Braves' great young players.  Both are nice cards and can't wait to see what they'll do this year.

2019 Topps Opening Day Hobby Box w/Auto Post #1

I picked up a 2019 Topps Opening Day Hobby Box so today seemed like the perfect day to look at these cards.  The Opening Day brand isn't for everyone but it is for me and this is the second year in row in which I've picked up a hobby box.  I like the small checklist, fun inserts and the logo.  This is a great photo of Khris Davis and a good way to kick this off. 

Along with the requisite stars you get a first look of some of the players who changed teams in their new uniforms like this Paul Goldschmidt card.  There are also base photo variations for 30 cards but I did not pull any. 

 These three are cards I didn't pull in my flagship hobby box in February.  That's a great Benintendi photo and I also like the Rizzo shot.

 The younger players are of course a good part of this set and my box delivered on some of the big, if not biggest names of up and coming players.

Some more great photos.  Thor with all that hair is probably always a good picture.  Great leaping catch by Kevin Pillar.  Not sure what happened in this photo but I like the expression on Matt Carpenter's face.

Two of the inserts included Team Traditions and Celebrations as well as Opening Day cards like this one featuring a come from behind win for Atlanta last year in their first game.  That Bobble Head museum is pretty cool.

The 150 Years of Fun inserts highlight different aspects of players being able to enjoy the sport or even how they enjoy time away from the sport.  And who's more fun than David Ortiz?  These inserts were also the source for all the retired greats I pulled.  There were three insert sets, Rally Time!, Sock it to Me!, and Dugout Peeks, that I didn't pull any of.  That's pretty disappointing to think that out of 36 packs I couldn't pull at least one of each.

Two more players I didn't manage to grab in February.  That's a nice Arenado photo as is the Greinke photo.  I will say it seems like we get this same photo angle on a lot of Greinke's cards.

I pulled a Kyle Freeland auto.  He had a great year for the Rockies last year and I was excited to grab his autograph.  I'm happy with my box and pull overall.  Good looking cards and inserts.  I'll post again tomorrow showing off more of the cards.  

BREAKDOWN:

252 – Total Cards

18 – 150 Years of Fun

18 – RC

9 - Mascot

8 – Topps All-Star Rookie

6 – Opening Day

3 – Team Traditions & Celebrations

1 – RC and Topps All-Star Rookie

1 – Opening Day Autographs