February 2019 Affordable Break @ Cardboard Collections

Colbey over at Cardboard Collections did another of his great affordable breaks on Saturday night.  This month's boxes included 1995 Sportflix, 1995 Summit, and 1995 Zenith baseball. He broke the three boxes live via Twitter but has also done them live on Facebook in the past.  I purchased two teams - Boston and Oakland.  Everyone who bought in received a random second team and mine were Milwaukee and Texas though I traded Texas for the Angels. In this post I'll show off the highlights of the cards I received from each team. I'll start with this great looking Summit Nth Degree card of Ruben Sierra.  This card is great in hand.  Seeing it pulled on video I didn't quite get it but I do now.  Great card stock and a sweet look.  This is one of two A's Nth Degree cards I received. 

    These Summit card are on a nice card stock and are my favorite of the three sets.  That's a nice Eckersley that'll go into the personal collection (PC).  So will Rickey but the closed eyes isn't a good look.

  These Sportflix actually scanned better than I expected.  You can almost see the different poses.  All three of these beauties will go into the PC. 

The Zenith are a bit different and you can see what they were going for even if it wasn't the norm for the day.

I always liked Mo Vaughn and I think he is a well liked Red Sox among fans.  Jose Canseco of course was always entertaining if not a head case.  And The Rocket...could have been so much more.  <sad face>

Mike Greenwell was such a good hitter (.303 for his career) and played his entire career in Boston which lasted 12 seasons.

I think all three of these are great photos of the guys in action.

I was so glad I traded for the Angels.  They are usually scooped up by another blogger so I didn't even think about them as an option.  Chili and Tim are PC guys as is Bo though I didn't pull his Summit card.

1994 was Bo's final season in the majors and his only season with the Halos.  He batted .279 with 13 homers and 43 RBIs in 75 games.

J.T. Snow was another good hitter from the era and that is a great photo.  The Garret Anderson rookie is very nice and he had a good career.  Mark Langson and Chuck Finley are also PC guys from this Angels team though I only grabbed a couple Finleys.  

A couple of highlights from the Brewers cards I received.  Colbey threw in some extra packs for the fun of it hence the '87 Topps.  This break was a lot of fun and I'm very happy with the cards I pulled.  I highly encourage everyone to check out Cardboard Collections and his fun breaks.

BREAKDOWN:

71 – Total Cards
22 – 1995 Pinnacle Sport Flix (7 Angels, 6 Bosox, 6 A’s, 3 Brewers)
  -- 2 – Rookie

23 – 1995 Pinacle Summit (8 BoSox, 7 A’s, 5 Angels, 3 Brewers)
  -- 2 – Rookie
  -- 2 – Nth Degree Parallel
  -- 1 – Bat Speed
  -- 1 – Special Delivery

19 – 1995 Pinnacle Zenith (6 BoSox, 5 A’s, 5 Angels, 1 Brewers)
  -- 2 – Rookie
  -- 2 - Checklist

6 – 1987 Topps (3 Brewers, 1 A’s, 1 Angels, 1 BoSox)

1 – 1988 Donruss
  -- 1 Diamond King (Mark McGwire)

Wal-Mart Combo: 2018 Topps Series 1

My last of my Wal-Mart Combo posts shows off the  five 2018 Topps Series 1 packs I received.  A strong design highlighted by great photos make these some nice cards.  My pull was good but again the stars here for me are the photos.  Overall the Wal-Mart combo was a win.  I thought I did great for $20 - 50 packs of cards totaling 352 cards.  I pulled plenty of fun cards and there were a few surprises along the way with the 2015 Topps Archives being my favorite packs.  I'll keep an eye out for more deals like this..  You can see all the posts for the combo here.  

Wal-Mart Combo: 2016 Topps Series 1

There were 5 packs of the 2016 Topps as part of my Wal-Mart Combo purchased last month.  Topps did well with this design.  These packs offered plenty of fun and star power.  Great adding a Big Papi card to the collection.  I also thought the photos were strong on these cards.  All of the Wal-Mart combo cards I've posted so far can be found here.  

 BREAKDOWN:

25 – Total Cards
2 – Checklists
1 – Team Card
1 – RC
1 – Future Stars

Wal-Mart Combo: 2017 Topps Series 1, Series 2 and Update Series

More cards from the Wal-Mart Combo I purchased last month.  This post we'll look at the 2017 Topps Series 1, Series 2 and Update cards I received.  There were five packs of each series.  My series 1 cards were pretty good highlighted by Red Sox all-time great Dustin Pedroia in a nice looking card.  There were other stars as well including Albert Pujols, Kris Bryant and Dallas Kuechel. The 2017 Topps is a design I like.  These series 1 packs didn't wow me but they were still fun.

   

The Topps Series 2 cards offered up personal favorite Yadier Molina.  I also pulled World Series Champion David Price as well as current, and what feels like forever, free agent Manny Machado.  This series puts a focus on younger players in their first years so I was happy with my pull of some of the big stars of the league.  

The Update series always give me some all-star game cards.  I'm an all-star game guy so these are always fun for me.  George Springer.  He and the Houston Astros of course would go in to win their first World Series.  That team is still young and stocked so they should contend for years to come.  Are the Blue Jays dabbing?  Or something else this old man doesn't get?  Still a fun card.  Overall I enjoyed the 2017 packs but I can't say they blew me away.  All the Wal-Mart combos I've put up so far can be seen here.  

  BREAKDOWN:
2017 Topps Series 1 (5)
25 – Total Cards
2 – RC
1 – League Leaders

2017 Topps Series 2 (5)
25 – Total Cards
3 – Team Cards

2017 Topps Update (5)
20 – Total Cards
7 – RC
5 – All-Star Game
2 – Rookie Combos
1 – Homerun Derby
1 – Charged Up Battery

Wal-Mart Combo: 2015 Topps Series 1 and Update Series

As part of the Wal-Mart Combo I purchased last month I also received 5 packs each of the 2015 Topps Series 1 and Update cards.  2015 Topps is one of my favorites.  I really liked the design and colors incorporated here.  My pull netted me stud and new St. Louis Cardinal Paul Goldshmidt.  The rest of my pull wasn't bad netting me MadBum, Aroldis Chapman and a great Yordano Ventura photo.  It's also fun looking back at those league leaders cards to see who were atop the stat categories.  Amazing how many times I catch myself saying...oh yeah...that guy.  

The Update series gives me my all-star cards which is always fun.  Kris Bryant and Nolan Arenado highlight those offerings.  Bryant's National League jersey is pretty cool.  I like the colors.  A Noah Syndegaard card was a great surprise.  I didn't realize his RC was a part of this set.  Trevor Rosenthal's card rated a group photo.  Those out of the normal cards help keep things fun.  All of the Wal-Mart Combo posts I've put up so far can be found here.    

BREAKDOWN:

2015 Topps Series 1 (5)
25 – Total Cards
2 – RC
2 – Future Stars
2 – League Leaders
1 – Team Card
1 – First Pitch

2015 Topps Update (5)
25 – Total Cards
7 – RC
3 – All-Star Game
1 – Rookie Combo
1 – Team Rookies
1 – Veteran Combo
1 – Season Highlight
1 – Homerun Derby

Wal-Mart Combo: 2015 Topps Archives

Back to the cards I received as part of the Wal-Mart Combo I purchased last month.  These five 2015 Topps Archives packs were a nice surprise.  The Archives are always fun as they use retro designs to showcase current stars and retired legends.  The 2015 set showcased the 1957, 1976, and 1983 Topps designs. I was very happy with my pull.  I felt I received quite a few stars from across MLB history and as always I enjoy seeing them on new retro cardboard.  I had seen these before but this was the first time I had actually busted any packs.  These were very fun and packs I was not expecting to see as part of my combo.

These are all great cards.  The Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig really pop on these '83 Topps designs.  Mike Foltynewicz was a big part of the Braves' surprising run to the National East's top spot this year.  

More greats here in the 1957 cards.  One of the best right handed hitters of our time in Albert Pujols and Hall of Famers Wade Boggs and Robin Yount.  I'm not a huge fan of this design but I really enjoy these cards.

Mariano Rivera anchors the '76 Topps design. He nailed the dismount byt being named unanimously on this year's Hall of Fame ballot.  All of the Wal-Mart combo posts that I've put up so far can be found here. 

BREAKDOWN:  

20 – Total Cards (5 packs)

7 – 1976

7 - 1983

6 - 1957 

6 – Retired Greats

1 – RC

2019 Topps Baseball Hobby Box Post #2 w/Silver Pack

I'm back with more of the 2019 Topps Baseball from the hobby box I broke.  The Marcus Semien card, outside of being a nice photo, is one of the 150th Anniversary cards as seen by the stamp.  The Albert Pujols and Mookie Betts cards is one of the checklist cards.  I like that they've made the checklist unique with photos that aren't the norm.  

There were four chrome promo cards in my 1984 Silver Pack.  I didn't pull any parallels but was very happy with my pull that included Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson in a great pose, future Hall of Famer Derek Jeter and the reigning National League MVP Christian Yelich.  I'm not a big chrome guy but I do like these cards.

A couple of the big stars from the league in Clayton Kershaw and Aaron Judge.  I pulled them both in one of my last packs from the box.  The Home Run Challenge card has a scratch off on the back and it is part of a game in which you can win prizes picking when a player will hit a home run during the season.

Just showing off now.  Sean Doolittle has that unique stance while on the mound that is kind of cool.

A couple of great photos here.  David Price is so intense and I like how the ball is shown in the foreground.  George Springer is laid out and it looks like this might be a bang bang play at home.  I like this photo.  

I must have really liked this Semien card as I scanned it a second time.  I do know I'm a fan of those all green unis so I'm not surprised that I'm drawn to the card.  All three are nice action photos.  I'll grab more of the Topps flagship set throughout the year for sure.  I like this set and there are plenty more cards to grab.  I'll also be picking up an Opening Day hobby box if all goes well.  Check back in March to find out for sure.

Nice bonus, and props to Topps, are the stats for the player's entire career.  <golf clap>

BREAKDOWN:

336 – Total Cards

30 – RC

14 - Stadium

10 – Future Stars

8 - Checklist

7 – Retired Greats

7 – Topps All-Star Rookie

6 – 1984 Topps

5 - Gold

5 – World Series Highlights

4 – 150^th Anniversary

3 – Rainbow Foil

3 - 150 Years of Professional Baseball

2 – Variations (SP)

2 – RC/Topps All-Star Rookie1

1 – Topps Now

1 – Equipment Evolution

1 – Iconic Card Reprints

1 – Vintage Stock #/99

1 – Homerun Challenge

1 – Topps Greatness Returns

1 – Silver Pack (4 Cards)

1 – Artist Sketch (1/1)

1 – Revolution of the Game Autograph (#/99)