Random Wax: 2020 Topps Baseball

2020 Topps Baseball:  This is a fun Washington Nationals heavy pack.  

Brings back plenty of memories of a fun World Series.

I'm not that big a Ripken guy but that really is a cool looking card.  Of course the 80's are my jam so maybe that is it.  That's a gold #/2020 parallel Sandy Alcantara card.  Hoskins seems like an odd choice for a highlights set.  He is good, especially at getting on base, but for a guy who hit .226 (.236 career) last year it seems like there are plenty of players who may be better suited for something like this.

I'll be curious how David Price does in L.A. this year.  Wish him the best.  Judge is just too good  not to include here even if he is a Yankee.

As always there are plenty of nice horizontal cards as well as nice team cards.  While it isn't what is happening, it sure looks like some guy just put his hand on Soria's backside.  Just saying...

Nice Mallex Smith photo.  One of those speedsters I like.  

A fun pack with all the Nationals in it.  Plenty of other great  cards as well.  It's a long baseball season so there will be plenty more Topps as the season goes along.

One more National...

BREAKDOWN:

34 – Cards
4 – RC
2 – World Series
2 – Team Card
2 – Turkey Red
1 – Decade’s Best
1 – League Leaders
1 – Hoskins Highlight
1 – Gold Parallel #/2020

Random Wax: 2016 Donruss Football

2016 Donruss Football:  This is one of the smaller packs with only 16 cards but it was still fun.  Todd Gurley is a PC guy for me and those old Rams unis are great.  If only the borders had been colored in sync with his uni.  I'm really hoping Gurley can put up some good numbers this year.  Hard seeing him not be the stud he was in '17 and '18.  

Chris Moore has managed to stick around with Baltimore for four seasons but only has 47 receptions in his career.  Kendall Fuller was a part of the Alex Smith trade to Washington and was able to pick up a Super Bowl ring this season as a Kansas City Chief.  Fun looking back and young players in these older packs and seeing how things worked out.

A kicker card!  He is good mind you - 2X All-Pro as well as a three-time Super Bowl winner.  Wow that Andrew Luck card would have looked a lot different last March.  So crazy that he is out of the sport now.

Tevin Coleman rushed 5 times for 28 yards in this year's Super Bowl but only two weeks after dislocating a shoulder he wasn't able to give his all for the 49ers. Terrell Suggs was on the other side of the ball in the Super Bowl for Kansas City.  He was released by Arizona in December and picked up by the Chiefs.  That was Suggs' second Super Bowl ring.  Allen Robinson had an excellent year for the Bears with 98 receptions.  These are nice cards and this was a fun pack.  I'm always on the lookout for more of these.

BREAKDOWN:

16 – Total Cards
3 – Press Proof Parallels
2 – Rated Rookie
2 – RC

2019-2020 Contenders Draft Picks Basketball Blaster with Auto

2019-2020 Contenders Draft Picks:   This is the last of the four blasters I purchased forever ago. 
These blasters come with an auto and this one is no different.  Moses brown is also a Trail Blazer which is a nice bonus but he isn't moving the needle any averaging three minutes per game.  We'll put him away and see if that changes.  We'll kick this post off with another Trail Blazer Damian Lillard.  This is a Draft Ticket parallel no less.  

I'm enjoying the regular season but I can't wait to see what happens in the playoffs. Kawhi Leonard and The Greek Freek will be front and center when they kick off.  Milwaukee is so good and if they don't come out of the Eastern Conference this year I think they'll feel like it was a lost opportunity. 

Irving and Griffin are out for the season with injuries but Jayson Tatum has come into his own this year scoring 23 ppg, grabbing 7 rbg and shooting 39% on seven three's a game.  Boston, currently third in the Eastern Conference, could be very dangerous in the playoffs.

De'Andre Hunter is playing better of late for the Hawks.  I'd really like to see him finish strong and come back next season even better.

Another fun box of these cards.  I'll finish it off with The Admiral.  This is a nice looking card and fun seeing these guys in both unis.

BREAKDOWN:

42 – Total Cards
7 – Legacy (1 – Duplicate)
7 – School Colors
7 – Game Day Ticket
2 – Draft Ticket Parallels
1 – Draft College Ticket Autograph Parallel

Random Wax: 2019 Topps Archive Baseball

2019 Topps Archives:  Archives is a set I really enjoy so it sounds like a good one for a Friday.  This pack was very similar to another pack I busted last year.  Still it is a fun pack and product.  With three different designs hopefully you like at least two out of three.  We'll kick this off with World Series Champion Juan Soto.  It was fun watching these guys win the Nationals' first championship.

That's my second Tatis Jr. I've pulled from an 2019 Archives pack.  Hoping to see good things from him.  Also got to see Tatis on a White Sox card thanks to Padrographs and the cards he sent me.  That post was up on the blog earlier this week.

Love the old photos like this one of Pirate great Honus Wagner.  Really makes these cards fun.  Fun pack and I can't wait for this year's offering.  

I'm a big fan of these Topps Magazine cards and pulling one with The Wizard on it makes it that much better.

BREAKDOWN:

18 – Total Cards
6 – 1993
5 - RC
5 – 1958
4 – 1975
1 – 1975 Mini (1:78 packs)
1 – 1994 Future Star
1 – Topps Magazine

Mail Day From Padrographs!

Suprise mail day from Rod at the Padrographs blog.  I also received cards from him last year which was also a great haul.  This group of cards was centered around the Chicago White Sox as well as a surprise entry.  This Fernando Tatis Jr. 1st Bowman is a sweet card.  White Sox fans are still trying to forget the trade that sent him to San Diego for James Shields.

  I had no clue about the 2019 Topps X Tatis Jr. Baseball Set until I saw this Eloy Jimenez card.  He was part of the Dominican Republic subset.  Sweet looking card and Jimenez had an excellent rookie year for the White Sox in 2019.

Big Hurt.  Legend.  Enough said.  Some really cool Frank Thomas cards but that Allen & Ginter Baseball Star Signs is a great looking card.  I'm really digging it and may have to look for others from that set.

Jose Abreu is a guy who seems to not get his due for the great production he puts out.  And he can't seem to land that big contract due to his age.  He was 27 when he won Rookie of Year in 2014.  Hope for more good things from this guy who is playing on a one year contract with Chicago this season.

I really hated seeing the Red Sox give up this guy to the White Sox in the deal that netted Chris Sale.  He had a break out season in '19 and is still only 24.  

These are only a sampling of the cards Rod sent my way.  So many good players and a few sets I've never seen in hand before like this Topps Total Wellington Castillo.

Rod through in quite a few Dave Dravecky cards.  It is so easy to forget how good a pitcher Dravecky was.  He never had an ERA over 3.58 in any of his eight seasons.  His career ERA was 3.13 in just over 1000 innings.  You know what - he is now a PC guy for me.  Amazing what a few cards can do for you.

And my all-time favorite White Sox player - Hall of Famer Harold Baines.  I always liked Baines as a kid.  Something about that swing I think just made him look good - and boy was he good.  That Donruss is another set I wasn't familiar with.

Thanks Rod!  I really appreciate all the fun cards. 

Card Show Pickups (Football)

This is the last of my posts on card pickups from the card show.  There is still some football going on in the form of the XFL so a Sunday post is appropriate.  Who doesn't like Peyton Manning?  Dude was nothing short of great and also a fun dude.  These two were cheap pickups and no brainers.

  Some current key Falcons though as much as like Devonta Freeman he may not be long for the team.  His big contract and declining production will make him hard to keep around.  Tough decisions ahead for the cap strapped Falcons.

John Elway is an all-time favorite of mine.  Christian McCaffrey is a guy I wasn't all in on his first season but I quickly saw the error of my ways.

Todd Gurley, Georgia Bulldog alum, didn't match his production of  '17 or '18 last season but I'm still a big fan.  Not a ton of football cards from this show but it's always random as to what I'll find or end up picking up.  But it is always a fun time.

2019-2020 Prizm Draft Picks Basketball

2019-20 Panini Prizm Draft Picks Basketball:  I don't normally go for the shiny stuff that much but this has been on the shelves of my Wal-Mart for some time and with Zion mania in full swing why not.  I was rewarded with this pink pulsar parallel of the man himself.  Won't put any kids through college but still makes this pack a winner right off the bat.  And this wasn't the only Zion in my pack...

With this set you get to see players in their college unis which can be fun.  The base design is simple and looks pretty good in hand.  

The backs are nice and colorful.  We get to see a team logo as well which is good. 

 I really like the look of the Crusade inserts.  Even snagged a parallel though I'm not sure it does any favors in that color.  I was happy to pull a Red Raider.  Jarrett Culver now plays for Minnesota.

And there he is again!  This pack was definitely a win with two Zion cards.  Overall I'm OK with the design and I might dip back into this brand before the year is out.

BREAKDOWN:

15 – Total Cards
11 – RC
3 – Crusade
3 – Pink Pulsar Parallels
1 – All-American
1 – Duplicate