Random Wax: 2019-2020 Absolute Memorabilia Basketball (5 Dollar Tree Packs)

2019-2020 Absolute Basketball:  Some more of these I bought back when basketball cards weren't priced like gold.  These Dollar Tree exclusive Absolute cards are a design I like.  They are also home to exclusive yellow rookie parallels.  Grabbed a Lillard for the first time in this format so that was great.

 My pull contained major star power.  Not long and we'll see these guys playing for real.

 I didn't hit it big in the rookie department though Culver has been solid as a rookie.  I pulled a Zion in my first crack at these but still haven't gotten a Morant.  Doubtful these will ever be found in the wild again but I'd definitely open more of these.  The design and checklist has me hooked. 

BREAKDOWN:

25 – Total Cards
11 – RC
5 - Absolute Memorabilia Rookie Yellow Parallel

Affordable Breaks Multiple Baseball Breaks

 I'm a big fan of Cardboard Collections: Affordable Breaks & Giveaways on Facebook. Colbey also has the Cardboard Collections blog.  Check him out at both spots.  The prices are great and he has plenty of fun sets to choose from.  I like the ability to "stack" my breaks and finally had my baseball cards sent to me. So many cool cards.  I'm going to just show off a lot of the cards and let them speak for themselves.  This is a 1996 Leaf Preferred Tony Gwynn Stare Masters insert which is #/2500. Definitely one of my favorites.

 While I tend towards my Braves and Red Sox the prices allow me to chase favorite players as well.  I hit with Mike Trout inserts in a few breaks.

 I love those Angels unis and Tim Salmon is a PC guy for me. 

 I had everything from metal cards, die cuts,  inserts, numbered cards, posters, 1/1 - pretty much anything you can think of.  

 Plenty of A's from those nineties A's that I really like including PC guy Mark McGwire.

 I think this captures all the different breaks I was a part of that got me these cards:  2020 Diamond Kings, 1997 Pinnacle Express, 2004 Upper Deck Play Ball, 1991 Studio, 1995 Topps Bazooka, 1995 Donruss, 2002 Donruss, 2002 Donruss Super Estrellas, 2005 Rookie Cup, 1996 Leaf Preferred, 2017 Honus Bonus, 1995 Upper Deck SP, 2003 Upper Deck Standing O!, 2020 Big League, 1992 Fleer Ultra

 Great photo on that Carlos Correa card.  These are both new offerings.  The majority of the breaks are from older sets but these are just as fun.  

 Colbey is a Braves fan so I don't get a chance at picking Atlanta but being the great guy he is he threw in some for me anyway.  

 This is the 1/1 I mentioned earlier from the 2017 Honus Bonus set.  Kimbrel is a PC guy for me so this is a really awesome pull.

 That Eckersley is a silver parallel.

This is a very small portion of what I received.  Going through these was a lot of fun.  Never know what you'll pull and the prices make grabbing extra teams so easy. Thanks Colbey!

Card Added: David Ortiz 2013 Topps S2 Boston Strong Variation

 2013 Topps Series 2 #595 SP David Ortiz:  I've been stalking this card for years.  The price has yo-yo'd throughout that time and I've missed out on a few because I took too much time debating whether or not to pull the trigger.  Not this time.  I saw it listed for $45 and jumped.  At it's peak it's gone for over $100 but $45 definitely seems to be the low end for this card which is where it can be found sometimes.  I'm stoked.  The photo shows David Ortiz during a ceremony at Fenway after the Boston Marathon bombings.  He famously stated "This is our ****king city" after thanking local first responders and officials to their response to the tragedy.  It's just resonated with me ever since. Not just Ortiz but Boston as a whole during that point in time.  Ortiz is a legend in Boston and this only added to his legacy.  I NEVER spend this much money on single cards but I'm very happy to add this card to my collection.  I've seen it listed as both a SP and a SSP but it probably doesn't really matter.  What matters is where to display it.  

Random Wax: 2019-2020 Hoops Basketball

 2019-2020 Hoops Basketball: Still working through packs bought quite some time ago.  This year's Hoops has been pretty good to me.  I've pulled a few Zions and an auto.  This pack had neither but still delivered very well with two personal favorites in Steph Curry and Damian Lillard and plenty of other stars.  

 Plenty of other stars in the pack as well.  I can't wait until these guys are all back on the court.  The season was so much fun before getting shut down.  Nikola Jokic has slimmed down during the downtime.  I can't wait to see what that translates to on the court.

 With the shortened end to the season and going right into the playoffs there could definitely be some surprises in store.  Denver is already really good.  Could they upset one of the Los Angeles teams?  I don't think anyone really knows what is in store for the rest of the season.

 More big names round out this pack.  Lots of fun and I'm looking forward to seeing all these guys on the court.

BREAKDOWN:
30 – Total Cards
6 – RC
2 – Lights Camera Action
1 – Hoops Tribute
1 – Teal Explosion Parallel
1 – Get Out of the Way

1992 Star Pics

 1992 Star Pics Basketball:  This was one of the packs that came with my Amazon purchase in May.  The set contains the majority of the players from the 1992 NBA Draft and totals 90 cards.  Kendall Gill was definitely highlight of the pack.  The jersey looks like an airbrushed Charlotte jersey so no NBA license here. With so many players drafted some names are familiar but many are not.   

 It's nice they had the college license so no airbrushing for this set.  I don't know anything about these guys.  I could google them but I'm not even sure it's worth it.  The fronts are somewhat bland thought not a bad design.  I think the pastel colors just don't do it for me.  

 I thought I'd heard Isaiah Morris...but I don't think so after looking him up.  One season with the Pistons averaging 2.2 points.  The write-ups on the back are actually good.  If you don't know anything about the player these are a quick easy primer.  Stats would have been nice.  I probably won't ever see these again but it was fun seeing a product that is new to me.  

I know this guy!  Drafted in 1992 he played quite a while and was a part of that Charles Barkley led Phoenix Suns team that lost to the Bulls in the 1992-1993 NBA Finals.

BREAKDOWN

8 – Total Cards

1 – Flashback

Affordable Breaks 1995 Stadium Club Football

1995 Stadium Club Football:  Colbey over at the Cardboard Collections blog also runs the Affordable Breaks on Facebook.  If you aren't a part of these you are missing out.  He allows stacking (saving up cards from multiple breaks prior to shipping) which is a huge plus.  These came in a box with a bunch of baseball cards which I hope to share later in the week.  Bottom line is the cards are fun and prices are great.  I grabbed five teams in this one.  Falcons and Bills are my teams but the Chargers, Saints and Broncos allowed me to pick up some personal collection guys as well.  That includes this sweet John Elway MVP insert.  This is card is diecut.  That white to the left of Elway's photo is actually cut out.  Really cool card.

 So many greats on those Buffalo Bills teams.   Didn't pull a Thurman Thomas but a quick look shows he wasn't in the set.  That's a head scratcher.

 I always had a soft spot for Jeff George.  Such a great arm.  Such a head case.

 Natrone Means was a beast who helped the Chargers to the 1994 Super Bowl before they lost to the 49ers.  He rushed for over 1300 yards that season.  A cool Junior Seau insert as well.

 Jim Everett is another guy I always liked and collect.  That base card photo is a bit questionable and I'm not a fan of the gold numbers on the white jerseys.  I do like the jersey Quinn Early is wearing and Topps redeems themselves with the photo on Everett's Extreme insert.

Oddly enough I pulled two Elway inserts, which is awesome, but not his base card.

This is a pretty cool Junior Seau.  These are some cool cards and really happy with my pull.  Fun mail day.

Mario Bates rushed for ~3,000 yard in his career and got himself a nice Ground Attack insert in this set.

BREAKDOWN:

102 - Total Cards

3 - Extreme Corps

2 - Draft Pick

1 - Ground Attack

2020 Prizm Baseball Multi-Pack

2020 Prizm Baseball:  Happy 4th of July!  And the 4th just screams baseball even if they aren't on the field.  I'm not a shiny card guy and the only baseball Prizm I've opened in the past was part of a mystery mail day and a repack.  This Max Muncy Blue Wave parallel, #/60, is a great place to start.  After being released by the Oakland A's he's hit 35 home runs in each of the past two seasons.  Crazy.  And no I don't see any blue in the card in hand either.

 The design doesn't wow me.  The lack of team emblems is always a letdown.  The backs are better though I have to get the reading glasses out to even think about reading it.  This is listed as a multi-pack and that is because you have a regular pack and a pack with the Red, White and Blue parallels.  

 A couple of inserts here featuring pitchers.  The first with one of the best in the game while the second showcases a prospect.

 The Red, White & Blue parallels are my favorites.  I like the color it brings to the card.  Only bummer was almost all the Red, White & Blue parallels were duplicates of cards I'd already received in the pack.  I won't pick more of these up but I know folks are big fans of Prizm, and it is one of the few new products on the shelves, so these won't be available for long.

BREAKDOWN:

18 – Total Cards

6 – Red, White, & Blue Parallels
1 – Illuminator
1 – Warming in the Pen
1 – Blue Wave Parallel