Random Wax: 2021 Donruss Baseball

2021 Donruss:  I don't seem to pull many cards of Ohtani pitching so this one is a nice pickup. Hoping he can have another MVP performance this year.  He is so good and fun to watch.

This set is not a favorite of mine.  The design is lackluster, and the no logo thing is still a sticking point with me.  

This throwback to '87 didn't work for me with the white borders.  Give me the black borders if we are doing this.  Big Puma for the nickname variation.  I do love seeing retired greats in the set.

I do like the Independence Day variations.  Gives the cards some pizzaz.

No complaints about my pull though.

The Diamond Kings and that purple can go.  That Harper is one of my red parallels.  Good pull in this pack.  I'll be happy with that.  Just not a design I'll go search out.

BREAKDOWN: 
30 – Total Cards
6 – Retro 1987
4 – Rated Rookie
4 – Diamond Kings
3 – Red Parallel
1 - Highlights
1 – Nickname
1 – Photo Variation
1 – Independence Day 

 

Random Wax: 2020 Donruss NASCAR

 2020 Donruss NASCAR: Picked this pack up last March and finally getting around to posting it which seems to be how I do things.  The guys and gals are in Texas this week at the road course so they are turning left and right today.  We'll kick it off with Dale Jr.  One of the most favorite drivers of all-time he also has a great show, also available as podcast, which is a must watch.  It's called Dale Jr. Download and he has plenty of great guests and it does a great job of mixing past greats, current drivers, and others in the sport.

Zane Smith is a favorite of mine.  He's still in the truck series but has already won two races this season including yesterday in Texas.  I never complain about Dale Jr. cards. 

I'm a big Chase Elliott fan so pulling a couple of his cards is always a treat.

I don't think Brittney Zamora is still racing at the top levels of NASCAR but it's always fun to see the ladies represented in cards.  Folks are really rooting for them.  Hailie Deegan is in the truck series right now.  Kurt Busch is definitely a guy I never rooted for early in his career but I really like now.  He won the championship in 2004 and is fifth in points this year at the age of 43.

Lots of speculation about whether or not this is Harvick's last year at age forty-six but dude has been in the top five at seasons end for five straight years.  He was the 2014 champion.  I wonder if anyone told Sam Mayer they were going to use his 7th grade photo for his card.

Martin Truex Jr. is another guy I like.  Bass Pro Shops seems to have been his sponsor forever.  He was the 2017 champ. Donruss NASCAR is always fun.  Plenty of variety to include retired greats, young drivers and different designs. 

BREAKDOWN:
30 – Total Cards
8 – Retro 1987
6 – Retired Greats
3 – Car Cards
3 – Rated Rookie
3 – Carolina Blue Parallels
2 - Optic
2 – Race Kings
2 – Elite Series
1 – Silver Parallel
1 – Aero Package
1 – Action Packed

2021-2022 Donruss Basketball Blaster

 2021-2022 Donruss Basketball: March Madness is in full swing and all our brackets are dumpster fires.  Found some Donruss basketball in the wild yesterday so I'll show off the blaster today starting with James Harden.  If Brooklyn can stay healthy these guys can compete with any team...even with Ben Simmons.  Low blow I know.

I was all excited about these until I opened the box and remembered it has the same Donruss design I dislike across the other sports.  Just blah.  

Not a lot of Rated Rookies in a blaster but this year's crop is solid even it the rookies aren't taking the league by storm yet.

On to the inserts and we get Dame which is always great.  I like that photo.  Three Jazz looking like they could do nothing to stop him.  Probably true.

Retired greats have a bare minimum presence in basketball cards this year.  Very disappointing. I like the Complete Players insert but think they could tweak the name somehow.  Bland name.

Price on this blaster was $27 I think while the packs I picked up were over $7 each.  For Donruss?  Ugh.  The Orange Laser parallels at least gave life to some of the cards.

Some favorite players of mine.

Really good pull in this box if nothing else.  Not sure I'll pick more of these up.  Given the option I'll grab more Hoops and I've already picked up a ton of Hoops.

BREAKDOWN:
88 – Total Cards
7 – Rated Rookie
7 – Orange Laser Parallel
1 – Retired Great
1 – Complete Players
1 – Power in the Paint
1 – Franchise Features
1 – Great Expectations

2021-2022 Hoops Winter Edition Blaster with Relic

 2021-2022 Hoops; These hit the shelves last week so it seems appropriate to show one off today since it is a holiday.  Yes St. Patrick's Day is today.  Hope you are wearing some green.  We'll kick it off with Dame who is out the rest of this season thanks to injuries.  Hoping he can be his great self again next year and maybe the Blazers can build something around him this offseason.

These are billed as winter but the snowflakes are hard to make out.  Same issue they had last year.  I said it then.  They don't have to go all Topps Holiday cards but do better.  I want to know these are winter cards.  You could easily miss that on some cards if you aren't paying attention.

There are some cards where the snowflakes stand out and the RC cards are one where it is very apparent.

Plenty of rookie love in the inserts including this Cam Thomas Rookie Sweater relic.  He's averaging a respectable nine points per game for the Nets.

Lights Camera Action inserts are always appreciated.

Plenty to show off in this box and zero complaints about my pull.

Love those Slam magazine inserts.

This was a fun find.  I have another blaster I'll show off sometime in the future.  Still bummed Sabonis got traded to the Kings.  Since we get the Pacer games here I got to see him quite a bit.  Enjoy St.Patty's Day!

BREAKDOWN:
88 – Total Cards
22 – RC
2 – Skyview
2 – Purple Parallel
2 – Frequent Flyers
2 – Lights Camera Action
1 – Slam 
1 – Arriving Now
1 – Class of 2021
1 – Rookie Sweater Relic

Batman MetaX Game Cards

Batman MetaX:  Picked these up last year when they showed up in the wild and were basically the only things on the shelves.  I'm not into the game but as a nerd I do enjoy the characters and art.  This is very topical with The Batman doing so well in theaters right now.

Hard to find out a lot about the individual cards but it has a pretty good checklist.  I like many of the characters in the Batman universe.  Batgirl is one of my favorites.  Many of the ladies from his comics are favorites. 

Seems like they are using art previously done by comic artists which is pretty cool.  It means some of the art is familiar like Bane breaking Batman's back which is a cover from the Knightfall story arc.

Not all of the art is a hit to me but I'm good with seeing art I'm not familiar with and possibly becoming a fan.  Not sure who that is on the middle card. 

That Deathstroke is a "rare" card.  Again tracking down specifics on these are very tough so I'm not totally sure of that or what it means.  These are definitely fun.  The art and characters make them a win.  I don't think I'd pick up the entire set but I would be tempted to pick up another pack if I saw them on the shelves again.

BREAKDOWN:
36 – Total Cards (3 Packs)
1 – Rare?

Random Wax: 2020 Topps WWE Chrome

 2020 Chrome WWE:  I'm not a shiny card guy but this is a design I like.  The backgrounds are a big part of that.  They aren't just a big silver background but have depth and color.  There's a look there.  We'll kick off this pack with my favorite wrestler, Alexa Bliss.  She's fun, kicks @ss, and has some great cards.

Pretty cool Brock Lesnar card.  Pretty sure he was about to kick someone's butt.

Wrestling cards lend themselves to good photography and there are plenty in this set.

I think this is a great photo of Asuka.

Love that disgusted look on Shayna's face.

This photo almost doesn't look like it is from an actual match but of course it is.

Fun pack of cards.  Good design and photos.  Kane!  Kane was a part of one WWE's Most Wanted Treasures episodes which was really fun to watch.  Well worth it as are the other episodes as well.

BREAKDOWN:
12 – Total Cards
1 – Shocking Wins

The Batman (No Spoilers)

Saw The Batman last night.   Wow it is crazy good!  It's not like any Batman movie we've ever seen before but that is a good thing.  I'm not banging on the previous Batman movies but saying this was one is so good in a different way.  All the actors did really well.  The story and characters kept me invested throughout and and the three hour run time wasn't an issue.  Go see the movie.  It was so fun on the big screen.  My adult son and daughters have seen it as well and all loved it.  I want to say this one tops The Dark Knight but I'm not sure yet if it is too soon to make that call.  Again this isn't like any Batman movie you've seen before but you'll be happy it isn't.

1990 Fleer Baseball Pack

1990 Fleer: Picked up a few packs of these last year at a local card shop.  Not a design I really liked at the time but mostly because it seem the opposite of bright - just doesn't jump out to you.  I've always liked Chuck Finley.  He won 200 wins, had a 3.85 ERA and struck out 2,610 strikeouts over his 17 year career.

Willie Wilson was one of the great base stealers in the league.  I'm a big fan of the stolen base but like most I'm not sure we'll ever see it make a comeback.  Something about this design always left me feeling flat.  Cards just didn't feel bright.  Photos felt dated right out of the pack.  Hard to put my finger on why but they are just missing something.

Neither of these guys ever it did much in the league.

This pack didn't exactly have a great pull. Doesn't mean I don't remember all these guys.  Partly from all the wax I opened back in the day.

No matter how much I liked the design the memories are always fun.  I actually got two of the questions (1 and 3) below right but they were lucky guesses.  

BREAKDOWN:
15 – Total Cards
1 – Sticker
1 – Major League Prospects