CARDBOARD REVIEW:2021 Bowman's Best Baseball (AND NICE GIVEAWAY )

Will there be a baseball season? Do any of us know? I can't see the entire season being lost but some for sure at this point. Let's hope we at least get half a season and a Yankees World Series win.

I see your glare about that last part, and I also see the high fives from fellow Yankee readers. For me, that was a winning sentence.

At least for now, baseball enthusiasts have cards to open and can see their favorite players that way.

Today, while I am waiting for the season to kickoff, I am opening up a box of Bowman's Best baseball 2021. Let's see how it goes shall we?

Each Master Box of 2021 Bowman's Best baseball comes with 2 mini boxes. Each mini box comes with 6 packs. Each Mini box also comes with refractors and 2 autographs each. Each Master Box is roughly $450-500. So a steep gamble.

BASE SET:

 

The base set for Bowman's Best is chromed like it always has been. It is only 100 cards and is built up of veterans (check out my first Gallo in a Yankee uni)

Rookies

And rookies.....hmmm...no rookie logo...prospects then. This is a hard one for me. My definition for a true rookie card is a rookie that is apart of a base set. This one is. However, a product like Bowman has its prospects separately making those non rookies.

So before I move on, let me know your thoughts on this topic in comments. Is this Franco a rookie card?

PARALLELS:

Anything that comes chromed, has plenty of parallels.

Here are the offerings for Bowman's Best

Refractor, Atomic, Purple /250, Aqua Lava /199, Blue /150, Green /99, Gold Lava /75, Gold /50, Orange /25, Red /10, Red Lava /5, and SuperFractor 1/1.

Green /99

Purple /250

Base silver refractors that fall 1 per pack.

More base refractors. Not bad names mixed in at all!

 

Atomic

INSERTS:

Inserts have the following parallels,

Atomic, Lava /50, and SuperFractor 1/1

Heatwave. This may possibly be the greatest looking insert I have ever seen. I want the Jasson Dominguez version and want it now! These fall 1:6 packs and have 30 cards to chase. I saw someone on Twitter recently finish this set. Looks sweet!!

Rookie Craftsmanship that falls 1:8 packs. There are 18 cards to collect.

Future Vibrance has 40 cards to collect that fall 1:3 packs.

HITS:

Four autographs were to be found..

I keep hearing things about this guy but don't know much about him other than his poor signature.

Fun auto, but don't know him.

Here's a name I know! And guess what, you're gonna have a chance to win it!

And my final hit, I recognize this name as well but it's a redemption. Bleh.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Price point is really high on this one, but it's a fun rip. I love chromed products as you guys know and refractors. Other than price, this product is for me.

Did I feel I got my money back on this one, no. But, the Mize was a solid pull.

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

ONE PERSON SCORES THIS LOT FOR MY 10 YEAR BLOG GIVEAWAY THAT CONTINUES!

TO ENTER,

1. Have a U.S. Address. Sorry, can't afford to ship outside U.S.
2. Thank Topps for their support in these giveaways by checking out their website I linked.
3. Comment below your thoughts on this product or the Wander Franco "rookie"
4. Earn an extra entry by FOLLOWING Big Blue Cardboard on the right side of the blog which you can HERE. Comment below if you did and i will double check!
5. Earn another entry by FOLLOWING Card Over Coffee on the right side of the blog which you can HERE.. Comment below if you did and i will double check!
6. POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA OR ON YOUR BLOG SOMETHING WITH A LINK TO BIG BLUE CARDBOARD AND OR CARDS OVER COFFEE FOR ANOTHER BONUS ENTRY. MAKE SURE TO LINK IT BELOW FOR IT TO COUNT!
7. You can earn up to 4 bonus entries on this one. 
8. Good Luck to all that enter. A winner will be announced next week and then the next giveaway will be coming.

Cardboard Review:2021 Topps Chrome Black

Another chromed product, I won't complain. Everyone knows I am a fan of Chrome though I am sure many of you won't care to see another.

Once again, this is another product that went under my radar that I didn't even know was out until it arrived.

So let's check it out together shall we?

Every box of 2021 Topps Chrome Black comes with 4 cards. 2 base, 1 refractor and 1 encased autograph. Boxes run $125.

BASE:

I like the fact the base has a different design than the regular chrome. There are 100 cards in the base set including veterans and rookies.

PARALLELS:

You can find the following parallels,

Refractor /199, Purple /150, Green /99, Green Atomic /99, Blue /75, Gold /50, Orange /25, Magenta /10, Red /5, and Supefractor 1/1.

Base Refractor. You can barely see the shine. That's the only problem I have with it.

HITS:

You can find about 143 different autographs or so in Topps Chrome Black including players/stars from today and yesterday.

 

And I pulled a pitcher and a rookie pitcher at that. Everyone already knows my thoughts on that.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Money wise, ouch. It's a big risk for 4 cards but there are some opportunities as well if you have the luck.

Design wise, I was happy with. I was a little disappointed with my refractor though. You really have to catch the right lighting to see it, otherwise it looks like a base card.

Thoughts on today's rip and/or the product is welcomed in comments!

Cardboard Review:2021 Topps Update Hobby Box

Baseball season is over, but not the baseball card releases which is great news for collectors!

Today I am breaking a box of 2021 Topps Series 3..I mean Update.

In every hobby box of 2021 Topps Update baseball has 24 packs of 14 cards. Each box has either an autograph or relic and box prices run around $80.

Each box also comes with a hobby exclusive silver pack that has more of those 86 Topps designs.

Here are the parallel offerings,  Black /199, Blue /150, Green /99, Purple /75, Gold /50, Orange /25, Red /5, and SuperFractor 1/1.

Pulled a nice Black parallel of KeBryan Hayes! Other than that, not much to show.

BASE:

The base set is built up of 330 cards and uses the same design as Series 1 and 2. Players who were traded are also updated in their new uniforms.

 

As always, Update brings the fun with it's subsets.

 

Here's another. There are also All-Star and No Hitter subsets

To go along with Rookie Debut and of course the best part for me in Update, the rookie cards.

PARALELLS:

You can find the following parallels for Topps Update,

Rainbow Foil, Gold Foil, Gold /2021, Green Foil /499, Advanced Stat /300, Orange Foil /299, Red Foil /199, Vintage Stock /99, Independence Day /76, Black /70, Platinum Anniversary /70, Mother’s Day Hot Pink /50, Father’s Day Powder Blue /50, Memorial Day Camo /25, 70th Anniversary 1/1, and Printing Plates 1/1

 

Rainbow Foils fall 1:10 packs

Gold /2021

Orange Foil /299

Green Foil /499

INSERTS

Topps Black Gold. There are 25 cards in the set to collect and they are niiiiiiiiiiiiice.

More 1986 design to celebrate 35 years of it. I feel like this insert has gone on for 35 years. There are 50 cards in this set to collect.

70 cards, 70 years, this set has it all

 

There are 20 cards to collect in Platinum Players die cut.

HITS:

Just like my luck with both flagship series, I hit a relic. Which is what you will find 9 out of 10 times unless you decide to go Jumbo that actually guarantees autographs.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Just like my thoughts with flagship, I am not a fan of the hobby box layout with only one hit and that one hit being a relic most of the time. Steep price for it as well. With that being said, I have always preferred retail blasters for both flagship series and update. It lands me the rookie cards I want for my collection which is what these types of products have always been about.

One more thing, NO MORE 86 TOPPS!

On a positive note, I really like the parallels in Update. They are shiny and attractive. There are also plenty of great photography in the base and subsets that helps bring you closer to the game. Or me at least who hasn't been to a game in almost 10 years.

Your thoughts below on Topps Update are welcomed below!

CARDBOARD REVIEW:2021 Bowman Platinum Baseball Mega Box

I will admit that I didn't watch one single MLB playoff game and am probably the only person who didn't. Just not a fan of baseball anymore but would like to say congrats to the Atlanta Braves and their fans on the win. At least Houston didn't win.

Even though I don't watch baseball doesn't mean I don't collect baseball cards, because I still do. Cards are cards to me and I am still a big rookie card guy. So seeing this rookie class along with the next one in today's prospecting product makes me smile.

Here comes Bowman Platinum that can only be found in retail at Walmart in both blaster and mega box form.

In every box of 2021 Bowman Platinum Mega there are 20 packs of 5 cards each. Boxes run $80 and they also come with two autographs. In today's hobby standards, this is actually a pretty sweet deal looking at the player checklists for autographs.

BASE:

 

The base card set is made up of 100 cards with veterans

and rookies. They have a rainbow foil shine and stick with the basics Platinum has always brought us. Except it feels the cardboard they print on seems to get thinner every year. Maybe they ran over a Gypsy. (don't get the reference, watch the movie thinner by Stephen King)

Just like with Bowman that has rookies and veterans, there is a separate Prospects checklist of 100 cards. Honestly, I would rather have these be apart of the base set. It's my same feelings for Bowman.

PARALLELS:

Bowman Platinum offers the following parallels.

Ice Foil, Foilboard /299, Aqua Ice Foilboard /250, Pink /199, Blue /150, Green /99, Green Icy Foil /99, Gold /50, Orange /25, Red /10, and Foilfractor 1/1.

The odds are never in your favor as there are no guarantees you will get a parallel in a box, but they do exist. I pulled a blue /150.

INSERTS:

Platinum Etchings is a tough pull that I didn't know until now. These fall 1:267 packs.

Precious Elements has 30 cards at 1:5 odds.

v

Renowned Rookies has 20 cards to collect and falls 1:5 packs.

Meteoric falls 1:10 packs and has 20 cards to collect.

HITS:

Pitcher auto..

Freddy Valdez

I must point out before coming to my overall thoughts that even though I landed two prospect autographs in my break does not mean there are not veteran hits to find. There a big names on the checklist like Trout and Judge to and even relic cards.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Two autographs, a good amount of cards=success I think. Even though my box didn't provide a big boom, that just means I left those out there for you to find.

Let me know your thoughts about this product in comments!

Freshly Perked:Oooops, I Forgot

Its been close to a month now since I received today's dual mail day threat and I am ashamed that I hadn't shared this or thanked those who sent them yet.

The first mail day came from the great Cards On Cards who had mailed out my freebie claims on one of his Friday giveaways. I have no idea who any of these guys are but saw the shine so grabbed them.

(actually this one wasn't just for the shine, it was for the Nationals part that I have a trading buddy who would enjoy it)

Thanks again Cards On Cards!

 

My next mail day came from @Jake1725 who is unloading his Aaron Judge PC as he is no longer collecting him. Since Jude is one of the only three Yankees I collect, I looked through to see what he had and three caught my eye.

 

Blue parallel. It's so shiny.

What I haven't mentioned yet, I gave up collecting Aaron Judge last year at some point and traded away all of my Judge cards to him. Some of the ones he is moving on from are ones that were once in my collection. I wished I could had grabbed back the Topps Chrome purple and pink refractor rookie cards I had but those went elsewhere. However, I was able to snag back two I hated to lose in the first place.

 

Players Weekend Manu Relic

 

Stadium Club Instavision that was a case hit pull I pulled myself. These are more impressive in person compared to the picture I took for this post.

I went from not getting any cards in the mail to getting an onslaught at times where it's been really hard to keep up and being able to post other segments that are not mail day related. So if you haven't seen your mail day from me being posted yet, just remember it's somewhere in que and I will get to it.