Have A Slice,Find Some Topps:Marketside Pizza And Pack Break

I was at my local Walmart today, and by local I mean an hour away so I don't go to often, and I was really itching for some cards especially some new baseball ones. For the first time in my collecting career, I have broken tradition and haven't bought any 2016 Topps yet. My budget hasn't been the best.

So today, I found myself in that same scenario, have food or buy cards. Obviously, I have to eat....or do I?? 

 

Anyways, it popped into my head as I walked down the refrigerated section that Topps recently announced a deal with Walmart where they included a 3-card pack of cards inside of Walmart's Marketside pizza. Then it hit me, cards and food together. That's gotta be a win-win for me and especially on a day like this. So I picked up one of these bad boys......

 

Inside, I found this.

 

Then under that, I found this.

I do worry however as the pack wasn't even attached to the box and anyone could easily just go up and snatch these out from under the pizza as the package wasn't sealed either. I think at least the pizza box needs a seal.

 

Inside of the pack, I was able to find my first 2016 Topps cards that I opened myself and a Topps Bunt code that I just tossed to the side. As you know, I am not a fan of digital cards but those who are will appreciate that addition.

 

Each card in the Marketside set has a decent design with colored photography and a "digitalized square blur" top 1/3rd of the card. The Topps symbol is in one top corner and the Marketside symbol in the other. Not sure if there is a hidden meaning on this, but I noticed that Marketside was always on the side the player was swinging.

Joe Mauer was the first card in my pack

 

Followed by A.J. Pollock

 

Then to finish it up, Andrew McCutchen.

 

In case you are curious by the card back, here is that on my McCutchen.

 

The checklist on these cards is very promising with the mix of rookies, vets and even a couple of mascots. Here is the list of players you can find.

1 Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
2 Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
3 Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies
4 Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
5 Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles
6 Carlos Correa, Houston Astros
7 Michael Wacha, St. Louis Cardinals
8 Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
9 Jacob deGrom, New York Mets
10 David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
11 Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
12 Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
13 Troy Tulowitzki, Toronto Blue Jays
14 Miguel Sano, Minnesota Twins
15 Robinson Cano, Seattle Mariners
16 Phillie Phanatic, Philadelphia Phillies
17 Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox
18 Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians
19 Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
20 Jacoby Ellsbury, New York Yankees
21 Luis Severino, New York Yankees
22 Noah Syndergaard, New York Mets
23 Prince Fielder, Texas Rangers
24 Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
25 Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals
26 Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants
27 Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks
28 Sonny Gray, Oakland Athletics
29 Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
30 Josh Donaldson, Toronto Blue Jays
31 Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
32 Hector Olivera, Atlanta Braves
33 Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies
34 Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates
35 Tyson Ross, San Diego Padres
36 Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
37 Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds
38 A.J. Pollock, Arizona Diamondbacks
39 Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox
40 George Springer, Houston Astros
41 Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs
42 Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
43 Dee Gordon, Miami Marlins
44 Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels
45 Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
46 Kyle Schwarber, Chicago Cubs
47 Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers
48 Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
49 Mr. Met, New York Mets
50 Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

I think to make the chase even more fun would have been to add a few Sp's. No sparkles and such, just plain photo variations. Maybe an idea for the next round as these will only continue to be found til June.

 

Overall, I really dig the marketing idea by Topps and whoever came up with it as it is excellent. First off, pizza is a very popular food among adults and especially children that could get hooked on collecting when finding these. Second, they created a nice checklist of players and the timing to release this at the start of the season was perfect. Third, a lot of us collectors who collected oddball cards that were featured in food products from the 70's, 80's and 90's will completely love this chase and it's a great sell for Walmart as well as collectors will be buying their product to get them.

Before closing, I must also note that the pizza isn't terribly bad either. It's actually surprisingly good. That will be another key element to this as you don't want to buy hobby cardboard and something that tastes like it.

 

 

What do you guys think of this card/pizza combo?

Top 5: 2005 Fleer Ultra Baseball Base Cards

I am one of the very few collectors left on earth that still has interest in collecting base cards. I know a lot rip and tear packs and toss the base cards to the floor or sometimes sadly in the trash. But, not me. I look at every card, see every moment it captures and then decide which stack it belongs in. Not one base card ever hits the floor or trash with me. In some ways, I guess you can call me a hoarder.

In this NEW segment, I take a look at the Top 5 of my favorite base cards from a variety of products, sports and years then break them down. Let's see if you agree with my choices.

To kick off this segment, I want to take a look at possibly some of the best ones, 2005 Fleer Ultra. It's action packed and sometimes unique photography along with a clean design gives it high ranks on capturing some of MLB's best moments on and off the field.

It was extremely challenging however to narrow this down to five images as many, if not most would make a list or would be tied. Remember this list just consists of ones I think are Top 5. Everyone has their own likes/dislikes and connectswith certain cards for their own reason.

Let's take a look at mine.

#5. Well, it's a nice twist not just to see action shots on the field, capturing a little off the field fun shows us collectors these guys are just as human as the rest of us.

 

#4 has Omar leaping into the air to avoid a slide. You can simply read the reaction across his face to figure out how this play may have turned out.

 

Yes, this one is similar to Vizquels, but there is just something about Rollins in this photo that took the #3 slot. Is it the hair? Is it the shades? He appears to me as a rapper posing as a baseball player in a movie (as I chuckle to myself again). Either way, great angle on the photo and catching Rollins mid-leap was a nice touch as well.

 

#2 I found cool cause it captures Finley's concentration to catching the baseball. Honestly, if I was running to try and track down an outfield ball and a ghostly face on the wall appears out of nowhere, you better believe I would be dropping it or calling the Ghostbusters. 

 

I just really enjoy the photo angle of this base card overall. There is just something unique about it I haven't seen before.

 

And my #1 choice has to be this Ryan Freel base card.

 

I still can't decide if this is a picture of him holding his daughter or if it is someone else baby. If it is his, it would make a great memento for her to have as it captures a great moment between the two and one that she will never be able to share again. If you didn't know, Ryan passed away a few years ago at age 36. 

 

This card also represents there is more to life than just baseball (or any other sport or hobby) and that no matter what, family is always first.

Alright, that's my list for 2005 Fleer Ultra baseball.

 

Now I gotta ask your thoughts on my list, if you would have switched any around and if you own any of the 2005 Fleer Ultra and know of a base card that would work better on my list. Let's hear it!

Baseball Card Yard Sale Find Part 3: 2002 Bowman (GREAT ROOKIES)

Well, here is another post to what will be  many posts of me breaking down what I got at the Yard Sale that I posted about recently. Today's post is one of my favorite finds from the whole yard sale as it brought the most value.

The 500ct box that these cards came from was marked 2002 Bowman on the side of it. With the hobby part of my brain so crowded with so much information, I sometimes draw a blank on what rookies (I am talking true ones) come from which year. So, I did some investigating and found out that some really great cards could be hiding in this box. Keep reading to see if I found em!

To start off the box were six gold parallels. I know they fell one-per-pack, but they are still an insert find and an unexpected one at that.

Start of the rookie cards....

Then some bigger names such as Jose Bautista.....these are great, but were there any bigger ones to come? Or were they pulled? I was starting to feel as if these were the best this box was going to offer.

Then the box turned in the WRIGHT direction when this popped up!

And as with all things, you gotta save the best for last. I was shocked to find that Mauer was still sitting in there at the back of the box. My first rookie of his.

This box brought the excitement out! There was tremendous value in this box! Especially since most of these boxes ran me $.25-$.50 per depending on the size. This was a smaller one so only $.25. The Mauer alone is worth 100 times what I paid.

Up to this point I am very pleased with my finds! Tons more to come!

3 Pack Break of 2013 Topps Big League Mini's Baseball

 

Topps seems to be finding their inner child in unique collectibles of recent. First it was the Qubi Stamps and now it's Topps Big League Mini's. Vinyl Figures of 28 of your favorite MLB Stars. There are also special rare variants randomly placed in certain packs. And to be honest, can't tell you if we pulled one. We just wanted to see what all of the hype was about.

So now onto what was pulled. There is one vinyl figure per pack. Prices range from $5-$7 per pack depending on where you buy.

Albert Pujols

Stephen Strasburg

Joe Mauer

 And here is the checklist you find one per pack

We find the price of these a little steep. Something more around $3.99 or $4.99 would have been better. Most of the figures are $7.99 and to be honest, we would rather put money into a more realistic figure such as a McFarlane. These are more of a fun collectible (something you would display on your desk at work, let your kids play with or maybe feed your most hated player to your dog) and not really much in terms of valuable collectible like a McFarlane figure like that would keep protected in its original packaging. That's why I would take the price down a little. You pay more than probably what the figure is worth.

But don't get me wrong however. These are very well done figures and should be a fun collectible for those who are willing to pay the price to try and put the set together. If Topps gets the price point to drop, that would help.

Let us know your thoughts on this product.Do you agree with the price? Would you collect them?

REVIEW: PANINI PRIME CUTS BASEBALL 2012

First off, I would like to say thanks to the WONDERFUL people at Panini America for providing us with this box to review. Here are many places you can find Panini America: official site, blog, Twitter, and Facebook. 

This is my first break of any Panini baseball product. I think the last time I broke a box of baseball for Donruss (now Panini) was back in 04 or 05. So its been awhile. I have been very tempted though by the images of Panini's 2012 baseball card lineup on their Knights Lance Blog. So this was exciting for me to be able to review this product.

Outside box

Inner box containing the goods

Box Break Down:

• 1 Pack Per Box, 2 Cards Per Pack
• (2) Autographs or Memorabilia Cards per box!
• (1) Autograph in every box!
• $150 PER BOX

BASE CARDS: NONE

INSERTS: NONE

 

AUTOGRAPHS: With one guaranteed auto per box...we landed a redemption card. I know most people would complain...but I don't. Its expected sometimes. The only issue is, is not knowing the design of the card so I can review it. So I did some research and found these on the Knights Lance:

  

 

The assumption would be its the Eddie Murray version which is very nice clean design. Not to mention its of Whitey Ford. A career Yankee and Hall of Famer. Not a bad pull.And its numbered to 49.

JERSEY/PATCH CARDS: This box landed a one color swatch of top Twins player Joe Mauer. The design isn't bad. I like the way the name is placed and decorated. Without a MLB license Panini is still doing a great job with baseball cards.

We may not have much to show...but here is the official Knights Lance gallery of this product and its stunning to say the least of what you could pull:

http://paniniamerica.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/the-panini-america-quality-control-gallery-2012-prime-cuts-baseball-85-images/

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Price is a concern for two cards though both are hits but price and value may not always equal. I am a collector who likes to look for the balance in price of product vs box value. As for rest of my thoughts, I think a nice base card design with some inserts and parallels would really help this product. Last years product, 2011 Prime Cuts came with 5 cards and 5 hits. Not to mention a shot at a Mike Trout rookie card. I like that this product packs a punch and like most high end products its all about high risk that could reward you a high return. Hit or miss is another way to look at it.

But for my first break of a Panini baseball card product they are definitely heading in a great direction and I think they should continue to be aggressive for that MLB license as well. I would love to see MLB Panini products out on the market.

RATINGS:  Bloggers Note: Our ratings are based specifically on the blaster, box or packs we opened and do not express what the overall product could bring. Ratings based on a 1-5. 1 Being the lowest and 5 being the highest.
                Packaging: 3
                Base Design: NA
                Insert Design: NA
                Memorablila/Autographs: 4
                Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 4