REVIEW:2018 Topps Complete Set Hobby

What makes a great gift under the tree-yes this is the Christmas in July in me coming out-A Topps complete set!

Now, buying a complete set for set collectors isn't as much fun as chasing each card you need, but when it comes to giving a gift, I think this is the way to go. I also really like the different versions of the set to chase. The one I am discussing today will be the hobby set with exclusive parallels. There are also the All-Star versions with exclusive All Star Game cards, Retail Factory Set with Rookie Image Variations, and finally the Target Version that comes with a Rookie Cup Chrome card and the Rookie Image Variations.

Let's take a look at the Hobby Set.

 

Each Hobby Boxed set comes with both Series 1 and 2 which equals 700 cards. However, there are two bonus cards as well with a Gleyber Torres and Ronald Acuna to find as well. Which gives you a 702 card set. The set also comes with 5 parallel cards that are numbered to just 190. Hobby Sets sit around for $60 right now per set.

Those parallel cards are packed separately in a pack at the back of the box. Here are the ones I found in my pack and what they look like. Us shiny fans will be quite happy.

Not bad pull here!

 
 

And here are two exclusive rookie card set finds of Acuna and Torres.

 

 

 

OVERALL: I liked this years set and still dig the design for the base. I know, I know, many of you didn't like it, but I liked riding the wave and no border appeal. Three things stood out about this set.

1. The parallels look amazing. And you could pull any of the 700 cards in the set for the parallel so you could find yourself with big bucks with an Otanhi find.
2. Torres and Acuna was a grab for me either way. First real rookie cards of those guys.  
3. The only negative about it, the cards were not put by number but were put by series. It was like someone just dumped series one in and then dumped series two in. Then threw the 2 bonus rookies and added a pack. I like my cards by number. But, don't think I will waste time doing it as I hoped it would have already been done that way. 

Please take a minute out to thank Topps for providing the box to review. Some of the cards you see above will be included in the Fantasy Baseball contest! Follow Topps on all social media sites and check out their website HERE for cards and more!  

Mail Day Saturday:Reader Mail Day Part V

The second part of my mail day, Part V, features some Panini baseball. The shiny goods.

Up first, two big name Prizm parallels in Bonds and Machado.

A groovy looking shiny Chen

And a low numbered Pedroia /65

Next up, some Optic parallels. Let is shine!

 

Diamond Kings shine!

Pretty solid findings in this round. Another coming up soon!

Breakin Wax: 2013 Topps Chrome Baseball 12 Rack Pack

For Christmas, my wife surprised me with a 12-pack lot of 2013 Topps Chrome rack packs that she got from dacardworld for a great price. She knew I would be super-stoked because of my love of Chrome. But, I was also excited because that meant rookie cards of Puig and Machado too.

Without further delay, let's get this rip party started!

In each rack pack, there are three Topps Chrome packs plus a three-card pack of Orange Refractors. With a pack lot of 12, that meant 36 Orange Refractors and a shot at a bunch of other great stuff.

I skipped over the base card pics this time because the rookies have the same design. Not that the base doesn't matter, because to me, every card matters especially when it's covered in chrome.

Cole and Myers rookies here

And the two I really wanted in Puig and Machado here

Now the regular refractors I pulled. These fall 1:3 packs.

X-Factors.1:6 packs.

And now the gallery of Orange refractors. Pulled some great ones including this Puig.

Yankee PC adds here. Loved the Jeter and Rivera add.

1972 Topps inserts that fall 1:12

And finally the die-cut inserts. I love the design of these as well. I wished that Topps put this kinda effort into the rest of their inserts.

Dynamic die-cuts fall 1:24 packs while Chrome Connections die-cuts fall 1:12 packs.

Overall, another great Chrome break. Tons of color, Yankee adds, Rookie adds and more. Chrome continues to be the leader in return value vs what you pay and the leader of total awesomeness.

Topps Card Of The Week: 2013 Topps Opening Day Manny Machado

Brand: Topps Opening Day

Card Number: 172

Card Type: Rookie Card

Review: Pinnacle Baseball 2013

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. If you don't follow them at all..you should! They talk to you on Twitter, have contests on their blog and Facebook and the site is also fun to visit!

Box Break Down:

• 24 Packs Per Box, 8 Cards Per Pack
• Two Autographs Per Box
• Three Museum Collection Per Box
• One Artist's Proof Per Box
• Under $70 a box

                    

  

BASE CARDS: Looking at the base set design, for those of us who remember the original 1992 Pinnacle release this is a design inspired by that. The checklist is strong with all of 2013's top stars and rookies. Rookies in this product does include Manny Machado and Yasiel Puig among many others. Rookie cards can be found one per pack. The base set also includes Legend Stars like Rickey Henderson and Nolan Ryan. 

Anyone who collected Pinnacle back in the 90's remembers their Mueseum Collection parallels and the shine of the Dufex technology. Panini pays tribute to those with their Nufex technology.

 

Favorite insert of the product follows below.

 

INSERTS: There are inserts galore in this product! Falling at an average rate of 1 per pack. And they are not just your average looking inserts. Some look like the base cards such as the Awaiting The Call, Team 2020, Behind The Numbers, and The Hit King. Artist Proof is same as a base card except a small sympbol in the corner that states Artist Proof. I wished Panini had done something different with those however. I didn't even know I had one til I sorted the cards out for my review. Maybe a silver foil-board card or a gold version of Nufex will suffice there. Others include the Nufex technology such as Team Pinnacle (a Pinnacle classic that's double sided with stars such as the one above with Stephen Strasburg/Nolan Ryan), Slug Fest and Museum Collection.

Then Panini brings out the acetate on great looking inserts such as Swing For The Fences, Pinnacle Of Success and my favorite insert of the product Clear Vision. A card that combines a thicker rainbow cardboard with a thin acetate "window" that states some statistic such as Single, Double, Triple or for pitchers Complete Game, No Hitter and so on. I have read on some sites taht the higher up the statistic, the harder the pull. But, I have yet to confirm that information.

This is what every hobby box should provide in terms of inserts/parallels: Three Museum Collection, two Artist’s Proofs, four Awaiting the Call, three Team 2020, two Position Powers, one Behind the Numbers, three Clear Vision, two Team Pinnacle, two Slugfest, one Aces, three Pinnacle of Success and two Swing for the Fences.

AUTOGRAPHS:  The design is nicely done here though I think finding Pinnacle Inscriptions would have been a sweeter addition. The hit quality though in most boxes I have seen broken have not been superb. I have seen mostly average Joes being pulled. But, that just means the big hits are still out there waiting.

And here are some big time autographs to look for in this product.  Players like Cal Ripken, Jr., Frank Thomas, Mike Trout, Ken Griffey, Jr., Mariano Rivera, and Stephen Strasburg among others.

JERSEY/PATCH CARDS: N/A (though I think it would be a great addition to the product. Especially if used with the Nufex technology.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: It’s been 15 long years since collectors were given the opportunity to collect Pinnacle Baseball. I like that Panini stuck to the classic Pinnacle layout in terms of inserts you would have found in the product 15 years ago. I also like the price per box and the value that you can find in one. Especially if you land a big name auto. A box is packed with rookies, great looking inserts and two autographs. I would say if you want to take a trip down memory lane if you once collected Pinnacle and enjoyed what it had to offer, give this product a try.

I must also note that despite the product lacking MLB logo's due to the fact that Panini only has an MLBPA license, they did a great job here and shows us another reason why Topps needs competition in that department.
 

On another note, I wonder how many times I must beg Panini to bring this product back to football as well. Hopefully they see this note. I also wonder where this Pinnacle adventure from Panini will take us next. Maybe classics like Pinnacle Mint, Pinnacle Inside, or New Pinnacle? Very interested where they go from here.

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: 5
                Base Design: 3.5
                Insert Design: 5
                Memorablila/Autographs: 4
                Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 4

Review: 2013 Bowman Platinum Blaster

The glimmer and the shine of Bowman Platinum always grabs my attention and other collector's attentions as well. I like retail version of the product for 1, can't afford hobby right now and 2, it usually gives you your money back plus more and 3, you can sometimes hit an auto or auto/patch in a blaster box. It's not too often you can get a decent hit in a blaster product and this product is one where they odds are favorable.

The product is also rookie based with both prospects, rookie cards and inserts of them. Which is key an any product with the word Bowman.

I feel this blaster did just that.

Box Break Down:

• 8 Packs Per Box, 4 Cards Per Pack
• $20 PER BLASTER BOX

Base Card

Base Rookie Card

Even though these aren't base cards, I call them that anyways

BASE CARDS: This is a product that to me doesn't need the action photography like others that I crave it from. The glimmer and shine of the base cards does enough to catch my attention. The rainbow appeal is very nice and a base set I would spend time putting together.

I really like the border on these unlike the types of border used in other Topps products. This one is very minimal. I wished Topps would use this type of border for their other products with the action photography. That would drastically change my opinion on some of their MLB line.

Base Set Breakdown:

100 Cards in the base set
100 Card Prospect "base set"

Gold 1:5

Ruby 1:20

Prospect refractors 1:4

Top Prospects 1:5

Die-Cut Cutting Edge 1:10

Best Bowman Players Of All Time 1:20

INSERTS:The parallels are a thing of beauty just like the base cards as is rest of the inserts. And as you can tell by the odds for each one, we did pretty well with our blaster pulling both a 1:20 Ruby parallel and a Best Bowman Players Of All Time 1:20 insert in only a 8 pack box. Die Cuts are a nice touch as well.

AUTOGRAPHS: NONE (Though pulling some from retail is never out of the question)

JERSEY/PATCH CARDS: NONE

OVERALL THOUGHTS: For $20, you will get your money back. You will also get joy in busting the product. I have seen many people hit autos in blaster boxes. Some were big hits. This and Topps Chrome are the only two retail products in blaster form that will provide a big Bam and will provide your moneys worth. As always, I will recommend this product and hope you get Puig from your box. That was our aim but we don't mind seeing Machado either. A nice rookie PC piece.

And with this product being rookie loaded, it's also a buy for future value as well.

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: 4
                Base Design: 5
                Insert Design: 5
                Memorablila/Autographs: N/A
                Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 5