Review: 2013 Panini USA Champions Baseball

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 Game Gear Memorabilia Cards Per Box
• Three Mirror Parallels Per Box
• Look for Certified Mirror Black 1/1's
• $66 per box

 

 

BASE CARDS:  The base card design is nice and states what this set is all about..USA Champions. Overall the base set consists of 187-card retired USA Baseball Alumni, top prospects and the current USA Baseball National Team players. Its a great variety and showcases all that's red, white and blue.

The simple design is very elegant however. Three different card borders, the fonts and color scheme, a waving flag thats watermarked behind the player featured is overly appealing to any collector. Panini also broke down the different colored borders as so, the Gold are veterans and the Blue and Red are of players that are either currently on Team USA or have played for them more recently.

And I wouldn't be able to give you a complete review without telling you how terrific the card backs were done. I don't have one pictured but its worth at least mentioning . It doesn't have the stats on the back like most baseball cards would, it has about a paragraph naming the players contribution to USA Baseball. The color scheme on the back, just like the front, continues to flow and fit the theme of rest of the set. Its not too often you get to read more of a card back than just stats.

I also think its finally nice to be able to bust packs of a product like this since most USA products used to come in boxed sets. Panini did a great job here making it fun to bust and not just to open a boxed set to search for the hits.

 

  

 

INSERTS: USA Champions also has two inserts of their own. Panini Pride shown above. Great design and sticks with the theme. USA Champions also has one of my all time favorite baseball inserts in Diamond Kings (though we didn't land any in our box here is a picture provided by Panini below)

If you like Panini Certified and Certified Mirror parallels and die cuts like me, then you will enjoy the inserts this product has to offer. The Certified in this product looks outstanding with the silver foil board and the flag blowing in the wind in the background. The parallels and die cuts glisten as well. This makes for some serious chasing fun.

AUTOGRAPHS: We got a great break of this product. Supposed to be 2 autos, we got three. The young guys from the Certified design you have already heard our love of that one.The Stars And Stripes design is quite outstanding too. I really like how they kept with the flag theme throughout the product. 

You can find autographs of  USA Baseball Alumni from the last 35 years including Jim Abbott, Frank Thomas, Robin Ventura, Barry Larkin and many others! These are names we are all familiar with. And the cool thing is the photo used is what they looked like way back then. Another fun aspect of the product.

Another desirable thing about the autographs in this product is that they are all numbered. And not all to the same numbering. That will help the autographs on the secondary market become more wanted.

 

and BOOOOOOOOOMMMM SHAKA LAKA in the last pack of the box!

1/1 SICK PATCH CARD!

JERSEY/PATCH CARDS: Once again really like the flag design. I wished the bat piece was a little bigger like the jersey swatch one is. But overall its not too much of an issue. The HUGE oversized patch swatch is tremendous. There are around 1500 swatches just like this in the product overall also with the first-ever USA Baseball Bat Knobs - each a 1/1! You can also get Flag Patches game used as well.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Overall, I am very impressed. I didn't know what to expect from a break of this product til I saw it in person. From a distance it looked good but come on, it wasn't an MLB product. I most of the time would brush away a product like this but after opening it, I am not only left wanting more, I am telling you to bust it as well.

The Flag theme, the nice swatches, the chance at Prime hits, the Certified parallels, a nice checklist of players and you got a winner. This product is well worth a break for anyone. For around $66 you get 5-6 hits and a handful of inserts. Where else can you find this value? GO BUY SOME!!!

This is definitely a bargain break and one that has HUGE hits waiting to happen.

And once again Panini is proving why they deserve to be in the baseball card business. Would love to see them land a MLB license. Incredible things could happen.

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

Review: Bowman Baseball 2013

Being a rookie card collector and with Topps having the only MLB rookie cards, I had to take a dive. Especially with Bowman that is loaded with them. As the box states, its truly the home of the rookie (prospect) cards.

Here are my thoughts on this product. Let me know what you think in comments!

Box Break Down:

• 24 Packs Per Box, 10 Cards Per Pack
• Look for One Autograph Card Per Box!
• One Silver Ice Parallel Per Box!
• $65 per HOBBY box

 

BASE CARDS: I will call them the usual Bowman look. Meaning a wrap around border sometimes white sometimes black and the photography in the middle. I do wish they would lessen the border and show more photography, but this isn't one of the worst ones I have seen. The prospect borders are a little too thick. They should have stuck with the base card one. I do wish they did more of the Stadium Club type of design with little border and great action photography.

Above, take note, that I also included the State/Hometown parallel and compared it to its base. If you are not paying attention to the cards when you sort you might not even notice you have one. I almost passed right by this one. I think a different color to the card itself, maybe a silver cardboard will help stand these out more.

  

INSERTS:  A huge upside to this product is the rest of the inserts. Especially if you are a chromie like myself. You find refractors of multiple colors (only plain in this box), colored parallels, Silver Ice parallels (I really like these) among prospect inserts. I was totally excited to see chrome refractor minis (Will Myers above) added to this product. They are called the Cream Of The Crop. I also like the Blue Sapphire reprint refractors as well and for some reason our pull of Tim Lincecum isn't shown. The one negative (not really too much of a negative) with the inserts is the gold parallels that fall one per pack. I would prefer a bonus rookie card or prospect card instead. They are just an boring insert and are worth as much as a base card.

The one thing I haven't figured out yet is if I will bother playing the prospect challenge or not. You can win prizes, but I don't usually fare well at those things.

  

 

AUTOGRAPHS: We hit an autograph refractor parallel numbered to 500. Have heard this guy might have a chance in the majors someday so hopefully by sitting on this card he will be worth it. With so many prospects in this product you never know who you are going to land. So not every break will have a shining star in it.

JERSEY/PATCH CARDS: N/A In this break. They can be found at very hard odds.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: With this being rookie loaded, insert and parallels at a decent rate and one prospect auto..I think this is a decent price for the product and would probably recommend it. Even if you don't hit it big with a Buxton auto..you still might be sitting on an MLB star. Other than the base cards, the gold parallels, the final negative was the fact I didn't hit a Buxton prospect card of any sort. That was disappointing. But overall, give it a try and let us know how you do!

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: 2.5
                Insert Design: 4
                Memorablila/Autographs: 4
                Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 4

Review: Totally Certified Football 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. 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:

• 6 Packs Per Box, 5 Cards Per Pack
• (4) Autographs/Memorabilia Cards Per Box!
• (1) On-Card Rookie Autograph Per Box
• $115 a Box 

 

BASE CARDS:The base design, just like last years, brings me back to 1997 when this product first debuted. Its micro etched technology is awesome. The players have a 3D appeal and seem to jump out at you.Though not many cards in a box, this is a very set worthy looking base cards.

INSERTS: The inserts, though they are parallels and look great only getting one was a little odd. The blue ones, are numbered 199. I think it would be fun to put together a rainbow of the many parallels from this product.

AUTOGRAPHS: 4 autographs in this box was a nice haul. Having your big pull as a redemption of a okay player not so much. Harrison Smith was a nice pull and the autographs against the micro etched technology really stand out with the blue ink used for the autographs. Not to mention, the use of sticker autos here for you sticker auto haters you really can't see them. They blend in with the silver etched cardboard.

  

JERSEY/PATCH CARDS: Just like with the autographs, the jersey cards stand out. Even with white plain one color swatches the micro etched red (the other parallels too) just stand out.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: If this product was all about the design, I would have 5's straight across the board. No matter the color, the micro etched just look nice with the base cards, autos, jerseys and the combos. But I have to be honest with you guys about this particular break. I would say this was a poor break of the product. I have seen some great ones and some tremendous cards pulled, but this wasn't it. Only 1 insert, a redemption as the big auto hit, and just no parallels to anything it was just not a good break this time. However, I am not steering you away from this product. There is way too much to find in this product to be turned away. I actually recommend it. Panini did a great job with design and the autographs such as this big hit that came from Cardsmith breaks:

Numbered 5/5 is just an example of the big hits waiting to happen. Just because we had an off box, doesn't mean you will.

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: 5
                Insert Design: 5
                Memorablila/Autographs: 5
                Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 3

Review: Panini Basketball 2012-2013 with CONTEST!!

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, 10 Card Per Pack
• Two Autographs and Seven Knight Parallels Per Box!
• Rookie Autographs from both 11/12 and 12/13!
• $70 a Box

 

 

BASE CARDS:For a cost efficient product Panini did really well with the design. I like the mix of stars and Legends into the checklist of this product for the base cards. There are rookies from the double rookie class to be found as well. The only thing I didn't like is if you are a new collector or didn't know who the rookies were from the class, the rookie cards do not have the rookie card symbol on them so you have no idea that they are a rookie.If that had been included, there would be no problem with the base cards. I know I have mentioned a lot with too much bordering with other products, but when its done right it doesn't bother me as much. This one has a variety of team colors and its all schemed and not just a plain boring white.

INSERTS: The Knights Lance parallel is kinda cool. The normally silver corners are gold in this parallel and the Knights Lance is inserted at the bottom instead of the word Panini. Makes you think about the blog every time you find one. However, the Heroes of The Hall is my favorite insert with the blend of color and darkness. You get a good amount of inserts. Meaning, not overwhelming and just the right amount.

AUTOGRAPHS: The product states 2 autos per box...ours was shorted an auto and the one we got was a redemption. Ouch. So can't tell you an opinion on the design. Would assume they look like the base cards but with autos.

JERSEY/PATCH CARDS:N/A

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I like the base card design, the inserts look nice too and there isn't an overabundance and the price is within range of most collectors. The big bang could be here with a decent autograph checklist and with rookie cards (double rookie class so there is a lot to get), two autos, parallels and inserts it shouldn't take too much to get your value back. However, this break did not pull it off for us with a missing auto. But, as an update Panini Customer Service is helping get an auto to put in here to replace the missing one so we will post when that shows up. We will also fix the review numbers below 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: 4
                Insert Design: 4
                Memorablila/Autographs: 2.5
                Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 3.5

CONTEST!!!  To win the autograph card above from this break just leave your comments on this product below and we will randomly pick a winner by the end of the month.

THIS CONTEST IS OPEN TO EVERYONE!!!

Review: Topps Heritage Baseball Blaster 2013

Everyone was raving about this product..how could I not give it a go. This is a product though I wouldn't invest hobby money into. One, its got one hit per hobby box. Most likely 9 out of 10 times its a no name memorabilia hit. But thats just my opinion. I have seen big hits as well. But for me, its a retail buy. I have even hit a red auto before from retail which might be more than I would have pulled from hobby. I am not one to put $70 into a one hit product. For that price I am looking for multiple hits. Like I said, just my opinion.

Now onto my other thoughts:

Box Break Down:

• 7 Packs Per Box, 9 Cards Per Pack
• 1 Blue Walmart Parallel per box
• $20 a Box 

Base Card

Back Of Base

BASE CARDS: The design pays tribute to 1964. Though the design isn't bad, the cards don't have the "Heritage" feel anymore. They still have the scent of Heritage, but the feel of the cards are much thinner. And the cardboard doesn't have the classic rough feel like they used to. This part of the base cards was disappointing. I do like base sets that include managers and that make the subsets different than the base such as league leaders and the rookie cards.

INSERTS:  I like the News Flashback design but the other two inserts feel like subset cards to me. Not very exciting. The Blue Parallels are unique.And if you stick anything with chrome on it...I am very happy.

AUTOGRAPHS: N/A

JERSEY/PATCH CARDS:N/A

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Don't know if we got our value back or not from this break. Will have to wait til the price guide hits to judge. But first assumption would be about even or a little amount in return. The base design is nice.Heritage despite a little different feel is still one of my favorite buys of the year and I would probably try it again in retail form.

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: 4
                Insert Design: 3
                Memorablila/Autographs: NA
                Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 3

Review: Panini Golden Age Baseball 2012

If I was a movie reviewer and this was a movie I would give this product two thumbs waaaaaayy up!! From the outside in this product was a ton of fun to open. Just check out this review and you will see why.

Box Break Down:

• 24 Packs Per Box, 6 Cards Per Pack
• (1) Autograph and (1) Memorabilia Card Per Box!
• Box Toppers!
• (24) Mini Parallels Per Box!
• Boxes will run between $60-$70

BASE CARDS: Classic appeal. They are not very glossed and brings you back in time to way cards used to feel. The base set consists of pretty much everything. From baseball to football to jockeys to movie stars and even the Three Stooges. This would be one fun set to put together. And this blogger rather enjoyed looking at each base card front and back.

INSERTS: As with rest of the set, the inserts have classic touch to them and also range from different sports and movies and more. Each base card has a mini parallel. And even the minis have back parallels with what appears the blue ones is the hardest to pull only getting one in our box. We were also lucky enough to pull a black parallel of the base cards which are tough finds at 1/1 each made. This product also includes pop up cards..whens the last time we had one of those in a pack? You can find two of these per box. Overall, fun.

AUTOGRAPHS: One autograph and one memorabilia are per box. Our autograph is on card, but not someone we personally know but we Googled who he is and he had an impressive career with 455 stolen bases. But this product as a ton of big names to find. The signatures can be of personalities covering all fields of the Golden Age of America, including baseball and other sports, entertainment and the political arena.

JERSEY/PATCH CARDS: Really digging the design and the mix of celebrities and sports. As the card is called, Museum Age, it feels like something you would discover in a history museum hanging on a wall or other display. There is supposed to be one of these per box but we lucked out with two hits! One of the more unique pieces that could be pulled are pieces of pine wreckwood believed to be from the deck of the Titanic.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Buy it!! You won't regret it. For under $70, you get nice looking base cards, 24 minis, 1 auto, 1 memorabilia and a shot at a ton of stuff. This was probably the most fun I had with a bust in 2012. Panini did a great job with this product and hopefully they bring it back in 2013. If you are fans of Ginter or Goodwin Champions, this is Panini's version and a product for you.

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