Pack Break: 2014 Prizm

I broke open a 2014 Prizm Retail Pack.  The pack boasts only 4 cards.  I guess the Piazza insert is the best pull of the pack.  Although, I was more excited to get the Henderson and Harper cards.  I barely have any of this product.  I think the reason is that this is not a MLB licensed product.  Don't mention any team names.  Otherwise, we'll have to pay money.  I find these unlicensed cards to be sort of cheesy.  Give these folks a license, MLB!

Listia Mailbag: The Bossman

I picked up this game used jersey card of BJ Upton on Listia for just about 4000 credits.  The card is from 2014 Topps Heritage.  I wish I bought more Heritage, because I really like the card designs.  In 2014, he was BJ.  But now, he is Melvin Upton, Jr.  That sounds like the name of a scientist, not a baseball player.  The card came with a couple of small stress creases, but they don't take away from the card's overall appearance. 

Pack Break: 2014 Topps Jumbo Pack

I popped open a jumbo pack of 2014 Topps Series 1 over the weekend.  It was a decent pack with plenty of parallels and inserts.  The Mariano card has got to be the best card in the pack.  Here are the highlights.

 

Yu Darvish
Junior Lake
Carlos Villanueva

Lee Smith
Mike Carp
Ryan Howard

Mariano Rivera
Mike Trout
Manny Machado

2014 Topps Chrome: Now with Bonus Pack

I recently purchased 3 packs of 2014 Topps Chrome which happened to come with the bonus 3 card pack of Orange Refractors. The Orange Refractors turned out to be the best cards of these packs. Without further ado, here are the spoils.

Pack 1

CC Sabathia

Tommy Medica (Xfractor)

Marcus Stroman

Mark Trumbo

Pack 2

Giancarlo Stanton

Francisco Liriano

Joey Votto (Refractor)

Yangervis Solarte

Pack 3

Curtis Granderson

Brandon Moss (Refractor)

Tommy Medica (again)

Robinson Cano

Orange Pack

Justin Verlander

Stephen Strasburg

Kolten Wong

Listia Mailbag: Yonder Alonso

I bought this 2014 Topps Heritage card of Yonder Alonso on Listia for just 22 credits.  It’s a great design.  I especially like the little team banner on the bottom left of the card.  Alonso arrived with the Padres in the Mat Latos trade from the Reds.  The Padres got the better of that trade in my opinion.  Alonso hasn’t been great so far, but he’s still young. 

Randomness from 2014 Topps

Here’s a bunch of random 2014 Topps cards that I picked up on eBay for less than a buck.  In all, there are 16 cards.  That’s a better value than buying a pack.  Sure, there’s no chance at a jersey card or an autograph, but I probably wouldn’t pull one out of those out of a pack anyway.  Also, check out that cool Red Chris Young card.  Anyway, here is the loot. 

It's Official

It’s official.  The 2014 regular season is over.  The big story is the end of Derek Jeter’s career.  It’s a bittersweet moment for us Yankee fans.  I can’t remember watching too many Yankee games before Jeter was the shortstop.  Also retiring at the end of the season were Paul Konerko and Bobby Abreu.  It’s a shame that Konerko and Abreu didn’t receive more attention.  They were certainly deserving of it.  All three left the game with class and dignity, just as they played it. 

Also with the end of the regular season, comes the end of the fantasy baseball season.  About a month ago, I posted (bragged) about my sizable lead over the second place team in the league.  Shortly thereafter, I lost that lead and held second place for about two weeks.  During that time, I constantly searched the available free agents in search of an edge.  Fortunately, I reclaimed the lead and won the league.  There are no prizes – just the right to brag on this blog.  But, there is a lesson to be learned here.  Don’t count all of your chickens until Trevor Plouffe is your third baseman. 

NL Rookie of the Year Race

I picked up this 2014 Bowman card of Jacob DeGrom on Listia for just 26 credits.  DeGrom is a contender for NL Rookie of the Year.  He is no Doc Gooden, a former Rookie of the Year with the Mets.  But, DeGrom has put up some decent numbers.  His biggest competition probably comes from Billy Hamilton of the Reds.  Hamilton’s game is all about speed.  If the season ended now, Hamilton is probably the winner.  But DeGrom has a bright future in Flushing. 

Listia Mailbag: Ryan Howard

Here’s my latest Listia acquisition.  It’s a 2014 Topps Heritage card of Ryan Howard.  It only cost 22 credits.  Of course, Howard is sort of on the downswing.  He is currently underperforming his bloated contract.  He is still with the Phillies as the team is unable to unload him.  I love the Heritage design this year.  The color is well done.  Also, I like the photography.  Heritage is usually a good product. 

2014 Topps Randomness

I picked up a random bunch of 2014 Topps base cards on eBay for less than a buck.  Nothing special.  It’s basically the equivalent of a cheap pack.  Although, I really like the photo on the Henderson Alvarez card from his no-hitter.  It was a strange game because the Marlins scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth.     

It's Just Opening Day

I picked up a 2014 Topps Opening Day card of Everth Cabrera on eBay recently.  I already owned the blue parallel so I figured I might as well own the base card too.  I think Opening Day has got to be the best value out of the various brands.  It sure beats a pack of Bowman Chrome. 

Pack Break: 2014 Topps Opening Day

So I finally opened the three packs of 2014 Topps Opening Day that I picked up at last week’s card show.  Without further ado, here are the results.

The first pack is a good one.  There is a Jeter base card, a blue Jordan Zimmermann card, and a Giancarlo Stanton insert that reminds me of the old Sportflics cards from the 1980s.

The second pack was even better.  That is an Opening Day Autograph of Andrew Lambo.  The odds run at 1 in 278 packs.  Not bad for a buck.  That’s the first time I have ever pulled an autograph out of a loose pack.  If you are anything like me, you have no idea who this guy is.  Lambo got a cup of coffee last year, but he will start this season at Triple A.  He hit .095 in spring training, so he is not Albert Pujols. 

The final pack was also decent with a base Puig card and a blue Everth Cabrera card.  I also got a card of the Rangers Mascot which is some kind of moose apparently.  That's a pretty good haul for three bucks though. 

First Pack of 2014 Topps

Here is my first pack of 2014 Topps Series 1.  I paid a couple of bucks for the pack at a card show this past weekend.  So my first card of 2014 Topps is …

Jake Peavy.  There’s nowhere to go but up.  The rest of the pack was pretty decent though.  Here it is.

Bryce Harper

Chad Bettis

Nate Schierholtz

Kurt Suzuki

Vernon Wells (Red Parallel)

David DeJesus

John Mayberry

Corey Kluber

 Rajai Davis