2015 Topps Update: Box Break & Review (Part Three)

HAPPY NOVEMBER!!!

Now that Halloween is out of the way, and now that the World Series is beginning to reach a climax, I figure that, before the blog starts its usual baseball-less supposed dark period (which I am going to TRY to make not happen this year), I'd get the third and final part of this box rip out of the way.

Besides, we still haven't found our hit. And, while it's not the greatest thing I've ever pulled out of a box of cards or anything, it's pretty good.

Onto the rest of the rip:

 Pack 25- I love this pack, because there were two cases of the ASG card and the base card for the same player.

 Two guys on awesome teams who didn't get a ton of playing time this year. Ross, however, is Jon Lester's personal catcher, so I do have some respect for him.

 DOUBLE K-ROD. Man, I'm so glad he's back to pitching well in the ninth again.
Alex Wood, the one pitching acquisition that did WELL for the Dodgers this July.

 An ASG card of Brett Gardner, who's finally making a name for himself in the Bronx.
And yet another buyback, this one of Dave Rader.

 And DOUBLE-DONALDSON. Nice to get two great cards of the guy who's likely gonna be our AL MVP.

 Pack 26- It's at times like these that I remember that Hank Conger is still on a Major League Roster.

 Gerardo Parra, a guy who was awesome for the O's during the second half, and a gold parallel of Leonel Campos.

 Yeah, gotta post this. Hell of a Yankee. Good luck holding up shop in Miami, buddy.

 I love that Moss had a nice second half with the Cards. I also love that Shelby Miller could potentially be the anchor of a revitalized Braves roster next year.

 Adam Jones, once again representing in the ASG, and a rookie card for everybody's favorite switch-pitcher, Pat Venditte.

 Oh yeah.

And this guy.

Carlos Correa, a guy that I saw up close, and let me assure you all. He's for real, he's talented, and he's going places.

 Pack 27- Parallels abound.

 Figured I'd post this. Banuelos was in the Yankee system for years. Never panned out, so we traded him to the Braves. He did...alright this season.

 I love that Dexter Fowler is back to having awesome seasons, especially now that he's on the Cubs. And our gold parallel is of Shawn Tolleson, the Rangers new closer.

 Our BLACK PARALLEL, which is numbered to 64, as in 64 Years of Topps Baseball, is of Steve Cishek...a friggin Cardinal. I mean, I'd be happy if Cishek was still playing well, but he tanked in Miami this year.
Meanwhile, YOENIS CESPEDES is a marvel. He's keeping this Mets team relevant and alive.

 Pack 28- Holy crap, SAL BANDO. WOW.

 Two great horizontals. The Joc has enough going on in the background. The deGrom & Harvey one is just awesome.

 Meanwhile, a card of a guy who's gonna get a ton of MVP votes this year, Anthony Rizzo, who I adore.

 Andrew Miller, a guy who went from trade fodder for Miguel Cabrera, to the best closer in the American League.
And Matt Holliday, a guy who was having a wonderful season until he got injured.

 My buyback here is a '69 Topps Sal Bando, which is actually pretty awesome.
And a ASG card of Jason Kipnis.

 Pack 29- Man, those Rarities inserts really grow on ya...

 Love this card. Love Posey, and love MadBum. I also love that MadBum can get a silver slugger as a pitcher.

 Bolsinger was a decent #4 guy for the Dodgers this year. Chris Young actually had a pretty nice season for the Royals, completing his career renaissance that started in Seattle last year.

 I love this card. Making it a Horizontal ups the fun factor.

 This will likely be Aramis Ramirez' last card, and it's a pretty freaking nice one.
Aroldis Chapman looks pretty great here, silly ASG caps notwithstanding.

 Aw, cool, a Gold Parallel of Joey Gallo, a guy who had some great games for the Rangers...and then stopped hitting.
And my Rarities is of Billy Williams, a guy who you don't pull cards of everyday.

 Pack 30- I got another pretty nice rookie in this one.

 Mike Fiers was plucked from Milwaukee to throw a no-no for Houston. Which is nice.
My gold parallel is Chi Chi Gonzalez. Pretty nice, I guess.

 Albert we've already seen. Hansel. HANSEL?

 Derek Norris may very well have been a fluke, but I like his stuff and hope he keeps it up.
Ted Williams is a guy you can't help but respect.

 Brad Miller had a nice breakout season, but he's nothing compared to Addison Russell, who became the crucial fourth piece in one of the most intimidating infields in recent history.

 Pack 31- Revenge of the NL Central.

 Michael 'The Pufferfish' Lorenzen, who is one of the few arms they have left in Cincinnati.
Michael Morse, who's awesome for whoever he plays for, in Pittsburgh.

 Always nice to pull a Doc Gooden. And Brock Holt, as we've discussed, is having some great at-bats in Boston.

 I love the career-renaissiance that's happened with Jason Heyward. He really deserves it.
And Howard...yeah...

 Two guys that will be LIGHTING UP the NL Central over the next few years.

 Pack 32- Lots of pitchers.

 Don't really know Herrera, but I love this card.

 Chris Young, who had some awesome games for my Yankees, and Bryce Harper, who finally showed Washington what he was capable of.

 And King Felix, still one of the best pitchers in baseball.

 Pack 33- Getting down to the wire.

 I saw Clippard's first game as a Met, which is nice. Perkins and Gallo had some okay seasons.

 I forgot that I already pulled Kipnis. Smoltz FINALLY made it to the HOF this year, which is really cool.

 Two guys who didn't do nearly as well as they did last year. Hawkins is probably retiring after this season.

 Pack 34- Oh, hello there.

 I do enjoy this card. The shadow they put into his uniform, especially.

 Two really nice ASG cards, especially Tex.

 Our buyback is of Larry Brown. But you don't care about that. You want the hit...

Well...

 It's not a bad one.

I mean, yeah, it's Brandon Crawford, a guy who FINALLY had an awesome season this year. This is a pretty sweet pull, and it's a colored swatch. Not my #1 choice for a hit, but I'm still pretty satisfied.

 Pack 35- Penultimate pack.

 Gold parallel of Randall Delgado. Base card of Shawn Tolleson.

 The Cabrera is an extremely nice one. The Trout is yet another Mike Trout insert for my binder.

 Hey guys, it's the 2014 World Series!!

Except for Volquez. He's a guy who's probably gonna save the day tonight for the Royals.

Herrera and Posey, though, are pretty nice.

 Pack 36- The very last pack.

 Here are my inserts- a gold parallel of Rockies backup Michael McKenry, and a Guardians of the Superstitions insert of Justin Verlander.

 Also, here's a rookie of Boston standout Eduardo Rodriguez.

I forgot to rotate this one, but it's a cool ASG card of Prince Fielder.

 Kazmir had some decent starts with the Astros. Panik was an All Star this year, which made me very happy, as he's a wonderful little player.

Matt Kemp had a slow start, but an explosive finish in San Diego.
Noah Syndergaard is possibly the toughest pitcher in New York right now. You saw how he took a win away from the Royals. You see what he can do to people. He's pretty scary.

So, that was the box. It was fun, it was rookie-filled, and I got a nice hit out of it. What more can I say?

Review- B+. Obviously this set isn't perfect, and there are some little notches, like variations, bland inserts, and some formulaic photo selections, but overall, it's Update. It's a fun product, and there's a lot of joy out of seeing players in new uniforms.