Monday, August 21, 2017

A Surprisingly Nice Blaster of 2017 Stadium Club

2017 hasn't been the greatest year for card-collecting. Not because Topps has only put out a few good products, but I haven't really had a great longing for a lot of what's on the shelves. Series 2 stopped being appealing to me, I've never been an Allen and Ginter guy, Panini's stuff still seems kinda bush-league, and Archives is somehow off the shelves.

Where does that leave Stadium Club? Well, front and center. This has been the only set I've actively sought more of. It's not perfect, but it's a fun, photography-based set that keeps my interest and makes me happy.

Without many options, I grabbed a blaster tonight. And let me tell you...usually on this blog I complain of getting blasters meant for Cardinals or Blue Jays fans. Tonight...this one was sent from the gods for me. It wasn't terrific hit-wise, but you'll see what I mean.

Pack 1-
67- Whitey Ford. A gorgeous black and white photo, and another great Whitey issue from SC. Already I'm happy.
45- Kyle Seager. Okay, I was expecting a few dupes, but this is one of the few that came my way this box.
199- Roman Quinn. I think my dad's still obsessed with this guy.
279- Trevor Story. Not having a great sophomore season, but still doing well enough. Great static headshot, too.
78- Denard Span. Gold parallel. Great, fun shot of him, too.

So, already I wasn't seeing a ton of dupes, and a lot I hadn't seen yet. And that would continue.

Pack 2-
264- Rougned Odor. More fun with the Rangers and their gatorade showers.
POWER ZONE insert...of Frank Thomas. Glad it's not the same two Jays ones I keep getting, and that it's a HOF hero like Thomas.
39- Bryce Harper. Don't think I have this one, and it's a great award shot of the guy.
175- Mark McGwire. Another singular dupe.
298- Ryan Vogelbach. I don't really know the guy, but the card looks really cool.

Pack 3-
231- Giancarlo Stanton. A terrific outfield shot of the ultimate comeback player for the year.
CHROME PARALLEL OF CLAYTON KERSHAW. I mean, of all gets for that type, Kershaw's an excellent one.
80- Henry Owens.
187- Dexter Fowler. Fantastic spring training shot.
256- Michael Fulmer, one of the few credible players left in Detroit.

Pack 4-
254- Maikel Franco, in a fantastic shot. Not having a great season, but still one of the closest things Philly has to a hero right now.
Scoreless Streak insert of...Alex Reyes??? HE HAS NOT HAD A SCORELESS STREAK. HE'S BARELY EVEN PLAYED IN THE MAJORS. BOO, TOPPS. BOO!
228- Gavin Cecchini
137- DEREK JETER. Glad to see the Captain's represented in this set.
91- Pat Neshek, still in a Philly uniform.

Pack 5-
124- Shawn O'Malley. Another case of 'great card, don't know who you are.'
245- CHRIS SALE. Fantastic studio shot, with a wonderful tint of red. Almost symbolic.
52- Jason Varitek
77- Rick Porcello. Okay, this photo's one of my faves from the set. Price, Porcello, Sale...and Hanley goofing off behind them. So much fun.
65- Zach Britton. Still one of the best.

Pack 6-
42- Justin Verlander
28- Joe Mauer. Dupe.
36- Willson Contreras. Also a dupe. Still, much less than I thought we'd be getting this box.
86- ICHIRO. Always fantastic getting cards of him.
3- NOAH SYNDERGAARD. Man, this box is just notching off all the guys I collected that I still needed.

Pack 7-
99- Paul Goldschmidt, in a FANTASTIC auto-signing card. Like, one of the greats
60- Clay Buchholz, as a Phillie...ORANGE AND GOLD PARALLEL. So yeah. Take that, Cardinals, Sox and Jays. I finally get a decent rare parallel in a box, and it's of a Phillie.....okay, a Phillie that hasn't pitched since April, but STILL.
258- Stephen Vogt. Dupe.
19- DJ LeMahieu. Forget if I have this one or not.
296- Shelby Miller.

Pack 8-
17- DIDI GREGORIUS. AND HE LOOKS SO HAPPY!
Contact Sheet of Jose Bautista. I might have this one.
198- Ryan Schimpf
2 last dupes


So before going a bit wobbly in the last bit, that was a pretty nice box, with a nice amount of Yankees, Phillies, and guys I collect, and not too many dupes. Nice surprise from a part of the card-collecting year that can be numbing sometimes.

No comments:

Post a Comment