Monday, July 9, 2018

A Hobby Box of 2018 Topps Stadium Club (Part One)


Well...as if you hadn't seen enough Stadium Club on this blog, I went and got some more.

A lot of people get Hobby Boxes for the hits. Me...I don't really do that. I already got a nice Darryl Strawberry hit out of this product, and that was by accident. Besides, most hits in this set are of people no one would want to get a hit of (or, at least most hits I pull). I get a hobby box of this because this has the best base set of the year, and some of the best photography. And I get one every year. So yeah.

16 packs, 8 cards per pack. We'll do 8 cards today, 8 cards tomorrow.

 Pack 1-
Rookies! Only Lucas Sims has gotten any positive play this year. I already pulled Stephens last time, but this is a black parallel. Which...is nice?

 Pitchers galore. Two of these guys, Berrios and Folty, are All-Stars this year. The other one's injured.

Power-hitters of the AL East. Sanchez' injury prevented him from squeaking into the ASG himself. That and his atrocious average.

 Pack 2-
Duvall, and two rookies who are doing pretty well. Flaherty probably has the best photo, because he's the one Cards rookie that Topps knew to push back in March.

 These two are dupes for me, but Davis is a red parallel, and CHIPPAH is a chrome. Second year in a row I've pulled a chrome one of a new HOF-er (last year was Bagwell).

 Classy photos of some classy players. Adam Jones is always done well by this set, but Edwin's just looks pretty damn cool, and dramatic.

Annnnd...of course Jackie Robinson's card looks absolutely awesome. He's Jackie Robinson. He's incapable of looking not-awesome of a card! Just here, the amount of power he's displaying...that's so cool.
Glad I pulled this, instead of having to drop like 3 dollars on it at a card show

 Pack 3-
NL East sideways. Nice they gave Garrett Cooper a card, despite his truncated 2017 and 2018 seasons. Strasburg, as always, looks awesome. Ziegler doesn't have the closer gig anymore, but he's still a nice commodity to have.

 Some standard poses here, but since it's Stadium Club it's filtered a ton better.

Dramatic poses. Maeda's is a pretty great shot, even if Maeda's been disappointing since his rookie year. I already pulled Upton, but this is the black parallel, and...it just still looks awesome.

 Pack 4-
3 dupes, but at least they're awesome dupes. The right 2 are All Stars.

 Smoak is also a dupe, but the other two are pretty nice. Tim Locastro, Topps' Dodgers rookie of the moment, looks nice, and Goldy doesn't look bad either.

Unfortunately, my lack of Cardinals in the last break has come to bite me in the ass. NOT ONLY did I pull these two consecutively, but they both look awesome. Especially the Fowler. The C-Mart is alright, and I like the sunglasses glare, but that Fowler is a marvel.

 Pack 5-
All of these are dupes, but it's nice to see them again

 Two sole new cards. Iglesias is one of the best closers for one of the worst teams. He deserves more respect, because he throws SMOKE. My gosh.
And Piazza looks awesome here, as a Dodger because he needs more post-retirement cards from LA.

SO....This is my first hit.

It's of Philip Evans. A guy who's played a few games in the majors, has been lighting up the minors, and is technically stuck behind Todd Frazier for the spot. And probably David Wright if he ever comes back. I don't know, if you're a Mets fan maybe this is good, but...I'm not wowed.

 Pack 6-
A dupe insert of JD Martinez, and two take-of-leave rookies. Goodrum's a good clutch hitter, though

 Three nice base cards. Seager looks proud of himself, and as the only non-injured Seager brother right now, he should be. Maybin is PROBABLY in a real fish jersey? It could be an Astros jersey? Not sure. And Larkin, of course, looks awesome.

Two VERY AWESOME base cards. The Lamb one is classic, as it's the kind of play at the plate I wished we saw on Topps cards these days.
And DeGrom's is not only awesome, but it's a reminder of the long hair he needlessly took off.

 Pack 7-
Hamilton's a dupe, but he's a red parallel. Brinson's been a disappointment for Miami. And those two AL Central rookies look great on these cards.

 Three standard-ish base cards. The Cabo's a little less awesome since the news broke, but Smoltz, as always, looks dominant as hell, and Mazara's run is great.

AND THIS...is the second of two hits.

Cam Gallager is a backup catcher for Salvador Perez. Which means he's a backup for Drew Butera. He's played in 8 games this season. So...naturally, he gets an autograph in this set. Sure, Topps.

I've certainly done worse with hits in SC, but I've also done MUCH BETTER.

 Pack 8-
Two dupes and a Rays rookie,
 Ones I don't have, thankfully. It's always nice to pull an Aaron Nola card.

A Power Zone insert of Marcell Ozuna, complete with yellow armband, a welcome wingspan shot of Cole Hamels, and a pensive look at Kevin Kiermaier close out the first half of the box.

Tomorrow, I'll bring you the remaining eight packs. Plenty of good photography left to enjoy.

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