Yesterday I broke half of this spiffy new box of 2018 Stadium Club. I got a bunch of cool base cards, and two crappy autographs, because...of course I did.
Today, we're gonna knock out the last 8 packs. Hopefully these will be a smidge better.
Pack 9- Four dupes, but they're all great photos, and it's an excuse for me to show the Tanaka on the blog again, because...it's so cool.
A mishmash here of cards I needed. A standard shot of Garrett Richards, a cool enough Special Forces insert of Jose Altuve, and nice shots of JBJ and JP Crawford.
Also, is it me or are the SC inserts not as good this year?
Pack 10-
I had the Villanueva, but the rest of these are new. I love how symmetrical the Woodruff and Cabrera ended up being, without even meaning it. Heck, even the Carpenter looks cool.
Topps sure knows how to filter 80s/90s-era shots to make them look a bit more current. This Brett one is no exception.
Three more awesome horizontal shots. The Altuve is definitely the highlight, but the Bour is pretty great, and the Votto is just a simple hero card.
Pack 11-
A dupe, a pair of rookies (Bader has done better than Fedde this far), and a cool shot of HIDEKI MATSUI!
I love both of these shots. Cespedes is pure awesomeness here, and King Felix's is made even better by the sea of K's in the background.
A Beam Team insert of Somehow All-Star Bryce Harper, and a cool, casual greyscale card of Hank Aaron. Like Jackie, if you don't enjoy pulling Hank Aaron cards, you're not human
Pack 12-
I believe these three are dupes. I know for a fact that Cain is. Red parallel though
THESE TWO I definitely needed. Jake Arrieta in a Phils uniform is a nice sight. And Seager's passion is missed in LA about now.
Some killer photos from Blue Jays stars, and I'm giving the edge to Stroman for the intensity of that one. Plus, the Smoltz Never Compromise insert is pretty cool, though...I imagine some designers had to compromise on a few elements of that design.
Pack 13- Bunch of dupes here. The Gooden is a red parallel.
I needed these, though. Alfaro's might be the best photo, as it's got a nice background action. Fulmer's dramatic pose is still appreciated though.
Pack 14-
These two are dupes. Not bad, though
Jose Abreu's the sole ASG nod from this bunch, and Manaea and Bird look cool, but I honestly think Rosario makes the Never Compromise insert set works. I think it works with the orange.
Annnnd THESE TWO INCREDIBLE PIECES OF CARDBOARD were in here too. The Broxton is just a phenomenal shot, and the Verlander is just really dramatic, and has a great use of color.
Pack 15-
Gallagher we already saw, in auto form. Mattingly's a nice SC choice. Cole and Wood have solid enough photos.
Correa's another cool iteration of the Special Forces set, which is beginning to grow on me.
Martinez' base card is definitely welcome given his season so far, while Ian Happ's card is being cited as one of the best by many fans, and I'm not inclined to disagree.
This one, though, is incredible. This might be Ichiro's last Topps card, and if so...what a release to go out on.
Pack 16- Four dupes.
Two great landscape shots of Nats. Zim may have the edge here.
And we finish off this box with Kris Bryant, the poster boy, and a Never Compromise insert of Clint Frazier, which also looks pretty cool.
So that was a box of Stadium Club. Not perfect, too many dupes, and the hits weren't great. But I still enjoy this set, and I enjoy the level of effort put into the photography.
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