A Jumbo Break of 2022 Panini Chronicles [Part 2]

 

Yesterday I started a box break of a product I decided to break for the sole purpose of finding Julio Rodriguez rookies. I found some, as well as a numbered Matt Manning card after pulling him like 30 times. This is a fun set with a lot of perks, even if it is, at the end of the day, a rookie-based Panini product. I'm honestly gonna miss this version of the set as Panini goes on hedging the new regulations.

We've got 6 more packs left and, yes, a hit to get to, so let's crack on:

Pack 7- Kind of a wild bunch of rookies to start us out. By the time the product would release, Detmers would, at the very least, have a no-no under his belt. Williams, meanwhile, is now a bench guy for the Dodgers, while Seabold is now in the Rockies system. That, uh, that fourth guy is doing alright for himself though. Keep it up, Bryson, we love ya!

...so T-Mobile you're allowed to show but logos are a no-go? Ah, whatever.

Basic picks here. Ronnie and Mike. A Threads of Sean Murphy, now playing with Ronnie. A Classics of Gil, still recovering from surgery.

My umpteenth Jarren Duran is a look at the Essentials subset, which I really like because it feels like a combination between Fleer Emotion and Topps Gold Label. I like it a lot.

Vilade is yet another Rockies infielder that hasn't made it. Bobby Witt is Bobby Witt.

Our pink parallel, courtesy of Contenders Optic, is Patrick Mazeika, again, proving that even one-year-old products can not age well. Good news is I got another Marsh and a well-deserved Bryce, and a very cool Jazz Chisholm Revolution. 

Pack 8- Two excellent veteran picks, two meh rookie picks. Santillan might still be recovering from injuries, I think.

...yeah I think I did pretty well in this section of the pack. Two top 2022 rookies and two of the best players in baseball. No complaints here.

I think that this set's emphasis on Edward Cabrera made a ton of sense immediately following last season, and now that Cabrera's having a tougher time is a little less welcome.

Harper, however, is always welcome here. Even if that is the same photo they used in the Contenders card from last pack.

Brash is...well, he's Matt Brash.

My pink was the Vilade Crusade, which, along with Deichmann, means the Crusades this pack may not be very good. Randy's Revolution looks cool, and hopefully Ashby will blossom like the Brewers would like him to.

Pack 9-

Would ya believe that we're halfway through the box and this is my first Jeremy Pena? Kinda wild if you ask me. Meanwhile, yet another Oneil Cruz and another Burger, who I believe we're about to see a lot more of.

The A's get thrown a bone with Kevin Smith, who, given his 2022 Opening Day callup, I'm shocked isn't in more of this box. Same with Cal Raleigh, though at least that's a rookie card that's aged better. And then there's Manny.

Recon is an insanely cool design for a set, but I figured out around here that their checklist was a bit more hit/miss. Ronnie Dawson is pretty much out of baseball at the current moment, which, again, ages your product even a year later. Roansy Contreras had a great end to the 2022 season and is just figuring out how to get back there this season. Ohtani pitching is all over this set, and I love that.

See, more Ohtani pitching! And a decent pink parallel, because at the very least Yordan Alvarez is a safe choice that won't age poorly immediately. Mookie on Spectra looks awesome, Seager on Revolution is clearly in a Dodgers uniform but I'll allow it.

Pack 10- Heck of a start. First of the Steven Kwan cards, which are welcome after his exceptional 2022 season. Another Wander, another Julio, a Torkelson for when he decides to start hitting well.

Some base types, including more excellent selections. A Trout, a Bobby Witt and a Steven Kwan. All welcome.

And then, uh, I saw there was a hit in this pack, and I tried my best to not see what it was til I got to it, but the way the pack was positioned, I could see the card number, and they're done by initials so it was like APR-MT.

...MT. There's not a ton of MTs in baseball right now, so I got excited. Oh man, what if this is a relic or auto of the best player in the bigs?

And then I turned it over, and...

...and I laughed. 

Oh yeah, it's a Michael T alright, but uh...not Mike Trout. Of course not. 

Michael Taylor is a fine player, I've had some issues with his WAR not reflecting his spotty averages, but he's figured it out with KC and Minnesota. There was a rumor the Yanks wanted him at the deadline, and arguably that would have gone better than Benintendi, but I still think we dodged a bullet.

This is a...serviceable hit. It's a hit of a good veteran I've heard of, yes, but...it's Michael Taylor. Sometimes this is your hit. It's a good thing I don't break products for the hit.

Continuing this excellent pack, we've got another Essentials with Nick Lodolo, who I'm happy to keep pulling rookies of. 

That Wander is a subset I have not seen yet, as it's a much-rarer Clear Vision, which has an acetate background. I think it is very cool, and pulling a rare Wander is a very good thing right now.

There's Burger and Edward again. And, subsequently, Judge and Ohtani, who squared off earlier this week. 

Pack 11- Even with the fairly standard pulls here, would you believe this is the only Hunter Greene I pulled out of this box? Especially with all the Lodolos I got.

Nothing too special about a lot of these. Another Marsh, a Tylor Megill rookie, which I think is a good pull considering how good he's been every time he's been up.

Another Marquee of Seth Beer, and more rookie educated guesses like Romy Gonzalez and Luis Gil. Cards look cool though.

More of the pack of educated guess rookies, even if Luis Gil could be something if he ever comes back alright, and a Tigers premiere for Javier Baez.

Pack 12- A nice mishmash of decent prospects starts us off. I do think Joe Ryan could be great if he stays on target.

One more Burger, and a Vlad Jr. I feel like Vlad Jr. has eaten a few burgers in his lifetime.

Again, like I was saying about Recon, the cards look extremely cool but not all the rookies pay off. Payton Henry lost the Miami catching race to Nick Fortes and is now a third-string in Milwaukee.

Manny Machado's still cool though.

One more numbered parallel for the road, this being a red Elite parallel of C.J. Abrams, still with the Padres at this point but later shipped to Washington for Juan Soto. Abrams is doing alright for the Nats, though not at peak performance, a lot like his 2022 Padres numbers. Still, cool pick for a card numbered to 199.

And four decent guesses at rookies, including one last Matt Manning and a Pink Contenders Optic of Jake McCarthy, who did, to Panini's credit, look good last year, finish us off.

Yeah, I enjoyed this break a lot. A lot of the rookies come off like stabs in the dark, but the ones that pay off make it worth it, I'm happy with all the Julios I got from this. Hits were middling but that's not the point. This is a very cool set, and I'll be sad to see this iteration of it go.