Quick Topps Redemption Turnaround

A couple weeks ago I pulled a Vin Scully redemption from 2016 five star. I knew it was already live, so I went ahead and redeemed it the day that I pulled it. To my surprise, the card arrived Thursday (about 2 weeks time)! 

For whatever reason Topps included this Xavier Scruggs topps chrome autograph.

This card in person looks amazing. The autograph is a bit shaky, but still as beautiful as always. If I was a Dodgers fan I'd be keeping this card without a question, but that's not the case. I'll either be sending it to BGS or trying to sell or trade it to someone else for something else I'd rather have.

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Lots For Trade

Looking for the following in return:

Yankees

Nolan Arenado

Trevor Story

Jon Gray

Max Kepler

Tyler Naquin

I also most likely have base or inserts of the team/player you're looking for, so just email me at:

Frankie13.Massa@gmail.com

/35

/35

/35

/25

/20

/45

/35 (Bad Scan)

/25

/99

/10

About 20 base

About 15 base

/99

/99

/9

/199

/199

/27

Same card (Back)

/36

/99

Gary Sanchez Mailday

Gary Sanchez absolutely tore up the majors in August and September. In just 53 games he posted a .299 average along with 20 home runs while cutting down 41% of the runners that tried to steal on him. As soon as he started to go on his 53 game tear, his prices skyrocketed. Unfortunately, I didn't own any bowman chrome autographs of his (I really wish I went in on Sanchez instead of Judge), so I decided to wait until the offseason to buy one. The opportunity to buy one finally came and I pulled the trigger.

It's a BGS 8.5/10, but it's a Sanchez refractor autograph nonetheless! I'm thinking about resubmitting it to try and bump it up to a 9 or even 9.5 (yes I know that's a long shot). Even if it doesn't bump I'll be keeping the card because well... It's Gary Sanchez! Hopefully he can lead the Yankees into the postseason this season...

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2012 Triple Threads Box Break And Review

PRODUCT: 2012 Topps Triple Threads

Why would I be reviewing a product that released nearly 5 years ago? I'm not really sure I know the answer to that question, but it's a product that I opened just a few weeks ago so why not?

The base cards and parallels look amazing. As far as personal preference, the design of 2012 triple threads is one of my favorite triple threads designs next to only 2011. According to cardboard connection, this is the sepia parallel numbered /625.

The other parallel featured in my box was an emerald /250 of Brandon Phillips. There are only 6 different parallels in this product (sepia, emerald, gold, onyx, sapphire, and ruby) and better yet the parallel names aren't absurd! In this years bowman chrome, there were 8 different numbered parallels. In my opinion, that's way too many.

The first pack definitely wasn't a stunner. The first hit was a Nelson Cruz unity relic /36. Even though the card isn't great, it looks great. 

I usually wouldn't mind pulling a redemption, but in this case I do mind. The redemption expired back in 2015. Obviously if the redemption had been for something huge I would've been more disappointed, but I can live without a Freddie Freeman rookie auto.

The second pack consisted of an Elvis Andrus auto /99. After making 2 crucial errors in game 5 of the 2015 ALDS, Andrus had the best year of his career in 2016. The final hit made up for the first 3 mediocre hits.

It's nothing huge, but a Tom Seaver dual sided relic /27! The front of the card features Seaver on the Reds, while the back features him in a Mets uniform.

It certainly is a cool card to have.

Final Thoughts

Although the price is a bit steep, triple threads is always a ton of fun to break. 2012 triple threads is a product that I've never opened before, so it was fun to explore new waters. I probably wouldn't buy another box of this only because I'm mostly sticking to singles now, but if that weren't the case 2012 triple threads would be a product I'd buy again. While focusing on mostly current players and rookies, triple threads still manages to deliver a very good mix of retired players and Hall of Famers. Triple threads is 2 packs of pure gold!

Design: 8.5

Quality: 8

Checklist: 6

Overall: 8

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2016 Prime Cuts Box Break And Review

Product: 2016 Panini Prime Cuts Baseball

This is another break that I did over the holidays. I got it for a pretty decent price so I thought why not. Well I found out why not.

The first card that showed up in the little packet of cards was this Posey relic /149. The design of the cards look surprisingly nice. The card is nothing to cheer about, but at least Panini put effort into the making of this card.

The second card of the break was this Bob Gibson dual relic /25. I would've been happy with this if the box cost me $50, but it cost me quite a bit more and considering there are only five cards a box, this was a pretty rough hit. Not to mention the card was all dinged up.

The third and final relic of the box was of Nolan Ryan, numbered /99. Once again, a card like this should not be in a $175 box of cards. Once again, a card in this condition should not come from a sealed box of cards.

Great! An auto! Wait, who's Michael Reed? Why is the autograph all screwed up? Poor quality.

Hey, at least I got something semi-decent. If the autograph was clean I'd probably even keep the card, but Panini strikes again! I tried contacting them on social media about the damage, but they won't even respond. Unfortunate.

Final Thoughts

There is absolutely no way I would buy another box of this. Even if you're looking for a fun break, this is not the way to go! Not only does the break take 45 seconds, it's not fun! At least with triple threads the cards come in a pack within a mini box within a larger box. Who doesn't love opening boxes only to reveal smaller boxes? At least that's something I enjoy doing, I'm not sure about other collectors.

Design: 4/10

Quality: 2.5/10

Checklist: 4/10

Overall: 3.5/10

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2016 Dynasty - Rockies

I find myself spending a lot more time collecting Rockies than Yankees. A large part of that has to do with the extremely high prices on Yankees cards; Sanchez, Judge, Torres, Frazier, and even Gardner all have heavy price tags on them. Story? Not so much. Arenado? Not at all. Even though both Story and Arenado play in Colorado, they're still fantastic players. I was reading an article about the inflated numbers of Arenado and other players in Colorado, and Arenado's revised numbers (if he were to play for another team) were still pretty damn good. 

Nolan Arenado's revised numbers:

.271 BA

.336 OBP

.520 SLG

.856 OPS

36 HR

110 RBI

The all star gold glove third basemen also posted a 6.5 WAR, 10th overall, 8th overall defensively just ahead of all gold glover Manny Machado.

I actually pulled the Story from a box of dynasty that I broke on Christmas. Obviously I didn't too well, but I've wanted a Story auto for quite some time and why not my first Story be a dynasty? Trevor Story is a player I'm trying to start a side collection of (obviously not as big as Arenado) since he's a young and exciting player. On top of that, I can definitely see the Rockies contending in the next few years.

The patch is nothing spectacular, but it's still a Story autograph nonetheless!

And of course I had to pick up an Arenado dynasty. He hasn't signed a baseball card with a major company since 2013 (his rookie year) so I was very excited when I saw that he was on checklists for multiple products this year. Hopefully he's in more products next year!

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Pudge Patch

For awhile I've tried to focus on collecting just Yankees, Rockies, and Nolan Arenado, but I decided to stray away from that small group. I didn't pick this card up because the former MVP played 33 games for the Yankees while hitting a dull .219; I acquired this card because soon he should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. No evidence has led PED's to Rodriguez, but Jose Canseco claimed to have injected him. Either way, PED's don't help you win 13 gold gloves, 10 of them being consecutive.

 When I first asked the dealer about the Pudge, he told me $150. After standing there in silence for a minute or so, he came down quite a bit on the price. I guess sometimes the best way to negotiate is to say nothing at all. Lesson learned.

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White Plains Card Show Pickups

I haven't been to the White Plains card show in about 2 years, and The National compared to White Plains is like comparing a brand like Post to a brand like Safeway kitchens. 

If you had a choice you'd obviously go with Cocoa Pebbles. And if you choose the other brands then... Well you might as well submit yourself to a mental institute. 

Okay, now onto the cards.

I bought this card before the box of five star. It just so happens that I bought the same card that I would pull an hour later. I'm very high on Kepler and I think he could be an important part to the Twins lineup in a few years, so I'll be keeping both Kepler's. I'm hoping to pick up Kepler in the future.

Ever since Bauer pitched in the postseason last year I've always wanted an auto of his. I probably overpaid for this card, but Bauer has been on my want list for awhile now so it was all worth it.

Jon Gray is another player I'm really high on. His 4.61 ERA may not be very intimidating, but he definitely has the tools to be a middle of the rotation starter in the future. I'm really hoping to pick up more Gray in the future, as I love watching him pitch.

And finally, a David Dahl bowman sterling refractor auto /199. I've been wanting a Dahl auto for quite a while now, and the price made it even better. Dahl was quickly brought up to the major leagues after tearing up AAA, and he showed the Rockies why their future is so bright. A young starting rotation mixed with a powerful lineup, the Rockies can really bring it. The bullpen is a bit of an issue though... Although I do see the Rockies contending for a wild card spot next year. If not the Yankees, then let it be the Rockies!

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