2010 Topps Series 2: Blast It!

We're on to the conclusion of my 2010 Topps Series 2 posts. By conclusion I mean that this is probably going to be the last time that I post about this set, ever. Tomorrow I will begin my new blog, writing about the math rock scene.

For $19.99 or twice the price of options number 1 and 2, you get a whole lot of packaging and not a whole lot of cards. Each pack contains 8 cards along with 1 individually wrapped manufactured patch card for a grand total of 65 cards. Inserts are fairly plentiful here, but really you're paying an extra $10 for a "manupatch". Also, oddly enough, it appears that there is zero chance at pulling any relics or autographs.

This also happened to be a Target exclusive box, which means that the first two packs out of the box contain Target "throwback" versions of the regular base cards. These are nice but incredibly difficult to find. If you toss out the inserts, I actually pulled only 11 of these cards in a $20 box and this is the only way that you can obtain these. Wal-Mart has a similar scam going on. This probably explains why not a single person has traded me any of these cards after last year's Series 1 where you could get entire boxes that came this way if you knew the right UPC code. (If you are holding onto any Cardinals like these from this year or last year's Series 2 or U&H, please let me know immediately as I'd love to get ahold of them!)

The backs look like... well... like a Topps card back should look. It's grey and cardboardy.

Here's my lone base Cardinal card of the box. Allen Craig never got a chance to contribute in his brief time with the big club. He was an internet folk hero last season thanks to his impressive numbers and his consistent lack of attention or praise from management, so of course I expected big things.

I can't believe how many times I've seen this same Johnny Mize photo. Did he ever really play for St. Louis or did he just pose in their unis once? This is from the Vintage Legends insert set.

This is a Mom-related Original Back of a card that looks somewhat similar to a 1985 Robin Yount. Maybe Thorzul would be into this...

Oops... somehow a 2009 card was slipped into this box. Oh, wait, supposedly my mom threw it out, too. She really needs to stay out of my stuff.

The! Best! Announcer! Of! All! Time! Ever!

I'm starting to think that Joe Mauer is slowly replacing Ichiro as the guy I get in pretty much everything ever. I don't mind, because a lot of people collect Mauer. No one gets to have this card but me, however.

I wish I knew an A's collector. I really do.

Oh yes... lest I forget...

Manupatchy Ruth! These look cool, but, eh... it's hard to get too excited about them.

The Results:

Base Cards: 40

Target Throwback Cards (2:8 packs): 11

Gold Parallels (1:18): 1 (These are pretty tough to pull all of a sudden. They are still producing a similar quantity of these as in years past, so does that mean that they made a ton more of the base cards from this year's set? Gee... would a company with a new exclusive deal to produce licensed cards do such a thing?)

The Cards Your Mom Threw Out (1:3): 4 (Pretty good haul there.)

The Cards Your Mom Threw Out Original Backs (1:10): 1

History of the World Series (1:6): 1 (Alex Gonzalez? Really?)

Legendary Lineage (1:4): 2

Million Card Giveaway: 1

Peak Performance (1:4): 2 (Eh.)

Topps AttaxTown: 8 (That's one per pack if you are keeping track.)

Topps 2020 (1:6): 1 (Woo!)

Turkey Red (1:4): 3 (Nice. I like beating the odds here, because I am collecting everything Turkey Red.)

Vintage Legends (1:4): 3 (Including Honus Wagner on a 1990 Topps design. Are you kidding me? That's like a painting of Mona Lisa on a toilet or something.)

Cardinals: 2

Lessons Learned: $20 is a lot of money to be spending on cards for me right now. So... you tell me. What's the best deal out there for a retail buyer? I would love to hear your thoughts. Personally, I think I'm sticking to loose packs and hoping for Turkey Reds and 2020s.

And now, after all that card purchasing, what do I get as my reward? Thanks, Target!