With the first 6 games of the official MLB season falling on a Thursday, I believe this is finally the season that the term Opening Day truly lost all meaning. However, that doesn't mean I can't be excited about it, because the afternoon of March 31st does mark the first time the St. Louis Cardinals will take the field in a counting game this calendar year. Naturally, I took the day off from work. And the next day. Even though the next day is an off day.Topps likes Opening Day, too, and they have once again put together an edition of their (almost) annual Opening Day set. At the bargain value of $9.99 for 11 packs, I bit and grabbed a blaster. This set is all about inserts and goofy airbrushed cards to me, so comments and scans of everything else will be minimal if not nonexistent.
Pack 1:
6 - Aramis Ramirez
85 - Carlos Santana
75 - Buster Posey
M-12 - Kansas City Royals Mascot (No Mascot name on the front? Is the name "Sluggerrr" not suitable for printing?)
ODS-6 - CC Sabathia Opening Day Stars (Ah, I love these. They're reminiscent of last year's Topps 2020 inserts, though possibly a little more cheaply made. Still, I have to think Topps is taking a loss on this set as a whole. I'm thinking of collecting these inserts.)
152 - Mark Reynolds (First Photoshopped card of the bunch. It's not pretty. Reynolds has no regular series 1 base card, so I have nothing fun to compare the photo to.)
125 - Adam Dunn (As you can plainly see, here's an example of "same photo, new team".)
181 - Josh Beckett Blue 1274/2011 (Yes! Topps brought back their gold serial numbers! Hopefully this carries over to Series 2 base.)
6 of 10 - Ubaldo Jimenez Spot the Error (I've seen a lot of people post these cards with the "correct" photo from the back, side by side. That's cheating! That's like having the Teacher's Edition of your math book. You should be able to spot the error without the help.)
SC-14 - David Wright Superstar Celebrations
PFP-3 - Calvin Coolidge Presidential First Pitch (Okay... so we're still not done with political cards?)
M-2 - Atlanta Braves Mascot (AKA Mr. Brave?)
TTOD-6 - Matt Holliday Topps Town (Finally, a Cardinal! I didn't know these packs had Topps Town cards in them. They're not mentioned on the packaging. I got two in this box, so I'm guessing the odds are somewhere close to 1:5 packs.)
198 - Adrian Gonzalez (This is just terrible looking. This is also what they used on the short printed base card, and I believe there is no Padres equivalent to speak of.)
55 - Cliff Lee (A different photo is used on the base card. The jersey just showing "Phil" is kind of weird looking, but I suppose it's possible that they used a photo from 2009 as well.)
1 of 10 - Mark Teixeira Spot the Error (This one is super easy.)
192 - Dustin Pedroia Blue 1854/2011 (Again with the Red Sox?)
M-23 - Rangers Captain Mascot (I guess his name is just generic enough for inclusion on the card front.)
44 - Omar Infante (There is a base card of Infante to compare this to, but it's a different photo. I don't own that card, though.)
PFP-5 - Richard Nixon Presidential First Pitcher (Nixon's the one!)
SC-22 - Cliff Lee Superstar Celebrations (Be honest. If you're a Rangers fan, does this make you a little bit mad now?)
UL-3 - Robinson Cano Stadium Lights (I am in agreement with most reviews that I've seen in that these are pretty nice looking.)
M-12 - Kansas City Royals Mascot (No Mascot name on the front? Is the name "Sluggerrr" not suitable for printing?)
ODS-6 - CC Sabathia Opening Day Stars (Ah, I love these. They're reminiscent of last year's Topps 2020 inserts, though possibly a little more cheaply made. Still, I have to think Topps is taking a loss on this set as a whole. I'm thinking of collecting these inserts.)
152 - Mark Reynolds (First Photoshopped card of the bunch. It's not pretty. Reynolds has no regular series 1 base card, so I have nothing fun to compare the photo to.)205 - Carlos Quentin
Pack 2:
125 - Adam Dunn (As you can plainly see, here's an example of "same photo, new team".)52 - Placido Polanco
115 - Starlin Castro
181 - Josh Beckett Blue 1274/2011 (Yes! Topps brought back their gold serial numbers! Hopefully this carries over to Series 2 base.)
6 of 10 - Ubaldo Jimenez Spot the Error (I've seen a lot of people post these cards with the "correct" photo from the back, side by side. That's cheating! That's like having the Teacher's Edition of your math book. You should be able to spot the error without the help.)187 - Brandon Phillips
174 - Buster Posey Rookie Cup (When did Rookie Cup cards become their own subset? It's a break with tradition.)
Pack 3:
42 - Greg Halman
66 - Brett Anderson
29 - Jonathan Papelbon
SC-14 - David Wright Superstar Celebrations163 - Chad Billingsley
183 - Jacoby Ellsbury
190 - Elvis Andrus
Pack 4:
96 - James Shields
18 - Justin Upton
8 - Hanley Ramirez
PFP-3 - Calvin Coolidge Presidential First Pitch (Okay... so we're still not done with political cards?)153 - Kendrys Morales
140 - Eric Jeber
216 - Jose Reyes
Pack 5:
86 - Stephen Strasburg
77 - Koji Uehara
124 - Clayton Kershaw
M-2 - Atlanta Braves Mascot (AKA Mr. Brave?)154 - Dan Haren
148 - Kevin Youkilis
143 - Jeremy Guthrie
Pack 6:
51 - Ben Revere
113 - Wandy Rodriguez
40 - CC Sabathia
TTOD-6 - Matt Holliday Topps Town (Finally, a Cardinal! I didn't know these packs had Topps Town cards in them. They're not mentioned on the packaging. I got two in this box, so I'm guessing the odds are somewhere close to 1:5 packs.)220 - Alfonso Soriano
198 - Adrian Gonzalez (This is just terrible looking. This is also what they used on the short printed base card, and I believe there is no Padres equivalent to speak of.)188 - Justin Verlander
Pack 7:
55 - Cliff Lee (A different photo is used on the base card. The jersey just showing "Phil" is kind of weird looking, but I suppose it's possible that they used a photo from 2009 as well.)71 - Jon Niese
68 - Jeremy Jeffress
1 of 10 - Mark Teixeira Spot the Error (This one is super easy.)172 - Jorge Posada
164 - Grady Sizemore
144 - Brett Gardner
Pack 8:
61 - Jason Bay
133 - Alex Rios
192 - Dustin Pedroia Blue 1854/2011 (Again with the Red Sox?)
M-23 - Rangers Captain Mascot (I guess his name is just generic enough for inclusion on the card front.)159 - Dan Uggla
150 - Matt Cain
170 - Logan Morrison
Pack 9:
117 - Tyler Colvin
44 - Omar Infante (There is a base card of Infante to compare this to, but it's a different photo. I don't own that card, though.)112 - Andre Ethier
PFP-5 - Richard Nixon Presidential First Pitcher (Nixon's the one!)179 - Prince Fielder
194 - Delmon Young
212 - Vernon Wells
Pack 10:
38 - Mike Stanton
25 - Johan Santana
101 - Brian Wilson
SC-22 - Cliff Lee Superstar Celebrations (Be honest. If you're a Rangers fan, does this make you a little bit mad now?)138 - Chris Young
156 - Ryan Zimmerman
155 - Cole Hamels
Pack 11:
109 - Mark Buehrle
12 - Neil Walker
TTOD-14 - Brian Matusz Topps Town
UL-3 - Robinson Cano Stadium Lights (I am in agreement with most reviews that I've seen in that these are pretty nice looking.)145 - Ubaldo Jimenez
218 - Ryan Howard
142 - C.J. Wilson
Well, there you have it. All of these cards are up for grabs aside from the Matt Holliday card and the Sabathia insert.
I'll take any Rangers or President cards. And it's not so much mad, as resigned to the fact that it's the way baseball go. At least according to Ron Washington it is and I've accepted it. I got your recent package by the way and I'll be sending some random Cards cards your way soon.
ReplyDeleteI've pulled 4 blue bordered cards so far and 2 have been Red Sox.
ReplyDeleteSave me the Kershaw!
The Reynolds card is pathetic. I don't think the O's even have jerseys with "Baltimore" on the front, and if they do, it's not on their home jersey.
ReplyDeleteI'll take that Cano as well.
The Jeremy Jeffress card is photoshopped, too. The same photo was used in Series 1, but he was in a Brewers jacket.
ReplyDeleteI am open for any of the Presidential cards, Topps Town, and mascot cards. Plus any Indians you may have.
ReplyDelete