Nothing pointless about this @Lost_Collector trade pack, though.
Let me just say that I'm glad Topps BUNT is gone. Of course, I bet the phone app is still alive and kicking for 2018, but it sounds like Topps opted to ditch the physical BUNT cards and come with something at least a little more inspired like their new Big League Baseball. (I'm kind of hoping this set is a bit like Panini Complete with kid-friendly inserts, only... y'know... less "complete" unfortunately.) The BUNT cards to me just exist in a weird place between "promotional tool for an app" and "uh, it's another release, I guess." The colored parallels just use a weird filter similar to some of the cards in last year's Gypsy Queen set, something I wasn't a huge fan of. However, I still want these cards because they're Cardinals and it's always nice to get a low numbered card even if the overall concept isn't terribly inspiring.
Now that I've dumped all over the arguably best card (sorry! I do appreciate this despite my harsh words for Topps!) in this nice trade package from The Lost Collector I received back in January, let's take a look at a few more. (Besides, he might be too distracted by all of the home runs being crushed out of Yankee Stadium by the home team to even read this post.)
Frascatore sounds like a dish featured on the menu of a moderately priced Italian restaurant my family might have taken me to in the '80s. I don't have many cards of this former Cardinals reliever.
Bernard Gilkey is about to be abducted by old-timey alien spaceships. Metal Universe is a weird universe, guys.
Matt Morris, just goofin' around.
This looks like your ordinary Yadier Molina 2017 Topps card, but a keen eye would note that the Topps logo is not foil, yet there's no Opening Day logo. What does that leave? This just leaves the blister pack team set and NL stars sets. This is from the latter. I liked it better when they actually had the National League logo on it.
I've been making huge dents in my Blazers collection lately thanks to great traders like The Lost Collector. I also have put a lot of work into my want list. It's now current through the '90s, and then starts back up again around 2012 to present day. It's going to take me a bit longer to fill in the gap.
I'm not sure that I have any recollection of James Edwards as a Blazers player, but I've managed to acquire a few of his Portland cards lately. I thought I'd show off the back here -- look at that impressive wall o' stats!
Finally, a number you have sent me this Royce Freeman card lately, which is awesome. It's fun to get a card of a Ducks great before he's even been drafted. That being said, are all of you SI For Kids subscribers or what? (I kind of wish I was.)
I'd actually be disappointed if Bunt didn't come back. 36 packs at a little over $25 a box? It's the only box I've bought the past two years. I don't quite understand the fascination with Topps Big League so far. It doesn't seem like it's going to be a .99 price point, and the checklist has current players and legends. Sounds a lot like Gypsy Queen or what Lineage was back in 2011 (although that was only 200 cards). The inserts seem straight out of Opening Day, which is fine, but again, nothing new. I hope it's a great product, but don't see what others see so far.
ReplyDeleteCompletely aside from any tie to the digital app, Bunt was pretty fun to bust. Decent checklist both years, a few inserts, a shot at a rarer parallel.
As for SI for Kids, I use leftover airline miles (Mags for Miles) with an airline I don't fly frequently, so I pretty much have a yearly subscription.
Your Topps Bunt post inspired me to start a post about my thoughts on Topps and their products. I'll probably publish it this weekend, but in the meantime, I'm not shedding any tears over Bunt being retired. As for your SI for Kids question... my school has a magazine fundraiser and teachers get a 40% discount, so I've got two subscriptions. One for myself and one for my classroom.
ReplyDeleteI completely ignored the online aspect, but really liked the BUNT physical cards. Legends in the checklist, decent inserts that weren't bloated to 50 to 100 cards, nice looking parallels, and a clean, simple design. Of course they discontinued it.
ReplyDeleteI opened a box of 2016 Topps Bunt and actually enjoyed it. After seeing 2017 Topps Bunt, I decided to skip. The parallels just looked... bad.
ReplyDelete2016 wasn't bad for less than $25 a box.
I was going to try Big League thinking it will be a cheap break, but after seeing pre-sells at $40 a box. No thanks. Unless the price drops to less than $30, I will be skipping that.