A Double Dose of Loot

Baseball and basketball from @thelootlocker - both kinds! 

It had been quite awhile since I'd picked up a Loot Locker box, but I decided to dive back in after a bit of a difficult work week. I had only dabbled in baseball before and never basketball, or any of the more expensive options for that matter. For this time out, I decided to get the basic baseball box option as well as the same thing for basketball, a first for me.

If you don't know the drill, they put a few hobby packs in a well packed cardboard storage box and add a dash of hobby supplies (and candy!) on top. There are top loaders and penny sleeves for all the sweet hits you're gonna pull. (Of course, this is sports cards, so your mileage may and will vary.)

For baseball, the packs included were (all Topps) 2019 Allen & Ginter, 2019 Archives (x2) and 2019 Chrome. I opened the Chrome pack and set it aside for a future APTBNL post and will show the most intriguing card from each of the rest of the packages. This includes this mini Ozzie Albies of the A&G back variety. It's crazy that I don't hear a lot about Albies these days, for someone who has improved (offensively at least) on his All-Star rookie campaign and is also only 22(!). Of course, I do tend to have a thing for shortstops, but Albies would definitely be someone I'd want to start a team with.

Speaking of excellent NL shortstops, this is Javy Baez's short printed card from Topps Archives. He's a Cub, though, so I'm just going to keep my mouth shut.

The other Archives pack also had a short printed card. It's one of the Padres top prospects.

The hoops packs were (all Panini, of course) 2013-14 Prestige, 2018-19 Donruss Optic Fast Break (x2) and 2018-19 Prizm Fast Break. The 2013-14 Prestige pack was an interesting and welcome choice, as Loot Locker tends to stick to mostly newer if not brand new stuff. They do have a Twitter voting process if I recall, so it's kind of fun to have a bit of a say in what will end up in the next month's loot. I think this set was probably picked because it was the Giannis rookie year, but I had to make do with a sticker auto of this Jon Leuer guy instead. He's actually still kicking around the league and played in 41 games last year in a limited role with Detroit.

The shiny new stuff was all in the "Fast Break" configuration, which offers an exclusive Fast Break googly-eyed parallel and a chance at other more limited parallels. That the parallel landed on a rookie is pretty good, but I honestly have no idea if this guy is going to be good yet or not.

Ben Simmons was the parallel in the other Optic pack. Simmons is one of the stranger players in recent memory, as he absolutely refuses to shoot and plays point guard like a center. He's not like when Jason Kidd came into the league and couldn't shoot at all, because Kidd was apparently content to throw up brick after brick until they had to replace the dented rims. Simmons just refuses to participate in the whole shooting game. It's weird. I kind of like it, actually, but it has to be limiting to the team as a whole.

The Prizm Fast Break parallel looks very similar to the Optic. Are there any Tyreke Evans collectors out there? Probably not.

Christmas Loot

I bought myself a Christmas @thelootlocker present. 

Incredibly, I've had something close to a 90% success rate with boxes from The Loot Locker. (My definition of success is certainly subjective, but whatever.) December's featured hobby packs in the lowest price tier for baseball were 2017 Topps Heritage High Numbers, 2017 Donruss Optic, and 2017 Topps Chrome (x2).

With the Heritage pack, I must have hit some sort of Bradley Zimmer superpack. Along with the purple Chrome refractor (which I believe you only find in so-called "hot boxes", though hobby boxes are a different sort of animal...) I found my first Heritage photo variation SP in quite awhile. I think it's been years since I've pulled something like this from a Heritage pack. While the purple Zimmer will be headed out in a trade package at some point, this one is a keeper.

I also managed to pull three (!) base cards that I actually needed for my set. Again, this was a hugely successful pack, probably the pack of the year for me in 2017 (that I actually opened in 2018.)

The shiny card from my Optic pack ended up being this David Paulino Prizm parallel, which complements the pink Prizm of this very card I pulled earlier in the year. Paulino hasn't spent a ton of time on the big league roster. Are Astros fans excited about him?

In the first Topps Chrome pack came this insert of young Pirates hurler Tyler Glasnow. I jumped all over Glasnow as someone who might help out my fantasy team, but his numbers were rather eye-popping, in the not good sort of way.

Finally, earlier this week I mentioned that I'm becoming a Ryon Healy collector whether I like it or not. This is now my second autograph from the former Oregon Ducks star. (By the way, is this how younger people sign their names now? He could fit that thing on a postage stamp.)

Simply The Best

May's purchase from @thelootlocker includes another 2016 Bowman's Best treat. 

It's been a bit since I splurged for a Loot Locker, but I got the urge last month and put an order in. This one was a bit of a mixed bag, with some choice treats coming out of the fancy pants pack and two fairly pedestrian hobby packs of stuff also available at the retail level.

I don't know if it's a west coast thing, but I still continue to pull Dodgers by the bucketful. This one is headed to the Night Owl pile.

I am pretty sure I've pulled a Cespedes of some sort in every Loot Locker. Do people like him?

This probably isn't as sought after as that Aaron Judge that I pulled in a previous 2016 Bowman's Best pack, but this is no slouch. I'm sure I'll find a home for this.

I have no idea who Will Craig is, but this gold refractor version of his Top Prospects card is numbered to 50.

This one would also be headed to the Night Owl pile, but I'm fairly certain I already sent him this card. (I prefer Jose DeLeon, but no one asked me.)

Also included was a 2017 Gypsy Queen pack, with a couple more cards than your big box store packs provides. I am not a fan of these art cards, I have to say. I'm sure Brian Kong is a lovely person and all, but his work is not for me. I believe he also worked on some of the Allen & Ginter sketch cards from a number of years back, plus the one-and-done National Chicle revival set. (I suppose it's important to note that I couldn't draw an object to save my life, let alone a person.)

The Bowman pack netted this Stephen Piscotty base card, which I am pretty sure is a duplicate. Still, it's always good to pull a Cardinal.

A Glance at December's Loot

Another trip to @thelootlocker reveals another hit. 

Since I knew I wouldn't be receiving any cards as gifts this holiday season (people tend to know better than to do something like that), I purchased myself a gift once again at The Loot Locker. Here's a brief look at some of the stuff I pulled.

2016 Bowman's Best

The first pack was my first look at 2016 Bowman's Best. I hadn't really read or seen anything about this product prior to my puchase, but I was pleasantly surprised. Pulling an Alex Reyes card will do that. To check out the whole pack, head over to APTBNL.

2016 Bowman Chrome

This pretty much says it all. Huang is a 23 year-old pitching prospect from Taiwan. He spent some time with the Hillsboro Hops last season, which is now, sadly, the closest professional baseball team in proximity to Portland.

2016 Topps Chrome (x2)

I've pulled this before, but I'm sure it will make some Cubs fan (besides Twitch) happy.

These are fun looking. Do people like Kiermaier?

And this one was a double to me, but I had to scan it since it was a Cardinal card. 2 Cardinals cards pulled out of 18 is a pretty good ratio.

November's Loot

Another month in the books, another box from @thelootlocker to unpack. 

The Loot Locker is an online store/monthly service that sells a box of hobby packs and card supplies for just the cost of a blaster box. I've purchased their baseball box quite a few times this year, and I feel like I've had pretty considerable luck. This month's box includes packs of 2016 Bowman Platinum (x2), 2016 Bowman Chrome and 2016 Panini Diamond Kings.

Bowman Platinum is supposedly a Walmart-exclusive, but the packs definitely have the "Hobby Edition" logo on them. I think that means that Walmart actually sells the "hobby" boxes. I don't even know what hobby means anymore! What I do know is that I managed to pull a signed card of a young Twins star with lots of the proverbial upside. The autograph is on a piece of tape, but not everything in life can be an on card signature.

Out of the Chrome pack came this purple Cespedes refractor. Yoenis, pictured here in an '86 throwback jersey, just re-upped with the Mets.

Behind door number three was the pack of Diamond Kings, a product I've already seen my fair share of. what I hadn't seen before was a mini card fall out of one of these packs, which is what happened here. I also don't believe I've ever pulled a Dom DiMaggio card before. There's a first time for everything!

Put Tim Raines in the Hall, people. Sheesh. I can't believe the self-appointed faux commissioner Bud Selig gets elected before this guy.

Rooty Tooty Fresh & Looty

Ketel, anyone? 

June's @thelootlocker box arrived recently, once again bearing fruit. I had skipped a month of the hobby packs-a-month club because I ran out of time to buy in for the previous month. I have considered getting an automatic monthly subscription, but I probably should take a look at reducing other monthly recurring charges that are not card-related before I dive in with both feet.

This month's locker came with a pack of 2016 Gypsy Queen, and said pack had a numbered (19/50) framed mini of the Mariners rookie shortstop. I recently sent a hoard of M's stuff to Supertrader The Junior Junkie, so this didn't make the cut, and I honestly don't know if he actually likes the Mariners or is just hoping that some unusual Griffeys fall out of the flotsam.

The centerpiece of the box was a 2016 Finest pack. Topps pulled some last minute switcheroo on people with this product that got some high end feathers ruffled somewhere, turning it into an online only product. I think that's why the July box has gone back to 2015 Finest. In any case, I don't often get to bust packs that are in the $10 range, so I thought I'd show off everything here.

56 - Peter O'Brien - No indication that he's of any relation to former Ranger Pete O'Brien, though with all of the baseball Jr's running around these days, you can never tell.

83 - Carlos Carrasco - I've heard some say they weren't thrilled with the font here, but it's different and it's not like I'm going to have stacks and stacks of these cards and get totally sick of them. It's... something. I do like the lines that stretch across the card in abundance. Topps should feel free to do stuff like this with their fancier products and leave the digital effects out of their flagship set. (I can't hate that set with enough passion, folks.)

76 - Anthony Rizzo Purple Refractor (91/250) - It's a shiny numbered Cub. Someone else will like this more than me.

90 - Zack Greinke - Greinke seems to have a weird non-following for someone who is a great starting pitcher. Great but not otherworldly. Still, as the card back indicates, he's racked up 47 WAR over the course of his career. That is impressive, especially when you factor in his early career struggles with the Royals.

89 - Starling Marte - Marte is a beast in the field and a terror on the basepaths, especially when the Cardinals are facing his team. In another uniform, I'd probably be a pretty big fan.

Pack 3 was a 2016 Panini Diamond Kings pack. They are really nice looking overall, for an "art" set. I did manage to snag most of the Cardinals from this one at a card show earlier this year. I skipped all of the base cards (which, again, are pretty nice looking) and went straight to this King Felix Aficionado insert. Look, someone drew a flag on his cap! I think these are actually just "painted over" photographs, or at least I was hearing people grumble about that at the time they were released, but I don't hate them. They would run laps around that National Chicle disaster from years ago, especially if they had real logos.

April's Loot

My latest trip to @thelootlocker nets a card as thick as a brick. 

The end of the month means the rent is due and I have debts to pay. It also means a box of hobby packs and supplies from The Loot Locker. Let's check out what I got this time around.

2015 Bowman's Best

Normally these packs have 5 cards in them, but mine only had this one in it. That means I was treated to a thicky-thick card of young Astros star shortstop Carlos Correa. Hopefully there are a few Astros fans left on the bandwagon after their rough start this season so I can find someone to send this to.

2015 Bowman Chrome

I'm sure some people love these pretzel mustard colored Brewers jerseys, but I am not one of those people. I don't love much that the Brewers do, however.

Here's a SS prospect out of the Dominican to make Rangers fans forget about Elvis Andrus.

 We've seen him here in a different Loot Locker. It might be my first Loot Locker double?

Nothing but base cards in my Bowman Chrome pack, but at least I snagged a Rosenthal for my team binders. I still need a ton of Cardinals from this set if anyone has any.

2016 Topps Heritage (2)

I'll spare you the details of my Heritage packs and just direct you to my want lists if you have any junky doubles cluttering up your area. Cespedes will join Big Papi in my Heritage trade pile (basically just the Chrome inserts until I accumulate some doubles myself). This was numbered 678 (of 999) for all the numerologists out there.

No inserts, but it's nice to pull an SP out of a pack that you don't already have. I think I have about 70 left to collect. I will be done with this set by 2030, I assure you.

March Loot

The latest @thelootlocker installment came with a big hit. 

I'm going with an abbreviated version this time around as two of the packs of my latest Loot Locker were my first two 2016 Topps Heritage packs. I always make it a point to collect this set, so I'm sure I'll have plenty of ink to spill (or keys to smack) about it as the year goes on.

No inserts were to be found, but I snagged an SP out of each pack. It seems like King Felix is always an SP.

Hopefully Odubel is a good player, for the Phillies sake anyway. I never understand the criteria used for selecting which 75 cards get the short print treatment. Are the Phillies sticking to a solid rebuild plan or is Ryan Howard beating up all the kids and taking their lunch money?

The 2015 Bowman Chrome pack proved to be fruitful, as it produced a big money card from (confusingly) 2014. And by big money, I mean... holy crap, I could sell this thing on eBay for $80-$100 apparently! As most of you know by now, I'm not really in this thing for the money and a fellow blogger got excited about this card and sent me something that is a good fit for my collection. More on that later.

I want to talk about putting cards from 2014 in 2015 products, though. This just feels really gimmicky to me. I know they've done similar things with Kris Bryant and Carlos Correa lately, but it just feels off. I get that Topps gets excited about a young player who is succeeding out of the gate and wants to make sure they have ample time to get things signed on card (I know this is good) and get the requisite "hits" out there, but there's got to be some other way they can do this. And when you hold things back like Topps held these back for another year, you have to wonder how many of these things were actually printed. This card is the refractor version, but it's not like it's serial numbered. Someone smarter than me about Bowman rookie autos can feel free to chime in.

Back to my favorite thing in Loot Lockers, my 2015 Bowman's Best pack was... well... the best. I pulled a green Miguel Cabrera refractor, numbered to 99. This will make some Tigers fan that I trade with happy, I am willing to bet.

This is a Mirror Image insert, and these guys are both brothers and teammates. They're not identical twins, however, because that would be a very small insert set concept.

Finally, here's a shiny Tulo refractor for Erin's collection. He's on one of my fantasy teams this year, so I'm hoping this is the year he doesn't lose an appendage as is his usual M.O.