Blog Bat Around - My Turn

This year's Blog Bat Around is hosted by This Card is Cool - My Life in Baseball Cards.  The topic:

The 2011 baseball card collecting season is finally over - other than Bowman Sterling (coming out December 21st). What set or release stands out as your favorite from the year? What set or release brings your lunch back up to your throat?

I was really looking forward to the 2011 line up of baseball cards.  It would mark my 2nd year of collecting cards again and the release calendar was full of great product.  Trying to name one set as my favorite of the year is card so I'll go with my top three.

1) 2011 Topps.  Since I decided to go back to 2008 and start building the flagship base set of Topps I've enjoyed what each set has brought to the table.  I loved the early pictures I saw of the 2011 design and knew this would be a fun set to build.  The one thing about the base set each year is the focus on the cards and inserts (to some degree) and you don't have to worry about the hits.  While Topps has gotten better in my opinion with their autos and relics in the base set most collectors would agree that is not the reason you buy the base set.   

 

At least by the time the Update set rolled around at least there was something outside of manufactured patches of a Braves player I wanted to chase (see above).  I now have a new view of collecting parallels going forward, but the 2011 set was not short on offering up many different types of parallels.  My favorite (as a Braves collector) are the red boarded factory set exclusives.  On the insert side I was immediately sucked into the small Kimball Champions.  I guess blame my love of A&G on that.

      

2) 2011 Topps Finest.  I've never been able to afford the mid-level stuff outside of a few base cards I've been able to pick up here.  When the chance to jump in a group break of Finest was presented I didn't want to hesitate.  Thanks to the guys over at Community Gum and their purchase of a case from Turner Field (not really) I was able to land several fantastic Braves cards.  The base design was great looking for starters and the insert/auto/relic checklist was loaded with Braves talent.

  

     

It helped that the Braves had a lot of great rookies on the roster during the 2011 season and Topps did a great job at including most of these great young players into the Finest set.  If it hadn't been for the group break opportunity I probably would've missed out on this great set.

 

3) 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen.  I can't put my finger on it, but there was a lot of buzz in the hobby over the new GQ set and I was eagerly awaiting my chance to bust open a few packs.  Being on a tight budget and not having a very good card shop locally I have to rely on retail to get my pack fix.  I bought several rack packs and blasters early on and continued to one not only be impressed with the card set itself but two with the number of relics and autos I pulled.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the GQ set the first to utilize on card autos in 2011?  With the set coming out earlier in the season I was excited about getting some of my first Dan Uggla cards as a Brave and I was fortunate enough to land this mini bat relic of his right out of the gate.  I'm still working on finishing the set, but I was thrilled to hear that it's coming back for it's sophomore season in 2012.

Honorable Mention:

2011 Topps Marquee and 2011 Topps Lineage.

  

Marquee was my first ever high end product that I got to open myself.  Granted it was part of a group break I hosted earlier this year, but the level of anticipation and excitement I had around the release of this product was so high.  While the set was the home run I think a lot of collectors were hoping that it would be I was happy with many of the cards I ended up with.

The one thing about Marquee that intrigued me the most was the Museum Collection auto cards.  The cards are printed on metal with shiny gold trim.  The front of the card is a refractor like sheen with the on card auto being done in silver ink.  The cards are heavy and super super nice.  I count this Tim Hudson card #04/10 as being the single best card acquisition of 2011 if not of all time for me.

  

Another set that had some people licking their chops was 2011 Topps Lineage.  I know a lot of collectors were thrilled to see the inclusion of the 1975 minis.  I wasn't alive in 1975 so I can't say that I was all that impressed with the early images, but after buying a blaster with a guaranteed relic I immediately saw the appeal.  The guys at Community Gum hosted a case break of Lineage several months ago and I too was fortunate enough to beat out my fellow Braves bloggers and claim the team.  They didn't disappoint me either as they pulled not only one but two great on card autos.

  

I'm still trying to figure out the overall purpose of the Lineage set. If you know what it is please share with me!  While the base card design was lacking (don't get me started about the horrible card backs) I was more than pleased with the parallels, on card autos and the 1975 minis.

The topic also asked about our least favorite set of the year.  For me that would be 2011 Bowman Platinum.  While the 2011 effort was far better than 2010's I just didn't feel the need for this set.  I bought exactly one pack - a rack pack at that.  One may have though that with Freddie Freeman being on the pack I would've bought more - nope.  One pack was enough - although I wouldn't mind having a empty blaster to cut up.

I guess my love for all things Bowman has continued to wane as this set didn't do anything for me.  When it was first released I made some effort to obtain a few of the red parallels of Braves players, but that effort quickly evaporated.

So there you have it.  My take of Blog Bat Around.  Thanks for reading.

2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Want List & Trade Bait

It's earlier than I would usually post a want list for such a new product, but since it's on the minds of a lot of collectors & bloggers I figured why not go ahead and get the list out there.

My want list may be a little extensive at the moment, but I'd like to at least complete the set minus SPs first.  However I won't say no if I'm offered any SPs that I don't already have.

I have a lot to offer up and everything can be found here.  You'll have to scroll down towards the bottom to see the newer stuff including the extra GQ minis and inserts.

The Braves aren't getting any hits tonight, but I did!

I'm sitting here going back and forth between the blog and watching the Braves/Phillies game - wondering when someone will step up to the plate and do something.  Anyhow after I finished my previous post I sat down in front of the TV watching the debut of Braves pitcher Julio Teheran while I opened the 2nd Gypsy Queen blaster.  Right off the bat in the first pack I did something the Braves haven't done...I got a hit!  (technically the Braves beat me to the hit tonight...but you know what I mean)

I'm kinda a closet Red Sox fan so this is a really cool pull.  My wife is from New England and all her family are die hard Red Sox fans (my nephew's middle name is even Fenway!) so I may keep this card.  If someone were to offer up a similar Braves framed mini relic we'll talk, otherwise I'm just going to enjoy this card.  By the way I beat the odds again.  Ortiz is part of Group A - seeded 1:56 packs.  Wow, 2 blasters and 2 hits.  I think All About Cards' luck has rubbed off on me!

Blaster Break - 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen

Why not jump on the GQ bandwagon?!  A few days I to found my first retail sighting of Gypsy Queen in my area so I had to grab a blaster to see what all the hub bub was about.  At first I was going to list all of the individual cards, but since every other blog is full of GQ posts I thought I'd spare everyone and just share the inserts and such.

Not knowing much about the product other than what I've read on other websites and blogs I wasn't sure what potentially would be in the box/packs.  So one of the first things I did was the scan the side of the blaster for all of the odds.  Wow!  There is a lot of stuff listed here.  Let's see, SPs 1:4, Great Ones 1:4, Home Run Heroes 1:4, Future Stars 1:4, Sticky Fingers 1:4, Wall Climbers 1:4, State Stamp parallel 1:530, a whole slew of mini parallels, Autographs ranging from 1:108 to 1:3200, relics and mini relics and autos and mini autos...whew!  Topps crammed everything but the kitchen sink into this set!

The next thing I did was browse the auto checklist to see the player selection that I would never pull from a retail pack.  Group A:  nobody of interest to me.  Group B:  Freddie Freeman!  Mike Minor!  Group C:  Josh Hamilton!  Group D:  Jason Heyward!  Cal Ripken, Jr.! and finally Group E:  Hank Aaron!  OK, enough waiting, off to the checkout counter so I can rip this open.

I like the fact that similar to Topps you basically get one insert (plus the mini) per pack.  First several packs yielded what I discovered later to be retail exclusive inserts of Sticky Fingers and Wall Climbers.  Sorry, but every time I hear or type Sticky Fingers I get hungry for ribs.  Back on topic...I love both sets and will attempt to build them.

I don't care for the Future Stars cards, but the Great Ones and Home Run Heroes are nice.  The framed paper parallels remind me of the old Fleer/Skybox Emotion-XL cards with the raised borders.  The Snider card is #d 120/999 and is already destined to be in the hands of the Daily Dimwit.

I believe it was the 2nd to last pack that yielded this:

An on card auto of Andrew Cashner that seems to be in everyone's box!  I have already read on several different blogs where people have pulled this card.  Is there any Cubs fan out there that doesn't already have this card that wants it?  Ok, not auto I wanted to pull, but still pulling a 1:108 card out of a retail blaster box is pretty cool in my book.

I've already mentioned that I love these cards.  Outside of the flagship set this has to be one of my favorite sets since I got back into the hobby in late 2009.  I hope to get a want list posted soon as well as any doubles I have if anyone wants to trade.

That's it for now.  Guys, mother's day is tomorrow if you haven't forgotten so make sure you put down the baseball cards and make sure you do something nice for her.  If you're married w/ kids don't forget to treat your wife as well!

Gypsy Queen Group Break @ Cardboard Heaven!

 This evening I was posting a link to my newest toy review on my Facebook page and I noticed that Cardboard Heaven was hosting their first ever group break.  I clicked on the link and hoped on over to the blog and saw that not only was a box of GQ being ripped, but there were 2 other boxes.  Checked the prices...double checked the prices and quickly left a comment.  Lots of good teams are still available as of this evening so make sure you check out all the fun.

http://morethancardboard.blogspot.com/2011/05/gypsy-group-break-my-first.html

Another Gypsy Queen post...

The wife "had" to run into Old Navy this afternoon so I took my daughter into the neighboring Target to kill time.  The store was a mess as they were in the process of adding a produce section to their grocery portion of the store so I didn't feel like spending too much time there.  We made a bee line to the card area and my daughter grabbed me one of those Gypsy Queen value rack packs.  $9 for 3 packs + a 3 card pack of retail exclusive green border cards.  OK, not a bad I thought.  I haven't spent too much time looking at GQ, but after receiving my group break cards (post coming) from the Daily Dimwit and opening this pack this evening I can say I love the cards.  I don't know if anyone else has made the Topps Magic football comparison yet, but that was the first thing that came to mind after thumbing through a few of the cards.

I only found out about these retail only value packs the other day.  I knew they contained some exclusive parallels, but I didn't know what they looked like until today.  By now most of us have already seen plenty of the base cards and the slew of inserts and parallels so I decided just to share the 3 card pack.

#024 Chipper Jones

Well of course this card is a keeper!

#027 Roy Oswalt

#059 Duke Snider

I like these matte framed cards.  Immediately they reminded me of the old Emotion cards by Fleer/Skybox.  The Oswalt is up for grabs, but I figured night owl would appreciate the Snider card so it's going in his stack.

I'm on the fence with this set.  I love the art and some of the inserts are nice (Wall Climbers), but I don't want to tackle another set w/ SPs.  I may go after the set minus the SPs, but like with a lot of other sets I'll have to lean heavily on trades and retail purchases.  I do plan on having at least one more GQ post coming in the next few days as the blaster I picked up yielded something I wasn't expecting.