Awhile back, in true Topps fashion, they declared that 2017 Bowman Platinum would be a WalMart exclusive product.
No hobby shops.
No sales to Canada.

Epic fail.

I guess Topps knows there are no baseball fans North of the 49th parallel, let alone any Dodger fans looking for Bellanger rookies. Yes, Bowman Platinum is the first product to feature a true Bellanger RC.

I love exclusives, don't you?

Anyways, I had a talk with the elderly lady that stocks up our local WalMart about this very thing. She wouldn't tell me who she worked for..... but she did say that she didn't remember seeing any baseball, and that she didn't realize that people were actually looking for it.

ugh.

That explains why the card section is normally 90% Pokémon and 10% hockey.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and voila! There were six packs of these beauties on a peg in the middle of an explosion of Pikachu something or other.....

One came home with me. Only one because there was no price tag and the nearest three scanning stations were all broken. Gotta love WalMart.


One Exclusive Prospect Card per pack!!!!


I have to say that the quality of the cards has decreased over the last year or so. I guess a lot like every other brand of Topps cards.




 Is Reynaldo my exclusive prospect?

 Or maybe Alex?


KIEBOOM!!!!! Heh, heh....



I haven't heard of most of these guys...



This is a Rookie Radar insert. Is this my exclusive?


A Brave!!!!!!!!! And a blue parallel Brave to boot.
I wish I knew who he was.


and finally, an autograph of Andy Ibanez.
Apparently, Andy is Texas' #2 ranked prospect and one of the top infielders in the minor leagues. He currently plays for the Frisco RoughRiders of the Texas League.

So now you know.

Over all I'd give 2017 Platinum a 3/5

Cheap card stock, bleh design, and the shiny just isn't there anymore.

What say you?

Growing up my parents tried to instill values in me. You know, morals, the difference between right and wrong, kindness, compassion, etc....
One of the things my mother always said was; "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."
I miss my mom. But I can still see the expression on her face after I've said something I perhaps should've thought more about... and then there it was...
"If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

I was a quiet child.

Moving on.

As you all know, the new 2016 Topps baseball product hit the streets this past week. I've read a LOT of reviews on the product. From Night Owl on down.... everyone seems to have their opinion on it. I have yet to find anyone who actually likes it though. This may go down with '87 Topps and '91 Donruss as one of the worst sets of all time if believe what you read.

But in the interest of fairness, I say No. I will not just believe what I read on the internet. I will make my own decisions, have my own opinions, and NOT be influenced by others. (thanks mom.)

So here it is, my first pack of 2016 Topps.

Kevin Pillar as my first card. I think I had him in PATP's contest. I wonder if this gets me a consolation prize or something.

The gas seems to have overwhelmed Sanchez....



My first Brave! Matt went 8-8 last year.... I think we got him from the Padres...

look at the damage on that Greinke!!! That's not from Topps, that's from a card shop owner who happens to be a Dodgers fan.

A local boy! (According to MLB, Toronto is my "local" team here in Calgary.)
Who the hell is the Prince?????
ugh.
Okay. So I've ripped open my pack and now, keeping in mind my mom's instructions, I will give you my review on 2016 Topps baseball.


....



Welp. There's always next year.

I have this love / hate relationship with Heritage baseball. It's akin to a Jeckyll / Hyde scenario. There's that sweet feeling of opening packs, looking at cards, sorting them, building the set.
Then there's the harsh reality of needless short prints, stupid gimmicks, and questionable parallels and inserts.

Topps has nailed the card stock with Heritage. They should do away with that plasticky, glossy crap that they use on the base set and use this. Can you imagine the bliss?
But too many collectors want that, so Topps will never do it.

Since I already started building the flagship set, and I still haven't finished any other Heritage sets, combined with my ambivalence of the '66 set itself, I was going to forgo starting this year's Heritage offering.
Still, I had to buy a few packs, right?

There was a box open on the shelf at the last trade night at one of my local shops. They opened two packs, and pulled the shiny purple parallels in each pack. Hot box! Wooo!!!!

Um. No.

They then pulled the box off the shelf for store use and opened another box for pack sales.

wow.

Not cool.

Moving on.....

Out of the new box, I took the top three packs. They felt good. Clean. Crisp. Gently tearing open the first pack of this new box there is this smiling back at me.


One last hurrah.

Maybe I will chase this set, but I doubt it. At least, not for awhile. I can't find many trade partners for flagship, so I figure Heritage would be doubly tough.
Besides, what card can I pull that will be better than this?

2015 Topps baseball Series 1

Just a place to put things for now... when my scanner and I settle our differences, I'll have lots of pretty pictures and plenty of things to say...

Anybody have a hammer?

List is updated as of 04/11/15  Anybody else want to swap?

Needs...
#'s 33, 113, 152, 312,

I have a few doubles as well if anyone needs..
4, 6, 10, 16, 20, 28, 36, 39, 41, 45, 45, 55, 58, 66, 67, 70, 76, 76, 78, 80, 83, 86, 86, 90, 97, 99, 100, 100, 104, 106, 110, 112, 116, 125, 125, 127, 127, 129, 133, 135, 136, 139, 139, 139, 144, 144, 146, 151, 157, 158, 158, 161, 161, 163, 163, 163, 165, 174, 175, 176, 177, 180, 185, 185, 188, 188, 192, 192, 194, 202, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 212, 212, 213, 216, 221, 229, 229, 230, 230, 239, 239, 240, 242, 242, 243, 247, 247, 249, 250, 252, 253, 254, 256, 256, 257, 259, 260, 263, 263, 265, 265, 265, 268, 269, 272, 273, 275, 285, 285, 285, 286, 289, 292, 298, 300, 301, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 313, 316, 316, 320, 323, 323, 324, 327, 327, 330, 331, 331, 335, 339, 340, 341, 343, 343, 345, 347, 347

I suppose before I buy any new Topps, I should try and finish off some old Topps first. Well, my Braves team sets anyways... nothing so ambitious as an entire set.

Maybe this year though. If I can find some trade partners....

Here's what I need for the past couple of years worth of Bravesness...

2014 Topps - no idea. I haven't found a checklist for this year yet... so I'll put that on my wantlist first.

2013 Topps - 46, 105, 115, 201, 222, 257, 344, 357, 418, 444, 477, 540, 576, 581, 610, 614

Updates - US45, US173, US255, US298

All Star Stitches - ASR-CK1 Craig Kimbrel (is this a jersey card???)

Making Their Mark - MM-45, MM-48

Post Season Heroes - PH4, PH5, PH12


2012 Topps -

Updates - US166, US166B, US250, US268, US314

Blockbusters - BB28

'87 Style Minis - TM-136

Gold Futures - GF11, GF34, GF35

Gold Standard - GS31, GS35

Golden Greats - GG52, GG53, GG86

Prime Nine Home Run Legend - HLR3

Retired Rings - HA

Team Rings - CJ


2011 Topps - 135B Murphy, 505B Maddux, 600B Smoltz, 640B Matthews

Updates - US143, US152

Kimball Champions - KC110

Diamond Duos DD17, DD20, DD25,

60 Years of Topps - 60YOT-61 Spahn

Topps 60 - 102, 139, 146

I've completely lost my 2013 Heritage... and my mind...


2014 Topps Heritage Baseball

1, 13, 20, 22, 28, 33, 34, 47, 58, 61, 89, 107, 117, 119, 126, 127, 135, 136, 138, 145, 148, 152, 154, 156, 171, 175, 179, 185, 205, 210, 211, 219, 224, 228, 231, 241, 242, 247, 260, 266, 278, 288, 298, 299, 344, 354, 355, 356, 359, 363, 375, 377, 394, 403, 407, 415, 426, 427, 430, 431, 432, 433, 434, 435, 436, 438, 439, 441, 442, 443, 445, 446, 447, 448, 449, 450, 451, 452, 453, 454, 455, 456, 457, 458, 459, 461, 462, 463, 464, 465, 466, 467, 468, 469, 470, 471, 472, 473, 476, 477, 479, 481, 483, 484, 485, 486, 487, 488, 489, 490, 491, 492, 493, 494, 496, 497, 498, 499, 500

wow.. this one turned ugly fast... I hope I have another stack somewhere...


2012 Topps Heritage Baseball

2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 34, 35, 36, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 49, 51, 52, 54, 57, 59, 61, 64, 66, 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 77, 80, 82, 85, 87, 88, 89, 90, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 103, 107, 108, 109, 111, 112, 113, 114, 118, 120, 121, 123, 124, 127, 128, 130, 134, 135, 136, 138, 139, 140, 141, 144, 146, 147, 148, 149, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 159, 161, 162, 167, 168, 170, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 182, 187, 188, 189, 190, 192, 194, 200, 201, 203, 205, 208, 209, 210, 212, 213, 215, 219, 221, 227, 228, 229, 230, 232, 234, 235, 237, 238, 239, 240, 242, 243, 246, 251, 252, 258, 259, 260, 262, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 274, 275, 276, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 286, 289, 290, 291, 295, 296, 298, 300, 301, 302, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 310, 311, 313, 315, 316, 317, 320, 322, 323, 325, 326, 327, 330, 331, 333, 334, 338, 341, 342, 344, 345, 346, 347, 351, 355, 356, 358, 359, 363, 364, 365, 366, 369, 370, 372, 378, 379, 380, 381, 382, 383, 386, 387, 389, 391, 393, 394, 399, 402, 404, 406, 407, 409, 410, 411, 413, 415, 416, 417, 418, 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, ------------------------- 500

Apparently I don't have a single SP... I think I have to go digging again....

Checklists

C1, C2

posted for posterity... that and to get my ass in gear on organizing this bloody mess.




2013 Gypsy Queen Base

7, 14, 15, 19, 28, 32, 62, 76, 81, 85, 87, 92, 97, 99, 103, 111, 114, 122, 124, 126, 131, 137, 150, 162, 177, 181, 183, 187, 189, 198, 204, 208, 213, 215, 221, 239, 248, 271, 277, 288, 295, 302, 304, 307, 309, 310, 318, 330, 334, 340, 346, 350

Collisions

CP-CF, CP-JB, CP-MM, CP-YM

Dealing Aces

DA-CC, DA-CK, DA-CL, DA-CS, DA-DB, DA-JV, DA-JW, DA-RH, DA-SS, DA-YD

Glove Stories

GS-BH, GS-CC, GS-DJ, GS-MT

No Hitters

NH-CH, NH-JW, NH-SK

Sliding Stars

SS-AJO, SS-BH, SS-CG, SS-DJ, SS-JM, SS-PF, SS-RH

and before you go running to baseball-reference.com, Mel was born in 1933. So he's 27 in this pic.

Really.

No kidding.

That is IF Topps used a current photo of him. And we know how Topps LOVES to use old photos.

So he may be even younger.

Hmmm.

1961 is one of my least favourite sets of the vintage era. I think it and the 1966 set are by far the worst.
I still love them.
But they u-g-l-y.

What's your ugly set?

According to the cartoon on the back, Mel attends the University of Virginia in the offseason.

I wonder why Mel looks so wistful in the pic? What is he thinking?

Regardless, it's a lot better looking card than tomorrow's.....


still needed for 1959 Topps,
#'s 40, 212, 380, 450, 467, 551, 561, 565, 567, 571

and it's pink.


my 1959 Topps needs... #'s 40, 212, 380, 450, 467, 551, 561, 565, 567, 571
...some heavy hitters in that bunch.

...one day...

 And to bring me crashing back down to Earth, Ty Wigginton.
 a former Brave, Rafael "I go where the big money is" Soriano
 A hit! It's.... It's ...... Robinson Crusoe. Er... Cano. Craptastic. A guy you hardly hear about, until he lucked out in the Home Run competition. But seriously, why was he even there? If anybody actually collects this guy, offer me a Brave relic somethingorother and we'll swap.
 another former Brave, Mini Derrick Lee.
 Strasburgjo!!!! A year too late I guess...
 and some worthless insert of Lance Berkman.
 Pack Two: Can I improve on pack one???
No. The answer is no.

Miguel Cabrera.
 Nick Swisher. And my scanner is not playing tricks, nor am I hurt like Night Owl, it really is that bad off center.
 former Brave Tim Collins. We had Tim for five minutes before trading him away for some Maple Bats.
 The man no one wants.... Carlos Zambrano
 Grady Sizemore
 Mini Marmol! I always think of Robert Munsch when I say his name...
 One of the Astros many pitchers named Rodriguez.... this one is Wandy. Seriously. Wandy.
 and how would any pack break for a 2011 baseball product be complete, without a David DeJesus card.
All except Mr Beachy are for trade.... especially for any Braves or Adam LaRoche cards you may have.

Have fun Gintering!!!!!! Come back here for a well deserved break.

As a lot of you are aware, I missed out on the whole Topps Million Card Giveaway thingie. I didn't buy any hobby boxes and our WalMarts do not carry baseball, so the code cards just weren't available.
But I didn't feel bad. I knew. Football was coming. Topps doesn't think anymore, and I knew that whatever they did for baseball, they would do for football. See? No thought required. Take the rest of the year off.
So finally, football came. And I ran out of money the week before. Damn medical bills. But anyway, I managed to get a code. My new friend bought my friendship by offering a free code to anyone who linked to his new blog.
Hello new friend.
And a code for the new GridIron Giveaway found it's way into my email inbox.

And the peasants rejoiced. For it was Glorious.

And I waited, nay, revelled and basked in the moment. I watched the website with breathless anticipation for two days, waiting for the opportune time to strike, and with that fatal blow, bring home a priceless vintage Cowboy.

I watched for the signs.... and finally, the moment came. The infernal machine was virtually spewing out vintage cards at an alarming rate. I proudly hit the enter key to receive, nay! Be gifted my prize!
a 1998 Mark McMillian of the Chiefs.

I hate Topps.

Jacques Plante, one of the greatest goalies to ever strap on the pads, played 18 years and 837 games in the NHL. The last 8 of those games with the Boston Bruins at the end of the '72/73 season.

Neither OPC nor Topps decided to make a card of Jacques in their '73/74 sets. So I did.
Three hours later, and my eyes are bleeding, but there it is. Jacques went 7-1 for Boston with a 2.00 GAA. After the season he jumped ship to the WHA to play one last season before retiring.

It was time to add some hockey to my bargain hunting excursion. Remember the rules? Under $5 basically. Free shipping if possible. I found two lots that I snapped up pretty quickly.

The first included this 1970-71 OPC Serge Savard - Hall Of Fame 1986
a 1971-72 OPC Brad Park Hall Of Fame 1988 - (Brad has a wrinkle on the front that stabs him right into his hip)