The Outcome of a Target Gift Card Part 2

To add on to a Night Owl Cards post from a couple days ago, I'm definitely feeling like these are the "dog days" of card blogging.

I assume this makes sense. For most of us, we're in the last week or so of warm weather before fall comes along. I assume some people are vacationing while others may simply be too busy to blog or check out other card blogs, which I totally understand.

In my case, I have enough time on my hands both this week and last, so I can continue to put out posts almost every day. However, the views and comments have not been what I'm used to. Not since I was in my first month of card blogging have I gone so long without a comment.

Still, I've been enjoying posting over the last few days and have pulled some nice cards so far from the 2018 Topps Archives blaster and value pack from yesterday's post. As for today, I decided to spend the 2nd half of my gift card on a Topps Chrome blaster, containing 7 packs and 1 pack of Sepia exclusive parallels which I will save for last. 

Also, in order to see how prominent rookie cards are in Topps Chrome, I'll be keeping a rookie card count throughout the entire blaster box. 

Pack #1

#126 Scott Kingery

That sure didn't take long. Right off the bat, we have a rookie card of Phillies 2nd baseman Scott Kingery.

Rookie Card Count; 1

#FS-16 Trey Mancini Future Stars

I wish I could say this was my first Mancini Future Stars card. But in fact, it happens to be my 3rd. 1 of them is in my Topps Chrome set while the 2nd and 3rd will have to be designated to one of my boxes.

#178 Nomar Mazara

#44 Tim Anderson

The landscape-style cards look awfully nice in this years' Chrome set. For whatever reason, the background appears to be faded when the card is scanned, but in-person the background is equally bright and shiny as the foreground.

Pack #2

#74 Andrew McCutchen

Given that they're still stuck in 4th place in the NL West, it's evident that the Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria experiment did not work out for the San Francisco Giants. It leads me to wonder where McCutchen will end up this offseason. Could a return to Pittsburgh be in his future?

#188 Garrett Cooper

The 2nd rookie card of the box is of a guy who will likely be playing today when the Marlins take on the Red Sox at Fenway Park, a game I can happily say I will be attending. 

Rookie Card Count; 2

#182 Gary Sanchez Prism Refractor

Somehow, this Gary Sanchez prism refractor is also a double (please don't ask me how). This card, along with the Mancini Future Stars, is available for trade if anyone is interested.

#119 Yoenis Cespedes

Pack #3

#198 Andrew Stevenson

Rookie Card Count; 3

#133 Chance Sisco

I'm still not familiar with half of the over-hyped rookies from 2017, and now Topps expects me to familiarize myself with a bunch of 2018 rookies? This is why I could never be a major case-breaker or prospect hunter.

Rookie Card Count; 4

#123 Joey Votto Refractor

A nice refractor of a guy I collect and who also has one of the largest of my player collections for an active player. You can't ask for much more than that.

#142 Trey Mancini

Pack #4

#92 Francisco Mejia

I understand that Topps Chrome is a major set for rookie cards, rookie autographs in particular. But from what I've seen in this blaster and the online checklist, I think the sheer number of rookies included is excessive.

Rookie Card Count; 5

#83T-12 Mike Trout 1983 

If you've seen any of these 1983 chrome cards in-person, then you know what I'm talking about when  I say how beautiful these cards are. To make things even better, the 1983 insert I pulled is of Mike Trout, and you can't get that many better names than that, even counting this years' high-profile rookies.

#181 Kenta Maeda

#8 Josh Donaldson

Pack #5

#72 Ozzie Albies

Now, here's a rookie card that I'm extremely happy to get. Besides Topps Heritage, I don't think I have any other rookie cards of the possible 2018 NL Rookie of the Year.

Rookie Card Count; 6

#FF-1 Shohei Ohtani Freshman Flash

Nice! Here's an insert to make the entire blaster box worthwhile. An Ohtani Freshman Flash, possibly the only insert that looks better in person than the 1983 chrome cards. Instead of being forced to overpay for one online, now I have the coveted Freshman Flash insert, making the completion of this insert set far easier.

Rookie Card Count; 7

#191 Jon Lester

#80 German Marquez

Pack #6

#30 Alex Colome

#139 Bryce Harper

A .351 batting average over the last 30 games has brought Bryce Harper's batting average "up" to .249. Still, that's not a guy I'd be looking to give half a billion dollars to if I was a GM.

#164 Troy Scribner Refractor

Meh

Rookie Card Count; 8

#7 Eric Thames

With 1 base pack and 1 sepia parallel pack still to come, there are already 8 rookie cards in the box. Even if no more rookies are pulled, that's still 1/4 of the box.

Pack #7

#103 Carlos Correa

#83T-16 Dominic Smith 1983

I don't think I know much at all about Mets rookie Dominic Smith. All I know is I've heard some pretty good things. I just hope, for his sake, that the Mets don't find any way to mess up his development. They deserve to have something go right for them.

Rookie Card Count; 9

#34 Luis Castillo

#55 Trevor Bauer

It seems like it's going to be between Chris Sale, Blake Snell, and Trevor Bauer for the AL Cy Young award this year. Sale has been a contender for years, but Snell and Bauer are both having breakout seasons with career highs in nearly each stat category.

Exclusive Sepia Parallel Pack

#161 Cody Allen

If you cover their faces and player names at the bottom, I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference between Cody Allen and Trevor Bauer's cards.

#31 Gleyber Torres

Another great rookie card hit! That makes three for the whole blaster box (Albies, Ohtani, Torres). That also brings the rookie card count to a grand total of 10 with Torres being the final rookie card pulled.

Rookie Card Count; 10

#136 Michael Conforto

#37 Paul Goldschmidt

Not a bad way to end the blaster box. A sepia parallel of a guy I collect and most importantly, it's not another rookie card.

All in all, I was pretty happy with this chrome blaster. Granted, I didn't hit any numbered parallels, but I did land an Albies base rookie, a Torres sepia refractor, and best of all, the Shohei Ohtani Freshman Flash. Now, hopefully, some of these will be needs for my 2018 Topps Chrome set, and then I'll be thoroughly happy with this purchase.