Both products that I opened contained a pack of retail-exclusive green parallels, standard green for Gypsy Queen and a darker green "camo" parallel which was found in Bowman. The GQ blaster box and Bowman value packs featured 5 parallels which the GQ value packs contained only 3.
After I finished opening all the retail packs, I wound up with 36 total green parallels, 20 from Bowman and 16 from Gypsy Queen. While non-numbered parallels aren't necessarily valuable, each product had its own unique parallel which I've grown to like.
The lighter green GQ parallels work perfectly with the retro-style product. Given how uncommon parallels are in present-day Gypsy Queen, it's pretty cool to come across so many of these beautiful cards.
On the other hand, the Bowman camo parallels include only prospects, maximizing the chance of landing a big-name player. While the GQ parallels are reminiscent of a vintage card, the Bowman parallels are far more modern looking.
The fact that I find both parallels appealing, in different ways, highlights how diverse my appreciation for Baseball cards is. While being all over the place has hurt me in the past, I enjoy having a wide range of cards that I like, for it allows me to discover all sorts of new players and products that I'd otherwise be unfamiliar with.
Anyway, let's get back to the green parallels, starting with the dark green camos from 2019 Bowman.
Given Topps' notoriously terrible coalition, I feel fortunate that I didn't end up with a single camo parallel double out of the 20 parallel cards that I pulled. Moreover, I'm fairly pleased that 1/5, or 4, of my camo parallels, are 1st Bowman cards of well-respected prospects, including Julio Rodriguez of the Mariners.
While I'm on the topic of prospects, I'd be remiss if I failed to mention that Vladimir Guerrero Jr will be making his much-anticipated MLB debut tomorrow at home against the Oakland Athletics. His MLB debut has been hyped up and anticipated for months now, just like that of Bryce Harper and Shohei Ohtani earlier this decade.
Because I pulled roughly the same number of Bowman paper cards as I did camo parallels, I found a couple of player's whose cards I pulled twice, like Royce Lewis and Casey Mize. The 4 players above are prospects that I was familiar with before this product's release.
Lewis and Mize are former 1st overall picks while I recognize Nick Senzel from Bowman's Best, and I've heard Yordan Alvarez's name mentioned numerous times before this set was released last Wednesday.
There are even a couple of players who have already made it to the major leagues by the time I pulled their parallels from a pack, like Eloy Jimenez and Cole Tucker.
In fact, the White Sox outfielder has already signed an MLB extension while Cole Tucker, from what I've heard, is playing respectable Baseball as an infielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Out of all the different jersey colors, the camo green looks especially nice with the color black.
I may not have landed a mega 1st Bowman card like that of Wander Franco, but I was quite pleased with how I did with the 20 camo parallels. Next up, the Gypsy Queen green bordered cards that I wound up with.
Featuring a much lighter shade of green that works better with the GQ set design, these green parallels encompass the entire base set of Gypsy Queen, though I'm not certain if short prints are included or not.
The blaster boxes deliver 5 green parallels while value packs promise just 3. As I mentioned earlier, I ended up with 16 of these gorgeous cards, featuring rookies and veterans.
It's always a plus when I pull parallels, or any cards, of players that I collect. I'm especially happy to finally land a card of Jake Arrieta given how few cards I've been able to track down of the 2015 NL Cy Young award winner over the last few seasons.
Bellinger's card, along with Arrieta's, is a true standout, highlighting how creative and special these 2019 Topps Gypsy Queen cards are. After becoming familiar with the product through the hobby box that I opened, I'm glad to refamiliarize myself with the fabulous images included across this product.
Plus, as if the green borders weren't enough, the Oakland Athletics' green parallels take a simple color to a whole nother level. The borders, year, logo, and player's position on these 2 cards are all green, not to mention Laureano and Manaea's jerseys as well as parts of the background.
In his rookie season, Laureano has already established himself as one of the greatest defensive players in the game. Poised to take home a gold glove within the next few seasons, his highlights are worth checking out.
His teammate, Sean Manaea, pitched 1 of the 3 no-hitters of 2018. He brought the 17-2 Boston Red Sox back down to earth by no-hitting them around this time last year. The subsequent no-nos were pitched by James Paxton of the Mariners and a combined effort by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Not to mention, I also landed a green parallel of my favorite card from the entire 2019 Topps Gypsy Queen set. Seriously, this card is absolutely breathtaking, especially as a colored parallel.
Yeah, I'm definitely thankful for Target's fabulous coupon. I've never done anything like this with retail cards before, and I had an absolute blast.
Green has been my favorite color my entire life, so I definitely approve of this post. I like the green used in GQ more than Bowman. That seems a little dark.
ReplyDeleteThe green parallels for GQ are awesome
ReplyDeleteNice Laureano and Manaea. As an A's fan... I'm always going to be a fan of green bordered parallels.
ReplyDeleteThat has to be one of, if not the, best cards of David Price. The smile, the hop..great shot!
ReplyDeleteI've already said it on a bunch of other people's posts, but I might as well say it again, the GQ green's look so great, and obviously the A's look especially good with a green border.
ReplyDelete