Zebra Stripes and Donut Circles; Card Show Recap #2 Part 2

As I alluded to during my first recap post from Monday's Baseball card show, the Memorial Day visit to the Mansfield show was bizarre, even by my standards. Though it started off with some simple player collection purchases, I soon found myself going in a ton of different directions that I never would've expected.

Going into the show, one of my goals was to sample a few of the different parallels from 2019 Panini Prizm, and I accomplished that feat soon after I began browsing the floor. What I did not anticipate, however, was that I'd end up buying an entire hobby box of the 2019 Panini Prizm product.

I didn't envision purchasing more than a few singles and a hobby pack of the set, but my Dad and I were eager to open packs later in the day. Besides, it was in our price range, and we didn't want to open another box of 2019 Topps Gypsy Queen or Heritage and risk pulling numerous doubles.

Alas, the only option that was within our budget and wouldn't deliver a ton of doubles was Prizm. So, despite the fact that the product doesn't have the MLB license, we decided to look past that in favor of the eye-catching parallels.

Each hobby box promises 3 autographs and 15 parallels (on average). From the breaks that I've seen, you usually pull 2 Prizm parallels per pack, 1 of them serial numbered. I've also noticed that people usually pull 1 insert card per pack as well, so there's a lot of variety within this set besides the standard base cards.

The 2019 Panini Prizm hobby format is very similar to that of Topps Chrome jumbo, only the price isn't close to as high. There are 12 packs and 12 cards per pack, so you still end up with a reasonable number of cards when all is said and done.

The base cards, even without logos, look incredibly sleek while staying true to the Panini Prizm brand. The silver-bordered cards feature little designs that form a frame around the photo of the player, leaving a reasonable amount of space for the colors of the various parallels to pop.

Even in a convoluted product like Chronicles, Panini isn't big on over-complicating their set designs, so it stands to reason that the Prizm base cards are somewhat simple. Like any Baseball card set, Panini included quite a few interesting photos that, especially the Treinen, distract from the logoless caps and jerseys.

While I fully expected Prizm to feature retired players in the checklist, I was surprised by the players that were actually chosen. While George Brett is often a go-to choice, I find it interesting that Panini put Juan Gonzalez in the checklist as well. 

Recently-retired guys like Alex Rodriguez and Adrian Beltre are also intriguing options, for I didn't expect either of them to be featured so soon after their retirement. This choice is aided by the fact that A-Rod is shown as a member of the Mariners, not the Yankees which would've been a more traditional option.

As I previously declared, I opened 12 packs of 2019 Panini Prizm and accumulated cards from 9 different insert sets, all of which look fabulous on the signature silver Panini Prizm cardstock. Sets like Instant Impact and Star Gazing showcase beautiful and colorful set designs, even though I feel the borders for the Kris Bryant card don't do the rest of the design justice.

Illumination and Machines, another duo of colorful insert sets, also feature some of the game's brightest stars. I'm guessing that the latter is reserved for hitters only while, Illumination, although it lacks a true theme, has a stunning and vibrant background.

Other insert sets, like Lumber Inc and Numbers Game, combine bold designs with creative concepts, although this isn't the first time that we've seen a Numbers Game insert (2016 Topps A&G). 

I'm thrilled that, out of the 13 inserts I pulled (12 base cards + 1 silver Gary Sanchez Lumber Inc), I landed the 2 Red Sox cards above as well as 2 Cubs inserts (Bryant Star Gazing + Baez Fireworks).

I may not have displayed every one of the 9 insert sets that I pulled cards from, but I made certain to include my personal favorite. Out of all the different designs, I'd build the Numbers Game insert set if I had the choice.

The variety of different insert sets is sensational, and I'm thoroughly impressed by the base card design as well. With that being said, if I'm going to invest in Panini Prizm, the main thing that I'm looking for is parallels. Thankfully, I ended up with a little more than 15 Prizm parallels that each box averages.

While the box breaks that I had previously watched delivered roughly 2 parallels per box, I managed to hit a hot box in which I found 2 of the blue prism cards above in every one of the 12 packs. Thus, by the end of the break, I wound up with 24 of these cards, including the highlight of the group, Mike Trout.

Before I continue onto the rest of the parallels, I'd like the point out how gorgeous these parallels are, especially considering that they're not serial numbered. They look like enhanced versions of the hyper Prizm parallels from last year's Chronicles set, and I really dig how all these different Prizm parallels look.

If we're talking solely about the blue prisms, I already exceeded the odds by pulling 24 different parallels. However, I mentioned that this was a hot box. In addition to the 2 blue prisms per pack, I also pulled 2 other parallel cards, 2 of them serial numbered, in all 12 of the packs that I opened.

As a result, I ended up with 60 total parallels across my 12-pack hobby box break; 24 serial numbered, 24 blue prisms, and 12 other non-numbered cards (silver, red, or blue parallels).

Running at 3 per hobby box on average, the silver parallels are something that I recognize from Prizm Basketball and Baseball as the rookie silver cards are highly sought after in both of these sports. 

Andrelton Simmons and Miles Mikolas were nice enough as far as these silver parallels are concerned, but the best silver of the box, by a long shot, is the Pedro Martinez card above. I can't imagine how much improved this card would be if Martinez was shown in the powder blue Expos uniform instead.

The blue parallels may not be numbered, but the bold color truly pops more so than many of the other Prizms in this set. I landed 4 of them in my box, but the best of these parallels were, yet again, a retired player. The combination of the dark blue parallel with Kirby Puckett's powder blue jersey is quite sensational.

The red parallels, on the other hand, don't stand out nearly as much as the bold blue Prizms, but I, nevertheless, enjoy what they contribute to this product. In a set that features extremely complicated Prizm parallels, it's nice to have a simple alternative like the red parallels of which I pulled 5 in my box break.

Taking the blue prism parallels into account, I pulled 3 non-numbered Prizms in every single pack. Conversely, I found 2 serial numbered refractors in every pack, and there were a ton of different options within that category.

Out of all the serial numbered Prizms in this year's product, the blue mojos have the highest print run at 399 copies. Upon looking at these cards, you'd think that they'd be numbered out of 99 or 150 copies, but 399 seems absurdly high.

On the bright side, this allows me to acquire these stunning cards more easily and for a lower price. Dating back to last year's Chronicles set, I've been fond of these mojo refractors, and these light blue cards and their unique color are no exception. 

Before I opened this hobby box, I sampled a few different parallels from this complex product, one of them being the red mojo cards, numbered out of 299 copies. Again, I feel as if the print run is a little high for such an intricate Prizm card, but I'm also not complaining. I landed around 7 of these beautiful cards, including stars like Miguel Andujar and Corey Kluber.

In Panini Prizm Basketball and Baseball, these cards are referred to as speckle parallels, as far as I know, yet the Baseball product decided not to use that name. Rather, the Prizms above are referred to as lime green and orange donut circles respectively. Yes, you heard that right; donut circles.

The greens (#/199) and the oranges (#/150) were surprisingly prevalent across the box despite their shorter print run. I showcased the other orange donut circles parallels, Roberto Alomar, at the top of this post while I pulled 2 additional neon green parallels.

I was also intrigued by Panini's decision to feature Albert Pujols as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals on this card, especially since he has another card in the checklist that shows him as a Los Angeles Angel.

Like the donut circles parallels, the Zebra stripes Prizms, another bizarre choice for a parallel by Panini, appeared numerous times (3) over the course of my box break. 

Numbered out of just 99 copies, the Zebra stripe refractors are one of the most creative concepts that I've seen on Baseball cards in an incredibly long time. The biggest name that I landed was Rockies ace Kyle Freeland while the other 2 parallels that I pulled feature 2019 rookies.

Next up, the equivalent of a Topps Chrome x-fractor, the power plaid Prizms, numbered out of just 75  copies. Although I pulled just one of these brilliant cards in my break, I truly cannot complain about the players that I landed.

Rafael Devers has been swinging one of the hottest bats in Baseball over the month of May, for he's hitting around .330 as I speak and seems to be hitting dingers every other day. The refractor may not as colorful as the donut circles or as creative as the Zebra stripes, but, as far as the player is concerned, this was my greatest pull of the box.

Last but certainly not least, the cards with the lowest print run of the parallels that I pulled from this unbelievable hot box; the shimmer parallels, serial numbered out of just 60 copies. In addition to the Matt Chapman card that you see above, I also pulled a Framber Valdez shimmer parallel, bringing my grand total of Prizm parallels to a whopping 60 different cards.

Yes, I hit my 3 guaranteed (on average) autographs as well, but there wasn't anything too notable. The best of the group was a Dakota Hudson shimmer auto out of 60 copies, my 25th numbered card of the box. Thankfully, all 3 autos were rookie parallels, but only the Hudson was numbered.

However, I decided to leave them out of this post for the simple reason that they're not as significant as the rest of the cards, particularly the Prizms. Clearly, this set is more about the different parallels that you can pull and less about the autographs, especially since the rookie class isn't too strong.

I'm still unsure as to what I'm going to do with the 60 parallels that I pulled, but I'd love to hold onto them. These cards are simply so beautiful and unique that it would be challenging for me to part with them.