Came For Supplies, Left With a Bit More

It's not always intentional, but I often find that a quick trip to my LCS for organizational supplies turns into a reasonable Baseball card purchase. Like today, for instance, when I left the card shop with the penny sleeves and top-loaders that I needed along with a stack of Baseball cards as well.

The perennial dime box pickups will be showcased at a later time, but for now, I'll be concentrating on the cards in the $1-$3 range that I chose for myself. 

Every month or so, the card shop that I visited earlier today replenishes these boxes with new cards, featuring rookie stars, retired players, or serial numbered cards.

At a place like the Baseball card show, I could see these same cards going for twice the amount of money that I paid at my LCS. It's likely that the sheer volume of memorabilia that card shops sell allows them to price some cards slightly lower, including the cards in the $1-$3 range that I carefully selected. 

After scanning through the dime bins and locating what I needed for supplies, I found myself with around $10 left in the budget for any other cards that I wanted. Ultimately, I wound up with 7 cards in this price range, including a wide variety of cards from all 3 categories that I previously mentioned. 

The only disadvantage of buying $1 vintage cards is that I often end up with cards of lesser-known players and not guys that I collect. The advantages are every other factor in this case. 

As my Dad is quick to tell me, vintage cards aren't going to be common and available forever, and when it comes to teams that I'm fond of, I have no problem sparing $1 per card. In addition to the Red Sox and the Cubs, the Pirates, Expos, and Oakland A's are among my favorite Baseball teams. 

In particular, the Pittsburgh Pirates and their fabulous uniforms and players throughout the 60s and 70s put them in the top 5 on my list of favorite MLB franchises. 

Unbeknownst to me until I looked up his age just a few moments ago, Vladimir Guerrero Jr turns 20 years old today. Still, after spending multiple seasons in the minors, Baseball fans, including myself, are anticipating the MLB debut of this renowned, talented player.

Although I expect more combo cards to be produced that show Vlad Jr. with his father, this specific piece is from 2016 Bowman, Guerrero Jr's first season in the Toronto Blue Jays' organization. If he pans out the way he's supposed to, Vlad Jr. could continue a family legacy like no father and son ever have before.

2 years after the 2017 Bowman set was released and I'm still finding myself loving these chrome reproduction cards as you'll see later on as well. I've seen enough of these reprint cards to have a reasonable idea about the checklist, but this is the first time I've seen Hank Aaron's reprinted 1948 Bowman card, for he wasn't even in the original '48 Bowman set.

Aaron's my favorite player in Baseball history, so I take as many opportunities as possible to add to my player collection of his. That's why this 2017 Bowman reproduction wasn't the only card I picked up of the (former) home run king today.

In what could quite possibly be my first serial numbered card of Hank Aaron, I selected an amethyst parallel as my most expensive card of the day ($3). 

From 2017 Topps Museum, a set that I've purchased many individual cards from beforehand, the unique colored parallel is combined with an iconic uniform and a simple black border. If the cards from this high-end product weren't so hard to come by, I could definitely envision myself attempting to complete this eye-catching base set.

On most days, a Hank Aaron parallel numbered out of 99 copies, would be the highlight of a quick trip to my LCS. However, for the mere price of $1, I was able to pick up an unbelievably low-numbered card. 

In one of the greatest deals I've ever gotten for a single card, I purchased this Phil Rizzuto orange refractor for only a buck, and it's serial numbered out of 25 copies on the back.

Based on the 1951 Bowman set, Rizzuto's card features a background reminiscent of the original set. At the same time, however, the orange border somehow works with the vintage-style design.

Serial numbered 9/25, the card backs also remind me a lot of the early 50s Bowman product. The card back of the 1 original card from 1951 Bowman that I own, Casey Stengel, has its similarities to this reprint.

Rizzuto is one of the player collections that I don't get the chance to add to all that often, much less a numbered card. 2 HOF numbered cards plus 5 other cards for either $1-$2 each. Honestly, it's hard to beat that when you're only going to your LCS for supplies.

Seeing Red

At the end of the holiday festivities, I stopped by my LCS for one last mini box of 2018 Bowman's Best. I thoroughly enjoyed my first box break of the product and did very well overall. I didn't want to set my expectations too high, but I was hoping for another big hit out of the 2nd purchase.

However, I'm not going to do an entire recap of the 2nd Bowman's Best purchase like I did for the first. That's because one of the hits was so unbelievable that it deserves its own post. The hit I pulled was downright jaw-dropping, especially out of a prospect-based set like Bowman's Best.

I'll get straight to the point and show off the card which has since become one of the greatest hits I've ever pulled in my life.

Veteran autographs out of Bowman's Best are hard enough to pull. Red refractors are near impossible. I managed both, of Anthony Rizzo no less, in a card that I'd go as far to say is the 2nd greatest pull out of a pack of cards in my entire life.

It was a moment full of excitement and joy as soon as this card came out of the last autograph pack after what had been an average box so far. It's made even better by the fact that the auto is on-card, and the red refractors are numbered out of 10, and mine specifically is 2/10. 

I knew that there were veteran autos in Bowman's Best, but the autograph checklist is around 85% prospects with the last 15% being rookies and veterans. Rizzo has been my favorite Cub for years now, and this isn't my first stellar pull of his. Back in March of 2018, I hit a flip stock parallel, limited to 5 copies, out of Topps Heritage.

I'll have to make a point to get this card graded at some point soon, the sooner the better. Not only was it incredibly unexpected as I was thinking the last auto would be some no-name prospect, but it's one of the lowest numbered cards I've ever pulled, and it's most definitely the lowest numbered autograph.

Rizzo's been a consistent player for years now, one of the most dependable hitters in all of Baseball, in fact. He's had 4 straight seasons of 100 or more RBI and is a career .270 hitter with a .233 average in 2013 still weighing his career stats down a bit. 

He'll be 30 later this year, and if he keeps up what he's been doing, he could end up in Cooperstown one day in the future. Moreover, my player collection of his is within 10 cards of 100, making him one of the most collected players in my collection considering everything I've pulled of him.

Even with all the other veteran autos in the set, I don't think I could've asked for a better name than Rizzo.

Christmas' Best

In what has started to become a Christmas day tradition, my Dad and I opened up a box of 2018 Bowman's Best yesterday after it was released last Friday, a mere 4 days before Christmas day.

Last year was the first time I had ever opened Bowman's Best when we grabbed a box of the 2017 set. It was a totally different experience than any other box of cards I had ever opened before. I'm not used to this high-end of a set, so I didn't fully know what to expect. I did fairly well last year, but nothing too special. This time, I was looking to step it up.

When I opened the box yesterday, I had a much better idea on what to expect than I did the year before. Not only did I know how the mini boxes worked with 2 autos per mini box and 2 boxes in the master box, but I had also seen the set design in breaks on YouTube as well. 

As always, there's a definite modern approach to the set with a silver, sleek design and some color in the background as well. Last years' cards were definitely more colorful, but that also made the numbered refractors less special. Therefore, I must say that I'm more fond of the 2018 product.

The 5th card of each 5-card pack is guaranteed to be a refractor of either a prospect or rookie/veteran. The rookies and vets take up around 75 spots in the checklist while there are roughly 30 prospects. This means that you don't have to be super knowledgeable on prospects to appreciate the set since most of the base set consists of current MLB players.

I always have to take note of how many Red Sox cards I'm able to pull from any box break, and Bowman's Best delivered some pretty nice cards. I may not have pulled a much-desired Craig Kimbrel, but base cards of Betts, Benintendi, and J.D. Martinez came my way along with some inserts that I'll show off later on.

Unlike 2017 where the player name was moved to the other side of the card, this years' Bowman's Best prospect cards look vastly different when compared to the veteran and rookie base set. 

The background is still ultra-modern but in a more colorful and detailed way. There's far less separating the player name from the rest of the card, and as a whole, the prospect cards are different yet similar to the base cards at the same time, a very good trait in my opinion.

The 1 refractor card per pack can also be a prospect instead of a rookie/veteran, but they're a bit less common due to there being just 30 prospect base cards. However, the smaller checklist nor my limited knowledge of prospects would stop me from pulling a couple standout prospect refractors. The first is the Brendan McKay card above, a top pick from last years' draft, while the 2nd is at the top of this post; Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

In yet another way that this years' Bowman's Best set is similar to last years', the 2018 product features an insert set that pays homage to an insert set in a past Bowman's Best product. Last year, they recreated the '97 Best Cuts cards, but this year, they went with the '98 Best Performers which can also be autographed, the case hit of this product.

There was a wide range of players that I pulled with 1 retired, 2 current stars, and 1 prospect. Of the 4, both the Jose Canseco and the Didi Gregorius are available for trade.

Early Indications is a pretty standard prospect insert set, indicating that the players within the checklist have the ability to become stars in the coming years. It's nothing to write home about, but I was able to pull a couple well-respected prospects; the #3 pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, MacKenzie Gore, and one of the prospects traded to the Dodgers for Puig and Kemp, Jeter Downs.

As far as the insert set designs go, the Power Producers would have to be my favorite of the bunch. I'm not sure if the set is limited to just prospects, but the 2 guys that I pulled are both minor leaguers. First up is another Red Sox, 3rd baseman Triston Casas while on the right, we have 2-way talent Brendan McKay who is seen hitting this time due to the set being called Power Producers.

In 2017, I pulled a purple refractor of Amed Rosario as my 1 numbered refractor of the box, back when he was still a prospect. This year, I pulled a beautiful-looking purple refractor of Cody Bellinger, numbered 95/250. 

I haven't seen any other colored refractors from the set in-person besides purple, but I have no doubt they look fantastic. As of now, I plan on adding this to my Cody Bellinger player collection, but my mind could be changed by the right trade offer.

Each box guarantees you 1 atomic refractor base card of either a prospect or a veteran/rookie, and I don't think I could've done any better than Mike Trout with the possible exception of Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr. Trout's been a top 3 player in Baseball for years now, spending a good deal of time arguably at the #1 spot. He's the face of the game, and I know this card will be a fabulous addition to my Trout player collection.

So you've seen insert cards and the atomic refractor, but the luck didn't end there. In fact, the 2 previously mentioned cards combined and the result was nothing short of stunning.

Falling at 2 per 8-box case, the 1998 Best Performers atomic refractors look absolutely breathtaking, both in-person and when scanned. I haven't taken an in-depth look at the checklist, but it's hard to find for me to find a player I'd rather have in this design than Pedro Martinez. Usually, I'm not too crazy about insert parallels since I see them as a way for Topps to make more money, but for these, I'll make an exception.

I'm also willing to make an exception for the Neophyte Sensations card as well after pulling my 2nd atomic insert refractor of a Red Sox player. This time around, it's Rafael Devers, representing the Red Sox in this rookie-based insert set. 

As far as I know, the odds of pulling an atomic refractor from this insert set is extremely low, since one can't even expect a regular insert card from this set in a hobby box (the odds are 1:18 packs, and you get 12 packs per box).

However, despite the seemingly endless possibilities for inserts and refractors, the main draw to Bowman's Best is the 4 guaranteed on-card autographs per box. Last year, the best autos pulled were Blake Rutherford and a Jake Burger refractor. Let's see how I do this time around.

The first of the 2 mini boxes didn't deliver the biggest names, but I could've done worse. The Connor Scott card has its perks because he's a position player while the Grayson Rodriguez is at least a refractor and not a base auto. As always, the blue sharpie used for on-card chrome autographs looks fantastic, though it wasn't the best start to the box as far as autographs go.

After that, the bar was raised, big time.

At first, I didn't think too much about pulling a Nolan Gorman autograph but that would quickly change. As it turns out, Gorman is #73 on the MLB top 100 prospects list, and his base autograph is going for a pretty decent total on eBay, especially for a non-numbered autograph. I even saw that he was included in the Power Producers insert set, proving that he's pretty relevant and has a decent chance to develop well given how stable of an organization the Cardinals are.

As always, I've saved the best for last, an autograph of a player that even with my minimal knowledge of cards, I instantly recognize the name. Here it is, the crown jewel of the entire box.

Wow, I can definitely say I wasn't expecting that. Instantly becoming the best autograph I've ever pulled of a prospect, this hit was nothing short of huge, even if Adell's journey through the minors has barely hit AA. He's the #15 prospect on the top 100 list, and he was drafted at #10 in the 2017 MLB Draft.

Furthermore, this is an insert autograph parallel from Early Indications, the insert set for some of the best prospects in the minors. It's a gold parallel numbered 44/50, so needless to say, it's a pretty difficult card to pull due to how increasingly rare insert sets have become.

While I know a bit about him, my knowledge of prospects, their autographs, and value aren't too strong, so I'm not sure what this card is worth since I haven't seen another for sale yet on eBay or any other site. Therefore, any tips on the value of this card, information about Jo Adell, or prospect autos, in general, is greatly appreciated.

I hope you all had a joyful holiday and a happy New Year as well.