A COMC Blaster - Part 3 - The Final Cards

Time to wrap up this COMC shipment with the baseball and hockey content of the non 2/14 variety.

 Matthew Yeats' mask had earned him a place on my 10 Most Wanted list. IT seems appropriate to lead with this on Halloween. An evil-looking clown playing cards. Sure thing. No idea what he was working on with the Yahtzee reference, though.

Throwback mask colours to match the uniforms! I'm impressed! Also, this McDonald's card might be part of a set with the most die-cut holes per card.

I thought I'd finished with the autos in this mailer with yesterday's Bennett. So much for that, as this is on its way to my Kitchener Rangers collection. Appropriately, he is listed as with the New York Rangers on this card, for whom he spent part of the 95-96 season.

Due to the fact that Upper Deck's e-packs can easily be transferred to COMC, these canvas cards are ridiculously cheap there. This one, complete with the signs and the sheepish grin, reminded me so much of this 90's Pinnacle card, that I had to add it.

Did I really need to add these rookie stars to my birth-year Mets collection, despite only being 1/4 of the card?

Yup.

Throwback uniform. Warren Morris rocks the Homestead Grays here, and in something that has been typical with COMC purchases, the gold medallion parallel is cheaper than the base card.

Yes. Even games that never even happened got cards in the 2008 Documentary set. I would have gone for a dugout photo myself.

And there's more information about this non-existent final game that still warranted a card.

And that's the final card in this COMC blaster. What do you think, sirs?

A COMC Blaster - Part 2 - The Football Content

On a per-sport basis, it was football that won the day with this mailing. Sunday seems like the right day to show these off.

Opening up with the second of the two autographs that were in this package. While this isn't a licensed autograph, it still counts as an addition to the Buffalo Bills collection. I love adding autographs from the Super Bowl losing years to be binder.

Speaking of those years, one of the best memories from those years was the comeback. A bonus is that this photo is obviously from the game, as Andre Reed's jersey did look a bit disheveled after this Bills TD.

And the final Bills card. 6th rounder Kevon Seymour has yet to get a Bills card, but he has seen action so far this season. So this USC card counts.

From one shiny card to another.  I loved this image when it made an appearance in Topps' final flagship release. Jamaal Charles going straight ahead through a sheet of rain. I was awaiting this card's appearance on a nice shiny refractor. It didn't disappoint. If I ever chased a rainbow based only on the photo, this might be the one.

I also grabbed this card for the photograph, but then pulled one from my box of Field Access. The difference is that this was the blue parallel, and I pulled the base version. Oops.

Helmets and afros were never a good mix.

And ending with an odd one. While you would automatically associate Anthony Munoz with the orange you'd see on the Bengals uniform, that's not the orange in question here. The 'Orange Pride' is the orange of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The back of the card gives a hint:

And yes, Munoz never played a game for Tampa. This is a zero-year card. But, this is the only card from his playing days where he isn't listed as a Bengal, but even then he can't escape it via the rookie card appearance. Still, if you're an Anthony Munoz super collector and hate the Bengals, this is the card for you!

And that's the football. Tomorrow, the remaining baseball and hockey content.

A COMC Blaster - Part 1 - The 2/14 Additions

The COMC Blaster is a term coined by Shane over at Shoebox Legends. Easy to play: You put the cost a blaster on your account at COMC and spend that amount on goodies. The contents of this particular blaster showed up earlier this week, and it is time to show them off.

Up first, the contents for my 2/14 collection, and three new faces, all on their way to the baseball portion.

First up, somewhat of a strange choice for me - a player without hits making his debut as an autograph. But that was the cheapest option for the Rays draft pick available at COMC. He was drafted out of high school in the 25th round, but seems to have gotten a slight bit of attention so far.

Being born in 1997, he takes over from Ryan MacInnis and Nikolaj Ehlers as the youngest member of the collection. Also, at 19, he has plenty of time to develop.

One of the benefits of doing the COMC Challenges is you get somewhat of an advance preview of cards that would be going live in the near future. After seeing some of the Dodgers Target cards show up, I got the feeling I might be able to get some new faces into my collection, since this set highlighted every player in Dodgers history at the time. So, this photo goes all the way back to the 1890s, and the Brooklyn (Bride)Grooms and maybe the best name in my collection - Candy LaChance.

At least until Pretzels Getzien gets a card.

Mike Hechinger might be proof of how thorough this Target set was. He played 13 games. 9 of those were with the Brooklyn Superbas. He still has a card in this set. He probably was near the top of the list of "guys who will never show up on cards in this binder". But here he is!

There are a few more that appear in this set, but since I already have cards of theirs (Tim Jordan, Len Gabrielson), adding their Target cards are less of a priority.

This might be the first zero-year card in the collection. Tom Borland never played a game for the Houston Colt .45s after being traded from Boston in March of 1962. Yet, he still makes an appearance on this 1989 Smokey Bear issue. This is the 3rd card for him, and I only need his 1960 Leaf to finish his cardboard run.

From guys who make rare appearances in the collection, to the guy who appears most frequently. Card #143 of Marian Gaborik, and the last (for now) of his Canvas inserts from Upper Deck flagship.

Finally, a throwback uniform to end this post. Jeff Graham rocks the old Chicago Bears look on this card. This puts his total at thirteen, and the throwback makes this my favourite in the bunch.

Tomorrow, the rest of the football portion of this blaster.

When You Get Only One Card in a Group Break

I just hope it is as great as this one I got when the randomizer landed on the Phillies.

Mets in the Mail

Time to wrap up a trade with Too Many Manninghams, and fatten out the Mets content with some cards in a mailer from #supertrader Waiting 'til Next Year.

Only one hit among the group, and it is an autograph of Generation-K alum Paul Wilson. Ah, what coulda been. Has it been long enough that we no longer hate Dallas Green for wrecking those arms?

I will never tire of pulling Action Packed cards from mailers or repacks. Probably, if the embossed cards like this continued well past the early 90's that wouldn't be so.

Must highlight Metal Universe. Even if they scan so poorly as to obscure the background in scans, some of the background choices are a bit out there. Sure, Rey Ordonez straddling a subway is kinda unique, but does it really compare to a bug-eyed Tony Womack diving out of the way of a plane?

I had no idea an all-framed set existed until I opened the WTNY mailer.

The big winner here was the Mike Piazza portion of my binders, adding 5 new cards to their pages, even if he shares the bill with Robin Ventura on one of them.

And to end things, some miscellaneous Mets from the binder, with a slight emphasis on chrome-y, shiny cards.

Thanks for all these goodies. It was nice to finally be caught up on the packages.

And then a package from COMC showed up this morning.

Pack Sampler

Not exactly the newest stuff on the shelves, but I'll still try at least one pack of these. Although I'm slightly disappointed that Heritage Minors wasn't available.

A Mets card always makes a pack worth busting. Also, a pretty decent rookie with Urias (who surprisingly isn't a SP) and the Lincecum is a nice deviation from 6 other base cards with generic poses.

As for the Elite, the base sure was shiny. And the pictures sure are re-used. (And yes, they show up a third time on the reverse of the card).

But at least the insert was a Jim Kelly card. The only problem is that I have to decide whether this one goes into my 2/14 collection or my Bills collection. 1st world problems!

No more pack busting tomorrow. I promise.

2016 Topps Update Jumbo Box Break - Packs 9 to 10

Time to bring this box to a close.

Pack #9:

This was yet another pack where the were no dupes. The collation was strange, but at least I got a complete set from it.

More All-Star cards of people who didn't get into the actual game highlight this one.

There were a trio of cards, all horizontal, where the photo worked perfectly with the card design.

Jays content!

Mets content!

Insert content. Jeremy Hellickson is the eye-straining gold card.

And here's my autograph. It's one I didn't have before so that's a good thing. Although I don't want to try and parse that signature.

Pack #10:

A few needs left in this pack. This here is the last new Mets card for the set.

And the last inserts. Miguel Cabrera is on the gold card.

There's the box. A quiet ending, but at least I've got a pile of new base to fatten up the next packages I send out, along with the complete set. That Aaron stamp was pretty nice too.

2016 Topps Update Jumbo Box Break - Packs 7 and 8

Pack #7:

Remember pack #6, which had 35 of the 45 base cards within being dupes. I can't say anything bad about collation after opening this. This one was entirely dupes. 45 dupes in this pack.

But, when the pack also contains one of these beautiful 'stamp' cards in it as opposed to the standard manufactured relic, it isn't that bad. I really like that this is for an event that took place in 1968 (Hank's 500th home run), and that date also appears on the stamp. A look at ebay shows all the ones there have this Illinois stamp on them, so I commend Topps on their ability to find 375 of this stamp.

And the rest of the inserts. Surprisingly(?), the Clemente does note the sad aftermath of Clemente's 3000th hit.

Pack #8:

In contrast to pack #7, this pack was entirely needed cards. I have no idea how I managed to complete the base set from this box, but I did.

Contenders for the best photo in this pack include this not-quite All-star game photo of Steven Wright.

But, it makes sense, since when you flip the card over, you realize he didn't get to play in the game. So Fenway does seem to be the better setting.

Getting a 'play at the plate' photo as your rookie card? Sweet. Jett Bandy sounds like a name from a create-a-player in a Madden game.

Your winner is this beautiful Brandon Moss card that makes the stadium and its surroundings as much of a star as the player featured. A horizontal variation on the Randal Grichuk Stadium Club card.

Mets content!

Jays content!

And your inserts. So you don't strain your eyes, it is Ian Kennedy on the gold parallel. The Franklin is a really unnecessary subset this time around, but at least I get a card of a post-homer Edwing. Plus, I know at least one blogger who should be interested that Plaza ended up in the First Pitch set.

And there you have it. Final packs up next, and that should land me the autograph in the box.