Chronicling 2023

  

Finally, I get to the Chronicles box I picked up at the Expo. A set name like Chronicles seems like a perfect box/set to wrap up a year.

Pack 1:

Let's get that relic out of the way early, with a Jose Reyes relic. He's listed with New York, so WOO-HOO! Mets hit! The rest of the pack follows the theme of pretty much every other Panini release this year - a mix of retired players and minor leaguers. Or, as ITG called it 10+ years back with hockey, Heroes and Prospects. 

Pack 2:

As with a couple years back, the hobby packs contained either a hit, or a Spectra card. This one is a Meta parallel. These aren't numbered in baseball, but were /25 or /50 in other Spectra sets. I guess for those that care passionately about flipping, getting one of the next big thing in Jasson Dominguez would be a highlight. Me, I like the extremely orange Brooks Robinson. The Cho is the actually numbered card here, at /199.

Pack 3:

The highlights of this pack are already earmarked to go elsewhere, with that Cecil Fielder autograph /25 set aside for Dennis @ Too Many Verlanders, and the /50 blue parallel of Miller on its way at some point to the Night Owl. Still, my PCs did well too with the Jenkins and the Carter. Also, that Dale Murphy is kinda nice as well. 

Pack 4:

Repeating what I said early in the season when busting Donruss 2023 - Oakland's colours are so distinctive, they work beautifully with logoless sets. That's the second Spectra in the box - so the final two should have autographs in them. A shiny ending with the numbered Harris and the unnumbed Pedroia. 

Pack 5:

Satchel Paige cards are always great - make them a numbered parallel - even better. A red parallel for St. Louis is the best option, even if this is a Browns card. Boys of Summer is one of those really thick entries from the America's Pastime set. The stadium background gives the vibe of 2014 Tribute autographs. Not a bad choice of what to rip off. A double Met finisher is a perfect finale!

Pack 6:

That's a really nice looking autograph to end this. The Silver pops so nicely on the background. I guess the DNA can make me call this either a Mets or a Blue Jays card. And I can participate in the fun game of comparing the autographs of the two. They're both pretty nice - Al taught him well. Even if the photo is Panini-friendly, that's a good choice for what they used on McGwire's - that definitely looks like a home run trot.

I might as well show the Did You Know on the back of the two Classics I pulled in the box as well. Brooks Robinson's > Drew Romo's.

And there you have it!