Blog Bat Around: Top 5 Pulls

 Others are doing it, so I'll do so as well. Let nobody say I won't follow the leaders!

Honourable Mentions:

This probably would have cracked the Top 5. But this was a redemption out of Optic that became a Status autograph. So I guess this technically isn't a pull since I had to work for it, and it wasn't exactly what I pulled in the end. At least it ended up replaced with a Kobe, and I requested the replacement a couple months before his passing.

These make honourable mention because I pulled them in back-to-back boxes that I picked up for Boxing Day in 2018. I don't think I could have made better pulls from two mid-range boxes opened in order. Two legends, swatches included, both /15. On-cardness and a patch gives the nod to Brodeur. 

Nothing beats a Hall of Famer pull out of a low-end, set builder box. The recent allegations against him, as well as his photo-sharing habits, keep this out of the top 5.

The Actual Top 5:

I knew I had to put a repack pull in here. It still is really hard for me to consider a Leafs card the best pull, but should I decide to sell this card, it would probably pay for several years worth of repacks with one card. 

4.

With Chronicles becoming my favourite annual release, I knew I'd have to put one of their cards on the list as well. Can't go wrong with this Acuna 1/1! It being a superstar's auto is the reason I put this over the Austin Hays 1/1 I also pulled from this, which probably would replace it if I  were going solely on aesthetics. 

3.

Just another face in a red jumpsuit!

2.

Now this was a way to start a PC, with this being my first card of the future NBA Champion! Nothing beats pulling a card of someone you PC, especially when it was probably one of his first chase cards, especially if you're chasing one of them in their NBA colours. I was indifferent as to whether it was Kentucky or Denver, but I wouldn't complain either way. 

As a bonus, this box also contained a /25 Pascal Siakam rookie for the Raptors PC.

1.

A tie!

I couldn't go wrong picking either. And how to decide between the two? On-card? Nickname included? If I used the box as a tie-breaker, I'd go for the SPGU, since that box also landed me my first Gretzky and my first Lemieux relics as well, making it the most consistently great box I've busted. But the colour on the playbook is so well done, without overpowering the card. It is the better looking of the two.

I can't choose. So they tie. 

There you have it!

This is a TV Pilot

 

The person on the downswing of their career. On one of their last days on the job, a colleague is murdered. They work to solve the case, and as the pilot episode ends, they ponder doing this full time.

The last bit about the pondering is my artistic license. 

But the rest sure seems like TV potential in the 70s and 80s.

Prospecting on a Budget

 You'd have to really enjoy the risk to go for it with a box of Bowman nowadays. Meanwhile, I'll just use a box of this to scratch the itch.

And you get the fun of looking back on the cards from this and recognizing familiar names for whatever reason! Hey, that Michael Harris guy in Atlanta is pretty good! Hey, that DPL guy, Juarlin Soto, signed with the Jays. That means it is now a Jays card! 

Let's see who I'll be looking back at cards of in a few years to see what happened to them!

Pack 1:

The packs seem to be structured in such a way to contain one base card, one insert, one additional insert or parallel, and two hits. The box promises 8 autos and 2 relics, so for about $100 for a hobby box, it is definitely a much cheaper way to prospect. Even if there isn't longer term value without the Bowman logo. As for the players, Tommy Troy (who I'll be confusing namewise with NHLer Troy Terry), is Stanford-pictured, but an Arizona draft pick. Jake Cunningham, whose signature implodes on his last name, was a 5th rounder of the Orioles. Carson Rucker wasn't in Bowman, so he makes his cardboard debut here.

This was definitely a solid pack even before the hits came up. Both inserts are numbered parallels, with Gonzalez being a purple parallel /49 (we'll see him again!) and Chase Davis of the Cardinals being /200. Both it, and the Carson Rucker are set aside for future trade envelopes. I'd love to know which minor league team was sporting the neon green on the Logan Tanner. I'm guessing the Daytona Tortugas, based on his Instagram. There's also my first DPL auto. Say what you will about their inclusion, but their autos tend to be pretty legible.

That's definitely a solid pack for the Mets with them making a pair of cards. That's Colin Houck's name hiding among the foil on the insert, with Kade Morris being a more obvious entry. Jacob Gonzalez makes his return one pack later for what is certainly the big hit  of the pack. An auto, a three colour swatch with both a patch and a pinstripe and a numbering to 10? This box should probably have been sent to Chicago, as his presence on a couple low-numbered cards could nicely give a White Sox a much needed pick-me-up.

With this Jake DeLeo auto, this really was a hot box for people with some variance of Jake/Jacob as their name. Much like with Cunningham, the first name is pretty legible as a 'Jake', but the last name is less so. In terms of legibility, Brailyn Fuentes is an easy victor, and he even adds a little circle to wrap it up. That was also my only on-card auto as well. Roni Garcia is a Prime Numbers parallel, numbered to a very non-prime numbered /60. 

Even that gold Gonzalez can't beat the card in the final pack as my favourite in the box. It isn't even that Houck auto bound for my Mets PC. It's that Higher Learning of 2/14 baby Nolan Schanuel. Assuming my spreadsheets are correct, which they may not be, that puts me at 3950 total 2/14 cards in that collection. 4000 is sooooo close! With the Expo coming up later this month, and about 20 or so in my latest COMC shipment - that milestone is gonna be reached this spring!

There you have it!

Misc. Interesting Basketball Cards

 Interesting to me, at least.

My timing may be off sometimes, as per yesterday's post. But today, I've timed the opening card perfectly. Last night the NCAA Champion was crowned (I'm writing this before the game), so a card featuring a celebration from an earlier game is perfect for today. A player being carried on the shoulders of fans/teammates doesn't make enough appearances.

It's a shame that they used a black and white photo on this card. Such a memorable (for whatever reason) uniform deserves to be seen in full colour. 

Not merely a card of World B. Free, but a card from the San Diego Clippers. Defunct (or at least relocated) team mojo!

You want another relocated team?  Here you are with Wes Unseld and the Baltimore Bullets. I think 

I'll give the nod to this one over the World B. Free with the Bullets being visible on the shorts, and the general "I'll posterize you in a day before posterizing was a thing" expression on his face.

Fro power! It may not have the magnificence of his 1976 issue, but this is a pretty respectable competitor from 1975 instead.

I'm staying in Indiana for the finale. Sure, this is a nice from-the-roof photo, but Natalie Achonwa makes for a rare woman's player in my Canadians in basketball collection. She might be as close as I can for a hometown player, being from Guelph, just down Highway 7 from me.

My Timing is Terrible

Why does it seem that when I add an autograph of an older, retired player that hits one of my PCs, I delay showing it off until after they pass away?

Case in point.

Maybe I'll just look on the bright side and be happy that I avoided the RIP L0000K sellers on ebay.

I might as well show off the back as well!

Wrestlemania Weekend - Part 2

 Even if he's no longer on the roster, at least I've get a WWE card today.

Not that it means he wouldn't make an appearance over the weekend.

There you have it!

Wrestlemania Weekend - Part 1

I've been doing wrestling posts on 'mania weekend for the past few years. But there were no WWE cards on the shelves at Wally World in the build-up. 

But some AEW is just fine for Day 1.

But with Jade Cargill making an appearance, I guess this can count as a Wrestlemania card, as she's on the show, working against Damage CTRL in a six-woman tag match. Her card is a table parallel, which, since this a horizontal card, falls 1:6 in these packs. But overall, each card was either a Canadian or a woman.

And at least they changed the write-ups on the back of the cards for different base versions. 

Although I miss Kris Statlander being introduced as "From the Andromeda Galaxy".

There you have it!

2024 Adventures in Repacks - Part 10 - Hanger and Hit

 

My last basketball one of these. This is definitely one of the better opening cards I've seen in one of these. Even if it isn't the shiny version, a Prizm of Jokic is still a nice keeper.

I don't know if I'll necessarily miss this feature, but this most recent shipment of repacks included a lot of cards out of 1990 Fleer Update. I can enjoy the 1990 Bowman hockey vibes that gives.

The hit comes early! While he never played for the Raptors, he was part of one of the most memorable moments in Raptors history. How? If I told you he autocompletes on youtube as "throws ball in the air" would that help?

Oops.

No, this is not enough to count as a Raptors card.

Back to the regular cards. Even with a pair of seasons there, I completely forgot that Muggsy Bogues spent time with the Warriors. It seems odd for a set named 'Hardcourt' to use a basketball texture as a background, but I'll let it slide for a HOFer like Ray Allen making an appearance, and doing to in Supersonics colours. That John Salley is the oldest card in this repack, coming from 1989.

Shawn Bradley cards have gotten a little depressing lately. I get a couple of fun last names in this bunch. Fish? Mee? Yes, please. And more, please. Drexler's photo almost looks like a modern photo of someone taking a selfie. Photoshop a smartphone in his hand, and you've got it!

It's a Ray Allen hot pack! Love the Garnett cameo as well!

There you have it! 

Fight!

 

If you want a card with a fight pictured on it, the LNAH out of Quebec is a good source to find one.

I'm amazed I only found one such card at COMC, to be honest. Zero points. 221 penalty minutes. That sounds about right for the league at the time.

There you have it!

Mailbag! - Dawg Day Cards

 A couple mailers showed up last week - one massive one from Night Owl, and one from Angus @ Dawg Day Cards. Sadly for returning fire, this was just after I hit ship on my first COMC order of the year. So, it looks like I'll be looking for some Browns stuff at the Expo this year to return fire. Or if I skip it, I'll have to wait for another COMC shipment.

But enough babbling, let's see some cardboard!

The small envelope was mainly Bills content, but there was still this Siakam card from some sort of 22-23 promotional set. Please keep sending me his cards (and Lowry's, and VanVleet's) because the memories of his time as a Raptor are too pleasant for me to stop collecting his due to some silly little trade.

The only thing better than one Josh Allen card

is to get one with an interesting photo. End zone dives rule on cards! Maybe if the pylon were highlighted as well instead of faded in the background, that could make it even better.

If you define success as "don't be worse than JP Losman", then I guess Trent Edwards truly was successful in Buffalo. 

Spiller - a flashback to the era where the running backs were pretty damn good. Along with Fred Jackson, CJ provided one of a handful of things that didn't feel like the players going through the motions of yet another lost season.

Marcell Dareus was another bright spot of the early 2010s teams. And then the substance abuse suspensions hit. But on the field - no complaints! You took wins where you could during the drought years.

And there you have it! I'll hopefully find some Browns goodies at the Expo and be able to hit you back before spring is out. If not - maybe in time for kickoff!