Adventures in Trading: Three to Start the 600 Card Chase

Before beginning my journey on the road to 600, I received three trade requests. Most of the cards being offered were for the retail-specific Titans of the Game and Stars of MLB cards. Even though I KNEW I would be buying a ton or retail, I still agreed to the trades. 

Why?

Because one request asked for last year's edition of the same sets, and I acknowledge that not everyone had access to the large number of retail shops that I do here in the Chicago area. And two, I had not bought any at the time, so I thought, why not get a head start.

The first request came on June 18. The trader had originally wanted to do a six-for-six exchange, offering three cards each from the aformentioned retail sets in exchange for three cards each from series 1. Seeing that he actually had more cards that I needed, and that I had more that I could offer, I reached out and asked if he could add more. Normally, I'd have agreed to the trade as he had requested, but took a chance with this ask. He could have easily said no. But he did offer more, and ask for more in return. So I agreed. The final transaction is below. At least he threw in a couple of the Glove Works cards.

The second request came the following day. This person was offering more of the Titans and Stars cards in exchange for Update Series All-Star cards and two other inserts. This was a quick acceptance. 

The last request came on Saturday morning. A three-for-one offer for one of the Jac Caglianone cards I picked up at the Hobby Rip Night back in January. The way I looked at it, this trade was more for the Frank Thomas All-Star card, with the two Stars of MLB cards as a bonus.

All three packages were mailed on Monday, June 22. Twenty cards for twenty cards. And I am happy to say that all three packages arrived before the end of the week. 

Trading will be on hold for the next two weeks for a couple of reasons. One, I still have to sort through all the cards and boxes I did buy and second because I will be travelling soon and don't want to have cards left in the mail while I'm away.

I will be bringing cards to sort, so at least I'll have something to do during the down-time. 

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

A Series 2 Box Break Before Fireworks.

Yesterday brought another Target run, and this time, although all the Super Boxes were gone, the store had two of these 2026 Topps Series 2 Mega Boxes. These contain 14 packs with 14 cards in each pack. Also bought 1 Jumbo pack and two retail packs (had to follow store policy), otherwise, I would have cleaned them out. There were 4 regular retail packs left by the time I went to checkout.

Tonight, my wife, son and I are hanging out at Oakton College, waiting for the sun to set and watch fireworks. With a bag of Popeyes Chicken nearby, and one of the Mega Boxes in hand, why not do a box break and see if these are worth the money.

Update: 8:14 pm

Popeyes good as always. Now it's time to open packs. The sun won't set for another 20 minutes or so. Better open some packs now.

Pack 1 included 11 base, a White Sox parallel, the Ichiro All-Star card, and a Freddie Freeman Titans card. Off to a rousing start.

Pack 2 had 13 base and a Bryce Eldridge Stars of MLB card.

Pack 3 drew 12 base cards, an Ichiro Crooked Numbers card, and a Tarik Skubal Titans card.

Pack 4, now we're talking. A Ryne Sandberg Glove Works card...that's it. That's the pack. Anything else need to be said???

Pack 5 brings us back to the base cards, plus a Pedro Martinez 1991 All-Star Crackle parallel. 

Pack 6 has a current Cub at the pole position and a former Cub bringing up the rear.

One more pack before it gets too dark to continue pictures.

Pack 7 has a 1991 Crackle Spencer Steer, the Cade Horton ASRT card...and 11 more base cards.

Phone battery is now at 15%. It is getting cooler out, and darker out. So I will stop here. I will let you know what else was in the box. If something exciting shows up, you will be notified. 

Time for fireworks. 

Sincerely, 

JayBee Anama

Beating the Odds with Vladimir Guerrero

Last night I opened the remaining four regular Hobby packs purchased at Au Sports. If you recall (or if you even read my previous post...don't know what the heck is happening but my posts aren't showing up in feeds), these were the last five packs in the last Hobby box the shop had available. Under normal circumstances, this would mean that the chances of getting a card beyond the regular base and basic inserts are slim to none at best. 

As we all (should) know by now, each regular Hobby box contains just one...ONE...autograph or relic card. This has been the case in recent years, as I think the only major change was the reduction of the number of these cards in the Jumbo box, and not the regular one. And because it was Father's Day, and I was pretty sure I wouldn't be coming back towards the store for quite some time, I decided to buy the last five packs, just to help build up the base set.

I posted the first pack results yesterday. Packs 2 and 3 were okay, got a Glove Works insert card, even pulled card #500 (Shohei). But it was pack 4 that made the purchase totally worth it. Because it led me to this below:

2026 Topps Major League Materials Vladimir Guerrero Auto/Relic Gold Parallel #MLM2-VG

Not only is this an autograph card. 

Not only is this a relic card.

But it's a GOLD parallel autograph and relic card. There are only 50 cards like this in existence, and one of them is in my hands right now (brought it to work as a good luck charm...yes I threw it in a thick-card penny sleeve and toploader). I have card #32/50.

I normally don't get lucky with these kinds of "hits." I went on the Bay earlier this morning to see if anyone has already put the card up. And yes, of course, someone did. It's up as a BIN for $77.99 plus $6.50 for shipping. 

I am guaranteed (supposedly) two auto or relic cards in the Jumbo box. I'll post later the results. But for now, I'm going to enjoy the win and say that the 600-card chase is off to a good start.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

And So It Begins. My First Dive Into 2026 Topps Series 2

The full Father's Day Haul of 2026 Topps Series 2

I had a very good Father's Day yesterday. Not entirely because of the above. Between a very nice Father's Day breakfast and a fantastic home-cooked steak dinner, I went to Target to see if there was any 2026 Topps Series 2 items left. Yes, there barely was. Two blaster boxes, two jumbo packs, and two retail packs. I'll get to the Jumbo packs in a moment.

Then it was off to Au Sports to get a Jumbo box of 2026 Topps Series 2...along with some other things they had (the retail box) and five packs of regular Hobby. It was the store's last 5 packs, with more coming next week. A second trip to Target yielded the Super Box and one last retail pack. 

The total card count:

• 400 cards from the Jumbo box
• 145 cards from the Super box (with one mini Funko)
• 118 cards from the two blasters
• 72 cards from the retail box
• 72 cards from the two jumbo boxes
• 60 cards from the five Hobby packs
• 42 cards from the three retail packs

That's 909 total cards. If I can't even manage the 350 card base set from this, I will probably scream.

I'll post what I get from each of these packages soon. Today, I took one Hobby pack with me to open during my lunch break at the office. Let's see...should I go for the Jif Ramen again or Nashville Hot Chicken at the cafe...decisions, decisions, decisions...

Wasn't kidding about the Jif Ramen...

Anyway...

Okay, so this is not the actual pack...camera is not the greatest...we've already established this...

So what's in this pack? 

The first card in this pack (and my first card of Series 2) is of...

Brooks Baldwin of the Chicago White Sox!!!

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2026 Topps #619.
• Player Name, position, team: Brooks Baldwin, second baseman, Chicago White Sox.
• Major League Debut: July 19, 2024.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2025 stats (White Sox): 103 G, 300 AB, 32 R, 72 H, 15 2B, 1 3B, 11 HR, 38 RBI, 5 SB, 21 BB, .407 SLG .697 OPS .240 AVG, -0.6 WAR.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the White Sox in the #12th round, July, 2022 Bats: both. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 2. This is his second Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Brooks played every non-battery position except first base for the 2025 White Sox, with most of his action coming in the outfield. He finished the year strong, registering an .824 OPS over his last 32 games."
• Commentary: So if Brooks played more games in the outfield (79 between the three positions), why is he listed on this card as the second baseman??! He hasn't played a game this season, being placed on the DL and is out for the entire 2026 campaign due to a UCL tear in his right elbow.
• Beckett value: n/a.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 2 cards.

The rest of the pack included:

• #594 Lucas Gil, pitcher, New York Yankees
• #635 Edgar Quero, catcher, Chicago White Sox Future Stars
• #555 Cade Povich, pitcher, Baltimore Orioles
• #533 Jasson Domínguez, outfielder, New York Yankees
• #374 Kevin Alcántara, outfielder, Chicago Cubs Future Stars
• #370 Brayan Rocchio, shortstop, Cleveland Guardians
• #660 Edouard Julien, second baseman, Colorado Rockies
• #473 Bo Bichette, third baseman, New York Mets
• #528 Jared Triolo, third baseman, Pittsburgh Pirates Foil Parallel
• #483 Logan O'Hoppe, catcher, Los Angeles Angels
• #366 Isaac Paredes, third baseman, Houston Astros

Eleven base cards off the wantlist. At least there was one Cub card in it. Disappointed that the "insert" was a parallel card, but this was one of five packs at the bottom of the box, so I can't be totally disappointed.

Now, as promised earlier, the story about the last two jumbo packs from my first Target run.

As I mentioned at the beginning, these were among the last packs at the first Target I went to on Sunday. If you've been to Target and have been buying cards, you know that there is now a two per item limit for everything. So you can only buy two jumbo packs, two regular packs, etc. These were the last two Jumbo packs. As I was in the car, I noticed that you can actually see the card on the front of the pack. With all the white, it's hard to miss. What wasn't hard to miss is that both packs have the same card on the front. And that player is...

Everybody sing...to the tune of the chorus of the Battle Hymn of the Republic...

2026 Topps Munetaka Murakami #503

His truth is marching...on...

So I posted on what once was Twitter and also on Threads:

Finally found some 2026 @topps Series 2 @target. Bought 2 of each (got the last two blasters, jumbo, and small packs as well). Both Jumbo packs have Munetaka Murakami on the front of the pack (how did people miss this?!) Question for the group: open 1 & hold 1 or open both??!

Leave your suggestions below. 

Next time I am able, I'll have an Adventure in Trading post (yes, the trading is coming back). I'll let you know what's leaving and what's coming in.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama 

The 2026 Topps Series Two 600 Race Is Underway!!!

Geez, that title sounds like a NASCAR race title right?

Sunday!!!

Sunday!!!

SUNDAY!!!

At the AU Sports Speedway in beautiful Niles, Illinois, the 2006 Topps Series 2 600 will take place. The race includes the usual heavy hitters, and one guy who's goal is to acquire 600 cards (number WILL increase...this is just the starting point). 

So how did I come up with this number?

Yesterday, I returned to the Trading Card Database and reviewed the checklists and cards that were added to the 2026 Topps set. My Series 2 wantlist consists of the following:

• 350 cards: Card #'s 351-700 of the eponymous Series 2
• 4 cards: The four SP Rookie Cards (Kevin McGonigle, JJ Wetherholt, Carson Benge, Justin Crawford). Will discuss these in a later blog post, I promise
• 50 cards: 1991 35th Anniversary All-Stars
• 50 cards: 1991 35th Anniversary S2
• 25 cards: Crooked Numbers
• 6 cards: First Pitch S2
• 65 cards: Glove Work
• 30 cards: Stars of MLB S2
• 20 cards: Titans of the Game S2

And just before submitting this post for publication, I've already received not one, but TWO, trade requests. Granted, they're sending the easy Stars of MLB and Titans of the Game (which appear in EVERY retail pack), but every bit helps. 

I'm accepting one of the transactions straight away, but I countered (because the first trade already was offering one of the cards this second person had as well) and asked if we could trade for more. It looks, though, that he's trading cards set for set. Basically, he's offering 3 S2 Stars and 3 S2 Titans for 3 S1 Stars and 3 S1 Titans. Pretty fair exchange, but he has more that I want, and I have more that he wants, but it doesn't look like he wanted to ask for more. So I responded in kind and will follow his lead on how he wants to proceed.

At this point, before the race even starts, I could already have 11 cards committed between the two trades.

On an unrelated note (and so that I have a picture to go with this story), images of the 2026 Topps Factory set have been released. The set, coming out on July 1, features not only S1 cover athletes Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, not only S2 covers Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. and Paul Skenes, but Juan Soto and Bobby Witt, Jr. (who I seriously doubt are going to be the Update Series featured athletes). 

The factory set will feature 704 cards, including the four bonus athletes. But history dictates that the cards that will appear in the factory set will be different compared to the four cards that have been distributed into packs of S2. Price on the Bay for McGonigle and Wetherholt are presently in the $200+ range, while cards of Benge and Crawford can be had for under $100 if you catch them fast enough. As of now, I'll wait. While my PayPal card is finally paid off, I'm not about to splurge just yet.

I still want to get some packs so that I can enter the race. Maybe this weekend.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Oh Wow...It's Been a Bit...

I said I am back into the Hobby Blogging Community, and I haven't given up. But between work and the lack of anything Hobby related that is of interest to me leads to long gaps in writing.

But that comes to an end.

Because 2026 Topps Series 2 is supposedly live TODAY!!!

No, I haven't seen any packs or boxes live. And now that my pharmacy schedule has me taking Mondays off instead of Thursdays, I probably won't be able to get my hands on a Hobby or Jumbo box until next week (so please save some for me).

But it doesn't mean that the Bay hasn't had some really good images of cards that I want to add to the six-inch binder.

For example:

2026 Topps 1991 All-Star Elly De La Cruz #91AS-17

Look at the All-Star Cards that are being included in S2. Perfect reproduction of the original 1991 All-Star Cards. Give me a moment to see if Ryne Sandberg is part of this set...NO!!! He's only in the Chrome version (the Silver Pack Boxloaders in Hobby and Jumbos only). I'm buying at least one of each, so there's a shot (but with my luck, probably not).

2026 Topps Titans of the Game Nick Kurtz #TOG-22

Is it just me or is something missing on this Nick Kurtz (and possibly all the Titans of the Games cards in S2)? Anyone? Just me?

2026 Topps Crooked Numbers Mike Trout #CN-25

So the Crooked Numbers insert set is akin to the Significant Statistics sets from years past. Okay.

2026 Topps Munetaka Murakami #503

The reason why the White Sox are (possibly) not going to lose 100 games this year.

Soon, very soon, the collection will grow. Soon, very soon, I will be able to buy packs and boxes. Soon, very soon, trades will be up and running.

Should make for an interesting summer.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

The 2026 Topps Series 2 Checklist is Now Live!

Last week, Topps posted the checklist for Series 2 of the eponymous set. I look forward to this for a few reasons:

• It means S2 is coming soon, and depending on what site you go to, it's either coming out on June 10, or June 24, 2026
• It means my my little hiatus for adding cards from 2026 Topps is going to end
• The All-Star Game is coming soon. And as has been tradition on this site, all roster moves for the ASG will be posted with cards of the players involved going into a special binder during the festivities

But before I go through the highlights from the next series, I've been wondering what happened to the the 17-card team sets. I've looked and have not seen anything yet. Even the eBay seller that does the 30-set BIN's are off duty until June. This does not bode well as these should have been out by now. 

Back to the point.

2026 Topps Bo Bichette #473

The 350-card base checklist, which can be downloaded here, features:

• 52 regular rookie cards with the RC logo we all know and love
• 14 Future Star cards
• 15 Team cards
• 10 Combo cards (which are not checklists)

2026 Topps Tatsuya Imai #513

The checklist includes other surprises, including four short-printed variation rookie cards. In recent years, Topps has added extra cards of players who debuted during the season, but too late to add to the base set. To alleviate this slight, they've numbered these cards as if they're part of the base set, even though...they're not. Think Julio Rodriguez and Bobby Witt, Jr. in 2022, The Jackson 3 (Holliday, Chourio, and Merrill) in 2024, and even Matt Shaw, Cam Smith, and Kristian Campbell in 2025. Heck, go back to 2019 with Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. and his un-numbered RC, or 2018 with Gleyber Torres and Ronald Acuña, Jr.

Basically, it's a thing.

This year, there will be four SP RC's that, while not part of the base set, will share numbers with those who are:

• #697a is Bryan Reynolds of the Pirates, #697b is Kevin McGonigle of the Tigers
• #698a is Andre Pallante of the Cardinals, #698b is JJ Wetherholt of the Cardinals
• #699a is Jared Young of the Mets, #699b is Carson Benge of the Mets
• #700a is Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers, #700b is Justin Crawford of the Phillies

Other highlights include card #500 being Shohei Ohtani (there's a big surprise), 12 Cubs cards vs. 8 White Sox cards (yes, I keep track of that), and a card of Japan's newest import to slug his way to Chicago, Munetaka Murakami!!! (For some reason, you can sing his name like you're singing the chorus of the Battle Hymn of the Republic...you're singing his name in your head right now, aren't you?)

The Golden Variation cards, a staple in the Topps/Fanatics era, continue with every card, every player, having a variation card. One of the ones I'm looking forward to seeing is the tribute to the 1992 Topps Frank Thomas card featuring...none other than (sing it with me) Munetaka Murakami!!! I'm sure they could have waited to put this out next year with the 1992 Topps set gets the 35th Anniversary treatment, but whatever...

1992 Topps Frank Thomas #555 & 2026 Topps Munetaka Murakami Golden Variation #503

As usual, insert cards will be a big highlight for this set, and I am all in for a number of them. Of course, the tribute to 1991 Topps continues with 50 cards, along with a 50-card (hopefully...cough...cough) All-Star subset. The retail-exclusive Stars of MLB (30 cards) and Titans of the Game (20 cards) sets return, plus 6 more First Pitch cards. 

2026 Topps 1991 Tribute Trey Yesavage #91B2-33

Short-printed inserts such as Cover Athletes, All Aces/All Kings, Homefield Advantage, and Heavy Lumber are also back for S2, but we're not going to talk about those (unless I manage to get one in a pack). 

2026 Topps Series 2 Home Field Advantage Munetaka Murakami #HA-39

New to the insert set chase includes a 25-card set called Crooked Numbers, a 65-card behemoth called Glove Work (which I'm guessing is about defensive prowess), and the 10-card Highlight Reel (please let this be a basic insert set). One set I'm curious about, but not holding out any hope of seeing a card of unless it's online, even if it is a "Hobby Box/Jumbo Box exclusive" is the 10-card Diamond Dust set. The name alone looks like it's going to be a short-printed exclusive nightmare to attempt. There is also going to be an exclusive Fanatics Fest-only set called Swinging With the Stars. If it's anything like 2025's version (Swinging For the Stars), it's mostly likely going to be a Topps Chrome set.

But just like last year, Topps will have an exclusive Series 2 Super box, one for regular retailers (think your big box stores) and one for Costco. The Costco boxes will include another 90-card exclusive set (Flagship Edition) and another 10-card Bulk Order set.

I, for one, can't wait for Series 2 to go live. It's something to look forward to while summer, and the MLB season, moves on.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama