RIP Jose Fernandez 1992-2016

This was just pointed out by TradingCardDB on twitter. Please check the blurb on the back.

It has been reported that Marlins superstar pitcher Jose Fernandez was killed in a boating accident this morning. THIS MORNING! While the bit of information has only appeared on a trade rumors website, nothing has come up yet on MLB.com or the Marlins website.

Regardless of whatever facts may come out about what happened this morning, MLB as a whole has lost another young star in his prime.

My condolences go out to the Fernandez family, the Marlins organization, Major League Baseball, and the fans. Not just Marlins fans, but all baseball fans.

UPDATE: WSVN, the ABC affiliate in Miami, is reporting that Fernandez was one of three people killed in a boat crash off Miami beach.

The Marlins have officially released this statement:

The Miami Marlins organization is devastated by the tragic loss of José Fernandez. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this very difficult time. Today's game against the Atlanta Braves has been cancelled.

So this humble, little blog, will also send prayers and condolences to the families and friends of the other two victims in this tragic accident.

Do You Remember the Topps 300 (and then some...)?

Back in 2011, Topps had this brilliant idea. They would hold a contest to determine the Top 60 Topps cards in its 50 year history. Now Topps picked 100 cards from its wide collection of cards and asked fans and collectors to pick their top ten cards from the 100. While the list contained many rookies and other classic cards (which you can find here), there were some cards that I really didn't think belonged here.

After picking my ten, I didn't feel so good. My choices were fine, but in my mind, the Hobby Blogging Community could do better.

That's when I decided to create "The Topps 300 (and then some...)" I picked 5 cards from each year of Topps' history (from 1951 through 2010) that I thought were the best from that particular year and asked readers to respond with what they thought of my picks and if they believed another card could be better than what I picked (that's the "and then some..." part of the site).

My efforts did gain a bit of publicity, thanks to Rich Mueller and the Sports Collectors Daily. I had hoped that by the end of the year, I could do a countdown of the best card of each year and then from that, pick the top 60 cards overall. While the final countdown never came to fruition, the comments left by readers with their picks were great and I thank all of those who took time out of their days to comment.

It's now five years later. The site is still up, and although there haven't been any new comments since 2014, people still do come across that blog.

For the first series of its eponymous set for 2016, Topps has decided to include a 65-card insert set called "Berger's Best." In honor of the "Father of the Modern Day Baseball Card," Topps has decided that they would include a reprint of one card from each year (1952-2015). I like the concept, but I really hope that they skip the "bio in the back" as they did with their reprint sets from 2010 and 2011 - only to include SP's of full reprint cards as well. I know I'll be going after this set, I just am nervous about how they'll present it.

That made me think. What if I presented my Topps 5 (get it...) cards from each of the past five seasons and presented them the same way I did back then? Make it an update, an addendum, to the original 60 years that I created five years prior. To that, I said, "Why not?"

So I present for your review tonight, my Top 25 cards, 5 for each year, from 2011 through 2015. Tell me if you agree with my picks or if I'm nuts and I could have picked another card.

To paraphrase the intro on the Topps 300 blog:

"Below are scans of the best five (in my opinion) cards from each year from the last 5 years of Topps Baseball Cards. I picked the 25 based on a few qualifiers, including: Key Rookie, Unique Photo, Action Shot, Card caused a buzz in the Hobby, Noteworthy Errors, Player had an impact on the game that particular year."

Let me know what you think.

• #110 Aroldis Chapman
• #200 Ichiro Suzuki
• #210 Brian Wilson
• #421 Domonic Brown
• #US175 Mike Trout

• #58 Tim Hudson
• #136 Casey McGehee
• #396 Yoenis Cespedes
• #660 Yu Darvish
• #661 Bryce Harper

• #253 Adam Greenberg
• #589 Jose Fernandez
• #617 Fernando Rodney
• #660 Miguel Cabrera
• #US250 Yasiel Puig

• #8 Coco Crisp
• #228 Jayson Werth
• #496 Jose Abreu
• #625 Albert Pujols
• #661 Masahiro Tanaka

• #1 Derek Jeter
• #177 Paul Konerko
• #300 Mike Trout
• #616 Kris Bryant
• #US174 Carlos Correa

Feel free to leave comments on here. Let me know if you can think of a better card than one that I selected. I'm pretty sure that some of these cards will be included in that Berger's Best set (which is also confirmed for Series 2...I'll get around to sell sheets later).

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Pack Break Week 4: 2013 Topps Update Series

I love Pack Break Week!

It's one of the only times of the year that I get to open a ton of packs from different products and post them on the blog. In past years, I would go to the local big box store and buy a pack of random products (okay, products that I actually like). This year, they're from Christmas presents. So no money was spent, but lots of excitement ahead.

Now I'd call this a preview of what to expect when I open the big stuff during the week. Here now, is one of the penny packs that my son was able to purchase from the Dollar Tree:

This is what came out of the 2013 Topps Update Series pack:

• #US293 Robinson Cano, 2B, Yankees, Home Run Derby
• #US177 David Ortiz, DH, Red Sox, Season Highlights (Checklist)
• #US249 Madison Bumgarner, P, Giants, NL All-Star
• #US142 Yadier Molina, C, Cardinals, NL All-Star
• #US59 Hisashi Iwakuma, P, Mariners, AL All-Star

No base cards, all subsets. Three All-Stars, a Home Run Derby card, and Big Papi? Not a bad pack to start what should be a very interesting week to close out what has been a somewhat "Blah" year on the blog. I'm looking forward to see what comes next. I hope you (whoever left of you is still here reading this) are too.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Not Bad for $0.35...Ripken and Chipper Short-Prints? Excellent!!!

One of my goals this year is to try and clear out the extra cards that are sitting in boxes in my basement. They don't count as part of my actual collection, and I am not counting them as part of the Card Census I'm working on to manage my collection.

And while I still have yet to find any 2015 Topps cards (I will make a trip to a Target near church...), I did finally open the 35 packs of 2013 Topps Update Series that I bought at the Dollar Tree.

Now these cards consist of 5 base cards. No inserts, no relics, no autographs. Just five cards. And with my luck, I wasn't expecting much in terms of quality hits. I mean, after all, I already have all 330 cards of the base set. What could I possibly get out of these packs?

Turns out...something.

As you may know, Topps inserted a lot...really...a lot of short-printed variation cards in the Update Series. Many of them were of the All-Star Game variety, featuring star players from All-Star Games past. Some were even super-short printed.

Now, I am not sure if I mentioned that in previous pack purchases that I did get a short print:



2013 Topps Update Series Mariano Rivera #US313b

Tonight, after opening 35 packs of 2013 Topps Update cards, I now have in my hands:

2013 Topps Update Series Chipper Jones #US53b

2013 Topps Update Series Cal Ripken Jr. #US216b

Neither are of the super-short print variety, nor is the Rivera from before, but they are SP's nonetheless.
I am looking to sell these babies as I have decided not to collect them. Although they are short-prints, and they are of retired All-Stars, to me, these are not even akin to the 2009-2012 short printed cards of the CMG players from 2009 through the Hall of Fame 5 from 2012 Topps Series 2.

So here is my call to sell. I'll start with this blog post, and then Twitter and Facebook to see if I can gauge some interest. I'm thinking at least $7.50-$10.00 per card would be a good starting point. If after a couple of days, I get no decent responses from either site, I'll throw them on the Bay.

Wish me luck.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

My Christmas Gifts...So Far

At my age, I really don't ask for much when it comes to Christmas gifts (if at all...nobody asks). Anything will do for me now. In the last few years, however, I've had to re-think that philosophy.

A couple of years ago, I received a Magic 8-Ball for Christmas. I was gracious upon receiving it and if I can find it, will put it on the Bay...eventually.

Last year, along with gloves that didn't fit, one of the gifts I received a DVD about bartending. With me looking for work, I thought, why not. I don't really drink, but always wanted to learn.

This year, I actually received something that I could use. A notepad for my little office. I was happy with this one as I could now use the notebook instead of scrambling to find a piece of paper to write things down. My younger siblings-in-law pooled some funds together to get their married siblings Google Chromecast devices. These are the things you plug into the television and then you can link it to the computer or cell phones to watch whatever it is on the screen on the TV. It's a really great thing. I'd love to use it.

The problem? We don't have a TV that can use this. So, either I re-gift, beg one of my sibs for a TV, or trade it to one of my in-laws who could actually use it. Options, options, options.

This year, I've decided that all I want for Christmas is a 5-inch D-ring (or flat ring) binder and a box of Ultra-Pro Platinum 9-pocket pages. That's it. That's all I need. Anything else would have been a bonus.

Last week, my son and his classmates made their pilgrimage to the Dollar Tree store to buy presents. Last year, he bought me a coffee mug, which I still use. This year, I requested something different. I wanted baseball cards.

You see, all over Facebook, people were saying that the Dollar Tree stores have been selling packs of baseball cards for a penny. That's right, one cent. And many of these same people were finding short prints, sometimes SSP's in these packs. Now, let's get something straight here. The packs they sell at the Dollar Tree are just of base cards. No inserts, no relics, no autos. Just 5 base cards in a pack. AT A PENNY! Cards haven't been sold at this low of a price since the 50's.

The problem was that I wasn't sure that the deal was still going on, or that the store near me was even in on the promotion. So just on a whim, I told Taylor I wanted something from Topps. And when he came home with the gifts wrapped, I could tell that he only bought one pack for me. That's fine, I thought. The sale must be over.

Today, I opened my pack of 2013 Topps Series 1 cards. I'll get to what was in the pack in a moment. His receipt was included with the pack. Sure enough, the pack of cards cost...ONE PENNY!!!

That means for a dollar, he could have bought me one hundred packs. But when he went to the register, he didn't notice this. So, he got my present for one penny. Oh, well. At least now I know what I'm going to be doing tomorrow...

Anyway, here are the cards that were included in the pack:

• #6 Ryan Howard, Phillies
• #252 Dustin Ackley, Mariners
• #76 Brandon Inge, Athletics
• #278 Christian Garcia, Nationals
• #299 Darwin Barney, Cubs

Score one Cubs card. Loved Darwin Barney during his time here. I was hoping that he, Castro, and Rizzo would become the next Dunston-Sandberg-Grace infield of the late '80's through early '90's. But he was traded to the Dodgers last summer. I wish him well.

Getting a Ryan Howard card a few years ago would be a great thing. Now, eh? Ackley is only 26, still has time to develop into the star that the Mariners are hoping for. Like the Inge card, but really, if you didn't know who he was, this card could have been of anybody. Christian Garcia is a Free Agent after the 2014 season.

Love the presents so far. Can't wait to see if there is more to come. Merry Christmas to you and your kin.

Now go back and celebrate with family. I know I will.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Oh Yes, It's Taco Night, and the Feeling's Right...Oh Wait...I've Been Gone a Full Month AGAIN!!!

To those who haven't given up on this dog-and-pony-show of a blog...thank you for sticking around.

One of the fun things about having a full-time job (and working at home) is that I have...well...work. And it's been a busy time at the new job. Lots of reports, lots of promotions, lots of contracts to maintain, and we have a food show coming up, so there was work to do there.

And then April just came and went.

To be honest, the Cubs poor performance (plus the White Sox trying to stay afloat) hasn't really motivated me to watch many ball games, but the card world still goes on. Thing is though, I have been quietly building the collection up, not only with catching the legendary sp's from 2010 and 2011, but with getting my hands on a 2014 Gypsy Queen set, with inserts.

Once again, Topps nailed it with this set. A good mix of legends and current players in the unique picture format exclusively used for Gypsy Queen. The base set looks great, and I can now claim to have cards of rookie cards of Jose Abreu and Masahiro Tanaka (among others). Now it's time to focus funds on the 32 retail sets before Topps Series 2 arrives on the shelves. More on that when it's time.

Is it really time for me to give up the Random Cards of the Day? The last one I have ready is the one for Tippy Martinez for March 27. I haven't done anything new since. But then again, I haven't made the time to get down to the basement scanner to upload. I might have to spend a weekend just scanning cards for so I have images at the ready.

Back to some Hobby news (as it relates to me anyway).

Topps Bunt, the app that had the Hobby world abuzz early this year, could only be used with Apple i-everythings and only can be accessed through the Apple iStore. Well finally Topps has figured out that not everyone has an Apple device (like me...I have an HTC-One which utilizes Android) and is starting to format their highly popular app for Android devices. Beta-testing will be happening soon, and the company has asked for volunteers to beta-test the Android version. Guess who signed up and was selected to participate? That's right. I do.

Yay!!!

Also, a number of card-bloggers have requested to get their sites onto the big Blogroll or return to the blogroll. I have your emails, I have your tweets, and I will work on getting them onto the site shortly. I apologize for the delays.

Balloting for the All-Star Game at Target Field is up and running. Hoping to get the Series 2 cards before the rosters are announced, and you know this site covers rosters and the impending changes.

Tonight is Cinco de Mayo. A time of celebration in Mexico. It celebrates the day back in 1862 when the Mexican army overcame all odds and beat the French forces at the Battle of Puebla. This is not Mexico's Independence day (that would be September 16), nor is it a national holiday (it is celebrated voluntarily), outside of Mexico. But in the United States, Cinco de Mayo is a day to honor Mexican heritage and pride.

To celebrate, the family is having taco night. I'd splurge on tacos at the Bell (have you tried their breakfast offerings???), but I thought it would be easier (and more cost-effective) to prepare them at home. Somehow home-made tacos just taste better, probably because you can build your own tacos to your tastes. And thanks to Avon, we have all of the taco holders, platters, and other hardware to use.

In 2009, in honor of the holiday, I created my All-Time Mexican Baseball Team. Since 2009, five more Mexican-born players made their MLB debuts, including:

Fernando Salas of the Cardinals (from Huatabampo, Sonora)

Miguel Gonzalez of the Orioles (from Guadalajara, Jalisco)

along with Arturo Lopez (Culiacan, Sinaloa), Francisco Rodriguez (Mexicali, Baja California), and Ali Solis (Mexicali, Baja California).

Celebrate responsibly if you're going to go out tonight.

Gracias por la lectura (Thank you for reading). ¡Adios!

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Pro Debut Card of the Week: 2013 Topps Pro Debut #57 Alen Hanson

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Pro Debut Card of the Week:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2013 Topps Pro Debut #57.
• Player Name, position, team: Alen Hanson, shortstop, West Virginia Power.
• Level-League, Team Affiliation: Low A-South Atlantic League, Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Minor League Stats (stats with team depicted only): 124 G, 489 AB, 99 R, 151 H, 33 2B, 13 3B, 16 HR, 62 RBI, 35 SB, 55 BB, 105 SO, .528 SLG, .909 OPS, .309 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the Pirates as a Free Agent before the 2009 season. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Major League Debut: n/a.
• Baseball America Organizational Ranking After Season with Team: Pittsburgh Pirates #5 prospect after the 2012 season.
• Blurb on the back: "Beginning with an April batting average of .410 as a 19-year-old for West Virginia in 2012, Hanson forced his way into the discussion of the game's most prominent shortstop prospects. Naturally athletic and unabashedly energetic, his combination of totals in the three extra-base hit categories and the stolen base column was unmatched at any level."
• Official Topps Rookie Card: n/a.
• Commentary: Alen Rery Hanson's numbers in 2012 were staggering. Regardless that it was the Sally League, the combination of speed and power he possessed makes him one of the Pirates leading prospects heading into the 2014 season. He spent his 2013 campaign between the High A Bradenton Marauders and AA-Altoona Curve, combining for a .274 average, 8 home runs, 58 rbi's, 30 stolen bases, and a .755 OPS. He starts 2014 in the Bucs' minor league camp, and will probably start in AA. He's going to be 21 this season, and if the Pirates do well in 2014, Hanson could see some action come September, if not sooner.

Next week's featured card will be: 2011 Topps Pro Debut #142. Post will arrive at 9:00 AM CST. Hope you enjoyed this week's installment of Minor League Monday.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2013 Topps #395 Alexei Ramirez

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Saturday, January 11, 2014:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2013 Topps #395.
• Player Name, position, team: Alexei Ramirez, shortstop, Chicago White Sox.
• Major League Debut: March 31, 2008.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2012 stats (White Sox): 158 G, 593 AB, 59 R, 157 H, 24 2B, 4 3B, 9 HR, 73 RBI, 20 SB, 16 BB, 77 SO, .364 SLG, .651 OPS, .265 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed with the White Sox as a Free Agent 01/22/2008. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 5. This is his fifth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: "Alexei has been more consistent than spectacular in all phases of the game in his five seasons, almost to his own detriment. Though he's rarely hailed as a star, the numbers beg to differ. In that period, Ramirez ranks sixth in RBI, seventh in homers, and eighth in hits as a shortstop. His 20 stolen bases and .982 FLD% in 2012 were both career highs."
• Commentary: Some people believe that the 2013 Topps Baseball design element looks like a turtle. Personally, I think it looks like a ship you'd find on either Star Wars or Star Trek. But either way, it's a very interesting design. Alexei Fernando (Rodriguez) Ramirez was one of the few bright spots on an admittedly bad White Sox team in 2013. While he didn't supply the power in 2013 (6 home runs, 48 rbi's...a far cry from his 21 home run/77 rbi rookie season), he led the team in hits (181) and batting average (.284) and achieved a career high (up to this point) in stolen bases (30). Now heading into his seventh season on the South Side, the former Silver Slugger award winner is now fourth in seniority, and is being looked upon to mentor the Sox' newest export, first baseman Jose Abreu.
• Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 28 cards.

Tomorrow is Retro Sunday, the one day of the week that we feature a card from 1951-1975. The card we will feature tomorrow is: 1974 Topps #478. Come back at 1:00 PM CST to see who (or what) it is.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

A Very Colorful Christmas or Yes, JayBee, You're Getting Baseball Cards This Year!!!

Last week, my son and his classmates took a special field trip to the local Dollar Tree to buy presents for their families. The assignment was either to write down what they planned on getting for each person in the family or ask what everyone wanted. We (the parents) were then to include a bit of spending money for their shopping spree. This was for a social studies/math related trip so it counts as an educational experience. Anyway, my son had included on his shopping list a pack of Topps baseball cards for me. I've seen these before. They're the five card packs that don't include any inserts or relics/autos or whatever. If you're looking just to collect the regular 660 card set (or 330 card series), and were on a very tight budget, or if you wanted to start a collection, this would be the ideal product to buy. A five-card pack of 2013 Topps Series 2 was inserted into a travel mug that he bought at the store for me.

So let's find out what was in the pack, shall we? Here are the cards that were inside:

From Taylor...a Five-Pack of 2013 Topps Series 2 cards.

• #575 Justin Morneau, Twins
• #471 Trevor Cahill, Diamondbacks
• #628 Martin Maldonado, Brewers RC
• #503 Clay Buchholz, Red Sox
• #497 Brett Myers, Indians

Not a bad pack. You have a former MVP (Morneau), a pitcher with All-Star numbers (Buchholz), a rookie card (Maldonado), and two other pitchers at different stages of their respective careers (Cahill is a four-year, former All-Star pitcher; Myers had some great seasons with the Phillies and Astros before joining the ranks of the journeymen).

Many of whatever readers I have left may know that I have other side collections besides baseball cards. (What? Is that even possible??!) I have been known to hoard...I mean...collect other items and over the years, those collections too have grown. Not as quickly as the baseball cards mind you, but from time to time, I like to take a look at some of the other items I've accumulated...I mean collected...over the years. One of my favorite things to collect are...Crayola Crayons!!!

(Those sirens you are now hearing in the background are the people rushing over to my house to take my "Man Card" away).

It's true. I've never brought this up on the blog before, but I have always loved Crayola brand crayons. Just like Topps is synonymous to baseball cards for my endeavors, Crayola for me is number one brand in the crayon world. Nothing else comes close. I have this huge box that is filled with nothing but unused Crayola crayons. Every time I open this box, that rush of wax scent just hits me and it takes me back to my younger days. Studies have shown that certain scents will have this kind of effect on people. Play-Doh, for example (you can smell it now, can't you??!), cookies baking in the oven, meat searing on a barbecue...you get the idea. Not to say that all is good (there are certain smells that can bring up unpleasant memories...not bringing that up now). But the smell of crayons are high on the list of items that bring up nostalgic memories for me.

The thing is that they are all UNUSED!!! I have only opened them to look at them, read the names on the labels, and then put them back in the box. This is how much of a hard-core collector I am. The crayons in question still have one name on them, not like they do now with the English name and then Spanish and French underneath. I even have an Indian Red crayon (which is now called Chestnut), Thistle (which was removed for Indigo), and Torch Red (which was renamed Scarlet). All I need now are the Flesh (now known as Peach) and Prussian Blue (now known as Midnight Blue) crayons and I will have a "Master Set." This year's "Crayola Holiday Tin" includes the 12-retired colors. I had the first eight, also from a Holiday tin from 1990, but twelve years later, my then two-year-old daughter used them. So I have to find this year's tin so that I have all of the retired colors too in mint condition (call the psych ward now...) I have been known to shed a tear or two when I see those melted crayon art projects (the ones where they take crayons, paste them together, and then somehow let them melt, leaving those lovely globs of colors dripping down). And why Crayola decided to make those "Crayon Makers," the ones where you take unwrapped crayons and melt them on a metal tray and then dip them into molds, is beyond me.

Okay, happy thoughts.

Every time I take my daughter to any of the big box stores, she literally has to pry me away from the crayon aisle. Especially at Target. Why? Because Target (and Walmart, I'm guessing) have these "Pick your Pack" 8-pack of Crayons with themes on them that are meant for kids (Super Heroes, Bejeweled, Fire and Ice, Dragons), and some are exclusive to a specific store (you'll see in a minute). Yes I know the crayons inside are just part of the regular 120-color lineup (shocked that I know this, huh?), but one could (sanely) compare these 8-crayon packs to the 17-card retail sets. There is a theme, and a reason why these colors were placed together. So with that in mind, my wife and daughter decided to get me (cue LeBron...)

Not one...Not two...Not three...

EIGHT 8-packs of themed Crayola Crayon packages.

Now don't get me wrong, the baseball cards were great. But these were more than enough to make my Christmas this year. 

Now, I'll show off the packs of crayons on this humble, little blog. I'll spare everyone the details of what was inside. This is what they bought for me:

From Zebeda and Lynn...Eight 8-Packs of Themed Crayola Crayon Sets!!!

As you can see, six of the packs are "Target Exclusives" meaning you can only find them...well, at Target. That means Walmart has to have something too. Maybe Toys R Us. The hunt begins in earnest!!!

On behalf of my family, Have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy Kwanzaa too (Hanukkah was in November, so I apologize for wishing all who celebrate a Happy one as well).

May you find the cards you need in your stockings and may we all add to our ever growing collections in the coming new year.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Pro Debut Card of the Week: 2013 Topps Pro Debut #101 Matt Curry

It's Minor League Monday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Pro Debut Card of the Week:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2013 Topps Pro Debut #101.
• Player Name, position, team: Matt Curry, first baseman, Indianapolis Indians.
• Level-League, Team Affiliation: AAA-International League, Pittsburgh Pirates.
  
• Minor League Stats (stats with team depicted only): 2 G, 5 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 1 SO, .400 SLG, .900 OPS, .400 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Pirates #16th, June 2010. Bats: left. Throws: right.
• Major League Debut: n/a.
• Baseball America Organizational Ranking After Season with Team: Pittsburgh Pirates #23 prospect after the 2012 season.
• Blurb on the back: "In 2011, Matt was the first player since Andrew McCutchen that the Pirates allowed to skip High Single A, and last year he was nudged up to Triple-A for his final two games. In his only start, he reached base three times and knocked in two runs. The former TCU star is a "selectively aggressive" hitter with above-average pull power."
• Official Topps Rookie Card: n/a.
• Commentary: While the last line of Matthew Allen Curry's card reads that he only played 2 games with the Indians, he spent most of the 2012 season with the AA-Eastern League Altoona Curve. As the Curve's everyday first baseman, Curry hit .285 with 11 home runs, drove in 76 rbi's, stole 4 bases, and had percentages of .352/480/.832. Even though he ended the year with AAA-Indianapolis, he began his 2013 season with Curve. By May 4, Curry was hitting .248 with 4 home runs and 16 rbi's before fracturing his hamate bone in his right wrist, causing him to miss two months of the season. Curry would rehab with the Bucs' Rookie Team in the Gulf Coast League at the end of July. It is expected that Curry will land with the Indianapolis to begin the 2014 season, unless of course, he wows the Pirates managerial staff enough to make it onto their Opening Day roster.

Next week's featured card will be: 2012 Topps Pro Debut #58. Post will arrive at 9:00 AM CST. Hope you enjoyed this week's installment of Minor League Monday.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Card of the Day: 2013 Topps Update Series #US326 Jake Peavy

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Friday, December 13, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2013 Topps Update Series #US326.
• Player Name, position, team: Jake Peavy, pitcher, Boston Red Sox
• Major League Debut: June 22, 2002.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2012 stats (White Sox): 32 G, 11-12, 219 IP, 191 H, 88 R, 82 ER, 49 BB, 194 SO, 4 CG, 1 SHO, 0 SV, 1.10 WHIP , 3.37 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Padres #15th, June 1999. Traded by the White Sox to the Red Sox 07/30/2013. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 16. This is his sixteenth Topps card.
• Blurb on the back: n/a
• Commentary: With the 2013 White Sox heading for the AL Central cellar, and Jacob Edward Peavy heading for free agency after the season ended, it only made sense for the White Sox - now in rebuilding mode - to try and trade their veteran starter for prospects. Peavy came to the White Sox in a deal that was hoped to push them to the playoffs in 2009. And for what it's worth, Peavy, when healthy, made very positive contributions as a member of the Pale Hose. In his five season run with the White Sox, Jake appeared in 84 games (83 starts), was a positive 36-29, with an ERA of 4.00, struck out 476 batters, earned a WHIP of 1.155, completed seven games, and was an All-Star and Gold Glove winner in 2012. With the Red Sox looking for more arms for their starting rotation, the White Sox sent the former Cy Young winner (with the Padres in 2007) to Boston as part of a three-team deal (with the Tigers as the third team in the transaction). When the dust settled, Peavy would change Sox while the White Sox would get the Tigers' best prospect (Avasail Garcia) and three Red Sox' minor leaguers. On for the pennant push, and with a renewed sense of purpose, Peavy pitched effectively in his 10 games for Beantown. He would go 4-1 with an ERA of 4.04, strike out 45 batters, and earn a 1.160 WHIP in 64.2 innings of work. He would start one game in each playoff series (the ALDS, ALCS, and World Series), with a loss to the Tigers in the ALCS his only blemish. During his two other postseason appearances, he would hold opponents to three earned runs in 9.2 innings of work while the Red Sox offense took care of the rest. Peavy and the Red Sox would go on to win the World Series, earning Jake his elusive World Series ring and a bit of payback. His Padres were eliminated in the postseason by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2005 and 2006 NLDS. The Red Sox's opponents in the 2013 World Series? The Cardinals.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.30-$0.75.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 67.

Tomorrow's card will be: 1984 Topps #546. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Flash back with the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Random Topps Pro Debut Card of the Week: 2013 Topps Pro Debut #158 Matthew Skole

It's Minor League Monday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Pro Debut Card of the Week:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2013 Topps Pro Debut #158.
• Player Name, position, team: Matthew Skole, third baseman, Hagerstown Suns.
• Level-League, Team Affiliation: A-South Atlantic League, Washington Nationals.
  
• Minor League Stats (stats with team depicted only): 101 G, 343 AB, 73 R, 98 H, 18 2B, 0 3B, 27 HR, 92 RBI, 10 SB, 94 BB, 116 SO, .574 SLG, 1.013 OPS, .286 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Nationals #5th, June 2011. Bats: left. Throws: right.
• Major League Debut: n/a.
• Baseball America Organizational Ranking After Season with Team: Washington Nationals #4 prospect after the 2012 season.
• Blurb on the back: "Skole's trophy cases filled up quickly in 2012, as the second-year player claimed South Atlantic League MVP and organizational Hitter of the Year honors. He made the choices easy by recording the third-most home runs and RBI ever by a Washington Nationals farmhand. The Georgia Tech's toolbox is headed by serious power and an extreme ability to draw walks."
• Official Topps Rookie Card: n/a.
• Commentary: I'll be honest. I don't keep tabs on prospects. That's nothing new. When I write the commentaries of the minor leaguers depicted on the cards, I go online to see to both baseball-reference (the good old standby) and Baseball America websites to try and get an idea of what a player is like. When I saw that Matthew Thomas Skole only appeared in two games for the Harrisburg Senators, the Nat's AA team in the Eastern League, my first thought was, oh no, he got released. But why? Even with a .200 average in five at bats (seven plate appearances), he managed two rbi's, two walks, and his lone hit was a double. So what gives? Then I read the article about him "starting over" in the Arizona Fall League. That intrigued me to read more. It turns out that on the second game of the season, he suffered an elbow ligament tear that put a kibosh on his entire season. While he'd rather forget the circumstances that caused him to sit out for the year, it's what he did during his down time that actually made me like where his story is headed. He stayed in Florida while his the season was going, working hard but not using his elbow for the first few months. He was told "You lost a season of at-bats but you also have an opportunity to do some things physically that you otherwise wouldn’t be capable of doing," by the Nat's director of player development Doug Harris. So he kept on working out, activities that were not baseball related. He learned to cook, which, if you're a minor leaguer on a fixed stipend, could be better than eating out all the time on the road. By the time September came, he was ready to participate in baseball activities, enough so that he could get some games in the instructional league. Soon he was ready for another stint in the Arizona Fall League. He made up for lost time during his month in the AFL, and was recently named the Nationals' #4 prospect by Baseball America, despite missing the entire season. Things can only look up for Skole, who could see himself back in Harrisburg or even AAA-Syracuse in 2014.

Next week's featured card will be: 2011 Topps Pro Debut #129. Post will arrive at 9:00 AM CST. Hope you enjoyed this week's installment of Minor League Monday.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Pack Break Week 2013: Topps Update Series and Topps Chrome Update Series

(For some reason, this post did not get published as scheduled last Sunday. Then, it got lost in the shuffle. I apologize for that. This is what should have concluded last week's Pack Break Week on Sunday, November 10.)

Sunday. It's the Day of Rest. And before Mass begins, the kids are at CCD. My daughter has a dance rehearsal, so we're going to be rushing it from church to home so she can get ready. Then there's the matter of raking leaves in the front yard...

You know, now would be the ideal time to finish off Pack Break Week.

To conclude Pack Break Week, I will now be opening the pack of 2013 Topps Update Series and the second pack of 2013 Topps Chrome Update Series found exclusively in those Mega Boxes found at the big box store..

Enclosed, in order, is what appeared in my 12-card pack of Topps Update Series:

• #US25 Wade Davis, Royals
• #US81 Casey Kotchman, Marlins
• #US165 A. J. Pierzynski, Rangers
• #US147 Charlie Morton, Pirates
• #US200 Wil Myers, Rays
• #US218 Miguel Cabrera, American League All-Star

• #US106 Clayton Kershaw, National League All-Star Gold #0601/2013
• #TM-4 Bo Jackson, Royals, 1971 Mini Card
• #US260 Darren O'Day, Orioles
• #US299 Ian Kennedy, Padres
• #US183 Jeff Bianch, Brewers RC
• #US92 Jeanmar Gomez, Pirates

Getting the gold card of a guy who should win this year's 2013 Cy Young is great. I know there's going to be demand somewhere in the Hobby Blogging Community for it (unless somebody already has given it to that person already). The Bo Jackson card is nice too. Surprised that the corners haven't been dinged...the paper quality seems to have improved over the years (at least what was used in 1971).

Now onto the Chrome Update Series pack (carefully peeling it for Baseball Dad):

• #MB-38 Kyle Gibson, Twins
• #MB-28 Rafael Soriano, Nationals
• #MB-22 Ian Kennedy, Padres
• #PH-6 Sandy Koufax, Dodgers Postseason Heroes

I guess the "MB" stands for "Mega Box." Cool, so not only did I break a pack with Ian Kennedy's regular Update card in it, but the Chrome pack had his Chrome card too. WOOT for coincidences. I also realized that not only do I have the Gold parallel of Kershaw's Update card, but his Gold Chipz too (from earlier in the week...must be a sign). Getting a chrome insert is nice, but I totally whiffed on the parallels on my two packs. Que sera sera.

I hoped you enjoyed this year's edition of Pack Break Week. I hope 2014 will bring us great things to talk about and good packs to rip.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Introducing the 2013 Topps All-Star Rookie Team!!!

The MLB managers have spoken, and today, Topps has announced the players named to the 54th All-Star Rookie Team!!! (If the player's name is in bold, it means I predicted that they would make the team earlier this month).

• 1B Matt Adams, St. Louis Cardinals (.284 batting average, 17 HR, 51 RBI, 2013 stats)
• 2B Jedd Gyorko, San Diego Padres (.249, 23, 63)
• 3B Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies (.267, 10, 52)
• SS Jose Iglesias, Detroit Tigers (.303, 3, 29)
• OF Wil Myers, Tampa Bay Rays (.293, 13, 53)
• OF Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles Dodgers (.319, 19, 42)
• OF Christian Yelich, Miami Marlins (.288, 4, 16)
• C Evan Gattis, Atlanta Braves (.243, 21, 65)
• RHP Jose Fernandez, Miami Marlins (12-6, 2.19 ERA, 187 K's)
• LHP Hyun-jin Ryu, Los Angeles Dodgers (14-8, 3.00, 154)
• RP Jim Henderson, Milwaukee Brewers (60 IP, 2.70, 75, 28 Saves)

So I guessed 10 out of now 11 spots correctly.  I guessed Darin Ruf for the third outfielder's spot and Paco Rodriguez as my left handed reliever. I did a lot better than last year (when I got 9 of 11 correct).

Now my comments. At least now Topps is showing some consistency with naming three pitchers to the team (two starters, 1 reliever). Good thing that I asked those entering the All-Star Rookie Team contest to name four pitchers (two right-handers, two-left handers) just in case.

So congratulations to all. Each player will now get the illustrious rookie cup trophy added to their 2014 Topps cards.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Introducing Your 2013 MLB Most Valuable Players - Awards Truly Deserved

In recent years, Topps has reserved six cards within Series 1 for the AL and NL award winners that are being announced this week (the 2013 set added two more cards to the subset, honoring the AL and NL Defensive Players of the Year, and then honored all 8 in Series 2). Once again, however, this year's preliminary checklist doesn't specify what numbers are being held for the them. But yesterday, we learned who was named the Most Valuable Players in both the National and American Leagues.

Congratulations to both Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers for being named the National League and American League Most Valuable Players for 2013. Incredible seasons by both players (leading his team to their first postseason berth since in TWO DECADES, and a season that showed no letdown after winning the first batting Triple Crown since 1967) gave the voters enough reason to select these two extraordinary players the award.

What more can be said about Miguel Cabrera. One year after leading the American League in home runs, runs batted in, and batting average, (along with slugging percentage, and OPS), Cabrera continued to strike fear in the hearts of opposing pitchers everywhere. No, he didn't hit the most home runs and rbi's (although 44 and 137 in a year would certainly lead in many other seasons), but he did hit .348 which did lead the AL, and lead in all the offensive percentages (.442/.636/1.078). Tigers players have now won the MVP award for three consecutive seasons, with teammate Justin Verlander winning it in 2011. Cabrera captured 23 of the 30 first place votes, which gave him 385 points in the overall ballot. In second place for the second season in the row was Mike Trout of the Angels (282, 5 first place votes), followed by Chris Davis of the Orioles (232, 1), Josh Donaldson of the Athletics (222, 1), Robinson Cano of the Yankees (150), Evan Longoria of the Rays (103), Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox (99), Adrian Beltre of the Rangers (99), Manny Machado of the Orioles (57), World Series MVP David Ortiz of the Red Sox (47), Jason Kipnis of the Indians (31), Cy Young Award Winner Max Scherzer, another Tigers teammate (25), Adam Jones of the Orioles (9), Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays (7), Greg Holland of the Royals (3), Carlos Santana of the Indians (3), Coco Crisp of the Athletics (3), Jacoby Ellsbury of the Red Sox (3), Torii Hunter of the Tigers (2), Hisashi Iwakuma of the Mariners (2), Koji Uehara of the Red Sox (2), Yu Darvish of the Rangers (1), Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (1), Salvador Perez of the Royals (1), and Shane Victorino of the Red Sox (1).

Andrew McCutchen, the first Pirates player to win the MVP award since Barry Bonds (incidentally, Buster Posey, last year's MVP was the first Giants player since Bonds to be named MVP), led the Pirates to the promised land after 20 years of last place finishes and late season collapses. After securing their first winning season since 1992, the goal of making the playoffs was so close. When it was achieved, it was with the Bucs centerfielder leading the way. Although he did not lead in any of the major hitting categories, (.317, 21 homers, 84 rbi's) the fact that without McCutchen, and all the intangibles he provided, the Pirates would have had another season of "what if." Now it's just a matter of time before they become a consistent contender in the very competitive NL Central. "Cutch" received 28 of the 30 first place votes (409 points), which blew away the competition, including finalists Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks (242), and Yadier Molina of the Cardinals (219, 2 first place votes), Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals (194), Freddie Freeman of the Braves (154), Joey Votto of the Reds (149), Cy Young Winner Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers (146), Hanley Ramirez of the Dodgers (58), Carlos Gomez of the Brewers (43), Jay Bruce of the Reds (30), Craig Kimbrel of the Braves (27), Shin-Soo Choo of the Reds (23), Jayson Werth of the Nationals (20), Andrelton Simmons of the Braves (14), Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers (10), Hunter Pence of the Giants (7), Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies (5), Allen Craig of the Cardinals (4), Adrian Gonzalez of the Dodgers (4), last year's MVP Buster Posey (3), Adam Wainwright of teh Cardinals (3), Michael Cuddyer of the Rockies (3), Matt Holliday of the Cardinals (2), and Russell Martin of the Pirates (1).

As with the last two sets of awards, here for your viewing pleasure are the 2013 Topps cards of your MVP's. Too bad they didn't make cards for the managers (congratulations to both Terry Francona of the Indians and Clint Hurdle of the Pirates by the way).

With everything all said and done, did your guy win?

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Introducing Your 2013 MLB Cy Young Award Winners - It Wasn't Even Close

In recent years, Topps has reserved six cards within Series 1 for the AL and NL award winners that are being announced this week (the 2013 set added two more cards to the subset, honoring the AL and NL Defensive Players of the Year). Once again, however, this year's preliminary checklist doesn't specify what numbers are being held for the them. But yesterday, we learned who was named the Cy Young Award winners in both the National and American Leagues.

Congratulations to both Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Max Scherzer of the Detroit Tigers for winning the National League and American League Cy Young Awards. At this point, was there really any need to name "finalists?"

Scherzer was the most dominant starting pitcher in the American League in 2013. With a record of 21-3 record, an ERA of 2.90, 240 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 0.970 in 214.1 innngs of work, winning the Cy Young was a no brainer in the minds of 28 of the 30 voters who chose him as their first place choice (for a grand total of 203 points). Behind him were a duo of pitchers from the Land of the Rising Sun: Yu Darvish (93 points) and Hisashi Iwakuma (73), who were the named finalists for the Award this year. Following them were Anibal Sanchez of the Tigers (46, 1 first place vote), Chris Sale of the White Sox (44, 1), Bartolo Colon of the Athletics (25), Red Sox closer Koji Uehara (10), Felix Hernandez of the Mariners (6), Matt Moore of the Rays (4), and Royals teammates Greg Holland (4) & James Shields (2).

Kershaw takes home his second Cy Young Award (he won in 2011) after leading the NL for the third straight year in ERA (a ridiculous 1.83) to go along with a league leading 232 strikeouts, a 16-9 record, a WHIP of 0.915, 3 complete games, and two shutouts. Claiming 29 of the 30 first place votes (207 points) Kershaw outpaced the rest of the field of contenders, including finalists Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals  (86 points, 1 first place vote), NL Rookie of the Year Jose Fernandez (62), Braves closer Craig Kimbrel (39), Matt Harvey of the Mets (39), Cliff Lee of the Phillies (32), Jordan Zimmermann of the Nationals (21), Zack Greinke of the Dodgers (19), Madison Bumgarner of the Giants (3), and Francisco Liriano of the Pirates (3).

The fun concludes on Thursday when the Most Valuable Players in both leagues are announced. Let the debates continue. Did your guy win???

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Introducing Your 2013 MLB Rookies of the Year - Florida's Finest First-Year Players

In recent years, Topps has reserved six cards within Series 1 for the AL and NL award winners that are being announced this week (the 2013 set added two more cards to the subset, honoring the AL and NL Defensive Players of the Year). Once again, however, this year's preliminary checklist doesn't specify what numbers are being held for the them.  But yesterday, we learned who was named the Rookies of the Year in both the National and American Leagues.

Congratulations to both Jose Fernandez of the Miami Marlins and Wil Myers of the Tampa Bay Rays for winning the National League and American League Rookies of the Year Awards. This year, MLB decided to announce the three finalists for each of the awards. While there certainly more players in the running, announcing the top three made for interesting debate.

Becoming the first rookie to win the award while playing fewer than 100 games during the season, Myers, who was acquired in the James Shields trade with KC, was everything the Rays had hoped for when he made his debut on June 18. Even with the late start, he led AL rookies in rbi's (53) while hitting for a .293 average and 13 home runs. Taking 23 of a possible 30 first place votes (131 total points), Myers beat out Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias (80 points, 5 first place votes), teammate Chris Archer (35, 1), and Dan Straily of the Athletics (15, 1), J. B. Shuck of the Angels (4), Cody Allen of the Indians (2), Martin Perez of the Rangers (2), and David Lough of the Royals (1).

As much as many would have (including ESPN) would have loved to see Yasiel Puig with the NL award (even on my ESPN alert, the headline did NOT lead with Fernandez winning the award, but Puig taking second), Fernandez was one of the few bright spots on a horrible Marlins team. Taking 26 of the 30 1st place votes (142 total points), Fernandez earned more points than runners-up Puig (95 votes, 4 first place votes), Shelby Miller of the Cardinals (12), Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Dodgers (10), Julio Teheran of the Braves (7), Jedd Gyorko of the Padres (2), Nolan Arenado of the Rockies (1), and Evan Gattis of the Braves (1).

So begins a wild week were debates will come fast and furious. Did your guy win??? 

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Pack Break Week 2013: Topps Allen & Ginter's

It's a beautiful Saturday morning, and where do I get to spend it? Not at home sleeping in. No.

I have to go to the mechanic's. Let me explain.

Last week, as I went to get an oil change done on the car, the technicians said that oil somehow burst out f the pipe where the dipstick is normally stored. Not having a clue what that means, he said that there is something in the engine that would need to be replaced or else the engine could just die. And they can do it for...

Stopping him right there as I had barely enough money at the time to get the oil done in the first place, I had to ask if the car was drivable. He said yes, but don't wait too long, or else...

So here I am with my son, sitting at the mechanic's lobby (if you can call it that), waiting as he looks to see how much it's going to cost (I think I heard him say to one of the boys to call his wife and tell him they're going to Tahiti next year). He said it would be about an hour or so before they can figure out what to do, so he suggested that my son and I just have lunch while they look at our car.

Okay, so we walked to the Culver's next door, had our lunch, and thought...

How about a pack break?

Today, I'll be opening the random pack of 2013 Topps Allen & Ginter's. Since 2006, Topps A&G retro-tribute set has become one of the best selling and most looked forward to product in the Hobby schedule. Not only do you get your fair share of baseball players, but Topps has included "Champions" from all walks of life. I am now the proud owner of cards that include the Air Guitar champion, both the Pac Man and Donkey Kong champions (have you seen the movie???), a card of a revolving door, Area 51, and even Pluto. Bloggers like Jason Wong, Nic Jacoby, Mike Gellner, Guillame Robert-Demolaize, Ryan McCabe, and Frank Lattuca, all winners of the Ginter Code contest over the years, have become immortalized in this product.

The insert sets that aren't baseball related are probably the best yet. In a homage to the era where anything and any topic made for a good theme of cards, Topps A&G inserts have included everything from Haunted locations to bizarre foods, from the evolution of Man to the gods of Olympus. And the stories have been told that at the Topps' offices, every employee throws ideas around for subjects for the next A&G set or an insert theme.

So after munching on a corn dog and chicken tenders, here - in order - are the cards that came inside my 6-card pack of 2013 Topps Archives:

• #15 Julia Mancuso, Champion Alpine Skier
• #231 Artie Lange, comedian
• #180 Nic Wallenda, High Wire Artist
• #CC-DA Denver Airport, Curious Cases
• #86 Warren Spahn, Braves Mini Card
• #ATY-RS Ryne Sandberg Across the Years

So I get three base cards, none of which are of baseball players. Wallenda, before this set came out, had just crossed the Grand Canyon on a wire and that feat was seen on national television. So the timing couldn't have been more perfect. The Curious Cases card is unique as a retail-only insert set and was one that was not part of the Master Set I bought earlier in the year. Now I want this set too. The Sandberg card is cool and makes this pack a worth it.

Tomorrow ends pack week, and I'll open the Update Series pack as well as the second pack of Topps Chrome Update Series.

Oh yeah, the car? It's fine. I did have to pay a c-note plus for the repair. But I have to say that the motor hasn't sounded better...I hope.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Pack Break Week 2013: Topps Series 2 and Topps Chipz

Compared to this past Tuesday when Pack Break Week started, it's rather sunny today. Cold, but bright, the atmosphere seems a bit more lively in the Atrium. Maybe because it's Friday, and people are looking forward to the long weekend. Although it's Veterans' Day on Monday, the company will be open for business as usual. I'm used to that. Fourteen years in the food industry will do that to a guy.

But before I get back to work, let's open a couple of packs of cards, shall we?

Today I will be opening a pack of 2013 Topps Series 2 and as a bonus, a 4-chip pack of 2013 Topps Chipz. Without further ado, here goes.

Enclosed, in order, is what appeared in my 12-card pack of Series 1 Topps:

• #629 Trevor Plouffe, Twins
• #371 Jeremy Affeldt, Giants
• #437 Dayan Viciedo, White Sox
• #611 Drew Storen, Nationals
• #518 Nolan Reimold, Orioles
• #CH-72 Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies Chasing History 20-SB Seasons

• #382 Jackie Bradley Jr., Red Sox RC
• #469 Adam Warren, Yankees RC
• #368 Chris Young, Athletics
• #643 Matt Garza, Cubs
• #607 Chris Carter, Astros
• #339 Nick Swisher, Indians

Finally a Cubs card...even if Garza was traded off to the Rangers. Love the throwback jersey. The rest of the pack, just average. But getting a Cubs card, regardless of whether or not the player is still with the team, is nice. I call it a win.

Now for the bonus...the Chipz pack:

• David Wright, Mets
• Evan Longoria, Rays (the sticker covered the front)
• Craig Kimbrel, Braves
• Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers, Gold Parallel (1:3 packs)
• One Tampa Bay Rays static team sticker (only sticks to the chips)
• One Game Board (with rules on the back)

The game "board" (another paper...poster...kinda thing) is the support of the pack (which if you saw the picture, you could just tear it off at the little notch). Carefully opening it, I was surprised to get something as good as a gold parallel (of Kershaw no less). The sticker only sticks to the chips, not any paper. If you peel it off the chip, you have to either throw it out because it won't stick anywhere, or keep it on the chip itself. It's disappointing that you can't even put the thing onto the board. You could play the games on the back with the four chips you have (you use two chips per player) and you can either slide the discs onto board or spin them. The chips themselves are solid, kinda like poker chips, and while I'd love to get a full basic set of these, I wouldn't know where to store them. So I'll probably just give these to my son.

Tomorrow, I'll open the pack of 2013 Allen & Ginter's. What's waiting for me inside the pack? Stay tuned and we'll find out together.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Pack Break Week 2013: Topps Archives

I woke up early this morning, as has been the routine since the kids have gone back to school. My wife, normally pressed for time and wanting to rush out of the house, found herself done with her routine early enough to make the family French toast. Thanks dear. So now that everyone has left the house for work or school (except for me...I'll be doing that shortly)...

How about a pack break?

Today, I'll be opening the random pack of 2013 Topps Archives.When Topps announced that they were bringing back the Archives brand in 2012, I was excited. For one, it had to be better than the Lineage effort they pulled the year before. Second...it's Archives. There was a hope that they'd be able to do a set full of retired players again. Unfortunately, the execution was disappointing because the formula became just an offshoot of Heritage. With current players on designs like 1954 Topps...wasn't that the concept of 2003 Topps Heritage??!

The real draw to this set for me was not the current players in older Topps designs, but the fact that they were able to include the "All-Time Fan Favorites," retired players who don't usually get cardboard love after their playing days ended, in the set using Topps' library of past designs. This was the core of the ATFF sets in the early 2000's and I was happy that Topps brought this back. It also helped that Topps' autograph library not only included most of the "Fan Favorites" but of players who did not make the "base set." I have all but one of the cards from the 2012 set (Hank Aaron) and have decided to "kinda actively" look for the 13 or so subjects who are auto-exclusive players in the 2013 set.

Now hoping for a Fan Favorite autograph card, here - in order - are the cards that came inside my 8-card pack of 2013 Topps Archives:

• #54 Cliff Lee, Phillies 1982
• #131 Salvador Perez, Royals 1985
• #172 Freddie Freeman, Braves 1990
• #36 Wade Miley, Diamondbacks 1972
• #83-DE Darrel Evans, Giants 1983 All-Star Card
• #60 Robinson Cano, Yankees 1982
• #127 David Price, Rays 1985
• #164 Dan Uggla, Braves 1990

Okay, so not the best pack in the world. No short-printed legends to speak of, that would have made this pack a winner. But with 200 base cards (not counting the 50 sp's), every player had to be a star. So cards of Cano and Price, as well as up and comers Freeman and Perez, plus the 1983 All-Star card makes this a decent break.

Tomorrow, I'll open the pack of 2013 Topps Series 2 and the pack of 2013 Topps Chipz (because it's Friday). Will there be an auto or shortprint in my future? Tune in tomorrow when I open the pack at another unique location.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama