2018 Topps Allen & Ginter Blaster Box #1

Picked up a blaster box while out shopping.  Nothing major in this blaster except for some rookies.

Rookies: Garrett Cooper, J.P. Crawford, Paul Blackburn, Willie Calhoun, Brian Anderson, and Zack Granite. 

And here are the odds for a retail blaster box.

2018 Topps Allen & Ginter Hobby Box Break #1

Each year Topps Allen & Ginter gets this unusual hype that you don't normally see for most card sets.  It's because of the unusual combination of non-sport autographs in the set, non-baseball autographs in the set, and weird non-sport insert cards. 

It's a strange set, and oddly satisfying.

Each year I try to buy myself one hobby box.  Here's the box for this year.

The hits were a Dexter Fowler and Charlie Blackmon relic, and a framed mini autograph of Madison Keys (tennis player).

I'm pretty happy with these hits.  Getting an autograph is good since not every box is guaranteed to have an autograph.

Here are the hobby pack odds.

And I got this strange mini which had a peculiar finish on it.  It turns out these are glow in the dark minis and are case hits.  They are SSP (super short print).  Some people speculate that these are 1/1s but they're not.  I've seen a few duplicates on eBay already.  Too bad I got a non-player.  This is the rarest card that I got in my hobby box but I'm thinking if I tried to sell it I would probably only get $10 for it.

I got a good number of rookies, including: Jack Flaherty, Rafael Devers, Scott Kingery, Garrett Cooper, Brandon Woodruff, Nick Williams, Ryan McMahon, Ryder Jones, and Amed Rosario.

But the most important rookie card in the box... a Shoei Ohtani rookie! 

2018 Score Football Hobby Box #2

Since my first box of 2018 Score Football was so good, I decided to buy a second one.  This one kind of sucked.  Here are the hits.  Also not pictured were 150 Panini points.  I got Panini points in my first box too.  So it seems like each box has three autographs and one Panini points card.

Leighton Vander Esch, a linebacker from Boise State, was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys with the 19th overall pick (1st Round).

Dallas Goedert, a tight end from South Dakota State, was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles with the 49th overall pick (2nd Round). 

Quadree Henderson, a wide receiver from Pittsburgh, went undrafted but has signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.  He seems to be a return specialist. 

Here are the notable color inserts: Brandin Cooks #/35, Zach Ertz #/10, and Demarco Murray #/50.

Here are the rookie color inserts: Chase Litton, Carlton David #/50, and Calvin Ridley.

Overall, this box was way worse than the first box.  Still though, there aren't many Panini Football products where you can get three autographs (and one Panini points card) for about $100. 

2018 Score Football Hobby Box #1

I decided to try a box of 2018 Score Football.  It's a very nice looking low-end product.  Here are the hits.  Also not picture were 150 Panini points.  You get four autographs per box on average.  I was the "lucky" one who got three autographs and points instead. 

Sam Hubbard, a defensive end from Ohio State, was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 77th overall pick (3rd Round).

Kerryon Johnson, a runningback from Auburn, was drafted by the Detroit Lions with the 43rd overall pick (2nd Round).

Mark Andrews, a tight end from Oklahoma, was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens with the 86th overall pick (3rd Round). 

2017 Bowman Platinum Blaster Box #3

And... I finally opened this blaster box too.

Ice Parallels (blaster box exclusive): Gary Sanchez, Starling Marte, Michael Kopech, and T.J. Friedl.

Rookie Radar: David Dahl.

Purple Parallel: Bryce Harper.

 The inserts in this set are so nice.  I really love the Platinum Presence cards. 

Rookies: Yulieski Gurriel, Tyler Austin, Cody Bellinger, Tyler Glasnow, Robert Gsellman, and Jorge Alfaro.

2017 Topps Chrome Blaster Box #3

I had this blaster box sitting around the house for months.  I wish I had bought more of this product.  This has to be one of the best blaster boxes I've had for this product so far. 

Rookies:  Mitch Haniger, Kyle freeland, Antonio Senzatela, Luke Weaver, Yulieski Gurriel, and David Dahl.

Rookies: German Marquez, Jordan Montgomery, Amir Garrett, Jesse Winker, Matt Strahm, and Joe Jimenez.

 Freshman Flash: Orland Arcia.

Rookie Autograph: Reynaldo Lopez. (1:82 odds)

Negative: Craig Kimbrel.  (1:38 odds)

Sepia Parallels: Chris Owings, Ivan Nova, Joey Votto, and Matt Holliday.

Getting an autograph -- albeit a fairly worthless one -- was a nice surprise.  The negative card was a nice surprise as well.  It's a lot thicker than the regular base cards.  The big splash of color parallels and insert cards make this product fun to rip.  Tons of rookies in this blaster box, but still no Aaron Judge! 

2017 Topps Chrome Rack Pack #2

It's about time I finally opened this.  It was just sitting around the house for months.

Rookies: Jeff Hoffman, Gavin Checchini, Hunter Renfroe, Alex Reyes.  Pink Refractor: Alex Reyes.  Topps Chrome 30th Anniversary Rookie: Andrew Benintendi.

Lost Mail

It finally happened.  It seems as if the United States Postal Service lost a package that was supposed to be delivered to my house.

It was a 2016 Panini Optic Jared Goff bronze autograph.  I paid $84.99 plus $3.00 shipping for it.  Tracking information said it was delivered today, likely between 11 a.m. and noon, but it was not in my mailbox. 

I'm hoping that it was merely put into a neighbor's mailbox by accident and that they'll deliver it to my house.