2013 Bowman Platinum Retail Edition

Although I prefer buying single cards online, sometimes I still buy boxes of cards. The most recent buy is Bowman Platinum retail which I have had decent luck with and for some reason I always kind-of-liked if that makes any sense.

So after two blaster boxes and two value packs which equals six packs, I ended pulling nothing special. The best card was probably a Bryce Harper gold parallel, I did not get a Yasiel Puig. Hoping to get something better I passed by the Target again and bought another 4 value packs. The second time was a charm, though there was nothing spectacular I did pull some decent cards.

Here are the notable cards I got. Nate Roberts autograph, Orlando Calixte autograph, Joc Pederson green refractor numbered out of 399 and a Blue Sapphire Refractor of Ryan Braun. But still no Yasiel Puig.

Now it probably makes more sense to buy a hobby box instead of all this retail stuff. But I keep telling myself I like the purple refractors.

Whatever happened too.... ?

When you look through your baseball card collection, have you ever wondered. Whatever happened to this player? They were highly touted as top prospects, five tool players and #1 draft pick. But it has been 6 years and they are nowhere to be found, there career is invisible and that rookie card you paid $40 for is now selling for 99 cents, if even.

Let me throw a few names out there. Andy Marte, Chris Lubanski, Matt Bush, Delmon Young... ok so maybe Young could be an exception, at least he is playing in the MLB. But have you checked his bowman chrome rookie card? What was once a $60 card is now selling for $10. Thats a pretty big drop considering Young had a pretty good year for the Tigers in 2011.

But the other players listed have disappeared from the radar. They have either struggled in the minors or have been arrested one too many times. Products like Bowman Chrome are great to buy because you never know when you might get the next Albert Pujols. But then again if you think about it Pujols' rookie card was in 2001. That was 11 years ago, it has been 11 years since we had a breakout player like that. You could argue about players like Jason Heyward but even he has been struggling in 2011 and his cards have dropped considerably in value as well. Sometimes it feels like playing the lottery when choosing which prospects to buy. You might get lucky, but you might also get Matt Bushwhacked.

2010 Bowman Platinum Retail Blaster Boxes

So I've been on a buying spree after seeing getting some 2011 Bowman Platinum. I was passing by retail stores looking for boxes, and you may be wondering why I'm buying retail. Well, with almost no sports card stores left in the NYC area the only options I have is either online or retail.

So I walked into Toys'R'us and looked at their small selection of cards. This was a very small Toys'R'us and their selection was even smaller then other locations. But to my surprise they had two 2010 Bowman Platinum blaster boxes which was a year old already. Needless to say, I bought both of them.

Well the first box yielded nothing, and I was hoping I would at least get an autograph in my second box. Halfway through my second box I pulled an autograph of Miguel Sano. Needless to say, I was pretty happy getting not only an autograph but one of a pretty good prospect.

Who said there was nothing good in retail boxes?

So we've all heard the saying when it comes to buying baseball cards. "If it's not hobby, it's not worth getting." Well I know that retail packs and boxes don't guarantee anything. And even when they do insert something into retail packs it's extremely hard to get. But to those of you who actually read my blog (I know, I can hear the crickets in here) retail stuff is no that bad. Case in point I have pulled an Alex Rodriguez autograph card out of a box. The odds of that card been in there was an astronomical ratio.

Well lately I have been buying up some retail products again. 2011 Bowman Platinum, its not the greatest product but there are chock full of rookies in it. Nothing is guaranteed so when anything nice comes out of it it makes you feel much better.

In about a months time I ended up buying four blaster boxes and four rack packs. Here are some of the hits that came out.

Plus a Alex White autograph, one Bryce Harper rookie and one Bryce Harper Xfractor.

Busting old Wax

Well it's only been a few days since I busted some wax but I've decided to try my luck again. Passing by a Sports Authority by where I live I saw two blaster boxes of 2007 Bowman Heritage. And since it was only $10 I decided to see how it was. Here is what happened.
First box yielded two Mickey Mantle cards. One regular and one short print. A Joba Chamberlain rookie and a Corey Koskie game used bat. Along with some Rainbow cards.
Second box got me some more Rainbow cards. Some notable names were Philip Hughes and Alex Gordon. A Tim Lincecum rookie. And a Fernando Martinez Prospect card.
All in all it was alright. Nothing spectacular but not bad either. And since it was only $10 each I can't really complain.

Baseball Cards. Forward or Backwards?

We've all heard that MLB is giving Topps an exclusive contract to produce baseball cards. Stating that they believe Topps can change this hobby for the kids. So with all due respect lets take a look at the products they have made so far.

Bowman Chrome - Chock full of rookies that kids know nothing about. Who is Lars Anderson? I guarantee that most kids that's not heavily into card collecting already even knows who he is. This product is aimed at the adults looking to make money on the secondary market

Allen & Ginter - Right away look at the price tag, $70-$80. Definitely not aimed at the kids. Also the fact that they have autographs of non MLB players will turn kids away.

Topps - Bland, ugly and boring design. An eight year old can make better looking cards. Autographs are hard to pull and when you do pull one please keep that Justin Ruggiano ($0.99 no buyer) nicely protected.

Sterling - $195 a box. Nuff said

If you look back towards when Topps was the only company making baseball cards you can clearly see what they made. Off centered, bland, boring and overproduced baseball cards. Clearly they were aiming for the kids.
At least Upper Deck has made products aimed towards the younger collectors. UD Heroes. Upper Deck and among others. I say competition is good. It keeps other companies on it's toes and makes sure they are producing quality products.
Truth is the only thing that will make collecting fun for kids is the adults who collect baseball cards. They are the ones teaching the next generation the beauty of collecting sport cards.
I don't think this is a step forward. I think this is a step backwards for this hobby.