May Show singles- Part 2

It's taken me awhile to get all the cards posted from the show that was over a month ago. Due to my work schedule I usually just don't have the time or energy to put posts together during the week. I'm sure many of you understand. Anywho...

Here are the final cards I picked up at the May show.

Awesome addition to my HoF relic PC! I did not previously have any relics of Rollie Fingers or Reggie Jackson so this card checks two more off the list, as well as adding another for Catfish Hunter.

#100/199

#29/75

#04/10

I thought this card was interesting. It looks like Panini put the relics in the wrong window. The relic on the right has a shiny gold patch. That's definitely not from a Tigers uniform and definitely is from a Brewers uniform. So it's an interesting error card.

After I made all my purchases I still had $10 so I bought a jumbo pack of 2015 Bowman and pulled this Luis Severino auto. Definitely one of the better autos to pull!

And that FINALLY wraps up my posts on the May card show. 

May Show Singles - Part 1

At this show I actually picked up enough singles to split into two post. This post will be about the non-hit cards. Most of these I got scouring through one dealer's dollar box. I ended up with some sweet cards for a buck each. The dealer I bought them from is always at the shows. He's a huge Yankees fan and originally from the Bronx. He's never told me that, it's just obvious by his accent and the fact that I've never seen him wearing anything other than a Yankees shirt. He's a nice guy but also a very pushy salesman. So I tread lightly around his tables. I have scored some nice deals from him before like that open, but full jumbo box of 2015 Bowman Chrome a couple shows back. Thankfully he was preoccupied with some other customers so I could look through his dollar boxes without him trying to get me to take an entire box.

1993 Upper Deck SP - Chipper Jones

2001 Topps Gallery - Chipper Jones Star Gallery insert

2000 Topps Finest - Chipper Jones Finest Gems

1997 Donruss Preferred - Chopper Jones X-Ponential Power insert

#0447/3000

1993 Topps Finest - Greg Maddux Finest All-Stars

1998 Score - Tony Gwynn Loaded Lineup insert

I was really happy to find the Chipper Jones '93 SP card for only $1. Definitely a great addition to my collection. The rest were nice additions as well.

May Show Box 3- 2015/16 Topps UEFA Champions League Showcase

I do normally stick to baseball cards but frequent readers will know that I am also a soccer fan. My team is Real Madrid, and while this may seem like I'm just picking a winner because they're a winner, I do have a local connection as my sister lives in Madrid and I have had the opportunity to see them play. As such, I was pretty happy with the result of this year's UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid winning their 11th European title. At the show my favorite dealer had these boxes at a good price. This year was the first time he dabbled in soccer cards and said he didn't do very well. So he was looking to unload his inventory. I picked up a box hoping to score a nice auto of a big name. It ended up turning out pretty well!!

Each master box contains two mini boxes, each mini box contains six packs, each pack has six cards. It promises two autos per master box.

James Rodriguez - Real Madrid

The base set design has it's pros and cons. I like the way they blurred the background to make the player really pop. And I like the cardstock they used which has a matte-like finish. However, by putting the player's name and team in silver foil it tends to blend in with the picture and can be hard to see, as is shown in this James Rodriguez card. Sometimes scans of cards can alter how the card looks but this isn't the case this time. It is just as difficult to read when you're holding the card in your hand.

Jeffrey Bruma - PSV Eindhoven

Green Parallel #93/99

Thomas Muller - Bayern Munich

Best of the Best insert

Again the silver foiling creates a readability issue.

Luis "Biter" Suarez - FC Barcelona (ICK)

Champions Pedigree insert

Yeah I don't like FCB nor Luis Suarez who has a history of biting other players and other dirty tactics.

Darijo Srna- Shakhtar Donetsk

Decorated and Dignified insert

Shakhtar is another of my favorite teams. 

Gianluigi Buffon - Juventus 

Gigi Buffon is one of the greatest keepers of all time. He starred for the 2006 World Cup winning Italian team and still plays at a high level as his career is winding down.

Selcuk Inan - Galatasaray 

I don't know muck about this guy other than he plays midfield for Gala and the Turkish national team.

Oliver Kahn - Bayern Munich

KABOOM!!! Kahn is arguably the greatest keeper of all time. Definitely a sweet auto to pull!! This would qualify as a "legends" auto I think as Kahn is retired.

So this was a fun product to open. Not something I would open more than one box of, but at $60 for the box which is cheaper than Blowout, it was worth it to hunt a big auto. And I got one!!

¡Hala Madrid!

May Show Box 2- 2016 Bowman Hobby - rarer than a super...

Box #2 was a regular hobby box of 2016 Bowman. This was really the only thing I went in intending to buy. I figured I better go ahead and snag a box before it gets ridiculously expensive like it usually does. I'm pretty so-so on the base set design this year. Again, Bowman looks more like something Topps would have used for their football cards. And I really don't like putting their player's name on the side at a perpendicular angle to the logo. It doesn't really make sense to me when there is a gaping open space at the bottom between the team logo and the player's position. It seems very unnecessary to do it the way they did. If the name was at the bottom then I would probably be a little more receptive to the design.  

Jason Heyward's base card really stuck out to me. Frankly it makes no sense as it completely goes against what we normally see in Bowman base cards, and that's ok! Bowman cards are nearly always action shots, which are usually photoshopped for the prospects, or occasionally posed shots for prospects. So it seems an odd decision to use a photo that is presumably from the press conference when Heyward was introduced as a Cub. If this was perhaps a trend in this year's set with players who changed teams or was inserted as a short printed variation then it would make more sense. But as his regular base card it seems out of character.

As I mentioned above photoshopping is used for nearly all Bowman prospect cards since most have never actually put on the uniform of their parent club. Topps also will use it for major league players that have switched teams. Usually it doesn't look too bad. Sometimes it is obvious. This example of Andrelton Simmons has got to be one of the worst I have ever seen...

I'm sure this has been addressed by other bloggers already, but..Topps screwed up on printing the pack odds The silver paper parallels, as seen above, are listed as 1:43 packs and serial numbered. In reality they are about 1:12 packs an unnumbered. They're listed the same way in Bowman retail as well on both the packs and the packaging. Oops!!

Refractor #478/499

I wonder if his parents are fans of Batman..

Blue Refractor #115/150

And now something rarer than a Superfractor...

Purple #28/250

Purple Refractor Auto #93/250

The purple paper parallels are 1:86 packs. The purple refractor autos are 1:290 packs. Not that easy to pull one of each in the same box. Now what are the odds of pulling one of each of the same player in the same box? 

According to my calculations you have an approximately 1 in 538 chance of pulling a purple paper parallel of a specific player from a specific box. And a 1 in 423 chance of pulling a specific player's purple refractor autograph. So, based on my horrible math skills I believe that would mean you have approximately a 1 in 227,574 chance of pulling both from the same box. That means that these two cards, that are worth MAYBE $10, being in my one box is wayyyyy more unlikely than pulling a Superfractor auto!!! 

Ha...HaHa....HAHAHAHAHAHA

Ok I'll stop cause my head hurts from all that math. I need a Gatorade.

May Show Box 1- 2016 Panini DIamond Kings

A couple weekends ago I went to another one of the semi-regular shows. I went into this one without a real plan for making purchases. Despite my lack of planning I came away with a nice haul of wax and additions to my collection. The first box I bought was 2016 DIamond Kings, my second one this year. My first box yielded two awesome hits in a Griffey dual relic and a redemption for a Jake Arrieta auto. This one wasn't as good, but it wasn't too bad either. Let's be real though, it would be hard to beat a box with the two hits being one of the hottest pitchers in baseball and one of the greatest players to ever play the game.

Anyways, here are the important cards from my second DK box.

Image variation

I've mentioned it before and I will again, Panini's resurrection of Diamond Kings is my absolute favorite non-high end baseball card release. The cards are beautiful, the card stock is better than anything Topps uses and the box content vs. the price is IMO the best of any set of any sport from any manufacturer. Panini has struggled at times over the last few years to create a product that really stands out on it's own as something unique that Topps is unable to compete against. But they've found their winner with Diamond Kings.

Image variation

Artist's Proof #61/99

#91/99

#72/99

#59/99

So the deGrom dual relic is pretty nice. The Shaffer auto dual relic is lower end but you never know, he may blossom one of these days. 

So definitely nowhere near the first box, but as mentioned that was to be expected. I still love Diamond Kings.

Braves from the Bay - PC 1 of 1!!!

In the last couple of weeks I've picked up three more cards from eBay to add to my Braves PC. 

#207/299

First up is this Ryan Klesko auto from 2016 Museum. This is my first Klesko autograph. Ryan was fun to watch during his time with the Braves as he was a fairly reliable power hitter and played a decent left field.

#61/99

A nice John Smoltz patch from 2009 Topps Unique. I've been thinking about picking up a box of this product but it has gone up about $50 a box in the last year so I may take a wait and see approach. 

#1/1!!!!

Jason Heyward In The Name letter patch from 2011 Topps Series 1

My favorite seller had this card listed for awhile as a BIN/BO. The BIN price was a little high for me so I kept my eye on it hoping he would drop the price and no one else would snag it. Well a few weeks ago he dropped the BIN price by $20 but it was still a little high. So I waited. As the listing time dwindled on the card I was debating whether to make an offer as I was worried he may try to move it elsewhere since it had sat for a few months without being bought. Last Friday morning I was bored at work at 6 AM and was thinking about cards. I decided to give it a shot so I pulled out my phone and made what I felt was a reasonable offer. And my offer was high enough to be auto accepted! So I now have my first Braves PC 1 of 1 that is not a printing plate, and a pretty sweet card to boot!!