Coffee Break:2024 Topps Series 2 Baseball Fat Pack

When the coffee is brewed, I am always in the mood for some coffee, cards and food.

*takes a sip*

That will be about as coordinated I am for rhyming in today's post. It's still early and I am dragging my feet until the coffee hits my belly and the breakfast kicks in. Well, that has to be cooked first to once I decide what it is.

But I do have some exciting news, I got to do one of my favorite things in the hobby!!! I got to open a pack of cards!!!

*takes an excited sip while thinking about what breakfast food is needed*

I recently received a RAK (random acts of kindness) from @RaiderX_GC on Twitter/X where he sent me a package of penny sleeves (I am in desperate need of these) and a Fat pack/Value pack/Hanger pack (whatever you may call it) of 2024 Topps Series 2 baseball.

There are 36 cards to unwrap in one of these packs and my top hope was to pull a Home Field Advantage, but I was also happy to find any non-pitcher rookies and any Jasson Dominguez. 

*takes a sip, begins to rip*

I think for what I was hoping for, I did pretty well. 

I haven't paid a lot of attention to baseball this year, so I didn't really know what rookies I was chasing in Series 2, just wanted to make sure I landed some hitters. Thought I did well here. I will definitely need to fill in some gaps of players I didn't pull as well.

Purple holofoil board falls 1:11 hanger packs and is /799. I don't know who Jose Tena is or if he is even good, but I always appreciate a nice shiny card.

Here's a name I know!

 

I feel this year's design for Stars Of MLB is probably the best looking one they have done so far. Though I do feel this insert line should end soon. They can only keep beating the same dead horse so many times.

 

I do like this Dominguez, however. Probably my favorite card of the pack.

Nothing too big to brag about in this pack, but I did pull a PC card, some rookie cards and a nice looking shiny card so that counts as wins.

Thanks again to @RaiderX_GC for the mail day. It arrived at a time I needed some cheering up, thank you.

*takes a sip before finishing up today's post.*

*decides that a bagel is in order for breakfast*

*gets bagel out of freezer to thaw in the microwave, turns back to laptop to finish up post while it's thawing*

I am not sure when or what my next break will be. Just have to go with the wind on this and hope that it's sooner rather than later because I really miss opening up product.

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

*starts to toast bagel*

Coffee Break:2020-2021 Upper Deck Series 2 Hockey Blaster Box

*coffee has awoken the beast, well, me. It's early but a few sips will get the blood flowing and the typing hands working. I will also need my hands to open up a hockey card product. I am not a huge fan of collecting hockey, but I am a huge fan of Upper Deck and have always been. Just ask Chris Carlin who knows this as well*

 

2020-2021 Upper Deck Series 2 Blaster Box

6 Packs, 8 Cards Per Pack

1 Jumbo Young Guns Per Blaster

$19.99 Per Blaster

Summary: Upper Deck Series 2 picks up where Series 1 ended. It includes a new batch of base cards which are cards 251-450, but most importantly Young Guns which is what the big draw is for Upper Deck's flagship product of hockey. Series 2 will include 50 cards,451-500, that fall 1:4 packs and includes the skaters not in Series 1.

You can find the following parallels as well for the base cards and Young Guns that includes, French, Clear Cut, Exclusives, and High Gloss.

The product also includes an Update Set for O-Pee-Chee that is rookie heavy alongside other inserts and Sp's. The Dazzlers insert continues to be my favorite and dazzling to say the least.

The autographs and relics are both rookie and veteran laden.

*takes a sip, begins to rip*

Here are the key cards from my break:

 

(jumbo Young Gun)

 

*takes a sip before finishing up today's break and post*

I didn't land one of the top Young Guns but being a rookie card collector I was pretty happy with just one. The O-Pee-Chee Lafreniere was a solid find for an update rookie for O-Pee-Chee being the top rookie going into the season collectors were hunting for. Also being a Rangers fan of the past helps with that one as well.

*takes one final sip, well for the post more sips are coming today, Coffee Card Blogger out*

FLIP'd Off

*gets pumped up looking at the pictures taken for this post, should have played Eye Of The Tiger as well, takes a sip of coffee, then moves onto blogging*

Let me explain a little something about where I live, there are little to no collectors here. I could hit up yard sales with sport cards in the listing and buy them at any point in the day without worrying about them being sold before I got there. I could walk into Walmart a week after a release came out to buy whatever card brand I wanted to. Prizm basketball, my Walmart had tons of it when it hit retail shelves. I could/should have opened more than one of the hangers which is all I opened of it. I wasn't a least bit concerned about never having something to open occasionally when I made the 45 minute to hour long trip.

That's before Covid hit.

Then out of nowhere, you can't find anything here anymore.

I think I would be much more excited if I knew that it's because the hobby is coming back and is thriving in my area, but, that's not the case. The flippers have arrived folks. Cleaning off every single shelf of every kind of product.

I know this because my father goes to Walmart religiously every day and has seen them. He has also seen/heard about a few guys who will stalk down the distributor to grab stuff before it even hits the shelves at ALL local Walmart locations. He has even heard about people fighting over product from some workers at Walmart he knows. He even talked to the distributor once who said they had to switch times they were coming because they had people waiting for them. I haven't seen any of that first hand as I haven't been to Walmart much since Covid, but the few times I have gone the shelves have been dry to the bone with product and have been slowly overtaken with Jack Links products since demand is stronger than the supply.

Here was a recent look at my Walmart shelves (and the Jack Links where cards used to be)

There is two blasters of 2020 Topps Series 2, two Panini basketball sticker books (no stickers) and four packs of 2019 Score football.

THAT IS IT.

It's ridiculous. I know probably some of you reading this right now will probably exit this post because you are one of the guilty ones doing this, but, hear me out from a long time collector. I also know some of you are thinking it's about time someone said something. 

Save some for the little people.

I know I have seen those posts across Twitter, save some for the kids, blah, blah, blah. And every flippers response would be "You would do the Same (as in buying out the shelves)." Or "It's my hard earned money, I will do what I want with it."

My response would be, "I would not do the same since my intention is to open only (its all about the thrill of pack ripping with me) and I could never afford to clean off a shelf." and then "Yes, it is you're hard earned money and you can do what you want with it, but there should be a line to draw with it. You wanna buy three blaster boxes, open one and flip two. Okay. I am fine with that. That means you left some hanger packs, hanger boxes and a few blasters for the rest of us. But, you wanna take a display of every new product the second it hits the shelves with only intention of making money, sorry, I am not a fan. Even the Grinch left behind some stuff when he was robbing the Whos. There has got to be some kind of Card Collector Rule Of Conduct that would back my case."

*takes a sip of coffee, feeling flip'd off*

Fortunately for me, my wife could see my frustration since it had been months since I had physically gone into the store (and the pictures I was taking of it) with the card section and she also spotted the $2 off coupon on the front of a Series 2 blaster box and told me I should grab one.

I wasn't going to turn that down. Who knows how much longer these last two blasters will be on there for. So I grabbed one and thankful that I did. Because it was a good one the flippers left behind. I look at it as a box that flip'd off the flippers.

*smiles like Stephen King behind his cup of coffee, then it morphs into an IT smile before continuing on*

Look at Mike Trout's face, he knows the flippers were coming back to grab this box and the other one as well. He wanted to swing them away.

Let's take a look at how I did,

Normally I wouldn't feature a Yu Chang rookie card as a highlight, but when you pull the base and then

the base Sp at 1:26, you do it.

Normally I would have started off with this. BOOM. First pack into this box had it. I have no intention of selling or flipping it. I have been wanting one for my rookie collection and now I have it. I have also heard these are not easy to find though not being fully announced as an Sp.

 

Oh look, another solid pull. Vintage /99 and a tough 1:283 odds of finding it. This blaster is rocking so far.

These inserts drive me nuts. I think these should be bonus filler cards and not considered an insert.

I didn't get one of these in my previous blaster (one I had to trade for). Kinda cool.

THE YAAAAANKEEEEESS WIN. ALWAYS WIN. Nice PC card here.

Pete Alonso inserts. I just stick them into my player PC.

Another Yankees find with Severino. Pretty happy with all of the new Pinstripe finds.

A few rookies among this group, great! (I do wish they would just bring back this as a product and not as an insert. Especially since the checklist is 100 cards deep which would be enough for a base set)

 

Mike Schmidt chrome. Can't go wrong with this one.

And now time for that one-per-blaster medallion. My first one was Bo Bichette and was numbered.

 

This time it is....

 

BOOM. Aaron Judge. Awesome PC piece. Now I just need the Gleyber to go along with it.

That was a lot of fun. I live for the thrill of the pack rip.

*feels really satisfied like I had eaten a Snickers*

I am not sure how retail outlets like Walmart can slow down people from taking an entire shelf of product, but I think it's time they do. They could put a limit on them, but who says flippers won't find other ways to clean off the shelf. I am sure they would. Retail outlets could ask for more product, but that just means flippers take more and not to mention, distributors only get what they get.

For now, I would guess things will continue to be this way. I just gotta hope that my father can time it right with some products so I am able to trade for them and be able to open something newer.

I waited a long time before writing a piece about my feelings on flippers because I know it's a sensitive subject as I know flippers do have their role in the hobby I am very passionate about. It's just that to me. A hobby. It's not a money grub, I don't sell cards at all. I think that's another piece on why flippers bother me some. I am all about buying something, collecting it, trading it, sorting it, etc. The hobby part. Not money. Money is the root of all evil as it's stated in the Bible, "1 Timothy 6:10 has it as: For the love of money is the root of all of evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

Greed is never a good thing and it's hard to see it happening to my hobby and every day I see it causing strife between collectors which is never a good look for it or any newbies/kids wanting in. Just remember that.

It probably also doesn't help when there are influencers out there saying that cards are an investment.  Just remember those Jose Canseco rookies you are still holding onto for your retirement. It's a hobby guys and gals.

Invest wisely.

*final sip of coffee before deciding on breakfast*

Before I close, hot tip, if you do live near me and are checking out the card section, cards aren't hot anymore. That's why there are none. However, Jack Links products, oh yeah, those are where it's at. You should go grab a few or shelf full of that stuff before it's too late :)

Coffee Break:2020 Topps Series 2 Baseball Blaster Box

*sits down with a cup in hand of fresh brew, well it's actually his wife's cup but it's the biggest one in the house so it will due even though it says sisters on it. But with lack of sleep, the big cup is needed*

You wanna know what's hotter than my first cup of coffee? Topps Series 2 that is!

This stuff is flying off of the shelves!! Mainly because of one card on the base checklist that everyone wants in Luis Robert. The problem is, it's really hard to find any at least in the retail level. I prefer retail over hobby when it comes to flagship as you pay $20 for a blaster with one hit or $90 for a hobby box with one hit and most of the time the hit from the blaster (though manufactured) will be better than the hobby one color swatch.

So my father was texting me what was new from Walmart and mentioned Series 2 and how the distributor must had just filled the shelves because they were empty the prior day. So I told him to grab me a blaster and I would trade for it. I sometimes look back and wonder if I should had grabbed two.

And I did trade for it. Luckily for me he needed a 2011 Topps Chrome Cam Newton rookie for his rookie collection, those things have gone up since he became a Patriot, and I had three to spare so it was a win-win for me.

So he shipped it a few days later and it took a few days to arrive even though we are only one state away from each other. The USPS system right now is in a weird place. Fortunately I haven't had to ship much this year with my trading being down.

With it in hand right now finally, this mornings cup of coffee will go great with this break of 2020 Topps Series 2 baseball.

*takes a sip, begins to rip!*

This box was pretty heavy when it arrived. I was quite impressed for a retail box of 7 packs on how heavy it was. I also hope I don't get caught ripping this right now, it says for Ages 6+ and sometimes I may act or say things below that age. So please don't tattle on me.

In each blaster box of 2020 Topps Series 2, you will find 7 packs of 14 cards with a variety of parallels and inserts to chase. Each blaster also comes with 1 Player Medallion and is $20 a box.

The base set as always picks up where Series 1 ended. This time with a brand new 350 cards to chase. It includes players that were not in Series 1 and of course the hottest card out there right now in Robert. I was happy just to find a couple of Yanks for the PC.

(I assume this is another subset but it caught my eye)

Being a rookie card collector, I was excited to add six more rookies to the PC. But,  I will admit, I got halfway excited when I saw a White Sox in the corner only to find out it was Danny Mendick. Sorry Danny, didn't mean to hurt your feelings.

So if you're wondering and thinking I hid a Robert to post next, nope the wait is over, there was no Robert in this blaster. (seems like everyone but me has one)

 *takes another sip of coffee. Darn this is hitting the spot this morning*

Just like with Series 1, Series 2 has an array of parallels to find. Most at the hobby level but I have seen some surprises in retail before.

This is what you are looking for, Rainbow Foil , Gold Foil, Gold /2020, Advanced Stat /300, Vintage /99, Independence /76, Black /69, Mother's Day Hot Pink /50, Father's Day Blue /50, Memorial Day Camo /25, Platinum 1/1, and Printing Plates 1/1.

Usually in years past, you pull a couple of golds and a couple of Rainbow Foils but this was the only parallel I landed in this box at 1:10 odds. I like the added toughness to the chase and believe this is the first time in a long time I didn't pull a gold.

The inserts have their own parallels as well with Blue, Black /299, Gold /50, Red /10, and Platinum 1/1 to find.

1985 insert that seem to be a staple in this product since 1985, fall 1:4 packs. I could really do without these anymore. This time around there is 100 of these to collect. Wowzahs.

Empire State award winner Pete Alonso set only available in Walmart retail. There are 30 to collect. If you are wanting the Fernando Tatis Jr versions, they are limited to Target retail.

I have had my run on these Turkey Reds as well. These are a retail exclusive with 100 of them to chase. They seemed plentiful in my blaster compared to other inserts.

Same with the Chromed version, except they have refractors. Not sure I could get tired of refractors.

Decades Best makes another return this time with another 100 cards to collect. I do enjoy the design on these however.

And finally, I pulled this Player Of The Decade Mike Trout. It's a Trout dedicated set of 25 cards, though I think 27 cards should have been the number. Congrats to Mike by the way who just left on Paternity Leave.

All I know is that the face of MLB, yes you know it's true, will be missed until he returns.

*finishes up first cup, decides to wait on a second cup and finish up this post*

Okay, so we have reached that exciting moment as we have reached the Player Medallion card. I have seen these posted on Twitter so they look really cool.

What I didn't know was how much they weighed. It was the reason why the blaster was so heavy. Maybe I should do some wrist curls with it to strengthen my wrists and fingers for typing before I move on.

*one up, two up, three up, four up, five getting tired up, six barely making it up, sev......ten. Good enough* 

Same goes with my pushups and curl ups with my counting.

The player medallion checklist is pretty deep so you never know who you will pull with 50 cards to choose from

 But was pretty solid with this one. Can't go wrong with some Bo Bichette.

And come to find out, it was a black parallel /199. Must have to do with the darker color on the front. I wouldn't have known if I didn't look at the back and then looked up if they included parallels.

Overall they have Black /199, Gold /50, Red /10, and Platinum 1/1.

*decided to make breakfast first anyways, Asiago bagel toasting and fresh cup of coffee next to me awaiting it's partner in crime*

I was pretty pleased with my break overall. The only thing I want left from Series 2 is the Robert for my rookie card collection and may seek that out via trade instead of busting more. But, you never know with this blogger.

That's of course if I can find anymore of it as well.

Ratings (ratings based on 1-5 🍵)

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